“So…” she said. “Nice house you’ve got here.”
“Thank you. I grew up here and I can’t bear to part with the old place. My parents bought it when they first came over from Persia – before dad joined the army – and their memories are all here. I miss them, especially my mother. While I’m here, she’s still alive a little bit.”
Amy added a dash of milk to her tea. There was a sinister awkwardness about the way Tariq spoke of his dead mother that made Amy briefly hope her remains weren’t stashed in the basement. Amy shook herself out it. She was just nervous because of the hidden camera, but this man was no threat to her. He was gentle and harmless. It was probably just the sound of the rain hammering against the old window panes that was creeping her out so much.
She sipped her tea. “I’m sorry for your loss. I also lost my mother too young. It hurts every single day.”
He threw her a sad smile of camaraderie. “I know. But they’ll always be with us, Amy. People never really leave – they just move a little further away.”
“I know.”
“Listen, I’m sorry I blackmailed you. I was getting desperate and I didn’t know what else to do. I promise, it’s really not my style.”
“I guess you had your reasons, right? Are you hoping – with my help – that you’ll stay out of prison?”
His eyes flashed with anger. “Prison? I can’t go back there. When I was in custody, I had to fight for survival – just to keep my shoes. They don’t like my type. Prison makes slaves of people like me; rewarding ignorance and tearing down intelligence. Bullies and cowards. It’s always been the same. Adam and Dylan were the same when we were younger – reminding me of my inadequate failings. But Ivan stuck up for me. I loved him dearly, even then.”
Amy’s heart twisted with compassion. Even though Tariq was tall and well-built, he was actually a delicate soul.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of tougher times.”
He recovered and smiled sweetly. “It’s no problem. Please drink your tea.”
Amy gazed into the steamy liquid. “Shall we talk about what you hope to gain from me? I have some information for you that I’ve convinced Adam to give me. It’s from Ivan’s files.”
“Oh, I’d like to see that. Are you warm enough? Getting dry?”
“Er, yes. Thank you.”
“Good. Ivan will be very happy to know you’re helping me, Amy. You’ve chosen the right brother now – believe me.”
Oh god, he was talking about Ivan as if he was alive. “You and Ivan were very close, weren’t you?”
“We still are.”
“Right… Adam mentioned that you fell out over a woman?”
Tariq laughed heartily. “Oh no. Well, yes and no. It was complicated.”
Amy sipped her tea and waited for him to speak next.
“Can I show you something, Amy?”
“Of course. What is it?”
“Come with me.”
Tariq stood up, so Amy automatically did, too. He gestured for her to go back out to the hallway.
“This way,” he said.
Amy followed him down the corridor, to the top of some wooden steps that led to a basement doorway. Tariq gestured for her to go down. A shot of jagged fear zig-zagged up her legs. It was the sort of basement that was the refuge of spiders and banshees.
“Down there?” she asked.
“It’s okay,” Tariq said. “It’s nothing terrible. Just something I’ve been working on.”
She gripped the wooden bannister. “Can’t you just tell me?”