Sapphire tried to think back to what they had said in front of Elena and whether any of it could incriminate them. She remembered saying something about Skinner giving the game away but other than that, and the fact that they were nervous around Kev, she didn’t think there was anything specific.
As Skinner was already in a state, she didn’t bother sharing all that. Instead, she just said, ‘Nah, we didn’t say anything till she’d gone, did we?’
Skinner’s taut muscles visibly slumped with relief. Sapphire was relieved too because, as concerned as she was for the death of Skinner’s friend, at least it wasn’t Amber. But for how long would Amber remain alive?
And there was another unanswered question: If Kev hadn’t killed Amber, then what the hell had happened to her?
62
March 2016
Amber stood under the shower letting the hot spray massage her skin till it tingled. Then she grabbed the sachet of shampoo and gave her hair a good wash, twice, just to make sure, followed by conditioner. Ooh, how nice it would be to do this every day, she thought. She was rinsing the suds off her body when she heard a loud knock on the door.
‘You alright in there? Only, I need a piss.’
Amber snapped out of her daydream and back to reality. For a moment she forgot where she was. But one look around the elegantly tiled and well-equipped bathroom reminded her she was in one of Manchester’s better hotels.
‘I won’t be a minute,’ she said, switching off the shower then grabbing for the towel.
When she walked out of the bathroom the client was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed.
He laughed. ‘Bloody hell. I’m used to girls showering after we’ve done the business, but I’ve never known one to wash her hair as well.’
Amber suddenly felt embarrassed. ‘My boiler’s on the blink.’
The client seemed to accept her excuse and said no more as he dashed past her to use the bathroom. While he was gone, she fished inside her handbag for the hair-styling product she had brought with her and made use of the hairdryer provided by the hotel.
Ten minutes later she was outside the hotel and back on the streets of Manchester city centre. For a moment she was indecisive about what to do next. She had nothing planned for the rest of the day and nowhere to go either. In the end, she decided to venture into the red-light area, hoping to bump into an old friend who might be able to help her out by providing a sofa for the night.
It had been a few weeks since Kev had stopped phoning and sending her texts so she hoped it would now be safe. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help looking around her to make sure he wasn’t lurking anywhere.
She didn’t spot either Kev or his car for the first five minutes or so and was beginning to relax a little as she strode through the streets at the back of Piccadilly station. A flash silver Audi TT passed by and, knowing Kev drove a black BMW, she didn’t take much notice of it until the driver stopped further up the road and turned the vehicle around.
The driver drew up on the other side of the road, facing in the opposite direction to which she was walking. At first, she thought it must have been a punter. There were no other girls nearby so she assumed the driver must have stopped for her. It was only when the driver wound down his window that she realised it was Kev.
‘Get inside, Amber!’ he ordered.
Knowing she would have a head start while he turned the car around, Amber started to run. As she raced up the road, she cursed the high heels she had worn for her client meeting and kept looking over her shoulder to see where Kev was. She heard the screech of tyres as he spun the car around, and then the shrill beeping of a car horn as Kev just missed the car in front of him.
It wasn’t long before he was almost alongside her and she darted into a side road, which she knew had a pathway leading off it. She raced up the pathway and didn’t stop till she was far away from the road and Kev’s car. As she ran, she tried to ignore the crippling pain from her uncomfortable shoes, and the breathlessness that was now beginning to bite.
When she could run no longer, she slowed to a fast walk. She could see that the pathway would soon be at an end, which meant she would be back on the road. There was nothing else for it: she would have to take her chance and hope Kev didn’t catch her.
She emerged onto the street and did a quick scan of the road. There was no sign of the silver Audi, so she continued along the pavement at a brisk pace. Then she turned into the next side street, trying to vary her route in the hope that it would make it more difficult for him to find her.
Amber carried on hobbling for several minutes through the maze of streets. She had turned into a one-way street when she saw a silver Audi TT pass across the top. Her heart thudded but then she realised that, even if it was him, he wouldn’t be able to get to her here; he would have to go right round and approach the street from the other end.
Good, she thought, limping as fast as she could. That would give her chance to further the distance between them.
But she had underestimated Kev’s blatant disregard for the law. To her amazement, she saw the Audi heading towards her from the wrong end of the street. There was a car in the way, but Kev didn’t stop. Instead, he beeped his horn
