‘Oh God, he must have panicked.’
‘Yes. It’s the CCTV from the back stairs at Heron Hall. I’m sending it to you now.’
Chapter 56
Kelly watched the footage over and over again. Emma and Dan had isolated the range that concerned their inquiry. It was five minutes long.
It was all she needed.
Sandy and Paul sneaking along the corridor, past the old fridges, cupboards, storage boxes, piles of clothes and laundry bins. She felt the cool interior as if she was back there with Lee, as he showed her this way to the pool, that way to the guest bedrooms.
They came from the direction of the upstairs bedrooms.
The time said 5 p.m. exactly.
Then another figure emerged from the gloom.
Upright, purposeful, a little in a rush perhaps.
A man who got a little confused. A man who tied his dog up outside the hotel even before he heard a commotion.
Acorn had sat there for a good while before Jamie Robbins hit the atrium floor.
Because Melvin was already inside.
The time was 5.07 p.m. when Melvin lumbered through the dark corridor to make his way back to Acorn, and wait for an appropriate gap before he entered as a concerned civilian.
Suddenly Kelly felt her body betray her and she recognised the first signs of shock. Her hands shook and she felt terribly thirsty as if she was about to suffer a migraine attack. Flashing lights assaulted her peripheral vision and she sat down on the grass. Johnny was there to catch her and prevent her from falling over. He reached into his pocket and brought something out, unwrapping it and putting it into her mouth. She tasted sugar.
Images of Emma scared out of her wits, her dad falling in the street, alone and terrified, Jamie crashing into hard tile, Angelina terrified and abused by thugs, Lee run off the road and how many others rubbed out and haunted for the greed of the few?
She recovered slightly and smiled at Johnny.
‘You are invincible, Kelly Porter, but everyone needs a Murray Mint occasionally.’
She passed him her phone and told him to watch the footage.
‘Is that your colonel pal, Melvin Stone?’ she asked him.
His brow furrowed in bewilderment as he pressed play.
‘Colonel Stone, yes, that’s him,’ he said.
‘My God, they almost got you too,’ she said.
She scrambled up to her feet and marched towards where they’d left her car.
‘Kelly!’ he shouted after her.
‘Come on, let’s go.’
‘Where?’
‘This isn’t over,’ she said.
‘Think of Lizzie,’ he said.
She glared at him.
