I’m so sorry about earlier. Everything has been getting to me. I shouldn’t have cut you off like that. Forgive me. I’ll message you tomorrow. I promise. K. Xxx
And he would. He wouldn’t leave her wondering if a message would come but he had to get this right. This wasn’t for him; tomorrow he would share this pleasure with another. Someone who deserved the gift he was about to give them.
He smiled as he read her message.
I totally understand and I just want to help you, as friends do. Message me tomorrow and we’ll talk or we can talk now if you want. I’m always here for you. Shall I call? C. Xxx
His new friend had responded in exactly the same way as he had messaged. Three kisses and an initial. She trusted him. He smiled as a fuzzy feeling washed through his body. Trust – given far too easily once again. She trusted a message on a phone sent by someone she couldn’t hear or see.
I’m a bit tired at the moment but I’d love to talk tomorrow. Can’t wait. Take care and sleep well. K. Xxx.
He turned the phone off and placed it into his pocket. Again, there was a scraping noise coming from the cellar. There was something far more important that he needed to attend to and she was waiting exactly where he’d left her. He kicked the hoodie out of the way and opened the door to the cellar.
Tomorrow, he will have his answer. Who was he coming for? Only one of them would be the lucky winner. Time was ticking and he had a new life waiting for him.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Gina pulled up behind the police car on the road beside Lilly and Brendan Hill’s house. A couple of lights were on despite the hour and a woman cradling a baby let go of her curtain when Gina glanced her way. She hurried to the door and knocked. Lilly answered, her hair scooped messily into a topknot. ‘Come in. The police are just talking to Brendan in the lounge.’
‘Thank you.’ Gina stepped into the hallway and followed Lilly into the lounge. Jacob smiled as she sat in the same seat as she’d sat on last time she’d spoken to Lilly Hill. She glanced around the room. PC Kapoor had just finished making notes and was ending her talk with Brendan. The man stood and pulled the back of his T-shirt out of his checked lounge pants. Lilly tied the belt of her dressing gown that covered her blue pyjamas. Gina smiled at PC Kapoor. ‘Can I just have a quick word?’
The young officer nodded and followed her into the kitchen as Jacob continued speaking to the Hills.
‘I thought I’d ask you what happened before speaking to Mrs Hill.’
In a squeaky half whisper, Kapoor began to relay what she’d been told with added hand movements for emphasis. ‘When I got here, guv, Mrs Hill was a bit shaken. She has a grazed wrist. As she went to open the back door, she fell into the wall and scraped her arm. She said the intruder grabbed her from behind by the hood of her dressing gown and placed his hand over her mouth. She managed to wriggle free and scream. She thinks she scared him off as he ran away at that point.’
‘What time was this?’
Kapoor glanced at her notes and her black eyebrows arched. ‘About one thirty. She said she was in the garden, alone, and she heard a noise coming from behind the gate. She then saw the gate open so she ran. The intruder chased her into her garden.’
‘Do we have a description?’
She scrunched her nose and shook her head. ‘Not really. The intruder was wearing a black hoodie and gloves. That’s all she saw. She said it happened too quickly.’
‘Would you call forensics while I sit with Mrs Hill? Has anyone been in the garden since the attack?’
‘PC Smith is still out there looking but we saw no one when we checked. Just us. Lilly and Brendan Hill haven’t been outside since the incident.’
Gina hoped they hadn’t trampled any evidence but she knew that they’d have to go out and check to see if the intruder was still around. The security light flashed on in the garden seconds before Smith entered through the back door. ‘Alright, guv. Definitely no one out there now. I’ve walked through two streets and there’s not a soul around.’
Gina glanced through the window into the garden. ‘After forensics have been called, could you please start a door to door, find out if any of the neighbours saw anything. Start with the houses that have lights on.’
‘On it, guv.’ Smith nodded and left with Kapoor in tow.
She continued glancing out of the window. The gate had to have been about fifteen meters from the door. The slabs were a little mossy. She scrunched her eyes so that she could see a little better. A skid mark across the slimy garden slab caught her attention. Maybe this time the attacker had left them a little more to go on. That’s if the intruder had anything to do with Holly and Francesca’s murders. With the gate closed, the garden scene was secured for now. It wasn’t a particularly breezy night and there had been no rain. For a change, the weather was on their side.
‘Lilly, may I speak with you?’ Gina asked as she entered the living room.
The young woman nodded and followed her to the kitchen, leaving Jacob with Brendan Hill.
‘PC Kapoor has briefly gone through your statement with me. I’d like to ask a few more questions. First of all though, would you like to be checked over by a paramedic? That scrape to your hand looks sore and you look a bit pale.’
Lilly shook her head and took a seat at the kitchen table. A tear slid down her cheek. ‘My heart has just stopped thumping but no, I don’t need a paramedic. It’s nothing a little antiseptic won’t sort.’
‘Okay, this happened about one thirty, is that correct?’
‘Yes, I pressed the button a couple of minutes after that so it must have been about then.’
