The Lost

He had no reason to lie, and Jonah allowed himself to feel minimally reassured. Still groggy, he wriggled and heaved himself into a sitting position against the wall. It was awkward with his hands and feet tied, and the effort made his head and knee hurt even more. In the lamplight, the wood panelling and floral-pattern curtains covering the portholes gave the cabin an incongruously cosy look. It was a mess, with crushed beer cans and empty bottles scattered on the floor and dirty dishes heaped in a tiny sink. At the far end was a part-open door, through which Jonah could see a narrow passageway and steps, running up to the deck.

But between him and them was Gavin. The laptop case was on the floor at his feet, next to a half-full bottle of vodka. On top of it were both Jonah’s phones, his own and the one from Eliana Salim. Then Jonah noticed something that sent a jolt of adrenaline through him. On the seat cushion by Gavin was a thick leather cosh.

Beside it was a roll of freezer bags and black gaffer tape.

Tearing his eyes from them, he looked back at Gavin. ‘Where are we?’

‘Moored about a quarter of a mile from Slaughter Quay. You like it?’ He gestured ironically around the shabby cabin. ‘I “liberated” it, let’s say, from some former associates who used it for smuggling people across the Channel. Should get me back across there safely enough.’

‘Jesus, Gavin...’ The worst of the shock might have passed, but the enormity of the deception left Jonah winded. ‘Marie and Dylan think you’re dead! They held a memorial service for you!’

Gavin looked away. ‘I didn’t have a choice.’

‘A choice? For Christ’s sake, you murdered innocent people!’

‘They weren’t all innocent.’ Reaching for the vodka, Gavin took a long pull before lowering it again. ‘I needed to disappear. The only way I could do it without anything coming back on Marie and Dylan was if everyone thought I was dead. It had to be convincing.’

Anger was replacing Jonah’s shock. Careful not to let Gavin see, he began testing the tie binding his wrists behind his back. ‘Why? Jesus, it can’t just be because of the suspension! Was it the money?’

‘You really think I’d put myself through all this crap over money?’ Gavin gave a sour laugh. ‘You really don’t have a clue, do you?’

‘No, I don’t! I knew you didn’t give a shit about anyone but yourself, but Jesus! What happened to you?’

A cold, set look had come over Gavin’s face. ‘You know, I’d forgotten what a self-righteous prick you are. Just remember I didn’t have to let you wake up. Don’t make me change my mind.’

Jonah’s eyes went to the cosh on the seat cushion. It was a vicious little weapon, and he already knew how effective it was. Yet it was the everyday mundanity of the freezer bags and gaffer tape next to it that frightened him far more. Looking back at Gavin, he saw a tacit acknowledgement in his eyes.

They both knew how this was going to end.

‘So why am I here?’ Jonah asked, straining at the tie behind him. ‘You could have killed me in the car, the same as Wilkes. I wouldn’t have known anything about it, so why didn’t you?’

‘Maybe because I wanted you to know.’ Gavin let that hang, then took another drink. ‘Anyway, it wouldn’t work if they found you with Wilkes.’

It took a moment for Jonah to understand. He was already under suspicion for Corinne Daly’s murder. If his DNA and fingerprints were found with Wilkes’s body in the car, it would look like he’d killed the ex-detective as well and then taken off with the money. There would still be unanswered questions, but they’d likely remain just that. Unanswered. For that to work it wasn’t enough for him to be dead.

He had to disappear as well.

Jonah applied more pressure to the tie behind his back, feeling the thin plastic bite into the flesh of his wrists.

‘Why me? I know we didn’t exactly end on good terms, but I can’t believe you’re still pissed off over the fight?’

Gavin gave a laugh. ‘You think this is because you caught me fucking Chrissie? Grow up.’

‘Why then? Why go to all this trouble to set me up?’

‘Why do you think?’ Gavin’s expression was almost lazy, watching to see how Jonah would react. ‘Owen Stokes.’

For a moment Jonah thought he might have got it all wrong, that Gavin really had discovered something about Theo. But then reality intervened. Whatever was behind this, Gavin wasn’t doing it for Jonah’s son.

‘I don’t understand,’ he said.

‘I told you, I needed a way out. Stokes provided it, but everyone had to think something else was going on. That’s where you came in. You’re so fucking predictable, Jonah. I knew you wouldn’t be able to see straight if you thought he was involved. And I was right, wasn’t I?’

Jonah felt an ugly burn in his gut again. ‘That’s it? That’s all? Stokes didn’t...?’

‘He didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Theo, if that’s what you’re wondering. Not a thing. But he did make a fantastic decoy.’