Music and Lies (George and Finn Book 1) (19 page)

We’d been so engrossed in this conversation we hadn’t heard anything. Now two men stood in the opening. They were wearing suits, so for a moment I thought this was the police back, CID or something, but when they closed the door behind them with a bang and one took something long and heavy out of his pocket I realised it was much worse than that.

Chapter Thirty-Five

FINN

‘You didn’t turn up,’ said the older of the two men. ‘You were told. Keep the thing safe, no questions asked. Bring it when you were summoned, no questions asked.’ He spoke to Marcus, ignoring George and me completely. His voice was low and ice-cold.

Marcus had straightened when he saw the men, but now he leaned back in his chair, pretending to relax. ‘Hi there. How did you get in?’

‘Easy. You thought you could stop us?’

Marcus raised his hands as though in surrender. ‘Don’t know why we ever bothered with that bloody barrier. Doesn’t keep anyone out.’

‘So,’ said the man with even more emphasis. ‘The rendezvous?’

Marcus cleared his throat. ‘Yes, well, sorry about that. I don’t know if you noticed but we’ve had a few little problems with the police around here …’

The younger man, who was fingering what looked like a black truncheon, flinched at the word ‘police’ but the other man didn’t react.

‘They weren’t interested in our little business,’ he said. ‘We know that. Now, where is it? I’ve been told to take it right now.’

Instead of answering, Marcus said coolly to George and me, ‘Okay you two, off you go. And I don’t want any more trouble. Is that clear?’

I nodded. Definitely best to get out of here, even if we didn’t go far. I pulled my coat over one shoulder and indicated with my head for George to follow. I thought the thugs might object – for thugs they definitely were, despite the sharp suits – but they hardly spared us a glance. Even before the door closed behind us they were back at Marcus, ‘Right, enough time-wasting ...’

‘You go back to the site,’ I said softly to George. ‘I’m going to scout around the back, see if I can hear anything.’

She shot me a filthy look and followed me around the side of the building. I gave in. I didn’t have time to waste on arguing.

We moved along the wall of the bothy until we reached a tiny deep-set window. If we leaned in towards the glass, we could make out some of what was being said inside.

Marcus was doing his best, I’ll give him that. He didn’t actually tell his visitors he hadn’t a clue where the painting was, for it was definitely the painting they were after. Marcus explained it had had to be ‘moved for safekeeping’ and he would ‘pass it over to them soon’. He sounded confident and believable, but it didn’t work.

First they started shouting, accusing him of double-dealing.

Then one of them hit him. I wasn’t sure if it was with a fist or the stick, but we heard a sickening thump and then a groan. I wanted to turn right round and go back in then, but it really wasn’t sensible. I gritted my teeth and carried on listening.

It seemed the men weren’t actually going to finish off Marcus now. That blow was just a taster. They said they’d give him until midnight to produce the goods. And, to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid, they had his little brother ‘somewhere safe’, to be returned when ‘the goods’ were handed over.

Marcus sounded worried for the first time, protesting in a torrent of abuse, but they ignored him. ‘Same place, tonight, midnight. And you better be there. No argument.’

There was the sound of another thump, and a curse, then they left.

‘They’ve got Cami,’ George breathed, her eyes wide in her pale face. She stared around at the trees that crowded in here. ‘We’ve got to find him, they can’t have taken him far …’

I shook my head. ‘No point. They’ll have vehicles. I’d guess from what they said he’s already off site.’

‘No ...’

‘Hush.’ I put a hand on her arm.

We waited another moment until the footsteps had died away and we hurried back inside to Marcus. He was nursing his ribs, but didn’t seem too badly hurt.

‘Not good,’ I said, watching him, trying to work out what he was thinking. ‘What are we going to do?’

‘You’ve got to go to the police.’ That was George of course. She really had no idea.

Neither of us even bothered to answer her.

‘We get the painting to them, then they give us Cami. That’s the only option,’ said Marcus. ‘And we can’t do a thing till the pigs clear off. I’ll set up some look-outs, find out when the coast is clear. Then I’ll organise a search. There are still one or two people around here I can trust.’ He sighed heavily, then winced. ‘But I don’t want you two involved, okay? You stay around the site.’ He glared at us, looking dark and gypsy-like.

‘We want to help,’ George blurted out.

‘I’ve got enough to worry about with Cami. Just leave it, okay?’

I opened my mouth, then hesitated, and finally shrugged. ‘Fine.’

Marcus frowned, obviously expecting more of an argument. Then he decided to accept what I said. ‘Right, off you go. I need to hurry. Those bastards have got my brother.’

I hurried George from the building. There wasn’t much time and I had to make sure she was safe first. I’d promised her dad. ‘Come on, let’s go and see what bands are playing.’

She looked gobsmacked, as though she’d forgotten all about them, which she probably had.

I pressed my advantage. ‘Come on, it’s not yet seven o’clock. Murdo Mensah won’t have started.’

‘What’s going on?’ she said, totally ignoring the bait. ‘Who exactly is it that’s got Cami?’

I set off down the path back to the site.

‘Do you think they’ll hurt him?’ she said, not giving up.

‘You know as much as I do.’

‘Hardly. Who were those men?’

‘Presumably the ones who stole the painting, or their people.’

‘But how did Marcus get involved in it?’

‘I don’t know, do I?’ I sighed. They must have some kind of hold over him, although I could only guess what. Maybe something from when he’d been inside. We paused as we reached the end of the path and looked out over the tents and grass of the festival proper. ‘He’s got some strange friends has Marcus.’

I looked around carefully, checking the slopes as well as the site area and the track leading up to the metal barrier. Nothing out of the ordinary. The atmosphere among the festival crowd seemed to have improved. It wasn’t quite back to normal but it was busier than an hour ago. People were wandering around, eating and drinking. Music could be heard from at least three of the stages.

‘Let’s go and see who’s playing,’ I said, and then, when she was about to argue, ‘Just play it cool for now, okay?’ That seemed to shut her up, for the moment at least.

It would have been really fun to spend the evening with her, worrying about nothing at all. But I couldn’t, could I?

Chapter Thirty-Six

GEORGE

I allowed Finn to lead the way back into the crowd. We edged towards the main stage, standing on the fringe of the audience. Beatrice Graham waved to me, but I ignored her. She was probably only interested in me bringing Finn across. A band was being introduced as a ‘psychedelic sound extravaganza’, whatever that meant.

After twenty minutes or so, when I was finally beginning to relax, Finn put his arm around me. My heart gave a tiny leap and I leaned in closer. Yes! This was more like it. I hoped Beatrice was paying attention. I’d been standing so near him we almost touched, but not quite, because he was looking preoccupied. Now I looped my arm around his waist and held him, warm and strong and close. We stood like that for a while, and I hardly heard the band at all.

I was here, with Finn, who I really really liked, and who seemed to like me a little bit at least. Just for a while I wasn’t going to think about anything else.

Then he lowered his head and said softly, ‘I’m off away for a bit. Make sure you stay where there are other people. I know Dex is gone but best not to take any chances.’

‘Hey! What’s going on? You can’t leave me.’

‘I’m going up the hill,’ said Finn quietly. ‘The police should be away by now. Marcus’s people don’t know where to look for the guitar. I do, more or less. There was no point in arguing with Marcus, I’m just going to do it. We need to make sure we get the picture back so Cami is safe.’

I should have realised he wouldn’t forget Cami, even for a moment. Finn was the one who looked after everyone. He hadn’t bothered arguing, he just bided his time and then did what he wanted.

Which was pretty annoying. Why couldn’t he discuss it with me? ‘You can’t go on your own!’ I thought of the heavies who had beaten up Marcus. They or their accomplices might be hanging around out there, waiting to see where people went.

He touched my face gently. ‘I’ll be fine. You stay here, like I said. I promised your dad you wouldn’t do anything stupid. Get yourself something to eat, keep in the crowds. I’ll be back as soon as I can. You don’t want to miss Murdo Mensah.’ He kissed my lips, gently. It was like a goodbye.

I sighed and made my decision. As he stepped back I tucked my arm through his. ‘Actually, you promised Dad you’d keep an eye on me. So you’re not leaving me behind now. Don’t even think of it.’

He tried to pull away, but I hung on tight. He couldn’t do much without attracting attention, so he towed me along beside him, out through one of the gates beside the river.

‘It’d be better if you stayed here,’ he hissed.

‘No it wouldn’t. If you won’t let me come with you now I’ll just follow.’

Now it was his turn to let out a long huff of frustration. He began to walk more quickly, but I managed to keep up. He was taking us away from the bridge, which I supposed was far too public, and after a few minutes we approached the river through a clump of willowherb.

‘How are we going to cross?’ I said.

‘
I’m
going to wade across. It’s the only way.
You’re
going to stay here. You don’t need to get wet.’

As if that was a consideration.

I jumped down the banking after him, through the remnants of last year’s thistles and other dead stuff, and eyed the water in the half-light. It wasn’t particularly deep, there’d been no heavy rain in the last day or so, but it looked fast-flowing and cold.

Finn bent to roll up his trousers and then strode across without another word. I think he hoped that I would chicken out but no way was I being left behind. There was no point pulling my skinny jeans up. I stepped in after him just as I was.

The water was icy and the river bed slippery with loose stones and mud. I staggered and almost fell which would have been bloody brilliant, but I managed to right myself. Finn had stopped on the far bank and waited for me. Yes! He’d accepted my presence. He helped me up the steeper slope with a brief, ‘For God’s sake, keep quiet.’

I tried my best. At first I was shivering with the shock of the water, but once we started gaining height, weaving through the trees on a path of Finn’s choosing, I warmed up pretty quickly. I struggled to keep pace and I thought for a moment he was doing it on purpose to leave me behind. Fortunately he seemed to think that wouldn’t be a good idea, me out here on my own, because he eventually slowed to a more reasonable speed.

‘How do you know the police aren’t still there?’ I murmured when we paused for me to catch my breath.

‘I don’t know for sure. That’s why we’re going this way.’

After that I saved my energy for the climb. I wasn’t that worried about the police. I still thought it would be a good thing if they did find the painting. It should go back to its rightful owners. But then there was Cami. That would put him in danger, at least that was what Marcus and Finn seemed to think.

The mist, which had been so thick earlier on, had cleared now but the night was cool with a breeze which made the trees bend and shudder. That was useful for us, it gave us some cover, but it also meant we couldn’t hear what was going on ahead.

Once we neared the track where the police cars had been parked a few hours earlier, Finn motioned for me to wait in the trees while he checked out ahead.

After a while he beckoned me on. He was hard to see in his dark clothing but I could just about make out his movements.

‘Seems all clear,’ he breathed. Then he frowned. ‘If there’s anyone around they’ll see your hair for miles. Here, put this on.’ He pulled his black beanie from a pocket and thrust it at me. I shoved my curls up underneath it and hurried after him.

I was glad I was with Finn. I wouldn’t have had a clue how to find the little tumbledown building again, especially in the gathering gloom, but he moved quietly and confidently up the hill, pausing every so often to listen. Once we were above the bramble-covered building he gestured around.

‘From here on your guess is as good as mine. Cami can’t have hidden it very far away. We’ll just have to look.’

‘Can’t we use our phone torches?’

He looked around, still wary. ‘Better not. Let’s look without first.’ I wasn’t sure who he was worried about – the police, or Marcus’s employees, or the men who had Cami. He was certainly worried about something, and that made me nervous too.

‘Okay, let’s get started.’

We split up and began to move slowly through the undergrowth. The trees were fairly well spaced out, with bracken, grass and brambles growing between them. There were also fallen branches from the last time trees were felled, lurking underfoot ready to twist an ankle if you weren’t paying attention.

It was slow going, and Finn was keen to cover every inch of ground. I wasn’t sure why. The guitar case was brown, which would make it hard to see in this light, but it was also pretty big, and not exactly a natural shape. Surely it should stick out a mile?

But it didn’t. We looked behind trees and under bracken, searched for loose branches that might have been used by Cami in a hasty attempt to hide it, but all to no avail.

‘He can’t have gone further than this,’ said Finn, when we had covered a wide arc of over fifty metres above the building. ‘He didn’t have time.’

‘Could someone already have found it?’ I asked. It seemed like the only explanation. ‘The police might have done a sweep of the area once they’d emptied the store.’

‘They might. But I think we would have heard if they’d found something.’ Finn’s tone was puzzled. He moved his head from side to side, eyes narrowed.

I wished I could see him properly. I wished we weren’t involved in this stupid search and I had his attention on me, for once. Tomorrow I was supposed to go home, and who knew when I would see him again?

‘Finn,’ I said.

‘Yeah?’

‘Will we …’ Then I stopped. Something had caught my eye, something higher up, behind him.

I started running up the slope, forgetting to be quiet. ‘I saw something!’

Finn was after me in a flash, now looking upwards as well, instead of down. And sure enough, there was the guitar, wedged up high among the branches of a strange, prickly tree. Most of the pines had had their lower branches trimmed away, but here were a clump of something different, much bushier, still with their needles on, and a pretty brilliant hiding place to find at short notice. Cami had done well to get it as high as he had, but Finn could reach it easily.

‘Thank God,’ he said fervently, gently freeing the case and swinging it down into his arms. ‘Right, now let’s get out of …’

But we both heard it at the same time.

Footsteps, and the murmur of men’s voices, coming quickly up the slope below us.

This wasn’t like being with Cami earlier in the day. Cami had been nearly as clueless as I was. Finn moved quickly and with absolute decisiveness.

He passed the guitar to me and lifted me up, apparently effortlessly. ‘Put it back where it was. Higher, if you can.’

I did as he said because I was too stunned to do anything else. It was tricky manoeuvring the leather case in between the spiky branches, but I managed it.

‘Okay, done,’ I whispered.

Immediately he released me and I slid down. I would have lost my footing if Finn hadn’t kept his arms around me. And then, instead of running as I’d expected, he took a few steps and then pulled me over to lie on the pine needles.

‘What …?’ I hissed. ‘Who …?’

‘Not sure. That’s why …’ and then he closed the tiny distance between us and kissed me.

I’d wanted to kiss him often enough, but I hadn’t expected it to be like this. Not lying on the damp, uneven ground with strange men running towards us. It wasn’t exactly romantic, but all the same I felt a shiver run through me as his soft lips touched mine. This was Finn, and, despite the circumstance, it was kind of – amazing.

I only hesitated for a second before kissing him back, using the hand that wasn’t pinned beneath me to reach out and pull him closer still. This might be my only chance to kiss him and I wasn’t going to waste it!