Skinner’s round

He paused, and looked sideways at Atkinson again. 'You must have thought all your Christmases had come at once, when you saw my people drive away from Bracklands. One day to go, and a clear shot at Morton, if you can get him on his own.'

When they reached it, Ski

It turns out to be pretty easy. Rick phones Morton, doesn't he? He tells him he wants to meet him in secret, last night. Maybe he says that he wants to talk to him about his company and yours co-operating now that Masur's out of the way.' Ski

`Morton agrees to meet him. He says he'll skip the di

Ski

It was only when I stood on the top of that hill this morning, looking at what was left of Morton that the whole thing fell into place,' said Ski

It takes a very special sort of person to plan and to do what your brother Rick did to Morton'

The policeman's conversational tone had gone, and his voice was hard and cold. 'I've only ever met one other man who could have done that. I breathed a sigh of genuine relief when he died. But now I've met two more like him.

`To lure him up there; to ambush him; to handcuff him to a tree; to pile the wood around him; to set fire to it; to stuff his handkerchief into his mouth to choke off his screams. And then, I guess, to watch him, as he writhed against the flames, until you were quite sure the job was done.

`Yes, you're very special guys, you Atkinsons. I'm looking forward to meeting you side by side.'

They had reached the fifteenth tee, 195 yards away from its small green, which sloped away so that only the top of the flag could be seen. Although only a par-three, it had proved the most difficult hole on the course.

`So how about it, Darren?' said Ski

The golfer turned to him, with the animal look on his face once more. 'Sure Bob. I'm just scared helpless. Let me show you how scared I am.'

He turned and called to McGuire, the professional smile brought back as quickly as it had been banished. Four-iron, please, Mario.'

He took the club from McGuire, and hit a shot so audacious that even Ski

Rather than playing the hole in the only way which seemed possible, by hitting safely to the back of the green and settling for two safe putts, he fired in a shot on a lower trajectory. The backspin seemed to make the ball sizzle off the club-face. The crowd sucked in its collective breath in suspense as it zoomed towards the target, to pitch, clearly, above the flag. Suddenly the gallery clustered on the viewing platform behind the green, roared its applause. `Bugger,' said Atkinson quietly, after a few seconds. 'It hasn't gone in, they're not jumping high enough!'

Through the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth, Bob Ski

In the face of this awesome, intimidating display, Ski

At last they stood together on the eighteenth tee. 'Looks like you're in the money, Bob,' said Atkinson, and Ski

`You went on about me rubbishing the course, Bob, and by and large you're right. All things considered, most of it is pretty good. But this hole really is too easy for me. All I have to do is hit over the water and it's at my mercy.

`Well, not for me. If O'Malley can't design a decent finish for me, I'll create my own challenge.'

I understand,' said Ski

Atkinson looked at him, and Ski

He called out to McGuire. 'Four-iron, please, Mario.' The knowledgeable crowd murmured in surprise. Ski

He turned back to watch Atkinson, feeling on his face the first fat drops of the rain which had been threatening all afternoon. 'First landing area, Bob,' said the golfer quietly. He hit an easy gentle shot which soared high over the water to pitch softly in the centre of the first promontory. 'There, that leaves me three hundred to the green, and a bunker in line with the flag. No one could get on in two from there. A hundred quid says I get a birdie. Got the bottle for that, Mr Ski

`You're on,' said the policeman, evenly. 'Neil, my driver please.' He lined up on the central landing area, swung smoothly and struck the ball as cleanly as he could. The distance across the water was 230 yards, but the adrenaline was coursing through his body and the ball cleared it easily. Its leftto-right fade was accentuated by a friendly bounce, leaving him around 190 yards to the green.