Contents (83)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- Acknowledgements
- OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK
Michael smiled again. He reached out with his right hand and placed it gently against Sarah’s tear-stained cheek.
‘Sarah, my mind’s made up. My actions have caused this. What I did. Longman and Derek both died for it. Blunt too. I’ve cost those men their lives. I as good as killed one of the best friends I’ll ever have. That’s a high enough price for others to pay for what I did, isn’t it? We can’t expect Simon Kash to pay it too. We can’t see an innocent kid convicted of murder just so I get to be safe. Can we?’
Sarah was silent.
Michael would do what he felt was right. Sarah knew that. Whether she agreed with it or not was irrelevant. She sat back into her seat and let Michael’s words wash over her. Then, for the first time since Michael had entered the garden, she looked back towards Levy.
‘What do you think, Joelle?’
Levy met Sarah’s gaze. Glanced quickly to Michael. Then back.
‘What do I think?’ Levy took a moment. ‘I think I should have said yes to that cigarette.’
Michael walked into Derek Reid’s kitchen, opened the American-style double fridge and took out a cold bottle of Italian Peroni lager. He popped the top and took a swig, immediately noting the refreshing cold weakness of the drink in comparison to the earlier whiskey.
Now that his mind was settled he no longer needed the kick of the stronger liquor. He knew what he had to do.
The explanation Michael had given to Sarah was honest. But it was not complete. The guilt he still felt for Derek Reid’s death – for all three deaths – was raw. It was something he might never overcome. Only time would tell. But while it was too late to do anything for them, it was not too late for Simon. Michael could not leave him to his fate. That boy was his lifeline, a chance to do something positive. An act of atonement, however small.
He would stay. He would fight. And he would win.
Because that was what Derek would have done.
All of this was true. But there was something else. Something he could not mention to Sarah or to Levy. A much darker decision he had made that required him to stay in plain sight.
Because then Hirst will find me, he thought. And when he does, that fucker’s going to pay for every last thing he’s done.
FIFTY-NINE
Steven Hale reversed his BMW X5 into the space closest to Number 18. It was tight and not exactly where he wanted to be, but it was also the only place left to park. The BMW completed the chain of cars lining the street’s kerb.
Hale stepped out of his car, locked the doors and surveyed his surroundings. First the pavements that ran alongside twelve houses on each side of the street. Then the vehicles that lined both kerbs, looking for any hint that a car was occupied.