American Crow (33 page)

She paused, her body beginning to visibly
shake.

‘Then they grabbed Ethan and threatened
to do the same if he didn’t tell them everything he knew about the break-in at
the hunting lodge. He didn’t, because he was trying to protect Benjamin, though
I think Phil had already told them everything anyway...’

Olivia’s started to sob, the pain of what
she’d seen too immense to vocalize for a second.

‘Then they shot him…’

‘Sshh,’ Martha said wiping a tear from
her face with her thumb. ‘You’re safe now darling…it’s all over.’

‘The graffiti was faked too, as was the
crash outside, to engender sympathy for Corrigan and his company, and to make
it look like we were extremists.’

I nodded attentively then looked at
Martha.

‘We better get the hell out of here. The
police will be looking for us now...’

Martha offered a comforting smile.

‘What do you need, Blake?’

‘Not much. Just some money to pay for
enough gas to get us to Mexico, then to buy us some fresh passports to get us
over the border...’

‘Sure,’ Martha said without any qualms.

‘When we get back I’ll send you three
times the amount and more, okay?’

‘Ahh, forget about it…’ she said as if it
were nothing.

‘I’m serious. It’s a promise.’

‘And you’re gunna drive all the way down
there, now?’

I stood up and helped myself to some
soup.

‘Safest way to get out of this damned
country I reckon...’

Martha stood up and hugged me tightly.

‘Gunna real miss you, Blake. Nancy really
liked you, you know. You were the first person she’d
let in
since
Tom...’

‘Is that so,’ I said trying not to think
about her smile, the warmth of her skin against

mine. ‘Is that so...’

Chapter Thirty-Two

‘homecoming’

London. Just after midnight.

I
t took us a total of five days to get back in the end. The
drive down to New Mexico was long and hard, but thankfully free of any further
problems.

A forger I knew down there, furnished us
with some believable passports, and we eased across the Mexican border without
any more hassles. With each new day Olivia became visibly stronger too, the
colour returning to her cheeks, the brightness to her soft grey eyes.

We flew back via Madrid on a flight from
Chihuahua in northern Mexico. In that time we got to know each other a little
better, Olivia filling in any gaps to explain everything that had happened,
making me think how in the end, I’d got my timing right when it really
mattered...

When we landed, we took a late night taxi
straight back to Lenny’s place in south London, where her father was waiting
anxiously for us back at the office.

I glanced at Olivia as she stepped out of
the car, now looking radiant again in black jeans and a T-shirt, her blonde
hair hanging freely over her shoulders, her face as fresh like it had been in
the photos her father had given me at the beginning of the case.

I took a deep breath and turned to her on
the street.

‘You ready for this?’

She smiled and I realized why Henry
Deacon treasured her so much, then for a second saw Laura’s face looking right
back at me. I depressed the handle feeling a mixture of emotions, then walked
up the stairs, along the corridor, passed another guy sat outside Lenny’s
office, then slowly opened the door to reveal the prize...

‘Olivia!’ Henry exclaimed, jumping up
from his seat at the sight of his daughter.

‘Daddy!’

She ran across the room and fell into her
father’s open arms. Lenny and I just stood back and let them enjoy the
moment...

‘Oh my god, it’s so good to see you...’
Deacon said overjoyed, holding his daughter’s face tightly as he kissed her
forehead repeatedly. ‘Thank you, Blake, thank you…’ he said glancing over her
shoulder for a second.

‘It was the least I could do...’ I
replied, wishing it was Laura and I stood there cheek to cheek.

‘You bloody did it,’ Lenny barked,
slapping his hand on the table triumphantly, ‘I knew you would, Blakey.’

‘I said I would, didn’t I?’

I turned and sat down in silence as
Olivia hugged her father tightly, trying to swallow the lump of concrete
nestling in my throat, then swivelled back around as Lenny produced a fresh
bottle of brandy from his drawer.

‘Good work, son...I’ve got another case
if...’

I raised the palm of my hand, stopping
him in his tracks.

‘That’s me done Lenny, okay?’

He eyed me for a moment, then poured a
generous measure into both tumblers.    

‘You serious?’

He slid the glass across the table his eyes
full of mischief. I picked the glass up and downed it in one, just wanting to
get the hell out of there. Needing to be alone.

‘Yes, this time, I am. I promised Laura I
would at the funeral, and that’s the way it’s going to be from now on...’

Lenny licked his lower lip slowly, deep
in thought.

‘Thing is Blake, a job’s come up that’s
just tailor made for you. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with it in fact.’

‘Really?’ I said cynically, pushing back
the chair.

‘I’ll make it worth your while.’

I shot him a weary glance. I had enough
cash to keep me going for a while, until I found something new that would keep
me occupied.

‘I’m done...seriously.’

I got up and made my way out, then caught
Olivia’s teary gaze as I reached the door. She stared deep into my eyes for a
second, smiling, then mouthed the words ‘thank you’ inaudibly. I nodded and
cracked a smile back, then looked at Lenny, remembering Nancy’s words suddenly
on Black Mountain. “The past is the past, and the present for living, Blake.”

I felt my stomach tighten again as if it
was about to fold over on itself. Maybe Nancy was right, and I just needed to
get on with my life, carry on doing what I did best until the reaper came
knocking, like she had...

‘I’ll think about it, okay.’

Lenny flashed me one of his larger than
life smiles.

‘Good boy. I’ll give you a ring in the
morning, when you’ve had a chance to rest and sort your damned face out..’

I turned and headed downstairs, then out
onto the side-street where my Shadow was still parked up in one piece.
Relieved, I sparked up the engine and pulled out into the early morning
traffic, thoughts of Laura, then Nancy percolating through my exhausted mind.

Maybe people like Deacon
did
need
me, and it was just some god damn awful irony that he got what he wanted at the
end of the trail, and I didn’t...My hand went to Laura’s necklace to check it
was still there, and in that moment, I thought I felt her draw close, as if she
were sitting right behind me, her arms wrapping around my waist tightly as I
increased my speed.

Perhaps that was just the way it was and
always would be until I was chewing on dust too, I thought. It was just the way
it was...  
                                            

                                                                                                                                   
     
                 THE
END

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