Reckoning Point, стр. 30

But she saved me, twice, thinks Elian, desperate to have a memory of her mother that is not tinged with a feeling of intense dislike.

She drops her head down as a resident clatters down the steps from above, shielding herself until the man passes, only raising her head when she’s sure it’s not him. And it strikes her, how unprepared she is to come face to face with Lev. What’s she going to do? Make a citizen’s arrest and call the local police? Plan to catch him in the act of murdering one of the local women, a crime that she’s almost certain is Lev’s doing. After all, it’s just too much of a coincidence. Not that there was evidence that Lev was responsible for the killings in Chernobyl, from what she could gather he was there for the leftovers, the people and the items that he could sell after Niko had finished. He wasn’t a murderer, he was simply a vulture.

But people change, maybe Niko had held him back before, unwilling to let Lev be what Niko was. Now with Niko out of the way, there’s nobody stopping him.

Elian sighs deeply, there’s so many ifs and buts, it’s hard enough to keep track in a normal body, let alone one which is slowly receding and letting her down.

But regardless of the part – if any – that he has played with the crimes happening here, he still needs to pay. He needs to be punished for what he knew was happening back in Chernobyl and for the way he treated her the time he stumbled upon her in the caravan when she was chained and broken, like she was a piece of meat strung up in a market, on display for all to view and offer up their opinion.

A whistle pierces the air and Elian looks up, cheered to see Brigitta emerging from the supermarket.

“All set?”

Elian nods, and then asks, “Do you recognise new people who come here? Men, I mean who want to … you know.”

Brigitta pops a stick of gum in her mouth, chews vigorously before putting the packet away without offering it to Elian. “Sometimes, but if they’re not regular they’re just tourists, you know? Why do you want to know?”

Elian shrugs, not wanting to reveal her suspicions about Lev. It wouldn’t help her, Brigitta already thinks she’s halfway to crazy, Elian is sure. And there’s no point in warning her, Brigitta and her friends are already on their guard.

The walk to Frederikstraat is long, but pleasant, although Elian knows if she is going to stay here for a while she will need to get a bicycle. Everyone moves around on bikes here, and it’s not a bad idea. At the very least she’ll be able to get her body back in peak condition, a must if she’s going to get better.

“Don’t you have a bike?” she asks Brigitta with curiosity.

Brigitta shakes her head. “I don’t usually go far enough to warrant one. Although I can see the appeal,” she says with a smile, admiring a youth that races past them in the opposite direction, one hand on the handlebar, the other clutching a surfboard.

Elian says nothing, but envies Brigitta’s attitude. She can’t imagine checking out any men, now or ever. Except Alex, a little voice in her head says, and she feels the heat in her face, allows herself a little smile.

Alex.

Alex Harvey.

Older than her, money-orientated, flashy, eternal bachelor and playboy.

Intelligent, caring, kind, funny and breathtakingly handsome.

And suddenly she misses him so much she has to stop walking. She misses him more than she misses home and London, more than she misses Sissy and the family that she never had. She pauses, knowing that in everything that is so uncertain in her life, Alex isn’t one of them. He’s the only thing that she’s totally and utterly sure of. Is he thinking of her? Or has he moved on, back to his old life, dating model-esque, stick-thin beauties and moving around London in his tailor-made suits and drinking at flashy, men’s only clubs?

Brigitta whistles again, snapping Elian out of her reverie and standing a few feet away, a questioning look on her face. Elian smiles at her, resumes walking, and as she strolls along beside her new friend she knows she’s found a plan. She’ll get herself back to peak fitness – mentally and physically – and she’ll finally figure out what to do about Lev, the one who got away. Then, when it’s all over, she’ll return to Alex and she’ll tell him exactly what she wants.

And maybe, just maybe, he’ll still want her, too.

She starts to talk, wanting suddenly very much to discuss Alex with her new friend, girl to girl, like a normal young woman, but as she opens her mouth Brigitta’s mobile rings. Brigitta stares at the display and holds a finger up to Elian as she answers the phone, speaking rapidly in Dutch. Elian surveys her face as Brigitta’s voice drops to a whisper and she speaks urgently before hanging up the phone.

“Is everything okay?” Elian asks, alarmed as the colour drains from Brigitta’s face.

Brigitta shakes her head and slips her phone back into her pocket. “There’s been another murder,” she says, quietly. “They’ve found Cilla’s body.”