Page 64 of A Game of Lies

‘Drop the knife,’ Leo says. Behind him, he hears George notify Control.

Ryan grips the knife tighter.

‘Drop the knife,’ Leo repeats, louder this time.

Ryan makes a sudden movement, scrambling to his feet and lunging towards Leo, slicing the blade through the air. ‘Get away from me!’

The uniformed officers move, one in Ryan’s line of sight, one off to the side. It disorientates Ryan, who spins between the two, still pointing the knife in Leo’s direction, still shouting, ‘Get away, get away!’

‘Drop the knife or I’ll taser you,’ shouts one of the officers.

‘No,’ George says suddenly. She steps forward. ‘Don’t.’

Leo opens his mouth – he’s surprised to hear her undermine other officers – but something in George’s expression makes him close it again.

‘Let me try,’ she says.

Leo hesitates, then nods.

George walks forward until she’s six feet or so from Ryan, then stops.

‘Ryan, my name’s George Kent. I’m a detective constable with North Wales Police.’

To a casual observer her stance might seem relaxed, but Leo notes that her knees are flexed, one foot placed slightly ahead of the other. She holds her hands loosely at her belt. She’s ready to move in any direction; ready to raise her arms, or reach for her baton.

‘Ryan, are you hurt?’ Unlike Leo, George has a raincoat, but she pushed back the hood when she started talking, and her dark hair flattens itself around her ears.

Ryan’s breathing is jagged and guttural. The two uniformed officers have their hands on their tasers.

‘I’ve been speaking with Jessica,’ George says.

Ryan’s eyes snap on to her and Leo thinks she’s misjudged it, but he simply lets out a low moan.

‘She’s very worried about you. She loves you a lot. She wants to see you.’

‘She won’t.’ Ryan gives a harsh laugh. ‘Not when she knows.’ He rotates the knife handle in the palm of his hand and the blade glints in the sunlight.

‘She does know.’

Ryan inhales sharply. Leo hopes George knows what she’s doing.

‘It doesn’t make any difference to her. She’s totally behind you, Ryan. Everyone is. But we need you to drop the knife.’

‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do it.’

Immediately, Leo glances at the bodycams clipped to the uniformed officers’ vests, checking for the red blinking light.

‘We can talk about that later,’ George says. ‘Right now, I just want you to focus on me. On what I’m saying, okay?’

Ryan doesn’t move.

‘You look like you could use something to eat, maybe a hot drink, am I right? And that’s a nasty cut to your head; we should get that looked at.’

‘You won’t take me to a hospital, will you?’

George sidesteps his question. ‘It looks like it just needs a bit of a clean-up.’

‘I’m so tired.’

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