She scanned the street carefully as she parked in her spot outside the cottage, just in case the police were keeping an eye on the place. She might have dumped the hijab disguise but she was still carrying Ray’s fake IDs, which were taped under the front passenger seat of the Focus, and if she was caught with them she’d have some serious questions to answer.
She left them where they were and got out of the car with a bag carrying the milk and sugar for Mrs West. It felt strange knowing that Ray was inside the cottage, only feet away from her, and yet here she was doing everything possible to avoid him. Him leaving was for the best, she kept telling herself. And the sooner he went the easier it would be for them both.
She knocked on Mrs West’s door, and when there was no answer, she looked in the front window. The living room and kitchen were empty and the French windows to the garden were open. She was probably out back somewhere, although there was a distinct chill in the air now, and if she wasn’t feeling too good, the garden wouldn’t be the best place for her.
Mrs West had only once been ill in the nine years they’d lived next door to each other, and even then she’d tried to make as little fuss as possible and Tina had had to insist on doing things for her, so the timing of this latest call, with everything else that was going on, had rung a small alarm bell.
Tina tried the handle. The door was open. Feeling just a little bit wary she stepped slowly inside, shutting the door gently behind her but leaving it on the latch.
‘Hello, Mrs West,’ she called out. ‘I’ve got your stuff.’
There was a pause, then a weak voice called out: ‘I’m up here, love.’
Tina relaxed a little, putting the milk in the fridge and the sugar on the side.
‘Do you need anything?’ she called out as she climbed the stairs. ‘A cup of tea or anything like that?’
She opened Mrs West’s bedroom door, and the moment she walked in she realized she’d made a big mistake.
Mrs West was sitting up on her bed, fully clothed, while standing off to one side near the window was the woman Tina had shot at the previous night. She was wearing a black balaclava but Tina knew who it was by the long black hair poking out of the bottom. She was holding the same gun as well, a pistol with a suppressor attached, which was now pointed at Tina. This, then, was The Wraith, the professional assassin who’d come so close to killing Ray on two occasions.
‘Come on in, so I can see you,’ The Wraith said, her accent a curious mixture of South African and American.
Tina knew she was already too far inside the door to escape without risking getting shot, so she stepped further inside, trying hard to keep calm.
‘I’m sorry, Tina,’ said Mrs West. ‘I didn’t mean to—’
‘It’s OK, Mrs West,’ said Tina, giving her a reassuring smile. ‘It’ll all be fine, I promise.’
‘Get round the other side of the bed, away from the door,’ The Wraith demanded.
Tina did as she was told. It was a small room, very similar to her own, and she had to pass close to the woman as she walked round the front of the bed to get to the other side. She didn’t try anything though. The woman’s gun hand was steady and it was clear from all Tina had heard that she’d had a lot of practice at killing.
‘What do you want?’ Tina asked, retreating until she was standing against the wall, only a few feet from Mrs West.
‘Ray Mason,’ said The Wraith emphatically, still keeping her position by the window where she could see across Mrs West’s and Tina’s back gardens. ‘I don’t want to have to kill either of you, which is why I’m wearing this mask.’
‘I don’t know where he is.’
‘Of course you do. It was you last night, wasn’t it? The one who shot at me. And don’t bother to deny it.’
Tina thought fast. If she lied too much, she risked either her or Mrs West getting hurt. She had no idea how this woman had got to her but she was clearly not to be trifled with.
‘You’re hesitating. I don’t like that.’
‘Yes, it was me,’ she said. ‘I was trying to save his life.’
‘I don’t take it personally. It was business. Just like this is.’ She paused. ‘Where’s Mason now? And please don’t lie.’
‘I don’t know,’ said Tina instinctively.
Two shots rang out, their sounds muffled to a loud pop by the suppressor, and Mrs West let out a strangled gasp and fell backwards on the bed, her head hitting the wall. As Tina watched, horrified, Mrs West’s eyes closed and her body went limp. There were two smoking holes in the middle of her chest.
For a long moment the room was silent. Then Tina spoke, anger overtaking her fear. ‘You bitch. She was an old lady.’
‘She didn’t have long to live,’ said The Wraith evenly. ‘I could smell it on her. I just helped her on her way. But the point is, you’ve got to stop lying, or you’re next. So I ask again, where’s Ray Mason?’
Tina had stared down gun barrels before, but she didn’t think she’d ever faced an adversary as cold-blooded as this. It was the casualness with which she’d murdered Mrs West, as if she was doing nothing more than swatting a fly. She knew now that a wrong answer could be fatal.
‘When I left him earlier he was in my house. I think he’s still there now.’
The Wraith nodded. ‘Good answer, because I think he is too. I heard the toilet flush on the other
