•••
Heads turned as Charlie marched between the line of desks, making a beeline for the office at the back. The security guards and receptionists, whose protests she’d ignored, hurried after her, but she had too big a lead on them and she was in Emilia’s office before they could get to her. Slamming the door shut, she rammed a chair under the handle and turned to face the startled reporter.
“Where is she?” Charlie demanded.
“Where’s who?”
“Helen Grace.”
“I have no idea and frankly I’m not sure what you think you’re—”
“How do you do it?”
“Do what? Make sense, please, Char—”
“You know where she is, you know who she is with.”
“For God’s sake, why would I—”
Charlie was across the room before Emilia could finish her denial. Grabbing the reporter by the throat, she thrust her hard against the brick wall.
“Listen very carefully to me, Emilia. Helen’s life is at stake here and I promise you that if you do not tell me what I need to knowrightnow, I will nail your head to this wall.”
Emilia was choking now, Charlie’s hands growing ever tighter round her throat.
“I have been through too much to let her down, so tell me how you do it. Are you bugging her phone? Intercepting her messages?”
Emilia shook her head. Charlie cracked it hard against the wall.
“Tell me!”
Emilia made a gurgling noise as if she was trying to speak, so Charlie loosened her grip. Emilia mumbled something.
“What?”
“Her bike,” Emilia croaked.
“What about it?” Charlie demanded.
“There’s a tracking device on her bike.”
So there it was.
“How do you follow her?”
“It’s linked to my phone. As long as she’s within a five-mile radius of me, I can find her.”
“Good,” Charlie said, releasing her victim. “Take me to her.”
116
The baby shrieked wildly on the bed, working herself up into a frenzy. Neither woman made a move to comfort her. They were frozen in time, on the cusp of salvation or destruction. Helen’s eyes remained glued to Ella. She had refused to take Helen’s hand or drop her knife. She was just staring at her screaming baby as if trying to penetrate some insoluble mystery. Helen thought that if she moved suddenly she could disarm Ella, now that she was distracted, but she daren’t risk it. Not now that she seemed so close to bringing her round.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Helen was startled when Ella spoke.
“I didn’t want this to happen.”
