Better the Devil

by Solomon Carter

  Twelve

  It was getting late in the day - heading for early evening. Eva was tired, her temples hurting, and her mind over-analysing all the angles for escape and more. Gerrard was cooking up something in the kitchen – a beef and potato dish of some kind and the rich beef and onion smell wafted through the house. So far it didn’t smell bad. He came into the sitting room with his styling all confused – big bare biceps, tight T-shirt and oven gloves on his hands. Somewhere deep inside, Eva laughed. Gerrard’s tough guy image was shot away and she somehow liked him for letting himself look ridiculous, but she wondered if he even knew. But Eva was too tense to laugh. The situation was a mess. “Can one of you give me a hand, or this is going to end up worse than breakfast?” Maggie didn’t respond. Of course she didn’t. Eva waited and kept quiet. A few seconds later Kendra threw her Lee Child novel to the floor and followed Gerrard out of the room. Eva saw her opportunity, took a deep breath and moved over to the table where Maggie was reading and drinking slowly from a small glass of wine. Maggie lowered the tablet and looked at Eva with a tilt of her head.

  “You look stressed. Yes… you look more stressed than I am.”

  Eva gave a thin smile. “There’s reasons for that. I had to wait for Kendra to leave until I could talk.”

  Maggie shifted in her chair and folded the leather wallet face over her tablet screen, giving Eva her full attention. She picked up her glass, and peered at Eva as she sipped. “I’m listening.”

  Eva hesitated, noticing the determined pull of Maggie’s eyes. She was doing that eyeball thing again. Trying to smoulder like a silver screen film idol. It just didn’t work well when you knew the woman was a psychotic. It made Eva feel dread but she pressed on.

  “You won’t like this, but here goes. Kendra is part of the plot to kill you.”

  Maggie froze, her eyes flared and she sat back, running a hand through her long dark hair.

  “I can assure you, Eva, that’s definitely not the case. I know it isn’t.”

  “How do you know? Because she tells you?”

  “Because…”

  “Because you are lovers?”

  “Maybe… that’s a part of it. Is it so obvious?”

  “Yes. You almost told me the other day. I thought you wanted it to be obvious.”

  Maggie smirked a little and drank her wine and gave a yes-no tilt of her head.

  “Are you sure about this, Eva, I mean… Kendra had ample opportunity earlier today if she wanted to hurt me.”

  “You mean when I was out, following Gerrard?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maggie, I got back early. Earlier than you think I did. I got back into the house before Gerrard got back.”

  “My, my. Aren’t you clever? And we locked the doors to buy ourselves some time…”

  “But not all the windows.”

  “What did you hear?” said Maggie, smiling at Eva in the just that way she didn’t like. In men they call it leery.

  “Not that kind of thing. I must have missed the performance.”

  “Are you sure? I wouldn’t have minded if…”

  Eva’s face hardened and she pulled back to make Maggie stop talking. “I heard Kendra leave the bedroom. I was on the stairs below. She didn’t see me.”

  “I wish I knew that at the time.”

  “Maggie, listen up and listen well. I heard Kendra make a phone call. She walked out of the room fresh from the shower in a towel. You went back into your room, do you recall? She made a phone call before she went back in to see you. She was advising the person on the other end of the phone about our plans, about our strengths and weaknesses, about what time a hit would be most successful. Maggie, Kendra even offered to carry the hit out herself… Do you get that? The reason she didn’t kill you when you were alone was that she didn’t have permission.”

  Maggie’s face grew dark and serious. Her eyes narrowed. She looked like she could blow at any second. Eva tensed, ready to defend herself.

  “That’s just insane.”

  Eva sat back in her chair and looked round to the sitting room door. There was clattering and chopping in the kitchen.

  “It’s what I heard and I know what I heard. What part of that is insane?”

  “We’ve been… together, for a while. Since before this all started with Brian and the witch in North London.”

  “How long did it start before the North London woman? You and Kendra I mean.”

  “A little while. Kendra was on site before then. I paid her a retainer… while I considered her.”

  Considered her. Like a philosophical theory. Like a dish on a restaurant menu – yes, that was more like it. Eva logged the information and moved on. It could be relevant, but time would tell.

  Eva looked up at an old unfashionable green clock which sat on the fireplace. The second hand ticked round faster than was necessary.

  “You need to wake up and listen to me now. Do you get it?”

  Eva’s phone buzzed, snapping her out of her plea to Maggie. Eva found that she was sitting on the very edge of her chair, close to Maggie. She drew back a little and scanned her phone. She read Jess’s text:

  Found someone who can help us. Someone good.

  Eva felt suddenly angry on top of everything else. What the hell had Jess done? What was she telling people? She checked the door and leaned back towards Maggie.

  “Maggie…”

  “Darling, I think you’re getting far too stressed. You’re getting paranoid. I can’t go doubting any of you. None of you. If I started doing that now, what would I do then? I’d get upset. And if I get upset, I’d have to act. If I had to act, it would be unpleasant. For everyone. You remember, don’t you? I can get... unpleasant.” Eva chose not to acknowledge the implicit threat in Maggie’s words.

  “Unpleasant? Against Kendra? Do you even know what she is capable of?”

  “Maybe, maybe not. But Kendra might not know what I am capable of. You may be the only one who does.”

  A chill crept up on Eva. She remembered the deadly stare and the ruthlessness of the vicious queen at Fenbrook Manor and in Hammersmith. Yes, the woman was glamorous, but she was also deadly and obnoxious too. Maybe Kendra was the one who had to fear. But so far, Eva still wasn’t sure Maggie was taking Kendra’s threat seriously.

  “You don’t believe me. If you want to survive you have to believe me.”

  “Like I said, Eva. If I believed you, I’d have to act. And if you were wrong, and I act… then who would I blame after that, eh? That wouldn’t be good now, would it?”

  The door clunked and creaked slowly in on its hinges. Kendra appeared holding a tray with two steaming plates of food on it. She stood stock still for a second, filling the doorway. She stared at Eva and Maggie. She saw their proximity. Eva knew it must have been all too clear that they had been talking. Eva drew away and Maggie relaxed gently into her chair.

  “We were just catching up on old times,” said Maggie, sipping her wine.

  “So I see,” said Kendra, her eyes turning towards Eva, her glare hardening. “I didn’t know your old times were worth talking about.”

  “Now, now, Kendra. Don’t get jealous,” said Maggie.

  Kendra hissed and shook her head at no one at all.

  Eva couldn’t smile this time. She was looking at a ruthless killer, one who intended to kill all of them. Eva’s dinner plate landed in front of her with an indelicate thud. She looked at the dark thick beef stew and the crushed potatoes and wondered maybe if it would kill her. Gerrard joined them and handed Kendra a plate. The blonde watched Eva now. Eva knew she had to hide her awareness of Kendra’s plans, but how? It was going to be near impossible to be neutral with a person who intended to kill you. Bypassing conversation, Eva plunged a fork into the potatoes and quickly stuffed them into her mouth and chewed.

  Maggie gave Eva smiling eyes but her mouth was fixed into a rigid lip glossed line. Maggie was thinking. The prospect gave Eva no reassurance whatsoever. If Maggie struck,
she could only save herself. And if Kendra struck, they’d all be killed. The situation was delicate, on a knife edge. The second hand whirred too quickly around the ugly green clock. Whatever time she had left – it was running out. Eva had one card left to play. Gerrard. Maybe he was her joker. Or maybe another executioner. She needed enough time to find out. Eva hoped she would get it.

  Thirteen

  Dessert was a microwave pudding like a cake which had been coated in grease and dipped in custard. Kendra looked at it once and pushed it away. “Wise move,” said Maggie, grinning. “It’ll go straight to your hips.”

  “It’s not my hips I’m worried about. It’s my taste buds.”

  Maggie laughed while Gerrard snorted in contempt. “I suppose you’ll be another one turning your nose up at my offering.” He said to Eva and he was spot on. Eva stabbed a spoon into the pudding and left it at that. There was work to be done, and tiredness after a heavy dinner was not going to help Eva stay alive. How bloody absurd this was, to be eating dinner like friends when the whole table was filled with hate, lust and murder. Eva wanted to lessen the tension just a little, so she could handle it, so she could focus on making it work.

  “What’s the plan for the evening?” asked Eva. It was a stupid question, but it filled the silence, and maybe it could draw out something unexpected.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I think I’ll stay in tonight,” said Maggie, laughing conspiratorially.

  Kendra laughed but it ended too quickly to sound real. Her face snapped into seriousness when she looked at Eva. “My plan is we wait here until it’s safe to leave. What’s yours detective?”

  “I’m still assessing the situation, Kendra, making my mind up what’s right and what’s wrong….”

  “There’s nothing wrong here apart from you.”

  “Hold it there, Kendra. Eva, do you want some wine? It will take the edge off.”

  Why offer her wine? Was it obvious that she had a problem? No. She didn’t really have a problem. The woman was just trying to help her out, or maybe soften her up again for an advance. Eva couldn’t tell these days. She had to remain on her guard and be vigilant, especially if Kendra was about to make her move. Gerrard appeared in the doorway holding his jacket.

  “I was going out to get some supplies for the morning, ladies. If I go now I can be back in half an hour.”

  “Half an hour?” said Maggie. She suddenly looked guarded and suspicious. Eva’s little chat seemed to have worked, but Maggie was misplacing.

  The sentiment was seconded by Kendra, who said nothing, but her face went slack and her eyes angry. She looked at Gerrard and her eyes jabbed at him. Eva watched every nuance. It was a good sign. Gerrard and Kendra were not on the same team. But there were other issues to consider. Splitting up right then was not a good idea. Leaving Kendra alone with the target would be a massive mistake. Eva waited until Gerrard had stood up and began to slide his jacket on. While the jacket blotted his face from view, Eva jerked her head towards him to get Maggie’s attention. She ignored Kendra the whole time.

  “I think we could all do with a break, don’t you? Why don’t we go with you?”

  The man looked down at her, his eyes wide and his lips smacking on the taste of pudding and custard. “Are you for real?”

  “Yeah, are you some kind of idiot?” was Kendra’s less subtle way of phrasing it. Eva smiled at both of them. “Yes… and no. I think we are all more vulnerable here than we realise. It’s only a matter of time until they find us, and then we’re in trouble. Wide open space all around this house, come on. You should understand this better than me, Kendra. If we stay here, we are all set to end up as prisoners in a siege.”

  “We covered that. Twice. It’s not going to happen…”

  “We talked about it. How is that covered, exactly?”

  “The woman who owns the property is known only to Maggie, remember…”

  “But there are people in this town, people who will know Brian Gillespie.”

  “But no one knows she’s here.”

  Eva turned and looked directly at Kendra. For a full two or three seconds they stared at one another. “And you fully believe that… that no one knows where we are?”

  Without flinching, Kendra nodded. “One hundred per cent.”

  Eva looked at Maggie. “Maggie. That tablet of yours.”

  Maggie was watching the standoff with fascination and thinly veiled amusement. “What about it?”

  “Does it have a SIM card in it? Like a mobile phone.”

  “Of course it does. How would I get internet in a bumpkin dump like this without it?”

  Eva stood up. Case closed your honour. “If a mobile phone’s location can be tracked through its signal and SIM then so can a tablet. It’s exactly the same thing. Maggie, there’s no point waiting here like a sitting duck. With our numbers we have just as good a chance of guarding outside on the move.”

  Kendra looked panicked, like her balloon had suddenly been popped and was deflating. She leaned across the table, cutting Eva out of the equation, and spoke to Maggie.

  “She’s nuts. She’s totally losing the plot, if she thinks you can be safe in the open. She can’t cope with the pressure, that’s plain to see. Let her go and have her break. The stress is getting to her. We can stay here and… chat.”

  Maggie looked back at Eva. Eva shook her head just once.

  “Keep out of it. This is none of your business,” said Kendra.

  “Maggie is my client, not you.”

  The woman shuffled around the table, and stood beside Maggie. Maggie was reading Eva’s face when Kendra appeared by her lover’s side to steal her attention. “Stay here. Let them both go. We’re safe, Maggie, I guarantee it.”

  Gerrard was looking impatient, shaking his head at what he probably understood as three women with cats claws exposed, tearing strips out of one another. He zipped his jacket. “I don’t need company. I don’t want company and I’ll be quicker by myself.”

  “No, Gerrard. Eva’s going with you,” said Maggie.

  Eva glared at Kendra. Kendra laid a proprietary hand on Maggie’s shoulder and let a thin triumphant smile appear on her face. She radiated with her victory. Gerrard opened the door into the cold and darkening evening. There was a stark choice to be made. Looking at Maggie one last time, unsure what to do, Eva appealed to Maggie silently. Maggie’s dark eyed gaze revealed nothing, but one last passing gesture gave Eva some hope. Maggie laid her own hand over Kendra’s, and slid it down away from her shoulder. The proprietary hand was gone. The signal - Kendra was not in charge. Maybe Maggie was in charge after all. Maybe she could have the better of Kendra… who knew. The gesture was enough to give Eva confidence enough to gamble. Just. She walked out into the cold blustery evening after Gerrard who was storming down the garden path towards the front gate alone.

  “We won’t be long, will we?”

  “If you turn back now you needn’t be long at all.”

  “You don’t understand yet, Gerrard.”

  “Understand what?” He turned back as the first fat raindrops streaked down through the air between them.

  “There’s much more going on than meets the eye here. We really need to talk.”

  Gerrard looked thoughtful before a faint smirk appeared on his bitter face. “Aye. We may need to do that.” Eva didn’t like that look at all, but she had enough to worry about already. She let it go and took a look back. And through the old netted curtains, in the golden-brown glow of the musty old sitting room, she saw their shapes. Kendra had reclaimed possession of Maggie’s shoulder. And this time the hand remained.

  “Come on, detective,” said Gerrard with the usual derision. Eva was past caring.

  “Okay. You’re right. We haven’t got much time.”

  He shook his head and stomped away. Eva followed him just as fast. She prayed that she had enough time to turn this situation round before Kendra struck. Gerrard moved into the road and left the gate swinging shut in front of Eva
. But bad manners were the least of her worries. She trailed after him, but then got indignant and ran up to his side. “I’m coming with you whether you like it or not.”

  “You know I don’t like it. I’ve got things to attend to.”

  “I know. Like you had things to attend to this afternoon.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Listen here. I don’t care what your agenda is, Gerrard. As long as killing Maggie isn’t part of it.”

  The man stopped and turned. He leaned into Eva’s space and bawled “Don’t you dare question my loyalty! She’s my own flesh and blood.” Eva wasn’t going to give in to another macho man bullying her. She’d seen every shade of macho idiot under the sun, and Gerrard fitted under more than one of those categories.

  “You don’t like listening, do you, Gerrard? If you’re loyal, there’s no problem. Whatever you’re going to do, we need to be quick. Quick as you can. I need to talk with you and then we get back and guard Maggie. She’s in danger.”

  “What the hell do you care?”

  Eva stammered. Why the hell did she care? That woman had tried to top her once, and if she hadn’t tried that she definitely would have tried something else… She’d taken on a job, and she was going to see it out. That was being professional. Then there was the money too. Yeah, the money. If only she hadn’t needed the damn money. But she didn’t want to talk about that.

  “Let’s go, Gerrard. We can talk on the way.”

  The rain started coming down harder, heavy bulbs of rain filling the air and crashing into the concrete to make a spray. “We’ll need a car. Come on.”

  Eva slid her key fob from her handbag and pressed the unlock button. Right beside Gerrard, the indicator lights on Eva’s red Alfa flashed. “Then we’ll go in mine.” Gerrard looked up at the rain, and didn’t complain. He got into the passenger side, and Eva ran around the other side in the rain. She started the engine and turned out into the street.