Stay Alive (13 page)

Kicking the stiletto well out of the way, Scope reached down and turned the killer over onto his back. He looked in a bad way. Two of the bullets had punctured his chest, the other had hit him in the belly, and there was blood dribbling down from his mouth. His eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and shock, but the most important thing was that he was still alive and conscious. Once again he tried to lift an arm, but Scope kicked it down again and pointed the gun between his eyes.

‘Why did you want to kill me?’ he demanded.

The killer started choking and rolled back onto his side, spitting out a thick glob of blood onto the floor, but Scope wasn’t about to show him any mercy, and he pulled him back round, this time pushing the suppressor into his cheek.

‘I asked you a question. Why did you want to kill me? Did someone pay you to hunt me down?’

The killer looked confused.

‘Answer me, you piece of shit. Were you paid to hunt me down?’

The killer gave a slight, almost imperceptible, shake of his head. ‘I don’t even know who you are,’ he managed to say, his words little more than a strained hiss.

Scope frowned, caught out by his answer. ‘You’re lying.’

‘No.’

‘Then why the hell are you here?’

But he never got a reply. The killer started to choke, and his whole body went into spasm. This time it was Scope who turned him on his side so that he could cough up the blood blocking his airways, but it was too late. After a couple of seconds, the coughing, like everything else, just stopped. Scope grabbed him by his jacket collar, lifting him up, wanting to glean any last bit of information that could tell him what was going on, but the guy was gone.

Scope let him go and stood back up, concentrating on steadying his breathing, as he came to terms with the cold, hard fact that violence had come knocking on his door once again, and he’d responded in kind. He’d never gained any real satisfaction from killing, even when those he killed deserved everything that was coming to them, and he felt none now. Jock’s murder might have been avenged, but it wasn’t going to help him or his family, and Scope just felt empty.

Empty and confused.

The man he’d just killed had had no idea who Scope was, and Scope was sure he hadn’t been lying. There’d have been no point when he was that close to death. And yet he’d obviously tortured Jock to make him call Scope to get him back to the office so that he too could be killed. It didn’t make sense.

He sighed. He was missing something here. And where were the family of canoeists? Jock had claimed on the phone that they’d cut short their trip, but he’d been under duress then, and there was no way they’d have just got out and abandoned their canoes. And yet they’d never arrived in Tayleigh either. Scope thought about this. According to Jock, they were an ordinary local family, so it seemed unlikely they’d be targeted by a professional killer, like the man he’d just killed. But if Scope wasn’t the target, and neither was Jock, then they had to be. And it seemed the killer was determined to cover up any trace of their journey, even going so far as to kill the people who’d hired them the canoes.

Scope needed to locate the family, especially as they had kids with them. There was a chance they were dead already, of course, but he couldn’t assume that. Once again he contemplated calling the police. But things had changed now. He’d killed a man and, regardless of whether the killing was justified or not, he’d still be arrested and questioned, maybe even charged with murder. And all the time that family were out there somewhere. The police would have more chance of finding them, of course, but resources up here were scarce and it would be hours before they could set up a full-scale operation, particularly as Scope had no actual evidence that anything bad had happened to them.

He checked the killer’s pistol. It was a Browning with a ten-round magazine, and there were four rounds left in it. Crouching down, he searched the dead man, trying hard not to think too much about what he was doing. For Scope, there were few grimmer experiences than running your hands over a dead body, especially when it was still warm. The killer had no ID on him, which was no surprise, and he was carrying a spare magazine in one of his pockets, but the magazine was empty, making Scope think he’d already used the gun today.

And then he found the satellite phone.

He remembered the guy he’d seen on the bridge. The scar-faced one, who’d looked out of place, who’d also had a satellite phone. There was no way this was a coincidence. Whatever was going on here, it was a lot bigger than he’d originally thought.

He pocketed the phone, knowing it could prove highly useful where there was no mobile reception and, after rummaging round until he found a small lock knife in one of the kitchen drawers, he left the room and walked back through the house, stopping only briefly next to Jock to say a last goodbye, before emerging into the cool night air.

He didn’t return to the minibus, though. Instead, he walked down to the storage shed and pulled out a one-man kayak. The canoeists, he was sure, had never left the river.

So that was where he’d start looking for them.

THEY’D BEEN WALKING
for a long time, hours probably; and now that darkness had almost fallen, and it was becoming harder to see where they were going, Jess’s unease was growing. She was trying incredibly hard not to think about what had happened that afternoon – the fact that she’d witnessed two murders, and almost died herself. Instead, she put all her concentration into encouraging Casey to keep going. Her sister was exhausted, freezing and terrified, but she hadn’t complained. Not once. She’d followed Jess because she believed Jess would protect her, and Jess would. She’d protect Casey with her life. No question.

The mystery woman, Amanda, had found a trail she recognized some time earlier (it was difficult to tell how long for sure, because the water from the river had made Jess’s watch stop), and it was now leading them up a hill. None of them had talked much during the journey, even though Jess was desperate to ask her why the men had been after her. But, for the moment, they were all too busy trying to save energy and put as much distance between themselves and the river as possible. Jess knew she was taking a chance by relying on Amanda to get them out of here, but for the moment she didn’t feel as if she had much choice, since she had no idea where they were, and at least Amanda did. While they stuck together, they had a chance.

Jess turned round and saw that Casey was beginning to lag behind. She was shivering, too, but still soldiering on without complaint. Jess had done everything she could to encourage her little sister, but she could see that Casey wasn’t going to be able to carry on for much longer.

‘How are you doing?’ asked Jess, slowing up to wait for her.

Casey managed a weak smile. ‘I’m really cold, Jess,’ she said, sounding so tired that Jess could barely hear her. ‘I don’t know how much more I can walk.’

‘We’ll stop soon, I promise.’ She turned to Amanda, who was still marching ahead. ‘How much further is it?’ she called out.

Amanda swung round quickly, and walked back to them. ‘Keep quiet for Christ’s sake,’ she hissed. ‘We don’t know who’s out here.’

‘Casey can’t keep going much longer,’ Jess hit back, looking the other woman in the eye to show she wasn’t intimidated. ‘She’s shattered, and she needs a change of clothes. So do I. I’m freezing.’

Amanda’s expression softened. ‘It’s still a good two hours to Tayleigh, but there’s a holiday home round here somewhere. I’ve passed it a couple of times on my walks. It’s always been empty—’

‘That doesn’t matter. We can always break in. How far is it?’

‘I’m not sure. I don’t know the area that well, and it’s hard to see where we are in the dark, but I’m pretty sure it’s off this trail. There’s a waterfall up here somewhere, and there’s a path near the top that leads down to it.’

They all stopped and listened, and Jess thought she could hear the sound of running water coming from further up the hill, but it might just have been the wind through the trees. She shivered and looked up at the sky where only a small piece of moon shone down through the thick canopy of trees, giving them just enough light to walk by.

‘Come on,’ said Amanda, starting off again. ‘We need to keep going. I don’t think it’s that far.’

Jess looked down at Casey, who was staring up at her forlornly. Even in the darkness, her big blue eyes gleamed with life. Jess gave a mock sigh and winked at her. ‘I’m going to carry you for a bit now, Case, but don’t get any ideas, okay? This is definitely a one-off.’

Casey’s face lit up and she fell into Jess’s arms. Jess hugged her tight, wanting to warm her up, then lifted her up like she had when Casey had been a little girl. Together they started after Amanda. It was hard work. Jess wasn’t as fit as she had once been. At school she’d been a promising middle-distance runner and had even competed for the local athletics club at 800 metres, but since she’d started sixth form and discovered boys, bars, and the fun of just hanging out and doing nothing, she’d let things go. Before today, the last time she’d run more than fifty yards was when she’d been late for the bus, and that had been a good three months back. But she was determined to help Casey, however exhausted it made her, and she trudged along in silence, forcing herself to imagine a nice warm fire and a cup of tea.

But the hill was getting steeper and, after only a few minutes, she was panting heavily. Casey had stopped talking, and her head was resting against Jess’s shoulder. Jess wondered if she was asleep and hoped she was. She’d faced far more today than a girl her age should ever have to face. The problem was that she was going to wake up very soon because Jess couldn’t keep going like this for much longer.

Up ahead, Amanda turned round and, seeing Jess struggling with Casey, she walked back to them. ‘I think the waterfall’s just up here,’ she whispered, seeing that Casey was asleep. ‘Look. Can you hear that stream there?’ She pointed into the thick wall of pine trees.

Jess listened, and now she could definitely hear running water.

‘It’s not that far now,’ continued Amanda. ‘Why don’t you let me carry her for a bit? You look exhausted.’

‘I don’t know,’ said Jess, reluctant to let Casey go. ‘I don’t know anything about you.’

‘I’m not a bad person, I promise.’

‘Then why are those men chasing you?’

Amanda shook her head wearily. ‘I really don’t know.’

‘They must have a reason.’

‘Well, I don’t know what it is. I promise.’

Jess wasn’t sure she liked Amanda, but the more she thought about it, the less she looked like a criminal on the run. She looked too well off, and her clothes were expensive. ‘Be careful with her,’ she said, a hardness in her tone. ‘She’s all I’ve got.’

‘Don’t worry, she’ll be okay. I’m not going anywhere without you.’ Amanda smiled a pretty smile that for some reason really annoyed Jess, but she handed Casey over, feeling a guilty sense of relief.

Taking her gently, Amanda continued climbing the hill, her pace not slowing at all, and Jess had to walk fast just to keep up with her. Jess wondered if she was some kind of political refugee or whistle-blower who held some big secret that could bring down a whole government, and had to be stopped before she blurted it out. But whatever it was she’d done, she wasn’t talking. So, for the moment at least, Jess had no choice but to accept her story.

The waterfall appeared out of the gloom. It was about the height of a big house, and pretty narrow, running down between two rocks before forming a round pool at the bottom that on a hot, sunny day would have been nice to swim in, but right now just made Jess feel cold. A set of steep wooden steps had been dug into the soil, each spaced several feet apart, and they led to the top. It was more of a climb than a walk, and Jess had to help Amanda with Casey as they made their way slowly upwards.

‘If I remember rightly, the path’s up here on the left somewhere,’ said Amanda, breathing more heavily now.

Jess was panting too, although she was pleased that Casey still appeared to be asleep. Amanda started up the path with renewed purpose and Jess felt a real rush of excitement. If they got to this house, they could call the police and this whole thing would be over. She could take Casey back to London with her, and they could be together again properly. It was awful about Jean and Tim, but Casey would get over it, with her help. There’d be practical issues, of course. Jess had no money and was living with temporary foster parents until her eighteenth birthday, but they could sort something out. She knew they could.

‘Here it is,’ announced Amanda, stopping between two pine trees just up ahead.

It didn’t look much like a path to Jess, and there were no lights in the distance that she could see, which tempered her excitement a little. ‘How far is it?’ she asked.

‘I can’t remember exactly, but not too far.’

‘Can you still manage Casey?’

‘For a bit longer, yes.’ She motioned for Jess to follow. ‘Come on.’

They walked in silence until the path became more obvious. Finally, Amanda broke the silence. ‘I’m sorry about your parents,’ she said.

‘They’re not – they weren’t – my parents,’ said Jess quietly, not wanting Casey to hear this conversation. ‘It was our aunt and uncle. Our parents are both dead.’

Amanda frowned. ‘I’m still sorry.’ She sighed. ‘I didn’t mean to get you involved.’

‘I know. It’s okay.’ And then, for some reason she couldn’t quite fathom, she added: ‘I’m adopted.’

‘I guessed that.’ She didn’t add anything but then she didn’t need to. Jess was mixed race, and quite clearly not Casey’s real sister.

‘My parents, the ones I called Mum and Dad, adopted me when I was seven.’

‘What happened to them?’

‘Dad had a heart attack two years ago. A massive one, while he was at work. Apparently, he died pretty much instantly. I don’t think Mum ever really got over it. They doted on each other, you know. It was almost sickly.’ Jess smiled at the memory of the two of them snuggling up together on the sofa, whispering and laughing in each other’s ears, then forced it aside, knowing there was no point languishing in a past that was never coming back. ‘Anyway, she got breast cancer last year. We thought she’d beaten it but it came back everywhere, and she died in June. That’s when Case came up here to live with Tim and Jean.’