The Deadly Game(6)

He stayed still, every nerve and sense now straining to follow the footsteps as they came nearer. Come on, he urged them. Get near enough so I can . . .

So I can what? he thought miserably. I’m tied up so tight I can’t move. I can’t even fall over on to them.

The footsteps came nearer. Light footsteps, by the sound of it. Soft shoes.

He sat in the chair, waiting for them to get close beside him, tensing himself against the blows he expected to rain down on him.

They were beside him now. He felt something pull at the blindfold . . . and then he was staring into the face of a young woman, who looked at him in astonishment.

‘My God!’ she said, awed.

Jake stared back at her, his mind a mess of bewilderment. Who was she? And what was she doing here?

He felt a sudden pain as she tore away the tape from over his mouth.

‘It’s OK,’ she said, her tone still one of awe and astonishment. ‘I’m a journalist.’

This only made Jake feel even more bewildered.

‘A journalist?’

‘Yes. My name’s Michelle Faure. I had a phone call telling me if I came here I’d find something interesting. I thought it was a crank call, but I’m just starting out, and a story is a story . . .’

As she began to untie the ropes that held his wrists to the chair, she apologised. ‘Sorry, I’m gabbling, but I’ve never been in this situation before. Are you hurt?’

‘No,’ said Jake, his mind still racing. What was a journalist doing here?

As she worked at the knots, he looked around. As he’d guessed, he was in a large warehouse. Timber was stacked around in piles, but it didn’t look as if any of it had been moved for some time. There seemed to be a fine layer of dust over everything. The ropes fell away as the knots around his wrists and ankles were finally loosened.

‘There!’ she said. ‘Now we’d better phone your family, let them know you’re safe.’

‘I don’t have any family,’ said Jake.

‘Well, whoever paid the ransom,’ said Michelle.

Jake stared at her.

‘What ransom?’

Michelle looked at him, and now it was her turn to look puzzled.

‘Well, someone must have paid the ransom, otherwise why did I get the call?’

Jake shook his head.

‘Look, I’m not a kidnap victim. Yes, OK, I was grabbed and tied up and left here, but I don’t think it was that long ago.’ He shot a look at his watch. ‘In fact, it only happened about two hours ago.’

‘And I got the call twenty minutes ago,’ said Michelle. Suddenly her expression changed and she looked at Jake suspiciously. ‘Is this some kind of gag?’

‘Gag?’ echoed Jake indignantly.

‘Some sort of practical joke.’

‘God, no!’ said Jake, heartfelt.

‘So, who did it? Did you see them?’

‘I saw one of them, he was wearing a sort of courier’s uniform and he was holding a parcel.’

‘Where was this?’

‘Outside my flat. And when I answered the door, this other figure was there, and the next second I had some stuff sprayed in my eyes, and then a pad with chloroform was put over my mouth and nose.’

Michelle still regarded him suspiciously.

‘You’re sure it’s not some kind of joke?’

Jake shook his head.

Michelle fell silent. Then a look of determination entered her eyes.

‘We need to phone the police,’ she said.

‘Why?’ asked Jake.

‘Why? Because you’re a victim of a crime! And a weird crime, at that! Kidnapping for no reason. Assault.’ She looked even more determined as she added: ‘And I need some kind of police comment, otherwise I don’t have much of a story.’

‘You don’t have a story,’ said Jake. ‘They let me go unharmed.’

‘No,’ said Michelle firmly, shaking her head. ‘This is obviously a warning of some sort. Gangsters? Drug dealers?’ she asked hopefully. ‘You’ve been poking your nose into their business and this is a warning to you.’

‘I don’t do drugs,’ Jake told her, ‘and I stay away from people who do.’

Michelle let out a heavy sigh.

‘Then why call me to tell me you were here?’ she complained.

‘I don’t know,’ said Jake. ‘To release me, I suppose.’

‘But if that’s all it was, why not phone a friend of yours?’

Because I don’t have many friends, thought Jake ruefully. ‘I don’t know.’

Michelle shook her head.

‘There has to be a story here,’ she said grimly. ‘Something I can use.’

And suddenly it hit Jake that this was the opportunity he’d been thinking about for getting the Order of Malichea into the public domain. Getting Lauren’s freedom. Of course, he’d have to keep some things back from this woman. Like Lauren killing Carl Parsons. But, if he managed it properly, it could be the answer.