‘Sydney, stop, please.’ Like last time, he dropped his hands immediately. He was clearly used to acting on instructions. He stared solemnly at the floor.
‘I didn’t know how to say no to Aiden. Even if I had, I knew he’d do it anyway and I couldn’t stand the thought of you being hurt. But I can’t keep him in there for ever. And I know I hit him too hard because he was knocked out for ages.’ Lurch let out a sob. ‘He’s going to kill me. Worse, he’s never going to speak to me again. What am I going to do, Maya?’
Wretchedly, Lurch sunk to his haunches and wrapped his arms around himself. He buried his face between his legs and sobbed noisily. He looked so pitiful; Maya couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Whatever Lurch may have done in the past, Maya was confident he had not acted with any deliberate criminal intent. He had clearly been following orders.
She strongly suspected he didn’t have the mental capacity to know the difference between right and wrong. He had been used and manipulated by Donnelly and Nowak. He had spent his whole life being told what to do by other people. He was lost now he had no one ordering him about. He had come to her in the hope she would tell him what to do.
‘Sydney,’ she said carefully. ‘What’s upsetting you the most?’
He wiped a hand across his face, smearing tears and snot like a child. ‘The fact I’ve hurt Aiden. I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore. I’ve done some bad things over the years, Maya. Really bad. I don’t like it. I want to be a good person. I want to be the type of person that someone like you would want to be with.’ He blushed again and gave her a shy smile. ‘I know I scare people. I know I scare you.’
Maya stood carefully and walked towards Lurch, then, sinking to the floor, she sat cross-legged facing him. ‘I’m not scared now I’ve got to know you.’ She smiled reassuringly. ‘You’ve asked me to help you and I will. First of all…’
Her mobile rang, cutting her off mid-sentence. She glanced at Lurch who nodded at her to answer it. It was Ewan. Her eyes widened with shock as she listened to him. Her hands shook as she ended the call and her mouth hung open in disbelief.
Lurch frowned with concern. ‘Are you okay, Maya?’
She shook her head imperceptibly before pulling herself together. ‘Sydney, I need you to tell me where Aiden Donnelly is. I need to get to him.’
Lurch shook his head frantically. ‘No, you can’t go. If he gets out, he’ll hurt you. Really hurt you.’
‘I need to go. He’s not safe there. I think somebody else might know where he is. And they’re going to kill him.’
79
Aiden’s eyes widened with incredulity at the sight of the gun. ‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’
‘Something someone should have done a long time ago. Putting you down like the rabid animal you are.’
‘Have you forgotten who you’re talking too? You’ve not got the balls. Fair enough, you’ve got this far. Let me go now and I might be prepared to forget about it.’ His bluster was starting to wane now. As incredulous as the sight in front of him was, even he couldn’t help feeling anxious when a gun was pointing in his direction.
‘I’d like to take the credit for chaining you up like that, but it wasn’t me, I’m afraid. I’d have left you to starve.’
‘Then who?’
‘Your good friend Lurch.’
‘Lurch? Fuck off. He’s as loyal as a dog.’
‘Seems you misjudged him. I’ve been watching. He’s been coming and going, bringing you your little food parcels.’
‘Bollocks,’ Aiden spat with contempt at the floor. ‘Why would Lurch do this?’ He indicated his head to the squalor he was in.
‘I’ve not worked that out yet. It looks like you’ll have to die not knowing. Lurch is going to have a nasty shock next time he visits.’
‘Tell me what this is really about. It’s money, isn’t it?’ He sat up eagerly. ‘That’s what you want. It’s what you lot always want.’
‘And if I say yes, how much will you give me?’
‘Whatever you want.’ He was aware of the desperation in his voice and tried to shrug it off. ‘Within reason. Obviously. Just fucking untie me, okay?’
‘Manners?’
‘Please,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘Look, just tell me what it is you want. How much?’
‘I don’t want your fucking money. I want you dead.’
‘So, what? You’re just going to shoot me? Just like that? You?’ He shook his head incredulously. As unbelievable as the situation was, he was scared now. Very scared.
‘Yes, Mr Donnelly, I am. But it’s not going to be quick. And it’s certainly not going to be painless…’
80
Despite Lurch’s concern for Maya, the thought of Donnelly being in danger was all the persuasion he needed to give her the location of the lock-up. She looked the address up on Google Maps and was relieved to discover it wasn’t too far away. She could make it there in fifteen minutes.
Lurch was hovering in the middle of the room looking more vacant and lost than ever. ‘Will Aiden be okay?’
‘I hope so. I’m going to go now and do whatever I can to help him.’
Lurch nodded his thanks. Maya chose her next words carefully. ‘Sydney, whatever happens with Aiden, you know the police are going to come. Because of… things that he and Nowak have done. Because of the things they’ve asked you to do.’
Lurch nodded solemnly, his face a mask of pain and contrition.
‘I probably shouldn’t even say this. But you asked me to help you.’ She took a deep breath. ‘You need to
