1989 by Val McDermid

Author:Val McDermid [McDermid, Val]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780751583120
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; Hachette Book Group
Published: 2022-08-17T14:00:00+00:00

30

A few miles and light years away, Fredi Schroeder watched Genevieve Lockhart heading across the bierkeller towards the toilets. Annoyingly, she could almost taste the desire the attractive publisher provoked in her. The thought of holding her close, feeling the curves and planes of her body against her own – that was enough to make her breath tighter in her chest. But for Fredi, the craving for political stardom had taught her to keep a curb on her other appetites. The cause came first, and she’d schooled herself over the years to stifle these yearnings. She hadn’t lived like a nun, but she’d disciplined herself never to make the first move. It would be too easy to discount her if they could paint her as a predatory lesbian. She held back and instead of following her own lust, she’d learned to detect that hunger in others. And the direction of Genevieve Lockhart’s desire had become clear to her over the previous few weeks.

Now she leaned forward and spoke to the third person sharing their booth. ‘It’s time, Hans,’ she said. ‘She’s on the hook of the message, and she’s on the hook of you. Now we only need to reel her in and then we can get our hands on her father’s money. He’s exploited people for long enough. It’s time we exploited him to make people’s lives better.’

Hans swept his thick brown hair back from his forehead, letting a floppy wing settle over his ear. He grinned. ‘The sacrifices we have to make for the cause.’

‘She’s accustomed to getting her own way. You have to let her think she’s leading the charge. She needs to believe she’s the one with the smart ideas. You understand?’

Hans shrugged. ‘I’ve seen you do it often enough.’

‘She’s lived her life in her father’s shadow. Sure, he’s given her a business to play with, but she wants something of her own, whether she knows that or not. We can be that something. And you can be the way in.’

‘You’re sure about this? It’s you she’s obsessed with.’ He fiddled with the handle of his beer glass, apparently less sure of himself than he wanted her to think.

‘She wants to be me,’ Fredi said. ‘But it’s you she wants to fuck. Just make sure she enjoys it, Hans.’ She winked. ‘Of course, if you think you need some tips?’

He laughed. ‘I’m sure you could improve my technique, Fredi, but I think I’ll manage.’ He caught sight of Genevieve heading back towards them. ‘Here she comes.’

‘I’ll make my excuses and leave in ten minutes or so. Then you’re on your own.’ She softly sang the opening riff of Bowie and Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’. ‘We’re depending on you.’

Allie was halfway through ‘You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart’ when she thought she heard voices. She’d got stuck in the middle of Revenge and had to repeat a couple of numbers till she got back on track and made it through to Savage, but she was pretty impressed with her feat of musical memory.

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