Chapters (61)
- Prologue
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight
- Chapter Nine
- Chapter Ten
- Chapter Eleven
- Chapter Twelve
- Chapter Thirteen
- Chapter Fourteen
- Chapter Fifteen
- Chapter Sixteen
- Chapter Seventeen
- Chapter Eighteen
- Chapter Nineteen
- Chapter Twenty
- Chapter Twenty-One
- Chapter Twenty-Two
- Chapter Twenty-Three
- Chapter Twenty-Four
- Chapter Twenty-Five
- Chapter Twenty-Six
- Chapter Twenty-Seven
- Chapter Twenty-Eight
- Chapter Twenty-Nine
- Chapter Thirty
- Chapter Thirty-One
- Chapter Thirty-Two
- Chapter Thirty-Three
- Chapter Thirty-Four
- Chapter Thirty-Five
- Chapter Thirty-Six
- Chapter Thirty-Seven
- Chapter Thirty-Eight
- Chapter Thirty-Nine
- Chapter Forty
- Chapter Forty-One
- Chapter Forty-Two
- Chapter Forty-Three
- Chapter Forty-Four
- Chapter Forty-Five
- Chapter Forty-Six
- Chapter Forty-Seven
- Chapter Forty-Eight
- Chapter Forty-Nine
- Chapter Fifty
- Chapter Fifty-One
- Chapter Fifty-Two
- Chapter Fifty-Three
- Chapter Fifty-Four
- Chapter Fifty-Five
- Chapter Fifty-Six
- Epilogue
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
An hour later, the Jeep was parked up about thirty yards from the front entrance of Hembury’s apartment block, on the opposite side of the road. Three syringes were now prepped and loaded with the deadly concoction. Inside the apartment, Vargas was working on his laptop when a text came in from Hembury.
Dropped Amanda off at the airport. I’m at the station and will get back about seven. Flights are booked for the morning. See you later.
Vargas read the message and checked the time. Hembury wouldn’t be back for another three hours, so he decided to head down to the corner shop to pick up a few beers and snacks. On his way to the shop, he spotted Wicks and his cousin sitting in the front of the Cherokee and a sixth sense kicked in to tell him something was wrong. He picked up a couple of Peroni six-packs and, on his way back, deliberately headed along the opposite side of the street in order to walk right by the Jeep.
As he passed the Cherokee, he maintained his rhythm but glanced across at the two men, spotting the cool box that was resting on one of the rear seats. He crossed the road and made his way promptly back to the apartment. Something wasn’t quite right about the guys in the Cherokee but he couldn’t be sure. He decided to get back to his laptop and see in an hour if they were still there. He checked at five and again at six and the Jeep hadn’t moved. He felt a growing sense of unease and decided to call Hembury, who picked up straight away.
“Nic, I’m just about to leave, so should be back about six forty-five. Shall I pick up a few beers?”
“We’re sorted on the beer front but I think we have a potential situation. There are two guys sitting in a black Cherokee parked across the road who haven’t moved in the last two hours. I’m pretty sure they are staking out the apartment. I managed to get a closer look at them when I went to the store and I noticed a small cool box on the back seat, which seems a bit odd bearing in mind it’s pretty cold out there.”
Hembury thought for a moment. “Maybe Franklin’s had a change of heart about meeting me tomorrow. I’ll call you when I’m a street away and we’ll pay a surprise visit to our friends.”