Simon Kernick - Severed

'I actually saved it then, did I?'

'Come on, Tyler, don't be like that.'

'You'll forgive me if I'm feeling a little jaded, but I'm getting tired of being bullshitted the whole time.'

'I didn't want to have to lie to you, I promise.'

I fix her with a sceptical expression.

'What I'm going to tell you,' she says, turning my way, looking as beautiful as ever, 'I don't want repeated to anyone. Understand?'

'OK,' I answer uncertainly.

'I am a police officer, and I am from the old Yugoslavia, originally at least, but I work over here now. I can't tell you who I'm with or where I'm based, but my role's an undercover one. I infiltrated Eddie Cosick's organization to try to gather evidence on his people-trafficking business. We never realized the true extent of what he was up to, and how many other people it involved, but in the last days of the operation I did realize that something very important was happening, although when I first ran into you I still didn't know what it was. I intervened on your behalf in the brothel when I found out they were going to kill you. I was deep cover, but not so deep that I could stand by while someone was murdered.

'But the problem was that as soon as I got involved, I effectively blew my cover. When you came to Marco's flat, he genuinely was trying to kill me, so yes, you did save me. After that, though, I didn't know what to do about you. When you told me about the case I knew we needed to see it as well. I thought that if I got you to go to Cosick's house, we could use this as an excuse to raid the place. We could say we'd got an anonymous call about an intruder, go inside and recover the evidence that we could use to hold him.'

'But the girl in the photo you showed me, Petra…'

'No, she wasn't my sister. But Petra is her name, and her story's a true one. We were approached by her sister, who is a police officer in Belgrade, who told us she was missing, and about Eddie Cosick's people-smuggling operation. I thought if you showed the photo to Cosick, it would panic him.'

I think of the girl in her school uniform, smiling self-consciously at the camera, and I remember her photo from the briefcase. 'And she's one of the murder victims, isn't she?' I ask, knowing what the answer's going to be.

Alannah nods grimly. 'Yes. She is.'

We're silent for a few moments. I feel an overwhelming sadness at the thought of this young girl dying a depraved, lonely death thousands of miles from her home and family at the hands of such cold-hearted killers. The grim irony that if it hadn't been for Major Ryan they might have got away with it is not lost on me.

I look at Alannah. 'I suppose when I told you I wasn't going to go to Cosick's place, that's when you called in your colleagues to arrest me?'

She nods.

'And you called the police to Cosick's place as well?'

She nods again. 'I did.'

'How did you know I was there?'

'Technology,' she says. 'When you were back at my place, I planted a tracking device in your shoe.'

That explains a few things, not least how the police managed to turn up at Ryan's house too, but it doesn't make me feel any better. 'So you could have caught me at any time?'

'Yes, but I was ordered to let things run and see what happened. We moved in when we saw you were heading to Cosick's place, but we weren't quick enough to stop you going in, or to prevent the death of your friend.'

'I know you weren't,' I say bitterly.

The news that Lucas's death could have been avoided is a real blow. In the days since I watched him die, I've thought about him often, more often than I ever did in life. With him gone, my world's an emptier place.

'I'm sorry about that, Tyler.'

I don't acknowledge the apology. 'And what happened after I was arrested? How come I was let go again?'

'I had nothing to do with that. But again, the idea was to let you run and see what you turned up. There was a feeling you knew more about things than you were letting on, and you were followed discreetly, from a distance. Unfortunately, we lost the signal on the tracker when you entered the woodland around Leo Ryan's house, and it took some time to locate you.'

'By which time I could have been killed.'

I look out of the window at the ordinary people passing on the pavement outside as they go about their ordinary lives, and I hear Alannah apologizing again.

'OK. Well, I guess the apology's accepted,' I say at last. 'And thanks for helping me back at the brothel.'

She smiles, showing gleaming white teeth, then her expression becomes more serious. 'Listen, Tyler…' She pauses a moment, and I try to read whatever's behind her dark eyes. 'When I kissed you back at the safe house, I wasn't putting it on, you know. That's partly why I'm here.' We're turning into my road now, only yards from home. 'I was hoping that maybe we could take things a step further. Maybe, you know, go out some time. Finish off what we started.' She comes to a halt outside the front door and looks at me expectantly, brushing a curl of blonde hair from her face.

She really is beautiful, a vision in various shades of gold.

'I don't think so,' I say with a tight smile, 'but thanks for the offer.'

I open the passenger door and get out, and as I walk to my front door, fishing in my pocket for the keys – a sadder yet wiser man than I was before all this started – I don't look back, nor do I feel even a twinge of regret.

I may be alone, but sometimes, just sometimes, that's the best thing to be.