She pressed call and opened her passenger door, slinging her purchases in. She ended up talking to an answer phone as she walked round to the driver’s side. ‘She was due in for her developmental review this afternoon, half past two.’ Janine opened the door, got into the car. ‘I’m really sorry I meant to cancel the appointment.’ Leaning forward to start the ignition she felt something cool on her neck. Her hand began to move to brush it away.
‘Start the car,’ Lee Stone said.
Shock scorched through her, burning her stomach, sending tremors of fear wiring along her arms and into her fingers. A gun at her neck. Cold metal.
‘Do exactly what I say.’ His face in Janine’s rear view mirror.
Janine could smell the man: damp hair from the rain and a mix of nicotine and spice.
‘Give me the phone,’ he told her, ‘and start the car.’
She daren’t nod. Anything might prompt him to pull the trigger. She must be very, very careful. She held the phone out, bending her arm back towards him. She felt his hand, surprisingly warm over hers as he took the phone.
Janine turned the key, the engine growled into life.
‘Out the car park, and left,’ said Stone.
Janine took a breath; her chest hurt, like there were straps tightening round it. She depressed the clutch, selected first gear and touched the accelerator. Slowly the car moved off.
Stone sat back, lowering the weapon. Janine followed his directions, silent and compliant. She was working at a subconscious, innate level. When she tried to think about what she should be doing, what she had been trained to do in situations like this, her brain clogged up, blanked out. As if the answers were shrouded in white candy floss, too sticky to get through. She had distanced herself from the situation, focusing only on driving the car, on listening to Stone. Deep down she knew it was the only way, a defence mechanism, because if she had admitted her fear, allowed free rein to her emotions she would have fallen apart, begging and crying and generally mucking it all up. She could do that later. For now she would trust her reactions and the powerful, overwhelming instinct for self-preservation.
*****
Pete was growing more and more impatient as he waited for Janine to get back. OK. she had a big case on, but she had promised to let him know if she was going to be any later than expected. He didn’t mind hanging on longer but she could have the courtesy to warn him. He didn’t know whether to ring Tina now or whether Janine was about to waltz in the door at any moment. He checked his watch again. Sod it! He rang her mobile but she didn’t answer. He tried her work number.
