When Nick left to buy breakfast, I used the time to take a shower. As expected, my hand-washed underwear reeked of the flowery scented gel. My jeans felt like cardboard as I wedged my legs inside. A couple of damp patches persisted, but I figured they would dry quickly as I wore them.
I had just finished towelling my hair when Nick returned carrying a paper bag. “Two sausage, bacon and egg rolls coming up,” he announced, reaching in and handing me a greasy package. “Eat up because we’re moving on today.”
I stopped in mid-bite. “What?”
Nick spoke through a mouthful of food. “We’re leaving. Soon.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you reserved the room for two nights.”
“That’s right. But it doesn’t mean we have to stay for the whole duration. When you mentioned holiday rentals yesterday, that got me thinking. I’ve booked a place for a few days through Airbnb. It’s cheaper than here, and we aren’t likely to be disturbed either. We’ll go after we’ve eaten.”
“Is that what you were doing on the phone last night?”
Nick lowered the hand holding his greasy meal. He fixed me with a hard stare. After a pause of a few seconds, he spoke. “That’s right, but I didn’t know you were spying on me.”
“I ... I wasn’t. When I looked out of the window, I saw the light from the screen.”
His eyes narrowed. “It’s not part of the job description to tell you everything I’m doing. Somebody is paying me a lot of money to keep you alive, so I suggest you let me fulfil the contract how I see fit.”
“Of course,” I said, sheepishly. “Whatever you say.”
I finished the food in silence, trying not to think too much about the damage it was doing to my coronary arteries. Nick told me to wear the hoodie and the sunglasses then performed a quick sweep of the room.
He hefted the small rucksack onto his back and headed to the door. “Have you got everything?”
The only possessions I had brought with me other than the clothes I stood in were inside the laptop carry case. I raised the bag. “Everything’s packed.”
“Are you going to be able to walk okay?”
My calf still ached badly, sending shooting pains up my leg whenever I placed my weight on it. “I’ll manage,” I replied, “just don’t ask me to run.”
Nick strode along the corridor as I hobbled behind. When he reached the sign pointing to the reception area, he stopped and turned back to me. “Remember, the camera is above the desk. Keep your head facing away. You go first.”
I was about to push my way through the swing doors when I spotted two people through the small square window. They had their backs to me and were deep in discussion with the receptionist. They looked vaguely familiar from behind, but initially, I didn’t recognise them. One of them turned, removed a photograph from his jacket and showed it to the woman. The breath caught in my throat. Standing in the reception area were the two policemen who had searched my house.
I stepped back from the door, bumping into Nick. He threw me a puzzled look.
“It’s the police,” I hissed, “the ones who planted the stuff on my computer.”
“Shit,” he muttered, his head swivelling as he scanned our location. “How the hell did they find us?” The corridor was symmetrical, extending forty yards in both directions through a pair of fire doors halfway along the length. If the two policemen came through from reception now, whichever route we took, they would see us.
“Quick, this way,” he said, placing his shoulder beneath my right arm, the side of my injured calf. He dragged me in the opposite direction from our room. At any moment I expected a shout from behind. We barged through the swing doors.
Instead of continuing, he released his hold. “Keep going to the end and wait there.”
I limped along the corridor, casting anxious backward glances every few paces. Nick crouched by the glass window with his back to me. Eventually, I made it to my objective. A green sign read, Fire door. Push bar to open.
Nick remained in position. One minute turned into two. After what seemed like an age, he rose to his full height and jogged towards me.
“They’re heading to our room,” he said when he reached me.
“How did they track us down?” I asked.
“I’ve no idea. Now, no more questions, I need to think.”
His gaze ran around the periphery of the emergency exit. “As I expected, the door’s got sensors,” he muttered. “If we open it, the receptionist will know straight away.”
“What are we going to do?”
Nick snapped his attention back to me. “I told you to shut up. Keep quiet and do as I say.”
I raised my eyebrows but said nothing. It seemed he had reverted to parade-ground-sergeant-major mode. He paced backwards and forwards several times before apparently coming to a decision.
“Wait here.” Turning away, he jogged along the corridor, retracing his steps. When he reached the swing doors, he peered through the window then eased his way through. I adjusted my position to see what he was doing, but as they swung closed, only a thin parcel of light remained. Seconds later, Nick reappeared. He beckoned for me to come closer.
When I eventually arrived, he shook his head. “Jesus, can’t you move any faster?” Before I could reply, he continued. “They’re still in there. I’m going to go through first and bring the car around to the main entrance. Have you got a watch?”
I raised my left wrist.
“Right, give it thirty seconds then follow me out. Don’t approach the door until it’s time. Like I said before, keep your head turned away from the camera. As soon as you’re outside, move straight to the car and get in. Is that clear?”
I nodded. As Nick entered the reception area, I glanced at the analogue dial of my watch. The second hand seemed to creep around far too slowly. Had it stopped working correctly? I forced myself to breathe deeply. When the time was up, I pushed myself away from the wall and shoved my way through the swing doors.
“Good morning, sir,” the female receptionist called. “Have a great day.”
I hobbled towards the exit without replying, acutely aware of her eyes burning into me like a pair of lasers. As I emerged, the sudden brightness caused me to blink despite the sunglasses. I didn’t have time to examine my surroundings before Nick’s red Ford Focus drew up alongside me. He leaned over and shoved open the door for me.
I sank into the passenger seat with a sigh.
“Let’s get out of here,” Nick said, depressing the accelerator before I had even fastened my seatbelt.
I pulled the strap across and clicked it home as the car surged out onto the main road.
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath. “That was close.”
Chapter 29
I turned around in my seat, trying to see if there was any sign of pursuit.
“Face the front,” Nick snapped, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror.
We drove in silence for several minutes. Finally, his grip on the steering wheel relaxed. “I’m fairly certain they aren’t following us.”
“How do you think they found us?”
Nick frowned. “That’s a very good question.”
“They didn’t track your phone, did they?”
A small vein pulsed at his left temple, and his jaw muscles contracted rhythmically. When he spoke, his voice trembled with suppressed anger. “If there’s any doubt in your mind that you’d have a better chance of survival without me, I’ll drop you off somewhere this very minute and sod the money.”
The ticking of the indicator suddenly sounded incredibly loud within the confines of the small car.
“Well?” he said, flashing a quick glance in my direction. “What’s it to be?”
“You’re the expert,” I replied in a quiet tone, staring straight ahead.
“That’s right. For your information, the phone I used last night hadn’t been used before, and it won’t be used again. It’s what we experts ...”—he paused to le
t the word sink in—“... refer to as a burner.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
He cut me off before I could complete the sentence. “I’m not a bloody amateur, alright? However they tracked us down, it wasn’t through the mobile.”
“How did they do it?” A sudden, awful thought sprang into my mind. “It’s not possible to track a laptop, is it?”
Nick turned sideways in the seat. His eyes bored into me. “You’re not telling me you connected to the Wi-Fi, are you?”
I swallowed hard. My silence provided the answer to his question.
“Jesus Christ. What’s wrong with you? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“How can they do that?”
Nick ignored my question and turned on the radio. It was the same channel as the previous day. An old Madonna hit blared out of the speakers, preventing any further conversation. The song finished, and the presenter announced a commercial break before the news at the top of the hour.
Two minutes later, the advertisement for a local car dealership offered a never to be repeated offer followed by a rushed list of disclaimers. A short jingle preceded the headlines, read by a woman with a high-pitched, nasal voice. Each item received no more than twenty seconds.
The fourth story mentioned me by name. “In today’s regional news, suspected paedophile, Alex Parrott, is still on the run. Police now believe the wanted school teacher is suffering from a minor injury sustained during his flight from law enforcement officers. A spokesman stated that a second, unnamed individual is thought to be assisting him. Chief Superintendent Andrew Jackson of the Hampshire Constabulary had this to say.”
A man with a slight Welsh accent took over. “The suspect is in his early thirties and may be suffering from a damaged leg, causing him to limp. Witnesses have described seeing another person aiding Mr Parrott. If members of the public have any information on either of the two men’s whereabouts, please contact the police as soon as possible.”
The female newsreader resumed for the final item. “And finally, pop sensation, Adele, is—”
Nick reached forward and pressed the off button. “It’s a safe assumption they know I’m helping you. They must have spoken to the van driver at the shopping centre.”
“But I told him you were trying to kill me.”
“It may have taken them a while, but it seems they worked it out eventually.”
“Look, I apologise for using the laptop. It didn’t occur to me they could track me through it.”
Nick stared straight ahead. “Do me a favour and don’t turn the bloody thing on again. For all we know, it could have been something else. Somebody might have seen us and called it in.”
“It looks like we left the hotel at the right time. Why do you think only the two of them turned up?”
Nick drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Maybe they were there to finish the job themselves.”
“What? You mean to kill me?”
He shook his head. “Thinking about it, that’s unlikely. If you’d ended up dead, the receptionist would have mentioned their involvement. They can’t afford to leave any loose ends.”
A sudden idea occurred to me. “What if they wanted us to see them?”
Nick shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“You just said they couldn’t do anything to me at the hotel because there were witnesses. But what if their intention was to flush us out so they could deal with us somewhere else with nobody watching?”
Nick’s gaze darted to the rearview mirror. “There’s no sign of them at the moment.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way. They might have worked out where we’ve been, but they don’t know where we’re going next.”
He sighed. “I’ll have to change the number plates again. The bloody things aren’t cheap.”
“I’m sure you can afford it with the money you’re making from this job.”
“That may be the case, but it also means we’ll need to take another precaution.” A malicious grin worked its way onto his face.
“Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?” I asked.
The grin widened. “Because you’ll be lying in the boot where nobody can see you.”
I tried to argue that I would not be visible if I lay across the rear seat, but Nick was adamant. He found an open gate leading into a field and parked the car so the hedge obscured it from the road. I stretched my legs while Nick swapped the number plates for the second time in twenty-four hours.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Okay, well how long will it take us to get there?”
Nick relented. “It’s only half an hour away. We’ll be there before you even know it.”
He wrapped the spare plates in a cloth and opened the boot, gesturing for me to climb in. I clambered over the bumper and lay on my back. He leaned forward with the bundle.
“Hang on,” I said. “You’re not planning on putting those in here with me, are you? They’ll slide all over the place.”
Nick studied me for a second, then shrugged and moved to the side of the vehicle. I heard him deposit the package somewhere inside the car. Returning to the rear, he grinned at me.
“Enjoy the ride.”
I shook my head but said nothing. Seconds later, I was plunged into darkness as the hatch slammed with a thud. The rumble of the engine reverberated through the floor. A clunk from the gearbox signalled we were about to move off. The first few yards were the worst as the suspension failed to dampen the undulations from the rutted tyre tracks leading into the field.
After the initial series of jolts, the car accelerated, and the ride became a little smoother. Even so, the noise levels were far higher than in the passenger cabin. Every turn in the road led to me sliding across the rough, black carpet. Cursing under my breath, I braced my legs against one side of the confined space and angled my body so my head and shoulder butted up against the other. The pressure on my injured calf muscle sent a stab of pain shooting up my leg.
I twisted sideways to determine whether that would make the trip more comfortable, but there was no give in the floor panel where it pressed into me, so I soon resumed my original position. The faint sound of eighties music penetrated through the rear seats, mingling with the drone of the engine.
The journey passed slowly. I tried to picture the route we were following but gave up after a few miles. After what seemed like a lifetime, the long, straight stretches became fewer and farther between. I guessed we were coming into a town. Soon we were spending a greater proportion of our time stationary.
Nick’s voice rose above the music. “Come on, you dozy idiot.”
A car horn tooted although I couldn’t tell whether it was ours or somebody else’s.
The note of exasperation increased. “Oh, for crying out loud, are you waiting for a written invitation?”
Finally, we moved off again. A sudden burst of acceleration sent me sliding sideways. “Moron!” Nick yelled from the front.
After that, we made steady progress until the floor slowly tipped forwards, and the sound of traffic died away. We remained stationary for a moment, and a series of beeps reached my ears. It sounded like Nick was typing in a code. The tyres screeched on concrete as the car manoeuvred around several tight bends. Eventually, all movement stopped, and the engine turned off.
Despite the low light levels, I shielded my eyes against the sudden brightness as Nick lifted the boot. I sat up and clambered out.
“Did you enjoy the trip?” he asked.
Wincing as I put pressure on my leg, I shook my head. “Not particularly. I’d rather spend an afternoon at the dentist having root canal work done on my wisdom teeth.”
“It reminds me of the old joke about why dogs are better than women.”
When I said nothing, he continued anyway, an amused expression on his face. “Lock your wife and dog in the boot of a
car. Keep them there for three hours then let them out and see which one is more pleased to see you.”
I couldn’t help smiling despite my bad mood. “Well, I’m neither your dog nor your wife, and I have no intention of doing that again any time soon. Where are we?”
“An underground garage in Reading. The flat I’ve rented comes with a parking space. Even if the police were on the lookout for my car, it’s unlikely they’d ever find it down here.”
“How big is this place we’re staying in?”
“It’s got two bedrooms with kitchen, lounge and dining room. The owners are away for a fortnight, so they’ve left the keys in a lock box in the lobby. I suggest you wait here while I pick them up.”
“Can I sit in the front?” I asked sarcastically. “Or do I have to lie down in the boot again?”
“I’m feeling generous, so I’ll let you remain where you are.”
I sighed with pleasure as I sank into the soft fabric. Tilting the seat back, I closed my eyes and waited for Nick to return. Ten minutes later, he tapped on the window.
“Time to wake up. To get inside, there’s a door with a keypad. The code is three six three one, got that? I don’t want anybody to see us together, so you make your way in first. Call a lift and go up to the eighth floor. Here’s the key. It’s flat eight one one—the number’s written on the fob. I’ll follow you. And if you could possibly not limp, that would be good.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Nick led me to a staircase and up two flights of stairs. “Remember, three six three one. Keep your hood up and the sunglasses on. I didn’t spot any cameras, but there may be hidden ones.”
I nodded and pushed my way through the door. The foyer was twice as long as it was wide with post box lockers lining one wall. A pair of tall, leafy potted plants sat on either side of a deserted desk. Ahead of me at the far end was another doorway with a keypad mounted beside it. I crossed the room, doing my best to walk with an even stride despite nobody being around to observe me. I tapped out the digits, and the lock opened with a click.
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