Killing Rachel (21 page)

But Rose pulled him back.

In the distance there was the slow rumble of a car engine. The Russian man must have heard it too because he stopped talking abruptly and there was absolute silence except for the motor approaching from the coastal path.

Rose looked fearfully at Joshua.

How long before the car arrived and they returned to the cottage and found it empty? Would there be time for her and Joshua to run across the fields to the copse? Would they not be seen in the moonlight?

She grabbed Joshua and pulled him close and whispered into his ear, ‘Behind the boat.’

He nodded and they slipped into the outbuilding. There was still no sign of the Russian. Maybe he’d walked further up the lane to meet the car. Joshua went across to the boat. The tarpaulin was hanging down, almost covering the wooden struts that held the boat in place. At the corner were some wooden crates and he moved them one by one so that there was a space where they could creep under the hull and round the other side against the wall. He pushed Rose to go first and then followed. The space at the corner was small but when Joshua pulled the tarpaulin down they were covered up. Rose edged back as far as she could into the corner.

She was terrified.

She could feel Joshua’s breath like fire on her neck. His arms were in front of him and she sought out one of his hands and held it. He placed his other hand over the top of hers and squeezed it gently.

Together they sat still and silent and waited.

TWENTY-ONE

The boat smelled of brine and fish and damp. The paint was peeling and the wood, centimetres from her face, was heavy with mildew.

Rose’s chest lifted and settled, lifted and settled.

If they could just stay there, like that. The wall behind them, the boat camouflaging them. Possibly the Russians would think that, somehow, Joshua had got free and had run as far away as he could. They may even give up and leave.

The engine noise of the SUV came closer until it seemed to be outside, metres away from where they were sitting. Then it stopped. For a few seconds there wasn’t a sound, then the doors of the vehicle opened. She heard voices, mostly in Russian, and the sound of walking on the rough path up to the front door of the cottage.

Then there was a shout and a lot of noise; heavy footsteps walking swiftly here and there and doors banging from inside the cottage. Moments later someone restarted the car engine and swung it round, kicking up pebbles from beneath it. There was shouting and people running past the outbuilding and back again. A voice came from far away, perhaps from the direction of the fields where they had been headed. Then it came back as though whoever it was had run so far and was now on their way back.

Rose was stiller than she’d ever been in her life. The only thing that was moving was the beat of her heart. It was at her very centre and pulsed rapidly while her body was still as a corpse. Then suddenly everything outside went quiet and she listened hard. Joshua tensed beside her. Would it have been better to take their chances and run across the field?

The silence was filled with intent.

She heard a footstep outside the outbuilding. A single footfall. As if someone was moving stealthily towards them. The smell of the boat was making Rose feel sick. She felt bile at the back of her throat.

The door of the outbuilding creaked open.

It would only be minutes before they found them.

She gagged silently, letting go of Joshua’s hand to cover her mouth. She felt him tense, his muscles hardening. Her hand flopped and touched the ground. It was slimy and damp and her fingers felt something lying in the corner by the wall. It was a chain of some sort and she grabbed on to it, closing her hand over it.

The sound of voices began, talking rapidly. Through the tarpaulin she saw the beam of a torch swinging across the walls of the outbuilding.

Was there any possibility that they would just look in the building? That they would discount the parcelled up boat? But this thought was dismissed as she saw hands on the tarpaulin and then sensed a whoosh of air as it was rudely pulled to the side, leaving them exposed to the beam of the torch and the faces beyond.

A great guffaw of laughter came from the men.

‘What a smell!’ one of them said in English.

Another voice, quieter, calmer, spoke.

‘Get them out of there.’

Then there were hands pulling at her feet and legs, sliding her out of the hiding place and dropping her unceremoniously on the floor of the outbuilding. Joshua followed but he immediately stood up, squaring his shoulders. The man who had kicked him earlier gave a grin as though he was looking forward to something. It made Rose’s head feel weak.

‘Mikey, bring them outside.’

There were three men. One of them had walked out ahead of the others. Rose felt one man grab her arm and hoist her to her feet and lead her out into the night air. The other pulled Joshua. The SUV was in front of the cottage, its headlights blazing, lighting up the whole area. The man thrust her towards the cottage and let her go. She leant up against the wall, glad to have something at her back. She looked down at herself. In the light she could see her jeans were damp from the floor of the outbuilding. One of her hands was clenched. She was still holding the chain she had found behind the boat. Her fist looked fused, as if it would never uncurl.

The men went quiet.

‘I have message for you.’

The man at the SUV spoke with authority and Rose thought he was probably Lev Baranski, the son of the man in the photo.

‘You tell your father I will never stop looking for him.’

All the men were staring at them.

‘My father is dead,’ Joshua said.

Lev Baranski shook his head. ‘I knew, all these years, that he was not dead. I knew where you were, what you were doing. I made it my business to know. I waited. One day you came to me. Then I knew it was time to find you, to talk to you. Because I know it will only be a matter of time before you will show me where your father is. He’s not here. I can see that. So I’m just giving you and your girlfriend a message. Tell him I will be coming for him.’

‘I can’t tell him anything. I haven’t seen him for five years.’

‘You will see him. One day. Be sure to let him know that I have not forgotten my father’s death and I never will.’

There was silence. The mention of Viktor Baranski seemed to quieten the men who all looked at the ground as if they were at some kind of memorial service. Then, after what seemed like a moment’s reflection, the man who had kicked Joshua earlier pulled something out of his pocket and pointed it at him. A knife flicked out, startling Rose.

‘You want I should rough him. Hurt him?’ he said to Lev Baranski.

Joshua moved towards Rose. He held out one arm as if to divide her off from what was taking place.

‘Just a little message for father? An eye? An ear?’

Lev Baranski stared at both of them. He seemed to be considering it. Rose’s legs felt liquid as if they might pour away at any moment.

‘No,’ he said. ‘Not this time. This time I want him to go to his father and say that Lev Baranski wants to see him. No more, no less. Next time, though . . .’

He paused and looked at Rose for the first time. She held his eyes.

‘Next time not so lucky.’

He turned round and got into the SUV. The men with him stood for a moment and stared menacingly at Rose and Joshua and then one of them got into the vehicle. The other put his hand in his pocket and pulled out something and threw it at Joshua. It skidded along the ground and landed by his foot. It was a mobile phone. Joshua dipped down and picked it up. The man got into the SUV and it reversed and swung round. Keeping its lights on this time, it made its way up the lane faster than it had come, see-sawing over the bumpy terrain.

Rose and Joshua stood very still watching it go. Only when its rear lights disappeared did Rose find herself sliding down the wall, hitting the ground with a bump and breaking into shuddering sobs.

‘Rosie, Rosie,’ Joshua whispered, sitting down beside her.

She looked at him. In the dark she couldn’t see his expression but she put her arms up to him and pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back, making shushing sounds and after a few moments she stopped crying and leant back against the wall, exhausted.

‘We should get out of here,’ he said, his voice still in a whisper.

‘In case they change their minds?’

‘I don’t think they will. But you’re freezing and so am I.’

She nodded and made a shaky attempt to get to her feet, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. He helped her and tried to hold the hand that was closed tight.

‘What’s this?’

She opened her palm to show the chain she had picked up from behind the boat. It was clunky, an identity bracelet, one half of the chain missing. It looked old-fashioned and had something engraved on it but she couldn’t make out the word.

‘I found it,’ she said.

‘My bag’s in the boathouse,’ he said. ‘You stay here and I’ll go and get it.’

‘No, I’m coming with you! Then we go, right? Get away from here?’

He nodded and she followed him to the boathouse. She made sure the door was wide open and stood by it, not wanting to go in again. She kept looking back to the lane and listening intently for any sound of the car engine coming back. Joshua got down on his knees and edged under the hull of the boat to where they had been hiding. She waited, her eyes adjusting to the interior. A wash of grey light poured into the boathouse. Joshua was backing out from under the hull when she looked up and saw the side of the boat, visible now because the Russians had pulled back the tarpaulin.

‘Oh, my!’ she said, astonished at what she saw.

‘What?’ Joshua said.

The two of them stood opposite the boat and looked at the remains of the painted name it had been given.

The word
Butterfly
stared back at them.

Joshua gasped and walked forward, putting his hand out to trace the letters as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. He took out his phone and pressed the keys so that it lit up for a second, illuminating the sign and Rose could see that the boat had once been dark blue and the lettering yellow.

‘I don’t believe this,’ he said.

Neither did she. The boat, the cottage, the notebooks. All of it was too much for her. She felt the chain still in her hand and took out her own mobile phone to get some light and remembered that the battery was running low. She held the name plate from the chain under it and pressed it to get a last bit of light from it. The words
Message Sent
came on to the screen.

For a second she was puzzled and then she remembered the text she had written to Frank Richards. She had called out for help but the message hadn’t gone. Now it had finally found a signal and transmitted. Too late to be of any use to them.

She held the chain in front of the screen and pressed, hoping there was just enough battery to see the inscription on the nameplate. It lit up for a second then went black. She pressed a few more times but her battery had run out completely. It didn’t matter, though. She had just made out the inscription.

The name on the identity bracelet was
Βайктор
.

A Russian name.

They got into the car quickly and shut out the cold night air. Rose was shivering and Joshua was blowing on his hands.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ he said, starting the car.

In moments they were driving away, turning out of the lane with the sign that said
Beach
. Joshua drove past the White Rose and kept going. He drove without speaking. The heater was running but the air seemed lukewarm. Rose looked at the time: 6.07 p.m. Was it just two hours before that she had been dropped off at the pub, looking for Joshua?

As they drove she thought about the things that had happened. Lev Baranski thought that Brendan had something to do with his father’s death. Hadn’t Skeggsie said that the Russian secret service killed Viktor Baranski? Could it be that their parents had become involved in a national security matter? Had they given information to the Russian secret service which enabled them to kill Viktor? Was that why Lev Baranski wanted to see Brendan?

Something occurred to her as she thought about this. Lev said he wanted to see Brendan. Lev had been interested only in Joshua. Was it possible that it was only Brendan who was involved in national security and that her mother had been sucked into something she had nothing to do with?

When the road widened out Joshua pulled over and parked the car up on the verge. He took his seat belt off and so did she. He sat very still as if trying to calm himself. The engine was still running, the temperature in the car finally heating up.

‘After I dropped you off I went back and checked out of the pub. I was loading my stuff in the back of Skeggsie’s car when I saw this crowbar there. You know Skeggsie. He probably had it in his car for protection or something. I made a snap decision to go and find out what was in the cottage. I got there, I unlocked the top padlock and jemmied the door. I went inside. I had a look around. You could see for yourself there wasn’t much to find and as I came out this SUV was coming down the lane and I wondered whether it was some local people. I was going to ask questions but then the guy from the restaurant in South Kensington got out of the passenger door. It took a few moments for me to realise who he was.’