The Summons by Peter Lovesey Read Free Book Online Page B

They find any damned thing to pin their hopes on. Look, why else has he come to Bath, where it happened? He had the chance to go into hiding or leave the country. He came here.”
    “This is all pie in the sky,” said Diamond. “You don’t know what’s in his mind.”
    “I’m interpreting his actions. We’ll know what’s in his mind later.”
    “I can tell you now,” said Diamond. “Violence.”
    “Agreed. If he doesn’t get this meeting with you he’ll give Samantha a bad time.” Wigfull put a hand on Tott’s arm. “I’m sorry, sir. Shouldn’t have said that.”
    Without looking at Wigfull, Tott said, “This has gone on long enough. Will you help to save my daughter, Mr. Diamond? You can state your terms. We’re in no position to object.”
    Diamond picked up the sandwich plate and offered it to Julie Hargreaves. She shook her head, so he put it down and collected two more for himself. “Do you still have a room with a bed in this nick? I’d like to get my head down for a couple of hours. Shall we say an eight o’clock call, with tea and a cooked breakfast? When we get word from Mountjoy I’ll let you know my decision.”

Chapter Four

    When Mountjoy returned from a visit to the supermarket, Samantha Trott was motionless under the tartan blanket.
    Dead?
    Only a few red curls were visible, ominously still against the pillow. He stood in the doorway facing the possibility that she had suffocated. To gag her he’d used a strip of linen torn from the bedsheet instead of an adhesive strip. If it had worked its way up against her nostrils, she’d have been unable to pull it down, because her arms were tied.
    He was on the point of flinging back the blanket and ripping off the gag when she stirred.
    No panic after all.
    Back off then, he told himself in a sharp reversal of tactics. Leave her asleep. After the supermarket, his nerves were frayed. He needed more time to himself before submitting to another bout of conversation.
    He removed his shoes prior to creeping away, for the floor was like a drumskin. Gently he set down the carrier bag he had brought back. It was a long time since he had eaten, but he would wait. Waiting was one of his specialties now, the chief accomplishment he’d mastered in Albany.
    As it happened, this was not unlike a cell with its foldaway furniture. In fact it was smaller. On the side opposite the bed there was a narrow bench that let down from the wall. He released the catch and drew it down, careful to avoid making the seat creak as it took his weight.
    Bliss.
    He sat stiffly in the silence, knowing he was safe. The shopping had been a challenge and only now did he realize how tense it had made him. He’d tried to appear as self-absorbed as everyone else in the supermarket, turning his face to take an interest in the stacks each time anyone approached. At least it had been safer than going to a corner shop. The only major risk had been the checkout. He’d looked along the cashpoints, none of which was busy, and selected a young woman chatting to a friend on the adjacent till as she was passing the goods across the sensor. He’d got through without exchanging a word. His face hadn’t registered anything with the cashier, he was certain. And he’d returned to the caravan park by a devious route that involved pushing the motorbike across a field; tiring work, but necessary.
    A funny kind of freedom, this. He kept coming back to the idea that he’d exchanged one cell for another. The only difference was that he shared this one with a woman. So what’s wrong with that, you lucky bleeder, most of Albany would be saying if only they knew. What are you, a woofter? No, I am not. But sex isn’t included in my plan. Believe it or not, you libidinous old lags, there is something more important at stake, something that requires me to respect Samantha Tott. I’m fighting for justice, and the other can wait.
    The place was cold, colder than Albany, which was why he’d given her