‘I need to speak to Justine and Danny. I’m going to grab Jacob and head to her mother’s. Craig is keeping well out of view and that’s a hard thing to do when half of the town is looking out for him now that his face has been aired. There’s a chance he’s been in touch with them. Justine might even be helping him. Is there a family liaison there with them?’
‘Yes, guv. I know that PC Masondo said he was heading there a short while ago so he must be there now.’
‘Great.’ Gina did her coat up and threw the salad box in the bin. Just as she was about to head to the main office to get Jacob, she almost walked into Brodie’s chest. ‘Sorry, sir.’
‘Gina, I’m going to let you in on the other side of the investigation.’ He ushered her over to a quiet corner away from the bustle of the station. ‘Something has happened and you know the case well. Victim two, Zavier used to be police and he worked with Kain.’
‘I guessed that much and reading between all the lines, I’m guessing that Briggs knew them too. Anything else come back from the Kidderminster team?’
‘Nothing that will help us or that we don’t already know but something big has happened and we need to get to the hospital.’
‘What is it?’
‘DCI Briggs has been attacked in his home.’
A wave of dizziness washed through her. She reached out and steadied herself on the wall, trying not to let Brodie see how affected she was. She’d spoken to him a short while ago. He hadn’t been himself. She should have sensed that something was wrong. Did Briggs even know he was about to be attacked? Her heart started banging. Despite what he might have done, she wanted to drop everything and be by his side. She had no option but to air what she was thinking. If she was thinking it, she knew Brodie was too. ‘He worked with them, didn’t he? It’s obvious.’
Brodie took a deep breath and nodded. ‘I can’t confirm, okay? What we need to do is question him about the attack.’
A nod told her everything she needed to know. Briggs worked with Zavier and Kain. He was as much a part of all this as the people on their board, only now she knew he was a victim and not a perpetrator. It had all happened so fast. His dog had been whining while she was on the phone to him. Had the perp been there waiting for him to finish his call? She trembled at the thought and she hated herself for the way their conversation had gone and all he wanted was for her to believe him. She knew he needed her to believe that he didn’t have anything to do with the murders of Zavier and Kain. ‘How hurt is he?’
‘It’s bad, Gina. If it wasn’t for the neighbour wondering what was wrong with the dog, he wouldn’t be here. Uniform are on their way over to seal the scene.’
She swallowed the lump in her throat. They’d soon find out that she had called Briggs. It was best to tell Brodie now. ‘I called him, on my personal phone, just before it must have happened. I wondered how he was, that’s all.’
He opened his car door and they both got in. Brodie didn’t speak. He stared out of his windscreen watching it as it demisted. ‘I wish you hadn’t.’
‘Are you going to report me?’
‘No, because I need you on the case, but it will come out. Time is of the essence to find whoever is behind all this. I’ll keep my mouth shut but if you ever say I said you told me, I will deny it.’ His eyes met hers and he smiled warmly. He was still the Brodie she knew from back then, at least she hoped he was. ‘Did he say anything that might help the case?’
‘No, I asked how he was and he was…’
‘He was what?’ Brodie frowned.
‘He was slurring and sounded really drunk and it’s not like him. He barely drinks.’ She added quickly, ‘From what I know. And his dog was whining. I think the perp was already in the house.’ She bit her lip and scrunched her brows as something hit her. ‘I thought he was drunk but what if someone had drugged him?’
FORTY-FOUR
LINDY
‘Help…’ Lindy called out through chattering teeth. All she wanted was to hear someone’s voice, to know that Pia had called the police and they were coming to help her, but that was impossible. No one knew where she was. She’d called into the void over and over again but she’d heard nothing.
With her hands still bound and legs still tied together, Lindy stood in the tank of revolting slop, back against the cool metal curved sides while hoping with all she had that her body wouldn’t give in, or that she wouldn’t slip. Head tilted back, she kept breathing fast as the liquid bobbed over her ears with each movement. How long she could stay in this position was another question she couldn’t answer. Her breaths came quicker and faster. She yelled as another cramp contorted her calf muscle.
The liquid wavered under her chin as she fidgeted to fight the cramp tearing through her. She choked and heaved as a gulp got trapped in her lungs. Her stiff neck failed to move, and even if she wanted to move it, it felt locked in place. Warmth came from underneath her feet but it was barely reaching the top of the tank. Was he going to boil her alive? Was she the proverbial lobster in the pot? One minute the warmth of a nice bath soothing her, the next boiling to death. She gasped for airand wondered if she was sealed inside this huge metal coffin. It felt like it. Would the air run out? She needed to calm down but how could she when she knew that no one had a clue where she was. The darkness was the worst. Was her kidnapper trying to deprive her senses and if so, why?
His words rang through her head.I always knew I’d get my day.
She begged him to tell her what she’d done but all he could say was,you know exactly what this is about, you just can’t remember but this is going to make you remember.She still couldn’t remember.
Who was he? All she could see was his outline. His voice was hushed and low, like a loud whisper and she wondered if he spoke out loud, would she recognise it?
She called out again and choked on another mouthful. Her chest hurt, everything hurt. She racked her brains trying to think why she was there but nothing was coming to her. Kain had been murdered. It had to be because of Kain. She thought back, through their lives. She had spent so much of her time trying to help him, she’d barely had a life of her own. She thought of her poor mother, trying to fix him to the end. Her life had constantly been on hold because of Kain’s many dramas.
She thought of her new life since the move. She’d wanted to be closer to her mum after Kain moved back in with her. Meeting Justine and Pia through their shared love of yoga, seemed like a dream. With her career on hold, she’d relished having more time to herself while she thought about her future – and now she was here, in a stinking tank of some description, waiting to die.
The gentle swaying of water around her ears reminded her of the lapping of the lake on a windy day. She’d do anything to be at yoga right now while gazing at that lake. The session before last, she’d sat in downward dog, staring out at that huge building on the other side of the lake and she’d wondered if it was beingused for anything now. She’d fantasised that she’d renovated it, that it was her home and she got to enjoy the view every day. In reality, it was covered in graffiti and metal window shutters – it was an eyesore. She tried to imagine that she was in a yoga class, holding a pose. This was the same thing. She just had to hold the pose for a long time, and not lose consciousness, or fall asleep, or slip. If she slipped, her tied feet might never regain their balance. She couldn’t move an inch despite the cramps. The drug had started to wear off, she was grateful for that.
