Free Dead Man's Gift 02 - Last Night by Simon Kernick Page A

at the junction.
    ‘Drive for Christ’s sake, I’m on your side!’ he yelled, turning towards her. ‘And I’ve got your handbag.’
    She gave him an uncertain look and he could see the fear in her eyes. It was Orla all right, but she looked younger than she did in the photo he’d seen.
    ‘Go on,’ he demanded. ‘If I wanted to hurt you, I’d have done it by now.’
    She seemed to accept this, and swung the wheel left, pulling out on to the road and accelerating.
    Up ahead, Scope saw a car with flashing blue lights racing towards them. Quickly, he slid off the seat and crouched down in the gap, wishing Orla drove a more spacious car. She started slowing up, then brought it to a halt.
    ‘What’s going on?’ he asked.
    ‘It’s the police, they’re blocking the road.’ She inhaled sharply. ‘They’re coming over.’
    Scope felt his chest tighten. There was no way he was prepared to kill a cop. He’d never be able to live with himself – even if failing to do so meant he ended up behind bars for the next twenty years. ‘Don’t give me up,’ he whispered. ‘I’m the only one who can help you right now, and I know all about Tim Horton.’ He saw her flinch when he said this and, realizing he was going to have to rely on her, he pulled off his jacket and covered himself with it.
    He heard Orla let down the driver’s window. ‘Is everything okay, officer?’ she asked, sounding like she was leaning out the window. Her accent was middle-class Home Counties, not what Scope was expecting at all. ‘I’m not doing anything illegal, am I?’
    Scope heard the cop reply but couldn’t make out what he was saying. He held his breath, fighting the urge to jump out of the car and run.
    ‘I haven’t seen anyone like that,’ she answered. ‘I’m just on my way home.’
    The cop said something else, and then he heard the window going back up and the car pulled away.
    ‘Stay down for now,’ she told him as the car picked up speed.
    A minute passed. Then two. Finally he pulled the jacket away from his head and sat back up in the seat.
    ‘Who the hell are you?’ she demanded.
    Even in the dim light of the car, Scope could see she was very pretty, with sleek, angular features and high cheekbones. Her eyes were big and oval-shaped, their colour a pale, gleaming blue. It was no wonder Tim had been attracted to her.
    ‘I’m trying to find Tim Horton’s son. The people you’ve been working for have kidnapped him. He’s seven years old.’
    ‘You’re bullshitting me. Why would they do that?’
    ‘They’re using him to blackmail Tim. He’s a senior politician, for Christ’s sake, and men like him make very useful targets. I’m just trying to get his son back. He gave me your name and address, and I was coming there to talk to you. It’s a good thing I turned up when I did.’
    Orla took a deep breath. ‘I can’t believe he tried to kill me.’
    ‘Who’s
he
?’
    She glared at him. ‘I don’t know who you are, so why should I tell you anything?’
    ‘Because I saved your life, and right now you’re in a lot of trouble. Whether you like it or not, you’re involved in the abduction of a child. I’ll tell you something else too. When they snatched Tim’s son, Max, they murdered his nanny.’
    ‘I had nothing to do with any of that,’ she protested angrily. ‘I’d never do anything to hurt a kid.’
    ‘Well, you already have done, because the kidnappers could never have done it without you. But now you’ve got the chance to help me find him. Who was the man who was trying to kill you?’
    Orla was shaking, but Scope resisted feeling too sorry for her. Instead, he waited for her to speak.
    ‘His name’s Phil Vermont,’ she said eventually. ‘He’s my boyfriend.’
    ‘And was he the one who put you on to Tim Horton?’
    She nodded. ‘But I didn’t know what Phil was going to do. I just thought we were running a scam on Tim.’ She paused. ‘We’ve done it before a couple of times. I meet