The Last 10 Seconds: A Novel

by Simon Kernick

  ‘You’ve also been positively identified by a witness as the man seen entering and leaving Roisín’s flat on a number of occasions, including’ – she paused for effect here – ‘the night of her murder.’ This last part was bullshit, but she needed something to put him on the back foot, and she was pleased that Grier didn’t ruin things by looking surprised himself. Instead, he remained expressionless.

  ‘Rubbish,’ said Gore with an angry finality.

  Tina shook her head slowly. ‘No, Mr Gore, I’m afraid it’s not.’

  ‘Your alleged witness must have been mistaken.’

  ‘She wasn’t. I showed her your photo less than an hour ago, and she swears it’s you.’

  Gore didn’t say anything for a moment. ‘I may have had a very short, uh, dalliance with her,’ he said at last, choosing his words very carefully, as lawyers tend to do, ‘but that was all. I shouldn’t have done, and it shames me to admit that I did, and that I didn’t come forward after her death, but I was afraid of becoming involved. Especially as that was all the relationship was. A dalliance. Nothing serious.’

  ‘That’s not what her sister said. She said you two were very close.’ Tina was lying through her back teeth now, knowing that this was blatant entrapment, but her desire to force the truth out of Gore was making her desperate.

  A worried look flitted across the minister’s face, and Tina smelled blood.

  ‘You didn’t expect that, did you?’ she continued. ‘That her sister knew all about it? She said Roisín had told her that she’d tried to get you to leave your wife on a number of occasions. We’d have talked to her father as well, but you, or whoever you were using, got to him first, didn’t you?’

  ‘I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.’

  ‘Why did you kill Roisín O’Neill?’

  ‘How dare you accuse me of murder!’ he shouted, his face contorting with a rage so intense that Tina was taken aback. Then, seeing that he’d shown too much emotion, and with an eye towards the study door that suggested his wife was somewhere in the house, he took a deep breath, clearly forcing himself to remain calm. When he spoke again, he was quiet and controlled, but rippling with venom. ‘I’m the fucking Home Affairs minister, for Christ’s sake. Not some common criminal you can talk to like dirt.’

  ‘We know that the Night Creeper, Andrew Kent, didn’t kill Roisín, Mr Gore,’ said Tina firmly, wanting to press her advantage before he could recover fully. ‘He has a cast-iron alibi for the time of her murder. Plus, the MO was different. Unlike Kent’s other victims, she was strangled and the hammer injuries inflicted upon her after death.’

  ‘What’s this got to do with me?’

  ‘Because you did it. Or did you get someone to help you cover it up? The same person who murdered Kevin O’Neill and organized the kidnapping of Andrew Kent, perhaps?’

  Gore stood up. ‘I’ve had enough of this conversation. You have absolutely no evidence against me whatsoever—’

  ‘Sit down.’

  ‘No. Get out. Now.’

  There was a finality to his words, and Tina knew she’d lost him.

  But she wasn’t going to let it go that easily. Standing up herself, she faced him down. ‘We know you killed her, and I’m not going to leave a single stone unturned proving it. I’ll have you for this, even if it’s the last thing I do.’

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Grier stand up and stare at her in total shock, as he saw his own career getting caught up in the constant car crash that was DI Tina Boyd.

  ‘Sir,’ he said, ‘I think we’d better go.’

  ‘We’ll go when I say.’

  ‘You’ll go now. Right this minute.’

  ‘You’re finished, Minister.’

  Gore strode round the desk, a confidence returning to his manner now. ‘You haven’t got the power, you little bitch,’ he hissed, coming in close so that their faces were only inches apart. ‘It’s time you realized who you’re dealing with. I’m a government minister. I’m one of the handful of people who run this fucking country. You are just a . . .’ He paused, before spitting out his final words. ‘A small-time copper who thinks she’s Robocop. And who’s not. Now get out of my house. I’ll be speaking to your commanding officer about this. I don’t care who you are, or what you’ve done. You’re going to pay for this. Do you understand? I’ll have your job, and I’ll have your pension.’

  Tina felt the anger in her seething beneath the surface. She wanted to hit this smug bastard. She knew he’d done it. Would have bet her life on it. ‘But you won’t stop me,’ she said, facing him down, her expression coldly determined, just so he’d know she’d never give up. ‘Not unless you have me killed, like the others, and I wouldn’t advise that. Not when there’s a witness present.’

  Gore’s face darkened. He stared at her with an animal-like ferocity, and she could hear him grinding his teeth. He wanted to hurt her. She could feel his hatred as if it was a physical thing, and she willed him to lash out, to knock her down and give her a chance to turn this situation round and nick him.

  Go on, you bastard, hit me. Hit me hard. Put your manicured hands round my neck, just like you did with Roisín that night. Give me the chance to twist your arm behind your back, slam you into that pricey antique desk of yours and finish your career for good.

  But Anthony Gore wasn’t that foolish. Breathing hard, he stepped away from her and turned to Grier. ‘If you know what’s good for you, officer, you’ll take your colleague with you and leave right now, and don’t worry about her being your boss. In fifteen minutes’ time, she won’t be. She’s finished. I’m willing to ignore your part in this slanderous fiasco, as I’m sure you were coerced into coming here, but only if you leave this minute. Otherwise, I’ll hold you jointly responsible.’

  Grier looked at Tina with a quiet desperation in his eyes. ‘Come on, ma’am,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing more we can do here.’

  For a moment, Tina didn’t move, knowing she’d overplayed her hand, and lost the battle. Grier put a hand on her arm, gently nudging her towards the door. This time she didn’t resist, and as they walked out of the study, not looking at each other, Tina focused on maintaining her poise. She didn’t think she managed it, though.

  But as Grier opened the door and stepped aside to let Tina into the hallway, she stopped dead. Standing there, facing her, still in her nightgown, was a small woman in her fifties, her tear-stained face a mask of rigid shock. Mrs Gore. And Tina felt a rush of hope, because one thing was absolutely clear.

  She was terrified.

  Forty-seven

  ‘Don’t move,’ said Dougie MacLeod. ‘Or you’re dead.’

  I was so shocked to hear my old mentor and the boss of one of London’s murder investigation teams threaten me with death that I disobeyed his instructions and turned round.

  Dougie stood in the doorway pointing a black revolver at me. He was dressed casually in jeans and a sweatshirt, and his face was etched with a tension I’d never seen on him before.

  Seeing that it was me, he lowered the weapon. ‘What the hell are you doing here, Sean?’ he demanded.

  ‘You weren’t answering your door.’

  ‘So you thought you’d just walk in?’

  ‘I need help, Dougie. Badly.’

  He sighed. ‘This is a bad time, Sean. We’ve got an emergency on.’

  ‘What kind of emergency?’ I asked, feeling a terrible lurch of disappointment, followed by resentment. I’d expected a lot more from him.

  ‘The kind you’ve been watching on the news. The Night Creeper abduction. He was our suspect, remember?’ He replaced the safety on the revolver and put it in the back of his jeans, then pulled a half-crushed pack of Marlboro Reds from his pocket and lit one. ‘I’m sorry I can’t be more help,’ he continued. ‘Perhaps we can talk later.’ He walked past me, picked up the remote control from the arm of the sofa and switched off the TV. ‘Right now, I’ve got to go.’

  I noticed he was sweating,
and that his movements were stiff and hurried. ‘Do you always carry a gun for policework these days?’ I asked him. ‘I didn’t think DCIs needed them.’

  ‘I wasn’t going to take it with me. I only had it out because I thought you were an intruder.’

  ‘I didn’t even know you owned a gun.’

  ‘And I’d rather you didn’t tell anyone. It’s an illegal one. There’ve been a lot of break-ins here,’ he added, as if this explained why he was walking around with an illegal weapon I knew he’d never fire. ‘I’m sorry I pointed it at you, but if you will come trespassing round here . . .’

  I noticed he wasn’t looking me in the eye as he spoke, which again wasn’t like him. Something was definitely wrong.

  ‘I wasn’t trespassing. I came here looking for help, and I still need it. And it’s do with your case as well,’ I added, not sure how else I was going to get his attention.

  ‘And I’ll help later if I can, but right now, I’ve got to go. We’ve got a press conference.’ He started towards the door.

  ‘The press conference is at ten – they announced it just now. That’s three hours away.’

  ‘There are things to do before then.’

  But I wasn’t moving. ‘It’s strange,’ I said. ‘I sneak into your house, battered and bruised, telling you I’ve got important in formation on what’s got to be the biggest case of your career, and you don’t seem to give a shit. You know what that says to me?’

  He stopped in front of me, the muscles in his jaw working, his eyes wide and alert with nervous tension. ‘We’ll talk soon, OK?’

  My punch caught him, and me, completely unawares. My strength and energy reserves might have been running on empty, but Dougie MacLeod went sprawling to the floor. Within a second I was on him, rolling him over on to his front and sticking my knee into his back before he could resist. I whipped the gun out from his jeans, then yanked him round and shoved the barrel against his forehead, cocking the weapon.

  ‘Start talking, now. Tell me everything you know about this whole case because I know you know something. Do it or I’ll kill you here and now. I swear it.’

  I wouldn’t have done. I couldn’t have done. Even doing this to the man who’d once been a good friend and had saved my career when it could easily have gone down the pan, even that hurt me. I hated it. But I had to find out what was bothering him and why he was wandering round his house with an illegal firearm, and the only way I was going to learn that was if he took my threats seriously. I glared down at him, pushing the gun even harder into his head.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he whispered, staring up at me in fear, his nose bleeding where I’d hit him, his face turning an unhealthy puce colour.

  ‘I’ve almost died tonight, Dougie. I was involved in the Night Creeper abduction.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘It was an undercover op that went wrong. Kent’s dead. So’s everyone else who took him, and someone set us all up. And the thing is, I think it was you. Now you’ve got one chance. You talk or you die. Understand?’

  And that’s when I saw the tears running down his face.

  ‘They’ve got Billy,’ he said desperately. ‘The bastards have got my boy.’

  Forty-eight

  For a long moment, no one spoke, then Tina heard Gore let out a tiny, barely audible groan from his position behind her and Grier.

  ‘I’m just seeing these two out, Jane,’ he said, recovering quickly. ‘Why don’t you go back to bed? I’ll be up in a moment.’

  Tina addressed Jane Gore directly. ‘You knew about this, didn’t you.’ It was a statement, not a question, and it stayed hanging in the air for a good second after she’d said it.

  Mrs Gore’s face crumpled. ‘Did you kill her, Anthony?’ she whispered.

  ‘Of course I didn’t,’ he answered dismissively, as if such a question was frankly ridiculous.

  He pushed between Tina and Grier and went over to comfort her, but she flinched away from his touch. ‘Don’t try to fob me off. Tell me the truth. Is what she says true?’

  He leaned down towards her, marshalling all the persuasive skills that had served him so well in the courtroom in days gone by. ‘No it’s not. I swear it, darling. This is a big, big mistake.’ He turned to Tina and Grier. ‘What are you still doing here? This is a private matter. Get out.’

  Grier looked at Tina, but she didn’t move. She could sense Mrs Gore wavering.

  ‘Your husband’s lying, Mrs Gore,’ she said, ‘and we can prove it.’

  ‘No, you can’t,’ shouted Gore. ‘You can’t prove anything.’

  Mrs Gore grabbed his arm. ‘Is that what they were blackmailing you about, Anthony? Murder?’

  ‘Who’s been blackmailing you, Mr Gore?’

  ‘No one. Get out.’

  ‘If you cooperate now, there’ll be a way out. If you don’t, we’ll find out everything.’

  ‘How could you do this, Anthony? Did you kill her? Did you kill that little hussy? I thought it was all over!’

  ‘Shut up! Now!’ Without warning, Gore slapped his wife hard across the face, knocking her backwards.

  Tina and Grier both took a step towards them.

  Jane Gore put a hand to her cheek and backed slowly away from him, the fear in her expression there for all to see.

  ‘Oh God, I’m sorry,’ said Gore. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you.’

  ‘Get away from me. Don’t touch me.’

  ‘Please, Jane . . .’ He turned to Tina. ‘See what you made me do, you heartless bitch.’

  ‘Is this what you did to Roisín, Minister? Hit her just that little bit too hard? That’s what happened, isn’t it? You lashed out. Was she threatening to tell your wife? Is that why you strangled her?’

  Gore’s face contorted with rage. ‘You lying whore!’ he yelled, and threw a punch at Tina.

  She’d been expecting it, had hoped it would come, and dodged out of the way, letting the momentum drive Gore forward. As he passed her, she grabbed him by the wrist and yanked his arm up behind his back, while Grier got hold of the collar of his dressing gown from the other side. Together, they pushed him hard into the wall.

  The fight went out of him now. ‘Let me go,’ he whispered. ‘Please.’

  Tina ignored his plea, putting her mouth close to his ear as she spoke, although her words were loud enough for everyone in the hallway to hear. ‘Andrew Kent, the Night Creeper, used to like filming his victims. Not just when he killed them but in the days beforehand too. He’d break in and set up a camera so he could film them in an everyday setting. It was like stalking them before the kill. He filmed you killing Roisín, didn’t he?’

  Gore took a deep breath but didn’t say anything.

  ‘We’ll find out, Mr Gore. And we’ll find the film that Kent took too, and when we do, you’ll be absolutely finished, because you’ve done so much to hide it. But if you cooperate now, if you let us know where Andrew Kent is, and who you’ve been using to help you, then you may be able to salvage something. I know you didn’t mean to kill Roisín,’ she added soothingly, knowing she had to give him a way out of his current predicament, otherwise there’d be no way he’d talk. And if he didn’t, then they still had nothing. But he was weakening fast, Tina could feel it.

  ‘It’s too late,’ he said with a strangled sob.

  ‘It’s never too late,’ she reassured him. ‘Now, where’s Kent?’

  ‘I don’t know. I honestly don’t.’

  Mrs Gore approached them, anger replacing her earlier fear. ‘What have you done, Anthony? What have you done, you bastard? You’ve destroyed everything! All of us!’

  Tina motioned to Grier, and he intercepted her, gently moving her into an adjoining room. She then let go of Gore and they stood facing each other, except now the balance of power had changed, and they both knew it.

  ‘Let me lighten the load,’ she said to him. ‘Tell me the truth.’

  For a long time he didn’t speak. Then, finally, he closed
his eyes and sighed. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘I’ll talk.’

  Forty-nine

  They went back inside the study, taking the same seats they’d taken earlier, Grier joining them a few moments later.

  ‘How’s my wife?’ Gore asked him.

  ‘Upset,’ he replied tersely, refusing to give him any crumb of comfort.

  Tina was pleased with his answer. It was essential to keep Gore off balance so that he wouldn’t regain his confidence.

  ‘I think you need to start talking, Minister,’ she told him, surreptitiously turning on the digital recorder in her pocket.

  Gore’s bearing had changed completely. He was slumped in his seat, his skin an unhealthy grey. He cleared his throat and began speaking. ‘My affair with Roisín was very passionate. It lasted a number of months. We didn’t see each other that often. Usually no more than once a week. I have to confess, I had strong feelings for her. She was a vivacious girl, with the kind of joie de vivre that has been missing in my life for some years. Unfortunately, as time passed, Roisín became increasingly possessive. She wanted me to leave Jane. I resisted. I knew the scandal a move like that would cause. I tried to persuade Roisín that, though my feelings for her were very strong, I could only give her a limited amount of my time, and that she would simply have to accept that.

  ‘The problem was, she didn’t. We began to argue, as she became more and more resentful. Then one night she threatened to expose our affair to Jane. As you can imagine, I begged her not to, and eventually she saw sense and relented. However, by that point I’d concluded that the only course of action available to me was to terminate our relationship. It took me some days to pluck up courage, and Roisín didn’t help matters by phoning me constantly and leaving messages. Some of them were loving, stating how much she missed being with me. Others were more angry in tone, suggesting that I didn’t care for her any more, and that I couldn’t simply reject her, she wouldn’t tolerate it.

  ‘Finally, one night I went round to her apartment, which was where most of our meetings occurred, and told her that it was over. I apologized for becoming involved with her when I was married and threw myself at her mercy for the sake of my wife. I genuinely believed she’d let me go. If not for me, then for Jane. But I was wrong. She became hysterical and slapped me round the face.’