Page 79 of Tell No One
“It just dries on its own?” Delaney asked.
“Yep. You can bake it in the oven, but there’s no need.”
“You should be doing it for a living.”
“Yeah, well not many people want models of rats.”
“Put it on the mantelpiece.”
Tag carefully carried it over.
“What are you going to do with the bits of clay that are left?”
“Throw them in the bin. I’ve worked them too many times.”
A buzzer sounded and Tag jumped.
“It’s probably the parcel from Amazon. Good timing. Just in case it’s not your clay, move to the side of the window.”
Delaney slipped a gun into the back of his trousers.
Even though Tag was expecting the bang on the door, he still started when it came. He stayed where he was, his heart hammering. Delaney didn’t open the door and a moment later, a vehicle drove away. There was another buzz a few minutes later, that indicated the vehicle had gone through the gate.
“Stay where you are,” Delaney said.
He cautiously opened the door and went out. When he came back, he was carrying an Amazon box that he’d already opened.
“Are you usually that careful?” Tag asked.
“I’m still alive. What if someone knew I’d ordered from Amazon and sent me a bomb?”
“Amazon sell bombs?”
“In the weapons section.”
Tag rolled his eyes. “Maybe I shouldn’t have asked how many people didn’t like you. I should have asked how many people want to kill you.”
“I don’t know.” Delaney handed him the clay.
“Want me to make the whale now?”
“Yes. I’ll get the diamonds. The sooner they’re hidden, the better.”
Whales were easy. Tag had made them lots of times. Even before Delaney had returned with the gems, he’d constructed the basic shape.
“I’ll make us something to eat,” Delaney told him. “You didn’t get your toast and marmalade. How about roast beef and mustard sandwiches?”
“Thank you.”
Tag made a hole in the whale’s belly, slipped one of the bags of diamonds inside and closed the hole up again. By the time Delaney put sandwiches on the table, the whale was done, complete with a few barnacles.
“Probably the most expensive whale sculpture in the world,” Tag said.
“Is it a whale?”
Tag ignored him and washed his hands.
Delaney was examining the sculpture when Tag sat down.
