Reckoning Point, стр. 35
He ignores the glares; it’s more important to stop this killer than to be in favour with his workmates. Frustration fills him as he asks about the CCTV. The two officers look up at him, their bleary eyes matching his own.
“There are lots to trawl through, sir,” says the younger of the operators.
Erik grits his teeth and tells the boy to keep at it. He resumes his wandering, circling the office twice before reaching his own desk and slumping into the chair.
“Fons!” A voice, down the corridor resounds through the room, accompanied by a flurry of swear words before the door to the open plan office is thrown open.
“Erik Fons!”
Erik looks up; stands up, his right hand immediately going to the holster around his hip as the man fills the doorway, blocking the entrance of the staff behind him.
“Sorry, sir, I couldn’t stop him!”
From behind the stranger Erik can just about make out the muffled voice of Jan from reception.
“Are you Fons?” The guy moves away from the doorway, allowing the door to slam closed on the startled face of Jan.
Erik relaxes but only slightly as he recognises the voice of the man who was on the telephone yesterday, the one who claimed to work for the MET.
“Harvey,” he says, reaching into the recesses of his memory.
“Alex Harvey, actually,” he replies, looking for a moment like he’s going to ignore Erik’s reluctantly outstretched hand but thinking better of it and gripping it firmly for a second.
Realising that all eyes are on the pair, Erik gestures for Alex to follow him and he leads him into the meeting room.
“Back to it!” he barks as he closes the door and turns to Alex.
Before Erik can speak Alex has started talking, cutting off Erik’s sentence with an impatient shake of his head.
“I’m looking for a girl called Elian, I’ve got reason to believe that she’s here and she’s in danger. Did you look for any information on her?”
Erik blinks in surprise; this man certainly believes in ‘cutting to the chase’. He clears his throat before speaking. “Mr Harvey, I’m currently conducting a murder investigation, I’m very sorry you came all this way but I’ve not got time to open a missing person–”
“Jesus,” Alex shook his head. “She might be involved in this murder case of yours, that’s what I’m trying to tell you, the person you mentioned, Lev–”
“I didn’t mention any ‘Lev’!” Erik blusters. “You said that name, not me.”
“Sir!”
Erik looks around to see Lou has cracked the door open and is peering into the room. He wonders how long she had knocked before opening it and he rubs his forehead. “What is it, Lou?”
She hesitates, looks at Alex and then back at Erik.
He flaps his hand impatiently, gesturing for her to continue.
“There’s been another one, sir,” she says, breathlessly. “There’s been another murder.”
Alex has a split second to make a decision as the control room is ignited with activity. Keeping an eye on Erik’s ginger hair, he battles through the throng to keep up with him.
Alex prefers facts and figures, but he can’t help feeling that Elian is involved in this, somehow, or actually, Lev is. Like before, Elian could simply be caught up in the middle of it, and he can’t have that happening again. He goes with his gut and jogs alongside Fons as the inspectuer hurries down the stairs, moving quickly for such a solidly built guy.
“What are you doing?” Erik throws the words over his shoulder.
“I’m coming with you,” replies Alex. “I can help you, believe me, I know what you’re getting into.”
Erik says nothing more and Alex is hopeful he is officially on board, but as Erik opens a car door he pauses. “I can’t let you in the crime scene, I don’t know who you are or what you want. But if you wait inside I’ll speak to you once I return.”
“I’ll follow you,” Alex says with a tight smile. “Hell, I’ll probably get there before you.”
“You don’t know where I’m going,” shoots back Erik.
At that moment the car radio crackles into life and although the operator speaks in Dutch, the combination of the street name and Erik’s crestfallen face is enough for Alex.
“I know where you’re going now.”
Erik hesitates only a moment before swearing in English. “Fuck.”
Alex opens the passenger side door and Erik throws his hands up, heaving himself into the driver’s seat.
“Keep out of my way once we are there, got that?”
“Affirmative,” responds Alex. “Let’s go then, buddy.”
Aware that he is here by the skin of his teeth, Alex withholds vocalising his thoughts of Erik’s driving as the inspectuer obeys all pertinent speed laws and doesn’t even put on his blues and twos. He sees the Carlton Beach, his own temporary accommodation, pass them by, and for a moment he thinks longingly of the shrimp he had been planning to have in the Smuggler’s Grill restaurant. But, he consoles himself, when he has located Ellie, he’ll take her for shrimp. He’ll take her for anything she goddamn wants, anywhere, in this country, back home, or wherever she wants to go.
But first to business, and he drags his mind away from her and turns to Erik.
“Tell me what you know about Lev Aliyev.”
Erik shakes his head, impatiently it seems to Alex. “That’s not a name I know. I thought I’d heard it, but it’s a different name.”
“What name do you know?”
Erik hesitates but to Alex’s surprise, he eventually answers. “I interviewed a man called Levart Abramov, I don’t even know if he’s of interest or connected, at the moment he’s just helping us with our enquiries.”
“Is he Ukranian?”
Erik gives him