The Killing Grounds: an explosive and gripping thriller for fans of James Patterson. Jack Ford
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countries. It’s only been in the past few years that N’Djili Airport in Kinshasa has had a radar system, so we don’t have the luxury of the vast sources of data from receivers that track ADS-B or aircraft equipped with Mode S, like we do here. So it looks like we’ll be looking for this plane the old school way… Knocking on doors. But you know all this anyway.’
Cooper grinned. ‘I know, but I didn’t want to stop you in full flow. I know how much you like your research.’
‘No. I know how much you don’t like yours and hey, someone has to do it.’
He winked. ‘And you’re great at it. You see, you’d be wasted just in the kitchen.’
Maddie picked up the pen next to her and threw it at Cooper. ‘You’re starting to sound like Rosedale.’
‘Difference is, I don’t mean it… Hey baby.’ Cooper’s face lit up as Cora walked into the kitchen, clad in a pair of pink fluffy teddy bear pyjamas.
‘What have you got there, honey?’
‘A picture.’
‘Can I see it?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because you haven’t said please.’
Cooper laughed. ‘You’re right, Cora, I should know better and mind my manners… Please can I see your picture?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because it’s a secret.’
‘A secret?’
Cora nodded furiously, making her chestnut curly hair bounce over her face. ‘You said it was a secret.’
‘I said that?’
‘You said when we went to see John, it was a secret.’
Cooper stiffened as he felt Maddie’s gaze on him. ‘Can Mommy see it, honey?’
‘No.’
‘Please.’
‘No. Daddy said it was a secret.’
To which Cooper grinned. ‘Well then you better go and hide it.’
Maddie frowned. ‘Who’s John, Cora?’ ‘Daddy’s friend.’
Cooper shrugged his shoulders. Bit his lip. Pulled a face. ‘I think she means James. I took her to see him when we were looking to buy a pony for her.’
Cora giggled. ‘Not James, Daddy. John. John in the big white house.’
Quietly, Maddie pressed on. ‘Tell me about John, honey.’
‘Jesus, Maddie, stop questioning her.’
Maddie stopped. Stared. Narrowed her eyes. ‘Why is that such a problem to you?’
‘Because she’s a kid, and all she’s done is draw a picture and you’re going in at her like the CIA. Leave her alone… Cora, why don’t you get back into bed and I’ll come and tuck you up in a minute.’
Cora looked at Mommy and then at Daddy, and something told her maybe what she’d said had made them cross. ‘Have I done something wrong?’
Cooper shook his head and gently pulled Cora in towards him. ‘Listen to me, baby. You have done nothing wrong. You understand that?’
‘You’re not mad at me?’
‘Oh honey, I couldn’t be mad at you if I tried. I love you.’
‘I love you too, Daddy.’
‘Go on, go to bed. I’ll be through in a minute.’
Cooper watched Cora skip out of the room. He stood up in an atmosphere which was so heavy he would’ve sworn you could’ve knocked it with a hammer. As he got to the door, Maddie’s words hooked him and tried to reel him in. ‘Don’t do that again.’
‘What?’
‘Well apart from making me look like the bad guy, don’t get our daughter to keep secrets.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Tom, I know you, and I know Cora would do anything you asked her to. Don’t abuse her trust.’
Cooper rubbed his head. ‘Jesus Christ, Maddie, have you heard yourself? You know what Cora’s like. She loves pretending she’s got secrets.’
‘I know what you’re like. I know how you love having secrets.’
‘Well thanks for that vote of confidence, Maddison. I didn’t come here for this… Look, I’ll speak to you tomorrow.’
‘Tom, who’s John?’
‘Maddie, leave it okay. There is no John. Cora’s just a kid, she’s got it wrong.’
Wednesday turned into Thursday which turned into Friday, before the trio finally arrived in the oppressive humidity of the towered chaos of the capital city, Kinshasa, which spread and sprawled out from the shoreline of the Congo River.
It had been a long trip, with the heat hitting them like they’d just opened a stove door. The twenty-mile taxi ride from the airport hadn’t helped either. The driver hadn’t seemed as if he’d known what he was doing; swerving precariously and speeding, weaving along the city’s half-built tarmac roads like he was the emergency services.
The city was a mass of contrasts; high-rise luxury apartment blocks and offices stood centrally, surrounded by eroded housing with bad sanitation, and crumbling roadways. Kinshasa was home to more than six million people. Homeless young children hid amongst the rubble of derelict buildings and the displaced sat alongside the roads as the disorder of the traffic mirrored so many people’s lives, and poverty roamed the streets like a predatory beast.
And as Cooper stood contemplating all this in the hotel lobby, dressed inconspicuously in casual blue jeans and t-shirt, he stared at Rosedale, dressed in a gaudy canary yellow suit.
‘Do you have to wear that?’ It was Rosedale who spoke.
‘Me?’ Cooper looked at him incredulously. Said nothing else. Took a drink from his water bottle to help the two pills he had under his tongue to go down easier, and walked across to Maddie.
‘You okay?’
‘Yeah, I’m cool, Tom. Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘You just seem quiet. How does it feel to be back?’
‘I’m fine and it feels fine.’
‘You don’t have to pretend.’
Snapping, Maddie said, ‘Well you’d be the expert on that wouldn’t you? It’s a bit late to start worrying about me now… God, where did that come from? Sorry. I’m just tired. Listen, why don’t we go straight to the address we’ve got once Tweety Pie over there finishes checking in.’
Cooper grinned. ‘I know, right. But as long as I’ve known Rosedale, he’s dressed like that. But don’t ever be fooled by him, when he wants to be he’s one of the most dangerous…’
‘Okay, guys, you want the good news or the bad?’ Rosedale’s voice boomed across the lobby, interrupting the rest of Cooper’s sentence. Then Maddie, with zero tolerance of Rosedale, sighed.
‘Just tell us already.’
‘Well the bad news is the booking’s been messed up and they’ve only got one room. But the good news is, it means you, little lady, will be sharing a bed with me, and maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll show you what a real Texan cowboy can do with his lasso.’