Free Honeytrap: Part 2 by Roberta Kray

7
    Harry was parked up near the Lincoln Pool Hall when the call came through from Jess. Although he could hear the panic in her voice, he didn’t share her anxiety. It was more likely, he thought, that Sylvie had been forced to make a hasty exit; she may have spotted a former target or someone else she knew and was afraid her cover would be blown. And the guy, Keynes, could have had any number of reasons for leaving.
    He rang Lorna, explained the situation and asked if she’d heard from Sylvie yet.
    ‘Only the text to say she’d arrived. That was about eight o’clock. Nothing since.’
    ‘I’m sure she’ll be in touch. I don’t think we need to be too worried, but I’m going over to Wilder’s. I’ll ring you again in a while.’
    ‘How long has it been, Harry? How long has she been gone?’
    ‘Not that long. Fifteen, twenty minutes? If she left in a hurry, she may have forgotten to text. Or maybe her phone needs charging.’
    ‘Perhaps we should come down to the office. What do you think?’
    ‘It’s up to you. Look, I’d better go. Speak to you later, yeah? And let me know if she gets in touch.’
    Harry tried Sylvie’s number next but it went straight to voicemail. ‘Hi, it’s Harry. Could you call me as soon as you get this? It’s important.’
    He threw the phone on the passenger seat, turned the key in the ignition and started up the Vauxhall. He’d spent the last six hours following Danny Street around, hoping that Ellen would show her face. If there was any kind of deal still on the cards, she’d have to make contact eventually, and he wanted to be there when she did.
    Ellen was still on Harry’s mind as he pulled up outside Wilder’s. Her past had been a difficult one, a tangle of lies and deceit. It was the fear in her eyes that haunted him, the knowledge that it was all going wrong for her again. He didn’t understand why she’d run from him and felt bemused by it, even faintly offended. Hadn’t he only ever tried to help? And they’d been close for a while. They’d had one of those strange connections, a mutual understanding that went beyond mere words. Or maybe the connection had all been in his head. Had he just been kidding himself?
    He slapped the wheel with the palms of his hands, frustrated by the thought that he might miss her while he was chasing after shadows. Sylvie was smart, streetwise, and he didn’t really believe that she needed any help. There would be a rational explanation for why she’d gone missing …
if
she had gone missing at all.
    Jess was standing on the pavement shifting uneasily from one foot to the other, and was on him as soon as he got out of the car. ‘Have you heard anything?’
    Harry shook his head. ‘Not yet.’
    ‘Why would she just go off like that? I was waiting for her. She wouldn’t just have left without telling me. We should ring the police. Something’s happened, I know it has.’
    ‘We don’t know anything yet,’ Harry said. ‘Let’s not panic before we’ve checked the place out.’
    ‘I’ve already checked it out. I know every nook and cranny of this damn bar and I’m telling you she isn’t here.’
    ‘So we’ll check again.’
    Except now they had another problem. The man on the door, taking the tickets, refused to let Harry in. ‘No invite, no entry,’ he said firmly.
    ‘He’s with me,’ Jess said.
    ‘It ain’t a plus one, lady.’
    ‘We’ll only be five minutes. We’re not staying. We’re just looking for a friend of ours.
    You know, the girl I asked you about earlier, the fair-haired girl. You said you hadn’t seen her leave.’
    The man looked at Jess, shrugged and transferred his attention to Harry. ‘You need a ticket, mate.’
    Harry was losing patience. The sooner he got inside, the sooner he could get all this sorted and return to the Lincoln. ‘Get your boss,’ he said. ‘I want to see Guy Wilder.’
    ‘He’s busy. There’s a party on, in case you ain’t noticed.’
    ‘Well, you’ve got a