Chapters (68)
- Cover
- Dedication
- NOW
- One
- BEFORE
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- NOW
- Twenty-One
- BEFORE
- 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
- NOW
- Thirty-Nine
- BEFORE
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- NOW
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- AFTER
- Fifty-Six
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
‘There has to be something else I can do. Something else you want.’
‘NO.’
Mark looked back and forth yet again. Still, there was nothing out there. He was alone, but he could feel eyes watching him. Out there, in the shadows, hidden from view. Watching to see what he would do. Watching to see if he would go through with his task.
‘If they find out who I am – and they will – this will all fail.’
‘I DON’T CARE—’
‘You have to,’ Mark said quickly, shouting into the darkness. Hoping he could be heard by whoever was watching him. Out there. ‘I can’t do this. It won’t work.’
‘THEN THE GAME IS OVER AND SHE IS DEAD.’
‘No, listen, I spoke to John Redwood. The one who gave you Holly Edwards’s name. He is going to the police and telling them everything…’
‘JOHN KNOWS NOTHING. HE DIDN’T GO TO THE POLICE, HE IS CURRENTLY SITTING AT HOME. NO ONE KNOWS YOU ARE HERE OR WHAT YOU KNOW. THEY WILL HOLD YOU FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AT LEAST. LONGER IF YOU CAN MAKE THEM BELIEVE YOU. TWENTY-FOUR HOURS IS THE MINIMUM TIME. IF YOU FAIL, SHE DIES.’
‘His mum called them. They were coming.’
‘ENOUGH. PLAY THE GAME OR SHE DIES. HAND YOURSELF OVER TO THEM. TELL THEM WHAT YOU DID. SHE CAN DIE NOW.’
‘No, wait… I’ll play. I just need time. I need the rules to change a little. They can hold me for twenty-four hours without charge. If I make it a full day, will that be enough? They won’t charge me.’
‘YOU DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME NOW. THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD YOU ARE HERE. THEY WILL BE COMING SOON. GOODBYE AND GOOD LUCK.’
The call ended then, Mark still talking into nothingness. Wanting a little more time, more information. He placed the phone back in his pocket and began reciting the names. The methods of their deaths. He needed to keep them searching for that twenty-four hours.
Mark took off down the road, covering the two hundred yards to his car quickly. He didn’t pause, jumping inside and turning on the engine. He drove past the open garage, not looking at the dead girl inside, a pang of guilt hitting him as he did so. Kept driving, until he was further past it. Eventually, a minute or so further down the road, he came to a clearing in the field. More outhouses.
It would have to do.
If they found his car near the scene, it would be over before it had begun. They would run the number plate, discover his real name, and he would be carted off to a mental institution before the next day’s sunrise, he guessed.