The tortured expression that filled the side of his face told her that Howard had died a painful death. She imagined herself kicking his head to a pulp after seeing the photo at Mary’s. Stephanie had lived with what they did to her and Ronald had even blackmailed her with their sick photos.
She pulled a pair of gloves on and headed to the old couch, wincing as she inhaled. Down the side was a torn scarf. She recognised the material, it was the same pink material that the dogs had found by Dale’s body – that of Susan’s scarf. Several empty bottles of water were scattered across the floor along with a selection of empty fast food wrappers. A filthy jumper that looked to be about Dale’s size. A child’s glove lay under the jumper. ‘He has Phoebe. Ronald Halshaw has her. Dammit. Anything else in the building?’
Jacob stood beside her and clenched his jaw, his face ashen. None of them were going to sleep well for a while after this case. ‘We found more, guv. There’s a knife pinning a photo of Stephanie to one of the walls, photos of them as kids.’ He shook his head. She knew what kind of photos he’d found from the sick look washing across his face.
PC Kapoor peered around the corner. ‘Forensics van’s here, guv, and Smith is at the station looking at Ronald Halshaw’s online accounts. Halshaw has a lock-up.’
‘We have to go!’ As they hurried out of the room, Gina inhaled, filling her lungs with clean air. ‘Why didn’t he just kill Susan straight away like he did with Dale Blair?’ she mumbled to Jacob as she stepped over a rat.
‘What?’
‘He kept her alive. He killed Dale soon after he was taken. Why keep Susan alive that long?’ Gina’s mind whirred and led her back to Phoebe. She couldn’t let this animal do to Phoebe what he’d done to Susan or worse, Dale. Panic rose in her chest as the enormity of their next task hit her. She gasped as her torch flickered and went out, leaving her with the stench of Howard’s body coating her nostrils. She leaned against the crumbling wall as she fought the nausea back.
PC Kapoor came after them, lighting up the corridor. ‘You alright, guv.’
‘Yes. Let’s get to the lock-up. We need to find Halshaw, now. Show me what Smith sent you.’
‘Halshaw’s Facebook profile is just full of photos of his S-Type Jag, guv. We also have a home address from Howard’s office. A team is heading over to Beech Street now. This is one of his profile pictures on Facebook, do you recognise the place?’ Gina squinted at Kapoor’s phone.
‘I do. We have to go.’
Sixty-Nine
‘I had a daughter once,’ he said as Phoebe wriggled to ease the rope tied tightly around her wrist. ‘Your mother made sure I never saw her again. I also had the chance to be a father again, and your mother killed my child. She took two from me but I’ll settle for one. You, my precious, are what is owed to me. One day, you might even call me Dad.’
Her jellied legs were no use at all. She wanted to call out but the tape over her mouth made shouting impossible. All she could do was make squeaks through her nose.
‘I know where we’re going and we’ll be so happy. We have a little caravan in the countryside, just you and me. Fresh air, wildlife, no one around to ruin our lives.’
Phoebe’s eyes began to well up as a fuzzy image of her mother flashed through her mind, her kidnapper tugging on the rope. He had dragged her off the chair and slammed her into the corner of some tin filing cabinet, a bit like the one’s her mum kept her paperwork in. Her blurry gaze darted around the room and she tried again to wiggle her toes.
She remembered him dragging her from the couch and through the trees before bundling her into the car with a swift blow to the head. A flash of pain coursed through her right temple. There was something else. A man she recognised was covered in blood. Howard, her grandad.
She gazed around and the room they were now in slowly came into focus. It was a garage, an outbuilding – shivering cold. She wriggled to get free. She didn’t want him to bundle her into the shiny Jag that was in here and she didn’t want to live with him in a caravan, far away from her family. She wanted her mother so badly.
She flinched as he kneeled before her. ‘I’m going to remove the tape. If you scream, I will knock you out again. Do you hear me?’
She stared, fear turning her into a statue. Holding her breath, she nodded. She didn’t want him to hurt her, like he had her mother and grandad. She wanted to see her little brother again and her sister. She sobbed as the delicate skin on her lips ripped with the tape.
His bald head shone under the strip light. ‘I’m just going to get the bags out of the car, then we’ll leave. One sound, you know what will happen.’ He placed his finger over his lips and grinned.
He walked out of the door, locking it behind him. Tools were stacked up on a bench alongside the car. She began rubbing the rope against the back wall but it wasn’t loosening. Her heart rate increased as she sobbed – what had happened to her mother finally sank in. She kicked out, trying to dislodge the rope. It was loosening a little. She shuffled again and struggled to wedge a couple of fingers through a loop, the rest of her hand following.
As the door creaked open, she stopped fidgeting. Her hands were free but she couldn’t let him find out. He threw a couple of bags into the boot of the car. ‘Right, in you go.’
He lifted her, throwing her into the back of the car. With all the strength she had, she held her hands together but the rope had all but dropped away. He turned to face her and she ruffled her hands up her back, under her coat, grabbing the last bit of rope.
‘When your mum went blabbing to my wife, she left me, taking my daughter. I lost my little girl but now I have you.’ He turned in the driver’s seat and smiled. ‘We’re going to be really happy together. When I saw Susie after all these years in the pub, at that stupid reunion, I just knew she’d have to pay. They’d all have to pay. I wasn’t going to sit around and let them bring me down. I thought your mum was special, I thought what we had was special but now I know better. You won’t let me down, will you, sweetheart?’
Phoebe shook her head, holding back the flood of tears. She felt a little trickle of urine seep down her thigh as he leaned towards her and smiled, the rancid smell of his breath turning her stomach.
‘Your mum killed our baby too, didn’t look after herself like I told her to. She wouldn’t do as I asked. I told her people wouldn’t understand. She was all ready to come away with me then she changed her mind, making me fight her into the car. It was her fault she had to fight when she was pregnant. You won’t put up a fight, will you? I always win.’
Phoebe pushed her hands up her coat a little further as she shook her head. Her trembling foot tapped on the car door. ‘Will my mum be okay?’ She had to ask and the moment she spoke she regretted opening her mouth. His eyes widened and he began to seethe.
‘That sad excuse for a woman lost me my family, she lost our baby. Did you not listen to a word I said? I’ve told you all this and you want to know how she is? She deserves to die and I am taking what I’m owed. Don’t think I didn’t try. I wanted to make it work for her but she ran away from me, after all that she’d done. Do you know how that feels?’ He leaned in as he shouted.
Phoebe couldn’t contain her tears any more.
