“Okay?” Ross asked, looking at her. He couldn’t know just by looking at her, could he?
“Yes, I’m fine, itching to get in.”
Ross accepted this and turned to concentrate on the door and his mission.
The fluttering wouldn’t give. They were in the house, the nerves were supposed to stop now. The kitchen was quiet, no one was in here. The sounds of the arrest and search team working through the front of the house and up the stairs were clearly heard. She would have a lot of things to explain to Tom later, but confrontation was not going to be one of them.
Doors were opened and checked, including a walk-in pantry and one leading into the dining room. Sally had noticed a door off to the side of the house’s main rear entrance. She looked at Ross and Nima as they searched through the kitchen, opening cupboard doors and drawers. Nima even, quite morosely, looked inside the freezer. She knew it had to be done, but it set her butterflies off again. She needed to find this girl alive and save her, not find her pieces shoved into some suburban appliance.
She stepped back out of the rear door. She jumped as she heard, “Leaving already?” Ross grinned like an idiot at her.
“There’s some kind of outhouse, I’m going to check.”
Ross’s smile slipped and he tilted his head as he looked at her. “You okay, Sally? You look a bit off it today. In fact you haven’t been right for a few days, but right now, well, I don’t know, it’s odd you know.”
She paused. Amazed by the fact that he had even picked up on it. He gave the impression he wasn’t paying attention to much that went on around him. Another relationship she hadn’t given credit to. She spent a lot of time with him and she should have figured out she could confide in him. “I know, Ross. I’ll explain it all tomorrow. I promise.
“Want me to come with you?”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t imagine it will be a very large space to check out. I won’t be long.”
“Okay, shout if you need anything.” He smiled again. This time with a more genuine feel to it.
Sometimes his never ending enthusiasm and happiness were a pain in the arse, but sometimes he surprised her and showed her depths she didn’t think he possessed. She would have that honest conversation with him tomorrow.
90
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I thought it would be Grey or Walker doing a very untimely request for an update, but an unrecognised number was showing on the caller ID screen. I gripped the rigid bar of the handcuffs between Manders’ wrists and twisted them towards me, causing the metal cuffs to dig in. I wanted him to know he was still securely restrained and would not be going anywhere even though I was taking a call. He made complaint but didn’t make an effort to move. With my left hand I put the phone to my ear.
“Hello.” I was sharp. This wasn’t the time.
“DI Robbins?”
“Yes. What?” I kept my eyes on Manders.
“Inspector, it’s Tom Poynter, Sally’s husband. I’m worried. I’ve called the station to speak with her as her mobile is turned off and they said she is out on a warrant. Making an arrest?” The concern carried in his voice, but I didn’t understand it and I was running out of patience. How had such a personal call had made it through to my mobile at a time like this?
“Yes, Tom, she is here. She’s okay, but I have to go.”
He erupted in my ear. “What do you mean ‘she’s there and she’s okay’? You’re taking her into a dangerous situation in her condition. What kind of supervisor are you?”
Her condition? “What do you mean, in her condition?”
“Her pregnancy. The baby. She told you,” Tom’s voice was now cracking.
Baby? Sally hadn’t told me about a baby. What the hell was going on? I would never have let her come into this if I’d known she was carrying a baby. “Pregnant?” I repeated into the phone. “You’re sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure!” A further outburst, then a question, “She said she’d told you days ago.”
“There’s an unborn baby in the house?” Manders twisted around straining on the cuffs and whispered, the corners of his mouth curling up. I turned the centre bar of the rigid cuffs so hard he squealed. No one in the room paid attention.
My mind was doing cartwheels. How could she do this? I had to get her removed from this house now. Later we would have strong words. “Tom, I’m going to get her out now. Then I will get her to call you as soon as she is. Understand?”
He sounded less angry and more confused, quieter. “Yes. Thank you.”
I ended the call and pushed the phone back into my pocket. Damn her. She knew better. Damn!
I pushed on Manders’ cuffs forcing him to step forward towards Aaron who was looking through some photographs on the windowsill. He turned to look at me. “Sally’s pregnant.” It’s all I had to say, Aaron grabbed the cuffs holding Manders still and I headed to the back of the house to find Sally and get her out. I’d try not to bawl her out in the middle of the operation. I’d leave that until we got back to the station. What was she thinking? Coming into a live operation like this, carrying a baby.
91
She pushed down on the handle and the unlocked door squealed open. She found herself at the top of some steep steps with a row of small bulbs on the side, lighting the way down. The fluttering grew. She could find the girl. She could be down here. She had to get to her and fast. They had been searching far too long and there was no way of knowing what damage had been caused. Palms flat out on the narrow stone walls to keep her balance, Sally took the steps down. The fluttering in her stomach turned into a knotty uncomfortable feeling. The walls she clung to were damp and cold and the staircase she was heading down steep, the bare concrete of each step narrow with not much in the way of footing; it dipped in the middle from many years of extensive foot traffic. She had to keep going, no matter what she would find there. If there was even the slightest possibility that the girl could be down here, she had to check. She moved her hand from the right wall and steadied herself with her left, putting her right hand on her flat stomach. A habit she now recognised she had formed. She would tell Hannah everything once they were back to their home station. She thought she might even take some time off. Tom was right, the blast had knocked the wind from her sails and a little time getting back on her feet would do her good. It would also make Tom happy.
At the bottom of the stairs was an old rotting wooden door. It had a bolt across the outside, but the bolt wasn’t fastened. Sally grasped the handle and took a breath. Was there really anything to fear down here? She was probably overreacting, but she had promised Tom she would be safe, so she pulled out her asp and flicked it, the friction causing the baton to extend to its full length and lock into place. She lifted her wrist upwards, laying the asp back down along her forearm so if there was anyone in there they wouldn’t see it and be afraid. She turned the handle. It wasn’t as she had expected. She had imagined the space to consist of a bare concrete floor and perhaps old household junk stored, but it was fitted much more like a living room, with carpet and floor length curtains up against a small window near the top of the rear wall. There was a chair in the corner, but it was what she saw in front of her that stopped her in her tracks as her brain struggled to process the sight.
A dog cage was in the middle of the room. Inside it, staring directly at her, was the girl she had seen in the image. She had found her. She was alive. As Sally took a step towards her the girl attempted to push away, eyes wide.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Sally lowered her voice. She was here. The journey was over. The girl was safe, the man responsible was being held upstairs and she could go home and know that she wouldn’t be leaving the station on any other jobs for the next seven months. She crouched in front of the cage and put the asp on the floor at the side of her. Reaching out, her fingertips had barely touched the wire of the cage when she became aware of a rapid movement in the corner of her eye.
92
Martin, Ross and Nima were search
ing the kitchen and dining area when I pushed through the door from the living room. I nearly knocked Martin over as I barged in, but Martin, on seeing my face, made no comment on my lack of apology. Ross and Nima looked puzzled.
“Where’s Sally?”
Nima’s look changed to one of confusion. “She went outside to check an external door a few minutes ago. Is everything okay?”
I didn’t wait to answer. My concern had ratcheted up a few notches and I had a bad feeling creeping in. Maybe it was the panic in Tom’s voice causing me to be so openly stressed, or the anger at myself for not knowing she was pregnant, or not pushing her more when I did know that something was bothering her. I was also angry with her for pulling the wool over my eyes. Doubt and fear travelled the nape of my neck and into my scalp.
I pushed past Ross. I swung the rear door open so hard the single paned glass window gave with the force I’d pushed it into the wall with. It cracked and shattered, hitting the floor with a sound like tinkling bells. I still didn’t stop. I needed to find her. Where the hell was she? I looked to my right and saw nothing but a neatly mowed lawn, dying a little in the poor weather conditions. I looked to my left and saw the second door Nima had mentioned. It wasn’t fully closed. I saw light coming from the bottom of the stairs.
“Sally?” I shouted as I started down the stairs sinking deep under the house.
93
She knew what it was as soon as she felt it. The cold slicing its way through her neck. Bringing in the very core of the damp held by the underground hole she was in. Sally brought up her right hand, a slippery warmth under her fingers. Her eyes sought out the girl, who held her gaze, not flinching. She tried to call for help but no sound came other than a small gurgling she didn’t recognise. Still the girl held her gaze.
Sally slid off her heels and leaned into the cage allowing it to hold her up. With her left hand she felt around her waist for her radio and tugged at the aerial poking up from her pocket. It didn’t move. She needed to keep one hand on her neck. She tugged again, her shoulder leaning into the cage, giving something to help push against. Her pocket gave and she held the radio in her hand. The radio clicked as she frantically transmitted but no sound came from her. She realised all she could do was sit with the girl. She wouldn’t leave her now. Sally turned her head slightly, looking for the risk, but movement felt difficult and disjointed. Darkness was playing with the corners of her vision.
Through the blurring edges she could see the woman held some kind of large kitchen knife. The light from the overhead bulb bounced from its blade. Spiking patterns through the darkness. Pretty. She was cold but warmth oozed down her chest. She relaxed into it a little. The fingers of her left hand now curled around the wire of the cage, keeping the child safe. Her other hand, asp long forgotten, held onto the wound.
“You fucking crazy maniacs,” the woman hissed. “Think you can come into our home and invade our privacy like this. You wait until Donovan knows. He will sort this out. You’ll be sorry.” The blade waved in front of her like a sharp silver and red barrier, but Sally wouldn’t be going near it. She had the child. She’d done her job. She had to hold on until help got there, then the girl would be safe. She heard her name being called. She tried again to cry out, the only sound little bubbles popping in her throat. The crazy woman waving the shiny blade at her wasn’t moving. Sally knew the best place for her was to sit here. With the girl. She was with the girl. She’d found her.
94
The stairs were steep and narrow. As I tried to get down the steps, I fell, my elbow slamming hard into the damp wall as I struggled to stay upright. I swore as I righted myself and continued down. What the hell was I about to walk into? What had Sally walked into? The damp played with my nostrils and seeped into my bones adding to the sense of dread. I heard a high pitched voice scream out from behind the wooden door at the foot of the stairs.
I ratcheted my asp by flicking it out in front of me. The concertinaed metal bars snapped into their locked position. The tip of the asp hit the wall in the narrow space and it echoed around me. My fist wrapped around the handle, I pushed on the door in front of me. The basement was set up with furniture. Sally was down, slumped against a small cage in the middle of the room. I couldn’t see past her into the cage and I didn’t have time to check. A woman I didn’t recognise stood over her. She had a wild look. My mind made the links between the wide-eyed twitching woman in front of me and the perfectly manicured and groomed host I’d previously met, Evelyn Manders. Donovan’s wife. She waved a knife erratically. Sally barely reacting on the ground. The woman was screaming but words were difficult to make out. I looked harder and saw a bright red stain down Sally’s shirt, seeping down to her stab vest. My heart jumped, filling my throat, constricting the airway. I raised my asp to shoulder height.
“Evelyn. Drop the knife.”
Her attention moved from Sally to me, the knife still dancing in front of her. I needed to draw her away. Sally looked bad.
“I will not. This is my home. How dare you!” Her voice shook. The knife quivered in her hand.
“Evelyn. Drop the knife! Now!” I commanded.
She lurched forward towards Sally again. I pulled my elbow back and powered through with the asp as I stepped forward. Evelyn curled around quickly, a loud scream going up. My asp was halfway there when a searing pain sliced its way through my upper arm. My arm dropped but instinct and training to survive kicked in. I pushed back hard again and slammed the asp down, contact with Evelyn’s shoulder vibrating through my arm. She fell to the floor screaming. The knife dropped with a soft thwack as it hit the carpet.
I looked at Sally. I needed to get to her. To stop the bleeding. But first I had to secure Evelyn Manders. I reached to my waist for my cuffs but they weren’t there. I’d already used them on Donovan. I kicked the knife away and kept a foot on a writhing Evelyn as I leaned over and down to Sally, her eyes nearly closed. I saw a flicker of recognition. I ran my hand around her waist until I found her cuffs and pulled at them. Sally slid a little further down the cage. Evelyn moved to knock me off balance and I kicked out. The tip of my boot made contact with something soft that gave under the pressure and the scream went up again. Once I had the cuffs in my hand I turned to Evelyn. She was on her side, wailing. I pulled and rolled her so she was face down. I leaned down hard on her. She gave little resistance but the keening sound continued. As I pulled both her arms back I felt her stiffen beneath me and she screamed.
“You fucking evil bitch. Get off me. Get off!”
I yanked harder, ripping her shoulders back and locking her wrists together behind her as she lay on her front screaming. Pain erupted through me, blood streamed down my arm, my ribs pulled tight and took my breath away. Sucking in, I crawled to Sally. I pushed both of my hands onto her neck, releasing Sally’s own weak grip on the wound. The white of the fat beneath her skin unfurled like a flower. I pressed harder. Blood seeped through my fingers. I couldn’t use my radio to call for help. I needed both hands to stop the flow of blood from Sally’s neck. I screamed loud and hard trying to be heard over the banshee sound of Evelyn Manders.
“Help! Officer down! Help!”
95
Sally heard screaming. Maybe it wasn’t someone screaming. It was faint and distant, like she was listening through water. Nothing felt sharp or in focus and she strained against the muted feel, but nothing was coming through. Her arm felt heavy as she held it up to her neck. The feeling in her hand was fading. Something told her it was important to leave her hand where it was, no matter how heavy her arm got.
She thought about Tom. About the baby. Their family. Then she thought about the reasons that had brought her here, to this point. She thought about the girl, the child. She’d found her. It was something her own child could be proud of. The weight on her arm pulled more. Tom would be angry. He would be angry that she was hurt and that she had put herself in that position. She loved him so much and she wanted their family more than anything. Bu
t she couldn’t have done, could she? Look at her now. On the floor, leaning on a wire dog cage, designed to hold small creatures, to keep them safe. She was attempting to protect a child, but in this state what could she actually do? What would Tom make of her decision when he found out? She hoped he would still love her. It hurt to think he wouldn’t love her any more. She’d make it up to him. They’d talk about the baby. She would buy a name book and spend evenings curled up on the sofa with him arguing about what kind of name they would have. Old and beautiful like Emily or modern and up to date like India. A beautiful name but Tom was old fashioned. She would love the bickering. They had the time to bicker. Seven whole months ahead of them. If Tom could forgive her this mistake. She curled her fingertips tighter round the wire she was leaning on, hoping the movement would reassure the child within. She couldn’t maintain eye contact or voice her reassurance. All she had to offer the girl was a fingertip squeeze and she hoped it was enough. She couldn’t tell if there was any response or movement from within.
Sounds dulled. The room around her darkened, the chill invasive. She was aware of someone with her now. She tried to acknowledge them, but she couldn’t move. She was so tired, so very tired. She’d sort this mess out later. Now she needed to rest. Just a short rest. Tom would still love her wouldn’t he? Sally let go.
Shallow Waters (Detective Hannah Robbins crime series Book 1) Page 22
