Page 36 of When You're Safe

“All right, Finn,” Rob said. “Iknow it’s a difficult time.”

“About that…”

“What now?” Rob looked concerned.

“My court case has been moved up,”Finn said. “I need to be back in the US by next week.”

“Damn…” Rob said, standing up. “Youhave to do what you have to do. Have you told Amelia?”

“Not yet,” Finn said. “I don’twant to leave her hanging with an active killer on the loose but…”

“You have to take care ofyourself, Finn,” Rob said, gently. “We’ll survive. Or, you know…”

“What?”

“You could just catch the killerbefore you leave.” Rob smiled, clearly knowing it wasn’t ever that simple.

Finn walked toward the door intothe hallway, but turned before he stepped across the threshold.

“I’ll do everything I can. Let’ssee what this Alan Ross has to say for himself. See ya later, Rob.”

As Finn moved along the corridor,he heard Rob’s voice echo, “And for God’s sake, put something on instead ofthat hideous Hawaiian shirt!”

“It’s this or I go naked,” Finn calledback.

“Please don’t subject the Britishpublic to that!” Rob shouted as Finn rounded the corner and picked up the paceto catch up with Amelia.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The passersby would have thought nothingof the person standing staring at the store window in the afternoon glare.Surely it was simply another window shopper on the busy streets of London. Theywould have had no idea the person was a two-time killer.

But the killer knew what had beendone. The killer knew what had also been left undone. Staring at thestore window, the killer could see the reflection before them. If reflectionscould talk, what a conversation would have been had between them.

Since the previous night, when thenews had reported the presence of an FBI agent as part of the investigationinto the DeGrey deaths, the killer had done a little bit of research.

Finn Wright, the killerthought, looking at their own reflection staring back at them. That man is aproblem.

In the killer’s mind, thereflection spoke back: “Are you scared? Are you afraid of prison?”

No, the killer thought. I’mafraid of not finishing what I started.

“Good,” the reflection said,nodding its head. “Fear is for amateurs. It’s the DeGreys who should be frightened,not us.”

But maybe we should wait, thekiller thought. Some light research had thrown up a few articles about FinnWright and a looming court case in the US. That date had now been moved to nextweek. The FBI agent wouldn’t be around for much longer. I could wait untilhe’s gone, then kill again.

“No!” the reflection said. “Andwho will appear when Finn Wright is gone? Another FBI agent. Then another.Other police officers, inspectors, constables, forensics experts. They’ll keepcoming until you’re caught. Get the job done, then the good will come of it.Prison isn’t a foregone conclusion. There’s nothing here that says I have toget caught.”

But does it matter if it takesmonths rather than weeks? Surely all that matters is that the right thing happensin the end? the killer thought.

“No!” the reflection screamed. “Getit done! Now!”

Suddenly, the killer realized thatseveral people were walking by, looking nervous.

Did I say that out loud?The killer didn’t know, but there was a feeling that they had just screamed atthemselves in the store window. Stress was mounting, but the reflection wasright.

I will. I’ll do it now. Rightnow, the killer thought, looking at the reflection. A grin crept across thereflection’s face while it nodded knowingly.

The decision had been made. Today,another DeGrey would die.

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