He deserved this. All of this. He had been stupid and careless, he’d underestimated her.
He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
16
‘It’s an extraordinary story,’ DS Holt says when I’m finished. ‘Quite . . . amazing.’
‘I know,’ I say. ‘But that’s what happened.’
I’ve lain it all out for them, from the moment Kathryn asked to sit down opposite me on the train to when I escaped from Dominic and flagged down a passing van on the street outside. Holt made notes while I was speaking but Gilbourne simply sat and listened, nodding occasionally, hands folded over his flat stomach. The only reaction he’s given is an occasional raised eyebrow.
‘And he knows where I live,’ I say. I think of my captor’s threat as he held up my mobile and made me unlock it. ‘He’s got access to everything in my phone. What should I do?’
Gilbourne’s face crinkles with concern. ‘Is your husband at home?’
I shake my head. ‘No.’
‘We do have a few resources for at-risk witnesses, a refuge for victims of domestic abuse, but as you can probably imagine, demand far outstrips supply. They’re over capacity already.’
‘So what do you suggest I should do?’ I say. ‘How long are you going to keep me here for?’
‘That depends.’
‘On what?’
He ignores my question. ‘Is there somewhere else local you could potentially stay for a few days? A relative, a friend?’
I think about texting Tara, then immediately remember again that my phone is gone. I don’t know her number off by heart. Come to think of it, I didn’t knowanynumbers off by heart, apart from my own, Richard’s and my mum’s landline which she’s had since I was a girl.
‘There is somewhere I could probably go, for a few days. My friend Tara, as soon as I can get a new phone sorted.’
‘Good,’ Gilbourne nods. ‘That would probably be wise.’
Holt taps his notepad impatiently with the end of his pen.
‘Let’s get back to the train,’ he says. ‘Kathryn literally handed you her baby and walked away, and you’ve had no further contact with her since?’
‘She asked me to help for a couple of minutes while she dealt with a personal phone call. I was expecting her to come back at any moment – it never occurred to me that she might get off at the next station.’
‘And you had never met her before this, never had a conversation with her, never discussed anything she might or might not be planning to do with this child?’
‘No,’ I say, looking from one detective to the other. ‘Never.’
‘Obviously we can check that against mobile phone records.’
I frown. ‘Right.’
‘To see if you had any contact with Kathryn prior to today’s events.’
‘I don’t understand,’ I say. ‘I just told you I’d never met her before.’
‘So you’re saying you didn’t plan this with her?’
‘Plan it?’ I stare at the young detective. ‘No, of course not. Wait, so you’re saying that Kathryn planned all of this in advance?’
‘Didn’t she?’ Holt says.
‘I’ve no idea, I’ve already told—’
