‘No,’ Omar shouts as Evan grabs him again. Just for a moment, I thought we had a breakthrough. I was wrong. ‘One move from you and I’ll plunge this knife straight into him. Hear me?’ He’s looking at Cally now and I can tell she’s now peering at him. How could I have ever trusted this man with my home and my child? Omar tries to kick out but he’s no threat to the strong, fully grown man who is pulling him along like he weighs nothing. Evan drags him up the steps at the back of the boat that I know will lead to the cruiser deck, and he bounces on each one with a sickening thud.
‘Evan, please.’
‘Shut up, bitch.’ I know things have worsened and he is determined to carry out his plan. He’s never called me a name before. As he leaves, he disappears out of view. Thuds, bangs and grunts fill the air. I can’t tell who is making the noises but what I do know is that Omar is probably fighting for his life with the little bit of energy he has. That will only leave him with less when he hits the water. The initial plunge will take his breath away, then he’ll likely ingest mouthfuls of the rancid water. He’ll fight for a short while but it’s hard when your breath has been taken away, and you’re wounded and spent. Omar is both of those.
Cally stops teasing the ropes. I know she saw Omar being dragged and heard everything. ‘Mummy, is he going to kill the boy?’
I can’t believe my child has even got to ask that question. Tears trickle down my face. He is going to kill him but I can’t say yes, it would break her to know that our once friendly neighbour is about to commit murder. A loud bang makes us flinch. Cally sits up, looking more alert now.
Omar screams. ‘Don’t throw me in. Please don’t kill me.’
Cally slips from my underarm and runs along the boat.
‘Cally, no.’ It’s too late, my child sidesteps the rabbit that is loose on the floor before hurrying up those stairs, and there’s nothing I can do. Panicking, I yank the ropes over and over. I go to hop off the bench and fall flat on my face, right next to where Omar bled.
A piercing scream reverberates through the boat, sending a shiver through my body and I hear a loud splash. ‘Cally,’ I cry, but she does not answer. It’s as if time stands still. I’m not breathing and everything runs through my head at lightning speed. I shake my head and my legs tremble. The only thing I hear are Omar’s sobs. I’ve never had a more uncontrollable reaction in my whole life. To know my daughter is drowning in that freezing cold water and there’s not a thing I can do, is the worst. I let her die. It should have been me. Then I hear another splash and I can no longer hear Omar.
Cally can barely swim. She can manage half a width doing the doggy paddle but the water is warm in the pool where I take her.
Evan runs back in, pacing up and down, hands tapping his temple as he speaks incoherently to himself. He’s panicking too.
‘You killed my child.’ I can’t contain my tears and heartache and I can’t breathe for sobs. This is unreal. I want to die. I have nothing to live for. He has ruined my life. Right now, I’d do anything to be back at home with my pathetic excuse of a marriage with all its problems and my cruel husband. I’d have my daughter. But it’s too late. How a couple of minutes can change a person’s life. Mine is changed forever.
‘I’m sorry, she slipped. She ran for me and I couldn’t get her off me. It was an accident.’
‘Get out there and save her. If you love me, you’ll bring her to me.’
He kneels on the floor and walks towards me on his knees, kissing me on the head. ‘She’s gone. We’ll get through this, I promise you. We can have a baby; our baby.’
This is too sick. The rope has loosened and I unravel it. I have to get out and find her. I know how to do CPR. I’ll do whatever. I bring my fist around and strike him in the nose. He falls to the side, tears spilling from his eyes. I reach out and dig a nail in his right eyeball and that confuses him. Reaching down, I untie my leg binds. He pulls himself onto me, squashing and restraining me. With no effort he brings his fist to my kidney and the pain renders me senseless. With that, he stumbles to his feet, using the table and the cooker to pull his body up. His vision is back and I see the anger on his face and I know that I have no chance of saving Cally now. It’s been too long. She’s dead and I’m going to die too.
‘You made me do this. You only have yourself to blame. All you had to do was control the child and stay put. You couldn’t do it so you killed Cally. Blame yourself.’ My breath is taken away as he kicks me in the stomach. ‘I didn’t want it to end up like this but one more sound out of you and you’re going the same way.’
I gasp and heave as he locks the door. All I hear is the boat starting up. We’re moving again. I don’t even know where we are. My daughter and Omar have died in this water and I’ll never know where that was.
Chug, chug, chug. It’s like the boat is laughing at me. The rabbit hops towards my face and lies next to me.
My baby; I want my baby. I’ve never felt so hollow.
SIXTY-FOUR
‘Guv,’ O’Connor called. Officers were at the boat. It was heading this way but it had stopped one lock down on this side. There was nowhere to park any closer so on foot it was. She jogged alongside O’Connor, both of them slowing down. The gravelled towpath tapered into mud and undergrowth. Wyre hurried past them, kicking all trailing brambles out of the way.
The helicopter headed back their way, lighting up the area. Gina popped her torch back in her pockets, needing the swing of both arms to keep going. O’Connor slipped back. Wyre held out a hand and stopped, bending over to get her breath back. Within a few seconds Gina caught up with her. She panted and grimaced as she held her side.
‘That’s the boat, guv. We’ve found them.’
She heard chugging and the small police boat pulled up alongside them. ‘Hop in,’ the operator said. With a leap, Gina landed in the boat and was quickly followed by Wyre. It swayed as they got their balance. ‘Here, you might need this.’ She took the megaphone off him and the boat chugged forward. Now they were in a position to follow the boat if their perp decided to keep going.
‘Stop the boat, here.’
O’Connor and uniform took various positions, trying to keep out of view unless instructed. Their only objective was to bring everyone out alive and unharmed.
‘Mr Bryson, please come out so that we can talk.’ She resisted using the megaphone, not wanting to alarm him. There was no answer. An officer was sneaking around the side of the boat, trying to peer in. A message caused her phone to light up.
He’s in the cabin and he has a woman. He’s holding a knife to her throat.
She held her hand up to acknowledge that she’d received the officer’s message. Gina gripped the megaphone handle so hard she feared she might break it. She then spoke, the sound of her amplified voice getting everyone’s attention. ‘Mr Bryson, please come out. Police, you are surrounded. We can talk if you come out.’
