two?’
‘I just happen to own the place. The name’s Compton – Charlie Compton. And this is a client of mine, Ken Tanaka – who, I might add, claims to own the rose you are all arguing about.’
‘Is that so,’ said Wolff, his lips tightening. ‘We’ll see–’
An ear-splitting blast shattered the foggy silence, drowning out his words. All heads turned in the direction of the barn waiting for the echo to fade.
‘What the hell’s that about?’ Compton yelled, starting to walk in the direction of the barn. ‘I’m going to see what’s going on. That must have been Baldie.’
Wolff raised the gun and aimed it directly at Compton. ‘You stay right where you are, mister. You’re not going anywhere,’ he snapped.
Compton paused for a moment, as if weighing his chances in challenging Wolff, then turned and walked back.
Compton shifted on his feet, growing impatience showing on his face. ‘Would somebody kindly tell me what the fuck is going on here? This is starting to get very serious, and I don’t like it one bit.’
‘Why don’t you tell him, Wolff?’ said Alex.
‘I warned you, Sheppard. Keep your mouth shut,’ Wolff snarled.
‘Where’s Kate, you stinking bastard? What have you done with her?’ Alex demanded.
Wolff ignored the outburst, returning his attention to Compton instead. ‘I don’t know what kind of game you two are up to and frankly, I don’t give a shit. That rose now belongs to me.’ He nodded briefly to Alex. ‘Ask Sheppard. He and his wife have signed it over. So if you two have any other ideas you’d better forget ’em right now.’
For the first time since Wolff ’s appearance, Tanaka spoke. ‘All of you are trespassing. This is private property,’ he said, walking closer to the rose. ‘And I’m sorry to tell you, Mr Wolff, whatever your name is, that this rose has been already purchased – by a client of mine. I’ve just explained it all to these two,’ he said, pointing to Alex and Kingston. ‘Your piece of paper is worthless. So I suggest that you leave right now and take Mr Sheppard and his friend with you. Then you can argue this among yourselves.’
‘You’re lying, Tanaka, you bastard! None of it’s true,’ Alex shouted.
Wolff threw his head back and laughed. He walked over and prodded Tanaka’s ribs with the pistol. ‘Get away from that rose before I do something I’ll regret,’ he snarled.
Tanaka stared at him, fuming.
Compton’s patience was clearly running out. ‘Look, I’ve asked once already. Would somebody tell me exactly what the hell is happening here? Who does this goddamned rose really belong to?’ He wiped the perspiration that had beaded on his forehead. ‘And I wish you’d put that bloody gun away,’ he muttered angrily, nodding at Wolff.
Kingston stepped forward, motioning for Compton to be quiet. ‘Pay attention, all of you. And don’t interrupt – please.’
Wolff was having none of it. ‘You listen to me, you interfering fool. There’s nothing more to talk about. Just shut your damned mouth and–’
‘Wolff.’ Kingston spat out the name, contemptuously. ‘You’re the one who’s the fool. Listen to me, dammit!’
‘You’d better make it quick,’ Wolff growled.
‘Don’t worry, I will,’ said Kingston.
All eyes were fixed on him, as they waited for the roar of a low-flying military jet to subside. Then he spoke. ‘We all know that this rose is truly a miracle. As a scientist for well over forty years, I know just about everything there is to know about plant molecular biology and genetic engineering – and this rose is a one-in-a-billion fluke. And you’re all convinced that by owning it, you’ll become exceedingly wealthy.’ To everybody’s surprise, he started to chuckle.
‘What do you find so goddamned funny?’ Wolff asked.
‘The irony of it.’
‘Of what, for Christ’s sake?’ Wolff demanded.
‘There’s a minor problem,’ said Kingston.
‘What’s that?’ asked Compton.
‘The problem is that there’s something diabolical about this rose. Something very dangerous.’ He eyed them each in turn. ‘Wolff – Compton – and you, Tanaka,’ he said. ‘You have to believe what I’m about to tell you. It doesn’t matter now who owns it. It’s irrelevant – because the rose carries a deadly poison in its thorns. Even the slightest scratch can result in death. A quick and nasty death, I might add. Alex saw it happen, at first hand. He lost a dear friend because of this monstrous plant. She was not yet thirty years old. That’s not all. Three other people have lost their lives because of this bloody rose. Believe me, you don’t want anything to do with it.’
‘Bollocks!’ Compton snorted. ‘A load of codswallop if I ever heard it. Thirty years I’ve been growing roses. In all that time, I’ve never heard of such a thing as a poisonous rose.’
‘Me neither,’ said Wolff. ‘You expect us to believe all this bullshit?’
‘Look, Wolff,’ Kingston said, exasperation now showing in his voice, ‘I’ll say it one more time. This rose can never be sold. It’s extremely dangerous. It must be confiscated and quarantined immediately.’
Tanaka interrupted. ‘It’s all lies,’ he snarled. ‘Just like the lie you used to get in here.’
‘I only wish that were so,’ said Kingston in a calm voice. ‘You’re in a no-win situation, I’m afraid, and there’s nothing you can do about it.’
Tanaka was about to explode again when Kingston cut him off. ‘When we leave here, it’s our intention to go straight to the local county health authority and inform them that you are harbouring a highly toxic and dangerous plant. You know that’s automatically going to involve the police.’
‘What proof do you have of all this?’ asked Compton.
‘Lots,’ Alex replied. ‘And we can get it easily enough.’ He looked at Wolff. ‘Give it up, Wolff. It’s worthless.’
‘Shut up!’ Wolff snapped.
‘Where’s Kate? Did you bring her with you? That was the deal.’
Wolff didn’t answer.
Alex kept his eyes locked on Wolff ’s. ‘Where is she?’
Wolff ’s eyes narrowed, his answer was slow in coming. In the pause that followed, Alex caught sight of the figure of a man over Wolff ’s shoulder. He was hurrying across the paddock towards them. He was stocky, dressed in black, and wore dark glasses. The others had noticed him too.
For a moment, Wolff and the man spoke in hushed voices, the man doing most of the talking and shrugging frequently. It became clear that Wolff was furious at what he was hearing. At one point he clenched a fist and stamped his foot hard enough on the ground to raise a veil of dust.
‘I’m leaving,’ said Compton, interrupting them. ‘You want to talk to me I’ll be in my office. You lot can stay here and argue all day long as far as I’m concerned.’ He motioned to Tanaka. ‘Come on, Ken, let’s go,’ he said.
Wolff spun around. ‘You two just stay right where you are. You’re not going anywhere until I say so.’
‘You didn’t answer my question, Wolff,’ Alex said as calmly as he could. ‘Tell me where she is, and we’ll leave, if that’s what you want.’
For a moment, Wolff said nothing. He stood with his feet apart, caressing the left sleeve of his jacket with the barrel of the gun. Ignoring Alex’s pleading, he turned to face Kingston. ‘Poisonous or not, I’m shipping that rose out of here.’
‘The hell you are,’ Tanaka said. ‘This is my rose.’
Wolff ’s face darkened. He muttered something to Marcus, who stepped forward with alarming speed and grabbed Tanaka around the waist, hoisted him off his feet and with a fearsome display of strength, threw him to the ground like a sack of potatoes. With a grunt, Marcus strode over and placed a boot on the neck of the groaning and prostrate Tanaka.
Wolff walked over and stood with his back to the rose. ‘No more talk. Compton, you go over there by the rose and stay put. You make any attempt to leave and Marcus will take care of you. Understand?’
Compton glared at Wolff, said nothing and walked over to the planter box.
Wolff looked at his watch. ‘I have to leave, but you make damned sure that rose stays right where it is,
