Bonnie heaves the first bag back off the belt. Better to be early than late, though, isn’t it?
“I’ll sit in Costa for a bit, thank you,” says Bonnie.
“Probably cost you as much as the flight,” laughs the clerk.
“I know,” says Bonnie, now swinging the heavy holdall back down to the floor. “Who has that kind of money?”
83
Amy is curled up in the boot of Gary Gough’s Land Rover.
He has kindly agreed to drive her all the way to London. As it happens, he needs to be there for a lunch with an amphetamine dealer from Liverpool anyway, so he promises it is no inconvenience.
There are police officers all over Axley and the surrounding villages looking for her. That’s why she’s in the boot. An officer had even knocked at Gary Gough’s door last night, and Gary had pointed to the name of his house, carved into a beautiful New Forest log. Amy hadn’t noticed before that Gary Gough’s house is called No Comment.
She could probably have got out of the boot by now, as they speed up the M3, but it is comfortable and comforting. Gary had sent her a text message from the front seat asking if she was okay, and she had texted back a “thumbs-up” and a “Zzz,” so he’d left her in peace.
She feels bad sending Steve and Rosie on their own to Dubai, but she has no choice but to lie low. Whatever “evidence” has appeared at the scenes of the three crimes will, no doubt, be very bad for her. Her only hope is that they can discover who François Loubet is, and stop him.
She also feels nervous that Steve and Rosie are in Dubai together. Who knows what the two of them will do without what she considers to be her calming presence?
Gary is going to drop her in the underground car park of Maximum Impact, where she will spend the night. Tomorrow, she and Jeff are going to go through the François Loubet files with a magnifying glass to help the cause. Neither of them is great with files, but that’s their only option for now.
In the boot Amy finds a metal case, and inside the case there are two handguns. She texts Gary and asks if she can take one. He replies with a thumbs-up and a gun emoji.
She always feels safer with two guns.
There’s another thing she’s worrying about.
Steve is staying with Adam at the villa. You could tell they were both sort of mortified when they realized it would be just the two of them there. Rosie was about to offer Steve a room in her hotel, but Amy hushed her.
It will do Steve and Adam some good, spending time with each other. Father and son. It’s healthy. But Amy can’t help wondering what they’ll be talking about. They both talk about Debbie with Amy, but never with each other.
As Amy feels the car slow from the speed of the motorway to the crawl of London, she hopes they are talking about Debbie now.
84
“Flew over on Tuesday, yeah,” says Adam.
Steve nods. “Got the plane, yeah?”
“Got the plane,” confirms Adam.
“Best thing,” says Steve. “Be a long time in a boat.”
“Long time,” agrees Adam.
When was the last time Steve and his son had chatted without somebody else in the room? Even at Christmas, if Amy pops into the kitchen to make a cuppa, Adam will say, “Let me help you.” And if he doesn’t say, “Let me help you,” Steve will say it instead. Anything but being stuck together.
“You know where the loo is?” Adam asks. “If you need it?”
“Hallway,” says Steve. “Clocked it on the way in.”
Adam nods, and sips his tea again.
What did they used to talk about? Dinosaurs, when Adam was very young, but conversation has been limited since then. Two awkward men on either side of a canyon of silence.
Steve tries something.
“How’s the flush?” he says. “Good water pressure?”
“Dad,” says Adam, “we could talk about the murders, you know?”
“Well, uh, okay,” says Steve. “I didn’t know if you’d be interested?”
“I’m interested,” says Adam. “I don’t go to prisons in Dubai to visit dead women very often.”
“They’re trying to kill Amy,” says Steve.
“I mean, that’s another reason why I’m interested,” says Adam. “Do you know who?”
“A man called Rob Kenna, hired by a man called François Loubet.”
“And they’re in Dubai?”
“Kenna is for sure,” says Steve. “That’s why I popped into the golf club on the way here. Kenna was sitting at the bar wearing sunglasses indoors. He’s a DJ.”
“A DJ’s trying to kill Amy? She must hate that. Did you speak to him?”
