He thought about the crossing. It was madness, but then this whole thing was madness

Finn was on his back, still breathing hard. Maddie pushed herself up on an elbow and ran a finger down his side to his hip. “Take me to the boat.” He closed his eyes. “What?” “The boat at Orphir, I need to get to it.” Finn didn’t open his eyes, just watched the tracers on his eyelids, the light and shade shifting. Her hand moved up his chest and she pinched his nipple. “Ow!” he said, flinching and opening his eyes. “I need to go now,” Maddie said.

He wished he could read people. He stared at her face, her eyes. He didn’t have a clue what was going on in her mind. Regret and remorse? Guilt and shame? Self-interest?

He couldn’t tell if her face was the face of someone scared for her life, desperate to get away from an abusive husband, or the face of a cold-blooded killer. If she had killed Kev, surely she could kill again. Maybe Finn was in more danger than he knew. Or maybe she just felt attracted to him and wanted his help to escape to a new life.

Clueless

“What kind of life will you have?” he said. “What do you mean?” He sat up in bed and took her hand. He meant the gesture to be kind but he half grabbed it and she narrowed her eyes.

“Say I take you to the boat,” he said, “and you successfully sail over the firth. Then what? The police are looking for you. You’ve got no transport. Are you going to steal a car? They’ll be watching the bus and railway stations. If you get to an airport your passport will be flagged up.”

Maddie sighed. “Things aren’t that connected. Everyone thinks people in power are competent but they’re not. They’re as clueless as us. They’re not suitable to be in charge any more than we are.” “It’s unrealistic.”

“What’s unrealistic is staying here expecting things to die down before the Lewises come back. I’m going mad and I’ve only been here two days. At least if I run I’ll be doing something.”

“Those aren’t the only options, you know that. You can give yourself up.”

“You’re like a broken record,” Maddie said. “I’ll get life in prison. Or worse.”

“What could be worse?”

She gave him the raised eyebrows. “What you said about the money. If someone killed Kev because he didn’t have it, maybe they’ll kill again to get it.” “You think guys are after you?”

“Why not?” Maddie said. “Everyone else is after me.”

“Do you know who these guys are?” Maddie thought for a moment. “Lenny would know.”

“He didn’t strike me as the kind of person willing to share information.”

“Exactly my point. He’s rotten. The whole thing is rotten. I need to get away.”

Finn felt Maddie staring at him but he didn’t turn to her. Every time he looked in her eyes he did what she wanted. He was sick of himself, but he loved it too, loved the baseness of it, so unlike when he was with Amy. It made him feel alive. “I”ll drive you to the boat,” he said. She kissed him. “Thank you.”

“But not right now.”

“Why not?”

“Can you sail it in the dark?”

“There’s a torch in the boat.”

“That’s ridiculous. We’re talking about miles of open water. Do you even know the tides?”

“So when?”

Checking

“Tomorrow. I’ll check the tides, maritime traffic, weather. I’ll put together a backpack of stuff you can use. You’ll need to change your appearance when you reach the mainland.”

He almost said “if”, not “when”. Then he had a thought. “Where’s the money?”

“Why?”

“Just checking it’s safe, that’s all.”

“It’s safe.”

He thought about the crossing. It was madness, but then this whole thing was madness. “So where is the boat, exactly? I need to know where I’m going.”

“It’s easy to find. Turn left off the back road at Orphir, it’s signposted Swanbister. At the end of the road, park outside Swanbister House. From there you walk round the bay to the right. There’s a small pier at Toy Ness. The Maddie is there.”

“The Maddie?”

A cloud came over her face. “He named it after me.” “And it’s remote, no one will see us?” Maddie shook her head. “You sometimes get dog walkers on the beach in the bay, but no one at the pier. There are two other boats tied up, but they’re for summer fishing. Kev kept the boat there for a reason. He didn’t want anyone seeing him going out.”

Finn was silent for a moment. “So he used to dive in Scapa Flow?” “With Lenny.”

Finn thought about that. “You think Lenny killed Kev?” He was giving her a way out, an alternative story for her to build on. “Maybe.” She looked at him. “I was so angry finding him with Claire, I thought she might’ve done it. But maybe Lenny makes more sense.”

“Or someone else,” Finn said. “Who did he and Lenny do business with? These other guys.”

“They moved stuff around,” Maddie said. “I presume drugs.”

“How do you mean?”

“Kev never told me details, but they got a call every now and then, guys with foreign accents. Scandinavian.”

“Smugglers?”

Logistics

Maddie nodded. “They’d go out in the boat at night after a call, be gone for hours.”

“They didn’t bring stuff back home?” Maddie shook her head. “Must’ve stored it somewhere.”

“Where?”

“Does it matter?”

Finn touched her arm. “I’m just trying to work out the logistics.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you want to know what they were doing?” “It doesn’t make any difference now.” “There could be drugs hidden out there,” Finn said. “Maybe only Kev knew where. Maybe Lenny needs to find them. Maybe your foreign friends are after him, I don’t know.” He looked around the room. “And you definitely have the money safe.”

“You already asked me that.”

“Sorry, just nervous. Want to make sure everything’s planned out.”

She stood up then padded to the toilet. He looked around the room but didn’t see the holdall anywhere. He got dressed and met her coming out of the toilet.

“I’d better go,” he said. “Amy is up the road, and Ingrid. Everything has to look normal.” “You’re really going to help me.” Maddie kissed him and squeezed his arm. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

More tomorrow.

Crash Land is published by Faber, paperback priced £7.99. dougjohnstone.co.uk