Page 4 of Four of Hearts

A smile, thin and full of menace.

‘Yes, about that ... Not sure Arthur’s going to be much use to anyone now, really.’

Something was at Harry’s feet. Mist swirled around it, then faded to reveal an old man, eyes wide open in shock, his chest soaked in blood.

Rage burned in Harry’s veins as he stepped over the body of Arthur, to walk towards his cousin. His cousin’s hand raised then, and clamped in it, the metallic menace of a pistol.

‘Best you stay right there,’ his cousin said. ‘Now, what were we talking about? Oh yes, Grace ...’

The scream came again, and Grace was in front of Harry’s cousin. He had a tight grip on her arm, and the pistol was aimed at her head.

‘You really should’ve asked for my approval before going ahead with this, you know?’

Harry was staring at Grace, his cousin’s words of no importance. He had to save her, get her away from here ...

‘You didn’t though, did you? And, to compound things, no invite! The first error I could forgive, but that?’ A shake of the head. ‘Rude, Harry; very, very rude.’

Harry was halfway down the aisle. Not close enough yet to deal with the pistol, but if he could edge closer, there was a chance.

‘Whatever this is about, Grace has nothing to do with it,’ Harry said. ‘Let her go.’

Laughter.

‘Really? You think it’s that easy, is that it? That you can just go along with your life and pretend nothing has happened?’

‘Nothinghashappened,’ Harry replied. ‘Whatever problem there was between you and your father, before you killed him, it had nothing to do with me.’

The pistol was back on Harry.

‘Oh, we are way beyond that now,’ his cousin said. ‘This isn’t about that anymore, it’s about you and me, Harry, can’t you see that? Don’t you understand?’

Harry was a step closer.

‘What I understand is that I want nothing to do with you, with what you’re about, with any of it, not even what your father wanted me to do with his money. None of it is my problem. And my advice is, don’t make it become one.’

More laughter.

‘Big words from a big man! I like it, Harry, I really do. I like you too, actually. There’s something about you, you see? Something I think will really play in my favour. I just need to convince you, I think. You don’t mind that, do you, Harry?’

‘Let Grace go.’

The pistol waved left and right.

‘I don’t think so, Harry. Not yet. She’s my bargaining chip, you see? I would’ve used Ben, maybe even his partner, too, but he resisted. Had to deal with that, didn’t I? So, now it’s just you and me and Grace. Shall we make a deal?’

Harry was trying to absorb what the man had just said about Ben and Liz, couldn’t get his head around it. Something wasn’t right, yet everything was so real!

Another step.

‘That’s far enough, Harry.’

The click of the pistol hammer being pulled back.

‘So, here’s the thing ... You’re doing to do what I say, do you understand? You’re going to be my little helper in the police, someone I can count on to keep me informed, to make sure eyes are turned the other way, to warn me, that kind of thing. And in return? I let Grace live.’

Harry turned his eyes away from his cousin and focused on Grace. He saw terror in her eyes, but also the hot flame of anger. It was enough to let him know she wasn’t going to stand there and just take what was happening. No. She was going to do something about it.

Harry shook his head.