The Hiker by M.J. Ford

Author:M.J. Ford [Ford, M.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2022-07-06T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

GEMMA

‘What the hell are you playing at?’

The digital distortion on the voice couldn’t conceal the anger. Gemma could feel the rage emanating from the phone’s shitty speakers. She had the impression it wasn’t the same person they’d spoken too before. Something about the tone was different – a desperate edge.

‘Next time, it’ll be the police,’ said Mark.

They were still in the hostel room – they’d heard the fire engine storm through the village about an hour before, sirens blaring. They’d agreed that Mark would do the talking, even though the plan to send the emergency services had been hers.

‘You shouldn’t have done that.’

‘You know what you have to do,’ replied Mark. ‘Twenty K.’

‘We told you before. We don’t have that sort of money.’

‘Then get it. Enough fucking about.’

‘We can get five.’

‘Are you deaf? Twenty.’

A pause. ‘I’ll see what we can do.’

‘You can do ten.’

‘And then you’ll come back for more.’

He had a good point, thought Gemma.

‘Cross that bridge later,’ said Mark. ‘We’re not greedy.’

The man gave a harsh bark of laughter. ‘And then what?’

Mark punched the air and beamed. Gemma couldn’t help smiling too. It hadn’t actually worked, but it was working. ‘We’ll give you a location.’

‘Got this all worked out, haven’t you?’

‘You’d better believe it,’ said Mark. ‘Call tomorrow at seven p.m., or the Old Bill will be paying you a visit. It’s that simple. You understand?’

‘I understand,’ replied the man.

‘This is just business,’ added Mark. ‘No hard feelings.’

‘This isn’t business. When we find you, we’ll cut you into fucking pieces.’

The call ended.

‘He’s pretty pissed off,’ said Mark, with a wry smile.

‘It’s not funny,’ replied Gemma. ‘Anyway, how are we going to get the money?’

‘We need a drop site.’

‘A drop site?’

‘Yeah – somewhere they leave it and we pick it up.’

‘They’ll be watching.’

He rolled his eyes. ‘You don’t say. It needs to be somewhere they can’t watch.’

‘Like where?’

‘We’ll have a look tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep.’

Gemma didn’t know how he could even consider it.

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