by A L Fraine
“Thank you, Blake. Whatever would I do without you?”
“I honestly do not know, sir,” he replied.
“Well then, shall we go?” He reached a hand out to her, which she took, allowing him to pull her up from the sofa. Interlacing her fingers with his, she walked out with him, giving Blake a sideways look, which he returned with a scowl.
It was at moments like this that she remembered that old proverb, ‘May you live in interesting times.’ She felt it captured the moment, perfectly.
4
Jon stabbed the chip, making sure it was fully covered with gravy, and stuffed it in his mouth, savouring the mix of salty potato and meaty sauce.
Mana from heaven.
Kate made a heaving noise from beside him as they sat perched on the bonnet of his Vauxhall.
Jon glanced left.
“I don’t know how you can eat that,” she commented. “Gravy? On chips? Is that a northern thing?”
“It’s a beautiful thing, Pinky,” he replied as Kate placed a chip in her mouth, only for her to smirk and then start coughing. Jon reached over and gave her a couple of solid pats on her back. “You alright there love?”
She took a moment to get control of herself before looking up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Pinky?” she asked, incredulously.
Jon raised his hand and wiggled his little finger at her.
“Genius,” she muttered, sounding mildly offended but amused, and skewered another chip.
“I know, right? I just keep coming up with them. I’m seriously on fire down here. I think there’s something in the water.”
“Gravy, perhaps?”
Jon chuckled. “Nice one, Barry. Seriously though, I think there might be something in the water. I’ve had a dicky tummy for a while now.”
“That’ll be the hard water,” Kate replied, as she munched on some cod. “I think you have soft water up your way.”
“It’ll be the only thing that’s hard down here,” he replied.
“We’re all soft southern Nancys, is that it?”
“I didn’t say it.”
She sniggered. “I guess not.”
“So, what do you think?” Jon asked and nodded to the house. “You’ve not commented on it.”
Kate turned her head and looked up at the three-story townhouse, with its dark bricks and the For Sale sign out front. “Do you want my opinion?”
“Of course. You know the area better than I do, for a start.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I like it. Guildford is a nice place to live.”
Nodding, Jon smiled. “Good. Yeah, I kind of like Guildford. It’s not bad for a southern city. I mean, it’s no Nottingham or Mansfield, but…”
“It would need a much higher crime rate to be like either of those,” Kate mused.
“Fair point,” Jon replied with a smile.
“You seem to have become a little more friendly with Nathan, while I was gone.”
“I suppose,” Jon replied, thinking back over the last few weeks, during which he’d worked fairly closely with him. “The boy’s got skills. I mean, he’s bat-shit crazy too, but it’s a good kind of crazy.”
“A useful kind of crazy, for a detective.”
“Mmm,” Jon replied as he took a bite out of the battered sausage.
“Nice length,” Kate asked, eyeing his food with a cheeky glint in her eye.
“Aye, it’s not bad,” Jon replied, deciding not to go for the bait.
“Well, as long as you and Nathan didn’t miss me too much.”
Jon nodded. “We missed you,” he replied in a more serious tone, being honest with her.
“We?”
Seeing what she was getting at, he steeled himself. Were they going to talk about this now?
“I missed you,” he answered, staring at his gravy-soaked sausage and chips. After a moment, he looked up, meeting her gaze. “I missed you a lot. But I’m pleased you’ve come back, especially after everything you went through.”
“I’m glad to be back,” she replied. “I’ve just been dealing with a lot recently. I’m sorry I’ve been away, but I couldn’t stay in my flat. I needed some space and normality.”
“It’s okay. I understand. I think I’d have needed some time to myself too, if that had happened to me. In fact, I did take some time after Charlotte…”
“You understand,” she muttered, smiling to herself as she looked away.
“I do,” he nodded. “And look, I know things were tough, and you weren’t yourself the other week, so if you want to call it a day between us, that’s fine too. Things are all messed up, so I get that your head might not have been in a good place when we…”
“No.”
“Sorry?”
“No, I don’t want to call it off between us. But I have to say, the way I acted, that’s not typical for me. I’m not usually so forward.”
“That’s okay. I’m sorry if you think I took advantage.”
“No, absolutely not. You didn’t. What happened, happened, and that’s fine. But I’d kind of like to start again.”
“Sounds good,” Jon replied, understanding where she was coming from a little more, and finding himself agreeing with her. “I think I’d like that too.”
“That’s settled then,” she replied with a smile.
“So, do you want to go on a date sometime?” Jon asked. She might want to take it slower, but he saw no reason to draw it out too long. Besides, if they were going to be dating, they might as well go on some actual dates.
Otherwise, what was the point?
Kate smiled. “You don’t hang around, do you?”
“I’ll take it as slow as you like, but that does imply that we’re actually starting something.”
She nodded. “No, you’re right, it does.”
“And this doesn’t count,” he added, pointing his wooden fork at the chips and the car they were sitting on.
“I’m glad of that, at least, Oxo boy.”
“So, you’re saying that chips on the side of the road, sitting on a car, isn’t a good first date?” He raised one questioning eyebrow.
“I’ve been on better, let’s say that.”
“Well, I’ve never been so insulted in all my life. Up north, this is the height of sophistication, I’ll have you know.”
“I think you might need to try a little harder, Pilgrim.”
Jon frowned and nodded several times. “I’ll need to get my thinking cap on then.”
“No pressure.”
“Oh, no. None at all.”
“So, shall we say, the end of the week?” she suggested.
“Perfect,” he replied, feeling a small thrill and flutter inside at the thought of it. He couldn’t help but grin and wondered if he looked like the cat that got the cream.
He rewarded himself with a few more chips and another bite of the sausage, enjoying its meaty goodness.
“I’m going to have to induct you into some other types of food though.”
“I eat well.”
“How about a salad?”
“Nah, none of that fattening green shit, thanks. I’m not a rabbit.”
“I can see that. It’s the ears that give it away.”
“Observant. You’ll go far, Barry.”
“I’ll need to come up with a better nickname than Loxley though, I think.”
“I like that one. Makes me sound like some heroic member of Robin Hood’s Merry Men,” he said with an approving look.
“You are not Robin of Loxley, Jon.”
“I liked it.”
“Why am I not surprised? Oh, yeah, because ‘men’. That’s why,” Kate mused aloud to herself. “So that was Nathan’s idea, was it, to call you that?”
“I suppose. He just said it one day.”
She made an affirmative sound as she bit into another couple of chips. “So, no major cases while I was away then?”
“Nothing much, no. That hostage situation was the highlight really. But you we
re there for the end of that. Other than that, it was just a couple of minor crimes and tying up the loose ends of the Abban case.”
Kate sighed. “Thanks for that,” she replied.
“Anytime.”
Moments later, a car pulled up, and a woman walked over. “Sorry, got caught up at the office,” she said with a smile.
“That’s okay. We’ve been enjoying our tea.”
“Um…?”
“Dinner,” Kate cut in. “We’ve been enjoying our dinner.”
“Oh.”
“Sorry, he’s northern.”
“Aaah, I see.”
“I know, it explains a lot,” Kate said, conspiratorially.
“Oi! I’m right here, you know.”
“Careful, I think it understood us,” Kate mock-whispered.
“I don’t need to stand for this.”
“Freeze, its vision is based on movement,” Kate continued, standing stock still, her eyes tick-tocking side to side.
The estate agent smirked.
“I don’t know what you’re laughing at if you want a sale,” Jon said.
“Sorry,” the woman replied. “Shall we head inside?”
“Yes, let’s,” Jon agreed, and pointedly followed the woman up the path at the front of the house.
“We don’t normally show people around houses this late in the day,” the woman said. “But I understand your job makes it difficult?”
“Yeah, it takes up much of my time.”
“What do you do?”
“We’re detectives,” Jon replied as she opened the door.
The woman paused and glanced back, before pressing on and continuing inside. “Oh, cool.”
“Don’t worry, we’re not investigating you.”
“Good to know.”
“Unless… You’ve not killed anyone, have you?” Jon asked.
“I think I’d remember if I had.”
“You’d think, wouldn’t you…?” Jon replied, as he stepped into the front room and took in the space. The house had been stripped bare by whoever had lived in it previously, and it needed some work. There wasn’t even carpet.
“It’s a bit of a fixer-upper,” Kate commented from the doorway.
“But it’s got massive potential,” the estate agent replied with a keen smile. “You could turn this into a perfect home for you both.”
Jon raised an eyebrow at Kate and smiled. “She’s casting aspersions.”
“Eh, yeah, we’re not… Well, we are, but, I’m not, you know… if you get my meaning,” Kate stammered.
“Not really,” the woman replied with a fixed, slightly mad looking grin on her face.
“I’m not sure the professors at Oxford would understand that, Barry. Have you been drinking…? Again?”
Kate raised a middle finger to him, and then pointedly turned around and moved deeper into the house. A moment later, he heard her call out.
“Oh, Jon. The kitchen is right up your street.”
Jon raised an eyebrow at the estate agent, who just grinned wider. “Um, shall we head on through?”
“Why not? Let’s not keep Barry waiting.”
“Um,” she replied, looking confused, before dismissing it, and leading him out the room. “The kitchen is this way.”
Kitchen cupboards lined the room’s walls, and the floor was in good nick, but there were no appliances of any kind. Kate stood beside a gap where he guessed the oven had once been.
“Look, a traditional space for a northern cooker, otherwise known as a campfire.” Kate looked particularly pleased with that zinger.
“Ah, well,” the agent said, sounding flustered, “there’s plenty of space for your own appliances.”
“You could get some rocks from the local wood,” Kate continued. “Place them in a circle here, you’d feel right at home cooking some ferret over an open fire.”
“Ferret?” Jon folded his arms and shook his head with a smile. “Are you having fun? You look like you’re having fun. Maybe too much fun?”
“That’s not possible.”
“I think it might be.”
“Shall we take a look at the other rooms?” the agent suggested nervously and made her way out.
“I think we’re making her uncomfortable,” Kate said, stepping up to him.
“If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
She smiled. “I’ve missed you, Jon. I’ve missed this.”
He nodded, enjoying her closeness. “Me too.”
She smiled at him and then walked past. A brief sting flared on his right arse cheek, as Kate winked at him over her shoulder. “Come on then, Loxley, let’s see what else this house has to offer.”
5
Olivia rose from the depths of unconsciousness and delirium, slowly and surely. She was lying on something and was cold and sore. Her head pounded.
It was as if she’d been in a fight.
As she shifted position, an intense soreness in her arm made her hiss with pain. She tried to pull her arm in close, but it wouldn’t come, and a sharp stinging in her wrist made her stop.
Forcing her eyes open, she did her best to take in the room around her. It was dark, with only a small window high up in the pitched eaves to let in some meagre illumination from a full moon, casting a square of light on the wooden floor.
It looked like some kind of attic room, and she found herself propped up on a bed. Her right wrist was cuffed to the metal frame, and the sheets were stained and dirty.
The inside of her arm was red with several fresh puncture wounds up near her inner elbow joint. She covered the raw wounds with her free hand, not daring to look at them.
Pulling one of the sheets close, she noted the unidentified stains and stiff parts of the fabric. Something had been spilt on it and left to dry. She wasn’t sure she wanted to think about what that might be.
With a grunt, she pulled on the cuffs again, testing them, but there was no give there at all, and it only made her wrist hurt more. Searching the frame, she wondered if there might be a weak point or a gap, but it seemed she was out of luck.
Her stomach gurgled and cramped with hunger, making her feel weak and shaky.
She couldn’t remember getting here, and from the moment she’d been bundled into the back of that van in Epsom, there’d been precious few moments of clarity.
She could remember images of the room and the bed, pain in her arm, and a figure, a dark shadowy figure.
She shivered, tears pricked at her eyes.
Oh God, how did she end up here? How did she find herself in this mess?
Footsteps approached the room, getting closer until she heard bolts slide and the door swung open. A man walked in wearing a mask over his nose and mouth, with only his eyes visible. He paused just inside the door. She could barely make him out in the darkness, he could be anyone. He looked her up and down, his eyes greedy and cruel.
She’d seen looks like that before, back in that house, with Jacob and his cronies.
Under his gaze, she felt weak and vulnerable. He took another step closer, and the terror took her completely. She screamed as loud as her lungs could manage.
The man stopped and watched as she shouted and screamed, calling for help at the top of her lungs. After a few moments, she noticed smile lines around his eyes. Was he enjoying this? Then she realised it was a smile of pity, and he shook his head.
“No one can hear you,” he said before he lunged at her.
“No! Get away!” she shouted and kicked. She caught him a couple of times and made him grunt.
Could she fight him off? Could she turn the tables? She kicked again. He grunted and lashed out, walloping her in the face. Her head snapped back and smacked into the bed’s frame. Pain flooded her senses, and the world swam around her. She could feel herself being pulled around, something scraping over her skin, followed by the coolness of the air against her legs.
He was stripping her.
6
Lily sat up in
bed, her head still spinning.
For a while, she just sat there, waiting for the world to calm the hell down and stop moving by itself. It was dark outside, but she had no idea what time it was or even what day.
Several minutes passed as she just took in the room around her, which was frankly a mess. But then it always was. This was nothing new.
She could hear music playing somewhere downstairs, but the house was otherwise fairly quiet.
Feeling a little better, she reached down the side of the bed and pulled her phone out of its hiding place. She’d messaged Olivia yesterday, once she was away from the house, but there’d been nothing since, despite having tried to call and sending several messages.
She called again, hoping she’d pick up, but the call didn’t even connect, instead, she heard the now-familiar automated voice telling her that this person wasn’t available. She ended the call.
Frowning, she felt a deep dark pit of worry open up inside her stomach as she wondered why she’d not heard from her. That was unlike her.
Lily gasped as a thought occurred to her.
Maybe she’s back.
Getting off the bed, she staggered, nearly falling to her knees before catching herself as her head swam. She took a moment to steady herself, holding onto the bed.
Looking down, she saw track marks on her arm and wondered what cocktail of drugs Vassili had given her this time, and what might have happened to her while she was under the influence. That unknown terrified her, made her feel sick to her stomach. Is that what Jacob had done to Olivia? Is that why she’d suddenly had enough?
Shaking her head, she banished those thoughts and made for the door with renewed vigour, and stepped into the hall.
Olivia’s room was still there, and still empty. It was also trashed.
She wasn’t here.
A deep-seated loneliness and vulnerability gripped her as she took in the room.
Someone had come in here and smashed some of Olivia’s things, throwing them on the floor and stamping on them. It was most likely Jacob who’d done it in a fit of rage after she’d left.
He’d been furious with her when he came back into the house, stomping around, slamming doors, breaking things, before he and a few of the other guys left to find her.
