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They headed over to the next shed, battling against the wind – stronger now they were right next to the water. She tugged at the door, which caught for just a second before flinging open.
Despite the ambient light outside, it was pitch dark inside the shed, any windows covered in thick black material. ‘Melissa?’ Olivia shouted inside.
‘Olivia? You made it!’ said Annalise.
Janine fumbled in her pocket for her phone, then pressed the torch button. It illuminated Annalise, Pattyand Cutler huddled in a corner – behind them shelves and racks piled high with different tools, some electronic equipment, ragged-looking down jackets – things a team might need to survive a summer in Antarctica.
‘Thank God. What happened? Did you find the others?’ asked Patty.
‘No, haven’t you seen them either? Liam’s roommate – Sergei – attacked Janine,’ said Olivia.
‘Olivia saved my life,’ said Janine.
‘Are we safe?’ Patty asked. ‘What if he tries to come in?’
‘Maybe we can barricade the door?’ Olivia suggested. ‘But really we need to find Melissa.’ She looked around the room, testing if any of the cabinets would move – but everything was bolted to the floor. But she could see tools – hammers and screwdrivers – things that could potentially be used as weapons.
‘This is ridiculous,’ said Cutler, stamping his feet and blowing into his mittened hands. ‘This should never have happened.’
‘No one could have predicted the storm would be this bad. I spoke to the captain – if he’d had any inkling, he wouldn’t have allowed it,’ said Olivia.
‘The weather is one thing, but the sabotage? What happened to that Zodiac …? My wife was right. We never should have come on this trip.’ He turned to Annalise. ‘I wanted a chance to hand things over properly. And I’ve dragged you into this too.’
‘Hand things over?’ Patty asked.
Cutler snorted. ‘Doesn’t matter who knows now, does it? Four people dead. Some madman on the loose. The deal isn’t going to happen now. Pioneer is finished.’
‘Your wife told me you were selling off the business even before all this happened,’ muttered Olivia.
‘Oh, she told you that, did she? Yes, well, Annalise was going to take over the online business, but, yes, we were going to shut down everything else. There was no point flogging a dead horse.’
Annalise shuddered inside her jacket. ‘I hadn’t said yes yet actually, Dad. You sprang this on me.’
Cutler shrugged. ‘You are ready. We both know that.’
There was a sharp intake of breath from Patty. ‘You were going to close my branch?’
‘The business is completely broke, Patricia. We tried to keep it going as long as we could.’
‘You knew about this?’ she asked Annalise, her voice breaking with emotion.
‘He only told me a few days ago. I had no idea, I swear.’
Patty turned back to Cutler. ‘You lied to us. My Karl gave everything to you.’
‘Patty …’ Annalise moved towards her.
There was a scraping sound from the cabinet.
Janine shone her torch in the direction of the noise.
The light illuminated Patty’s expression: a blankness, as white as the landscape outside. Her mouth was set in a grim line, her eyes hard.
And in her hand: a wrench, taken from the counter.
Janine screamed and dropped the phone, and then Patty rushed towards Cutler, the weapon held high.
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