‘Matilda, I know you’re going through some personal shit but this is serious. I’m going to have to go to the ACC.’
Matilda couldn’t blame Christian for going over her head. She had left him in charge, but, despite him being an excellent DI, he often needed clarification for the decisions he made. It was as if he was afraid of doing anything on his own. It was something he would need to work on if he wanted to gain promotion to DCI but, right now, he needed her help and she hadn’t been there for him. She hoped he had decided to sit tight and wait for her call.
‘Matilda, it’s ACC Masterson here. I’m guessing you’ve gone to Wakefield Prison despite the fact I told you not you. We will discuss that another time. I need you back here right now.’
As soon as Matilda hit the M1 she floored the Ford Focus and tried to get as much speed out of the dated car as she could.
‘Shit,’ she said under her breath.
Matilda changed lanes to get around slow-moving vehicles like an expert on a Formula One track. It wasn’t the other drivers going slow; it was Matilda breaking the speed limit. She didn’t care if a traffic camera flashed at her or if she was stopped by police. None of that mattered.
With one eye on the road and one hand on the wheel, she placed her phone in the hands-free cradle and dialled a number from the phone book. She called Sian but there was no reply. Christian’s mobile kept ringing out. What the hell was going on back in Sheffield?
Rebecca Childs was in shock, her whole body shaking as the life drained from her body. Faith leapt forward and dropped to her knees. She grabbed the roll of kitchen paper from the table and pulled off several sheets to press against the gaping wound in Rebecca’s throat. The paper quickly soaked up the blood.
‘Give me your jacket,’ Faith said to Gavin.
‘John, drop the knife,’ Christian said. His eyes darted from John’s stricken face to the bloody knife in his right hand. He wished he hadn’t left his baton in the car. He looked over to Sian. He could see the outline of a pair of handcuffs in her back pocket but that was it. How had they not realized they’d be entering such a dangerous situation? He doubted Matilda would have made such a monumental error.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, his voice suddenly calm. ‘I didn’t mean for that to happen. I like Rebecca. You saw what happened. She struggled. She … the knife … it just—’
‘Put the knife down, John.’
‘I just want to leave. I want to get out of here.’
‘I can’t let that happen.’
John’s breathing grew in intensity as his mind thought of a new scenario for his escape. His facial muscles ticked and pulsed. ‘You, bitch copper,’ he said, calmly, pointing the knife to Faith. ‘Move away from her.’
Faith looked up into the desperate eyes of her captor. ‘If I release my hands, she’ll bleed to death.’
‘I don’t care,’ he struggled to get the words out. He obviously did care.
‘She has a baby. She needs to survive for her baby.’
‘She has a husband. She has a family. They’ll bring it up. Move away from her now.’
Faith seemed to think about it before saying: ‘That’s not going to happen. I’m not leaving this woman to die.’
John turned his attention back to Christian. ‘If you don’t stand out of my way, I will stab whoever I have to so that I can leave this building. I’ll start with the bitch copper here.’
‘Shit,’ Christian said under his breath.
‘Ok, John, calm down,’ Sian said. ‘Take some deep breaths. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone else in this room. You know them. They’ve done nothing wrong, have they?’
‘No.’
‘Exactly. So, like I said, take deep breaths.’
John breathed in slowly through his nose and out through his mouth. His entire body was shaking with adrenaline.
‘This is what’s going to happen,’ Sian said, her voice low and soft. ‘We’re going to stand to one side and we’ll let you leave. As soon as you’ve gone, though, we’ll be calling for an ambulance for Rebecca, so you’ll need to run fast. Do you understand?’
Christian stared at Sian. He couldn’t believe what she was saying. Was she really allowing a killer to walk free.
‘Yes. I understand. Thank you,’ he gave her a weak smile.
‘OK. We’re going to move nice and slowly.’ She looked at Christian and nodded for him to do what she said.
‘No funny business,’ John said. He held the knife firmly in both hands and edged towards the exit.
‘Scott, it’s Matilda. What’s going on?’ She shouted into her mobile in the cradle on the dashboard. She was hurtling down Bochum Parkway swerving around cars and ignoring the beeps from fellow drivers.
‘I’ve no idea. Why?’
‘I’ve called Christian and Sian and neither of them are answering. I’ve also rung Starling House about four times and nothing. Who’s in there with you?’
‘Nobody.’
‘Where’s Sian and Christian?’
‘They said they were going back to Starling House. Apparently, Faith had a breakthrough with this John Preston guy.’
‘Shit. OK. Scott, I want you to stand by your phone. We may need backup.’
‘Why? What’s going on?’
‘I don’t know. Just a feeling at the moment. Pick a lane you stupid bitch.’
‘What?’
‘Not you, Scott.’
‘Where are you?’
‘I’m heading for Starling House. I should be there in a few minutes.’
‘Do you want me to meet you there?’
Matilda wiped away a tear. ‘Scott … I’ll … I’ll call you back.’ She tore her mobile out of the cradle and threw it on the passenger seat. ‘FUCK!’ she screamed.
The sky was dark with heavy low-lying clouds. The wind whipped at John Preston as soon as he opened the back door and was hit in the face by a whirlwind of rain. He took a deep breath and ran out of Starling House. With a
