Fifth Victim by Zoe Sharp Page B

for a moment I wasn’t sure about that, and neither was he.
    ‘All right!’ he managed through his teeth, loathing me with his eyes.
    I let go abruptly and moved back, keeping between him and Dina just in case he got brave again. He went instinctively to cradle his injured hand, then realised how that would look and let it dangle.
    When I glanced across, Hunt had drawn Dina aside and was looking slightly bemused by the whole episode. Dina herself had turned as pale as Torquil. Orlando’s face was expressionless, as though any hint of violence caused her to shut down.
    ‘I’m so sorry,’ Dina said. ‘It was a complete accident. I’ll have the jacket dry-cleaned, of course.’
    Torquil tore his eyes away from me long enough to stare at her like she was something he’d stepped in. Into the buzzing silence came the thump of boots through the bar leading to the balcony and two of the bulky security men finally elbowed their way through. They were both out of breath.
    ‘What’s the problem, Mr Eisenberg?’
    ‘There’s no problem,’ Torquil said at last. He jerked his head towards Dina. ‘But see she leaves, right now.’ His eyes flicked over me, very quickly, as if he was afraid of what he might see in my face. ‘And take your … friend with you.’
    I retrieved Dina from Hunt with a nod of thanks for his care, putting my arm around her shoulders. She was shaking.
    ‘Come on,’ I said quietly as the security loomed beside us. ‘I’ll take you home.’
    She allowed me to guide her silently through the stares of the bar, and down onto the wide wooden jetty that led towards the exit gate into the parking area. I glanced at her face as we went, and found her eyes were dry but hollow with misery.
    ‘It’s all over,’ I said, aiming to comfort, but the effect was not what I expected.
    Something like a sob rose in her throat and she whirled to face me, hands clenching in frustration and anguish. ‘Oh, Charlie, how could you?’

CHAPTER NINE
     
    ‘I’ll never be invited to anything ever again!’ Dina moaned. ‘He’ll tell everyone what you did and nobody will even speak to me.’
    I waited for her outrage to subside, then said carefully, ‘Don’t you think you’re maybe overestimating how popular Torquil is?’
    She threw up her hands. ‘What’s being popular got to do with anything?’
    I felt my eyebrows climb, heard the trace of acid creep into my voice. ‘Would you rather I’d just let him hit you?’
    Her eyes skated away from mine. ‘He wouldn’t have,’ she said, but it wasn’t me she was trying hardest to convince. She stared glumly at the sparkling toes of her evening shoes. ‘What am I going to do now? They’ll all be laughing at me.’
    I regarded her for a moment. ‘So, encourage them.’
    That snapped her head up. ‘What?’
    ‘Make light of it,’ I said. ‘Make a joke of it. Tell everyone he should be bloody grateful you were drinking champagne and not red wine or he would have looked like an extra from a Tarantino movie.’
    She tried to look scandalised but couldn’t sustain it. I caught the distinct edge of a smile curve her lips, quickly squashed. The gesture reminded me of Torquil himself, when she’d given him the engraved Swiss Army knife. What was it about being rich, I wondered, that made these people so determined to be miserable?
    We plodded on towards the exit gate, Dina stepping carefully over the gapped planks in her high heels. Behind us, Torquil’s two heavies followed at a suitable distance, just to make sure we really did vacate the property.
    The sound of a vehicle pulling up beyond the security fence had me instantly wary. I put a cautionary hand on Dina’s arm.
    ‘Slow down,’ I murmured, eyes on the new arrival – a stretch Lincoln with the usual limo-black tint on the glass, riding low and heavy. From it, four obvious close-protection guys emerged with the care and technique needed for debussing from an armoured personnel carrier in a hot zone.