Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2)(14)

‘So what is it you’re still waiting on from her?’ King said.

‘There’s a series of commercial documents,’ Falk said. ‘Historic ones.’ BT-51X to BT-54X were the official names, although he and Carmen mainly referred to them as the contracts. ‘We need them to tie in Daniel and Jill’s father.’

What had unfolded in the past was crucial, Falk and Carmen had been told. It was Leo Bailey who’d set up the business in its current form, and it was he who’d built the connections with a number of key players under investigation. It might be in the past, but the cord connecting with the present was pulsing and vital.

King went quiet. In the distance they could hear the thrum of the helicopter. It sounded further away.

‘Right,’ he said eventually. ‘Look, at this point, my first and only priority is Alice Russell. Finding her, and bringing her out of there safely. Most likely scenario when someone goes AWOL out there is that they’ve wandered off trail and lost their bearings, so that’s the plan I’m sticking with for now. But if there’s a chance that her talking to you has caused problems with that group, then that’s good to know. So, thanks for being frank.’

The sergeant was fidgeting now, keen to get back. A strange expression had settled on his face. Something almost like relief. Falk watched him for a moment more, then spoke.

‘What else?’

‘What else, what?’

‘What else are you hoping hasn’t happened?’ Falk said. ‘Neither of those scenarios sounds good to me.’

‘No.’ King didn’t meet his eye.

‘So what’s worse than either of those?’

The sergeant stopped fidgeting, then he glanced along the road. The searchers had been swallowed up by the woods, their orange suits lost to sight. The media were hovering at a safe distance. Still, he leaned in a little and sighed.

‘Kovac. Kovac is worse.’

They stared at him.

‘Kovac is dead,’ Carmen said.

‘Martin Kovac is dead.’ King ran his tongue across his teeth. ‘We’re just not too sure about his son.’





Day 1: Thursday Night


Lauren felt like screaming.

It was only the men. She had watched with her heart racing and a sour taste in her throat as the group of five had emerged from the trees. Their white grins glowing as they brandished bottles of wine. Leading the way was Daniel Bailey.

‘So you made it eventually?’ Lauren snapped, the adrenaline making her bold. Daniel slowed his step.

‘Yes –’

His eyes creased and Lauren thought at first that he was angry, then realised he was simply trying to summon her name. He was rescued as his sister appeared through the gloom.

‘Daniel. What are you doing here?’ If Jill was surprised, or annoyed, she didn’t show it. But then she rarely gave much away, Lauren knew from experience.

‘We thought we’d come and say hello. See how you’re settling in.’ He looked at his sister’s face. ‘Sorry. Did we scare you?’

Perhaps Daniel could read his sister better than most, Lauren thought. Jill said nothing, simply waited.

‘Is everyone doing okay?’ Daniel went on. ‘Our camp’s only a kilometre away. We brought drinks.’ He looked to the other four men, who held up their bottles obediently. ‘One of you help the girls get their fire going.’

‘We can do it,’ Lauren said, but Daniel waved his hand.

‘It’s fine. They don’t mind.’

He turned to his sister and Lauren watched them walk away. She went over to the fire pit, where a skinny man from marketing was attempting to ignite a firelighter on a pile of damp leaves.

‘Not like that.’ Lauren took the matches from him. He watched as she picked around a fallen tree at the edge of the clearing, collecting sticks that had been protected from the weather. Across the clearing, Lauren could hear Alice instructing the twins on how to put up the tents. It sounded like the sisters were doing most of the work.

She crouched at the fire pit, trying to remember how this went. She arranged the sticks in a teepee over some kindling and examined her work. That looked right. Lauren lit a match and held her breath as the flame caught, then rose, bathing the surrounds in an orange glow.

‘Where did you learn that?’ The man from marketing was staring.

‘School camp.’

A rustle in the dark and Alice stepped into the glow. ‘Hey. The tents are up. Bree and Beth are in one, so you and I are sharing. Jill’s got the one-man to herself.’ She nodded at the fire, her features twisted by the light of the flames. ‘Nice. Let’s put the food on.’

‘Should we check with Jill?’ The clearing was wide and it took Lauren a moment to spot the woman, standing at the edge with her brother, deep in conversation. Jill said something and Daniel shook his head.

‘They’re busy,’ Alice said. ‘Let’s get started. You and I will have to do it anyway, she won’t know how to cook over flame.’

That was probably true, Lauren thought, as Alice started pulling out pots and rice and boil-in-the-bag beef stew.

‘I remember promising myself at camp that I’d never do this again, but it’s like riding a bike, isn’t it?’ Alice said a few minutes later as they watched the water begin to bubble. ‘I feel like we should be back in school uniform.’