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Back The Last Guests Save as PDF
Chapters (54)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART ONE
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. DEADLY SAS RAID IN AFGHANISTAN UNDER SCRUTINY
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. PART TWO
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. TWENTY-NINE
  37. DANIEL MOORE: ‘A SINGLE BLOKE, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, A BIT OF A DUNCE BUT WITH A GOOD HEART,’ BEST FRIEND SAYS.
  38. THIRTY
  39. THIRTY-ONE
  40. THIRTY-TWO
  41. THIRTY-THREE
  42. THIRTY-FOUR
  43. THIRTY-FIVE
  44. BREAKING: POLICE CONFIRM DANIEL MOORE ACTED ALONE
  45. THIRTY-SIX
  46. THIRTY-SEVEN
  47. THIRTY-EIGHT
  48. THIRTY-NINE
  49. SECOND ARREST MADE IN WESTAY HIDDEN CAMERAS CASE
  50. EPILOGUE
  51. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  52. Discover More
  53. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  54. Also by J. P. Pomare

I reach the top of the stairs and go to my phone. I see the number on the screen and recognise it instantly. I’ve not seen it in weeks. Not since I received those long-deleted text messages. It’s Daniel’s number. My heart is racing as I open the message. It takes a moment to load. A photo. It’s of us. The still from that night in Auckland. My face pressed to his. A second message comes. Just nine words. Bile is rushing up my throat. This can’t be happening. I read the words once more.

This is a warning: forget about the second man.

image

Peephole transmission

Given the recent scrutiny from authorities, members will no longer be able to access archival footage. In the unlikely event police breach our servers, this measure will help to protect the planters involved. Past footage will be stored offline for the foreseeable future. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Enjoy the show.

THIRTY-ONE

RATA ANSWERS AFTER a few rings.

‘Hi, it’s Lina Phillips.’

‘Yes, Lina. How can I help?’

I’m breathing too quickly. I shouldn’t have called, this is exactly what the message warned me against. Forget about the second man. I have everything I wanted out of the situation, a baby and our financial problems are manageable. I need to just forget about it. ‘I’ve been thinking,’ I begin. ‘The second man…’ I can’t think of how to put it so I just say the words. ‘I made a mistake, I know there wasn’t another person there that night. It was just Daniel Moore.’

‘Right and you just decided out of the blue –’

‘I remember everything much more clearly now.’

‘Sure. I wasn’t part of that original investigation but there doesn’t seem to be evidence either way of a second man.’

‘Exactly,’ I say, with relief. ‘Has there been any other progress?’

I hear him draw a deep breath, as if preparing a long speech, but all he says is, ‘I don’t have any major updates at this stage I’m afraid. Just theories, lots of theories which are useless until we have something concrete.’ Another pause. In the near silence I feel like I can hear him thinking, considering what he is about to say. ‘We only ever catch the tip of the iceberg with this sort of thing. Peephole and cybercrime in general. You’ve got to get lucky because of how decentralised it is, and the lengths people go to conceal their ID when they’re breaking the law online.’

‘But who would use this Peephole?’