Death Count: A Kat Munro Thriller (The Kat Munro Thrillers Book 1)

by SL Beaumont

  “This is your last chance. Who sent you? Who are you working for?”

  “No one. I’m not who you think I am.”

  “Then what were you doing trespassing on my property?”

  There was a crackling sound as the men all stepped back, and Kat realised that the chair was sitting in the middle of a large piece of heavy polythene.

  “It’s a public footpath,” the man said. “I was out for a ramble.”

  “In the middle of the night?”

  Kat stepped backwards until she reached the landing. She kicked off her shoes and scooped them up in a single motion before she bolted down the staircase and across the marble foyer.

  “Hey, you there. Stop.” The voice came from above.

  Kat pulled open the heavy front door and kept moving.

  “Run,” she screamed. “Run.”

  She could hear footsteps pounding rhythmically behind her—bang, bang.

  Kat bolted upright. The room was dark, bedsheets twisted. Her breathing was coming in uneven gulps, and her heart was racing.

  The banging continued, followed by someone calling her name. She looked at the bedside clock; 4:30 a.m. The knocking sounded again. Kat leapt out of bed and grabbed the cricket bat she had left beside the wall the night before and rushed through her apartment, turning on the lights as she went.

  “Kat, it’s me. Let me in.” Adam called from the other side of the door.

  Kat peered through the peephole before unlocking the deadbolts and opening the door.

  “Are you okay? You were shouting,” he said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Why were you screaming?”

  Kat shook her head. “I had a nightmare, that’s all. You can go. I don’t need your help.”

  Adam took the cricket bat out of her hand and leaned it against the wall. Kat looked wild. Her hair was messy and her pyjamas twisted around her as though she’d been tossing and turning. The desire to comfort her overwhelmed him, and he reached for her, but Kat took a step backwards.

  “Were you camped out on the landing?” she demanded.

  Adam held his hands up. “No, I was across the road in my car. I was just taking a walk around the block when I heard you scream.”

  Kat rested her forehead in her hand. “You heard me from down on the street?”

  Adam nodded, and Kat closed her eyes for an instant and groaned.

  “What was your nightmare about?” he asked.

  Kat didn’t meet his eye. “I don’t remember,” she mumbled.

  “Liar.”

  Kat’s eyes flashed. “Okay then, I do remember, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Adam ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “You know, you really should talk to someone. It doesn’t have to be me.”

  Chapter 22

  Kat locked the door behind Adam and leaned against it. She didn’t know what it was about him that made her want to unburden herself. She’d almost caved and told him everything, the dreams, her fragmented memories of that night, and her guilt over the deal she’d done.

  She wandered back to her bedroom and crawled into bed. Zelda followed and curled up beside her. Kat stroked her as she lay down and stared at the ceiling. After all this time, she’d remembered something new. Before tonight, she knew she’d been running from the house, running to get away from something or someone. For long enough, she’d thought it was a mixed-up emotion related to losing her hand or from facing the fact that Felicity was dead. Her dealings after the accident with William Huntly-Tait, Gabe’s father, had been a shock. He’d gone from being a polite, middle-aged father figure to a hard-nosed lawyer out to get the best deal for his client, in this case, his son, no matter the cost. And in her traumatised mind, she figured that she’d made him the enemy.

  She recalled Gabe visiting her in hospital after the accident and the pained expression on his face. He’d cried and said sorry over and over until his father arrived and dragged him away. That was the last time she’d seen him alone. His father had controlled their interactions from then on, and he’d been forceful and a little frightening. His main goal was to get Kat to agree not to press charges and get out of his son’s life.

  It wasn’t until much later, after months of rehab, that the nightmares and the overwhelming sense that she’d been running from something horrible that night had taken hold. The numerous counselling sessions had almost convinced her that it was just her mind trying to make sense of it all. She’d started gathering information on Gabe’s father and adding it to a board in her home office to help organise her thoughts, and even she had to admit it had become something of an obsession.

  Now, however, she wondered if there had been something after all. The dream had been so vivid; William Huntly-Tait shouting, the plastic on the floor, and the man tied to the chair. Surely she hadn’t made that up? She closed her eyes and tried to recall the man’s face from the dream, but it was gone.

  ***

  Kat woke with a start, rolled over, and looked at her clock. It was 9:30 a.m. The police were due soon to take her statement regarding the break-in. At least she’d managed to get another couple of hours of sleep. She’d texted Stephenson the previous night to let him know that she'd be late getting to work. Forcing her feet over the side of the bed, she headed to the bathroom for a hot shower.

  Half an hour later, as she sat at the kitchen counter eating breakfast and mentally planning her day, her phone chimed with notification of a missed call. She rinsed her bowl, put it in the dishwasher and retrieved the phone from the bedside table. The screen showed a missed call from an unknown number. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, Kat dialled her voicemail and listened.

  “Kat, it’s Gabe. Can you call me urgently on this number? Please, it’s important.”

  Kat looked at the screen in disbelief before replaying the message. She put her phone down and finished getting ready for work. Only then did her curiosity get the better of her, and she returned the call.

  “Kat,” Gabe answered on the first ring.

  “What do you want?” Kat said.

  “How are you?”

  “Still missing my hand.”

  There was a brief pause on the line.

  “Kat, I’m calling to warn you.”

  “Warn me?”

  “Listen, I’ve just overheard a conversation with a, er… security consultant that we sometimes use. Your name was mentioned.”

  Kat felt the blood drain from her face, and she sat down on the edge of her bed.

  “What?”

  “Yeah, he was given details on you, where you live, what you drive, and where you work. The thing is my father has a file on you. He had all that information to hand. What are you involved in, Kat?”

  “I don’t know.” Kat’s mind was racing.

  “And it’s not just you.” Gabe’s voice had dropped to a low whisper.

  “Who else, not Nate or Shamira?”

  “No, someone called Adam Jackson. Who’s he?”

  Kat gasped. “What does this security consultant normally do?” she asked.

  There was a long pause on the line. “Various things, but he’s good at persuading people to keep quiet. I know that you’re working on the CIP investigation. McFarlane and Diaz have retained Huntly-Tait and Partners. I think they want you to stop whatever line of investigation you are undertaking.”

  “Gabe, you have to find another firm to work for.”

  “It’s not that simple. Look, I gotta go, someone’s coming. You need to get out of London for a few days, and I’ll see what I can find out. Be careful, Kat.”

  Kat stared at the phone for several moments. She knew she should call Adam, but after the way she’d spoken to him during the night, she was hesitant. She wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t answer, but he was the only one who could make sense of this. Exhaling, she called him.

  He answered on the first ring.

 
“Adam, I’ve just had a call warning me that a security consultant has my details and yours with instructions to stop our investigation, I’m guessing into CIP.” Her words tumbled out.

  “Slow down, Kat. Who called?”

  Kat hesitated. “I can’t say.”

  “Can’t say or won’t say?”

  “Both.”

  She heard Adam sigh. “But you trust them?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I do. He suggested that I get out of town for a few days.”

  “Good idea, pack a bag, and I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  Chapter 23

  Adam started the lights and siren on his car. He watched the cars in front of him pull over, out of his path. He was already on his way to Kat’s, having grabbed four hours of sleep and woken with a resolve to force her to tell him whatever it was that she was hiding.

  Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into a loading zone near her building and threw his police parking permit on the dashboard before racing across the road and up the stairs to her flat.

  Kat looked a little rattled when she let him in. A small overnight bag sat by the front door.

  “Coffee?” she asked.

  “Yeah, that’d be good.”

  He followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the bench while she fixed the drinks. Adam watched as she filled the kettle and got down the cups with one hand. The stump of her left arm was clad in a soft cotton sock. He’d never seen her without her prosthesis attached. He wondered whether she’d forgotten to attach it or whether she was getting more comfortable around him despite her words to the contrary.

  “Kat, who called you?”

  She tensed.

  “You need to tell me. I can’t help otherwise.”

  Kat sighed. “Gabe, an ex-boyfriend.”

  “How does he know that someone is after you?”

  Kat handed him a cup and walked over to the sofa and sank onto it.

  “Gabe is a lawyer. His firm has just been engaged by MacFarlane and Diaz to represent them. He just overheard my details given to a security consultant they use to do various things, including persuading people to keep quiet. The two things have to be linked.”

  Adam smirked. “Are you sure he hasn’t been watching too many movies?”

  Kat looked less than impressed. “You don’t believe me.”

  “I believe you. I just don’t believe him. Is this his way of getting you back? How long ago did you go out with him?” Adam took a sip of his coffee.

  “He doesn’t want me back, believe me,” she said. “A Huntly-Tait only wants perfection, not someone with a deformity.”

  Adam did a double-take. “Your ex-boyfriend is a Huntly-Tait.?”

  “Yeah, do you know that law firm?”

  “I know that name.”

  “There’s something else,” Kat said when he didn’t elaborate further.

  Adam gave her a wary look. “What?”

  “Gabe didn’t just overhear my name. They mentioned yours too.”

  A broad grin spread across Adam’s face.

  “Why are you grinning? I’ve just told you that your life could be in danger.” Kat was incredulous.

  Adam waved his hand, dismissing her concern. “My life has been in danger many times. I’m grinning because it means that we’ve touched a nerve.”

  He took a long sip of his coffee, a frown furrowing his brow.

  “Have the police been to take your statement about the break-in?”

  “Yeah, an officer came while you were on your way here. Seriously, she was only here for ten minutes, took my statement, and had a quick look at the balcony door. She left me with the distinct impression that since I’m missing nothing, the intruder was in the wind, and that would be the last I would hear of the matter.”

  Adam shrugged. “Sad, but probably true. At least it’s all on record. Okay, I need to make a couple of calls, then let’s get you out of town for the weekend. I suggest booking yourself into a bed and breakfast somewhere near a train station. Somewhere you’ve been before so that you know the area,” Adam said.

  Kat thought for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah, I know just the place.”

  “Great, book it for the weekend. We should have this sorted out by Monday.”

  “Okay. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to verify the credibility of this threat.”

  “You don’t believe me.”

  “I believe you. I’m just not sure I believe your source. I also don’t want to start overreacting if this threat is just hot air. This is not about trust; it’s about assessing the threat and working out the correct response. However, the fact that Huntly-Tait is involved is most intriguing.”

  ***

  Adam pulled into a short stay parking space two blocks from Euston station and threw his police parking permit on the dash. He climbed from the car and retrieved Kat’s overnight bag from the back seat, slinging the long strap across his body.

  “I’m good from here,” Kat said, joining him on the footpath and holding her hand out for the bag.

  Adam shook his head. “Come on. I’ll show you a shortcut to King’s Cross.”

  Kat stood her ground. “What are you not telling me?”

  Adam sighed. “I’ll tell you while we walk, we need to hurry.”

  He led her around a corner and almost immediately around another onto Phoenix Road. “Did you know that this is called the Wellbeing Walk?” he said. Kat shook her head. “You’re exposed to 50% less pollution if you walk this way between Euston and King’s Cross than if you walked along the main road. It’s a council initiative.”

  “Thanks for the urban planning lesson, but what are you not telling me?” Kat said, hurrying to keep up with Adam.

  “Did you notice the white van across from your flat this morning?”

  “No.” Kat felt the first threads of fear begin winding their way around her stomach.

  “It pulled out after us and has been following ever since. I lost it in the back streets just before Euston, but I’m not sure how much time I’ve bought us. We need to make sure that no one follows you into King’s Cross. Hopefully, they are looking for you at Euston.”

  They raced along the footpath, Adam checking behind them several times. Other people also walked, some pulling wheeled suitcases, and they had to move out into the street to get around them. Phoenix Road became Brill Place, and as they crossed over, Adam noticed a white van about a block away cruising slowly.

  “Quick, in here,” he said, turning into a doorway. The doors opened automatically, and they found themselves in the large reception foyer of a modern office building.

  Adam strode to the reception desk and showed his warrant card as he spoke to the receptionist.

  “Is there another exit?”

  The receptionist stood and pointed. “Yes, take the stairs to the first floor and follow the mezzanine to the very end and take the stairs down. You come out just opposite the station.”

  “Thank you.”

  He and Kat took the stairs two at a time and walked at speed along a mezzanine with offices on one side and open on the other to an atrium containing a café and clusters of seating on the ground floor. At the far end, they jogged down the second set of stairs. They strode across the floor to the plate glass windows at the front of the building. Adam peered out with caution. A loud ping announced the arrival of a lift on one edge of the lobby. Kat watched as the doors opened, and around twenty people piled out and walked towards the exit, chatting and laughing.

  “Let’s join them,” Adam said.

  When the lift’s occupants passed through the doors to exit the building, Kat and Adam eased into the middle of the group. They crossed the road and entered St. Pancras Station, keeping to the centre of the group. A long line of people with luggage wound its way among the barriers outside the Eurostar terminal. Kat and Adam continued past until they reached the shopping mall, where they plunged into the crowds and were swept along until they reached the ent
rance to King’s Cross station.

  “Do you have a hat or scarf in your bag?”

  Kat shook her head.

  “Pop into that shop there and buy a cheap hat and put your hair under it,” Adam said, stopping outside an accessories store.

  “I thought we’d lost them,” Kat said.

  “Perhaps, but a light disguise won’t hurt.”

  “You’re worrying me.”

  “I don’t mean to. I’m just being cautious.”

  Kat slipped into the shop. At the same time, Adam positioned himself beside a pillar with a clear view of people coming up out of the tube or entering the station from the direction that they’d just come.

  When she joined him a few minutes later, Kat’s dark auburn hair was tucked out of sight beneath a black beret, tilted at a jaunty angle. She had a leather choker around her neck and wore a black t-shirt with a plunging neckline tucked into her jeans instead of the white one she’d had on earlier.

  “How do I look?” she asked.

  Adam swallowed hard, taking in her freshly made-up face; eyes ringed with heavy kohl and dark red lips.

  “Great,” he said. “I mean, good disguise, very emo. Well done.”

  Kat grinned. “Am I okay to go from here?”

  “Yeah, it looks all clear. I’ll keep my distance behind you until you’re on the platform, to make sure no one else is following you.”

  “Okay, and thanks, Adam.”

  “You’re welcome. We’ll sort this out,” he said, lifting the strap of her bag over his head and handing it to her. “Call me if you have any concerns, but I’ll speak to you later.”

  Kat strode away, joining a steady stream of people entering the station. Adam forced his eyes from her retreating figure and focused on those also heading towards the trains.

  He watched a man rising from a table at a café further along the concourse. He moved into the flow of people in the direction that Kat had gone. Adam went to follow when a woman ran towards the man and leapt into his arms, kissing him.

  Adam let out a breath; false alarm.