Chapter 21
The classical music continues to play. In different circumstances Amy might find it calming.
Adam listens to classical music. He has a playlist on Spotify and sometimes he’ll say ‘This is Beethoven’ or ‘This is so and so (an Italian name)’, and Amy doesn’t mind it.
He also has a jazz playlist, but he knows not to play that when she is in the house.
Amy’s favourite sort of music is no music at all, but classical music is probably the next best thing after that.
Her phones buzzes, and she curses her sloppiness. Holding her breath again, she waits for movement from behind the open doorway. Nothing. If Korbin is in there, he will definitely have heard her phone.
The awful thought occurs again. What if Korbin is lying, naked, under satin sheets? Having misread some sort of signal or other? If anyone in the world ever has sex listening to classical music, it would be a German.
All things being equal, if she walks into that room and Korbin has something in his hand, she hopes it’s a gun.
Amy slips off her shoes. She takes out her phone to switch it off and sees that the message is from Rosie. Not really the time, Rosie, I’m dealing with some sort of a situation here.
Rosie and Steve have been to see Georgie Glazier, Vern’s ex-wife.
Rosie probably wants to show off about some piece of information or other she has uncovered.
Not knowing that Amy might be on the verge of cracking the whole case.
Or being shot. Or, thinking about those satin sheets again, something even worse than being shot.
She opens the message. It reads, very simply:
Korbin is working for Jakob Eriksson. Stay safe until we get there.
Now Amy knows exactly what the situation is. Korbin intends to kill her. Amy appreciates the clarity. Knows which bit of her brain to use.
Kill or be killed. That’s the thing she is good at.
As for ‘stay safe’, it’s a bit late for that. Amy’s shoes are off and she’s holding a gun.
If Korbin was a civilian, this would be easy.
Amy would take a long coat from the hallway stand, launch it full length into the open doorway and wait for gunfire.
Then at least she’d know where she was. But Korbin is a professional, and when you’re a professional you don’t shoot until you’ve seen someone’s eyes.
Korbin is also a professional holding all the cards.
He invited her here. Home turf. She should back out, she knows that.
Retreat, regroup. Apologize to Korbin tomorrow, tell him she fell asleep watching Rampage 8 and wait for the cavalry.
Or she could tell Lee what she has found out? Return in numbers?
Yes, that is what she should do.
She has one advantage here though. Korbin doesn’t know Amy has found out about him and Jakob Eriksson. That Amy is coming ready for battle.
Amy weighs up these two thoughts. She still knows the right thing to do is back away slowly. But when was the last time she had a gun in her hand? When was the last time she felt the cold thrill of fear? It’s been a while, old friend. She feels her heart rate creep up into the high thirties.
Amy knows that what she should do and what she will do are two different things. She knows this is a sentiment that Rosie, at least, will understand.
She puts her phone away and edges closer to the door. She realizes something is wrong with the music. It is the same piece playing on repeat. Even though it’s classical, you can tell.
Amy drops to the floor. When you surprise people, they never aim low. She takes out two tiny mirrors, hinged in the middle, and uses them to see around the corner without being seen.
She can only see a sliver of the scene in the room. Korbin is sitting in a chair directly facing the door. She can see his left leg and arm. Is he waiting for her? There is a glint of steel at the edge of the image. A gun held straight ahead?
A gun? Amy realizes, later than she should, that she has picked up a gun from Korbin’s hallway table. Why would he have left it there if this whole thing is a trap? Is he giving her a fighting chance?
Here goes nothing, Amy thinks. The element of surprise, the low angle and the powerful gun might just give her the edge. She takes in a steadying breath, then has a thought.
Very slowly, and very quietly, she slides her phone from her pocket.
Opening Rosie’s message again, Amy replies:
I love you both.
Should she send the same to Adam? No, that’s overkill. Surely he already knows?
She slides her phone back into her pocket and takes a breath again.
Pushing herself off the ground with her left hand and holding the gun in her right, Amy rolls into the empty doorway, ready to shoot.
But as she gets Korbin in her sights she realizes that the glint of steel is not a gun, it is a knife.
And the knife is sticking out of his chest.
Korbin’s dead eyes stare in shock.