‘Clear.’
‘Clear.’
‘In here, sir,’ an officer shouted. ‘She’s chained to the bed.’
Grant’s heart thumped double time. Was it Emily and Lisa? He ran to the third room along. An officer was on his knees, checking the metal cuffs chaining someone to the bed. But it wasn’t one of the children. Grant stared at the tear-stained face of Sylvie Delacourt. What the hell was she doing here?
‘H-he tied me up. He kept me p-prisoner,’ she sobbed.
‘I can’t get the cuffs undone, sir. We’ll have to cut through them,’ the officer said.
‘Do it,’ Grant snapped.
Grant got in close to the young woman. She wouldn’t look at him. ‘Sylvie. Sylvie, look at me. I need your help. Have you seen the children?’
‘He forced me to…’
Sylvie broke down. She had a wild look about her. Jesus. How long had Riley kept her here?
Grant paused and inspected her wrists more closely. Then shouting came from one of the other rooms, followed by furniture breaking.
‘Weapon! Get down,’ McGowan yelled.
Grant threw himself to the floor, pulling Sylvie with him. He pushed her as far as he could underneath the bed and crawled to the door just in time to see Riley run past, with McGowan on his heels.
‘He’s heading for the fire exit,’ one of Billingham’s officers called out.
‘Seal it off,’ Billingham ordered.
With no way down Riley had no choice, he went up. They heard his steps ringing out on the metal rungs of the emergency escape with McGowan right behind him.
‘There’s no way out from the roof,’ Billingham said.
Grant was at the doorway. ‘Then we’ve got him. Do you have the children?’
‘No sign of the children in the apartment, sir,’ one of Billingham’s officers reported.
‘Shit. You’re certain?’
‘Positive, sir. We’ve checked thoroughly.’
Grant had been hoping against hope. An apartment in a quiet neighbourhood. Recently left to Riley. The chances had been high. Damn it.
‘Then check again,’ Billingham snapped. ‘And get forensics out here. I want this place gone over with a toothcomb.’
Grant needed answers. ‘I’m going up. I’m a trained negotiator and I’ll try to talk sense into Riley. See if I can form a link with him. Billingham, get any information you can out of the young woman. Her name’s Sylvie Delacourt and she was the Glover’s au pair. Ask DS Collins to speak to her.’
Billingham got on his radio and when he turned back to Grant, he looked alarmed.
‘What’s wrong?’ Grant asked.
‘I can’t locate DS Collins. The last intel we’ve got is she was stationed at the entrance to the fire exit. I think Riley may have taken her to the roof.’
44
Nick put the blade back in his pocket. The woman copper had put up a fight, though one stab to her stomach had soon put an end to it. He leant against the elevator shaft and caught his breath. He didn’t have much time. It wouldn’t be long before they came after him.
The wind whipped across the rooftop and he searched for a place to hide. As he hunkered down in a space between two ventilator outlets, he felt the urge to take a last hit. It was strange because he had never cared that much for her, but Nick couldn’t stop his mind going back to Maria and the way Maria had stared up at him. Not much gave him nightmares but Maria’s eyes still haunted him. She’d been terrified. Snot and blood had been running down her face.
Nick Riley wiped his nose on his sleeve. He waited to hear footsteps on the fire exit. This was it. Now it was his turn.
When Maria had been found in the school playground, she had been picked up and dumped in Nick’s van. She slumped in the back footwell while Nick drove. Her nose had bled and she had cried with mucus and blood running down. He was a monster and he would make her suffer. The withdrawal had got so bad she hadn’t had the energy to lift her own head.
‘I’m s-sorry,’ she’d kept saying. Her nose was pressed into the carpet. He had ignored her and carried on driving.
It seemed like they drove for an eternity. When they stopped, Nick got in the back and took out his kit of tourniquet and syringe.
‘I don’t want it,’ she said, her teeth chattering.
‘You know you do and anyway it’s too late to back out now.’
He took off her jacket and gripped her arm, twisting on the tourniquet. She saw a vein pop up and then he was filling a syringe and injecting her. She didn’t look at his face. The dose sent her mind spinning and her heart into a canter and as he dragged her out of the van, Maria felt her heart go into arrhythmia. She was dumped on the pavement, and the van drove away.
The ground was gritty under her cheek. It was quiet. She could see a sliver of moon out of one eye though she could not turn her head to see the whole of it.
Deep inside, she despised herself. For being dirty and worthless. And what about the children? What about Emily? She should have gone to the police. She should have been better. Strong enough. Brave enough.
She was so cold. He’d given her an overdose, she knew it and her heart was racing its way to a crisis. Soon she would lose consciousness. There was nobody in this world who cared for her apart from her brother, Billy, and Billy had written her off. Maria felt an aching loneliness. Her vision faded.
Then she heard a soft voice.
‘Maria.’
It was Billy. He was a short distance away. Digging in her nails, she tried to drag herself towards him.
‘I’m sorry, Billy,’ she
