order to earn his pay cheque. The man has no fear and no compunction, both of which are traits that are valuable to me. But I only require one Mr Dietrich. Now do you understand?’
‘I imagine one Dietrich is more than enough.’
Leeson smiled briefly. ‘I’m taking a risk telling you this, because perhaps you will react poorly to it, but had you agreed to kill Francesca for me I would have had Mr Coughlin shoot you with a high-powered rifle.’
Victor nodded. ‘Then I’m glad I declined.’
‘As I said, I needed a man who was careful and composed, a man who wouldn’t do something rash without weighing up the consequences. Alas, there are precious few ways to test such a thing. I hope you can appreciate that.’
‘I do. And what might have happened had I accepted your offer is irrelevant to me because I did not accept. Had I accepted I would now be dead and my understanding of what caused my demise would not be necessary.’
‘I’m glad you can see it like that.’
‘When do I get my things back?’
Leeson nodded, having expected the question would come; no doubt he had answered it already with Jaeger, Dietrich and Coughlin. ‘When the job is complete all your belongings will be promptly returned to you.’
‘How long will it be until then?’
‘Are you in a hurry to be somewhere?’
Victor shrugged. ‘Do I need to be in a hurry to wonder how long I’ll be here?’
‘You’ll remain here for more than a day but less than a year. That is all I will say on the matter for now. During that time you will be my guest and everything you might need shall be provided for you.’
‘Everything?’
‘You have a hand, don’t you? You are not permitted to leave the farmhouse grounds unless that is a requirement of your work. In such an instance you will be accompanied by another member of the team at all times.’
‘Sounds as if I’m more of a prisoner than a guest.’
‘You may elect to use whichever word you think is most suitable to the situation, but those are the terms of your employment and they will be obeyed without argument.’
‘Then I want more money.’
‘Of course, Mr Kooi. I would have not have expected otherwise. Shall we say a twenty-five per cent increase in your fee?’
‘Thirty per cent.’
‘Agreed. I am now your boss and you are my employee. This is your place of work and you will follow my orders and respect my decisions, and in return I will make you a very wealthy gentleman.’
‘You still haven’t told me what the job is yet.’
‘For now, Mr Kooi, the job is to wait. But tonight it will begin with a little excursion.’
THIRTY-ONE
Location unknown
Darkness: all around her, impenetrable black that made her think her eyes were still closed when she knew they were open.
Movement: a swaying and rocking underlined by endless vibration that made her entire body tremble.
Sound: incessant rumbling that filled her ears.
Pain: a throbbing ache that originated in the back of her skull and seeped throughout her head.
None of it made sense. Why had her alarm not gone off to wake her up before Peter surfaced, always hungry for breakfast, decreasingly hungry for morning cuddles? Was it the middle of night? Why was the bed shaking? Where was her duvet? What was going on in the street outside that caused the noise and vibration? Why did her head hurt so much?
Lucille Defraine thought about the bottle of prosecco in the fridge, not remembering but imagining she had drunk it before bed and now was paying the price of a killer hangover. But that didn’t make sense of all that she was experiencing. That didn’t explain the lack of light or a scent in the air that she realised was exhaust fumes.
She sat upright, squinting because the movement sent a wave of pain from the back of her head and straight down her body. She touched the source of the pain and found hair matted with crusted blood and a scabbed wound. The sensation made her feel nauseous. An image flashed through her mind.
She put fingertips to her cheek, picturing a slap. A man had slapped her. Who? When? Then she had slapped him, she remembered that clearly. A tall blond man. No, that wasn’t right. She’d slapped a young man. A soldier with acne. But she had slapped him first, not the other way around. But why? Then she’d fallen. She must have hit her head on the pavement. That was