I think of Taylor. Young and impressionable, taken in by my stupid husband. I should have nothing but hate in my heart, but I don’t.
I think of Tom, of what happened that night at the party. It started on that boat. I wished I’d never gone for that walk with him. I know he put something in my drink but I could never prove it. Before that, I really liked him. Things were going downhill with Grant and I enjoyed being told that I was beautiful and interesting. I know some people didn’t gel with him but he always said that when people were nice and kind, others wanted to bring them down. I believed him, until that night at the party. What he took from me can never be restored. I hate him.
I’m stuck. Yawning, I feel my eyelids begin to droop.No, don’t give up. You can do this,I tell myself. I begin to wriggle like a worm until I fall off the end of the bed, wedged in next to the little door. My hands are still bound. That’s when I hear a yapping noise and I know someone is out there with a dog. I bang and let out muffled screams, which are all that I can manage but then the yapping gets more distant and I want to cry.
A thud comes from the other end of the boat followed by the sound of dragging, then nothing. Shivering, I press my back against the end of the bed and I stare up at the door, waiting for it to open. As clouds cover the moon, taking away all my light, I hear a thud coming from the other side of the door and I flinch. I hold my breath as I wonder if he is there and whether he has my little girl. Maybe the thudding sound was Cally’s body landing in the boat. Closing my eyes, I brace myself for the worst and hope that I misheard. Tears spill and I can’t stop them. I don’t care what happens to me anymore, I just want Cally to be safe. He can have me, I’ll do anything, but the truth is, I know I’m not enough for him. He wants us both and now he has us both. What he does with us next is the question I can’t answer.
FIFTY-THREE
Tom Whittle leaned over the table in the interview room. His clothes had been bagged and he was now wearing a standard issue tracksuit. Gina gave him a few seconds while he processed the rape, assault of a police officer and sexual assault charges. The tape was running and Annabel was still missing. The young solicitor representing him peered over her rimless glasses as she read the paperwork. Wyre sipped from her water bottle.
‘Mr Whittle, where is Annabel?’
‘My client has already told you, he doesn’t know where Mrs Braddock is?’
‘Why were you at the back of Annabel Braddock’s house this evening?’
He whispered to his solicitor and she whispered back. ‘I know when you went into my attic, you thought that it was me who took her and ran her friend over. After all, I’m the lover, well, I was the lover, which makes me a suspect. It was her husband, you know. He wanted to get rid of her so that he could take up with Taylor. I hoped to find Grant and get to the bottom of everything, I mean, the man has to come home at some point.’
Gina already knew Grant’s side of the story and the information regarding his kidnapping hadn’t been released to the press. Whittle was trying hard to divert attention from himself. ‘Tell me about Taylor. I heard you mention her name when you were arrested. In front of PC Smith and DC Wyre, you said, “I didn’t kill Taylor. You have to believe me. I just looked after her.” Why did you say that?’
‘Because I thought you’d try to blame her murder on me.’
‘You wear size ten footwear?’
‘So, it’s a common size.’
‘Size ten prints were found at the scene of Taylor’s murder.’
‘I didn’t hurt anyone.’
Gina would beg to differ. She’d briefly read all the statements of the women he’d harassed and she knew that he had to have been doing the same to Annabel. Did he go too far this time? ‘How did you look after Taylor?’ She emphasised the words look after.
‘The girl had no one to turn to and I saw her walking the streets. I used to teach her. I know her, which is why I couldn’t see her walking the streets in such a state. She was crying so I took her in.’
‘Where have you been staying?’
‘When you lot came to mine, I went online using my dad’s credit card and booked an apartment through a website in his name. I got the key out of the key safe and stayed there so no one saw me. When I saw Taylor, she told me what had happened and that she’d been with Grant. She said she couldn’t go home as the police would be looking for her so I took her in. I told her how much time I’d spent with Annabel and how much I was missing her and needed to find her. I said that Grant was bad for her too, that she could do better than letting that player use her. We both agreed that we’d hide out in the apartment until things got sorted.’
‘Got sorted?’ Gina leaned forward.
He stared at her, his piercing blue eyes glinting in the strip light. ‘Sorted as in you finding out who took Annabel and ran the woman over. We both realised that we could end up being blamed. Taylor told me that she heard Grant coming back to their cabin in the night. When she got up to see him, he had blood smeared on his arm. She said he then pushed her around and told her not to say anything or they’d both be in huge trouble. She told you she was too drunk to remember because she thought she’d end up in trouble with you lot or Grant. I mean she’s twenty with the maturity of a fifteen-year-old. Anyway, at this point, she had no idea what had happened but she knew it was bad. Grant told her that if she went to the police, he’d say she was with him and with what he’d seen, they’d be in huge trouble. He kept going on about Annabel’s phone not being trackable any more, that it must have been broken or switched off. That’s what Taylor said. She thought that he’d hurt her. In the morning he was gone. Taylor had nothing to do with what happened. See, I didn’t hurt Taylor, I tried to help her.’
Gina knew she would never find out the truth of what went on between Taylor and Whittle. Maybe Whittle had upset her or assaulted her, which is why she ran from the apartment and went looking for Grant. She pictured the girl scared to death of getting into trouble and even more scared of staying with Whittle. She looked into his eyes. He was the master of spin and she didn’t believe anything he was saying. What he did to those women was unforgivable. ‘Just like you tried to help Annabel?’
‘What? I told you. I don’t know where she is. I tried to help her by telling her that her husband was an idiot. That was all.’
‘Did you see anyone else by Annabel’s house?’
‘No. I’d only been there about twenty minutes before you arrived.’
‘Why did you run?’
‘I’ve already told you. I thought you were going to pin Annabel and Taylor on me. You’d already come to my house and turned the place upside down and I know how it all looked. I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t face any more questioning.’ He scratched his head. ‘So, I ran away.’
‘Where were you staying?’
‘Still staying. I’m at an apartment just behind the Cleevesford Cleaver bed and breakfast. They have two apartments that they let out through the site.’
