working for Keith or he’s working on his own, but he’s got plenty of manpower and he’s not afraid to kill anyone who gets in the way.”
“I’ll have people working on tracing him,” he said, frowning again. “We’re gonna have to check out your story some first. So far, you’re claiming a body count of—” he checked the previous page of his notes, “—what? Six or seven dead and a couple of wounded? But we’ve only found the two kids at the motel and the cop. And now this guy Henry.” There was doubt in his voice.
“Why would I lay claim to more if it wasn’t the case?” I said tiredly. “This looks bad enough as it is. Why do I need to dress it up any further?”
He didn’t respond to that question, posing one of his own instead. “And this guy you call Oakley man, you say he stopped for long enough to pick up his dead before he took off from Henry’s house, right?”
“Right.”
“You have to admit that’s kinda convenient. Not leaving behind any bodies, that is.”
“Of course he didn’t leave them behind – he’s a cop,” I said, the tension making me snappy now. “There’ll still be blood. There’ll still be evidence.
Andrew’s face flushed a little at the jibe and Walt, realising things were about to deteriorate, spoke up for the first time since I’d begun recounting my tale.
“Why don’t you have a look see if any bodies have turned up over the last coupla days with gunshot wounds?” he suggested. “Might go a little way towards clearing this up, son,” he added gently when his nephew still hesitated.
Suppressing a grumpy sigh, Andrew got back on the phone. I leaned forwards, resting my forearms on my knees and trying to roll the rigid ache out of my neck. I had the Barbie-pink bag clenched tight on my lap like a talisman.
Walt patted me on the back of my hand and, when I looked up, he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he did so. Whatever Andrew’s qualms, the old man believed me. I was surprised how much that realisation gave me hope.
But hope of what? I was stuck in Walt and Harriet’s house with an armed and twitchy FBI agent who was fairly convinced I was lying through my teeth in everything I’d said to him. I tried to tell myself that I’d always known it was going to end sometime – we couldn’t stay on the run forever. But not like this, I admitted privately. Not like this.
They weren’t going to let us just walk out of here again, not without violence that I wasn’t prepared to use, but the thought of sitting in a prison cell while Gerri Raybourn and Whitmarsh and Oakley man were still out there, manufacturing more damning evidence against me, made my skin go cold.
Special Agent in Charge Till was getting shirty with someone at the other end of the line. “Well why in the name of hell didn’t you tell me about this last night?” he demanded. “Not relevant? You developed sixth sense now, that you can tell me what might be relevant to this case and what isn’t? Fax the report through to me right now, y’hear? No, I’m still at my uncle’s place.” His eyes flickered across me. “No, I think I’ll be here a little while longer. Something’s come up. OK.”
He punched the end call button and let his breath out fast down his nose.
“What is it?” Walt asked.
“Report came in late yesterday. They found a body down near Lake Hell ‘n’ Blazes in Brevard County. Coupla tourists hired an airboat and happened upon a little more of the wildlife than they bargained for. According to the local boys the guy had been in the water a day or so and he’d been pretty badly chewed up. You throw meat in the swamp and there’s plenty out there will take a bite out of it.”
“Pretty badly chewed up?” I murmured, not liking the mental image conjured up by his words. “So you won’t be able to tell who it is?” In my mind I’d already started running through the list of possibles.
Andrew broke through my thoughts. “He’d been gut-shot – handgun most likely. Not a good way to go. But they found ID on the body. Turns out he was a Brit too. Name of Sean Meyer.” He met my eyes level and without apparent guile. “Sound like anybody you know?”
Eighteen
All at once the world stopped. And my heart and lungs stopped with it.
I tried to tell myself that I’d known, right from the moment I’d found the SIG in Sean’s empty room, that he was dead. It didn’t seem to make any difference to the shockwave that hit me now. Didn’t lessen the impact. A part of me fiercely didn’t want to believe it, but at the same time another part of me had always known that it was true.
The explosion inside my head was monstrous, but made no external sound. At the edge of my vision debris started to rain down all around me, but nobody else saw it fall. Fire raged, and froze me to the bone.
I shut my eyes, just briefly, aware of the sting of suppressed tears under my lids. I didn’t let them loose.
Then I felt the mechanical jolt as the world started turning again. It had all taken just a split second. All the time out of reality I was allowed.
I opened my eyes and found that the sea hadn’t boiled and the sky hadn’t turned blood red while I’d been gone. I blinked a couple of times. The FBI agent was watching me closely.
“How sure are you that it’s Sean?” I asked, amazed at the calm, level tone of my voice.
“Pretty sure. ‘Course we’ll need a formal ID, but there was a wallet in the guy’s back pocket with credit cards and a Brit driver’s licence. He was also wearing a real nice Swiss wristwatch – a Breitling. That should be easy enough to trace. Expensive piece and still ticking, so they tell me, which is quite something given the state the body was in. Those Swiss really know their stuff, huh?”
“Shut up!” It was Trey who spoke, his voice harsh and on the edge of cracking. He broke away from Harriet and stumbled forwards, glaring at Andrew. “Just shut the fuck up, man! Don’t you know she was, like, in love with him? Just leave her alone!”
“Leave it, Trey,” I said quietly, too numb even to feel embarrassment at his outburst. The boy glared between us, his mouth tight and an ugly mottled pink splashed across his cheekbones. After a moment he sighed gustily and turned away, letting his arms flop. Harriet gently put her arm across his narrow shoulders and steered him back towards the kitchen.
Andrew Till wasn’t being deliberately cruel, I knew. He wasn’t trying to hurt or provoke me. Dealing with death on a regular basis gives you a tinge of black humour that it’s sometimes difficult to shake. You grow a thicker skin and laugh it off, or you let the weight of old bones bury you alive in ghosts and nightmares.
I got to my feet, still clutching the flowered bag. Till rose, also. His face, which had started to show a hint of pity, sympathy even, turned wary and his eyes went professionally cool and flat again.
“You and I both know who’s responsible, don’t we?” I said.
“No, but I sure know who you
It wasn’t much, but at least it showed that he recognised someone else had played a part in all this. It wasn’t solely down to me. A tiny blade of hope began to form, to take an edge from dullness.
“So what are you planning on doing about it?” I demanded.
“We are pursuing a number of leads at this time,” he said, suddenly coming over all official-speak. “We aren’t discounting any theories. It will be thoroughly investigated, Charlie. You have my word on that.”
It was something in his voice that tipped me off.
“Tell me,” I said, conversational, “how long have I got before your SWAT team arrives?”
Walt looked resigned, I saw, almost a little disappointed. Harriet just stood and gaped disbelievingly. Till almost smiled. His eyes shifted slightly to the face of the clock on the far wall of the living room. “‘Bout ten minutes,” he said easily. “Maybe a little less.”
“In that case I’m afraid you’re going to have to shoot me to keep me here,” I said. “I’m not staying to be arrested while you let Sean’s killers walk. If you won’t find them,
I turned my back and took a step towards the door out onto the back lawn, the one we’d come in by.
