Part 30 (1/2)

'Where are the others?'

'There aren't any. I'm a collector, not a '

'Psychopath. We know.' He nodded at a framed certificate on the wall. 'But you shoot. Compet.i.tion standard.'

'Used to shoot. There was a slight change in the law, probably they didn't announce it down at the zoo.'

Michael was holding the gun in both hands, and bracing his leg against the desk now, making sure Gerard could see what he was doing. He can't possibly, thought Sarah: but on the other hand, the barrel looked mostly wood.

Gerard thought he might possibly. 'Do you know how much that cost?' he whispered.

'I don't care how much it cost. I'm after something newer.'

'I don't have any '

Michael, obviously, had had second thoughts about the strength of his knee, and brought the barrel of the gun down on the side of the desk instead. It didn't break, but made a splintering noise; something metal fell to the carpet. Even Sarah closed her eyes. When she opened them, the first thing she registered was the scarred desk; a wound of bright wood gleaming against its rich dark surface. Guns don't hurt people: people hurt guns. Also expensive furniture.

'You f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d,' said Gerard.

Michael dropped the once-valuable gun and picked its partner from the cabinet behind him. 'Where are they?'

Gerard, confirming Sarah's opinion of him, didn't fight losing battles. 'In the cellar,' he said.

'Where?'

'The door's through the kitchen.'

Michael took the plastic card with him.

'Would it help,' Sarah said, 'if I told you we needed to do this?'

'Not really.' He went round the desk, and picked up the gun Michael had damaged. Sarah thought he was on the verge of crooning to it.

'Was it very old?' she asked.

'Yes.'

'And '

'And valuable. Yes.' He looked hard at her. 'How long do you think you'll last? Do you think you'll get to the end of the road?'

'Are we talking metaphor?'

'I'm talking Hampstead. Stealing guns? The Met do armed response, Sarah. I don't want to see you hurt.'

'Thanks.'

'Your friend, I'm not bothered. They can turn him into mashed potato as far as I'm concerned.'

'You're not going to call the police, Gerard.'

'What does that mean, I'm not going to call the police?' He placed the bent weapon gently in the cabinet. 'You've already cost me thousands.'

'Because anything Michael finds that he can use, you shouldn't have in the first place. Isn't that right?'

He pursed his lips now. They were still tight. Below them, or somewhere anyway, they could hear Michael rootling around in wooden cupboards. 'What's going on, Sarah? What's going on really? Did that . . . r.e.t.a.r.d actually kill your absurd friend? You're telling me that really happened?'

'He wasn't my friend. But yes, it happened.'

'n.o.body's said anything about that.'

'It was his blood in the floor. You knew about the blood.'

'I already told you. I made it my business.' He shook his head wearily. 'Does this have to do with your drugs trouble?'

'They were planted on me.'

He didn't respond.

'They were planted because I'd been looking for a girl, the child who lived in that house, remember? The house that was bombed. I went looking for her with a friend, and he was killed, and I was framed.' Her voice broke. She took a moment to get it together. 'Then I started looking again, and Rufus tried to kill me.'

'Like having a pet dormouse turn on you.'

'I'm glad it's funny. We aim to please.'

'And who's the soldier?'

'How did '

'He moves like one. Come on, Sarah, where'd you find him? He looks like a non-speaking role in a spaghetti western.'

'He was Singleton's friend.'

'Singleton?'

'Whose house it was. That blew up that night.'

'Another soldier?'

'Yes.'

'Sarah. He died years ago. It said so in the paper. Whoever was in that house '

'It was him.'

She could tell he didn't believe her. Oddly, this mattered to her. Here he was, the capitalist monster, and he'd been worried about her she could tell he wasn't faking. And along with this came the knowledge that if she asked, he'd keep quiet about their visit. Not because of whatever Michael might find downstairs. But because she'd asked.