Doctor Who_ Warlock - Andrew Cartmel [19]
Creed and Larner turned to stare at him. Miss Winterhill was frowning at the other Mayan, waiting for an explanation. ‘What’s he talking about?’
The older Mayan shrugged. ‘He’s right. We’ve already taken a dose of it. Don’t blame Sorbelio. I only just told him about it in the kitchen.’
No wonder the little shit was so happy. This was his revenge on Creed. ‘You slipped us warlock without telling us?’
‘Why look so worried? You were going to try some anyway.’
‘How did you administer it?’ said Miss Winterhill calmly.
‘It was dissolved in that cava you guys drank. And of course Sorbelio and I had already taken some in tablet form.’ The Mayan nodded at his brother.
‘Well, I’m not sure I like this,’ said Larner. He made no move to reach for the gun but Creed could see him checking its position on the coffee table, preparing to make a grab for it if necessary.
Creed’s own hands were hanging loosely between his knees and now he casually reached under the cushion on the couch. He could feel the reassuring contours of his own gun, a police Python he’d stashed when he first came in.
‘This is not good,’ Larner was saying. ‘This is no way to conduct business. You don’t just slip someone a tab of something without telling them.’ He was angry but keeping a lid on it. ‘We never know about the purity or strength of these new drugs.’
‘That’s not the biggest worry you’ve got,’ said the younger Mayan. You could see he was enjoying it, delivering another surprise.
‘What do you mean?’ said Miss Winterhill.
‘I don’t want to be too dramatic about this.’ The younger Mayan grinned. He was loving it. ‘But there is a traitor in our midst.’
His older brother was more serious. He interrupted. ‘We’ve had a report from a reliable source that someone involved with this deal is working with the police. Or maybe with IDEA.’
Creed’s heart surged in his chest.
‘No one kept me abreast of this situation,’ said Russell, a querulous hurt tone creeping into his voice. ‘I’m a junior partner in the business and I should have been informed.’ Everyone ignored him, as you would a child trying to break into a serious conversation among grown‐ups.
‘To put it simply,’ said the older Mayan, ‘somebody in this room is working for the cops.’
‘I may be just a junior partner but you should have told me.’ Russell was trembly and whining. Petulant.
‘You may be the undercover cop,’ said the Mayan briefly, then ignored him.
Now everyone in the room was casually trying to keep an eye on everyone else. Paranoia was heavy all around them. They weren’t meeting each other’s gazes directly, but tensely watching out of the corners of their eyes.
The hooker, Larner, Russell, Miss Winterhill and the Mayans. So damn many people in the room, and any of them could turn lethal at any moment. Creed felt sweat running freely down his ribcage, a creepy‐crawly sensation. ‘So why have you doped us with warlock?’ he asked. To his own surprise his voice was level and calm.
The older brother smiled at him, a sort of apologetic smile. Creed realised that the Mayans had no idea who the cop really was. This guy certainly didn’t suspect him. Maybe he was the only one in the room this guy entirely trusted. And maybe that was something he could use.
‘This warlock is an interesting product,’ said the older brother. ‘I first heard about it from a scientist we hired. He did the pioneering work on the fifth‐generation smart drugs.’
‘The nootropics,’ said Miss Winterhill.
The Mayan nodded. He seemed eager to answer the question, to show off his knowledge. ‘Apparently it’s a compound that’s been around as long as acid. Maybe longer. It’s naturally occurring, not a synthetic.’
‘Oh well, that’s a relief,’ said Miss Winterhill sarcastically. ‘So long as its natural.’
‘Some people say it’s derived from a cactus; others say you get it from a mushroom, like acid.’
‘That’s not strictly LSD you get from fungi. It’s ergot,’ said Miss Winterhill. She was rising in Creed’s estimation. They should all be freaking out now, but she seemed detached and cool. Showing an intellectual interest,