Page 120 of 36 Hours

‘And here’s another thirty potential complaints,’ Bryant muttered as they too began to search.

There was a low murmur of voices as people looked under their chairs and around where they’d been sitting.

Strangely, Kim couldn’t help noticing the number of people dressed in full wedding attire, including hats, for a marriage that was taking place underground.

‘Is this anything?’ asked a woman wearing a floral-patterned dress. She was holding up what looked like a slip of paper.

‘It was under a stone by my handbag,’ she continued as Kim headed towards her.

She doubted it was what they were looking for. It was no bigger than an address label.

She thanked the woman and took it from her.

It contained a collection of numbers and letters that made no sense.

She looked around the cavern. It appeared that everyone else was coming up empty.

She knew the clue would have to be obvious. He would be wanting them to find it. Would he really have left them something that could have been kicked out of sight by anyone?

More and more heads were turning towards her and indicating a negative result.

It looked like this had to be it, but what the hell did it mean? She turned the piece of paper over, and there was the confirmation. Written on it were the words:

You just landed on the head of the snake.

Kim offered an apology and a thank you before getting back on the barge.

She was pleased to see everyone assuming their previous positions, ready to continue the ceremony. Kim hoped they hadn’t ruined the big day too much.

She knew there would be no phone coverage for the twenty minutes it would take to get off the barge so there was absolutely nothing more she could do.

‘Co-ordinates,’ Bryant said, taking a look at the paper before they entered the tunnel.

‘Do you know anything about them?’

‘Guv, I could fill this journey with how much I don’t know about co-ordinates. All I can remember from school is that you go along the corridor and up the stairs.’

‘Bryant, the shit that comes out of your?—’

‘It means you should follow the X axis first and then the Y.’

‘Strangely, that’s not a great deal of help. Why give us a clue about a snake as well as co-ordinates?’ she asked, putting the paper back in her pocket. ‘If that’s leading us to the next clue, why is he not making us work so hard for this one?’

‘Not sure, except for the fact he does whatever he pleases.’

Kim agreed. She remained silent for the rest of the journey, her mind full of thoughts of Nazeera Khan and Jessica Styles.

The second she jumped off the barge, she took out her phone. It was answered quickly.

‘Stace, how do I find out where a set of co-ordinates will take me?’

Kim could hear Stacey typing in the background.

‘Google Maps will plot it for me,’ Stacey said. ‘Call them out.’

Kim’s heart was beating fast. It was almost three thirty and she was praying this was going to be Nazeera’s location. If not, they were running out of time. The game somehow ended at seven, and she had no idea how many more hoops they had to jump through before then.

‘Well, that can’t be right,’ Stacey said.