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Is that what’s finally happened? Boones has lost control of his own race?
The pilot gets our attention. ‘I think we’re good to fly,’ he says. ‘Storm’s dying.’
‘Great,’ says Emilio, wincing. ‘Let’s get to Mariam. It’s been too long already.’
‘She’s smart,’ I say. ‘She will have hunkered down somewhere. She would have known we couldn’t get to her in that storm. If she had enough wits about her to set off her emergency beacon, she would have known to take shelter.’
‘I hope you are right,’ says Emilio.
‘We should fly him to the biv,’ says Mac under his breath to me. ‘There won’t be room for Mariam in here anyway.’
‘Then you can look forward to a long walk back.’ Louder, I say, ‘Let’s get to Mariam.’
We help Emilio into the helicopter, strapping him in – although he seems stronger now. More alert. Once we’re all aboard the helicopter, the pilot lifts off.
It doesn’t take us long to home in on the emergency beacon. I’m scanning the horizon, trying to see if I can see any sign of life.
‘Looks like it’s coming from near those buildings,’ I say, pointing to a small enclave of abandoned-looking ruins. A smart place to hide out from a storm. I knew Mariam would do it.
Someone emerges from one of the buildings, waving their arms. But it doesn’t look anything like Mariam. For one thing it’s clearly a man.
‘Wait! Don’t land!’ Mac screams at the pilot, his eyes wide with panic. ‘That’s the guy with the gun. That’s runner 501.’
46
Adrienne
Matt turns the gun over in his hands. It has a bright orange barrel. ‘I thought this would come in handy. I found it in Boones’s trailer when he invited me in. When the storm dies down, we can send a flare to signal our location.’
I let out a long breath. He doesn’t want to hurt us. At least not withthat.
In fact, his voice cracks with emotion. ‘I thought by coming here and running in this race, I could do something for my dad. For his memory.’
‘You heard Adrienne’s story. Your father was a bad man,’ says Mariam through her chattering teeth. ‘He did it to my friend too. Drugged and assaulted her. We were waiting to gather proof before going public. We almost had enough.’
I blink at Mariam. ‘Really?’
‘Yes. But no one would listen to us after what you did.’
I ruined everyone’s credibility after lying. ‘I’m so very sorry,’ I say. I turn back to Matt. ‘And it must have been hard for you to lose him. But itwasa heart attack,’ I say.
‘No, it wasn’t,’ says Matt. ‘Someone murdered him. I don’t care what the coroner said. I’ve spent the past seven years wondering whether he deserved it. I guess now I know that he did.’ He drops the gun in the dirt by Mariam’s ankle. I let out a scream, but it’s swept away by the wind. Matt drops his head into his hands and starts sobbing.
Mariam and I lock eyes over his head. Matt is unstable, volatile – but also in pain.
Cautiously, I reach out and lay my hand on his arm. ‘I’m sorry for your loss, Matt,’ I say. ‘And I’m sorry the truth is what it is.’ I pause. ‘Can I ask … how did you know I’d been to visit him that morning?’
‘That podcast guy. Jason. He visited me inside. I guess he’s been doing a big story on the case? He showed me a photograph from a neighbour’s CCTV. It shows you arriving at my father’s house.’
I nod. I had wondered why the police hadn’t bothered to ask the neighbours, but I guess they’d been so convinced he’d died of natural causes that they didn’t launch a full-scale investigation. ‘And I was the only one?’
To my surprise Matt shakes his head. ‘No. Someone else visited him that morning. But their car blocked my view of who it was.’
‘What kind of car?’ I ask.
‘One of those massive black SUVs. A Range Rover or something. I asked Jason about it but he couldn’t get any details. Apparently it was rented.’
Now my heart is really pounding. The CCTV camera still that Boones had of the car near my son. That had featured a black Range Rover. It can’t be a coincidence.