Page 174 of The Love Letter

‘Simon, for God’s sake!’ she screamed as she cowered in the corner of the room. He leant over her until his face was close to hers, the gun pointed at her chest.

‘Simon, please!’ she cried.

He shook his head. ‘Remember, Joanna. This ismygame. We play bymyrules.’

She stared at him, her voice husky with dread. ‘I surrender.’

‘Bang, bang! You’re dead!’

She barely had time to scream as he fired two shots at point-blank range, before she slumped to the floor.

Simon knelt down and took her pulse, then listened for a heartbeat. ‘She’s dead. Call in, tell them mission accomplished in all respects. I’ll clean up and then get her out to the car.’

Burrows studied Joanna’s prone body from where she stood. ‘You knew her from way back?’

‘Yes.’

‘Jeez,’ she breathed, ‘that sure took some guts.’ She moved nearer to the body and bent down, about to check Joanna’s pulse.

He turned to look at her. ‘You know the rules of service, Burrows. No room for sentiment. I’ll make double sure.’ Then he fired again.

Fifteen minutes later, Welbeck Street was deserted as the front door opened. The surveillance team across the road monitored Warburton and Burrows as they supported the figure between them, heading to a car that was parked a few feet along the road.

‘They’re en route now,’ one of them said into his walkie-talkie.

Ten minutes later, with a back-up car tailing them some distance behind, they parked in a street on the edge of a gated industrial estate. Transferring the body from their car to the one parked a few feet away, they climbed back into another and drove off at top speed. Twenty minutes later, the sound of a huge explosion shattered the peace of the surrounding streets.

41

Simon reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter. He handed it across the desk.

‘There you are, sir. Safe and sound at last.’

Sir Henry Scott-Thomas read it through without a hint of emotion. ‘Thank you, Warburton. And her body was placed successfully?’

‘Yes.’

Sir Henry studied Warburton. ‘You look exhausted, man.’

‘I admit it was an extremely unpleasant thing I had to do, sir. She was my childhood friend.’

‘And I assure you that it won’t be forgotten. That kind of loyalty is rare, let me tell you. I’ll be recommending you for immediate promotion. There’ll also be an excellent bonus in your bank account at the end of the month for all your hard work.’

‘I think I need to go home and get some sleep.’ Simon’s stomach was churning. ‘Tomorrow will be another difficult day when they discover exactly who was killed in the bomb blast.’

Sir Henry nodded. ‘After the funeral, I suggest you take a short sabbatical; fly away somewhere hot and sunny.’

‘I was thinking of doing just that, sir.’

‘Just two other questions before you go: how did Burrows cope?’

‘She was pretty shaken up afterwards. I got the feeling she’d never seen anyone killed at close range before.’

‘This kind of thing does tend to sort out the men from the boys, so to speak. Did she see the contents of the letter?’

‘No, sir, she didn’t. I can assure you she had no idea what the hell was going on,’ Simon replied.

‘Good chap. You’ve done a fine job, Warburton, a fine job. Now, goodnight.’