Deception on His Mind (Inspector Lynley, #9)(222)

“Sure as hell hope not,” he replied, and she liked him for the answer.

The sea round them was vast, an undulating field of murky green. They'd long ago left the lesser pleasure craft behind them. Their companions remained only the distant ferries that were making for Holland, Germany, and Sweden.

“Are we still on him?” Emily shouted. “Do I need to correct?”

Barbara raised the binoculars. She winced as the jouncing boat rattled her ribs. “Left,” she shouted in return. “More to the left. And Jesus. Hurry.” The other boat looked inches away from the fog.

Emily guided the Sea Wizard to port. A moment later, she gave a cry. “I see him! I've got him!”

And Barbara lowered the binoculars as they roared closer.

They were some one hundred and fifty yards away when it became apparent that Muhannad had realised that they were on him. He rode a swell and looked back over his shoulder. He bent his attention to the wheel and the fog, since he couldn't possibly hope to outrun them.

He powered onward. The boat cut into the swells. Water spit over its bow in great froths. Muhannad's hair, free from the ponytail he'd worn since the first moment Barbara had seen him, flew about his head. And next to him, indeed so close that from a distance they looked like one person, Hadiyyah stood with her hands hooked into her cousin's belt.

No fool Muhannad, Barbara thought. He was keeping her close.

The Sea Wizard charged forward, climbing the swells, plunging into the whitecaps. When Emily had closed the gap between the two boats to forty yards, she decreased her speed and grabbed the loud hailer.

“Shut down, Malik,” she called to him. “You can't outrun us.”

He kept moving. Steadily. No decrease in speed.

“Don't be a goddamn fool,” Emily called. “Shut down. You're done for.”

No decrease in speed.

“Goddamn,” Emily said, loud hailer at her side. “All right, you bastard. Have it that way.”

She opened the throttle and advanced on the smaller boat. She closed the distance to twenty yards.

“Malik”—into the loud hailer again—”shut down. Police. We're armed. You've had it.”

He gunned the motor in reply. His boat shot forward. He swung the wheel to port, away from the fog. The sudden change in direction threw Hadiyyah against him. He caught her round the waist and lifted her quickly.

“Put the kid down,” Emily shouted.

And in a horrifying instant, Barbara realised that that's exactly what Malik intended to do.

She had only a moment to see Hadiyyah's face—stricken with terror where an instant before the joy of a boat ride with her cousin had been. Then Muhannad had her balanced on the edge of the boat. He threw her overboard.


“BLOODY HELL!” BARBARA cried.

Muhannad spun back to the wheel. He swung the boat away from his cousin and directly towards the fog. Emily gunned the Sea Wizard's motor. And in a flash that seemed like an eternity of comprehension, Barbara saw that the DCI fully intended to give chase.

“Emily!” she shouted. “For God's sake! The girl!”

Frantically, Barbara searched the swells and found her. A bobbing head, thrashing arms. She went down, resurfaced.

“Guv!” Constable Fogarty cried.

“Fuck it,” Emily said. “We've got him.”

“She'll drown!”

“No! We've goddamn bloody got him.”

The child went down again. Resurfaced. Thrashed wildly.

“Jesus Christ, Emily.” Barbara grabbed her arm. “Stop the boat! Hadiyyah'll drown.”

Emily shook her off. She shoved forward on the throttle. “He wants us to stop,” she shouted. “That's why he did it. Throw her a life jacket.”

“No! We can't. She's too far away. She'll drown before it gets to her.”

Fogarty dropped the carbine. He kicked off his shoes. He was on the edge of the boat when Emily shouted, “Stay where you are. I want you on the rifle.”

“But, Guv—”

“You heard me, Mike. Goddamn it. That's an order.”

“Emily! Jesus!” Barbara cried. They were already too far away from the girl for Fogarty to swim to her before she drowned. And even if he attempted it—even if she herself attempted it with him—they would accomplish nothing but drowning together while the DCI relentlessly pursued her quarry into the fog. “Emily! Stop!”

“Not for some goddamn Paki brat,” Emily shouted. “Not on your life.”

Paki brat. Paki brat. The words throbbed in the air. While in the water, Hadiyyah flailed and went under yet another time. That was it. Barbara dove for the carbine. She grabbed it up. She levelled it at the DCI. “Turn this f*cking boat around,” she cried. “Do it, Emily. Or I'll blow you straight to hell.”

Emily's hand went to the holster she was wearing. Her fingers found the butt of the gun.

Fogarty shouted, “Guv! Don't!”

And Barbara saw her life, her career, and her future pass before her in the second before she pulled back on the carbine's trigger.



MILY FELL. BARBARA DROPPED THE GUN. BUT where she expected to see blood and intestines all over the DCFs tank top, she saw only water from the spray that continued to soar up on either side of the boat. The shot had gone wide.