Free The Devil's Anvil by Matt Hilton

it might draw in his pal, and likely reinforcements, so it was better that I bide my time, consider my next move. Rink would have been proud of me. I moved away and entered a store a couple of units along. I kept an eye on him through the window, while pretending to examine some gifts on a rotating stand. When enough time had passed, I came out the shop again and wandered past him, back to my rental car.
    Inside the car I placed my SIG on the seat again and covered it with the corner of the bag supplied by Billie. I took out my cell.
    ‘Billie? Joe.’
    ‘What’s happening? Are they still outside?’
    ‘One of them is.’
    ‘What does he want?’
    ‘At a guess I think he’s waiting for you to go home.’
    ‘You know, something came back to me after you left. Yesterday, before I rang you? I think I saw the same man down by the lake on my property. I can’t be sure, but I caught a flash of red – the same colour as his coat – but I just wrote it off at the time as my imagination. Do you think he’s been out there watching me since Agent Cooper was here?’
    Billie was astute, no question.
    ‘I’ve checked with Cooper, he says they’re not with him. But that’s if he’s telling the truth.’
    ‘Why wouldn’t he? Oh, yes, I see. He wants Richard and thinks I might lead him to him.’
    ‘There is that,’ I said. ‘But we won’t know until I speak to our smelly friend. Can Hilary take over your duties at the store?’
    ‘I’m sure she will, but let me check.’ There was a muffled conversation, and then Billie came back on. ‘Yeah, Hilary’s happy to take over for a while. What’s on your mind, Joe?’
    ‘All I want you to do is come out of the shop, get in your car and drive home.’
    ‘You want me to get the man to follow me?’ Surprisingly there was no fear in her voice. If anything she sounded excited at the prospect of a chase. ‘Are you going to trap him, find out what he does when confronted? We could probably make him speak if—’
    ‘That’s not my intention. I just want to see how he reacts.’
    ‘Huh.’ My reply was obviously displeasing.
    ‘It’s important that you don’t alert him, Billie. Try to act as natural as possible. Don’t look for him. He has his eyes on you and won’t miss you coming out. Just get in your car and drive home. Don’t stop. Even if you see him pull over, don’t do anything to let him know you’ve spotted him. I’ll join you at your house, OK?’
    ‘OK. But what if he doesn’t follow?’
    ‘He will. I’m sure of it.’
    ‘Give me a few minutes to get my coat and purse and then I’ll set off.’
    ‘Great. And don’t worry, because I’ll be close behind.’
    ‘OK.’
    ‘Billie?’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘Which is your car?’
    ‘The blue Jetta parked a few spaces up from the gallery.’
    The delivery truck had pulled away. I had a clear view along the street and could see the roof of Billie’s Jetta over the top of a smaller sports car. ‘Got it,’ I said.
    I waited for less than two minutes. Billie came out of the shop and strode towards her car. She looked determined, bouncing on the balls of her feet, her shoulders a tad stiff, but she resisted taking a look for the smelly man. He, on the other hand, almost performed a pirouette as he turned away to avoid eye contact. He watched her reflection in a store window, and as soon as she pulled the Jetta away from the kerb he jogged across the road and clambered inside a parked SUV. He peeled away and followed close behind Billie. I gave it a few seconds then also pulled out. I didn’t fear he’d notice me following because he was so engaged in watching his quarry. Through the back window, I could tell he had his cell phone pressed to his ear. Calling in the suited man.

9
     
    Billie led the way over one of the Victorian bridges at the south-west corner of town, and picked up a road that went deep into a valley. We didn’t get far out of town before the woods closed in on both sides. The road