Part 17 (1/2)

Once the laird had said those words, she knew Hex would be texting the others. But there was something else they needed to know, something only she could see.

There were two more men not dressed like the gamekeepers. They wore street clothes dark T-s.h.i.+rts and dark baggy jeans. Amber couldn't see much of them through the crack but what she did see made her want to steer well clear of them. One was stocky, with broad shoulders, and his head was shaved. The other was bigger and fat, like a bouncer gone to seed. They had rough accents, not like the softer local accent of people who lived around here. One of them walked closer to the laird's desk to emphasize a point, and the way he moved would scare people in the toughest part of town.

The laird had brought in reinforcements to make sure the job went off without a hitch. Alex, Li and Paulo needed to be warned.

She heard the office door open, then slam. It must have been the gamekeepers leaving, because the heavies were still there and the laird still sat at the desk. He spread out a map and the heavies huddled close. Amber couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obviously fairly involved. How long would they be? Amber couldn't wait for long she had to warn the others.

Still the group huddled over the desk. They weren't looking in her direction. Could she creep out and escape?

No, she thought. It was far too risky. If they caught her she would be dead.

She felt behind her with her hands. The cupboard seemed to be quite deep as if... She carefully took a step back. Her bare foot met stone. She took another step back. More stone. And another.

She was in a pa.s.sage.

Amber turned round. Groping with her hands, she began to walk.

Exactly one hour after Alex had spoken to Hex, he arrived at the entrance for the next call. Behind him, Paulo and Li stood s.h.i.+vering. It wasn't hard to be punctual when there was nothing else you had to do.

Hex's message bleeped through. Alex turned to the others. 'They've got it. Here, ten o'clock.'

'Dios,' breathed Paulo. 'I thought they'd never manage it.'

Alex quickly dialled Hex. 'Got it. Can you tip off the police safely?'

'No problem,' said Hex.

But Alex caught a note of caution in Hex's voice. He'd gone quiet, as if he was afraid of being heard.

'You OK, mate?'

'Yeah.' Hex's voice dropped to a whisper. 'A bunch of guys just went past, that's all. I'll call the police now. Somehow, I'm going to have to make them listen to me more seriously this time-'

'Collect Amber and get out. We'll see you when it's all over.' Alex cut the connection.

Li and Paulo jumped up. They looked animated again, purposeful. Alex felt his spirits rise as adrenaline kicked in. 'Let's get this show on the road.'

25.

BORROWED T TIME.

Amber found herself at the bottom of a tight spiral staircase. Water dripped down, and high above was a tiny diamond window. She began to climb. Cobwebs brushed against her face. She tried not to think about the spiders who must be hitching a ride in her hair. The steps were gritty and wet under her bare feet. Up and up they went. Where would they come out? They couldn't have been built just to connect a cupboard in the laird's office with the roof, could they? One thing was for sure, with all these cobwebs, no one had been this way for a long time.

The triangular steps flattened out to form a small landing. A light showed in a narrow line. Another doorway?

She peered through the crack. An office of some sort, surrounded by shelves. A woman sat at a desk in the middle, a Glaickvullin Lodge name badge on her dark cardigan. Should she come out? What would the woman do? She might call hotel security.

Amber went on up and came to another landing with a wooden door. She listened and made out a voice: 'Honey, did you hear something?' American. Male.

There was a reply: 'Honey, you're always like this with jet lag. I said you should have stayed up.' Female. Also American. It was obviously someone's room.

Amber moved and stepped on a sharp piece of grit. She sucked her breath in through her teeth.

'What was that?' The man's voice sounded panicky. 'Is this place haunted?'

She seemed to have caught them off guard. If she had to escape through anywhere, a room with two jet-lagged guests was a better bet than a room with a member of staff.

Amber rapped on the panel smartly. 'h.e.l.lo?' She pushed the panel open.

Staring at her was one of the American couples she had seen on the tour earlier. The man wore a navy blue eye mask pushed up on his forehead.

For once Amber was lost for words. She closed the cupboard door behind her and padded across the soft carpet to the double doors at the entrance to the suite.

'Hey aren't you that pop star?' said the man.

Amber smiled. 'No, I just look like her.' She reached the door. 'Sleep well. Sorry to disturb you.'

Out on the landing she paused to get her bearings. A sign pointed to ROOMS ROOMS 300320, so she must be on the third floor. She had grey dust down both arms and her feet were gritty and filthy. Hex must be waiting for her down in the conference centre, but she couldn't go down there looking like this. Better go to their suite and call from there. 300320, so she must be on the third floor. She had grey dust down both arms and her feet were gritty and filthy. Hex must be waiting for her down in the conference centre, but she couldn't go down there looking like this. Better go to their suite and call from there.

'Sounds good to me,' said Paulo. 'Do you think that will work?'

They were sitting in the tunnel, the plastic drainpipe snaking alongside them. Alex had a stick in his hand and they had been drawing diagrams in the mud as they worked out their plan.

Li nodded. 'They're terrified of fire in there. It's got one exit, it's enclosed. They could easily suffocate. They sent that guy outside when he wanted a cigarette.'

Alex prodded the plan he had drawn. 'We start a fire, the smoke brings them out, just in time for the police to see... Great, but what are we going to burn? We can't collect wood. Everything out there is sopping wet.'

Li shrugged her pack off her shoulders and opened it. 'We must have something in here that's dry.' She brought out a gas stove and weighed it in her hand. 'Too small?'

'That won't produce enough smoke,' said Paulo. He was rummaging in his pack too. 'Spare socks?'

'We're not trying to poison them,' said Li.

Alex sighed. 'It'll have to be the rope. But that will mean we've only got one possible exit.' He looked at the others. 'What do you think?'

They thought carefully. Li fingered the end of the rope, which was coiled diagonally across her body. 'I suppose we won't be needing it again...' Her voice trailed off. She wasn't a hundred per cent keen on burning a vital piece of equipment.

Paulo put his pack back on. 'The advantage of using the rope is that we can thread it into the crevice so that the smoke really gets in.' He shrugged. 'We've got to use it.'

'OK, agreed,' said Li. 'We burn the rope.'

Alex scrubbed out the diagram. He doubted whether anyone would ever find it, but it was standard practice to cover their tracks. 'Let's rehea.r.s.e.'

Hex put the key to the conference room on the marble reception desk and then headed for the stairs. He was worried about Amber. He was going back to their suite and he hoped she'd be there. He put his foot on the bottom step.