‘I know.’ He took her mother’s hand and kissed the tips of her fingers. ‘I know.’
Only then did they turn to face her. Her mum and dad, together. And in that second Lucy felt the years pour away and she was eight years old again, seven, six, and her parents loved each other so much and they loved her with all their hearts and she was running to them, her eyes filling with tears, her soul brimming with emotions so fierce, so elemental, she had to be in their embrace where she was safe and adored and loved absolutely.
Nobody said anything for ages. They simply stood and hugged in a family knot, Lucy weeping, her dad kissing the top of her head, her mother stroking her hair. As an adult she hadn’t felt as though she’d needed her father, but having him here, holding her and Mum, it was as though she’d been walking for a very long time and had just arrived home.
Gradually, Lucy’s storm of weeping eased and she stepped back a little, wiping her eyes. ‘So, you’ve made up then.’
‘Hardly.’ Her mother gave a snort, flicking a narrowed look at Carl. ‘Shall I tell her?’
He nodded.
‘He did his usual. Spun a wild tale that he might be dead by this time tomorrow and that he had to see me one last time.’
‘It’s not a wild tale,’ he protested. ‘It’s true!’
‘You know I can’t believe anything you say any more.’ Her voice turned hard.
‘Lucy,’ he said wearily, ‘tell her.’
‘Mum already knows about the kidnapping.’
At that, her father looked at her mother appraisingly. ‘You didn’t say anything.’
‘Why should I?’ She held herself tall. ‘I don’t owe you anything.’
‘Aside from this house,’ he said, waving an arm around the room. ‘And a monthly stipend that helped Lucy through school.’
Her mother coloured and said savagely, ‘I didn’t touch your dirty money.’
He blinked. ‘So what have you done with it?’
‘It’s in a separate account. You can have it back if you like.’
Her father looked shocked. ‘You didn’t use any of it?’
‘No.’ She raised her chin proudly. ‘We didn’t need your help.’
‘For God’s sake, I worked like hell for–’
‘It was wicked what you and Helen did with those fake detectors. Unforgivable. Now, I want you to leave. And I don’t want to see you again.’
Her father seemed to shrink. ‘But I thought that–’
‘You were wrong.’ Lucy watched her mother standing strong, uncompromising. ‘I know you’re putting yourself in danger tonight, but at least you’re not doing it for yourself. You’re doing it for your daughter.’
At that, he looked at Lucy. He looked haunted, and very, very tired. ‘Yes.’
‘And for that …’ Her mother turned and held his eyes. ‘I thank you from the bottom of my heart.’
‘You love me,’ he declared.
‘I hate you too.’
He nodded, gave a wry smile. ‘Well, it’s just–’
He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening. ‘Was that a siren?’
Lucy listened. She couldn’t hear anything.
‘It’s a sodding siren.’ He shot her an urgent look. ‘Did you tell the police where I was?’
‘Er… well, actually–’
Grabbing Lucy’s wrist with one hand he spun to her mother and scooped her around the waist, sweeping her close for a smacking kiss on the lips. ‘Love you, babe. Always have, always will.’
And then he was hauling Lucy through the kitchen, the utility room, and out of the back door, Lucy yelping and trying to slow him down but unable to. It was like trying to stop a charging polar bear.
‘Dad, Dad!’ she panted, trying to break free. His grip was like iron.
He pushed open the door at the end of the garden. Dragged her into the rear alley where he dropped her wrist and stood over her, chest heaving.
‘You want to save your friend?’ he asked fiercely.
‘Yes, of course, but–’
‘Then we do this my way.’
‘But the police will be able to protect you! They’ll cover us and–’
‘They’ll fuck things up. They don’t know what they’re dealing with, but I do.’ His expression was hard, unyielding. ‘Either you’re with me and we save your friend, or I will vanish and your friend will die. Your choice.’
She didn’t hesitate.
‘I’m with you.’
58
They were lucky enough to catch a taxi near the Tesco Express on Harper Road.
‘North,’ her father told the driver. ‘Just head for the M1.’
‘Nice one,’ the driver said. He was stocky, running to fat, with a genial expression. ‘I live up that way. I can drop you off then go home.’
‘Why the M1?’ Lucy asked her father, but he didn’t reply.
There was a silence, then her father leaned forward and closed the safety barrier between them and the driver. Checked the speaker was off.
‘Amina’s her hired help. She’s ruthless, you know.’ He spoke as though he was in the middle of a conversation, glancing out of the window, nodding to himself. ‘It took me far too long to realise just how cold-blooded she was. Cunning, too. Clever, manipulative. Far cleverer than I ever could be. She always had me wrapped around her little finger.’
The cab overtook a recycling lorry before turning right towards Waterloo.
‘It’s my guess she abducted your friend,’ he went on, ‘because she didn’t dare grab you, being a police officer. Dan Forrester was the next best thing. She wanted to know how much you knew, start damage limitation, but when she learned what I’d done, she turned the kidnapping into a hostage negotiation. She wants me so badly, she can taste my blood already…’
‘What did you do?’
‘I took all the money out of the company and hid it.’
‘BreatheZero?’
‘And the rest.’ He gave a dry laugh. ‘It’s a surprising amount when you add it all up.’
‘How much?’
‘You’ll know it when you see it.’ His laugh increased. ‘I should have done it years ago. God, I’ve been such a fool, but life was such fun.’
He turned to her, suddenly animated. ‘We had such a good time, back
