The Child’s Plan
Detective Robin Matthews Series - Book 3
Audrey Walker
Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
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Also by Audrey Walker
Copyright
Copyright © 2021 by Audrey Walker
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author’s imagination.
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Prequel for FREE! Download now
Shelby Griffin Mystery Series:
Academy Assassin (a Prequel) for FREE
Shelby Griffin Series BOX SET
Sleepless Night (Shelby Griffin Book 1)
Sleepless Mind (Shelby Griffin Book 2)
Sleepless Street (Shelby Griffin Book 3)
Sleepless Hunt (Shelby Griffin Book 4)
Sleepless Shelby (Shelby Griffin Book 5)
Mark Fropp Series:
Fropp’s Identity Boxset (Book 1-5)
Act of Vengeance (Fropp’s Identity Book 1)
Act of Deception (Fropp’s Identity Book 2)
Act of Deliverance (Fropp’s Identity Book 3)
Act of Defiance (Fropp’s Identity Book 4)
Act of Destruction (Fropp’s Identity Book 5)
Robin Matthews Series:
The Butcher’s Head (Robin Matthews Book 1)
One Step Ahead (Robin Matthews Book 2)
The Child’s Plan (Robin Matthews Book 3)
Past Unveiling (Robin Matthews Book 4)
The Abandoned Child (Robin Matthews Book 5)
Chapter One
Robin woke up, shivering as the basement seemed to get even colder than before. She had already been here for a month, or at least that’s what she has deduced. She knew it was getting closer to winter outside because the basement just got colder and colder every day.
“Kid?” she called out, looking under the stairs. He said he had no name, so Robin had just resorted to calling him ‘kid.’ She received no reply and assumed that he was out there somewhere, scrounging for food. It seemed there was a small vent in the corner somewhere that he often used to escape outside. He stole food from the Butcher’s house whenever the Butcher was gone. Robin had looked at the vent, but it was too small for her to crawl through. On top of that, Robin was chained up and unable to move.
She closed her eyes again and ignored her growling stomach. She thought of her sister Abby and Kyle and wondered what they were doing. Would they still be looking for her? Or would they have long forgotten her? Had they given up hope, realizing they could never find her?
A sound interrupted her thoughts, and she called out. “Kid?”
“Here,” the small child-like voice said.
Robin looked at the small weak child in front of her, gnawing on a piece of bread. He gently held it out for Robin to eat, but she shook her head.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “You eat.”
The child scarfed it all down, and Robin watched him with an ache in her heart. She didn’t know who this child was or what he was doing here, but she felt pity for him. No child should have to suffer like this. She had tried to talk to the Butcher about him, but he ignored the child as if he were a piece of dirt. He had beaten Robin to a pulp for suggesting that he let the kid go. So, the kid stayed with Robin, but she couldn’t help but wish she could help him somehow.
She had tried to ask the child about his situation, but he didn’t seem to want to answer her questions.
“I got you gift,” the child said softly.
“Oh?” Robin said hopefully. “Did you find the keys? Can you unlock me?”
She jingled her chains for effect and pointed at the padlock.
The child shook his head, and Robin sighed. It had been worth a try.
“I got you this,” he said, suddenly dropping something in front of her.
It was a cat. The poor thing hissed and tried to run, but the child grabbed it again. The child’s hands wrapped around the cat’s neck, and he started to squeeze it with all his might.
“No!” Robin shouted. “Stop it! No!”
“You don’t like it?” he asked softly.
“That’s so wrong,” Robin said. “It’s wrong. You can’t hurt them like that!”
“But I like hurting them,” the child whispered. “I like watching them die.”
“No!” She shouted. “That’s not nice.!”
She heard the thundering of footsteps and realized the Butcher had heard her. He came downstairs, laughing like a maniac, looking at the dead animal in front of her.
“A little gift from the little punk?” He said, laughing. “Don’t you like it?”
His disgusting face leered into view, and he snarled at her. “Don’t you like it?”
Robin opened her eyes and looked around the small motel room. It was dark outside, which meant it was finally time for her to leave. She was finally starting to remember snippets of her memories. Thinking back to the animal bones she had found in the basement, she wondered if they belonged to some poor animal that the child had killed.
She walked toward the small, dirty mirror and looked at her reflection. Her blond wig covered her jet back hair and pair of blue contact lenses covered her black eyes. Robin took out some putty, which she placed on her neck and molded it into a different shape. She put on a tight dress and heels, disguising herself as a hooker. A bright red lipstick was followed by dark circles, which Robin painted on carefully under her eyes. Then she gathered her stuff in the small bag she carried and stumbled out, pretending to be drunk.
The disguise was effective enough. In dark alleys like these, no one would look twice at her. There were
