Emilia, Adrian and Bianca ignored the waitress who came to take their order. As she walked away muttering under her breath, Emilia tried to remember how it had felt to have two lives growing inside her. And for the briefest of moments, it was as if she could still feel them wiggling, alongside the rhythmic vibrations of their heartbeats against her chest. Was it the product of her imagination or her memory?
‘How did you know they’d be here?’ Emilia whispered.
‘He brings them here the same night every week after school. They like it because it reminds them of you. When they were younger, you’d bring them here after football practice. Justin told friends he thought it might help if he didn’t break too many routines after they lost you.’
‘Do they think I’m dead?’
‘You can either keep asking questions or you can keep listening. And make sure your face remains pointed towards me or …’ He finished his sentence by making the shape of a gun with his fingers and pointing them at his head.
Emilia hung on to her family’s every word. But to hear them thriving without her was heartbreaking. Later, pushing their empty plates to one side, they made their way to their car to carry on with their lives for yet another day without a mother or a wife.
As soon as the doors closed behind them, several red, circular dots of light appeared on their backs as they had done the first time she’d seen them via video link. ‘No!’ Emilia gasped. ‘I’m begging you, please don’t kill them.’
‘One word, Emilia, one word is all it will take. I don’t want to, but I will if you keep withholding information from us. You can have them back; you can be the one taking them out for milkshakes and waffles again very soon. You only have three more people to find before you’ll get everything you want. Now where are they located?’
How they knew that she was privy to such information was beyond her. Emilia had no choice but to reveal what the fridge magnets at Ted’s house had helped her to recall, and give away her only bargaining chip. The red dots vanished as quickly as they appeared.
Adrian and Bianca were the next to exit, leaving her trembling and alone. Being in such close proximity to her family had provided her with a snapshot of how it might be for her one day. But Emilia wanted it now.
And in that moment, all her frustration, resentment and longing superseded every other emotion. She balled her fists and curled her feet, squeezing them so tightly she feared her fingers and toes might snap. Every muscle in her body was rigid and pulsed as she tried to hold herself back from hurling anything moveable across the restaurant. She didn’t care who the objects might hit, as long as they connected with someone who then felt the same pain she was suffering.
But instead of lashing out, Emilia internalised each negative feeling. If she were to get through this, she would need to be as strong and ruthless as Bianca. She would have topush her conscience to one side like members of the Hacking Collective did in the pursuit of their goals. And if she didn’t get what she wanted from the remaining Minders, they must suffer the consequences. Because her family was her priority, not the well-being of the Minders.
Chapter 60
BRUNO, OUNDLE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Bruno glared at Nora, expecting her mother to follow her into the lounge at any moment. The child was older than her years and regarded him with the suspicious eyes of an adult.
‘Where’s your mum?’ he asked. ‘I thought she was picking you up from school?’
‘The minibus brought me home. Why are you looking through her things?’
‘I’m not.’
‘Yes, you are.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘My phone is broken so this morning I borrowed Mummy’s spare for emergencies.’ She pointed at the screen. ‘It says on here someone on another device is looking at her bank accounts. And you are holding her tablet.’
‘My phone’s broken too so I was checking my email.’
Her face screwed up. ‘You’re telling fibs. You were looking at her money and photographs of Daddy.’
Bruno struggled to muster up a believable excuse. ‘She asked me to sort something out for her,’ he said vaguely. Nora’s wheelchair moved backwards ever so slightly as she continued staring at him, as if she was waiting for a better explanation. He tried a different tack. ‘How was school? What do you do there on a Saturday?’
Nora refused to answer. The Echo of Nazi Zimmerman parted the crowd of his counterparts still gathered inside the house. ‘Tell her to mind her own fucking business,’ he ordered. ‘Explain what happens to little girls who don’t.’
‘I’m going to call Mummy,’ said Nora and ordered her phone’s OS to dial Karen’s number. Bruno hurried towards her and snatched it from her hand. When he saw a frightened Nora’s bottom lip quiver he tried to kneel and talk to her at her level. But before he could say anything, the chair spun around and sped towards the front door. Bruno had no choice but to run after her and using all his weight, he shoved the chair hard so it careered into the wall. But he hadn’t appreciated how lightweight its frame was and it toppled over, sending Nora sprawling to the ground. He heard the unmistakable sound of a bone snapping.
‘Oh, Jesus,’ he gasped and went to pick her up. She was as light as a feather and as she looked at him, he felt something warm spread across his arm. The terrified child was wetting herself. A second later, she passed out.
Bruno remained in the hallway, the sound of Zimmerman’s laughter ringing in his ears. Panicked, he moved towards the front door but had second thoughts and hurried back to the kitchen. Then he grabbed her mobile, ready to dial the emergency services.
‘Do that and you’re fucked,’ Zimmerman continued. ‘The police will be on your trail the second she wakes up. Buy yourself time. Lock her in the summerhouse in the garden. By the time Watson finds her, you’ll be out of the village and you could be heading anywhere.’
‘I heard something break, I’ve injured her.’
