Deep Water

by Whitcroft, Isla;

  Cate laughed. She couldn’t help herself. Marcus was grinning too.

  ‘Mr Black.’ Henri was clearly not amused. ‘You may like to take the moral high ground but we can’t afford to be quite so sanctimonious. The IMIA take on the crimes that just about everyone else – the CIA, MI6, even Mossad – have given up on, and because of that we use every weapon at our disposal.’ He paused. ‘Even if they happen to be sixteen-year-old girls with a God-given talent for spying.’

  Cate knew she was weakening. After all, there was no denying that she was in the right place at the right time. She smiled apologetically at Lucas. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’ll try to find out who the informer is, but that’s it. I’m leaving you guys to deal with them. But after this, I really don’t want to hear from you guys again for a very long time.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ said Marcus.

  Lucas stood up. ‘Please, Cate,’ he said. ‘This isn’t some kind of game; it’s highly dangerous and I think you’re too young to know what you’re doing.’ He looked at Henri, contempt all over his face. ‘I’ve a good mind to go to the press with this.’

  ‘Mr Black.’ Henri’s voice was menacing. ‘I have to warn you that you are now moving into very dangerous territory indeed. Either you are silent about what you have learnt today or you will be taken out of circulation until this problem is cleared up.’

  For one awful moment Cate thought Lucas was going to hit Henri and she knew it would be Lucas who would come off worse in the fight.

  ‘Henri,’ she protested, mortified that it had come to this. ‘Lucas is only trying to protect me. Lucas, I’m sorry, really sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into this.’

  The two men continued to glare at each other. It was Marcus who broke the impasse.

  ‘Hey, guys, chill,’ he said. ‘No need to stress. Lucas, if Cate doesn’t want to do something she won’t, believe me.’ He put his hand on Lucas’s shoulder. ‘How about a deal? We give Cate two days in Snapper Bay and then we’ll leave her be. Send in someone else. Come on, man, just two days?’ Lucas looked at Cate. ‘You OK with that?’ he asked.

  She nodded.

  ‘All right,’ he said, turning his gaze back on Henri, ‘but I warn you now if anything happens to her, nothing and no one will be able to shut me up.’

  There was a loud knock at the door and instantly, miraculously, Marcus and Henri were gone, faded into the dark corner of the room. Cate went to the door and opened it cautiously. There, dressed in bright pink Versace from head to toe and wearing an outraged expression stood Nancy.

  ‘Cate, where is everyone? I’ve hardly seen you since you got here. And Lucas seems to have gone missing too. You came here to cheer me up, remember? Not go around pleasing yourself.’

  ‘Sorry, Nancy,’ said Cate smiling apologetically. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll come and help you look for Lucas right now. Have you tried the basement recently?’

  Without a backward glance Cate stepped from her room and shut the door firmly behind her.

  The music was blaring, pounding; the heavy beat reached down and shook the very ground that Cate and hundreds of other guests were standing on. They had been dancing for the best part of an hour now, irresistibly drawn to the unique rhythms of Black Noir – part African, part R & B all mixed in with unforgettable melodies. More powerful than anything else, thought Cate, who along with Nancy was standing within the fenced-off VIP area, were the lyrics. She loved Lucas’s lyrics. Some were so sad that they brought tears to her eyes, others defiant and angry, others clever, witty plays on words.

  Even Nancy was mesmerised, happy for once to play second fiddle to someone else. That morning, at breakfast by the pool, Nancy was clearly thrilled to be reunited with Lucas. ‘You’ll be fab tonight, darling,’ she said, picking out a huge red strawberry from the luscious heap of fresh fruit piled on a crystal stand in front of her and popping it into his mouth. ‘I just can’t wait and neither can Cate, can you?’

  Cate nodded. ‘I can’t believe my luck,’ she said truthfully.

  Lucas smiled at her benignly. He was doing a very good job of pretending that the events of the day before had never happened. ‘You’re welcome, Cate,’ he said. ‘Enjoy.’ He stood up. ‘I’ve got to do a last rehearsal and sound check, then I’ll be sleeping for the rest of the day.’ He kissed Nancy passionately. ‘I’ll be looking right at you,’ he said to her as he finally turned to leave.

  ‘I’ll be right there, babes,’ she cooed back at him tenderly.

  Cate sat back in her wicker chair, her face to the sun, her feet dangling in the pool and smiled. She had to admit, Purbeck Island was incredible. Whilst out on her morning run she had spotted an ex-president of the USA, a couple of Hollywood stars and a famous playboy golfer. The place was awash with celebrities.

  ‘Everything OK with you and Lucas now?’ she asked Nancy idly. ‘I take it Cindy wasn’t here to steal him after all?’

  Nancy giggled happily. ‘Since we last saw Cindy she’s put on about twenty kilos and has taken to wearing a burkini. Apparently Cindy is so paranoid that her lovely pale goth skin might get a bit of colour while she’s in Australia that she even wears the ridiculous thing at night.’

  Cate snorted. It was a brilliant image.

  ‘I could hardly keep a straight face when I first saw her,’ Nancy continued wickedly, ‘and you should have seen Lucas’s expression when he opened the door to her. I think he thought the island had been invaded by large black aliens. He didn’t know whether to say hello or call security.’

  The two girls dissolved into helpless laughter.

  ‘Told you so,’ said Cate eventually, wiping tears from her eyes. ‘No competition. If she ever was in the first place.’

  Now on the stage, Cindy was belting out a Black Noir number, her powerful, distinctive voice raising high up into the starlit sky, every note pitch perfect.

  Lucas was standing behind her, his guitar slung round his neck. Suddenly, he ran across the stage, down the tiny flight of stairs to the VIP section and dragged Nancy on stage with him. She looked amazing, her blond hair glowing like a halo under the spotlights, her perfectly fitted maxi dress both sexy and demure. Lucas pulled her into his arms and, seemingly oblivious to the crowd roaring their approval, began to slow dance with his girlfriend.

  ‘Wow,’ said Cate to the Australian soap star who was wearing a gravity defying micro mini dress. ‘Those two really know how to put on a show.’

  Cindy finished her number, Nancy and Lucas disentangled themselves and waved happily at the audience. Then, to Cate’s horror, Nancy was at the top of the stairs beckoning to her. ‘Come on, babe,’ she mouthed over the noise.

  Before she had a chance to think, Cate was up on stage. It was the weirdest sensation to be looking at hundreds of faces of complete strangers who were cheering her on as if they knew her. The lights were hurting her eyes and the smell of sweat and the heat of the energy from the band was almost overwhelming.

  She tried to edge towards the back of the stage only to find the bass guitarist tapping her on the back. ‘Oh no you don’t, gorgeous,’ he said naughtily into her ear. ‘The good sheikh needs all the friends he can get to sing “Happy Birthday”.’

  Just then there was a drum roll from Pete, and Lucas struck up the first chords of ‘Happy Birthday’. Off-stage, Cate could see a man holding a huge cake in the shape of a skyscraper. Nancy beckoned to her and she and Nancy carried it carefully to a gilt table that had been placed in the middle of the stage.

  Standing there was a man in white robes, his red face beaming with pride, his immaculately dressed and heavily made-up wife standing just behind him. ‘Thank you,’ he said politely, bowing first to Cate and then to Nancy before kissing both their hands. ‘The cake is beautiful.’

  Cate stood at the edge of the stage as the entire audience erupted into ‘Happy Birthday’ followed by ‘My Special Day’ – a Black Noir hit. The stage lights had dropped to a single spotlight focused on the sheik, and now Cate could actuall
y recognise a few faces in the crowd below her. In the second row, she could see Wayne Shawn and some of his old team-mates, each of them with their arm around a stunning girl and exuding a beery happiness. In the row behind sat a couple of Hollywood actors who were clapping along to the music. Then she saw the smile of the seaplane pilot. He was pointing at Nancy and giving Cate the thumbs up. Cate grinned and waved back at him – she remembered she had promised him an introduction – then glanced along the row to see if she could spot any more famous faces.

  Suddenly she felt the blood drain from her face. Standing out with grim and angry expressions in the middle of the sea of smiling singing faces, were the two youngest Cotians. There was no mistaking them and, from the look of it, they had no trouble recognising Cate either. The feeling of fear was so rapid, so overwhelming, that Cate thought she was going to be sick. She gasped for air, and stumbled backwards into the wings, frantically trying to marshal her thoughts.

  She was really angry with herself. How could she have been so careless as to be dragged up on the stage in front of just about everyone on the island. She might as well have put up a banner telling the world that she was available for questioning if any Cotians would like to ask her just why she had been pretending to be a maid at their meeting.

  She was in real danger now and she had to get out of there fast. But who could help her at this time of the night? She scrolled mentally through her options. Marcus and Henri had left the island the night before and the last regular boat left the island at eleven – and it was now nearly midnight.

  Then she remembered. The seaplane pilot. He was here at the concert. She slipped through the wings and out down some small steps which brought her out to the edge of the crowd right to where he was sitting. She tugged at his sleeve.

  He looked at her incredulously and then at the stage. ‘Weren’t you up there a minute ago?’ he shouted above the noise of the music. Then he grinned. ‘Any chance of me getting up there with you and the gorgeous Nancy?’

  She shook her head. ‘I need to get off the island now.’

  He stared at her in surprise. ‘Did you say now?’ he shouted back at her. The band were in full swing, the sheikh and his wife enjoying a birthday dance in the middle of the stage.

  Cate knew she didn’t have much time left before she would be missed on stage. ‘I’m sorry but I’m in real trouble,’ she confessed. ‘Only you can help me. Please believe me.’

  He looked at her and suddenly his smile dropped. ‘You serious?’

  She nodded pleadingly. ‘I’ll explain it later. Can you get me off Purbeck as soon as possible? I can pay. A lot.’

  He went to look at his watch.

  ‘Don’t,’ said Cate sharply. ‘They’re watching.’

  ‘Who?’ asked the pilot.

  Cate took a deep breath. She could see Nancy looking around for her. ‘The Cotians,’ she said, praying he would understand.

  The pilot shook his head. ‘What have you got mixed up in, kid? Then he aded, ‘How much?’

  ‘Double your normal rate.’

  ‘Triple it.’

  Cate shrugged and nodded. It wasn’t her money anyway.

  ‘Meet me at the jetty in half an hour exactly,’ he said. ‘Be there. I won’t wait around.’

  He stood and pushed his way into the sea of people who were up on their feet and dancing. The band were working their way noisily through the closing bars of ‘My Special Day’, the sheikh and his wife finished their dance and waved a final farewell to their friends and family in the audience. The Cotians were still there, but Cate could see from their faces that the show was now the last thing on their minds.

  As soon as she could, Cate backed away from the crowd and headed for the cover of the small wood nearby. Away from the heat of the stage the night air was cooler, the stars brighter. She had half an hour to get back to her room and pick up her belongings. She needed the money she’d put in the room safe to leave, and she couldn’t go without her computer.

  Cate jogged carefully through the trees, trying hard not to be spooked at every strange shape made by the branches and the leaves. It was all she could do not to scream when a large bat flew off noisily in front of her.

  She reached the back garden of the villa. The house was in darkness – empty, Cate knew. Nancy had given Valentina and Marissa the night off and everyone else had been at the concert. She glanced up at the windows, her imagination running wild. ‘Stay calm,’ she told herself. The Cotians had no idea of who she really was, let alone where she was staying on the estate. At this time of night it would take them ages to find out.

  She walked past the pool, and the table which had already been laid for breakfast and without hesitation she picked up the sharpest knife she could see. Luckily for Cate, someone had been careless and left without locking up. She pushed at the large French windows, which opened without a sound.

  She moved cautiously into the large drawing room and then the hall. Feeling more confident now, Cate took the stairs to her bedroom a couple at a time until she was finally standing outside her bedroom. Her heart was pounding, her mind racing. Every sense in her body was straining, trying to work out if there was danger behind the door. Cate knew she couldn’t wait any longer. She turned the handle gently, then threw open the door, flicked on the light and raced back into the corridor as light flooded the room.

  There wasn’t a sound from the room, yet somehow, Cate could sense danger. Her hand tightened around the handle of her knife and she stepped silently into the room and took cover behind the bed, before leaning down and switching on the lamp beside it.

  The room was completely and utterly empty and, as far as Cate could see, undisturbed. Her clothes lay as she’d left them on an armchair, the bed still ruffled from where she had sat to do her make-up a few hours before.

  She breathed a huge sigh of relief, went to the safe at the far end of the room and punched in her number. The tiny door swung open and she stuffed the money and laptop into her rucksack.

  Cate turned to leave the room. It was then she heard the smallest of clicks away to her left. At the same time the room was plunged into darkness and instinctively she ducked down behind the armchair, knife at the ready. She looked around, weighing up her options. The door was at the other end of the room, too risky to run for, but a few metres behind her was the balcony window. She tried to remember how high it was, what surface lay below it and was just bracing herself to make a dash for it when the bathroom door swung slowly open, light spilling out.

  Cate looked up and all thought of escape vanished from her mind. Standing there, with tears trickling down her cheeks and a look of pure terror on her face was Marissa. Her hands were tied in front of her and blood streamed down one side of her head dripping onto her uniform. Just behind her, his gun pointed directly at Cate, was a balding man with a scar across his forehead and a look of satisfaction on his face.

  ‘Welcome, Cate Carlisle,’ he said. ‘Come and join us.’

  Cate knew she didn’t really have a choice. She sighed and stood up slowly, sliding the rucksack over her shoulders.

  ‘Leave it,’ said the bodyguard. ‘The knife, too. Come in here. Be quick about it or your friend will suffer again.’ He grabbed the maid by the shoulder, the pressure making her wince.

  ‘OK,’ said Cate, holding her hands up. ‘OK, I’m coming.’

  As she reached the bathroom, the man motioned for her to shut the door. ‘Lock it,’ he said.

  Cate’s heart sank as she did as she was told. This was bad. She was trapped in a tiny area with an armed thug with other Cotians very likely to be on their way. She thought about the concert. There was, she reckoned, at least another hour before it ended. Another hour before anyone would come looking for her and by then . . . She shuddered inwardly. Arthur had been right, she thought grimly. So had Lucas. This really was way out of her league.

  But Cate wasn’t going to give in without a fight. She stood quietly, obediently, but all the while her eyes fli
ckered around the room, desperately searching for anything she could use as a weapon. Right now, she thought, she needed to buy time.

  ‘What is this?’ she asked, her hands stretching out in a gesture of bewilderment. ‘Why are you in my room? I’m a guest here but I’m not rich, I’ve got nothing worth stealing.’

  The man snorted. ‘Nice try, kid,’ he said, ‘but guests on Purbeck Island don’t dress up as maids and wait on tables, do they? And maids don’t end up dancing on stage at rock concerts with the guest of honour, do they, Marissa?’

  Marissa shook her head, her eyes wide. ‘I am sorry,’ she said to Cate. ‘I am sorry I told them where you were staying. I had no choice.’

  ‘It’s OK,’ said Cate. ‘It’s not your fault.’

  ‘Shut up,’ said the man flatly. ‘I’m the one talking and I’ve got some questions. He pushed his gun into Marissa’s neck as he glared at Cate. ‘Where are you from and who are you working for?’

  Cate stared back at him, a plan formulating in her mind. If she went for him, Marissa would be dead instantly and, in all probability, she would be too. She had nothing left but the element of surprise.

  ‘I’m going to faint,’ she said suddenly, putting one hand up to her head and swaying theatrically. She put her other hand out to the sink to steady herself and then went down, her knees buckling beneath her.

  As she fell sideways onto the marble vanity unit, she heard the man cursing with surprise, heard him coming towards her and knew it was now or never. She slid her hand from underneath her body and groped for one of the crystal bottles of luxury body cream that she had so admired earlier in the day. As the man pulled roughly at her shoulder, she swung the heavy container up and around and smashed it over his head.

  He staggered back swearing, blood mingling with broken glass and cream in a grotesque mess that was slithering slowly down his forehead. His eyes met Cate’s and in them she saw an expression of murderous hatred, but this time she had the advantage. Before he could bring his gun up, she had grabbed his wrist, twisting it round and backwards, paralysing his grip. The gun dropped uselessly from his hand.