SO FAR: Divorcee Merrick Jamieson (35) visiting New York comes into contact with the moll of the mysterious Spiro whom the spirited Kirsty Fallon has reason to fear if she so much looks at another man. But after a brief association with Merrick Kirsty (25) finds she has become attracted and follows him to his homeland and begins working with the photo-journalist. Spiro contacts Kirsty warning her to return otherwise a 'retriever' will be dispatched to bring her back.
*
Kirsty was afraid for Merrick's safety and even her own future was uncertain as Spiro now had good reason not to trust her so anything might happen. She chose not to attempt to define 'anything'.
Her instinct was to flee but Merrick stubbornly had decided to stay put, thinking it was his best chance of dealing with the retriever when having no idea when the home invasion would occur. She thought her lover was a bit naïve – she could be snatched when she was out walking or emerging from the supermarket. Then she remembered that would not allow the retriever to rough up Merrick or whatever.
After a couple of days the threat eased to the background of Kirsty's mind; she had considered emailing Spiro, pleading to him to call off his retriever and let her off the hook. She decided against it as Merrick had been so insistent that she must not reply to Spiro's email ordering her to return to New York.
Eight days after Kirsty had received that demanding email from Spiro, Merrick slowed his vehicle when approaching the house and then gently accelerated down the street, now looking straight ahead: he'd noticed all the windows visible from the street had the curtains drawn. Never were all of them drawn; obviously the retriever had arrived.
Parking around the block opposite the property behind his house, Merrick figured out what to do. It was unlikely that the retriever had been instructed to kill Merrick as the escape route being a long flight in an aircraft was not ideal. More likely the instruction was to beat Merrick up and warn him of the consequences of sounding the alarm. It was probable that Spiro was holding Meg under a death threat that unless Kirsty arrived back in New York Meg would disappear. That threat would allow the retriever to travel with a compliant Kirsty.
After attempting to invent other scenarios, Merrick decided his original thought was by far the most logical; he had to assume East Coast crime bosses either thought logically or had advisers that did that thinking for them. He knew that the couple in the house would both be away at their offices so walked through their property and climbed over the fence into his property. He skirted the lawn behind the cover of ornamental trees until reaching the garage. Quietly unlocking the side door he stepped inside. Both baseball bats where inside the house, so he picked up the axe and quietly used a screwdriver to work the wedge loose and extracted it with vice-grips to remove the axehead; murder was not on his mind either.
He then used his mobile phone to call the house, knowing that Kirsty had three choices – to answer the phone in the kitchen, living room or bedroom. It didn't matter which one, as long as she answered with the goon standing over her and listening.
Kirsty answered, and Merrick put down his phone, unlocked the door into the house and quietly closed it behind him.
"Who is it?"
It was a voice with an American accent. He'd been right with his assumption!
"There's nobody there," Kirsty replied.
"Okay, move back over to the window where we can keep watch."
So far, so good.
Merrick slipped out of his shoes. He went to the backdoor and knocked loudly, then quickly moved back to the connecting passage to the garage door, holding his axe handle at the ready.
"That's someone at the backdoor."
"Well, get rid of them. No secret signals or attempt to escape."
"No, I understand. I have my friend to think about."
Bingo he was right again, Merrick half-smiled in satisfaction.
Standing motionless he watched Kirsty walk past, eyes fixed on the door, followed by the tall, raven-haired goon with a kitchen knife held out in front of him.
"Pssst," Merrick whispered.
The goon turned, the knife no longer pointed at Kirsty's back. Merrick clubbed him on the side of the head and he dropped like a stone.
"Good day, darling," Merrick said brightly to Kirsty, standing looking at the fallen retriever with the knuckles of her hand jammed in her mouth. She looked up at Merrick wide-eyed and whimpered.
Without waiting for her to recover, Merrick went to the garage for a length of rope and a pocket knife. Picking up his phone he returned and began binding his victim's wrists behind his back.
"Is he dead?"
"No, just sleeping deeply. He's breathing. Grab one of my handkerchiefs and a tea towel."
Tying the man's feet Merrick then took the handkerchief and stuffed it into the man's mouth, snatching a kiss from the startled Kirsty as he took the tea towel from her and cut off a strip to tie the gag in place.
Merrick went through the man's pockets until he found a passport.
"Look in the list of phone numbers by the kitchen phone and call Lisa a Mason's Travel – get her to hold, I'll be back inside two minutes."
He took the passport into the garden, slit open a piece of hard ground with the spade, and dropped the document into the opening after noting the man's name, Tony Mario. He stomped the ground until satisfied that it looked exactly like the surrounding earth.
Wordlessly and still looking a little shocked, Kirsty handed him the phone.
"Hi Lisa, it's Merrick.
