'So you shot him in the back?'
'Hey, this isn't the Wild West. I did what I had to do to survive. There's nothing wrong in that.'
'Nothing wrong in that!' I exclaimed in amazement.
'Simon. I'm alive, and I'll do what's necessary to stay that way'
It was difficult to think of Daniel as a murderer. Thin, pale, nerdish, he looked more at home with a keyboard than a gun. But I knew Daniel. He was greedy, and he was overconfident in his own abilities. That was how he had found himself in a position where it was either Frank or him. And Daniel had quite a self-centred morality. He'd go for himself any day. If he thought he wasn't going to get caught, and if the alternative was some Russian killing him, I could imagine him resorting to murder.
And once he'd done it once, he had to do it again.
We sat in silence, waiting for Lisa. She had said she wanted to be home before Gardner Phillips called back at eleven fifteen. I remembered all the times Lisa had been late in the past. Please, God, please let her be late just one more time.
The percolator was bubbling away in the kitchen.
'Shall I get your coffee?'
'Leave it! Stay where you are.'
I stayed where I was. The clock between us ticked louder and louder against the wall. Daniel was trying to stay cool, but he was finding it difficult. He was fidgeting, and a film of sweat was building up on his upper lip.
I was finding it difficult too. My earlier bravado, when I had dared Daniel to shoot me, was hard to maintain. I didn't want to die now, especially after all I had been through in the last couple of months to avoid first prison, and then a bullet. Just when I had sorted my life out, it was going to end. Because of Daniel. The bastard! John had been right about him all along.
Half past ten.
The phone rang. A loud, pre-digital, old-fashioned clanging sound. Gardner Phillips. I moved towards it.
'Stay where you are!' Daniel snapped. 'Leave it!'
So I left it. Both of us stared at the telephone as it cried shrilly for attention. Phillips was persistent, that was for sure. Thirty rings. I counted them subconsciously. But finally it went quiet. Daniel relaxed.
My mind raced. I hadn't told Phillips where I was, just the phone number. With the help of the police, he should be able to figure out the address from that. He could have the cops here in twenty minutes.
But why should he? I had said it was urgent, not a matter of life or death. He'd wait half an hour and call again.
In half an hour I'd be dead.
Quarter to eleven. As the time grew nearer when Daniel would shoot me, so also did the chance that Lisa might not return until after his deadline. She might survive. Oh God, please let her survive.
Five to eleven.
Then I saw her. She must have come back along the path through the woods. She was approaching the house from the side, the side I was facing, but in a few seconds she would pass right in front of the big living room window, and Daniel couldn't fail to see her. Unless I distracted him.
I kept my eyes on Daniel, but through my peripheral vision I could see her getting closer and closer. She was smiling, trying to catch my attention: she couldn't see there was another person in the room yet.
When she was a couple of yards from the window, I made my move.
'I need that coffee,' I said.
Then deliberately, but not quickly enough to scare him, I stood up, and moved across the room towards the kitchen.
'I said stay where you are!' Daniel's eyes followed me.
I remembered that Daniel had shot both Frank and John in the back. Perhaps he was squeamish about shooting a friend face-to-face.
I walked on, slowly, my hands up in a calming gesture. 'OK. You can keep me covered. But I need that coffee.'
'Stay there, or I'll shoot!'
I could feel sweat breaking out all over me. He meant it. The bastard meant it.
Through the window, which Daniel was now turned away from, I could sense as much as see Lisa. I knew that the slightest flicker of my eyes towards her would cause Daniel to turn, and then we'd both be dead. I sensed she stopped. She saw Daniel, and then she ducked out of sight.
'OK, OK,' I said, and slowly moved back towards the chair.
'Simon. I'm going to kill you, you know that,' said Daniel. 'I don't want to do it quite yet, but I will if you give me no choice.'
I sat in the chair again to wait. I wondered what Lisa would do. Get the hell out of here, and call the cops, I hoped. I glanced at the old grandfather clock. Only two minutes to go. Too late for her to save me. But time for her to save herself and our child.
My own death, now just over a minute away, suddenly seemed very real. Of course I was frightened. But somehow, the knowledge that Lisa and the baby would survive gave me some strength. Strength enough to die.
Daniel, realizing that his self-imposed deadline was fast approaching, seemed to be steeling himself. He was tense, sweating. He didn't like doing this.
The clock struck eleven.
Daniel stood up. He licked his lips. The gun was held out in front of him, shaking.
'I guess she didn't come back,' he said.
'It doesn't look like it.'
I watched him calmly.
'Stand up!'
I stood up.
'Turn around.'
I didn't move. If I was going to die, it would be standing up, facing my assassin. I wasn't going to beg for mercy. Lisa had escaped. And our baby. And now I was going to die with simple honour. In these final moments of my life, that mattered to me.
'I said, turn around!'
Daniel almost screamed. I held his eyes. He wasn't enjoying this one bit, and I was glad.
Just then a car engine burst into life. I recognized the low growl of the Morgan's V8 engine. Lisa was going to get away! He couldn't stop her now.
'What's that? Lisa?'
I nodded and smiled.
Daniel licked his lips. 'Did she come back? Did she see me?' His voice rose in something close to panic. Outside, the car was put into gear.
'You bastard!' he said and raised his gun.
Outside the car engine revved and then slowed. Through the wooden walls of the house we could hear it growl and then explode, rushing towards us.
'What the fuck!' Daniel turned towards the wall of the living room. There was an almighty crash, and the house rocked. The wall erupted, and the dark green nose of the Morgan burst into the room. Wood flew everywhere, a chunk dealing Daniel a glancing blow.
I leaped.
He regained his balance and fired. I felt a sharp burn on my stomach, and was on him. He was thin and wiry, and fighting for his life. I was strong, and bigger than him, and fighting for mine. I grabbed the hand holding the revolver. Two more shots rang out, each smashing harmlessly into a wall. I beat his hand against the floor until he let go of the gun. I grabbed it, and belted him over the head with the butt. He slumped on to the floor.
I rushed over to the Morgan, which was half-in and half-out of the house. Steam was hissing out of the engine. The whole front of the car was concertinaed upwards. The windscreen was cracked but still intact. And behind the wheel was Lisa, motionless.
I was seized with panic. She was leaning back in the seat, a cut on her head bleeding heavily. She was still, her
