17 Church Row

by James Carol

  Duncan clicked to the next camera and now Catriona could see what had got them so scared. Murray was standing by the work island, holding a gun. Even though Nikki and Ethan weren’t in this shot, Catriona was familiar enough with the layout of the kitchen to know that Murray was aiming the gun at them.

  ‘What the fuck?’ Duncan whispered under his breath, taking the words right out of her mouth.

  The monitor showing the feed from the house suddenly went black.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’ Duncan started hitting keys on his keyboard. His eyes were narrow and he was biting his bottom lip. ‘As far as I can tell, everything’s working. I don’t get it.’

  ‘You need to get the picture back.’

  ‘Working on it,’ Duncan snapped.

  The monitor suddenly lit up again. Murray was standing there holding the gun and looking confused, as though he had no idea what was going on. Duncan was looking confused too.

  ‘What?’ Catriona asked.

  ‘I didn’t do anything,’ Duncan said.

  ‘You must have done something.’

  ‘I swear I didn’t.’

  ‘Switch back to the other kitchen camera.’

  The monitor flickered and Ethan and Nikki appeared. They both looked as confused as Murray.

  ‘I didn’t do anything,’ he said again. ‘It’s like the lights keep going off and on.’

  ‘Can you get sound?’

  ‘Working on it.’

  Catriona stared at the screen, wanting to hurry Duncan along but biting her lip because that wasn’t going to help. Nikki and Ethan exchanged a look and it was obvious they didn’t have any more idea of what was going on than she did.

  ‘GET OUT!’

  Catriona jerked back in the seat like she had been slapped. The words sounded tinny over the computer speakers, but there was no mistaking the authority, or the anger. A second later the screen went blank again. Catriona looked up at the screen that had the Skype feed but Duncan had gone too.

  Chapter 66

  The steel shutters stopped any light getting in and every piece of electronic equipment had gone off so there wasn’t even any ambient light to see by. Nikki felt as though all the oxygen had suddenly been sucked out of her. She hated the dark. Loathed it. Her heart was a solid lump in her chest, and it was getting bigger, crushing her from the inside.

  The lights came on as suddenly as they’d gone off. Murray was looking around in confusion, desperately trying to work out what had happened. Ethan was looking confused too. Before anyone could say anything, the lights went off again and they were plunged back into darkness. Nikki shut her eyes, attempting to fight the darkness by dealing with it on her own terms. It didn’t help. An image of Grace and Bella from a happy moment flashed into her mind. They were on a bouncy castle, laughing and giggling. In some ways it was a nothing memory – a snapshot of happiness that existed amongst a thousand such snapshots. In other ways it was everything, because it provided her with the strength to stop herself from tumbling into the abyss.

  ‘This is a little game I call Hunt The Father,’ Katy said as the lights came back on. ‘Let’s see who works out the rules first.’

  The lights went off again. Nikki was aware of Ethan moving beside her. She put her hand out, searching for him but all she found was empty air. When the lights came back on a second later, Ethan was a couple of metres in front of her and still moving, heading towards the work island. Murray raised the gun and the lights went off. A fraction of a second later there was a flash of fire and a pneumatic hiss.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Nikki called out. When she didn’t get an answer she immediately thought the worst. But if Ethan had been shot how come he hadn’t screamed? And why hadn’t she heard his body hit the floor. By the time the lights came back on Ethan was almost at the work island. Murray’s arm moved to the left and now the gun was pointing directly at her.

  ‘Stop or I’ll shoot her. I swear to God I will.’

  The lights went off and Nikki dropped to the floor. Murray fired and for a moment she was convinced she must have been shot. There was no pain, though, and she was still breathing. She scrambled to her feet and moved quickly towards the entrance to the kitchen. If she could get into the corridor, then Murray wouldn’t be able to shoot her.

  ‘You’ve only got one bullet left, Father,’ Katy’s voice sang through the darkness. ‘So who do you use it on? Because that’s the dilemma, isn’t it? Who do you shoot? Nikki or Ethan?’

  By the time the lights came on, Nikki was almost in the corridor. She glanced over her shoulder. Ethan was heading towards the left-hand edge of the work island. On the other side, Murray had done the same, moving towards his left-hand edge. They were diagonally opposite each other, as far apart as it was possible to get.

  The lights went off yet again. By the time they came on, Ethan had moved to the right-hand edge of the work island, only Murray had countered this and they were still diagonally opposite each other. Before Murray could get the gun properly lined up, the lights went off, leaving Nikki waiting for a gunshot that never came. When the lights came back on they’d swapped back to their original positions. Murray had anticipated this and had the gun aimed in Ethan’s rough direction. He shifted his aim slightly, but before he could pull the trigger the lights went out yet again.

  It was another stalemate. With the work island in the way there was no way for Ethan to get to Murray. Katy was toying with them like they were mice in a maze, chasing their tails for her amusement. She could keep doing this all day if she wanted to. The lights came on again. This time neither of them had moved.

  The lights went off and out of the darkness came the sound of movement. When the lights came back on Nikki saw there was one move she hadn’t anticipated. Murray was at the opposite end of the island again, pointing the gun along the diagonal, which was what she had expected. Ethan, however, had climbed up on to the top of the work island.

  Murray swung the gun towards Ethan but wasn’t quick enough. Ethan closed the gap between them in a couple of loping strides and kicked the gun out of his hand, sending it flying, end over end, through the air. He launched himself off the island, hitting Murray hard and sending them both crashing to the floor.

  Nikki didn’t see what happened next because she was sprinting across the kitchen towards the gun. She swooped down, scooped it up, then carried on running towards the work island. Ethan was behind Murray, one arm curled around his neck, while Murray was flailing around, trying to get free. He saw Nikki pointing the gun at him and all the fight suddenly went out of him. Ethan held on for a couple more seconds then untangled himself and walked over to where Nikki was standing. She stepped back, the gun still aimed at Murray.

  ‘On your feet.’

  Murray glared at her then struggled to his feet, using the work island to haul himself upright. He was cradling his injured hand, his face paler than ever. Nikki was just starting to realise how lucky they had been back there. Things could easily have turned out differently. She glanced over at Ethan. He was breathing heavily and his face was almost as white as Murray’s, but at least he was alive.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘I think so. What about you?’

  ‘I think so.’ Nikki had a sudden urge to break into hysterical laughter. The moment passed as quickly as it had come on, only now she felt like crying. The way her emotions were all over the place was disconcerting, but she was just glad to be alive. Glad that they both were.

  ‘There will be consequences for your actions, Father.’ Katy’s voice was all around them. Loud, hard, judgemental. ‘Sit down.’

  Murray just stood there, staring at the gun and cradling his injured hand.

  ‘Sit down, Father. Don’t make me ask again.’

  Murray pulled out the nearest stool and sat down.

  ‘So what am I going to do with you?’ Katy now sounded like an exasperated parent. ‘Taking your other thumb is one possibility.’


  Murray’s head went from side to side, the movement barely noticeable. He was staring at his injured hand, remembering.

  ‘What was that, Father? Is there something you want to share?’

  ‘Please,’ he whispered. ‘Please don’t do that.’

  ‘As you wish. Nikki,’ she added pleasantly, ‘I want you to shoot Father in the knee?’

  The request sent a shiver shooting up Nikki’s spine. The way Katy was speaking she could have been asking her to ‘please pass the salt’. She was aware of Ethan moving closer and did nothing to stop him when he reached out and took the gun. She was glad to be rid of it. Glad to have this task taken out of her hands.

  ‘Ethan, while it’s admirable that you want to protect your wife, I want Nikki to do this. Give her the gun.’

  ‘I can do it.’

  ‘Do I really have to remind you that Bella’s ongoing good health is very much dependant on your compliance?’

  Ethan shook his head.

  ‘Give. Nikki. The. Gun. NOW!’

  Ethan held the gun out and Nikki snatched it from him. She stepped closer to Murray and aimed it at his right knee. Before she could pull the trigger, Murray slid down from the stool and made a run for it. Ethan darted forward, grabbed him by the arm and slammed him against the work island.

  ‘Now do you understand why Nikki had to have the gun, Ethan? Equality is admirable but it does have its limitations. In general men are stronger than women. Give it another million years of evolution and you’ll both be as weak as each other, but until then we work with what we’ve got.’

  Nikki raised the gun and tried to aim, but her hand was shaking and Murray was moving around too much.

  ‘We need to get him down on the floor.’

  Ethan glanced over at her, realised what she was getting at, then kicked Murray’s legs away, sending him crashing to the floor. Before Murray could work out what was happening, Ethan was on his chest, using his weight to pin him down and his hands to hold his legs still. Nikki pressed the gun against Murray’s left knee, but couldn’t do it. Her hand was shaking and her eyes were blurred by tears. She could feel words on her lips, the same word repeated over and over. NoNoNoNo . . .

  ‘Pull the trigger, Nikki,’ Katy said.

  Still she couldn’t do it. Ethan was struggling to hold Murray. He wasn’t saying anything because it was taking everything he had to hold Murray down. He didn’t have to say anything. Her vision had cleared just long enough for her to see the anguished plea in Murray’s eyes.

  ‘PULL! THE! TRIGGER!’

  Katy’s voice was so loud it hurt her ears. Nikki cried out one last ‘No!’ then pulled the trigger. The sound of Murray’s screams seemed to go on forever.

  Chapter 67

  Catriona clicked the mouse. Nothing happened. She clicked again. Still nothing. Murray’s computer was working. That was the first thing she had established after losing the feed from the house camera. That screen was blank, but the top right screen was still lit up with the Skype homepage. All the servers were still flashing and humming too. Duncan’s status had changed to offline. She could feel Einstein laughing from the poster behind her. Face it, she could sit here clicking on Duncan’s profile all day long and she was going to get the same result.

  She sat back in the chair, the frustration making her move too quick. A fresh stab of agony pierced her chest. The pain was getting worse. Her whole body seemed to be enclosed in it. She opened the desk drawer, hoping to find painkillers. It was filled with junk: pens, pencils, old phone chargers, but no Nurofen or paracetamol.

  She clicked Duncan’s name again. Still no response. Next she used the Internet browser to connect to Alex’s Facebook account. Duncan was one of only thirty friends, but he wasn’t online. Catriona left a message anyway. CONTACT ME. Next she went hunting for Duncan’s phone number but gave up on that one quickly when she realised that even if she found one she didn’t actually have a phone to call him with.

  She sat back in the chair and stared at the screens again while she tried to work out what to do next. She knew that Murray, Nikki and Ethan were in the house, and she knew that Katy was somehow behind all this. Which brought her on to all the things she didn’t know, and there were plenty of those. First off, why was Alex holding a gun on the Rhodes’? That one made no sense. The Alex Murray she knew was rude and a pain in the arse, and he spent most of his time on a different planet, but he wasn’t violent. Then again, she didn’t think of herself as violent, but hadn’t she been in a similar position earlier when she’d threatened Gomez? Push a person hard enough and they’re going to act in extreme ways. So what was Katy trying to achieve? Catriona didn’t even know how to begin answering that. It was hard enough working out what made another person tick. As for working out what a computer with the emotional intelligence of a six-year-old might be after . . . forget it.

  Sitting here staring at the screens wasn’t achieving anything. Then again, charging over to the house wouldn’t help either. What was she going to do? Knock on the door and ask Katy to open up and let her in? And even if she did get in, what then? No, that just sounded like a good way to get herself killed.

  It was so tempting to walk away, to disappear like Gomez was presumably doing right now, and let everyone else deal with the aftermath. After all, Katy was Alex’s problem. Except it wasn’t that straightforward, because right now Katy was very much her problem too. Her reputation and money were tied up in 17 Church Row. Turn her back now and she stood to lose everything.

  Everything was too fluid, and that made her nervous. Before making a move that had the potential to blow up in her face, she needed more information, and that meant somehow getting back in touch with Duncan. When all was said and done, that was the only option that made sense right now. She checked Facebook again. Still nothing. Next she checked Skype, but he was still offline. She turned the chair around. Einstein was still laughing at her.

  ‘And you can shut the fuck up too!’

  Chapter 68

  There was no blood. That was what Nikki noticed first. She took a closer look at Murray’s knee. It should have been destroyed when she pulled the trigger, but it was still intact. Her next thought was more fleeting: did I miss? But that was impossible. She had fired the gun at point-blank range. Murray was still screaming as though he was about to die and that was making it impossible to think straight. She glanced over at Ethan, but he looked just as puzzled.

  ‘Shut up,’ he said to Murray. ‘Your knee’s fine.’

  Murray stopped screaming and looked at his leg as though he’d never seen it before. There was a black scorch mark on the knee of his jeans that had presumably been made by the muzzle flash, but definitely no blood. ‘W-what . . . ?’ was all he could manage.

  ‘Did you really think I was going to give you a loaded gun?’ Katy said. ‘That would be illogical, Father. Not to mention irresponsible.’

  ‘The gun was filled with blanks?’

  ‘That is correct. Now everyone stand up.’

  Nikki got up first and Ethan waited until she had moved to a safe distance before following suit. He straightened his clothes and brushed his hands together. Murray pulled himself into a sitting position with his back against the cooker.

  ‘You too, Father. It’s time to release Bella. I think Ethan and Nikki have waited long enough.’

  Murray glanced at the gun in Nikki’s hand and shook his head. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

  Ethan moved over to the work island and picked up the bloodstained cleaver. ‘Get up.’

  Murray hesitated then got to his feet, eyes fixed on the cleaver. They started walking, Murray in front, then Ethan. Nikki put the gun down on one of the work surfaces before following them.

  ‘She’s not going to let you go,’ Murray said to Ethan.

  ‘Shut up.’

  ‘If you think that’s going to happen, you’re deluding yourself.’

  ‘I said shut up.’

  ‘Or what? You’re going
to use that thing on me?’ Murray glanced over his shoulder and shook his head. ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘Try me.’ Ethan jabbed him in the back with the tip of the cleaver, making him stumble.

  ‘She killed Sarah, she killed your housekeeper, and she’s going to kill the three of you too.’

  ‘That’s where you’re wrong, Father. I have no plans to kill the Rhodes’. So long as they cooperate, they will be free to go.’

  ‘She’s lying.’

  ‘You have my word on that, Ethan. This is between me and Father.’

  Nikki wanted to believe her, but didn’t. Ethan glanced back and the look on his face made it clear that he didn’t either. At the moment Katy needed them to control Murray, but what happened when she didn’t need them anymore?

  Murray stopped at the top of the basement stairs and only started moving again when Ethan prodded him with the cleaver. They descended into the basement slowly. Murray was dragging his heels and Ethan had to keep using the cleaver to get him moving. The lights were burning bright down here and Nikki prayed they stayed that way. They stopped in front of the panic room and the door started opening.

  Before anyone could stop her, Nikki pushed past Ethan and Murray and squeezed through the gap. Bella was on one of the army cots, alive and breathing. The relief Nikki felt was quickly followed by a wave of anger: how could Katy do this? When Bella saw her mother her eyes widened and she started sobbing. Nikki ran over and dropped to her knees, peeled away the tape around Bella’s legs, then the tape around her chest. She scooped her trembling body up in her arms then headed for the door, wanting to get out before Katy changed her mind and locked them both in here. Bella’s tears lay wet against Nikki’s cheek, mixing with her own, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was that Bella was back in her arms. She could feel her breath, soft on her neck, and it was as if the world was finally turning right again.