back he realised he should sell the place, but the same memories that made it hard to live there made it impossible to leave.
He opened the door and the smell of floor cleaner and window polish greeted him. His cleaner had to work overtime to find something to clean. He looked around: same plasma TV, same two chairs and same rattan elephant table with a glass top. Same everything, except him.
He took his bag into the bedroom and unpacked it on the bed. He tried to ignore the look of the crisp white cotton and the thought of the last woman to have slept in this bed. Two years after Helen had left in the taxi, Georgina showed up. He remembered the first time he’d seen her in Club Mercedes. His eyes had started at the feet and worked their way up. And his heart had stopped more than once. She had made him feel alive again, but that was when Helen’s body had turned up and all hell broke loose. He took his eyes away from the sheets and the memory of Georgina wrapped in them and knew he had to acclimatise and to think things over. His head was in turmoil. The gym helped him think. His body was designed to be used. If he didn’t, it got tetchy. He saw his body as his tool, his weapon and his protection—it was vital to keep it strong and supple. He stood six foot and two inches and weighed fourteen stone. Mann worked out most days. His body was firm and lithe, naturally muscled without being bulky. He had studied weight training schedules and alternated high reps and light weights days with maximum power days and he ran ten kilometres every other day. He liked being powerful but he didn’t like it showing. He liked to be light on his feet—he needed to be. He went to the gym on the top floor and spent an hour running through everything in his head. Magda had opened up new roads to emotions he had either buried or didn’t even recognise. The feelings he had towards Jake had unlocked his memories of his father. Jake was the same age Mann had been when Deming was murdered. At the timewhen Mann was pinned down and made to watch his father’s execution, Magda must have been nursing a newborn, Jake. That summer had changed Mann forever. And this one would change Jake. If he survived this he would never be the same. He would be strong, resilient but also vulnerable. He would always have an Achilles’ heel, just like Mann. Mann hadn’t got the answers to his questions about his father’s death and that was one of the reasons he had accepted Magda’s invitation. He wouldn’t rest until he knew everything he could about his father. Maybe Magda held one big piece of the puzzle over his execution. There were few coincidences in life: Deming died at the same time as he had a secret family on the other side of the world. If there was a connection, Mann would find it.
18
Saw ran past, distracted, and stopped to talk to Toad. He was agitated and preoccupied.
‘Shit! Lucas, get up, quick.’ Thomas and Jake looked at one another and both knew that the moment had gone. Toad had looked up just as Lucas fell at his feet and called ahead to Weasel.
‘Watch it, Lucas, Weasel is coming,’ Jake said as Weasel’s tall, lanky frame trotted back, his pin head swivelling round to watch them and his small shifty eyes always looking for someone to inflict pain on.
Lucas didn’t answer. His hands were tied and he struggled to lift himself from the ground.
Weasel was over him in a flash. He grinned and tilted his head from side to side as he looked at Lucas struggling. He picked up a stick and jabbed Lucas with the point of it. Lucas flinched and groaned as the stick found its mark. Weasel giggled manically. He jabbed at Lucas like a cat toying with a mouse. Jake stepped forward between them and knelt down to help Lucas. He managed to get his hand under Lucas’s shoulder and started to help him to his feet but Weasel put hisfoot against Jake’s back and pushed him down on top of Lucas. He held his foot against Jake’s back as he kept
He opened the door and the smell of floor cleaner and window polish greeted him. His cleaner had to work overtime to find something to clean. He looked around: same plasma TV, same two chairs and same rattan elephant table with a glass top. Same everything, except him.
He took his bag into the bedroom and unpacked it on the bed. He tried to ignore the look of the crisp white cotton and the thought of the last woman to have slept in this bed. Two years after Helen had left in the taxi, Georgina showed up. He remembered the first time he’d seen her in Club Mercedes. His eyes had started at the feet and worked their way up. And his heart had stopped more than once. She had made him feel alive again, but that was when Helen’s body had turned up and all hell broke loose. He took his eyes away from the sheets and the memory of Georgina wrapped in them and knew he had to acclimatise and to think things over. His head was in turmoil. The gym helped him think. His body was designed to be used. If he didn’t, it got tetchy. He saw his body as his tool, his weapon and his protection—it was vital to keep it strong and supple. He stood six foot and two inches and weighed fourteen stone. Mann worked out most days. His body was firm and lithe, naturally muscled without being bulky. He had studied weight training schedules and alternated high reps and light weights days with maximum power days and he ran ten kilometres every other day. He liked being powerful but he didn’t like it showing. He liked to be light on his feet—he needed to be. He went to the gym on the top floor and spent an hour running through everything in his head. Magda had opened up new roads to emotions he had either buried or didn’t even recognise. The feelings he had towards Jake had unlocked his memories of his father. Jake was the same age Mann had been when Deming was murdered. At the timewhen Mann was pinned down and made to watch his father’s execution, Magda must have been nursing a newborn, Jake. That summer had changed Mann forever. And this one would change Jake. If he survived this he would never be the same. He would be strong, resilient but also vulnerable. He would always have an Achilles’ heel, just like Mann. Mann hadn’t got the answers to his questions about his father’s death and that was one of the reasons he had accepted Magda’s invitation. He wouldn’t rest until he knew everything he could about his father. Maybe Magda held one big piece of the puzzle over his execution. There were few coincidences in life: Deming died at the same time as he had a secret family on the other side of the world. If there was a connection, Mann would find it.
18
Saw ran past, distracted, and stopped to talk to Toad. He was agitated and preoccupied.
‘Shit! Lucas, get up, quick.’ Thomas and Jake looked at one another and both knew that the moment had gone. Toad had looked up just as Lucas fell at his feet and called ahead to Weasel.
‘Watch it, Lucas, Weasel is coming,’ Jake said as Weasel’s tall, lanky frame trotted back, his pin head swivelling round to watch them and his small shifty eyes always looking for someone to inflict pain on.
Lucas didn’t answer. His hands were tied and he struggled to lift himself from the ground.
Weasel was over him in a flash. He grinned and tilted his head from side to side as he looked at Lucas struggling. He picked up a stick and jabbed Lucas with the point of it. Lucas flinched and groaned as the stick found its mark. Weasel giggled manically. He jabbed at Lucas like a cat toying with a mouse. Jake stepped forward between them and knelt down to help Lucas. He managed to get his hand under Lucas’s shoulder and started to help him to his feet but Weasel put hisfoot against Jake’s back and pushed him down on top of Lucas. He held his foot against Jake’s back as he kept
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