Out of Sight - PAPERBACK - Detective Loxley Crime Thriller Book 9

You will be notified by email when your paperback has been dispatched. It's usually within a couple of working days.

CHAPTER 1
Westminster, London
A month ago

James lounged on his sofa, his feet up, lying almost horizontal. He watched the podcast on his phone while the muted TV played in the background. The moving image on the screen lit up the surrounding room in a flickering kaleidoscope of colour. The two hosts of the podcast discussed the latest moves by Russia in eastern Europe, and the global ramifications of what it meant and how the major powers of the world were responding to it.
Given who these leaders were, their responses were typically predictable and wholly disappointing to James. His lip curled at the comments of the more liberal host, a one-time spin doctor for a former Labour PM, but enjoyed how the former conservative MP, who was much more centrist in his views, needled his left-wing peer.
James yawned. He really should be in bed by now, not lying here listening to another podcast or video. Haldane would surely want him in the office early and would no doubt have a mountain of work for him to do.
As the current Foreign Secretary, Haldane was always in demand, flying around the world at a moment’s notice and dealing with all manner of daily crises as global events continued to move forward. It was almost as if the world didn’t care that James needed to get some sleep occasionally.
He sighed and glanced over at the remains of his microwave meal on the nearby coffee table. It had cooled a long time ago and was little more than a congealed blob demanding to be cleaned up.
It smelt, too.
But that would involve moving, and right now, he wasn’t sure he could be bothered.
Christ, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a night off. How long ago was it? Weeks at least. Haldane kept him busy, and it was all James could do to keep his head above the water, so when Haldane told him to take the night off, James honestly felt a little lost.
A night? A whole night? What was he going to do for all that time?
James grimaced and considered his personal life, or what was left of it. How long had it been since he’d been on a date? He wasn’t sure he’d even know how to go about finding someone to do that with. Although that was also fraught with anxiety and potentially career-ruining dangers.
His parents still didn’t know, and he wasn’t quite sure how to tell them who he really was. He found it a little bizarre, given how his friends said it was damn obvious that he was gay, but it seemed that his parents, or his dad at least, were blind to it.
Did Haldane suspect? Maybe. If he did, he didn’t seem to mind, so that was something at least.
James sucked in air and slowly released another long breath, discounting the idea of trying to get a date. His life didn’t allow for much personal time. Not right now anyway. His job came first, and everything had to fit around that. And that was something his family understood completely. Besides, he had a dynasty to further and a father to make proud.
He was a Loughton, after all, which meant there was always only ever going to be one career path for him.
Politics.
Luckily, it was something he loved. He found the whole thing utterly fascinating. Politics was infinitely complex and layered, and he often felt like a general in an endless war, a tactician directing his army, moving pieces around the map to counter this threat, protect this policy, or attack that opposition MP. He felt as though he had a knack for it, and it seemed that Haldane saw something in him he valued.
Why else would he promote him to a senior aide?
Someone banged on his front door.
James jumped up into a tense sitting position, his nerves rattled and every muscle in his body taut.
They were slamming their fist into it over and over in rapid succession.
“James!” said a voice from beyond the door. “James, it’s Richard. Open the door.”
A torrent of emotions, questions, and confusion hit him all at once as he suddenly understood who was there.
It was his boss. Sir Richard Haldane, the Foreign Secretary for the current government. But why the hell was he at James’s door? He’d never been here before, and James had never for a moment thought that Haldane would visit.
Pushing to his feet, James started to move towards the front door but paused and glanced around the room. It was a mess. Hell, he was a mess. What on earth would Haldane think?
James grabbed the plastic, food-covered tray of his microwave meal and dumped it in the kitchenette, out of sight.
Haldane banged on his door again.
“James, damn it! James! Open this bloody door right this instant.”
“Coming, sir,” James shouted and gave his flat a last critical glance. It would have to do.
Crossing to the door, he wondered what the hell could be so important that Haldane would batter his front door down, and why him, for God’s sake? This all made no sense. Haldane was supposed to be at a private meal somewhere tonight. He had been a little cagey about it, but then that was nothing unusual when it came to his personal affairs.
“Hurry it up,” Haldane said. “I can’t be seen here. You hear me?”
“What?” James unlocked the door and opened it, revealing his boss in a state he thought he’d never see.
He was a mess. The tailored suit that probably cost a small fortune had been pulled askew, the shirt had a wine stain on it, and what looked like lipstick smears on the collar, and Haldane himself appeared strung out. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair, usually carefully styled, was stuck up at all angles, and there were more lipstick smears on his face, too.
“Jesus Christ, what the hell happened to you?” James stepped aside to let Haldane in.
“I need your help,” his boss demanded and marched into the flat. “Shut the door now.”
James did as he’d asked, and a wash of concern filled him when he eyed his boss. He liked the man, and seeing him like this was a shock.
“Let me get you a drink,” James offered. “Come in. Sit down. What happened?” He dashed to the sink, grabbed a glass, and filled it before returning to his boss.
Haldane had his head in his hands and seemed to shake.
“I’ve fucked up,” he muttered. “I’ve really fucked up.”
“Here, take this.”
Haldane grabbed the water and took a long drink.
Questions filled James’s head. “How have you screwed up? What’s going on?”
Haldane put the glass down on the table and screwed his face up. “How could I be so bloody stupid? Fuck’s sake,” he hissed, hitting his head with his hand in frustration. “Of course it wasn’t a simple bloody meal. It never was going to be.”
“What? What are you talking about? You were with your wife, weren’t you?”
Haldane laughed. “Christ, if only. I could deal with her shit. But not this.”
James glanced at the lipstick stains, his stomach twisting into a knot. Something was not right with this. “Who did you have the meal with?”
Haldane laughed again, but it was a strained, stressed sound. There was little humour in it. “We have to put a lid on this. We need to stop it from getting out. It could ruin me and compromise everything.”
James sighed and took a guess. “Everyone has an indiscretion every now and again,” James said, trying to soften things with comforting words.
“Indiscretion?” Haldane scoffed. “Yeah, right. Oh God, this is bad.”
“What is bad?” James demanded, a bit tired of the dance Haldane was taking him on. “What happened? Did you cheat on your wife?”
A long, pregnant pause followed. Haldane stared at the floor, his elbows on his knees, psyching himself up for whatever admission he was about to make.
James resisted saying anything. Somehow, he understood Haldane needed a moment to collect his thoughts and build up enough strength to admit to whatever mistake he’d made. Talking to his boss would only delay things and may even dissuade him from saying anything at all.
So, he waited.
Sir Richard Haldane looked up and fixed James with a piercing stare for several seconds before he finally spoke. “I came to you because, honestly, I don’t know who else to trust, and I don’t know where else to go. Besides, you’re good at this stuff. That’s why I promoted you after that document leaked. You handled that like a seasoned pro, and I knew I needed you on my team.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Haldane nodded and took a breath before continuing. “I was set up. It was supposed to be a simple meeting, but it was anything but. It was a trap, and I walked straight into it.”
“A trap? By who? Who did you meet?”
“Some Russians,” Haldane admitted. “They came to me through some back channels I have, through some friends of mine. They wanted a meeting. There was talk of someone defecting, and…” Haldane sighed. “I should have known better than to trust them.”
“Trust who? Which Russians? If you want me to help you with this, you’re going to have to get specific.”
“Korovin. That’s who set it up. He was behind the whole thing. But the meeting wasn’t anything to do with a defection. That was just to lure me in. It was a trap.” Haldane shook his head in disbelief. “They must have spiked my drink. It’s the only explanation. Before I knew it, it was no longer a meal in a private room. It was a party, with…” Haldane seemed to struggle with this, but after a moment, he pushed on. “There were girls there. Young women. I didn’t think… I didn’t check. You know? I assumed they were old enough…”
James stomach dropped, the implication of what had happened suddenly sinking in. “Oh, Christ.”
“They filmed the whole thing. The drink, the drugs, the girls. I… I don’t know what came over me. This isn’t who I am. But, I just got carried away. I didn’t think anyone would know. I didn’t see the hidden cameras.”
James didn’t quite know how to react. He felt rooted to the spot, stuck in place by the weight of this revelation, and what it might mean for him, for Haldane, and for the country.
“Whatever I’d drunk, it started to wear off, and then they showed me the video and told me to get out of there. They said they’d be in touch. But this can’t happen. This needs to go away.” Haldane fixed him with a crazed stare. “I need you to make this go away.”
“I… I don’t know if I can…”
Haldane seemed offended. “You can. You did it before.” He shuffled closer and placed his hand on James’s shoulder. “You can do it again, now, I know you can. You’re good at this.”
Unable to meet Haldane’s gaze, James stared at the floor. “I need time.”
“Of course. Sure. Sure, I get it. I understand. I know this is a lot.” Haldane stood and did his best to straighten his shirt. “I need to go and clean up anyway.” Haldane turned to his aide and fixed James with a steely glare. “You do this for me, James, you make this go away, and I will make sure your career in politics is the stuff of legend, young man.” He gripped his shoulder again. “You’ll make your father proud. Hell, your career will put his to shame, you mark my words.”
James grimaced. Haldane turned and strode out of his flat, leaving him in a daze. He wouldn’t get any sleep tonight.