‘Poor thing.’
‘She didn’t speak for six months and when she did it was in halting English.’
‘Where was she from?’
‘Eastern Europe somewhere. Originally, anyway.’
‘And where is she now?’
Delaney smiled at her. ‘Safe.’
Sally raised an eyebrow. ‘Wherever that may be nowadays.’
Delaney ground the half-smoked cigarette under his heel. ‘True.’
Diane Campbell came storming up, her eyes glittering with anger. ‘Give us one of those, Jack!’
Delaney fished out his cigarette packet again and handed her one. Then he stuck another in his mouth, smiling wryly. ‘I guess I picked the wrong day to give up smoking.’
Diane flicked her Zippo lighter under his cigarette. ‘Jack, you picked the wrong fucking life!’
Delaney nodded towards Garnier. ‘Anything?’
Diane Campbell shook her head derisively. ‘He’s just pulling on our chain. The sick bastard. He’s jerking us around – depend on it.’
‘Why now, though?’ Sally asked. ‘After all this time.’
Diane shot her a look. ‘The guy rapes and strangles young children. You want to try climbing in his shit-soup of a brain and make sense of what motivates him?’
Sally shrugged, conceding the point. ‘I guess not.’
Diane blew out another angry breath of smoke. ‘Who the fuck knows? Maybe he’s developed a conscience.’
‘Yeah, and maybe you’ve grown a pair of balls, Diane,’ said Delaney.
Diane looked back at him coolly. ‘Remember I’m still your boss, cowboy.’
Delaney considered it for a moment. ‘That’s right … you’ve
His mobile phone rang, muffled in his jacket pocket. Delaney took it out, looked at the caller ID and walked away to answer it, his voice barely more than a whisper.
‘Hi, Mary. How is she?’
He nodded, listening. ‘Has she remembered anything else …?’ Delaney put his other arm out and leaned against a tree. ‘No, there’s nothing here. I think he’s just playing mind games with us.’
A loud commotion sounded behind him and he looked across as a couple of uniforms started shouting and running over with their arms outspread. Armed officers formed a protective group around Garnier as Melanie Jones and her cameraman came striding into the clearing, the bright light mounted on top of the video camera causing Peter Garnier to blink and shield his eyes.
Delaney cursed under his breath. ‘Look, Mary. I’ve got to go. Something’s come up. Tell her that I’ll be round later to see you both.’
He closed the phone and headed back towards the group, his foot sliding a little in the wet mud and leaves beneath so that he stumbled forward and onto one knee. As he did so a shot rang out, cracking through the air like a shin bone being snapped. Ahead of him Delaney could see the cameraman who had been pointing the camera directly at him stagger backwards as though he’d been punched in the chest and then fall over, his camera crashing to the ground, and the only sound left ringing in the air was that of Melanie Jones screaming.
Delaney clambered back to his feet as Diane knelt down to put her hand on the fallen man’s neck.
‘Is he alive?’ Melanie asked in a horrified whisper, her face now as pale as a dead fish as she cowered on the ground, her hands over her head as though they could protect her.
Diane Campbell ignored her. ‘He’s still breathing. You, get an ambulance!’ she called over to a uniformed constable who quickly pulled out his radio.
In the distance the sound of a motorbike firing up and roaring away could be heard as the armed units set off clattering through the trees in pursuit.
Delaney gripped Melanie Jones by the upper arm and swung her around to face him.
‘What the hell are you doing here, Jones?’
She smiled sarcastically. ‘Oh, I can’t get enough of you, Jack. You know that.’
Delaney shook her arm, not gently. ‘I asked you a question!’
Melanie jerked her chin towards Peter Garnier. ‘What do you
Diane Campbell glared up at her. ‘Arrest the stupid bitch, Jack.’
‘On what charge?’
‘Just get her out of here!’
Delaney steered Melanie back to the car park just off the Ducks Hill Road as Sally came across to join them.
Melanie angrily shook Delaney’s hand off. ‘You can’t do this. I have the right to be here.’
