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
She picked up the phone and put it to her ear.
‘Hello?’
‘Is this Joelle Levy?’
The voice was authoritative. It demanded attention.
‘Speaking.’
‘My name is Joe Dempsey. I’m with the International Security Bureau at the United Nations and I need to speak to you about Michael Devlin.’
SEVENTY-TWO
Michael looked at his watch.
4.15 a.m.
He had arrived at Brookwood Cemetery at exactly 4 a.m. Both his Omega and the Audi’s digital clock agreed the time. If both were wrong it would be by less than a minute. A margin of error Karl Hirst had to allow.
Hirst’s instructions had gone no further than Michael’s arrival. 4 a.m. at the cemetery. Nothing more than that. Michael had obeyed them to the letter and had waited at the gated entrance for ten minutes. In the pitch black of night.
A lamb to the slaughter.
But the slaughter had not come. Nothing had. And so Michael had had no choice but to follow his instincts and to enter the cemetery itself.
Brookwood Cemetery was huge. Over five hundred acres, it was the biggest in the UK and one of the biggest in Europe. Michael knew that now, thanks to a quick Google search.
It was an easy place to get lost. Even in daylight.
And an easy place to get killed.
Michael had been walking for five minutes, but he had no idea where to. He had just stuck to the path, following its twists and its turns.
The darkness was less intense within the grounds. It was an open space, allowing the moon and starlight to do their work. They made a difference; Michael still needed to concentrate to stay on the gravel walkway, but at least it was semi-visible.
He kept moving. Deeper and deeper into the cemetery. Further and further from the road. From the slightest possibility of a passing car. From any sound but the sound of himself. Of his footsteps. Of his heartbeat.
Michael could not stop his mind from racing as he strode onwards. Every step brought new possibilities. New fears.
Hirst could be anywhere. Behind any of the headstones that Michael could make out in the darkness. Or obscured by any of the larger mausoleums silhouetted in the distance. Wherever Hirst was, he was safe. He was hidden.
Michael was not.
Michael was very aware that he was exposed on the path, the only part of the cemetery that offered no cover. It gave Hirst every advantage. He could take Michael – from a distance – whenever he pleased. With no need to dirty his hands. Michael knew that. And knew he was still breathing for only one reason.
Hirst was enjoying his game.
Michael looked down at his watch. Ten more minutes had passed. Ten minutes of aimless walking. Ten minutes of tortured anticipation. Ten minutes of Hirst’s pleasure.
Enough’s enough, Michael thought, unwilling to give Hirst a moment’s more satisfaction. Let’s just get this done.
He came to a halt. Without the sound of his footsteps, his heartbeat sounded much louder in his ear. It was rapidly increasing in speed. He could feel the rush of adrenaline starting again.