by Val McDermid
The commander grabbed his radio. ‘This is K-one to all units. Move in. Repeat, move in.’ He gestured to Petra to follow him and they jogged the twenty yards to the farm gate. Moving shadows flickered around the house, caught in the soft light from curtained windows. Suddenly the night was split open by the crash of the ram against the solid wooden door, and cries of, ‘Armed police, freeze!’ filled the air.
The crunch of splintering wood reached them on the faint night breeze, then the soft crump of smoke grenades and the rattle of gas canisters against a hard surface. Muffled shouts followed, then the sound that Petra had dreaded. The boom of a single gunshot rang out. Horrified, she turned to the commander.
‘Shotgun,’ he said laconically.
There followed the sudden chatter of automatic fire. Then silence. ‘What’s going on?’ Petra cried.
‘I’d guess the farmer got a shot off before one of ours took him down. Don’t worry, it’s not turning into a fire fight.’ His radio crackled and he raised it to his ear. Petra couldn’t distinguish the words, only an excited jabber. ‘I’ll be right there,’ he said. He clapped her on the shoulder. ‘Come on, it’s all over. They’ve got the girl.’
She followed him up the track. Tendrils of smoke drifted out of the open door, which sagged from a single hinge. As they reached the farmhouse, one of the Special Ops men walked out with a wailing child in his arms. Petra ran up and took his burden from him. ‘It’s all right, Tanja,’ she said, stroking the girl’s lank, unwashed hair. ‘I’m taking you back to your mum.’
The commander was nowhere in sight. ‘What happened?’ Petra asked the officer who had brought Tanja out.
‘Stupid bastard went for his shotgun,’ he said. ‘We’ve got one guy with flesh wounds to the arm and thigh. Nothing serious, I don’t think.’
‘What about Matic?’ she asked, rocking the whimpering Tanja in her arms.
The officer made the traditional throat-cutting gesture. ‘We had no choice. It’s a bugger, though. The come-back we get from something like this, you’d think we went around shooting people for the hell of it.’
‘You don’t have any option when somebody’s pointing a gun at you,’ Petra agreed. ‘Look, I want to get Tanja out of here. Will you tell your boss I’ve gone? We’ll need to have a proper debrief, but that can wait for morning.’
He nodded. ‘I’ll pass it on.’
Petra walked away from the farm, wishing her car was parked closer. Tanja was growing heavier with every step, and she didn’t know if she could carry her all the way. What a day, she thought, plodding onwards. She wondered momentarily how Carol was coping. She presumed there would be a report of yesterday’s meeting with Radecki waiting in her mailbox, but there was no way she was going to get to that for the next couple of hours. She had to get Tanja off to the safe house and make sure all the security was in place. Tomorrow, she would organize the first of a series of interviews with Marlene that she hoped would give them enough to make sure Radecki stood trial in Germany, not in liberal Holland.
There was so much to be done. But it would all be worth it when she sat in court and watched Radecki go down for a very long time. She grinned in spite of her aching back. God, she loved this job.
Carol was finally managing to enjoy herself. Marijke had kept her posted about everyone else’s activities, and she’d been frustrated at her inability to lend a hand. But there was no point in fretting, she scolded herself. So she’d taken a long luxurious bath, which had left her feeling more relaxed than she had since she first arrived in Berlin. She’d discovered that her apartment TV had a cable channel showing English films in the evenings, and she was sprawled on the sofa in Caroline Jackson’s silk kimono, savouring the black humour of Shallow Grave and a bottle of Sancerre.
The film had just reached the point where Christopher Ecclestone was holed up in the loft with the money when the entryphone buzzed. Surprised, she hit the mute button, rolled languidly to her feet and went through to the hallway. The only person it was likely to be was Radecki, she thought. She wasn’t in the mood for his company, nor was she dressed for it, but she could probably put him off.
Carol picked up the handset. ‘Who is it?’
‘It’s me, Tadeusz. Can I come up?’
‘I’m in the middle of some work, Tadzio. Can’t we meet tomorrow?’
‘I really need to see you. I can’t stay long, I have to be at the TV studios in an hour.’
She could manage an hour, she thought, pressing the door-release button and hurrying through to the bedroom. A silk kimono was far too suggestive for Radecki right now, she knew. She pulled on some loose linen trousers, hastily fastened her bra and grabbed a shirt, then he was knocking at her door. She dragged the shirt over her head as she walked back into the hall and let him in.
He gave her no time to greet him, simply hauling her into his arms and kissing her hard and fierce on the mouth. He moved into the apartment, taking her with him, kicking the door shut as they went. Carol managed to free her lips from his, rearing back and laughing nervously. ‘Hey, whoa! This is all a bit sudden,’ she said.
‘I’ve been thinking about you all day,’ he said. There was an intensity to his voice that she had never heard before. ‘I know you wanted time to think, but this is driving me crazy. I want you so bad, I can’t eat, I can’t sleep.’ His hands were all over her, strong and urgent, giving her no opportunity to break free. He nuzzled her neck, nibbling at her ear with sharp little bites.
Carol started to feel nervous. This wasn’t in her mental script of how things would go. She had been in control, but now she felt the situation running away from her. ‘Tadzio, wait,’ she said plaintively.
‘Why?’ he demanded. ‘Last night, you wanted me as much as I wanted you. I know, I felt it. Why do we need to wait?’
‘I’m not ready for this,’ she said, trying to slip out of his embrace. But he was too strong, his encircling arms too tight around her.
‘You know you are,’ he said, his voice softer now. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’ He raised a hand to the back of her neck, his long fingers caressing the soft skin there.
In spite of herself, Carol began to feel the sheer animal pleasure of his body against hers. There was a thrill in the power of his desire for her, no escaping it. But there was no way she could afford to yield. She was a cop, she reminded herself. Everything would be wasted if she let him seduce her. Besides, she wasn’t about to do anything she would be ashamed of telling Tony. ‘I’m not scared,’ she said. ‘I’m just not sure.’
‘I’ll make you sure,’ he said, backing her into the living room and running both hands down her back to her buttocks.
Carol saw her chance and managed to slip out from under his grasp. She took a couple of swift steps away from him. ‘This is too sudden,’ she protested. Tadeusz stared wildly at her, his hair awry. God, he’s gorgeous. The very thought felt like treachery.
‘Please, Caroline,’ he said, his voice cracking. ‘I know you want me. We were both hot for each other last night. But if you won’t trust yourself to make love with me when you want to, why should I believe you’re someone I can trust in business? What’s the big deal? We’re both adults. We want to fuck each other’s brains out. It’s not like either of us has anybody else, is it? There’s no question of infidelity. Just two people going crazy with desire.’
What was the right answer? Carol struggled to find something that would make sense to him, that would keep the deal alive while preserving her position. ‘I can’t explain,’ she said. ‘I just need some time, that’s all.’ He took a step towards her and she retreated. ‘Please, Tadzio,’ she added, trying for her most appealing smile.
He closed in on her, and suddenly she had nowhere left to go. Backed up against the wall, she was in his arms again. Again he was kissing her, the weight of his body keeping her pinned in place. He ran a hand over her breast, gently squeezing her nipple. She felt it harden involuntarily. ‘You see?’ he gasped. ‘Your body knows
the answer.’ His hand moved downwards, sliding over her stomach.
Carol summoned up all her strength and pushed, catching him off balance enough to escape again. She backed into the middle of the room. ‘This really isn’t the time, Tadzio.’
He turned to face her. Now there was no tenderness in his expression. His eyes had darkened, his brows lowered. ‘There’s never going to be a right time, is there, Carol?’ He delivered her name with a snarl.
Until then, she had felt no real sense of threat. He had seemed nothing more than an importunate wannabe lover; she had believed she could appeal to his innate good manners to protect herself. But that one word shattered the illusion. It hit her with the force of a physical blow. He knew her real name. She struggled to keep her composure but couldn’t keep her eyes from widening in shock.
‘Yes, that’s right, I know who you are,’ he said, advancing on her again.
She tried to circle away from him, but the loose material of her trousers caught in a chair leg, slowing her down enough for him to grab her wrist. ‘Of course you know who I am,’ she said, trying to sound reasonable. ‘You checked me out.’
‘I checked out Caroline Jackson,’ he said, his voice low and dangerous. ‘And I also checked out Carol Jordan.’
It was too late for bluff, she realized. There was nothing left to say. The only weapon she had now was silence. She held his gaze, trying for strength and defiance.
‘Your precious boyfriend’s been telling tales, Carol. Dr Hill spun me a story about how you weren’t really a cop any more. How you’d crossed the line, seen your chance and taken it. But if that had been true, you would have slept with me. You would have let me fuck you seven different ways last night and again tonight. Anything to get what you wanted. Only a cop would hold out. I’m right, aren’t I? You’re still a cop?’
Still she said nothing, forcing her face not to give away the terror she’d felt as soon as he mentioned Tony. How had he found Tony? Where was he? What had they done to him?
Suddenly, he yanked her arm hard, pulling her off balance. As she staggered, he slapped her face with his free hand. ‘You wouldn’t fuck me, but you came straight back here and fucked him, didn’t you, bitch?’
Carol steadied herself and looked at him with contempt. ‘Is that what this is about? Male ego?’ As soon as the words were out, she realized her mistake. Faster than she would have believed possible, he threw himself on her, his momentum bringing them both crashing to the floor. Now he had both hands free, and he slapped her face from side to side, her head jerking back and forth till she felt the room spin.
Then she was mercifully, unexpectedly free of him. She rolled on to her side and struggled to her knees, the world a dizzying kaleidoscope around her. She felt herself being jerked backwards and upwards. Her feet scrabbled for purchase on the floor, but before she could support herself, he slammed her into the wall with a sickening crunch. She felt her nose crumple as it hit, tasted the sharp coppery bite of blood at the back of her throat. Her knees failed her, and she collapsed to the floor again.
‘I don’t care if you fuck every man in Berlin,’ he growled. ‘What I care about is that you had my Katerina killed so you could play out your shitty little game.’
Carol rolled groggily into a sitting position. He knew what he was doing, fucking her head up like this. She could barely string two thoughts together, so stunned was she. What she did know, however, was that his words made no sense. ‘No,’ she groaned. ‘That’s not true. We just … took advantage.’
He leaned forward and grabbed a handful of her shirt front, pulling her up again. ‘You think I’m stupid? You still think there’s any point in lying to me?’
‘I’m not… lying,’ Carol managed to squeeze out through bruised lips. ‘We didn’t kill Katerina.’
‘Don’t fucking lie to me,’ he screamed, flecks of spittle flying from his mouth and spattering her face. ‘The motorbike that caused the accident is registered to your fucking National Crime Squad. You killed Katerina. And then you killed Colin Osborne so there would be two nice little vacancies for you to fill.’
‘I had nothing to do with Katerina’s death,’ she protested weakly. ‘I’d never heard your name till a couple of weeks ago.’ Now he was dragging her across the room. Dazed, Carol couldn’t work out what was going on. He was clearly going to kill her, so why not just get on with it?
When she registered that he was hauling her into the bedroom, her befuddled brain found the answer to that question. The panic that hit her then cut straight through her confused state. Oh, no, she thought. There is no way this is going to happen to me. Carol let her body flop, turning herself into a dead weight in a bid to slow him down. But he was in the grip of a rage of primeval proportions, a berserker fury that gave him a strength beyond his normal means.
She began to twist and flail, hoping he’d have to loosen his grip to contain her. He stopped heaving her across the floor for a moment and stooped over her. ‘You know what’s coming, don’t you, bitch? I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to make you live with what you’ve done to me.’ Then he slapped her again, so hard she thought her neck would snap. This time, she faded into unconsciousness.
When she came to, she couldn’t remember where she was or why her head was a solid throb of pain. Nor could she understand why her hands wouldn’t move when she tried to pull them out from under her back. Then he moved into her line of sight and everything clicked back into focus. She was naked on her bed, hands bound beneath her. And Radecki was hell-bent on revenge.
‘You’ve destroyed my life,’ he said. ‘You killed Katerina, and you’ve obviously done enough to destroy my business. Well, now it’s my turn. You’ll get what’s coming to you. And then I’m going back to kill your boyfriend. So you’ll have to live with the knowledge that you are responsible for the death of someone you loved. Just like you’ve forced me to do. And then I’m going to walk away.’
‘You … won’t … get …’ she mumbled.
‘I won’t get away with it? Of course I will. You think I haven’t planned for this? You can’t get my money. By morning, I’ll be somewhere you and your bosses can’t touch me, even if you could find me. So you see, all of this has been for nothing.’ As he spoke, he was stripping off, placing shirt and trousers delicately over a chair, dropping his socks into his shoes. At last he stood naked before her. His erection was the ugliest thing she’d ever seen.
He walked towards the bed. Desperately, Carol tried to writhe away from him. But her hands were useless and her head wasn’t working any more. He kneeled on the bed, forcing her legs apart. ‘Come on, struggle a bit more. Make it more fun for me,’ he taunted her.
Carol summoned up the last of her courage and spat in his face. He didn’t even bother to wipe it clean. He simply smiled and said, ‘I’m going to enjoy this, bitch.’
Then he was on top of her and she wanted to die.
37
Darko Krasic sat behind the wheel of the Mercedes smoking a cigar. He didn’t want to think about what was happening three floors up. He hadn’t believed a word of that stupid tale that Hill had tried to fob them off with. But Tadeusz had it bad for the woman, bad enough to clutch at a straw that thin. If it had been up to him, they would have finished Hill off in Koblenz and left him to rot on the barge. Because if he was right and Carol Jordan was a cop, they were finished, and instead of fucking around they should be activating their long-established escape plans.
After he’d dropped Tadeusz off at the apartment, he’d driven Tony to a small industrial unit they occasionally used for temporary storage. He’d driven the car right inside, then dragged the tarpaulin-wrapped bundle out of the boot and dumped it on the floor. He hadn’t even bothered to check if he was alive. Krasic couldn’t have cared less.
When he got back behind the wheel, he’d been tempted to cut and run. But loyalty had overcome his primal instincts and he’d driven back to collect Tadeusz as they’d arranged. Still, he couldn’t help thinki
ng he was acting like a fool. He tapped the cigar against the open window glass and glanced at the dashboard clock. They were cutting it fine. If Tadeusz was going to be live on air in three-quarters of an hour, he’d better get a move on.
He really didn’t want to think about what was taking so much time.
At last, the door of the apartment block opened and Tadeusz emerged, his coat flapping around him as he hurried to the car. He flung open the door and jumped in. The smell of sweat and sex penetrated even the fug of Krasic’s cigar, and the Serb’s heart sank as he put the car in gear. ‘What happened?’ he asked, his heart sinking at the thought that the bitch had managed to pull the wool over his boss’s eyes.
‘She’s a cop,’ Tadeusz said. A jittery energy seemed to flow from him, filling the car with restless, pent-up edginess.
‘We’re fucked, then?’
He gave a harsh laugh. ‘Well, somebody is.’ He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. ‘Yes, Darko, basically, we’re fucked.’
‘So we’re getting out, yeah?’
‘Yes. Tonight. As soon as I’ve done what I have to do. We’ll go to the TV station, I’ll do my piece to camera, then we have to finish our business with Dr Hill. And then we pull out. We’ll be in Belgrade for lunch.’
Krasic frowned. He didn’t like this. In his experience, when things needed to be done, you cracked on and did them. You didn’t piss about with the frills. ‘Why don’t we go now?’
‘Because I don’t want to set any alarm bells ringing. If Jordan has told the local cops what she knows and I don’t show up for the TV show when I’m supposed to, they might realize that I’m leaving town. And we might not make it out of the country.’
‘Fine. Do the TV. But leave that asshole Hill alone.’
‘No way. He’s going to die.’
‘Tadzio, he’s going to die anyway. He’s tied up like a Christmas parcel, he’s got his own underpants stuffed in his mouth for a gag. He’s got broken bones and no clothes on. And nobody knows where he is. He’s going to die a very slow and painful death.’
