‘Can it? I don’t think so. You know how close Ninetyminutes has gotten to the edge. It’s been real lucky to make it this far. I guess sometimes it needs a little help.’
‘I’d rather Ninetyminutes went bust than it survived with your kind of help.’
‘You know what? I don’t give a shit what you think.’ Owen’s flippancy left him: he looked serious. ‘Ninetyminutes means everything to my brother. It’s, like, his last chance. It’s also his best chance. If it works he’s going to be just as rich as Dad, probably richer. If it fails, it’s going to be worse than just a disappointment to him. It will totally destroy him. I don’t like you very much, but I know you like him. You know I’m right.’
Owen was trying to talk me into seeing his point of view. That was a first. But he was right. I remembered Guy in the Jerusalem Tavern the evening after Henry had turned us down. If Ninetyminutes went under, so would Guy.
But.
‘Guy is my friend. I know you’re trying to help him. But listen to me. Listen to me carefully.’ I leaned forward. ‘I would prefer Ninetyminutes went into liquidation tomorrow than it survived by terror or murder, whatever effect that may have on Guy or any of the rest of us. So if I see you trying any more of this extortion, if anyone else gets hurt, I will blow the whistle. I’ll tell the police, I’ll tell the press, I’ll tell anyone else who’ll listen. It will finish Guy. It might finish Ninetyminutes. But I’m prepared to do it.’
Owen watched me for a moment. Then he burst into laughter. ‘You’re just as bad as me or Guy, you know that? You’re desperate for Ninetyminutes to succeed. You’ve looked the other way for so long, why should I believe you’ll suddenly become a good citizen? You and me are no different. Except I’ve got the guts to do something to make Ninetyminutes survive, and you’re too scared. Sure, you’ll take the millions of pounds from the IPO, but you won’t get your hands dirty. You’ll let other people do that. People like me.’
There was something uncomfortably true about what Owen said, at least as it related to the past. But not for the future; I was determined about that.
‘You know,’ said Owen, ‘I never really liked you since I saw your naked butt going up and down on my stepmother.’
I couldn’t answer. I stood up and turned to leave.
I felt, as much as saw, a sudden movement behind me. I spun round as Owen grabbed my shoulder and dragged me back towards the railings. I squatted down to prevent myself being tossed over, and jammed one leg against them to try to get purchase. He leaned into me and pushed. He was stronger and heavier than me. I felt my foot slip. I took a swift glance behind me. There was nothing, just air, and then, far off, the sea.
Owen lunged again. My foothold gave way, but I managed to twist so that Owen’s forward momentum brought him up against the railings. For a fraction of a second I had the chance to give him that little extra push that would send him on his way. But I didn’t do it. I couldn’t do it.
Owen saw my hesitation. His eyes gleamed. With his legs far apart now, giving him a secure footing, he reached for my shoulders and pulled. I found my chest on the railings, my face staring down at waves gently shifting in and out over the strip of sand a thousand feet below. It was a long, long way. I was gripped by vertigo; a surge of panic rose like bile from my stomach and I jerked backwards to try to break free, but it was hopeless. I couldn’t move.
‘You know what happened to the last person who tried to threaten us?’ he muttered.
I didn’t. I kept quiet.
‘Anyway, let’s just get straight who’s threatening who here,’ he said. ‘If Ninetyminutes needs my help, and I think it does, then I want you to promise me you won’t get in the way. Do you understand?’
I didn’t answer.
Owen heaved. For a fraction of a second I thought I was going over the edge, then he grabbed me again. My face smashed against the railings. ‘I said, do you understand?’
‘Yes,’ I said, fighting back the panic.
I heard a grunt, and he pulled me back over the railings. I collapsed in a heap on the ground. I felt my cheek: there was blood.
‘OK. Now piss off out of here.’
34
‘Where the hell were you?’
I looked up from my desk. ‘Morning, Guy.’
‘Jesus! What happened to you?’ His expression changed from anger to astonishment as he saw my face.
‘Someone tried to push me off a cliff.’
‘Looks like it. There aren’t any cliffs in Munich.’
‘I didn’t go to Munich.’
‘I know. I was trying to get hold of you all yesterday. Your mobile was switched off. They hadn’t seen any sign of you in the office over there. Where were you?’
‘France.’
‘When you say someone tried to push you off a cliff, you don’t mean the one by Les Sarrasins?’
I nodded.
‘You saw Owen. You picked a fight with him, didn’t you?’ The anger was returning.
‘No. I told him to stop screwing around with Ninetyminutes. I told him to stop threatening the likes of Henry and me. I told him to stop sending computer viruses.’
‘He didn’t do any of that,’ Guy said contemptuously.
‘He did. I know.’
‘You know!’
‘Guy! He almost killed me!’ Guy’s refusal to see the obvious was getting to me.
‘My brother has a bad temper. You know that. If you went over there to hassle him it’s not surprising you got hurt. Now just leave him alone.’
‘You tell him to leave us alone.’
‘What the hell do you think he was doing at Les Sarrasins? I told him to go there. You’re the one stirring up trouble, Davo!’ He was shouting now. Everyone was watching.
‘One day, he’s going to kill someone,’ I said, just preventing myself from adding the word ‘again’ with so many ears listening.
‘Just lay off him!’ Guy was glaring at me.
I got up and left my desk, fuming. Everyone stared. Guy and I frequently disagreed, but we never shouted at each other, certainly not in the office. This was a first, and everyone was aware of it.
I went out on to the street. I heard footsteps behind me. It was Ingrid.
‘David, wait!’
I waited. She looked at my face and touched my scratched cheek. ‘That looks nasty.’
‘It hurt.’
‘Owen did this?’
‘Yes. He was trying to scare the living daylights out of me. For a moment there, he succeeded.’
‘My God.’ She fell into step beside me. ‘What were you doing?’
I told her about Henry and about my theory that Owen had planted the Goaldigger virus. I didn’t mention Owen killing Dominique and Abdulatif. Although I had told Hoyle, Guy had specifically asked me not to tell her, and I felt I should respect that, at least for the time being. She listened with a mixture of shock and sympathy.
‘I knew Owen was weird, but I didn’t know he was that weird,’ she said when I had finished.
‘It turns out he is.’
‘It was pretty brave of you to go and see him.’
‘Or stupid. But I had to. I had to stop him.’
‘Do you think you’ll succeed?’
‘Probably not. But I had to try. I couldn’t let him just carry on terrorizing people without doing something.’
‘What did you say to him?’
‘I told him that if he caused any more trouble I’d bring Ninetyminutes down. Talk to the police, the press.’
‘And will you?’
I stopped and faced her. ‘Yes.’
She avoided my eye. ‘Ah.’
‘What do you mean, “ah”? Do you think I’m wrong?’
‘Well. Owen has to be stopped, you’re right about that. And I don’t condone anything he has done, in fact quite the opposite. But if he does something stupid totally beyond our control, that’s no reason to ruin Ninetyminutes.’