“And Alistair will be very pissed off,” Joe added.
Kaden gave a small, humourless laugh. “He will.”
Silence stretched between them.
“I’m not saying weshouldn’t,” Kaden said. “I just—” He stopped, as if searching for the right words. “I don’t know where the line is anymore.”
Joe squeezed his fingers. “Maybe that’s the point. Maybe there isn’t one unless we draw it. If it turns out that Blake is being set up, we can speak out.”
“If we’re not dead.”
Joe gaped at him. “What?”
“Sorry. That’s not going to happen. My imagination running away with me.” Kaden took a deep breath. “I’ll plant it when he’s distracted. Maybe when he gets up, or if he turns to grab something. I’ll scratch my ear when I’ve done it so you know.”
“What if you need to scratch your ear and you’ve not done it.”
Kaden gave a choked laugh. “I’ll have to suffer the itch.”
“What if you don’t find the right moment?”
“I will. Or you can make one by getting him to stand in a way that hides what I’m doing.”
Kaden looked down at the device, then closed his hand around it.
The next morning, they arrived exactly on time. Joe was the one who was anxious now, plagued by restless energy that skittered under his skin as if something was crawling inside him. Had Kaden felt like that about him? His fingers twitched at the camera strap and he found himself needing to constantly swallow, human characteristics he didn’t like. Kaden, by contrast, had gone quiet. He was calm and collected, the way Joe should have been. Maybe he was hiding his true emotions.
The door opened and Eli Blake stood there. The first thing Joe noticed was that his teeth were too even and white. They looked wrong for someone his age. He was shorter than both of them, wearing a dark blue suit and tie, his face wreathed in a broad smile.
“Good morning, Mr Blake. I’m Kaden, this is Joe.”
“Good morning. Please come in.” Blake stepped aside.
Joe followed Kaden, forcing himself not to hesitate as he crossed the threshold. The house smelled faintly of polish and something herbal. Everything was very tidy. The hallway was huge.
“Thank you again for agreeing to this,” Kaden said. “I know you must have an insane schedule so I appr—”
“Was it your idea?”
“No. I follow the lead of my editor. I had no idea he’d approached you. He knows I like variety writing these articles though.”
“Your last one was about a microbiologist, right?”
“Yes.”
“Your boyfriend?”
Oh shit.“He was. Not now. I admit that one did originate with me. He was worried about the lab being targeted by animal rights protestors.”
“Let’s make the most of the time.” Blake gestured them further inside. “I thought we could do this in my office.”
“Great,” Kaden said. “The place where everything happens.”
They followed Blake down the hallway and into a very tidy study with a large desk, a life-size framed photograph of Blake on the wall, a built-in bookcase with books neatly shelved and French doors leading onto a garden. Was that normal, for people to want such a huge portrait of themselves in their home? Especially with that look on their face, as though they’d just strangled a puppy. Joe was alarmed.
He circled, already considering how to give Kaden the opportunity to plant the device. The chair Kaden would sit in was a little way away from the desk. He’d have to get out of it to reach the intended hiding place.
“Mr. Blake, could I take a few shots first?” Joe asked. “If you could stand near your desk—yes, there—that’s great.”Click. Click.“Maybe by your books? That’s good. Just a couple more.How about by the window, looking out onto that fabulous garden.”
