Disorder (Sam Keddie thriller series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

again, unless he was prepared to speak about Scott, he could imagine his story being met with incredulity. Besides, he thought, with rising panic, even if he did decide to talk about Scott, would the police offer any protection? As the men targeting him had demonstrated, the law was no barrier.
       An image entered Sam’s head, one that made his stomach contract – his pursuer now heading for the house, breaking in by the back door to surprise Sam on his return and finish the job.
       Sam felt his body go rigid. How had all this happened? In a matter of days, normality had been replaced by this. He thought of clients whose lives had been turned upside down by an unexpected event – a bereavement or job loss – but none who’d suddenly found themselves in grave danger.
       Even in his confused, frightened state he knew one thing. It wasn’t safe to go home.
       With trembling hands, Sam checked his pockets. He had his phone and wallet, enough cash in the bank to get by. And something else that he’d taken the precaution of folding into his jacket pocket before he left the house. The case notes.
       Sam needed to find somewhere safe. Somewhere he could think straight and work out why the content of Charles Scott’s sessions was worth killing for.

Chapter 8
     
    South London 
     
    ‘What do you mean, “he’s disappeared”?’ Stirling’s words were accompanied by a fist slamming down on the leather of the car’s seats.
       He and Frears were in the back of the PM’s armour-plated Daimler, en route to an Islamic community centre in Camberwell where the Prime Minister was due to give a speech on multi-culturalism.
       Of course that was the plan. Right now he could barely concentrate.
       As he was leaving Downing Street, Stirling had politely excused another adviser, a Moslem peer who’d arranged the engagement, and asked Frears, who was in the building most weekdays, to join him in the back of the car.
       A short message sent from Frears to the PM’s BlackBerry – ‘Need to talk’ – had prompted the meeting. These get-togethers were becoming a little too frequent for Stirling’s liking. This was meant to be an invisible operation, one that Frears had assured him he would not need to be overly involved in. But recently Stirling had been seeing far too much of the former soldier. The Prime Minister was acutely aware that, to others, there was only so much he and Frears could be discussing in private – particularly given the other issues on his desk. People were bound to begin wondering what the hell was going on.
       ‘It’s like I said, Prime Minister,’ replied Frears, ‘my man talked to Keddie but was interrupted before he could get any sense of what the shrink knew.’
       ‘So he decided to burgle the man’s house and take the case notes.’
       ‘Keddie was harping on about confidentiality. It seemed the most sensible way to find out what Scott had talked about.’
       ‘But your man was disturbed before he could get the notes. And then Keddie called the police. And God knows what he told them.’
       ‘That’s why we stepped things up. Tried to confront him. Scare him into talking.’
       Stirling closed his eyes in disbelief. Was this really the operation he’d set in motion? A pack of wild dogs let loose on the streets of London. ‘But your thug let him get away.’
       ‘It was a public place, Prime Minister,’ said Frears, the exasperation showing in his voice. ‘We couldn’t afford to attack him in front of witnesses.’
       ‘And how can we now be sure he hasn’t told the police or a bloody journalist about what’s happened to him?’
       ‘The events cannot be linked in a coherent way. A deniable visit from us, a burglary, a possible aggravated mugging.’
       ‘What about what Scott told him?’
       ‘I doubt he’ll reveal that.’
       Stirling gave him a withering look. ‘Oh you do, do you? And what makes you so sure of