‘Because one of the reasons I never went back there after opening it was the rumours I heard.’
‘Rumours?’ My gut sinks, muscles painfully tightening.
‘That it was dangerous. That’s why I took you to the wrong place. Eva, I don’t want you anywhere near this.’ The change in his tone to something much deeper sets me on edge as do his words. ‘Burning that building down was no accident. Someone is cleaning house.’
‘Cleaning house?’ What does he mean? ‘I’m assuming you’re not talking about someone vacuuming and dusting and mopping it.’
Danny glances towards the river. ‘It’s a term that means some will go to any lengths sometimes to make things disappear. Get rid of evidence. Permanently. That includes killing people.’
A shudder runs through me. ‘Are you saying whoever burned it down was trying to stop me finding evidence to do with the women going missing?’ This last I can barely say. ‘Evidence that may show they were murdered?’
Danny places his cup gently on the table. ‘I’m going to tell you a story that’s going to make you very angry. You’ll probably throw tea over me, storm out and vow never to see me again. But when you have calmed down later, I want you to allow your clear and rational mind to make a decision about what I have told you.’
I try to get my guard up for what’s coming, but all I feel is a naked vulnerability after all that’s happened today. After all that’s happened since Mummy Cherry passed away.
‘People will tell you that Suzi Lake was this great woman,’ Danny starts. ‘A legend. In reality she was a poor little rich woman who went around sponsoring good causes with a view to making sure the whole world knew about it. Fancy naming a centre after yourself? Can you imagine?’ He’s so scathing.
‘My mother was a Suzi Lake type who could have set me up financially when I was a young man but she preferred to indulge her taste for animal charities.’ His brow flicks up. ‘I had to make my own way in the world. If I’d been a lame donkey, she would have showered money on me but my misfortune was to be her only son.’
Bitterness surfaces in his blue eyes.
He stretches his legs. ‘So my future was all down to me, a well-educated, ambitious young man who wants to be a success with a certain talent and a capacity for hard work, the things you need to get on in life. Or so they say. This country is full of talented, hard-working failures. If you want to get on here, it means going over to what I call the grey side. It means finding shady friends in high places. It means cutting a few corners and ploughing over a few people.’
I don’t interrupt because Danny has never really opened up about his past to me. All I really know is that he was a very unhappy boy at boarding school. He casts his eyes over me to see if I’m following, maybe guess where he’s going. My belly fills with butterflies of trepidation.
‘The other thing you need on your way up is someone to cover your back when you run into legal problems. Lawyers help but what you really need is a corrupt police officer. I was introduced to one by an associate of mine.’
I hold my breath at the dread I sense coming.
‘That bent cop was your adoptive father’s old friend, Commander Dixon. Of course he hadn’t reached the dizzying heights of being a commander then. We had a good thing going for a while, John and I. He was like a magician who could make my troubles go away.’
Now I butt in. ‘Commander Dixon told me that he’s no friend of yours.’ The image Danny’s painting of Dixon doesn’t square at all with the public perception and reputation of the man.
Danny scoffs, ‘And he can say that with all honesty because I’m not talking about now, I’m talking about our past relationship. I’m sure you’ll agree that John is a charismatic man. He was the same in those days too, which he used to attract other impressionable officers into his sleazy circle.’
I storm to my feet in fizzing outrage knowing exactly where this is going. ‘You’re lying.’
Danny remains relaxed. ‘Am I? Sugar and Dixon are incredibly close. Has Sugar ever explained why he left the police force? Have you ever asked him?’
‘Why I left is none of your business.’ That’s what Sugar told me after I pressed him about why he’d resigned from the police force. He was defensive, rude.
‘They both got busted, Dixon and Sugar,’ Danny continues, reeling me into a past I can’t believe existed. ‘But you know the police, they are very touchy about the public getting any whiff of corruption in their ranks. Being black Sugar was expendable and got the boot. Whereas Dixon, well, he got demoted, but when leadership of the top brass changed he found favour again.’