Fifth Victim by Zoe Sharp

remember? Not the other way round. And Dina’s mother mentioned the kidnappings, that’s all. She’s worried that the same thing might happen to her daughter. You can’t blame her for that.’
    Hunt hesitated for a moment, then his shoulders relaxed a little inside the well-cut jacket. ‘Yeah, well. OK then, fair enough,’ he agreed at last, casting me a still-dubious glance. ‘Yeah, Orlando was the first victim.’
    His eyes drifted to where the girl in question was standing at the centre of an admiring circle that included both Torquil and Dina. For once, Torquil seemed content not to be the focus of attention. Dina hovered on the outskirts, not quite included – or excluded, either.
    I briefly wondered why she hadn’t pointed out Orlando to me as soon as she and Hunt had arrived. Getting useful information out of the previous victims was supposed to be one of the main reasons for us being here. We would, I determined, have words about that later …
    Because it was always easier to start with a question to which you already knew the answer, I opened with, ‘How long ago did it happen?’
    Hunt’s gaze turned suspicious again, but it must have seemed a reasonable thing to ask because he said grudgingly, ‘Last July.’
    Ten months ago . ‘She’s doing well to be here, then,’ I said. ‘It can’t be easy for her to feel safe coming out again.’
    ‘Yeah, she’s quite a girl,’ Hunt said softly. ‘But they grabbed her from home, so I don’t think being outside is the issue.’ He waved his empty glass towards the darkness beyond the lights. ‘Besides, it looks as though old man Eisenberg has laid on plenty of security around the place.’
    I debated on telling him the guardian gorillas weren’t up to much, but decided that would raise too many questions – not least of which was how I could tell.
    ‘I’m sure you’re right,’ I said instead. ‘It’s scary, though, don’t you think? I heard three people round here have been held to ransom over the last year. I mean, aren’t you worried?’
    ‘I’m not rich enough to be worried,’ he said with candour. ‘My folks are well off, don’t get me wrong, but hardly in the same bracket as Orlando’s people.’
    ‘Or Torquil’s?’
    He laughed at that, his former amusement seemingly part-way restored. ‘Nobody is quite in that bracket.’
    I asked him what line of business his family was in and, with that easy flash of teeth again, he told me they’d made their money in the music business, which seemed to cover a multitude of sins.
    I would have asked more, but at that point Torquil bounded onto the bottom step below us and clapped his hands for silence, which he achieved with a speed that must have gratified him. Someone even turned the music down a notch.
    ‘All those of you lucky enough to have gotten a special invitation, we’re moving this party up a gear and onto my father’s yacht,’ he shouted. ‘The rest of you – you’ve had your fun, now go home.’
    There was a smattering of laughter, as though he’d said something funny instead of merely downright rude. Torquil grinned at their confusion and continued up the staircase, leading one lucky lady by the hand. It wasn’t hard to recognise the tiny figure of Orlando being pulled along in his wake. She was barely five feet tall, slim to the point of undernourishment, in a floaty kind of a dress that was not far from being a nightgown.
    Behind the pair, the crowd jockeyed for position and an undignified scramble developed, as if proximity alone would convey favour. Dina was among them, I noticed, but it was hard to tell if she was making the running or just being carried along in the crush.
    As Torquil reached the top of the staircase, his eyes glided over me totally without recognition, then flared when they landed on Hunt.
    ‘ There you are!’ he said with a mix of annoyance and relief. ‘Where are the others?’
    Orlando disengaged herself and moved to Hunt’s side, wrapping