The House Guest - Mark Edwards Page 0,79

time, I looked up at the roof. It stood alone, the distance between this building and the next too far to jump. I had made a mistake going upwards. I was trapped.

He came closer, up the steps towards me, raising the gun one last time.

He didn’t shoot.

‘Put your hands where I can see them,’ he said.

I raised my arms, palms towards him.

‘Come back down,’ he said. ‘Slowly.’

I went back down the steps, hands still held up, treading carefully so I didn’t slip. He kept the gun trained on me. When we reached the platform beside the open window, he gestured for me to go through first, then followed, pointing the gun at me all the time.

‘Where’s Maguire?’ he said.

I hesitated. If I lied and told him Callum was close, he might decide he needed to kill me on the spot, then lie in wait for Callum.

‘Manhattan,’ I said.

‘Doing what?’

‘I don’t know.’

He stepped closer, jabbing the gun in my direction. ‘Don’t bullshit me.’

I felt like I had no choice but to tell the truth. ‘He was watching Mona at the hotel. But I don’t know where he is now.’

I couldn’t tell if he believed me.

‘How did you know we were helping each other?’ I said.

He rolled his eyes. ‘I saw him push you out of the way of my car.’

So much was going through my head that I didn’t stop to question how he knew who Callum was and what he looked like. If asked, I probably would have guessed that Sinead must have told him. Shown the cult members a photo of her dad.

‘And how did you find us?’ I asked.

He smirked. ‘You’re amateurs, Adam. You brought Krugman’s phone back here, didn’t you?’

I realised what he meant. ‘Oh shit. There’s a tracker inside it?’

‘Yep. And not the usual Find My iPhone shit. A proper tracker.’

I guessed that was something they did with all their phones. Was that why Eden had been so happy to give Ruth her spare phone? So she could keep track of her? Had the cult been responsible for the phone theft in the park too?

Of course they had. How many steps behind them would I always be?

‘So which one of you shot Krugman?’ he asked. ‘Maguire, I’m guessing.’

I didn’t contradict him.

He made a clucking sound with his mouth. ‘We’re going to make arrangements so Krugman gets a proper funeral. We look after our own.’

‘Like Mona looked after her husband?’

‘Jack wasn’t one of us. But you know about that? Did Krugman tell you?’

‘I figured it out. I know about Krugman and Mona too.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Smart. You know a lot. Now pick that chair up and sit on it.’

I did as he asked. He moved behind me and cuffed my hands. Then he grabbed another chair and sat down too, the gun still on me. He took out his phone and tapped out a text with his other hand. Reporting back to Gabriel, I guessed.

‘What’s your name?’ I asked.

He didn’t reply.

‘Come on,’ I said. ‘You know mine.’

He mulled it over. Eventually, probably believing there was no harm telling a man who would be dead soon, he said, ‘Emilio.’

‘Where’s Ruth?’ I asked.

He smiled. ‘Are we playing quid pro quo? You know I’m the one holding a gun, Adam?’

Despite the situation, there was something weirdly likeable about Emilio. He was charming. He looked like the good-looking boy next door, the one everyone wants to be friends with.

‘I just don’t want to go to my grave not knowing that she’s okay,’ I said.

‘Huh.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘She’s fine. Not that you really care.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You were envious of her success. You wanted her to fail.’ He looked genuinely disgusted.

‘I never . . .’ I stopped. Why was I trying to defend myself to this guy? After what he and the rest of the cult had done? ‘You think that’s worse than abducting her?’

Emilio laughed. ‘She hasn’t been abducted, Adam. We’re looking after her. Protecting her.’

‘Protect one, protect all?’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Where did you hear that?’

As he said this, my phone beeped in my pocket. Emilio reached in and plucked it out.

‘What’s the code?’

I told him and he unlocked it. I couldn’t see the screen but I guessed he was reading the message that had just arrived. I assumed it was from Callum. Emilio put my phone into his blazer pocket. ‘Such a mess. This bitch had better be worth it.’

‘You’re talking about Ruth.’

‘Yeah. She’s cute. Got that whole Princess Diana thing going on. Looks like butter wouldn’t