by Agatha Frost
“Don’t suppose you have cameras in here?”
“Couldn’t afford to.” Minnie gulped, reaching out with a shaky hand. “I-I don’t want to look.”
Without hesitating, Julia picked up the first envelope and ripped it open. She pulled out a thick stack of papers clipped at the corner. A note had been tucked in front of the first sheet, it’s message written in the same handwriting as the ransom note. Once again, an English section followed the Spanish.
“‘Take to Designer Fabrics when signed,’” Julia read aloud. “‘If correct, you will find an unmarked duffle bag on your doorstep when you wake tomorrow. Do not attempt to intercept delivery. You are being watched. If we sense anything untoward, the deal will be off. If you find the money tomorrow, we are satisfied with your co-operation, and you will have twenty-four hours to vacate the property.’”
“Is that everything?”
“Looks like it,” Julia replied, flicking through the weighty document. “Contracts to hand over the deeds to the hotel. Do you trust them?”
“No,” Minnie replied with a gulp, “but everyone else got their money, so why should I be any different?”
“Seems they’ve had the paperwork ready to go for a while.”
“And the other?” Minnie nodded at the second envelope, apparently identical to the first. “What else could they have to say?”
Julia picked it up, surprised when something heavy dropped to the corner. She ripped open the top and tipped the contents out onto the desk.
She gasped and jumped back.
The envelope fluttered from her hands, and her fingers went up to her mouth. She inhaled shakily, and her tears came with the exhale.
“That’s my gran’s brooch,” she managed to say, extending a trembling finger, “and Percy’s glasses.”
This time, Minnie picked up the note. Instead of reading it out, she passed it to Julia. The message was short but clear.
You have two days. You keep up your end of the bargain, and we will keep ours.
“No time like the present.” Minnie sat at the desk and plucked a pen from the pot before Julia could take a moment to digest the note. “Would you help me see where I need to sign, sweet Julia? My eyes aren’t what they were, and I never found a pair of specs that weren’t sunglasses that suited my face.”
18
Dot
“I don’t think he’s coming back,” Dot said as she looked out the window and into the night. “I can’t see him.”
“They’re leaving us here to starve.”
Considering it had been over twenty-four hours since Rafa had thrown in the loaf of bread, she was inclined to agree, but she didn’t want to add to Percy’s worries.
Any day with nothing to eat but stale bread would have been enough to tip Percy over the edge. He was a foodie in a way Dot wasn’t, and as much as she enjoyed good food, Percy ate like every meal was his last.
“What’s happening out there?” he asked. “Are they still pointing guns?”
“Not right now.”
The once-dark clearing had been lit up with small lamps dotted around the ground. They gave off a creamy glow, and the six men standing guard cast long shadows every time they moved.
At least they hadn’t been stood in a row in front of the outbuilding with their guns trained at them for the last few hours. White deck chairs had appeared again, and like before, they were sat around talking, smoking, and laughing.
Three men were playing a game of poker, and from the looks of the box, using the same cards Dot and Percy had used in the villa. Two more patrolled the perimeter, while the last read a paperback with the spine bent all the way back.
“There’s still a slice of bread left,” Percy said. His voice was growing weaker by the hour. “We could split it. I know we said we’d save it for breakfast, just in case, but surely someone should feed us before then?”
“You have it,” she said, turning away from the window to offer him the biggest smile she could muster. “I’m sure you’re right. We’ll probably get a fresh loaf slung at us tomorrow. I can wait.”
“We can split it,” he offered again.
“I’m not hungry,” she lied. “Besides, it’s a crust piece. Who likes them?”
“A stale crust piece, at that.” Percy tipped the bag upside down, and the final piece of bread fell into his lap. He picked it up and inhaled, eyes closed. “I’m going to pretend this is one of Julia’s scones, filled with cream and jam, and served with a cup of hot sweet tea.”
Dot’s mouth watered. Percy ripped the slice in two and offered one half to her before taking a bite. She shook her head and turned away. As hungry as she was, she wouldn’t take the bread from Percy. They’d agreed to have two slices per meal, but Dot had been living off one, giving her extra slice to her husband.
Dot glanced down at his leg again. The purple had spread past the latest bandage, which she’d ripped from the other leg of his trousers. She’d only cleaned the wound and dressing an hour ago, but fresh blood had already spotted through. Dot didn’t know how much damage leaving a wound like that could do in two days, but combined with the lack of his blood pressure pills, she was worried enough to go hungry in the hopes the extra bread would keep Percy’s strength up.
“Did it work?” she asked when he finished the slice.
“Not remotely.” He sighed and picked the crumbs off his belly. “But it fills a corner. A small one.”
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, staring at the high window above the sink as though it were a television. It was a position they had defaulted to numerous times, but since they’d run out of things to spy – not that Percy could spy much at all without his glasses – it was all they had.
“Tell me a joke,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Two dragons walked into a bar,” he said without missing a beat. “One says, ‘It’s hot in here’, and the other says, ‘Close your bloody mouth.’”
Dot continued to stare at the window.
“It’s because dragons breathe fire, you see, and he had his—”
“I got it,” she said. “Maybe try another?”
“A man walks into a bar,” he said. “Ouch.”
Dot laughed. Not because it was funny, but because it was awful, and she knew Percy was trying his best. She laughed until he laughed, and they carried on laughing until Dot couldn’t remember what she was laughing at anymore and the laughter was coming awfully close to crying.
“We’re going mad,” she said, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. “Well, I suppose you were always mad, but I’m joining you.”
“Best way to be, love.”
“If we ever get out of here, they’ll put us in a nuthouse,” she said.
“If that’s not where we are already.” He paused and looked around the room. “I don’t suppose we would know. This could be a padded cell. We could be figments of each other’s imaginations.”
Dot laughed again, this time sure she was actually going insane. She was only brought back down to reality when she heard something ping outside. She’d been hearing the noises on and off for most of the night and had assumed it was someone’s mobile phone.
Another ping followed close behind, and another. They continued until there were six, one for each of the men. Shouts came in Spanish, feet crunched against gravel, glass smashed, and more shouting followed. A car door slammed, and another, and another. Once again, Dot counted six slams.
She stood up just in time to see the first car speed off towards the opening of the road, headlights illuminating the way – enough for Dot to see them turn upwards. The other two cars went downwards, zooming off at lightning speed.
From the pings to the clearing emptying, barely sixty seconds must have passed. Dot couldn’t imagine why they were suddenly on their own, however. Out of the corner of her eye, an orange blaze confirmed the source of the smashing glass during the panic to escape.
“Remember that story you told me a
bout setting fire to your curtains because you knocked over an oil lamp?”
“1984,” he replied with a raspy chuckle, followed by a cough. “Went up in flames before I even realised what was going on.”
“Well,” she said, pausing to swallow the lump in her throat, “I think the same thing is happening here.”
She dared to look back at Percy before returning her attention to the small fire taking hold on the edge of the forest.
“How dry did that forest floor feel to you when we fell over?”
“Incredibly.”
Dot tore herself away from the window and sat back down next to Percy, her eyes immediately going to his shin.
“Somehow, starving to death is no longer at the top of my worry list,” she said as she clenched his hand. “Pray for a miracle, Percy, because I fear we’re going to need one.”
19
Julia
After over an hour of being unable to add anything to the conversation, Julia retreated to the terrace, leaving Barker and Minnie to continue poring over the contract in the dining room. Every page had been signed, and it would already have been delivered if Barker hadn’t insisted that they comb over every detail to make sure no trickery was buried between the lines.
A sensible idea, of course. Julia was glad Barker was more tuned into understanding the legal mumbo jumbo than she was. If it had been left solely to her to decipher, she would have concluded that the whole contract was a trick simply because she couldn’t comprehend most of it. Understanding paperwork had never been part of her skill set, and she wasn’t too proud to admit it.
Sensing her presence, soft, motion-activated lights illuminated the terrace. She perched on the edge of a sunbed. Glad to give her mind a break from complicated legal phrasing, she inhaled the night air and unclenched her fist, revealing the brooch. She rolled it face up with her thumb, and the silver trim around the emerald centre caught the light.
Dot had worn the antique jewellery at her collar for as long as Julia could remember, and yet Julia couldn’t recall ever holding it in her hands. The weight of the brooch surprised her, as did its beauty. The piece was so permanently attached to her gran, she noticed it as infrequently as she would a mole or a birthmark. Now, up close, it was like she was looking at it for the first time.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Barker asked as he joined her. “Felt like as good a time as any to take a break.”
Barker nodded back into the dining room. Rodger had joined them, and he was at the bar pouring two large glasses of sangria. He fiddled with something under the counter, and soft Spanish guitar music played through the hidden speakers. He carried the drinks over to the table and took Barker’s seat.
“I was just thinking about how wrong it is that I have this,” Julia said, shuffling over on the sunbed to make room for Barker. “My gran wouldn’t have given this up without a fight.”
“Better than an ear or a finger.”
Julia arched a brow at her husband. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“It makes me feel better,” he replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “I’ve heard of much worse being sent to scare people into paying.”
“And you think that’s a reason to trust whoever sent them?” She clenched her fist around the brooch again, the sight of it too much to bear. “We’re no closer to finding out who has them, and in the meantime, we’re pinning all our hopes on a master manipulator keeping up their end of a shady bargain – and that’s only if Minnie gets the money in time or still wants to sell after all this.”
Julia glanced into the dining room again. Rodger appeared to have picked up reading the contract where Barker left off.
“It all seems legit to me.” Barker gently turned her face away from the dining room. “I was dubious at first, but it appears to be a straightforward transferal of ownership.”
“Nothing with these people has been straightforward.”
“You’re right.” He squeezed her shoulder and pulled her in tighter. “This entire situation has been a mess from start to finish, but we have no reason to believe they won’t keep up their end of the bargain. If The Buyer has taken them to force Minnie to sell, this is exactly what they want. Why would they want to hurt Dot or Percy?”
She shook her head. Lisa’s stabbing threw a spanner in the works. A confession of guilt from Arlo would have separated the attempt on Lisa’s life from the ransom situation, but his innocence did the opposite. The lengths the attacker had gone to in order to frame Arlo stank of the same manipulative tactics she’d been hearing about since learning of The Buyer’s existence. No matter what the notes said, she didn’t trust them, and yet . . . and yet, she had no choice but to put her faith in them.
“Go up to our room and have a lie-down,” Barker said, squeezing her arm again. “I’ll go to the kitchen and dig up something for dinner.”
“There wasn’t much left at lunchtime,” she said, “except for a few of Rodger’s eggs.”
“An omelette it is.” He stood and pulled her up with him. “There’s nothing else for you to do tonight.”
The urge to object bubbled up, but Julia forced it down. Barker was right. Unless she suddenly learned the language of contracts or dared to go out alone in the dark to hand out more posters, she was done for the day.
Leaving Barker to venture down to the kitchen, Julia took the lift up to her bedroom. As she hadn’t wanted to carry a bag and the maxi dress had no pockets, she retrieved the key card from her bra, a trick her gran had taught her.
After swiping the key, she walked into the dark bedroom and collapsed on the soft bed without bothering to turn on the lights. She placed the brooch on her bedside table and rolled away from the view of the valley through the open curtains. Mind and body equally exhausted, her eyes closed easily.
Knuckles rapidly knocking on the door jolted her awake. She had no idea how long she’d been asleep, but it had been long enough for her to drool onto the pillow. Wiping her cheek, she forced herself up and out of bed.
“Alright, alright,” she called as she walked to the door. “I’m coming, Barker.”
But when she opened the door, it wasn’t to Barker with an omelette. Jessie stood on the other side, holding Lisa’s open laptop.
“I need to show you something,” Jessie said as she marched into the room, eyes trained on the screen. “Why are you sat in the dark, you weirdo?”
“I was napping.” Julia stifled a yawn as she closed the door. “How did you get Lisa’s laptop? I could have sworn it was in here.”
“It was.” Jessie dumped the laptop on the dressing table. “I borrowed it.”
Too tired for the ceiling light, Julia flicked on the softer lamps on either side of the bed.
“Wait,” she said, “how did you even get in here?”
“Lifted Barker’s key card.” She shrugged as she looked around. “Would have used it then, but I heard you come back ten minutes ago. Do you have a charger for this thing? Battery’s down to five percent.”
“Minnie didn’t give me one.”
“Then I need to show you this quickly.” She sat Julia down in front of the laptop at the dressing table. “I’m going to assume you and Barker didn’t check Lisa’s sent emails?”
“You can do that?”
Jessie rolled her eyes skyward. “Give me strength.” She jabbed the screen. “It’s right there. If you had checked, you’d have known the reply you sent on Minnie’s behalf wasn’t the first.”
“Lisa replied?”
“Oh, she did more than reply.” Jessie forced a laugh, crossed over to the window, and stared out into the valley. “I suggest you start at the top and read what your ninth-cousin, six times removed, or whatever she is on the family tree, has been up to.”
First cousin, once removed, but Julia didn’t bother with the correction. As instructed, she scrolled to the top of the page. She wasn’t the most proficient when it came to technology, but she could recognise an email thread when it
was in front of her.
July 29 08:31 pm (11 days ago)
From: [email protected]
URGENT!!!!!
Circumstances have changed. You need to delay the plan until at least the last week of the month!
July 30 07:45 am (10 days ago)
From: [email protected]
Re: URGENT!!!!!
Is there a problem with the insurance?
July 30 07:53 am (10 days ago)
From: [email protected]
Re: Re: URGENT!!!!!
No, my mother has guests coming. She sprang it on me last night, and they’re getting here on Sunday. Old family she hasn’t seen for years. They go home on the 16th. Please don’t do anything until after then.
July 31 07:45 pm (9 days ago)
From: [email protected]
Re: Re: URGENT!!!!!
Hello??
August 1 04:34 pm (8 days ago)
From: [email protected]
Re: Re: URGENT!!!!!
Please reply. They arrive on Sunday. It can’t happen while they’re here. My mum needs this. It will make it easier to get her to agree, I promise.
August 3 09:23 am (6 days ago)
From: [email protected]
Re: Re: Re: URGENT!!!!!
Okay. The plan has changed. Thank you for cooperating. We will be in touch.
“I think something is on fire out there,” Jessie said, breaking Julia’s concentration. “Halfway up that mountain, in the trees.”
“Is it bad?”
“Can’t tell,” she said. “Can only see the smoke.”
Julia glanced through the window, but she couldn’t even see that much. Like her ability to read legal contracts, her long-distance vision was a weakness. She turned back to the laptop.
