‘Maybe,’ Stacey agreed.
‘Track down the victim and find out what she’s capable of.’
She looked towards the little girl still stroking the soft toy. ‘Hey, Ava, how are you doing?’ she asked, approaching the sofa.
‘Are we leaving?’ she whispered.
Kim swallowed her own emotion. ‘Yes, sweetie, it’s time for us to go. Are you packed?’
Ava nodded before heading to the bedroom.
Stacey turned away as she came out dragging her little pink suitcase.
Even Kim wanted to bend down and hug the life out of her.
‘Good girl,’ Kim said.
Ava headed for the door, by which time Stacey had composed herself.
She leaned down to Ava’s level. ‘Well, thanks for coming and staying with us for a couple of days. I want you to take this,’ she said, handing her a piece of paper. The forced cheer in her voice was to mask the tears that were threatening to spill over. ‘It’s my phone number. Wherever you are, if you need me, you call me. If anyone is being mean to you or if you just want to talk, you call me, okay?’
Ava nodded, throwing her arms around Stacey’s neck. That was too much for the constable, and the tears rolled openly over her cheeks.
‘Gonna miss you, sweetie,’ Stacey said as Kim touched Ava on the shoulder.
Ava straightened and took hold of her suitcase.
Kim turned to Bryant and held out her hand. ‘Give me your keys. No point all of us wasting our time. Get an Uber back to the station and start working on that phone number from Karen’s appointment book.’
Bryant swallowed down his sadness as he gratefully handed her the keys.
No one wanted to see Ava being handed over to a future that was not going to be kind to her.
Seventy-One
‘Okay, sweetie, time to get out of the car,’ Kim said as she turned off the engine.
‘O-okay,’ Ava said as Kim got out. She moved to the back of the car and took the suitcase from the boot.
‘Why… why are we here?’ the girl asked.
‘It’ll all be okay. I promise,’ Kim said, reaching for her hand as they approached the door.
Ava nodded up at her with tears in her eyes.
Kim took a deep breath before knocking on the door.
The door opened, and Daniel Reynolds stood before her.
He looked down at his daughter, and the light came back into his eyes.
‘Daddy,’ Ava sobbed, throwing herself into her father’s arms.
‘Sweetheart, are you okay?’ he asked, gathering her into his arms. He squeezed her tightly, kissing the top of her head. ‘But how… I mean… I don’t…’
‘Take her to Scotland. Pack as much as you can in an hour and get on the road. Get her away from here.’
‘But won’t I be?—’
