Three months later:

Darcy opened her eyes and stretched lazily. The apartment was silent, had been since Celia left a week ago to tour Scotland with her new boyfriend. She blinked in the bold sunlight and getting up, stumbled sleepily into the main room where she poured herself a coffee and fed the cat. Slightly rejuvenated, she opened the front door, picked up the mail and returned to the sofa. There were seven messages on her answer machine and she pulled a face,

'Nasty,' she informed the purring feline, George, 'Helen is very cross. But it's a Sunday,' having justified her laziness, she pulled a blanket over her legs, and sipping her coffee, picked the folded newspaper up off the floor. What she saw on the front page made her fingers tighten dangerously on the mug, made her put it down with trembling fingers. Chase's face gazed at her steadily, the brown eyes unreadable, the expression blank. The headline was another blow to gut,

UNDERCOVER AGENT ASSASINATES AMERICAN AMBASSADOR: Full scale man-hunt launched.'

'No, no,' she gasped, skimming frantically over the article. Facts leap out at her, bullets, bodyguards, names. Dropping the newspaper she dashed to the answer machine, pressing play blindly. Instantly Ryan's voice filled the room,

'Darcy, I've got some bad news, call me...Darcy, honey, call me please. It's urgent, I-I'll tell you over the phone....Darcy, call me....Darcy, where the hell are you? If you've found out, come to mine and we can talk it over....Darcy, please call me. I don't know where you can be. Darcy?...God damn it, Darcy, answer the phone. I'll call you later....Call me. Now.'

Seven pleading messages, not her angry agent Helen. But Ryan, calling to tell her that their childhood friend is being hunted for murder.

~

Later, many months later, Darcy will wonder how she managed to get herself to Ryan's office. But somehow, with her hair loose and her face bare, with old jeans and a sweater, she stumbled into his office,

'Ryan!'

He leapt up, hurrying past the astonished men to hug her,

'Shh...' he kissed her temple, 'sit down, Darcy...'

She sniffed,

'I'm fine. I just....what happened?'

'It's a deeply sensitive case.'

'It' s private information,' one of the men in black snap out.

Ryan barely glanced at him,

'He was given the role of bodyguard to the American Ambassador. In actual fact, he was recording information sent by the President about the war.'

'He was discovered?'

'No. It all seemed well. Until at two am this morning, shots were reported from the house. We sent in guards immediately but it was too late. Chase was gone and four men were dead.'

'Four...'

'Mr Edwards had three other, less important bodyguards.'

The man who had previously spoken looked furious,

'Morrow, you cannot persist in speaking to this...woman.'

Ryan looked ashamed,

'My apologies, but this is Darcy Seaton. Chase, Darcy and I are old friends, I told her to come.'

Darcy frowned at them,

'If you are Chase's colleagues then you are a disloyal group indeed. Do you not think there has been a severe miscarriage of justice? He is innocent and needs...'

'He is not innocent,' the man said angrily, 'we have proof. Now, Mark,' he glanced at the younger man, 'if you will escort Miss Seaton from the office.'

'I can walk out myself,' she snapped out, and with all the grace and scorn she could muster, strode out.

~

It was only later, sitting in the rocking carriage of an underground train that she realised that Ryan was with men who believed Chase guilty and the only logical explanation could be that Ryan also...but Ryan couldn't possibly believe such information about Chase? Concerned, she was almost tempted to call him, to make sure that he shared her doubts but she could not forget the anonymous man who offered no name but spoke with such authority. The one in black with the cold eyes and determined gaze, just the memory made her shudder and she looked around the carriage furtively but it was an early Sunday morning and the none of the three other occupants, an awe-struck tourist and dreamy teenage couple, seem even remotely interested in her.

She unlocked the front door, smiling at her elderly neighbours down the hall who were preparing to go out for lunch. The woman, Elsie hurried over,

'Oh Darcy,' she said, 'Leon and I must ask you a favour.'

'Certainly.'

'We're going to visit Jenny next week and we wondered if you'd water the plants.'

'Of course. Just drop the key through my letterbox before you go.'

'Oh,' Elsie's face lit up, 'you're such a dear. Thank you, love.'

'It's no trouble at all.'

'You're so good. Lord knows you must have enough going on, what with your writing and everything!'

'Really,' Darcy smiled again, feeling strangely weary, 'it's fine. Well...give Jenny my regards.'

'Will do. Thank you dear.'

Darcy stepped inside the apartment with a sigh, hurriedly closing the door behind her. Suddenly, a large hand covered her mouth,

'Shh.'

She forced her wildly beating heart to calm down, the feel of the hands, the voice, the scent,

'Chase?' she whispered against the palm.

He lowered his hand,

'Keep your voice down.'

She turned around and shoved him lightly,

'What the fuck was that for?' she hissed.

'I didn't want to startle you.'

She stepped back, examining him,

'Chase, you have to tell me what happened.'

'You think I did it?'

'No,' she sat down tiredly, 'Christ no! But there has to be more to it.'

He studied her,

'You went to see Ryan. He left seven messages.'

'I know that,' she said tightly, 'but I saw the newspaper first.'

He laughed,

'Front page. It's not a bad photo.'

Her eyes widened,

'Are you crazy? Everyone in the country knows what you look like, you're being hunted for murder and you're pleased it's a good photo.'

He sat down and shut his eyes tiredly,

'Stop whining, Darce.'

There was a long silence, broken by distant voices in the hall. Chase looked impossibly tired, Darcy thought, his face was thinner with worry and there was new violence, a desperation to him that charged the whole room.

'Why did you come here?' she whispered.

'It's the only place I could think of.'

'What are you going to do?'

He opened his eyes,

'Kill him.'

'Kill who?'

'Later,' he said, shutting his eyes again, 'I'll tell you later.'

He was asleep in five minutes, his tense expression relaxing. Darcy covered him with a blanket and went into the study, she had some planning to do.

~

Chase opened his eyes, cautiously listening out for whatever had woken him. Loud shouts in the hall...a woman's voice-not Darcy's. He sat up slowly and saw that Darcy was standing in front of the bookshelf, sipping a cup of coffee,

'Virgil...' she was murmuring to herself, 'Shakespeare but no fucking...'

'Darcy.'

She turned around,

'Oh! Hey. They woke you I guess.'

'Yeah,' he yawned, 'who are they?'

'Marilyn and her investment banker husband Ben Myles. She just caught him with another woman-again.'

'Ah,' he smiled, 'what are you doing?'

'Nothing much,' she sat down, 'Chase, if they catch you, there'll be a trial right?'

'Darcy, if they catch me, they'll shoot me and dump my body in the sea.'

'Then what are they doing with Ryan?'

'It's just a front. I'd be assigned a state-lawyer and a court date would be set. Wouldn't stop me having an 'accident' in prison. And if Redding is the one to find me, he'll shoot me on the spot.'

'Why? Chase, if you didn't do it, you need to tell them that-to prove it. You can't hide.'

'I would never tell you how to write a book. Don't presume to know how this works.'

There was an uncomfortable silence, suddenly broken by the ring of a telephone,

'Hello, Darcy Seaton speaking....no. Ryan, I was just heading out....sure, that would be great...come here?' she laughed, '...don't be ridiculous, he knows I can't keep my mouth shut about anything....yeah, I'll be half an hour....bye.'

She put the phone down with a sigh,

'That was...'

'Ryan, I know. I could hear.'

She looked at him,

'I won't give you up, Chase. You must know that.'

'Ryan has,' he said simply.

She met his eyes, then with a frown, picked up her coat and hurried out.

~

Ryan greeted her with a pale smile,

'I'm sorry for rushing you out again.'

'It's fine,' she sat down.

He touched her cheek,

'You must be in such a shock.'

'He didn't do it,' she insisted, 'I know.'

Ryan's face filled with sadness,

'That's what I said. I told them just the same. Darcy I had to listen to the security tapes, I heard a man dying, heard him pleading for his life. The fingerprints. Everything, Darcy. It's Chase.'

She shut her eyes,

'It's too much, too fast. He wouldn't kill.'

'He's a government agent,' Ryan said patiently, 'he's killed before.'

'But what reason would he have for this?'

'You know Nyman's temper,' Ryan suggested, 'if Edwards and he got into an argument...'

'About what?'

' I don't know!' Ryan said irritably, 'but I don't see who else could be guilty!'

'Jesus,' she groaned.

'Darcy,' Ryan took her hands in his, 'you need to listen to me. Chase is on the run and desperate. Don't shelter him-please. If he comes forward it can all be sorted out, but don't risk yourself.'

'Chase would never hurt me. He's too loyal.'

'Then why did he murder the man that he was supposed to be protecting?'

There was a brief silence, then Darcy asked carefully,

'Did they approach you?'

'Who?'

'Those men.'

'Redding, yes. He's the head of the British Secret Service.'

'And you agreed to take the case against your oldest friend?'

'Darcy they had overwhelming proof of his guilt. It will be a prestigious case too,' he admitted quietly, 'I'd be stupid to pass over the opportunity.'

She shook her head,

'You could have taken Chase as your client.'

'Don't be so damn naïve!' Ryan said angrily, 'he's guilty Darcy, I couldn't represent someone so obviously guilty. And where is he, I might add? If he was so bloody innocent he'd be proving his innocence instead of skipping the country!'

'He's...'

'He's what?' Ryan asked in a quiet, angry voice.

'Innocent,' she whispered.

Ryan studied her suspiciously,

'Darcy...'

'You're betraying a friendship, Ry. The best, the oldest-the three of us.'

'Don't you get it, Darce?' he asked tiredly, 'are you still so blind?'

'Blind to what?'

'Yeah, sure, Chase and I got on. But you were what held us together. The only thing we have in common is loving you.'

'Chase doesn't think that way.'

'Why don't you ask him?'

Darcy frowned,

'Because he's not with me. Ry, I told you that. Or are you just trying to trip me up?'

He had the decency to look ashamed,

'I'm sorry. I just wouldn't put it past him to come begging on your doorstep, looking for a hiding-place.'

Darcy shook her head,

'He wouldn't do that.'

Ryan glanced at his watch,

'I'm sorry. I have a meeting...'

'Oh. Okay. Um...'

'I'll let you know how it goes,' he kissed her cheek swiftly, 'just remember, it won't be Chase on your doorstep, Darce, it will be a brutal killer who shot four men in cold blood.'