‘Pizza,’ Sian said disapprovingly. ‘It’s not the best food choice for a child, but I suppose it’s hard, working to put the wrong people away and also finding the time to raise a family.’
‘Mummy, I thought that we were playing a game?’ Emma shouted, running back towards Henley.
‘Your mother lied,’ Sian shouted as Henley accepted two boxes from the deliveryman.
‘We are, sweetie. We’re going inside now to finish the game,’ she answered, handing Emma the smaller box. ‘Go on. Be a big girl and carry this for Mummy. Fast as you can.’
‘Enjoy your dinner. If you can call it that. It must kill you,’ Sian said. ‘All of that hard work to put me away for life and here I am. Standing in front of you.’
‘I’ve already warned you. And I’m not in the habit of repeating myself. Do not come near me or my daughter again or—’
‘Or what? What can you do, Inspector Henley? What can you really do?’ Sian taunted. She turned her back on Henley and walked away.
7
Sian had felt self-conscious from the minute she’d walked into a local Co-op. The security guard had looked her dead in the eye and then turned his attention to the rack of newspapers on his right. Her photograph was on the front of theDaily Mailwith the headline, ‘Monster Unleashed’.
She kept her head lowered as she paid with her mum’s debit card, quickly packed her bag and left the shop. Her chest tightened with anger as the image of Henley holding her daughter’s hand flooded her mind. Sian forced a new picture into her head. She felt the familiar buzz of excitement in her body picturing Henley begging for forgiveness before Sian pushed a syringe filled with fentanyl into her jugular vein.
‘Hey!’ Sian exclaimed as a sharp elbow to her side dragged her out of her dark thoughts. She turned around to see a man in a black parka with the hood over his head, hands stuffed in pockets walking hurriedly away. She pushed her hand into her right pocket and felt a sense of relief as her fingers curled around the freshly cut door key, ready to use as a weapon. She increased her pace and jogged towards her parents’ house.
Sian was disorientated by the bright lights of a van’s full beams. She didn’t even see the figure heading towards her until he gave her a sharp push to the chest. Before she could react, she was thrown hard against the van, forcing all air from her chest. There was a smash as her bag fell to the floor, her red wine mixingwith the rain running across the pavement. Rage and adrenaline flooded through Sian’s body and she grabbed her attacker’s wrists, her nails tearing through his skin. The punch to her bruised face was swift and she fell to the ground, tasting blood. Her attacker roughly snatched her phone from her pocket. Struggling, Sian turned over, pushed her hands against the ground screaming as shards of glass pressed into the palm of her hand. She rose shakily to her feet, attempting to find someone who could help her or to find a way to safety but the small window of opportunity disappeared as Sian felt a pair of muscular arms around her.
‘No. Please, no,’ Sian shouted as she was thrown into the back of the van, landing hard against the metal bulkhead. A few seconds later, the van jolted forward and made a sharp U-turn. Sian rolled onto her back, her hands raking through her hair as the sound of Coldplay’s song, ‘Paradise’, filtered through the van’s speakers.
8
‘Fox-Carnell was at your house?’ asked Stanford.
‘I’m sure she’ll say it was just a coincidence.’ Henley switched to speaker, placed her phone on the coffee table and reached for the last slice of cold pizza.
‘A coincidence? Please. She sought you out.’
‘Of course she did. I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out how she found my address. I’m ex-directory and I’m not on social media.’
‘But Rob is.’
‘He is, but he doesn’t expose our lives on there, it’s just work-related stuff.’
‘Let’s be honest. You can find anyone if you really put your mind to it. All she would need to do is go online, get a copy of the electoral register and Bob’s your uncle, she’s at your front door.’
‘I don’t want her turning up at my house or talking to my child again,’ Henley said angrily. ‘My family has been through enough.’
‘Are you going to tell Rob?’
Luna bought her some time by barking at the sharp whistle of the stormy wind outside.
‘You remember how Rob got when Olivier sent me that …’
The skin on the back of her neck broke out in goosebumps at the memory of a decapitated head being left at her front door. An unwanted gift from a killer making his presence known.
‘It would be easier not to tell him and save myself from anotherargument about the dangers of my job, but it wouldn’t be right,’ Henley said. She looked down at her hand and saw that her fingertips were slightly stained with pizza sauce.
‘Do you want me to come over,’ Stanford asked his voice filled with concern. ‘Gene won’t mind at all.’
‘No. You don’t need to put yourself out.’ She dropped the half-eaten pizza slice into the box and closed the lid. ‘Fox-Carnell’s curfew will kick in soon and she’s on tag. She would be a fool to even think about putting a foot outside her front door. The alarm is on, I’ve triple checked the doors and windows and Ems is sleeping in my bed. We’re going to be fine.’
‘Even so, I’m going to make a call to Colindale police station and tell them to carry out a doorstep check on Fox-Carnell. In fact, I might just do it myself.’
