Of course he shouldn’t have looked down again but he couldn’t help himself. He strained to see through the murk but there was no sign of anyone else, just the vertical drop he’d once taken without the aid of parachute or safety net. It spiralled through the night and the rain to the small, firm circle of grey concrete that he’d started from. His hands were strangling the rung of the ladder somewhere just under his chin, clinging on in case it slipped through his fingers and disappeared.

There really was no one else on the climb up the tower. Not in the sense that he’d thought. No living, breathing being. He realized that now. He was still there though, watching, maybe waiting to catch him if he fell. If you believed in that kind of thing. Euan Hepburn made an unlikely guardian angel but Winter felt him there nevertheless.

Higher and higher. The underside of the observation deck was clearly in sight, a giant metallic eye looking out over the city. He pushed on, bolder now, sure he was going to get there.

The deck itself was fully enclosed, a space for the public reached by the internal elevator, assuming it was working. From there they could look out over the city in comfort and safety. Winter’s destination was immediately below it, the maintenance platform that shared the same view as the deck above but was accessible, with some effort, from the ladder. He hauled himself up, over and in, collapsing onto the metal floor, enjoying the shock of the cold against the sweat on his back. He was tired and soaked through. His hands were numb with cold and the stress of holding on for his life. His head was a mess of worry and wonder. But he’d made it. He’d actually made it.

Now all he had to do was wait.

Chapter 55

Narey was sitting with the lights off, waiting for something to happen. Not just anything but a very particular something that was as much hope as expectation. She knew the place well but everything changed in the dark. Furniture seemed bigger, closer. The room itself seemed smaller but without end.

The lights outside the window were sneaking their way in, casting shadows and playing with her mind, making things stretch and twist. It gave her time to think but it was an elastic and unhelpful form of time. Thinking in the dark wasn’t generally to be recommended. Your mind went places it shouldn’t, running through doors that you knew were shut for a reason.

There were doors marked Dad, Tony, Work, Future. She was crashing through them all, even the ones that shouldn’t be linked but were. It wasn’t exactly helpful given the circumstances but she couldn’t help herself. The more you thought about why you shouldn’t go there, the more you were thinking about it.

She’d given Tony an ultimatum but had basically left him to choose whether to go along with it or not. It meant she’d given him the option of completely destroying what they had. It was like giving a chimpanzee the keys to a Ferrari. Men weren’t good with decisions, she knew that. They’d rather not make them and they certainly didn’t like being made to make them. What other choice did she have though? She had to trust he had the sense to see what was important. If he didn’t then they were wasting their time.

It didn’t come too naturally to her to sit still for any length of time. It never had. As a kid she would devour books but always on the move in one way or another. She’d sometimes walk and read, through the park or down by the river. Even if she read in one spot, on her bed or in the living room, then she’d roll and wriggle, move from one place to another, never giving the world the chance to take root beneath her. Ants in her pants, according to her mum and dad.

She had to try to stay still now though. Still and quiet and unseen and patient. The only things allowed to move were the doors that opened and shut in her head. There was no guarantee that this still-waiting would have the outcome she was hoping for, but there was no other way to find out. She’d sit and she’d wait. And she’d think.

In the end, it took a bit less time than they’d thought. She’d sat in that familiar chair in the dark for less than forty-five minutes when she heard three little words whispered in her ear. ‘Here we go.’

Her pulse quickened and her hands gripped the sides of the chair. She’d been ready from the moment she sat down but now she felt the need to reinforce that. Feet flat to the floor, ready to brace against it even though she probably wouldn’t have to.

She mentally crossed her fingers and hoped their man wouldn’t change his mind or chicken out. The words in her ear meant he was on site and ready to move in. It didn’t mean that he’d definitely be coming through the . . .

The creak of weight outside the door filtered through the apartment just a moment before the sound of something jangling at the lock. Surely he didn’t, couldn’t, have a key. Although in his line of work maybe it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to get his hands on some kind of skeleton key. Whatever he was using, a key or a jemmy, it had worked. The door edged open and the person on the other side stood quietly, testing the temperature.

She held her breath, sitting tight. A potent cocktail of anticipation, adrenalin and apprehension coursed through her veins. Don’t switch on the light, she silently urged him. Not just yet. Let’s both savour this.

Footsteps padded through the hallway, and the door to the living room, which she’d left ajar, was slowly eased wider still. A tall shadow appeared in the doorway, its outline framed by the street lights shining through the window. It was him. Surely it was him.

The shadow’s owner carried a torch and in seconds a slim beam of light arced across the room, settling first on the desk against the far wall where Tony’s laptop sat along with the external hard drive which held many of his photographs. She’d let him go a little further, until he was within touching distance of what he’d come hoping to find.

Pausing for a moment to sweep the torchlight over the desk, he reached out to flip open the laptop’s lid. Thinking better of it, he closed it again, picking the laptop up and stretching to do the same with the hard drive.

‘That’s a better idea,’ she called from the gloom. ‘Don’t waste time trying to get into them here. Safer just to take them with you.’

He jumped at her voice and threw the laptop across the room at her. She dodged it easily but suddenly regretted the theatrics and knew Tony would be furious if the laptop was damaged.

‘Who’s there? Who the fuck is there?’

He sounded scared. Desperate.

‘We’ve met before. Don’t you remember?’ She was enjoying the moment but she also wanted to push his buttons as much as possible. Anything that made him lose his cool would be a good thing. ‘I told you then that I wasn’t a lady. You’ve got to believe me now.’

The torch wavered in her direction and she raised a hand to shield her eyes. He gasped when he saw her.

‘You fucking bitch. I’m going to kill you.’

Those were the magic words. Giannandrea and Toshney emerged from the shadows and crossed in front of him and two uniformed cops piled through the door to take him down from behind. He struggled against them but could do nothing against the superior numbers. He writhed in frustration, his face contorted, spitting in fury.

‘I’ll fucking kill you,’ he raged. ‘I mean it. I’ll fucking kill you.’

‘Like you killed Jennifer Cairns?’