The birthday girl

by Stephen Leather

  'You're embarrassing me, Allison. Look, will you help or not?'

  Allison looked hurt. 'Of course. What do you want?'

  'Can I say that I'll be at your house tomorrow night on a sleep-over? I'll tell my parents that we're studying together.'

  'Cool. But what if they phone and you're not there?'

  'I'll come to your house after school, then I'll slip away at about eight o'clock. I'll get the train into Baltimore, then I'll slip back later. If they call, you can say that I'm in the bathroom or something.'

  'Yeah, but what happens when you don't phone them back?'

  Mersiha shook her head. 'Look, I'm sure they won't call.

  They're going through this phase of trusting me, you know.

  Katherine will probably call in advance to check that's it's okay with your mom, but if they check up on me while I'm there, it's tantamount to saying they don't trust me. They won't call, I promise.'

  'But what if my mom asks where you are?'

  'Tell her I'm in the bathroom. Tell her I've gone home to get some books. Tell her I've been abducted by aliens. You know she won't notice whether I'm there or not.' Allison's mother had been hit hard by her husband's desertion and she'd begun drinking in a major way, putting away a couple of bottles of Californian wine each evening and often falling asleep on the sofa in front of videos of country and western singers. Half the time she didn't even know if Allison was in the house.

  Allison chewed on her lower lip, then she smiled, showing glittering metal braces obscuring most of her teeth. 'Sure. But on one condition.'

  'What?'

  'Afterwards – you tell me everything. And I mean everything.'

  Mersiha grinned. 'It's a deal.'

  'Oh my God,' Allison sighed, flushed with excitement. 'Oh my God, oh my God.'

  Sabatino sat back in his chair and fingered his telephone as he studied the closed-circuit cameras. It was still early so there wasn't much happening down in The Firehouse. He tapped the buttons on the telephone absent-mindedly, then picked up the receiver and rapidly dialled his brother's number in New York. It was his direct line and he answered on the third ring. 'Bzuchar?'

  Sabatino said.

  'Who else would it be, younger brother?' Utsyev chuckled, like an old man. 'What's wrong?'

  .

  'Why else would you be calling me this late? Aren't you normally in bed with one of your little conquests at this time of the evening?' Sabatino's brother chuckled again. Sabatino had the feeling that he wasn't alone.

  'I went to see Freeman yesterday.'

  'And?'

  'And he doesn't want to sell.'

  'What he wants isn't really relevant, is it?' He sounded impatient, as if he had better things to do than discuss the takeover of CRW. It wasn't like Bzuchar, thought Sabatino; he usually lived for business. There was obviously something else on his mind. 'We need the company. We need its land. We need its bank accounts and books to keep our little money-laundering secret safe. There's nothing more to it. Right?'

  'I just wanted you to know what was happening,' Sabatino said.

  'I'm going to have to increase the pressure.'

  'That's not a problem, is it?'

  'He's got a wife and a daughter and a big house. He's got a lot to lose. No, it won't be a problem.'

  'So, do you need my help, or can you handle it?'

  'I can handle it.'

  'That's what I wanted to hear, little brother. Call me when it's done.' The line went dead. Sabatino sat fuming, glaring at the television monitor. It had been a bad idea to call his brother. He wouldn't call him again until he had CRW in the bag. But first he wanted some young flesh. Seventeen, maybe younger. Someone pretty, someone he could hurt.

  Mersiha waited until an hour after her parents had gone to bed before slipping out of her room and downstairs to the study.

  She knelt down by the side of the gun cabinet and quickly twisted the combination dial and pulled open the door. Down in the basement the central heating boiler whooshed into life, startling her. She listened intently, but other than the clicking of the heating system there was no sound.

  The Heckler amp; Koch HK-4 was in its case where she'd left it. She reassembled the gun into its.22 LR components and laid it down on the floor while she closed the case and relocked the cabinet.

  She took the box of.22 cartridges and shook out a handful of shiny brass shells into the palm of her hand. One by one she loaded them into the HK-4's clip.

  Freeman looked across at his wife, sleeping as she always did on her side with her knees drawn up against her stomach. The foetal position, he thought. He couldn't remember her sleeping like that before Luke had died. It was as if she were trying to protect herself against bad dreams. She looked so defenceless in sleep, like a child. Her breathing was soft and steady, her chest barely moving.

  The digital clock on the bedside table clicked to 02.00.

  Freeman heard the stairs creak as Mersiha came upstairs.

  He'd heard her go down about half an hour earlier and he'd been lying awake to see what time she'd go back to bed. Only a minute or two and she was probably just paying a visit to the refrigerator, but half an hour suggested that she was sleepwalking again. He fought back the urge to get up and see if she was all right. The first few times it had happened, shortly after she'd arrived in America, he and Katherine had woken her up and she'd burst into tears, clearly shaken by the experience. Art Brown's advice had been just to let her walk around and go back to bed in her own time. The psychiatrist had described the sleepwalking as a physical symptom of her underlying mental turmoil, one that would gradually disappear as her therapy progressed. Letting her wake up in her own time seemed to work – it wasn't as if she tried to leave the house or did anything dangerous. Eventually she would return to her room and in the morning she remembered nothing about her nocturnal adventures. Dr Brown had been right. During her first few months in the house she'd sleepwalked almost every night, but now it happened only rarely.

  Freeman heard her close her bedroom door. He relaxed and rolled over on to his side.

  'What's wrong?' Katherine murmured, sleepily.

  'Nothing,' he said. 'Go back to sleep.'

  She snuggled closer to him and her hand stroked his chest.

  Her breathing deepened as her hand slowly made its way down to his groin. 'I'm not sleepy,' she said, though her eyes remained closed. She kissed his shoulder. Her lips were warm and moist.

  She kissed him again, harder this time, and he felt her tongue lick against his skin. Katherine was wearing one of his cotton shirts and as she rolled on top of him his hands pushed it up around her waist. She buried her face in his neck, her hair falling around him like a veil. Her lips fluttered around his neck and shoulder, small child-like kisses that were at odds with the hand that was groping between his legs. It had been several weeks since he'd made love to her, and he was already hard and ready for her. He gasped as she slid herself on to him and his hands moved inside the shirt and up to her breasts.

  'I love you,' he said.

  'I know you do,' she said, sleepily. She lay flat against him, only her hips moving.

  He tried to kiss her on the lips but she kept her face pressed against his neck. He knew that her eyes were still closed, and he wondered if she was aware of what she was doing.

  'Katherine?' he said.

  'Hmmm?' she moaned, her hips moving faster and faster.

  'Are you asleep?' he asked.

  'Hmmm,' she murmured into his ear.

  He reached up and stroked the back of her neck. She really was asleep, and he realised that in the morning she'd no more remember the love-making than Mersiha would recall her sleepwalking. He felt suddenly sad. He wanted Katherine to make love to him because she desired him, he wanted it to be an expression of her love, but what she was doing to him was just a physical thing, a release. He wanted her attention. Her love. She pounded against him and he felt himself about to come. Part of him wanted her to stop but t
here was no denying how much he wanted her. 'I love you, Katherine,' he whispered into her hair, and then he came inside her.

  Mersiha was devouring a low-fat yoghurt when Freeman walked into the kitchen. Buffy was sitting at her feet, her eyes glued to the yoghurt carton. The dog greeted Freeman with an enthusiastic wag of her tail but kept her attention focused on Mersiha's breakfast.

  'Hiya, pumpkin,' he said, popping two slices of wholemeal bread into the toaster. The mail was lying on the kitchen table and he flicked through the envelopes: several bills, a handful of circulars, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win ten million dollars addressed to 'The Occupier', and a bank statement.

  There was a brown envelope from the travel agency Freeman used, and he tossed it to Mersiha.

  'The tickets!' she gasped. He nodded and she ripped it open.

  'Denver,' she said.

  'That's where we fly to, but our cabin is about seventy miles to the north-west. Near Estes Park, right next to the Rocky Mountain National Park.'

  'Yeah, there's a map here,' Mersiha said, spreading it out on the table. 'It's off a highway called Devil's Gulch Road. Devil's Gulch Road! Isn't that great? Like something out of the Wild West.' She put the half-finished carton of yoghurt down and Buffy growled hopefully.

  'I've hired a four-wheel-drive, the details should be there.'

  'Yup,' Mersiha said, waving a typed letter. 'A Ford Bronco.

  There's a photograph of the cabin, too. Wow, it looks wild.'

  Freeman smiled at her enthusiasm. The toaster popped as Katherine came in, wrapped in a white bathrobe, her hair still glistening wet. She kissed him on the cheek and Freeman wondered if she had any recollection of the previous night.

  She buttered his toast while he poured coffee for them both.

  'Are those the tickets?' she asked.

  'Yeah, the cabin looks great,' Mersiha said. 'It's miles from anywhere.' Katherine looked across at Freeman, her brow furrowed.

  'It's not that isolated,' he said, before she could voice her concern. 'The nearest neighbour is about half a mile away.'

  'What if you get snowed in?'

  'We've got a four-wheel-drive,' Mersiha said.

  'That'll be just what you need if you're stuck in the cabin for two weeks. You'll always be able to eat it.'

  'There'll be stores within driving distance and it's close to a major road,' Freeman said. 'They rent it out right through the winter, Kat. It doesn't get snowed in. Besides, the travel agent said they're having a mild winter.'

  'And you'll be back when?'

  'Friday afternoon.'

  'Do you want me to pick you up?'

  'No need. I'll leave the car in the long-term lot.'

  Katherine picked up the cabin brochure from the table and looked through it. 'It's beautiful,' she agreed. 'You're going to have a terrific time. And look at this. Skiing, horse-riding, snowmobiling, sleigh rides, fishing, snowshoeing, mountain biking. Even hot-air ballooning.'

  'Well, I don't know if all that'll be available,' Freeman said.

  'It's the off season. A lot of the tourist places there are closed until May.'

  Katherine frowned. 'A skiing resort closed for the winter?'

  'It's not really a skiing resort, though it's close to lots of places where we can ski. But there will be plenty for us to do. We can get some practice in Western riding. None of that sissyish English style.' He winked at his daughter and she grinned up at him.

  'Make sure you pack warm clothes,' Katherine said.

  'Sure,' he agreed.

  'I was talking to Mersiha,' Katherine laughed, 'but I suppose it goes for you too.' Mersiha held the yoghurt carton down for Buffy. The dog attacked it, her claws scrabbling on the tiled floor. 'What have I told you about feeding the dog at the table?'

  Katherine chided.

  'Sorry,' Mersiha said, taking the prize away from the dog.

  Buffy glared at Katherine as if blaming her for the loss of the treat. 'Oh, I forgot to mention it. Allison is having a couple of girls over tonight for a study party. Is it all right if I go?'

  Freeman looked over the top of his coffee mug. 'A study party?

  Two days before school breaks up?'

  Mersiha shrugged. 'We've got a couple of projects that have to be done over the break. Allison wants to do all the preparatory work before I go on vacation. We'll go straight to school from Allison's house.'

  'I suppose it's all right,' Katherine said. 'I'll speak to Allison's mother.'

  'Great!' Mersiha exclaimed.

  'So what's the project?' Freeman asked.

  'Oh, some historical thing. Life during the Great Depression, something like that. Allison's our group organiser. I'll go and pack a few things for tonight.'

  She skipped out of the room. Katherine looked through the travel details. 'Are you sure about this?' she asked.

  'I am.' Freeman took the brochure and pointed at a colour photograph of a snow-covered mountainside. 'This is exactly like the hills around Sarajevo in the winter.'

  'What – skiers, snowmobiles and hot-air balloons?' she asked archly.

  'You know what I mean, honey. The trees, the rocky crags, the sky – it's just like it was in Bosnia. Only without the snipers.'

  'Thank God.'

  'Yeah, but it's the atmosphere that's important. I want to remind her of what it was like when I first met her.'

  'So that she'll start to talk? Are you sure it's a good idea?'

  Freeman drained his mug and put it by the sink. 'No, Kat, to be honest I'm not sure. But I want to give it a try. I can't go through life not knowing what happened to our little girl.'

  Katherine walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders.

  'Okay, but make sure that you're doing it because it's best for her, not because it's something that you want to do. Deal?'

  'Deal,' he agreed.

  She looked into his eyes as if trying to read his mind, then suddenly leant forward and kissed him on the lips. Freeman was surprised at the gesture, but before he could respond Mersiha came back into the kitchen and she pulled away.

  Mersiha was carrying a nylon bag over her shoulder. She kissed Katherine on the cheek and waved goodbye to Freeman.

  They watched as she went out of the back door, taking care to keep Buffy inside. 'She seems a lot better,' Katherine said.

  'She was sleepwalking last night,' Freeman said, picking up his briefcase.

  'God, no. I didn't hear her.' He smiled and shook his head.

  'What?' she said. 'What are you smiling at?'

  'Nothing.'

  'What? Come on, you're grinning like the cat that got the cream.'

  'Nothing,' he repeated. He kissed her on the forehead and went out to his car, smiling to himself.

  The day seemed to drag interminably for Mersiha. The gun and ammunition were in her locker, wrapped in a hand towel. Twice during the day, Allison had sidled up to her and nudged her in the ribs, smiling with a glint of braces and winking conspiratorially.

  Eventually the school day ended and Mersiha collected the weapon and her overnight bag. She was grateful for the fact that she went to school in the suburbs. In the Baltimore City schools, metal detectors were the norm because there had been so many drug-related killings.

  'What's in the bag?' Allison asked as they walked towards the school bus.

  'Clothes. Handbag. Make-up,' Mersiha replied. She wondered how Allison would react if she'd continued to list the contents. Gun. Ammunition. She smiled at the subversive thought.

  Allison pounced. 'What are you grinning for?'

  'Just thinking about tonight.'

  'Oh, please tell me who it is.' They climbed on to the bus and sat together near the back. Allison leaned across. 'Is it Lester Middlehurst?'

  Mersiha looked across at Allison and imagined shooting her in the head with the gun. It would probably be the only way to put an end to the torrent of questions. She smiled sweetly. 'No, it's not Lester Middlehurst. Now don't ask me anything else.
'

  'Okay. Okay.' Allison jiggled up and down on her seat excitedly.

  Katherine Freeman closed her eyes and luxuriated in the hot water. She turned on the hot tap with her foot and swished the water around, enjoying the way the warmth gradually spread up her body. The feeling was decidedly sexual and her right hand slowly strayed between her legs as if it had a life of its own.

  The telephone rang, jarring her out of her reverie. The nearest extension was in her bedroom and she was damned if she was going to get out of her bath. The answering machine picked up the call and she closed her eyes again. Her hand began to caress her soft, soapy skin.

  She heard Maury Anderson's voice, urgently calling her name.

  'Come on, Katherine, I know you're there. Pick up.'

  She groaned. 'Now what?' she muttered to herself.

  'Come on, Katherine. I'm not hanging up until you answer.'

  She wondered if Anderson really did know she was in or if he was guessing. Either way, he'd already spoiled the moment for her. She climbed out of the bath and wrapped a towel around her shoulders before running into the bedroom and grabbing the phone. 'Damn you, Maury. I'm dripping water all over the carpet.'

  'Katherine. I have to see you.'

  I 'Is that all? You've dragged me out of the bath because you've I got a hard-on? Isn't your wife back?'

  'This is business. It's about the offer for CRW.'

  'Fine. So why bother me at home? Can't you talk to Tony?'

  'Tony's being totally unreasonable. {Catherine, you have to get him to listen to reason.'

  'Maury, love, I don't have to do anything.' i*r 'We have to sell the company. You can't say no to a man like Sabatino.'

  'Maury, go and screw your little wife. You can close your eyes and think of me if it makes it any better, but stop bothering me. ^k You're becoming a nuisance.' She slammed the phone down and ‹ went back to her bath.

  Mersiha toyed with her coffee cup. A thick beige scum had formed on the surface and she touched it gently with the tip of her index finger. It felt like human skin. She looked at her watch for the thousandth time. It was nine thirty. Too early to go to The Firehouse. A buxom, middle-aged waitress came over.

  'You want me to freshen that, hon?' she asked. Mersiha smiled and nodded. The waitress splashed in more coffee. 'Can I get you anything to eat?'