Fire Point Read Free Page B

having problems, and his mom didn’t want to go to the cops. If he’d had to guess, he’d have put his money on drugs. Maybe money owed to someone heavy, or a blackmail attempt that she wanted him to shut down.
    Lock sat across from her. Outside on the dock an elderly guy was parking a sky blue Maserati next to one of the half-dozen wooden docks.
    ‘Thank you for seeing me, Mr Lock,’ said Tarian. She made strong eye contact. He understood why men fell for her. Not only was she beautiful but there seemed to be a real person there too, beneath the sheen of glamor.
    With all that said, this wasn’t a date and Lock wanted to get down to business. ‘How can I help you?’
    ‘It’s my son, Marcus. He’s going through a difficult time at the moment, and . . .’ She sighed. ‘Well, I’m sure you know what kids are like when it comes to talking to their parents. I need someone to keep an eye on him for me.’
    Lock flattened his hands palm down on the bright white linen tablecloth as a waiter brought his water. ‘Okay, first things first. Is there something specific you’re concerned about? Do you believe your son is being threatened by someone? Is he involved with drugs? Has he fallen in with a bad crowd? All easily done in this town.’
    She swallowed hard. ‘No, nothing like that. No one is threatening him that I know of, and I very much doubt he’d be involved with drugs. It’s difficult to explain. He’s living on his own here in the Marina, and I’m just worried about him.’
    Lock decided to change tack. Clearly something was wrong but she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, articulate it. When he first met a client it was often the case that they didn’t want to say flat out what the problem actually was. Some kind of trust had to be established first. ‘Okay. When you say keep an eye on him, are you thinking surveillance or security?’
    She gave him a puzzled look. ‘I’m not sure.’
    ‘Well,’ Lock said, ‘do you need someone to track him without him knowing? That kind of keeping an eye on? Or do you think he needs someone with him, offering close protection? Because if it’s the former, you’d save a lot of money just using a regular private detective rather than myself or my partner.’
    Her eyes widened. ‘Oh, yes, I see. No, the latter. I want you to provide security. Be his bodyguard.’
    They were finally getting somewhere. ‘And he needs a bodyguard, because . . .’ prompted Lock.
    ‘I can more than afford to pay your fee, Mr Lock,’ said Tarian.
    Lock didn’t doubt it. ‘I’m sure you can. But that wasn’t what I was asking you. Why does your son need protection?’
    ‘I don’t know that he does,’ she said.
    In future, for meetings like this, Lock was going to ask potential clients for money up front – some kind of consultation fee to offset time wasted. He took a breath. ‘Mrs Griffiths, if Marcus is caught up in something that you might not be comfortable telling, say, law enforcement, well, I’m not law enforcement so it goes no further. If he’s being blackmailed, and you don’t want information to become public—’
    ‘No, it’s nothing like that,’ she said, and lapsed back into silence.
    Lock didn’t say anything for a good ten seconds. After that, he started to get up. She motioned for him to sit down.She was struggling with this. Perfect white teeth bit down on a plump lower lip. ‘I’m concerned that my son is either going to hurt himself or someone else.’
    Lock wanted to be clear on what she was saying. ‘By hurt you mean physically harm?’
    Tarian looked away. ‘Yes.’
     

8
     
    Sunlight sparkled on the water as Lock strolled with Tarian Griffiths by his side. He had suggested they take a walk for two reasons. First, there would be less chance of their conversation being overheard, and second, walking made conversations like this easier. There was something about physical activity that helped people unburden themselves. And while Tarian Griffiths had