After exchanging punch after brutal punch and kick after punishing kick, Jake was starting to flag and even though his fitness levels were high, they were nothing like that of Król’s and soon the Pole started to gain the upper hand. First, a punch got through, catching Jake hard on the cheek, then a kick to the stomach and then another to the centre of his chest which sent him sprawling to the ground with the wind driven from his lungs.
Jake lay there, helplessly, battered, bruised and bloodied as Król went for the knife. Suddenly Lizzie leapt onto his back and began clubbing him as hard as she could with her bunched fists. But Król merely reached over his shoulder and with enormous strength, plucked her from his back and threw her across the room. She landed hard, near the broken chair and Jake thought that she was finished but all he could do was watch, his powerless body aching and unresponsive.
Król reached down and retrieved the knife, then walked back to where Jake lay and stood over him victoriously.
“A good show, Mister Sawyer. Very impressive. But enough is enough. Now, where are those diamonds?”
“Nowhere you’re gonna find them, asshole!” Lizzie spat, and as Król turned to face her, she smashed him as hard as she could around the head with a broken chair leg.
Miraculously, she had climbed to her feet and crept up behind him whilst his focus was fully on Jake.
Momentarily, Król glared at her. Then his legs buckled and he fell, face forward, onto the dusty wooden floor.
Chapter 36
Whilst he was out cold, Lizzie rifled through Król’s pockets and found a car key and a mobile phone. She took both.
Then she rushed across to Jake and helped him to his feet, he looked dreadful. But then so did she, her lip was split and her nose was bleeding but she was alive. At least for the moment. If they did not get moving before Król woke up then it could be a different story.
Lizzie dragged Jake to his feet. “Couldn’t stay away, huh?” She said.
“Something like that,” he replied. “Not too keen on your bodyguard though.”
“Me neither. Come on, let’s get out of here before he wakes up.”
“Good idea. Hey, grab that knife - I’ve got an idea.”
Lizzie ran to fetch it. As she picked it up Król was already starting to rouse. “Quickly, Jake. He’s coming round.”
Jake’s strength was swiftly returning as he took Lizzie’s hand and led her out of the house, in the failing light of dusk, and across to the Jetta. “Get in,” he said.
As they shut the doors of the little Volkswagen in unison, Król appeared at the doorway of the farm house and staggered out onto the stoop, still clearly dazed.
“Quick, Lizzie - the keys,” Jake said as he made eye contact with Król.
“What?” She asked.
“The keys, Lizzie - you’ve got the keys.”
“Oh, right, sure. Here.” She replied and passed them swiftly to Jake who immediately slid them into the ignition.
“Hurry, Jake. Hurry. He’s coming.” Lizzie said, her voice suddenly shrill.
Król’s head had now cleared and he realised what was happening. He started towards the car just as Jake found reverse gear and the Jetta sped backwards up the narrow track.
Król began to run.
“He’s still coming, Jake. He’s still coming,” Lizzie shouted.
Jake had his foot to the floor as he pulled on the handbrake and span the wheel round hard. The car skidded round so the back was now facing the farm house, but as Jake hit the accelerator it stalled.
“What! No, come on, come on.” He shouted at it.
Król was looming large now in the back window as Jake turned the key again. Thankfully the engine revved and he jammed it into first gear - but Król’s outstretched fingers were on the boot as they slowly pulled away.
“Quick, Jake - he’s on us!” Lizzie squealed.
Jake found second and gained some ground, then third as he began to pull away. As he hit fourth Król was getting smaller in the rear view mirror and by the time Jake skidded onto the dirt track they were a good hundred and fifty yards clear. But then Jake did something that made Lizzie’s heart stop.
He pulled the car up next to the Mini Moke that he had left parked in the scrub, took the knife from Lizzie’s hand and jumped out of the car.
“What are you doing?” She shouted fearfully.
“Can’t risk him following us,” Jake replied.
Quickly, he stabbed a front tyre on the Moke, then a rear one. Then he jumped back into the driver’s seat of the Volkswagen as Król came bursting out of the dense foliage, that disguised the farm track, onto the dirt road.
But this time Jake had it covered as the Jetta sped off yet again, finally leaving Król far behind in the gathering darkness.
* * *
They drove in silence for some miles, both exhausted and still coming down from their adrenaline fuelled escape, until Lizzie finally spoke. “Thanks for coming to get me, Jake. You saved my life,” she said earnestly.
“Hey, no problem. You saved mine too, remember?”
“But you were only there because of me. And that means a lot. Really.”
“Like I said,” Jake replied. “No problem.”
Jake thought for a moment longer, then said, “Hey, Lizzie, about your friend. You know, the guy you were working with, back in Nassau?”
“You mean Ronny?”
“I don’t know, but yeah, I guess so. Well, this is not easy but–”
“He’s dead.” Lizzie interrupted. “I know. That bastard back there told me he’d killed him. That son of a bitch.”
“I’m sorry,” Jake said. “Were you close?”
“Yeah. He was sort of like my big brother.”
“My God. I had no idea–”
“Hey, listen, you didn’t know. In fact there are a lot of things you don’t know and it’s about time you did.”
“Well,” Jake said, “If you feel up to it, there’s no time like the present - and I’m not going anywhere. So, lay it on me - I promise I won’t jump down your throat this time.”
“You won’t, huh?”
“Promise.”
“Well don’t be too sure. There’s plenty to tell and I’m not too proud of my part in it. But here goes nothing...”
* * *
Lizzie told Jake everything. Starting with who killed his family and why. She then told him about how she became involved, searching for vengeance for the deaths of her brother and father. And now for Aaron, too. She told Jake about the diamonds, where they had come from, how they had been illegally obtained by the Khans and what they were intended for. Lizzie explained about Aaron’s recordings, about the proof that he had gathered and how, with the aid of the diamonds they had planned to bring Peter Bearing and Arthur Khan to justice. She then, shamefully told how she and Aaron had planned to trick Jake into revealing where the diamonds were and their intentions to take them from him once he had. And finally, how she had intended for him to fall in love with her. Never expecting, for one moment, that she would fall in love with him.
By the time she had finished relating the whole saga, it was well after dark and they were very nearly back at the Crystal Waters Resort.
“So that’s it,” Lizzie said. “That’s my whole sorry tale.”
Jake remained silent, deep in thought.
“Jake?” Lizzie said. “Please, say something. Anything. I know it’s bad, I know it is - but please–”
“I will say something.” Jake said. “In fact, I’ll say three things.”
Lizzie braced herself for what was coming, not sure whether she wanted to hear it or not.”
“Firstly,” Jake said. “The diamonds are in Zurich, and you and I will go and fetch them, together. Secondly, yes, I want to bring those bastards, Bearing and Khan, down too. I want to s
ee them rot in jail for the rest of their lives and I want to use the diamonds to do it. And thirdly–” Jake paused, for a moment, to gather himself.
“Thirdly,” he said. “I love you too.”
Lizzie smiled and placed her hand over his on the steering wheel, the simple gesture conveying more than she could say.
* * *
As they drove through the gates of the resort, Jake spoke again. “There’s one more thing you ought to know, Lizzie. About Aaron.”
“What is it?” She asked, sensing his trepidation.
“He’s in your bungalow, Lizzie. That’s where it happened.”
Lizzie put her hand up to her mouth, “Oh, God. Poor Ronny–”
“I’m afraid that’s not the worst of it.” Jake said. “If we are to get away, to Zurich, we need to move his body - otherwise the authorities will be searching for you, wanting to know what he was doing in your bungalow and how he came to be murdered.”
“Oh my God,” Lizzie said again. “But how, what are we–”
“I think I’ve got a solution of sorts - it’s not great but it should hopefully work. Although I should warn you, you’re not going to like it.”
* * *
Jake’s idea was to move Aaron’s body, under the cover of darkness, to his bungalow, which was rented under the name of Jake Sloane. The same Jake Sloane who the police would want to interview when the body was found.
Jake had changed his identity so many times in the past that it would be easy for him to simply adopt another one and slip out of the country undetected. He still had passports that identified him as several other people. All Lizzie would need to do would be to check out of the resort before Aaron’s body was detected.
Aaron, himself, was not a registered guest at the resort. Indeed, he was not even legally in the country, having arrived by yacht in the middle of the night. If Jake and Lizzie removed all his identification, it would at least buy them some time and prevent his relationship to Lizzie from being discovered too soon.
If and when Jake and Lizzie managed to fulfil their plans for Bearing and Khan, they would then come clean to the police and give Aaron the send off he truly deserved - and face up to any charges that may be levelled at them.
Reluctantly, Lizzie agreed.
Jake had chosen to do it this way so that Aaron’s body would be discovered and properly laid to rest. They could have opted to dump his body deep in the woods, or out at sea but that would give Lizzie no comfort nor Aaron the end he deserved. Jake would again be a wanted man, at least until he could hopefully clear his name but he considered that a small price to pay compared to what Lizzie had suffered.
* * *
It was dreadful. Jake had tried to prepare her but as Lizzie entered her bungalow the scene that presented itself was more horrific than she could have imagined. There was a mass of blood, a big pool of it and then the wide smear along the floor which led down the hallway to where her foster brother lay mutilated in the bedroom.
Jake sat Lizzie down who was shaking with grief and shock and quickly fetched her a glass of water. He then asked her to look away as he picked up each of Aaron’s chopped off fingers and popped them into an opaque plastic bag where they could no longer be seen. Then, after checking on her once more, he went down the hallway and entered the bedroom again. If anything, the sight of Aaron’s body was even more horrific now and Jake had to fight the urge to vomit. He needed to act quickly and efficiently and above all he had to be strong for Lizzie who was going to need every ounce of his strength if she was to make it safely through this night with her sanity in tact.
Jake was not a religious man, but he said quick a prayer over Aaron before adding in a whisper, “I’m sorry. I will make this right and I’ll protect Lizzie. You have my word.”
Then he gathered the bloodied bedclothes and wrapped them as tightly as he could around the body so that no part of it was visible.
A moment later, Jake was back with Lizzie.
“I know this is hard for you,” he said, “And I’m so sorry for your loss, I truly am. But if we are to make it to the airport without being discovered then I’m afraid I must ask you for your help now.”
“I know, Jake.” Lizzie said simply. “I’m ready. I won’t let you down I promise.”
“Hey, Jake said, squatting down by her side and placing a comforting hand on her knee. “I know you won’t. You never could. But do me a favour, try not to look at me, try not to think about what I’m doing. Focus on what’s around us, I need your eyes and ears Lizzie, that’s all - I’ll do the rest, I promise. You just keep watch, make sure no one sees what I’m doing.”
“I will. But is he—?”
Jake sensed what she was about to say. “It’s okay,” he said. “He’s completely covered, you won’t see anything. Just remember him as he was. That’s the best way. Believe me, I know.”
“I know you do, Jake. Thank you.” She placed a hand over his and squeezed lightly.
“Ready?” Jake said.
Lizzie took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Ready,” she replied.
* * *
Lizzie did exactly as Jake asked. She kept watch whilst he carried the body over his shoulder the short distance to his bungalow.
Even though the resort was deserted, with most of the guests attending an entertainment evening at the club house, it was too dangerous for Jake and Lizzie to use the network of pathways which connected one block of bungalows to another. So they had to stay in the shadows and cut across the grass, using the abundant palm trees as cover. But, at last, they made it without being discovered. They had not seen another soul and the only sound other than theirs was the distant noise from the club house and the steel band that was playing there.
Lizzie waited outside Jake’s bungalow as he placed Aaron on his own bed and arranged the scene as it had been at Lizzie’s. It would not fool the police for long, if at all, but at least they wouldn’t immediately know where Sumpter had actually died.
After the body had been transported, Jake then set about swapping pillows, sheets, chairs and anything else that had traces of blood on them between the two bungalows, again being extremely careful not to be seen.
The only thing that then remained was the blood on the floor.
By this time, however, Jake was covered in blood himself - some of it his, from his fight with Król but most of it Aaron’s which had unavoidably transferred with all the fetching and carrying.
As they stood in Lizzie’s living room, she looked at Jake and said, “You need a shower and a change of clothes.”
He regarded himself briefly. “Yeah, I know. Let’s get this done and then I’ll grab one.”
“No,” Lizzie said. “Get one now. I’ll clean up this.”
“It’s okay, I can—” Jake began.
“Sweetie, you’ve done enough. You’re bushed and you need to clean up. I can take care of this, I promise. It’s Ronny’s blood - my brother’s blood and I should be the one to clean it. It was spilt because of me, so it’s the least I can do.”
“You’re sure?” Jake asked.
“Go,” Lizzie smiled. “I’ll be fine, honest.”
* * *
When Jake came back twenty minutes later, showered and refreshed and in a clean set of clothes there was not a trace of blood anywhere. Lizzie had done wonders but now looked completely spent.
“Your turn,” Jake said. “Go freshen up and then we’d better get going. Lizzie gave him a kiss on the cheek and then did as she was told.
She returned a short while later, looking beautiful, even if a bit battered from her encounter with Król, in a loose shift dress and a pair of white pumps. But her eyes were red and Jake knew she had been crying. The fact that she couldn’t stay with Aaron and give him a proper funeral filled her with guilt and regret. However, she knew that Aaron, more than anyone el
se, would understand what she was doing and that gave her some degree of comfort.
It had been a tough night and the coming days would not be any easier as Jake knew from bitter experience. But Lizzie was a strong girl and she would come through it, he felt certain.
There was, however, one additional thing that troubled Lizzie which occurred to her when cleaning up the wreckage of Aaron’s laptop, when she realised that all the intelligence he had on Bearing and Khan was saved onto it and that it was now completely useless.
“Did he have a back-up copy?” Jake asked, when she told him of her concerns.
“Sure, she said, back in England, at his home, but I don’t have a key.
Jake suddenly remembered the keys that Sumpter had forced into his hand, that he’d had in his pocket since parking the Mini Moke back on the dirt road. “Give me a moment,” he said, then as quick as he could, ran back to his bungalow once more to rummage through the pockets of his discarded bloody clothes. He found the keys immediately and ran back triumphantly to Lizzie.
He held them up to her, holding them by the big, foot-shaped key fob. “Aaron left these for you,” he smiled. “It was the last thing he did. He handed them to me and said, “Elizabeth”, he knew you would need them.”
Lizzie smiled wistfully. “Typical Ronny. Resourceful right to the end. He really was very clever.”
* * *
After using the remote check-out facility on the resort’s TV channel, Lizzie finally left with Jake in the Jetta and headed for the airport.
From leaving Król to arriving at the airport it took five hours. Two hours after that they were on a plane bound for Miami and by the following day they would be in Zurich.
* * *
Fabian Król arrived back at the Crystal Waters Resort just as the sun was coming up. He had walked most of the way back from the farm house and had only been picked up by a truck once he hit the highway. His first port of call was Lizzie Barnes’ bungalow which he was impressed to find completely clean. Next he walked up towards Jake Sawyer’s bungalow but stopped halfway when from the brow of the hill he saw what seemed to be a police cordon around the property. From that distance, Król could see squad cars, an ambulance and several police officers swarming around the place. A large black woman dressed in the pale green uniform of the resort cleaning staff was sitting on the front step of the bungalow being quizzed by what Król assumed to be a couple of detectives.
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