Finn put his hand up to stop him.
“Don’t. If I find your daughter you can thank me then. But I doubt it’ll come to that—I’m sure she’ll get in touch first, or the police will find her. You know, they might act like they’re not doing much, but they will be, behind the scenes.”
Debbie stood, too, and said, “She’s such a good girl.”
He wanted to tell her how pointless that phrase was, how ridiculous, particularly under the circumstances.
Instead, he said, “Debbie, we all do stupid things. And for all the news stories you hear, there actually aren’t that many bad people in the world.”
She looked reassured and yet Finn was lying, because he knew there were more than enough bad people to do for Hailey Portman. There were so many varieties of bad that it really didn’t bear thinking about, and he knew that better than most, because he had been one of them.
History
By the time they reached Harry’s building they’d been walking for ten minutes. The girl seemed fine but, once inside, she started to shiver violently. Her teeth were chattering, which appeared to amuse her, as if she couldn’t believe how cold she was.
Finn removed his coat now, and put it around her. He felt the weight of the gun in the left-hand pocket and took it out, slipping it into his waistband—something he’d promised himself he would never do.
They took the stairs, and as soon as Finn rang the bell Harry opened the door. He had his coat on and looked ready to make his excuses, but then spotted the girl and did a double take.
“Are you going out?”
Harry was still distracted by the girl as he said, “Jack and a couple of the others are meeting up for an early drink. I said I’d join them if I could.” It was the kind of invite Finn had received for the first six months, but once he’d become serious with Sofi the offers had slowly dropped off.
Harry stepped back as he started to take his coat off. “They won’t miss me. Come in.”
Finn ushered the girl in and closed the door. “She could use some coffee or something to warm her up.”
“Sure, I’ll put some on.”
He disappeared into the kitchen. Finn showed the girl into the living room and gestured toward the sofa. She took Finn’s gloves and scarf off before sitting down, but kept the coat on.
Harry popped his head around the corner, but before he could speak, Finn said, “Do you have a sweater that might fit her?”
“Er, sure.” He looked at the girl, then threw Finn a look, making clear he was intrigued, that he was eager to hear what this was all about. But he went into his bedroom and came back a minute later with a heavy red sweater, which he threw across to Finn before diving back into the kitchen.
Finn caught it, and held it out for the girl. She smiled, standing to remove the coat, the two items swapped like prisoners. Finn took the gun out of his waistband and put it back in the coat, which he hung up in the hall.
The girl was still standing when Finn went back in, the sleeves of the sweater hanging down. She held them up for him to see how big it was on her, and smiled shyly before sitting down again. The color suited her, and now that he looked at her properly, he saw that she was incredibly beautiful—big blue eyes, high cheekbones, flawless skin.
Harry came in carrying a tray and said, “Here we go.” He put it on the coffee table, and Finn sat down in the armchair facing the girl. Harry sat at the opposite end of the sofa to her, but she tensed up and looked at Finn as if wanting reassurance. He nodded and smiled, and she seemed satisfied with that—it almost made Finn fearful that she should be so trusting so soon after what had just happened to her.
“So, you gonna introduce me?”
“I don’t know her name. She’s Russian.” Harry had been about to reach for the coffee pot but stopped, his eyebrows raised. “I went into that church on the square, she came in a little while later. She’d escaped from some guy—I’m guessing she’s being trafficked. I intervened, but . . .”
“But?”
“The guy recognized me. One of Karasek’s.” He glanced at her briefly. She was looking on, mesmerized by their conversation though she clearly understood none of it. “I killed him, Harry. I didn’t even think about it. I knew she was in trouble, and look at her, she’s a kid. It would have got back to Karasek that it was me.”
“Witnesses?” Finn shook his head. Harry turned to the girl and spoke a few words. She looked astonished, her eyes lighting up as she asked him if he spoke Russian. Harry nodded and she told him her name: Katerina.
Harry introduced himself and Finn, and she said, “Finn,” and smiled, shy again as she said something else in Russian.
As Harry poured the coffee he said, “She thanked you for saving her life.”