Chapter 37

“Charlotte, could you set an extra place at the table, please.”

“Sure.” She pauses, her hand full of cutlery. “Who are we expecting?”

“Georgie’s joining us for lunch…”

Her mouth opens in a silent Ahhh…

“… Is that alright with you?”

She moves table-mat, knife and fork to one side, clearing enough space for another setting. “Of course
it is, Master. I know how much it means to you to have Georgie speaking to you again. I’ll do my best to
make friends with her.”

“Thank you.” I kiss her forehead, tilt her chin up. “For what it’s worth, she said something similar.”

*****

The doorbell rings.

Charlotte stands. “I’ll go.”

She returns a minute later with Georgie, who offers her a bottle of wine. “I wasn’t sure what everyone
likes, red or white, so I brought a rosé.”

“Good choice.” I gesture towards the fridge. “It’ll go well with the salmon we’re having. Just pop it in the
fridge for now to chill, then take a seat.”

She hovers by the table. “Any particular place I should sit?”

“I set your place there...” Charlotte points. “… next to your Dad.”



Georgie takes a seat, having the look of one floundering. Then, spotting Cara on her playmat on the
floor, patting at a dangling pink and blue ladybird. “Are you enjoying being a Mom?”

Charlotte beams. “Oh, yes. But I'll be glad when I’m back to my proper shape again.”

“I suppose you can use the gym in the hotel. Get plenty of exercise.”

“There's that. And I can ride too. That's good exercise.”

“Ride? You have a horse?”

“That’s right. She was a Christmas present. Can you ride?”

Georgie blows air. “I’ve never been on a horse.”

Credit where it’s due, Charlotte’s hesitation is infinitesimal. “Would you like to try? You could… You
could borrow Charlie. I'm sure my Ma.. your dad would teach you.”

Georgie swings around to me. “Would you?”

“If Charlotte is happy for you to ride Charlie, I’d like that very much.”

“When can we try?”

“No time like the present. After lunch?”

*****

 

Klempner



Abandoning the abattoir above me, I make the quick climb down again, hanging from the rail of the
lowest balcony to let myself drop to the ground. Landing on my toes, the rifle swings against my
shoulder then jogs against me.

“Ah, there you are, Larry. I was beginning to worry you might have taken a wrong turn.”

The voice comes from behind me and despite myself, I startle, spinning to face the grinning Juliana
and, by her side, a stranger with a gun in his hand. In the poor light, I can’t make out the model, but
since the dangerous end is waving at me, that’s by the by…

I look more closely, but not at the weapon: his face.

A bit of a pretty boy: his hair is slicked back to a fetching ponytail and he has that slightly oily look that
says Pimp.

No… not a stranger…

Now I look again, it’s Cash-Counting-Man from the night Wonder Boy led me here the first time.

While Juliana was making cow’s eyes at another gang member…

Cash-Man hovers close to Juliana with a slight proprietorial air…

Thinks he’s got her?

Another one?

Must have worked her way through half the fucking city…

Be walking bow-legged if she’s not careful…

And now I think on it, I have Cash-Man’s photo in my phone…



Wonder if Hickman made any progress on that?

Juliana’s wearing that manic grin that is so much a part her sexual allure and Femme Fatale appeal.
“So sorry, Larry. Weren’t you expecting me?” She fishes into a shoulder bag, producing a mobile, then
tapping the screen to life.

WTF?

Calling for backup?

She’s opted for redhead this evening…

Deliberate?

Probably…

… with green eye make-up which I’m guessing is supposed to give her a delicate mermaid air, but in
reality reminds me of one of the characters I saw in the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies movie.

Oddly, Cash-Man seems attracted to her. I cannot see why. But she’s repeated this pattern now again
and again.

How the fuck does she pull it off?

Flattery?

Appeal to the machismo?

Good in the bedroom?

Whatever it is she has, she has the knack to sucker a certain kind of man…



“Be careful, Sola. He’s dangerous.” Cash-Man seems genuinely concerned.

Why’s he speaking in English?

His accent is a bit thick but perfectly intelligible.

For my benefit? Put up a show?

Wonder if he knows she’s screwing around?

Not that it matters when they’re all already dead…

“Jose…” She smiles sweetly at him. “… how dangerous can he be when I have you to protect me?”

“Jose is it?” I raise a finger, pointing skyward. “D’you know all your friends up there are dead?”

He snorts. “Yeah… Right… You killed them all of them, did you? All by yourself?”

“Not me. Your lady of the poisoned pocket is the one responsible. Did you let her dole out whatever
they were taking this evening?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” His voice is slurring just a little. He glares, moving toward me
and now, closer, I see the expanded pupils…

How dense can he be?

Seriously?

Aiming the finger at Juliana, “How difficult would it be for her to slip a little something extra into the mix
for the Boys?”

And a bit of something different for you?



… While she still has a use for you?

Cocaine? Give him a high? Confidence?

Superman complex?

Juliana says nothing, simply smirking and fiddling with her phone as he speaks. “I don’t believe you.
You think I’m stupid?”

“Stupid? You? A pusher who’s a user too? Sorry. My mistake.”

But I’m talking to buy time, time to think. My mind’s racing…

Deja vu…

This is the second time I’ve been found at the spot, and under just these conditions, as I descended
from the fourth floor.

How did she know?

Waiting for me…

Several stories of balconies, windows and human paraphernalia…

All overlooking this alley…

A look-out? Watching for the police maybe?

Or me…

Why not stop me halfway down? Throw me off the balcony…

Or try to…



More likely a security camera somewhere… One I missed…

Ah… the phone…

She’s linked to a camera somewhere.

Sure enough, she’s tapping at the screen.

Should have thought of that…

No-one’s infallible…

She stares at something on her screen, then her face twists. “Don’t let him get away, Jose,” she hisses.

“No problem.” He raises the gun.

“No! Not like that. I told you. I want him alive.”

He jerks his chin at the rifle over my shoulder. “You think that’s any good for up close?” He grins,
advancing, pistol in hand. I reach behind myself.

The poor street lighting glints off his teeth. It’s not a bad match for the glint on the edge of my blade.
“No. This is what I use for up close.” I nod down to his pistol. “And how much use is that when she
wants me alive? It’s hand-to-hand, Jose.”

He snarls, raising the gun. “She said alive, not uninjured…”

“No!” It’s Juliana again…

Jolting, he jerks a startled glance her way, and it’s all I need. Darting forward, slapping the pistol to one
side, I lean the other way. Sure enough, it fires, the round blowing a hole in the wall of the apartment
block before skittering to ground and off.



Jose screams. The blow may have broken his wrist. Certainly, it jarred it. And I’m not about to give him
time to regret his moment of inattention…

He’s trying to recover from his mistake, but as I swing a foot around his ankles, he’s off-balance and he
topples, ponytail flapping.

The ponytail was a mistake. I’ve nothing against the style. Each to his own. For myself, I prefer my hair
long enough to provide a bit of padding against blows, but short enough to be ungrabbable…

Jose’s fashion statement follows him down. Snatching at it with my free hand, I yank upwards, halting
his fall… kind of…

Half his body weight is taken by his two feet, firmly on the ground. But dangling where I hold him by the
hair, he’s almost horizontal from the knees up. He can’t get up, can’t get down and now, shoving the
knife into my belt for speed, I have the Glock in my hand.

My hand looped tight into the ponytail, I jerk his head up, hard enough to make his neck creak. Hard
enough to pull him upright now that I have control. The muzzle of my gun pressed to his skull. “You’re
coming with me, Juliana, if you don't want to lose the boyfriend.”

Not that I think she gives a shit about him, but at least his body is shielding mine while I figure how to
get to Juliana herself.

Is she armed?

But I don’t see anything except the mobile in her hand.

“I don’t think so.” Her reaction is weird. She stands there, all nonchalance, smirking. “That’s it, is it,
Larry? You think you have the upper hand?”

“Why don’t you ask Speeding Gonzales here?”



Jose struggles under me. I’m disinclined to murder the poor sap if I can avoid it. He’s hardly the first to
be suckered into doing what she wants. But, something about Juliana’s manner is unsettling. “I know
you don’t care if I blow his brains out, but after he’s dead, you’re next.”

But I’m playing for time, trying to figure what the card is she holds in her hand that I don’t know about…

Someone else here?

Quickly, I dart glances left and right… back, front…. up. There’s no-one else.

That giggle. That fucking infuriating Juliana giggle. “Larry, look at your phone.”

“My phone?” Knotting my right hand tighter into his hair, keeping Jose immobile, the left is occupied
holding the gun.

She lifts her chin, eyes slanting to my jacket pocket. “Yes, your phone. You've got incoming, Larry. Take
a look.” She’s not exactly smiling…

… but… she knows something I don’t.

In my pocket, the phone is vibing. With both hands occupied, I push the muzzle of my gun into the back
of Jose’s neck, tugging down on the ponytail with the other. “On your knees, hands clasped behind
your head.”

He’s calm as he obeys: suspiciously calm. Juliana’s gaze follows him down, and now she’s definitely
smiling.

The gun muzzle to the base of his skull, I fish the phone from my pocket…

… and turn cold…

Instead of the usual accept/deny button, there's an image on the screen…



No, not an image. It’s moving: a live feed. And of a view I know well.

In bright sunshine, looking up towards the terrace of James’ home in the mountain. Mitch and Jenny
are there, sitting at one of the tables. Their backs are turned to me, but they’re clearly talking together,
body language relaxed. James and Michael stand nearby, leaning against a wall, mugs in hands,
casual, chatting.

But, overlaying it all, making my gut tighten and my mouth dry, crosshairs hover. Gliding across the
screen, they move between the two men: first Michael, then James. Then drifting, as though by
accident, they pass over Jenny. And then, finally, they settle squarely on Mitch's head.

A live feed from rifle sights?

Juliana’s smile cracks wide and she giggles again: an infuriating, sickening sound. “Which will it be,
Larry? Your bitch whore or your bitch daughter? I can take the men too, but they’ll be last.”

Where the hell's Hickman?

Not doing his fucking job…

I’ll gut him for this…

“I'm waiting, Larry.” Juliana sniggers. “Who's first? Jenny? Or Mitch? Or maybe the guys? I can have
them picked off one at a time. Or my sniper can simply mow them all down in a few seconds…”

Christ…

She pauses in an overplayed dramatic silence…. “…. Or are you going to be a good boy and put the
gun down?”

Don’t panic…



…

Think…

Frozen, the muzzle of my Glock still to Jose’s head, I watch as Juliana mutters into her phone, grinning
as her eyes flash to mine…

Will she give the order anyway?

Take my surrender, then murder them anyway?

Mitch…

Jenny…

“What’ll it be, Larry? You going to give yourself up?” She holds up her phone, shaking it gently in her
hand at me. “Drop the gun and I'll tell my man to stand down.”

My lungs are tight, and I’m struggling to control the shakes. Holding the Glock, she’ll see immediately if
my hand trembles. The breath sticks in my throat as I speak. “And how do I know that? That you’ll keep
your word?”

“Oh, you don't.” She wrinkles her nose in fake cutes. “I’m the one holding the ace. But for what it's
worth, you have my promise. I've had my fun with them. It's time you and I got down to business. So…”
Her face turns serious as she stares me down. “… are you going to put down the gun?”

No choices.

No way out.

Mitch…



I suck at dry cheeks before the words will form. “Alright, tell your sniper to stand down. You want me.
You’ve got me. But don’t hurt them. They never did anything to you.”

Juliana’s grin widens, and she nods down to where the Glock rests against Jose’s skull. I lift it away
then, my heart yammering, then, hands outheld, I stoop, moving slowly, laying the pistol on the ground.

“The rifle too.”

Shrugging it off, I let it drop from my shoulders. Raising my arms, but with the mobile in one hand, I
watch the screen. The crosshairs still linger over Mitch.

Jose stands. As he finds his feet, smirking, he kicks the rifle away to skitter over the dusty ground
towards Juliana. She retrieves it, slinging over her own shoulder. The Glock he shoves into a jacket
pocket before brushing himself down.

Her eyes holding mine, Juliana raises her voice as she speaks into her phone. “Hold your fire…” She
slides a finger over the screen… “… But stay alert. Keep your cellphone within reach. If I don’t call
again within the next ten minutes, shoot the women.”

The image on my mobile drifts sidelong, a little away from Mitch, but both she and Jenny are still on-
screen. The crosshairs shift and blink.

“No tricks, Larry. My man's not gone anywhere, yet. He’ll still take your precious bitches if he doesn’t
hear from me.” Juliana jerks her chin at Jose “Get on with it, then. Tie him up. We don't want him
changing his mind...” Rummaging in her bag, she tosses a plastic packet: zip ties. “Search him. Make
sure he’s not armed. And get his phone. Fasten his hands behind his back. And make sure it’s tight.”

Jose snatches the phone from my hand, tucking it inside his jacket. The Glock too. Holding my arms
out, I stand, passive, as he pats me down, removes the knife from my belt, plus the pair from the calf-
holsters, then he goes through my pockets.



He raises brows as he finds Juliana’s text on plant poisons. “Your choice of reading? And you tried to
put the blame on her?” The book too, he shoves in his own pocket. Then, lip curling, he nods down.
“Now you kneel. Hands behind your back.”

I hesitate, but Juliana holds up her phone, waving it at me.

Out of options, I obey, gravel biting into my knees as I drop.

Will she keep her word?

Mitch…

There’s no air. Behind my eyes, spots dance as the ties tighten; the first in a simple loop around my
wrists, the second in a figure of eight, circling first one wrist, then the other, before clicking tighter.

Juliana watches. “At the elbows too. Tight enough to be sure he can’t move his arms, wriggle free.”

Stock still, frozen in body and mind, I allow Jose to do his work. The ties aren’t long enough, so he zips
two together and uses the pair, slipping them behind me. As they tighten around my elbows, it strains
at my shoulders, drawing them back.

“Ankles and knees too,” says Juliana. “Restrain him completely. Make sure he can’t free himself.”

Jose kicks at my knees. “On the ground.” Obeying, I lean sideways, trying to break my fall, but
apparently, I don’t move fast enough. He shoves me at the shoulder and I topple, scraping my cheek
on the ground as I impact.

Again he connects two, then three, of the ties together, locking them around my ankles. Another set
goes around my knees. Lying flat, trussed like some oven-ready chicken, my face pressed into the
ground…



Will she keep her word?

“Juliana, call your dog off. Mitch and Jenny have done nothing to you. You’ve got me. Now stand your
sniper down.”

She smirks, then exchanges grins with Jose…

No…

My stomach lurches…

Mitch…

Her eyes sparkle with malice. “No need, Larry.” She hunkers down beside me. “You’ve been had.
There’s no marksman. No sniper.”

I don’t mean to, but I react… as she clearly intends… My head jerking sidelong, straining up to see her.
“What? But…”

She gestures to Jose. “Show him.”

He produces my phone from his pocket, tapping it alive, then offering it to my view, displaying the
screen. Mitch and Jenny still sit there chatting, James and Michael in the background. The cross-hairs
still hover.

Then, Jenny stands and turns. And seeing her properly now, from the front, it’s clear she’s pregnant.
Not heavily so, but it’s visible.

Not a feed…

A recording…



Months old…

Juliana, arms folded, widens her eyes at me. “I took the footage myself last year…” She sucks at her
cheeks, as though savouring some delicacy…. “… while I was still gathering information. That moron
Baxter helped.”

She sniffs, rubbing the back of her neck. “I had to pick and choose a bit; get a shot with Jenny's back
turned so you’d not see she was pregnant. That would have given the game away. But any fool with a
two-dollar app can paste a set of crosshairs over video.” Her eyes glint. “I hacked your phone, Larry. At
least, I had a friend do it for me…”

There’s an ache at the back of my throat. Swallowing hurts. “A friend? You have one of those, do you?
Not murdered them all yet, then?”

Juliana snarls, then recovers, smirking. “An old video, a bit of editing and an overlay. I owned your
phone. And that meant, I owned your life. I had you fooled, Larry. The great Lawrence Klempner, taken
down with a parlour trick.”

Think…

“You planned all this last year?” Pointless question, but I’m playing for time…

Options…

I move, keeping it subtle, flexing against my bonds. Nothing happens. I’m bound tight and staying that
way.

“Oh, no…” Juliana shakes her head, sneering… “Much further back than that, Larry. Much, much
further back. I’ve planned since I was a teenager how I’d settle my score with you. I might have had a
life. And you took that away. You and Baxter and all those like you.”



Baxter…

Oh, Christ…

What she did to Baxter…

She moves nearer, bending close, her breath washing over my face as she hisses through bared teeth.
“You might have beaten me, Larry. You might have killed Jose here. You might have caught me. But…”

She stands, waving her hands up into the air… “… you threw it away. And for no reason. Your precious
sluts were never in any danger.”

She tilts her head. Folds her arms. “Can’t say the same for you though, Larry.” Wrinkling her nose,
“Aren’t you just in a mess now?” She reaches into her bag, producing a roll of tape, tossing it to Jose,
“Gag him. We don’t want him yelling for help if he wakes up. And be quick, before anyone comes
along. But make sure you don’t block his breathing.”

Jose looms over me, the tape drawn tight between his hands as he stoops toward me. I speak quickly.
“You think you’re going to survive this much longer than I am? Your so-called girlfriend will have you for
dog meat as soon as she decides you’ve served your purpose.”

He snorts. “Yes, Sola said you’d say something like that. She’s told me all about you and what you did
to her. You’ve lost. And now Sola’s going to have her way with you.”

My stomach clutches. “Why don’t you just kill me and get it done? You’ve been playing your games for
long enough.”

Juliana bares her teeth, eyes glittering. “And I’ve not finished playing them yet, Larry Dear. Oh, you're
not going to die. Not yet. I want you to live for a long, long time…”

The tape grabs at my face, tightens over my lips. I can’t reply.



Juliana moves over me, looking closely at my face. “Scared yet, Larry?” Then to Jose, “Get him in the
car. First, we get him out of sight. Then we trank him.”

*****


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