Page 87 of We Chase Shadows

‘You never know,’ says John. ‘That’s all I’m saying. I made a few enemies in the journalism game.’

‘You’ve spent the last five years collating the local bowls results for the Lymington Herald,’ says Jyoti. ‘Who’s going to pay to have you killed?’

‘I had to do the court cases round-up one week when the regular guy had gout,’ says John. ‘I’m going to stay away from any windows.’

‘You’re sitting directly in front of a window,’ says Steve.

John turns his bar stool about twenty degrees away from the window.

‘That should foil them,’ says Jyoti.

Their attention wanders from Countdown, because it’s a numbers round, and none of them are very good at the numbers.

‘Professional job?’ Tony asks Steve.

‘Unless an amateur can shoot you from four hundred yards away,’ says Steve.

Tony starts drinking his leftover custard from the bowl. ‘My friend Jakob Eriksson again?’

‘Who’s Jakob Eriksson?’ Jyoti asks.

‘No one,’ says Tony.

Tony hasn’t told the others about Jakob Eriksson. He explained his recent injuries by telling them the engine casing of a Fiat Punto had fallen on him.

‘An elusive no one,’ says Steve. And certainly not called Jakob Eriksson. The TV is now showing an advert for a walk-in bath. The woman in the advert looks absolutely thrilled to be using it, like she’s been waiting her whole life for this.

‘But you reckon?’ Tony asks, turning away from the others.

‘I don’t want you to worry about that. How’s your head?’

‘Absolutely fine,’ says Tony. ‘If anything, Felicity says it’s better than it was.’

Steve smiles. Tony hasn’t complained for a single second about what happened to him, even though it’s Steve’s responsibility. Felicity either. They’ve both been as good as gold.

‘Anyone ever fancied a walk-in bath?’ John asks. ‘It feels like they’d take a while to fill up. I think when the time comes I just won’t wash any more. We could make a pact, the four of us?’

‘I’m going to keep washing,’ says Jyoti.

‘They say you don’t notice after a couple of days,’ says John. ‘Your body starts to clean itself.’

‘Who says that?’ Steve asks. ‘Out of interest?’

‘It was on YouTube,’ says John. ‘A bloke in America.’

‘Do you ever think you spend too much time on YouTube?’ Steve asks.

‘Why would he say it if it wasn’t true?’ reasons John. ‘Did you see the corpse?’

‘No, we were back on the plane by then,’ says Steve.

With Griffin dead, Vern Blackwood is the last man standing. And the note on Esteban’s body had scared Vern enough to call them in, so perhaps he and Connor Brooks are no longer friends. Does that mean Brooks will be heading their way next? They have been trying to find him, but perhaps he will now come to them?

‘Bad luck,’ says Jyoti.

‘I was okay with not seeing it,’ says Steve. ‘We’d been eating steak with the guy the night before.’

‘How was it?’ John asks.