The Lost

Jonah remembered listening to the one-sided conversation when Wilkes had left the room, trying to make out what was being said. He’d assumed he’d been calling some old contact. Christ, how stupid could you get?

‘A thousand,’ he said, disgusted at his own gullibility.

‘Yeah?’ Gavin gave a snort. ‘Cheating fuck. He told me he’d said five hundred.’

Taking another drink, he settled back onto the seat. He was hitting the vodka hard now, as though he was building up to something. Jonah’s wrists were slick with blood where the nylon tie had broken the skin, but it didn’t feel any looser. He kept on working at it.

‘Corinne Daly had a young daughter, did you know that? Maddie.’

Gavin grimaced. ‘Don’t start. I saw her talking to you at the memorial service—’

‘You were there?’ Jonah broke in.

‘Parked further down the road. You don’t think I’d have missed that, do you?’ The bottle was raised again. ‘You got your feet under that table pretty smartish, didn’t you? Can’t say I blame you, but she was a nosy bitch. She wasn’t going to stop digging until she’d raked up all the shit about me. I couldn’t let her do that.’

Jonah remembered the woman who he’d shared beer and pizza with, the life and animation in her face. Then he thought about that same face, still and lifeless inside a plastic bag, and wanted to throw himself at the man in front of him.

‘So you murdered her and used her to frame me,’ he said, twisting at the tie behind his back. He thought there might be a little more give in it, although with all the blood it was hard to tell.

‘Well, you know. Two birds and one stone.’

‘Jesus, can you hear yourself?’ Jonah yelled. ‘What about the people in the warehouse? What did they do to you?’

Gavin made a show of linking his hands over his head, stretching till his joints cracked. It meant he didn’t have to look at Jonah as he answered.

‘Nothing. They were just nobodies I picked up off the street. If it was going to work, everyone had to think Stokes was an evil bastard. I had to make him look like one. Why do you think I chose somewhere called Slaughter Quay?’ He gave a scornful laugh. ‘I mean, come on.’

Slowing his breathing to control his anger, Jonah continued to strain at the tie around his wrists.

‘Was Daniel Kimani just a nobody as well?’

Gavin stopped mid-stretch. He lowered his arms, staring down at Jonah with a new watchfulness.

‘Daly told you about him, did she? What else did she say?’

‘That he was a PhD student, a human rights activist. You didn’t pick him up off the street, did you?’

‘Maybe I didn’t know who he was.’ Gavin sounded indifferent, but his eyes were wary. ‘I didn’t bother to check his CV.’

‘But you knew who Nadine was, didn’t you?’

The indifference vanished. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Nadine, remember her? You covered her in quicklime and left her to suffocate. She was in agony when I found her,’ Jonah said, pressing his advantage. ‘Did you know she was still alive?’

‘I made a mistake. That’s why I started using these.’ Gavin picked up the roll of freezer bags from the seat next to him, holding it up to show Jonah. ‘They’re really good. You’ll see for yourself soon.’

The threat sent a chill through Jonah but he didn’t let himself be deflected. ‘How come you only made the mistake with her? Was it because she reminded you of someone?’

Gavin went very still. ‘What did you say?’

‘You heard. What do you think Eliana would say if she knew you’d murdered her sister?’

Shock drained the blood from Gavin’s face. In the light from the lamp he looked corpse-like.

‘Who told you?’

Jonah knew he had to be careful. He only had one card to play. He couldn’t afford to push Gavin too far.

‘I can’t remember. Maybe it was Wilkes. If you hadn’t killed him you could ask him yourself.’

‘Bullshit! Wilkes didn’t even know her sister was in the country!’ Gavin was poised on the edge of his seat, the cosh clenched in his fist. ‘No one did. And there’s no way anyone from the enquiry could have made the connection, so how the fuck did you?’

‘Why’d you kill her?’ Jonah asked, ignoring the question. ‘How did Nadine even find you?’

‘Tell me how you knew they were sisters, or I’ll beat it out of you.’

‘What were you scared of? That she’d find out you’d forced her sister back into prostitution? That’s not enough to—’

Gavin lunged from the seat and lashed out with the cosh. Jonah tried to twist away as the lead-filled leather smacked into his thigh.

‘Who told you?’ Gavin yelled, swinging it again. ‘Tell me, or I’ll fucking—’

‘She did!’

Silence. Gavin stood over him, chest rising and falling. His face was ashen.

‘What are you talking about?

‘She’s not dead.’ Jonah’s breath came in gasps. ‘It was someone else’s body at the flat. Sound familiar?’