by Tom Bale
towards the devastation. 'I can’t take the chance. I’m sorry.’
Cassie looked round, checked there was no one within earshot, and
said, You really do have a price on your head?’
He smiled. He sensed another quid pro quo moment coming up.
As far as I know.’
'But I still don’t get it. If your wife and daughters were given new
identities as well, why can’t you be with them?’
'That’s the complicated bit.’
'Go on.’
Joe sighed. He had never told anyone this. He had never said the
words aloud, and wasn’t sure he wanted to hear them now.
My wife accepted the deal on one condition. That under no circumstances
was I to be given any details about their relocation. They went
off to their new lives, and I went off to mine.’
'What?’ Cassie sounded appalled.
'It’s safer that way. No one can target them through me.’
'But that’s a terrible thing to do to someone. You’re telling me that
you’ve got no idea where they live now?’
Joe shook his head, almost embarrassed by the force of her outrage.
'I don’t know where they are. I don’t even know who they are.’
Once she had adjusted to his decision, Cassie had more questions
about what she should do next. What should she tell the police?
'Tell them the truth.’
'But what do I say about you?’
'Same thing. Tell them everything you know about Joe Carter. I
have another ID I can use if I have to.’
Cassie nodded slowly. Sofia was becoming fractious, drawing curious
glances from one of the uniforms at the cordon; any second now he
would be wandering over to ask what they were doing here.
'So I won’t see you again?’ she asked.
'I don’t think so. No.’
She leaned forward, holding his arm while she kissed him. It was
a brief, tender contact, and it warmed his heart.
Then they broke apart, and he said, You’d better go and tell them
about Felton.’ He fished in his pocket and gave her the keys to the
BMW, then indicated the Range Rover. 'I’m going to borrow this for
a day or two.’
Cassie didn’t speak again until he’d turned away from her.
'Where are you going? I mean, I realise you can’t tell me the actual
place . . .’
'I don’t know. I guess I’ll decide when I get there.’
Joe opened the driver’s door and started to climb in, but he could
feel her eyes on him and knew there was more to be said. Probably
one last question.
He left the door open while he started the engine. Cassie took a
step towards the car and gazed at him through the windscreen, as if
the existence of a barrier made it easier to say.
'Try to find them.’
Joe stared at her. It wasn’t a question at all. He didn’t really know
what it was. A suggestion? A command? An expression of hope?
To her credit, Cassie didn’t push for a response, but simply turned
and led Jaden towards the police cordon. The boy only looked back
once, raising his hand to wave at Joe; too entranced by the fire to be
distracted for long.
It meant that neither of them got to hear Joe’s reply, but that didn’t
matter. The important thing was that he said it.
'One day.’
Acknowledgements Once again I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my editor, Rosie de
Courcy. Thanks also to Richard Cable, Trevor Dolby, Nicola Taplin,
Nick Austin and the rest of the team at Preface / Random House.
At Janklow and Nesbit, I’d like to thank my agent, Tif Loehnis, as
well as Rebecca Folland, Kirsty Gordon, Tim Glister and Lucie
Whitehouse.
I’m very grateful for the support of the family and friends who comprise
my first readers: Tracy Brown, the Harrisons, Spencers, Deakins and
Roslings. Special thanks to Claire Burrell, who provided some valuable
feedback on the almost-final draft. As ever, a combination of thanks
and apologies are due to Niki, James and Emily for their love and
tolerance.
Finally, I should point out that certain geographical modifications
were made to ensure that my fictional island of Terror’s Reach could
be accommodated within the real – and very beautiful – surroundings
of Chichester Harbour.
Note on the Author
Tom Bale is the author of Skin and Bones. He lives with his family
in Brighton. For more information, visit www.tombale.net.
The End.