[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
. Croftlooked at Frost and smiled. Good lad.Oh, and those two down in thebasement.Get them cleaned up.Suited nicelyyou know where the spare clothes are.I want274Sarah Mastersthem in the viewing room with me.Been thinkingof taking them on, know what I mean? Good idea, boss.Frost chucked. The fates fucking smiled onme when they sent you my way.Frost stalked out of the room, and Croft blewout a huge breath.He stared out the windowagain, seeing headlights had pierced thedarkness out on the road.Pressing the buttonthat opened the gates, he waited until the convoyof five black jeeps eased along the track then upthe driveway before he collected the clipboardfrom the foyer and left the house, nodding toJonathan, who guarded the door from inside.At the head of the drive, he pointed the driversto his right, waving to tell them they should goaround the side of the mansion and park there onthe large square of asphalt.As the last carturned, he followed, and by the time he reachedthe car park, the twenty security men stoodtogether behind one car.Croft approached Darrow, the detectivedressed identical to the other men: black combattrousers, black bomber jackets, and black275Scaredbaseball caps.Jerking his head so Darrowfollowed, Croft led him to the edge of the car parkand relayed everything Frost had told him.Hegave him the clipboard.Darrow nodded. You ll text just before thepunters get ready to leave.When everyone is stillin the viewing room.Before the kids are taken. Yeah. Croft glanced around nervously,hoping Frost hadn t planted one of his men outhere in the darkness. Good. Darrow patted Croft s shoulder. I drather my men storm the house when the kids arestill safe. He paused, then,  I m sorry about yourbrother. Yeah, well& he ll be all right in an hour ortwo, won t he? He will. If& if I m nicked, make sure Fraser isn treturned home.Mum and Dad, they  I know. He paused once more. I ll brief mymen, then. Darrow patted Croft again. Right.See you later. Croft moved to walkaway, remembering he d forgotten to tell Darrowsomething. Oh, the young man, Stephen?276Sarah Masters Yes? He was shot today. Fuck! Darrow sighed. Buried with the other kid. Right.Croft walked away, heading for the house.The darkness spooked him tonight, seeming toclose in on him like an unwelcome hug.Hehurried toward the lamps, thankful for theirbrightness as he strode along the front of thehouse.As he reached the steps by the blackdoors, he heard footsteps behind him.Heglanced back to find two officers walking towardthe gates and another two approaching thesteps.This is it, then.No turning back now.Croft entered the house and went back intothe living room, jabbing his thumb on the buttonto close the gates.It wouldn t be long before thepunters arrived, a caterpillar of cars wheelingalong the drive, containing some of the sickestpeople on Earth.Croft gritted his teeth, angrythat so many of these nights had gone beforeand he hadn t known anything about it.277ScaredWhere are those boys now? Some are men,fucked-up in the head, no doubt.He couldn t lose concentration.Had to focuson the here and now.A shuffle of feet sounded out in the foyer,and he turned from the window to gaze throughthe living room doorway.Frost s men paradedpast, each holding a lad by the wrist.Their criestore into him, their sad faces streaked withtears.His heart spasmed, and his stomachclenched.Poor little bastards.Reminding himself it would all be over soon,he waited for sight of Fraser.He came last in theline, and as if his brother sensed Croft s stare,Fraser glanced through the doorway.The boynodded in acknowledgement and held one handup, fingers crossed.Christ, he really thinks he s being adopted.The pain of Croft s throat swelling made himturn away, and he burned that last image ofFraser into his mind in case he never saw himagain.Focus! Focus on the fucking job at hand.278Sarah MastersA convoy of cars drove down the main road onthe other side of the iron-railed fence.He pressedthe gate button and waited until the last of thepunter s cars had swerved right and headedtoward the car park.He closed the gates and thenthe drapes, shutting out the sight of a copper sback outside the window.Once Croft had texted Darrow with the go-ahead, it was down to the detective from there onout.What came after that could turn nasty,what with the police and Frost s men beingarmed.He stood in the middle of the room andfelt for his own gun, tucked snugly in hiswaistband.He only hoped he never had to use it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]