Double-Cross (20 page)

My head spun. What was Ketty doing here? How had Geri managed to find her?

She stood looking towards the floor, the ropes round her wrists digging into her skin. Her eyes above the gag were wild with fear. I’d never seen Ketty look so completely terrified.

I clenched my fists, then released them, instinctively trying to engage my telekinesis to undo her bindings. It was a moment before I remembered the Medutox I’d just been sprayed with.

I was helpless.

‘Why’ve you taken Ketty?’ I yelled.

Geri shook her head. She beckoned McMurdo over. Holding the gun primed in front of her, Geri spoke to him under her breath. I couldn’t hear what she said. I turned back to Ketty who was still standing in the doorway, her body shaking, her eyes fixed on me.

I couldn’t work it out. I’d only been communicating with Ed a few minutes ago. Why hadn’t he mentioned Ketty was missing? My mind raced on, desperate to work it out. Either Geri had somehow captured them
all
, which wasn’t conceivable in the time that had elapsed, or Ketty hadn’t been with Ed and Avery when Ed made contact with me. Which meant
they
didn’t know Geri had her.

It suddenly hit me that there was no way I could warn Ed about any of this. Even if he tried to make contact, I wouldn’t be able to hear him because of the Medutox.

‘Come on!’ Geri’s sharp voice brought me back to the present.

As she bound my wrists, McMurdo led Ketty downstairs.

Keeping one eye on Geri’s gun, I followed them to the ground floor.

As we left the house, I looked around for Cal and Dylan. No sign. Surely they were watching us, though? And surely Avery and Ed couldn’t be far away?

McMurdo led Ketty down the yard and bundled her into the back seat of a large station wagon parked outside the house.

Geri indicated I should get in next to Ketty. She herself sat in the passenger seat at the front, while McMurdo slid into the driver’s position and switched on the engine. I gave a last look around. There was no sign of any of the others.

‘Get in,’ Geri snapped. ‘Hurry.’

As I got in, she slid shut the partition that separated the front from the back of the car.

She turned to McMurdo, presumably giving him an order about where to drive. As we set off, Geri took out her BlackBerry and started prodding at the keys. I was too far away to see what exactly she was doing.

Again, I tried to use my telekinesis. The rope round my wrists, which would have been so simple to untie under normal circumstances, was completely impossible for me to undo.

It was unbelievably frustrating. I sat back with a sigh and turned to Ketty. She was still looking at me, her golden-brown eyes wide with alarm.

Keeping an eye on Geri up front, I shuffled across the back seat so I was closer to Ketty. There was no way I could undo the ropes on our wrists or the gag in Ketty’s mouth, but I could talk and she could listen.

I leaned my head close in to Ketty’s ear. She stiffened.

‘We’re going to be all right,’ I whispered. ‘Cal and Dylan were outside the house. They must have seen us come out – they’ll be able to follow us. How did you get separated from Ed and Avery?’

Ketty shook her head, presumably to indicate the impossibility of answering.

‘Sorry.’ I swallowed. ‘Listen,’ I said. ‘I just found out Avery’s my dad and Cal’s my brother. That’s why Cal was kind of weird with me earlier. I . . . I . . . know I overreacted when you went off with him.’ I hesitated. ‘But he’s cool.’

Ketty drew her head back, gazing at me with soft, curious eyes.

As she looked at me, I suddenly imagined just how awful it would be if she decided she preferred being with Cal to me.

My heart skipped a beat and I realised I had no idea what to say to make her stay. Girls liked to hear about your feelings . . . that much I knew . . .

I took a deep breath and leaned closer to her ear again.

‘I haven’t said this for ages, but . . .’

I stammered to a halt and glanced to the front of the car. Geri was still bent over her BlackBerry while McMurdo was concentrating on the fast, empty road ahead of us. It was almost dawn. There were fields all around. Mountains in the distance. My heart hammered. Ketty raised her eyebrows, waiting for me to finish my sentence.

‘I love you,’ I whispered. ‘And I won’t let anyone hurt you.’

Tears welled in her eyes. I looked away, staring out of the window, my cheeks burning. I’d only said those words once before – just before Fox Academy got blown up. It felt like years had passed since then.

Half an hour later, McMurdo turned the car onto a dirt track. Brown dust swirled in the air behind us. Another few minutes and I recognised the approach to Avery’s ranch.

McMurdo stopped at the end of the drive. The swimming pool glittered in the distance, the low sun glancing off its glassy surface.

Geri ordered us out of the car.

I stood next to Ketty, watching for any movement. Would Philly or Caro or any of the little kids be there? Part of me wanted someone to see us and raise the alarm. Another part of me hoped that they were all safely out of the house. As I thought this, it struck me that all those little kids were my brothers and sisters, too, just like Cal. I had this enormous family I didn’t even know.

‘Avery’s on his way here,’ Geri said. ‘I’ve told him if he turns up with any kind of outside support, I’ll kill you.’ She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to one side. ‘He seems
most
concerned about you, Nico. But then that’s to be expected, I suppose, given what he’s just found out about your relationship.’

I stared back at her. ‘How long have
you
known?’

‘That Avery was your father? He just told me.’ Geri laughed that tinkly little laugh of hers. ‘Goodness, I had no idea before. Your mother told no one. Anyway, it’s all working to my advantage. Avery’s absolutely frantic about you.’

‘Why are you doing this?’ I said. ‘Why don’t you just accept that it’s time the truth came out . . . that you have to pay for killing Dylan’s parents and that agent, Bookman?’

Geri shook her head. ‘There’s no need to keep raking up all that. I already told Dylan. Her father was impossible to deal with and her mother just knew too much . . . Bookman deserved to die, manipulative old blackmailer . . .’

I glanced at McMurdo. He was standing, watching us. Again, I got the strong sense he was waiting for Geri to miss a step so he could go for her gun. I shivered. I wasn’t sure I’d be any safer if he was in control of what happened next than Geri.

‘You let me down, Nico,’ McMurdo said slowly. ‘I sent you to kill Diamond. You’re going to pay for failing.’

‘And how are you going to make me?’ I snapped. ‘You’re just as much Geri’s prisoner as me and Ketty.’

‘Ketty?’ McMurdo sneered. ‘I don’t—’

‘Shut up.’ Geri turned on him.

She held out the gun. McMurdo reluctantly put his hands in the air.

‘This is what’s going to happen,’ Geri said. ‘Avery will be here soon with the evidence against me. I’m going to take the evidence and drive away. End of story. I won’t come after you. You won’t come after me.’

I shook my head. ‘But that won’t clear our names,’ I argued. ‘The police in England will still think we killed Bookman. We won’t be able to go home.’

‘Then stay here with Avery Jones,’ Geri snapped. ‘He’s your father, after all.’

‘What about Fergus?’ I said. ‘He’s my dad, too. And England’s my home . . . not just for me, but for Ed and Ketty, too.’

‘You’ll just have to move on,’ Geri said briskly. ‘Let go.’

I opened my mouth to say that I’d never let go when it came to bringing Geri to justice. But before I could speak, McMurdo lunged for Geri’s gun.

I jumped as the shot rang out, loud and echoey across the fields. I stared, my eyeballs feeling like they would burst out of my head, as McMurdo flew backwards, clutching his stomach.

He slumped to the dusty ground. A trickle of blood seeped out from under his body. The world seemed to stand still.

Ketty shuffled closer to me. I leaned my shoulder against hers. It was the only way I could think of to show her I was here for her.

McMurdo’s face was pressed against the ground. He wasn’t moving.

Geri marched over to him, briskly feeling for his pulse. I realised I was holding my breath and took in a lungful of crisp, dawn air.

‘He’s not going to make it,’ she said, straightening up.

I shivered. I’d known she was a murderer, but it was completely different to see someone killed. I looked away from McMurdo’s body, sick to my stomach.

In the distance I could just make out a car turning off the main road. That had to be Avery. Geri had seen it, too. ‘We’re going inside,’ she said, grabbing Ketty by the arm. ‘Avery will meet us there.’

As I stumbled beside them towards the house, Geri spoke again.

‘My gun is pointing at Ketty’s head, Nico,’ she said coldly. ‘If you do anything against me, I
will
kill her. Understand?’

I had no choice but to agree.

24: Upload

We walked around the ranch in silence. Geri had untied Ketty’s feet, but her hands and mouth were still bound. I couldn’t put my arm round her because my own wrists were tied, but I walked as close to her as possible.

Ketty glanced at me as we reached the swimming pool. Geri was already at the side door to the ranch house. To my surprise it was open.

‘Avery’s called his wife,’ Geri said. ‘Told her to leave the door unlocked for us before she and the maid left with the kids. He says you’re to take us somewhere called the Snug – where’s that?’

‘Down here.’ I led the way along the corridor and into the open-plan living area. At least now I knew that Philly and Caro and the little kids would be safe.

Geri settled herself down on the couch where Avery had sat during our first meeting. I turned to look out of the window. The sun was getting higher in the sky. As I watched, Avery’s car reached Geri’s and slowed down. I could just make out Avery’s face turned to the open window beside him. He must be able to see McMurdo’s body from there.

All of a sudden the car sped up again. Avery drove rapidly up the drive, then raced out of the car, a briefcase in his hand. He ran past the porch and out of sight. I peered at the car. The closed windows were dark. Was Ed in there? What about Dylan or Cal?

I was sure they would have had plenty of time to reach Avery, but had Avery brought them here?

I turned around. Geri was pushing Ketty into one of the Snug’s many chairs. She drew out a pair of handcuffs and fastened Ketty to the arm of the chair, then bent over and whispered something in her ear.

‘What are you saying?’ I demanded.

‘Quiet,’ Geri snapped, straightening up and taking out her gun.

Footsteps in the corridor outside. Geri and I turned towards the door as Avery burst through it. He stared around the room, speedily taking in the whole scene. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Ketty.

‘How did you get hold of
her
?’ he said.

I gulped. Clearly, Avery hadn’t known that Geri had kidnapped Ketty. Did that mean he’d lost track of Ed, Cal and Dylan, too?

Geri said nothing in response, simply cocked her gun and held it against Ketty’s head.

I met Ketty’s gaze, trying to communicate that everything was going to be all right. Ketty looked back at me, her expression above the gag around her mouth calmer than it had been earlier. She gave me a quick nod and my heart skipped a beat. What did that nod mean? Maybe she’d had a positive vision of the near future. It seemed unlikely – after all, Ketty tended to lose her Medusa ability when she was stressed. Still, I felt better believing that maybe she’d seen into the next few minutes and that her calm, confident nod was meant to reassure me.

‘Are you all right, Nico?’ Avery asked anxiously.

‘I’m fine,’ I said.

Avery turned to Geri and held up his briefcase. ‘Here’s the computer. Cal and Dylan brought it to me directly from McMurdo’s house. The CD is still inside it. Now let Nico and Ketty go.’

‘Not until I’ve seen the film on the CD,’ Geri snapped.

Avery frowned. His hand shook as he laid the briefcase on the coffee table and drew out the Mac. He set it down. Keeping her gun trained on me, Geri strode towards him.

‘Play the CD.’

Avery did as he was told. We watched the film I’d seen earlier. It was an absolute confession.

As Geri watched, a look of horror crept into her eyes.

‘Did you make a copy of this?’ she demanded. ‘Has anyone else seen it?’

‘Of course not,’ Avery protested. ‘Cal gave the laptop to me less than an hour ago and I’ve spent the entire time since bringing it here. Anyway, the CD is stuck. We can’t get it out, so there’s no way we could have copied it onto another CD or given it to someone else.’

‘You could have stored it in a flash drive or emailed it somewhere,’ Geri pointed out.

‘Yes, but we haven’t.’ Avery’s voice was strained. ‘Geri, I don’t want to do anything to upset this situation further. You have Ketty and . . . and my son.’ He looked at me as he said the words. ‘I don’t care about
anything
except their safety.’