The One You Trust: Emma Holden Trilogy: Book Three

by Paul Pilkington

  Chapter 19

  Edward Holden rapped on the door and waited for an answer. He had been certain of what he was doing up until that point, but now he was having second thoughts. What if I’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion? If he had, what he was about to do could backfire badly. But it was too late. He could hear someone coming.

  ‘Who is it?’ a girl’s voice asked on the other side of the door. It didn’t have a spyhole, so it was prudent of her to want to know who was there, particularly at this time of night.

  He thought about lying, but decided against it. It would be interesting to see her reaction to the truth. ‘It’s Edward Holden. Will’s father.’

  There was a pause. He was about to speak again when he heard the lock click, and the door edged open.

  Sally peered around the half-open door. She was dressed in a blue T-shirt and pastel pink lounging trousers, her blonde hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Edward could see why Will had fallen for her. She was effortlessly attractive. ‘Why are you here?’

  ‘I need to speak to you,’ he said.

  She was obviously puzzled. ‘But it’s really late. Anyway, how did you get my address?’ She pushed the door ever so slightly nearer to the closed position.

  ‘I got it from Will,’ he said, telling a half-truth.

  ‘It’s really late,’ she repeated.

  ‘It’s important,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t be here at this time of night if it wasn’t.’

  Sally looked behind her towards the inside of her flat, then nodded and opened the door.

  Edward wasn’t invited to sit down, but he preferred to stand anyway; he wasn’t planning on being there long. ‘I’ve come to tell you to stop what you’re doing. I know what’s going on.’

  ‘Pardon? Stop what?’

  Edward searched her face for a trace of guilt. She just looked confused. God, I hope I’ve got this right. ‘You know what I’m talking about.’

  ‘I’m sorry, but I really don’t.’

  ‘Just leave my family alone. You’ve done more than enough to hurt us, so please just have the decency of disappearing from our lives.’

  Sally’s face cleared a little. ‘I’m afraid that’s not your decision. Will is big enough to decide for himself what he wants to do.’

  Edward shook his head. So he was right. ‘Look’ – he pointed at her – ‘you’re not getting a penny from me or my family, do you hear? Not a single penny. We were very good to you – we could have pressed the police harder for charges to be brought, and this is the way you repay us, with a seedy attempt at blackmail? I don’t know how you live with yourself.’

  ‘Money? Blackmail?’ The girl looked genuinely shocked. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m not blackmailing anyone.’

  ‘Don’t bother denying it.’ He could hear his voice rising.

  ‘I am denying it!’

  Edward could feel himself sliding into a hole. Either she was lying, or he had indeed made a costly rush to judgement. He had to pull things back, fast, otherwise it could all unravel and he would be left sinking in the pit. ‘But I thought . . .’

  ‘I don’t know what you thought, but you’re wrong. Look, I’ve done some bad things, but I’m really sorry for what happened, and as far as Will is concerned, he’s happy to accept that and move on.’

  Edward was taken aback. ‘You’ve spoken to Will?’

  ‘Yes, of course. I thought he must have told you.’

  ‘No, no, he hasn’t. You’ve been seeing one another?’

  ‘A couple of times, yes. But you should really talk to Will about this, not me.’

  Edward was perturbed. ‘You’re dating?’

  ‘You need to talk to Will,’ Sally repeated, ‘but we’re not dating, no. We’re just friends.’

  ‘Friends? After what you did?’

  Sally’s face closed. ‘I’d like you to leave now, please. I need to go to bed.’

  Edward considered holding his ground, but then backed down. He turned at the doorway. ‘Just don’t hurt my family again.’

  ‘I understand how you feel, Mr Holden. But I have no intention of doing that. You’ve got nothing to worry about, as far as I’m concerned.’

  ‘I hope that’s true,’ he replied. ‘For your sake as much as ours.’

  Chapter 20

  ‘Emma, sorry again about the late visit.’ DI Mark Gasnier looked just as Emma had remembered – the towering build, the movie-star smile and olive skin. And the dark suit. Even at this late hour, he cut an impressive figure.

  ‘Come in, we’re in the living room.’

  Gasnier walked ahead of her. He took in the sight of Dan, Lizzy and Will, who were sitting pensively on the sofa. They all nodded their hellos. ‘I didn’t expect a welcome party,’ he said. ‘Sorry to interrupt.’

  ‘Would you like a drink?’ Emma asked. ‘Tea, coffee, water?’

  ‘I’m okay,’ he said, sitting down in a single chair opposite the three. ‘I’ve just had a coffee back at the station.’

  Gasnier had spent the past hour and a half finding out more information; he had wanted to know the full facts before presenting Emma with the bad news. He knew he would need to be able to answer all her questions, or at least all those that could possibly be answered at this early stage.

  He had also kept half an ear on the radio: West Ham had beaten Real Madrid by two goals to one. The commentator had described it as one of the club’s greatest ever victories. Matthew had sent him a text shortly after the final whistle, asking what it had felt like to be there.

  Emma sat down next to the others and waited for Gasnier to explain.

  ‘You look well, Dan,’ he said. ‘Much better than the last time I saw you.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Dan replied. ‘I feel a lot better.’

  ‘That’s good, very good.’ He tracked slowly from right to left across the occupants of the sofa. ‘You all look well. It’s nice to see people get through very difficult times. You’ve all done really well.’

  Emma watched him. The small talk was just making her more nervous. He was building up to something, and she had a very strong feeling that she wasn’t going to like it at all.

  Gasnier appeared to notice her discomfort. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I should tell you what I’m here about. I’m afraid there has been a worrying development. But I want to try to allay any concerns you may have.’

  Emma closed her eyes, preparing for the guillotine to come down. It was something about Peter Myers, it had to be. Has he reversed his plea to not guilty? It would mean making them all endure the pain of a protracted court case, she knew that. She had been afraid that it might happen, despite his decision to admit his guilt shortly after his capture. But her worst fear was still that he would take the opportunity to reveal the truth about Stephen Myers’ death during the trial, as a mitigating circumstance. And in doing so, point the finger squarely at Will. Emma felt Lizzy grip her hand in support.

  ‘This evening the news came in that Peter Myers has escaped from custody.’ He watched carefully for a reaction from the four. ‘There are a lot of officers out there looking for him, and they hope that this will be a quick operation. I don’t expect it will be long before he’s back behind bars.’

  Dan was the first to speak. ‘When did he escape?’

  ‘This afternoon.’

  Lizzy was next, looking pale. ‘But how could he escape? He was in a secure prison, wasn’t he? You can’t just walk out of those places, can you?’

  ‘Well, unfortunately, it has happened in the past,’ Gasnier replied. ‘Although, thankfully, it’s rare. But Peter Myers didn’t escape from prison. He was being treated in hospital at the time.’

  ‘What for?’ Lizzy said.

  Gasnier hesitated. ‘I’m afraid I can’t pass on that information.’

  Dan shook his head in disgust. ‘Even criminals have a right to privacy.’

  ‘Something like that, yes,’ Gasnier said. ‘But the reason for his admission to hospital is no
t really of any significance. What is significant is that he is currently out, and it’s important that you should know.’

  Now Emma mustered the strength to speak. She hadn’t expected this news, and the thought that Peter Myers was out there, somewhere, was truly frightening. ‘What should we do?’

  She had expected Gasnier to shoot straight back with a list of recommendations, but he just sat there for a few seconds, obviously considering his response. His hesitation was worrying – she wanted him to have all the answers on the tip of his tongue. He usually seemed so certain, so confident.

  ‘Well,’ he began, ‘I know it’s very worrying, but the first thing to say is that the great majority of offenders who escape are caught within the first twenty-four hours of their so-called freedom. So I do expect that he will be back in custody within a relatively short period of time. And when the escape is opportunistic, they’re often caught within a matter of hours, because the offender has no plan, no safe house, no shelter. There’s a national alert out across all the forces, so if he’s out in public, there’s every chance that he’ll be spotted pretty quickly.’

  ‘Is that what you think?’ Emma said. ‘That it was just opportunistic?’

  ‘That’s the assumption at the moment,’ Gasnier confirmed. ‘He was in the hospital for a genuine reason, so the officers on the case are working on the basis that he just took advantage of the reduced security. He had guards with him, of course, but it’s obviously less secure than a prison.’

  ‘I just don’t understand,’ Lizzy said. ‘How could he get away from the guards? Weren’t they watching him at all times? I mean, this guy is dangerous. He shouldn’t be left alone to walk around a hospital.’

  ‘It’s a matter that’s under investigation. But the priority is to find and recapture him, as soon as possible. Recriminations can come later.’

  ‘Should we be worried?’ Dan said. ‘Do you think we’re in danger?’

  Gasnier paused again. ‘The honest answer is that we can’t rule that out. We know what he’s done in the past, and he is dangerous. So it’s wise to be cautious. But, and this is a big but, it would be very unusual for Peter Myers to target any of you. His priority will be to evade capture, and heading straight here, for you, wouldn’t be a very wise decision. He knows that this is one of the places we’ll be monitoring, so he would be mad to come here.’

  ‘But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen,’ Lizzy said.

  ‘Again, working on what’s happened in the past, it’s very unusual for an offender to seek out their previous victims during an escape. I can only think of a handful of instances when that happened, and there are usually special circumstances – for instance, the victim was a family member who could also offer shelter.’

  ‘So do we really just have to stay here and hope that he doesn’t come looking to finish what he started?’ Lizzy asked. ‘It just sounds crazy to me, whatever you say about how unlikely it is that Peter Myers will come.’

  Gasnier opened his palms. ‘It’s your decision whether you stay, or whether you go somewhere else until he’s re-arrested. But, as I said, I’m not expecting it to be that long before he’s brought back into custody.’

  ‘Can you protect us better here?’ Emma asked. ‘If we stay, then you and your officers, they’ll be able to protect us, in case he does come?’

  ‘We’ll do what we can,’ Gasnier replied. ‘We’ll certainly make patrols, be on the other end of a phone, assign you a link officer. But I’m afraid we can’t provide twenty-four-hour protection.’

  Lizzy wasn’t happy with that response. ‘So if Peter Myers does come looking for us, we’d better hope that it’s during one of your patrols.’

  ‘I’m afraid, Lizzy, it’s just the reality of what we can resource. There are a lot of people in London who would like one-to-one protection, believe me. And a lot – with all due respect to your situation – who are at more risk of harm than you.’

  ‘So we should go somewhere else, where Peter Myers won’t be able to find us.’

  ‘As I said, that’s up to you.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Look, I’m sorry, I have to go now. But I’ll be in touch again first thing tomorrow, hopefully with good news. In the meantime, if anything happens, or you’re worried about anything at all, call me on my mobile. Whatever time of the day or night, just call me. I really don’t mind.’

  Emma closed the door behind DI Gasnier. The others were standing at her shoulder, and Dan placed a hand on her back.

  ‘I can’t believe this,’ she said. ‘I can’t believe he’s out there, free to do whatever he wants. It’s the worst nightmare.’ She turned to her friends. ‘What should we do?’

  ‘Well,’ Dan said to Will and Lizzy, ‘it’s up to you guys, but I think you should both stay here tonight. Then we can talk about it more in the morning. Lizzy, you can share with Emma; I’ll sleep on the floor in the living room with Will. We’ve got sleeping bags and spare blankets and pillows.’

  They both nodded.

  ‘That’s good,’ Emma said. ‘We need to stick together and get through this. Because it doesn’t matter what DI Gasnier says to try to reassure us, I’m really frightened.’

  Chapter 21

  The girl lay on the bed and gazed at the ceiling. She reached out to the man lying beside her and stroked his back. ‘This feels so good. You and me, like this.’

  The man turned to face her. ‘I couldn’t agree more.’ He kissed her deeply, and they entwined under the covers.

  ‘I really think this could be the start of something special,’ she said, afterwards, as the man dressed. She waited a few seconds for a response. ‘Don’t you?’

  He looked at her and smiled as he picked up his shirt from where he’d put it carefully over the back of the chair, slipping his arms through the sleeves and buttoning up the front. ‘Of course I do.’ He turned to the full-length mirror and carefully checked his hair. ‘Let’s talk more about this later, after my meeting. I’d also like to speak to you more about what I suggested earlier.’

  ‘Okay,’ she said, snuggling down under the covers again and nestling into the pillows. ‘Hurry back.’ She waited for a response, but when she turned to look, he’d already left the room.

  As she closed her eyes, her thoughts turned again to what he had said in his sleep.

  It probably meant nothing . . .

  Part Three

  Chapter 22

  Emma lay back in the warm water of the deep bath as Dan massaged her neck and back, moving his fingers delicately across her wet skin.

  ‘What are you thinking?’ he asked, pressing his fingers in deeper.

  Emma arched her back as the pleasurable sensation ran down her spine. She felt his legs wrap around her body.

  Baths for two were always a treat.

  ‘Of us,’ she said, closing her eyes and playing with the tap using the tips of her toes.

  ‘What about us?’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know. Our future, I guess.’

  He began kissing the back of her neck, sending shivers through her body.

  ‘What future?’ he whispered in her ear.

  Emma opened her eyes. ‘What do you mean?’

  She felt his breath against her skin, tickling the small, fine hairs around the nape of her neck.

  ‘You’ll wish you’d never met me,’ he said.

  She twisted around to look at him. He looked serious. ‘Don’t be silly. Of course I don’t wish that.’

  ‘No, you will wish you’d never met me.’ He stopped the massage but kept a hand on each shoulder. ‘There’s no future for us, Em. I’m so sorry.’

  The pressure on Emma’s neck increased.

  ‘Dan, you’re hurting me.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ he repeated. ‘Please, don’t forget that, will you?’

  She tried to raise herself from the water, but with his grip it was impossible to move anywhere but down.

  ‘Dan!’ she protested, hearing the fear in her voice. She wanted to lash ou
t and grab him, anything to stop this from happening, but her arms simply flailed about, unable to get a grip.

  ‘Relax,’ he said, still holding her firm. His voice sounded different, alien. Again he began kissing her, but this time it was not tender, the kisses almost violent in their intensity. ‘I’m sorry you can’t trust me.’

  ‘Dan, please, stop it, you’re really scaring me!’ Emma arched away from him, but he pulled her back. ‘Dan!’

  ‘I’m your number one fan, Emma. I always have been.’

  It wasn’t Dan. The voice, the feel of his hands. It was him. ‘Stephen, please, let me go, let me go.’

  Emma felt an immense pressure being applied to her head and, before she knew it, she was under the water. Soapy water gushed into her nose and mouth, cutting her breathing dead.

  She threw out her legs and arms against invisible targets, desperate to get out, and tried to scream, despite knowing that she would drown faster that way. But she didn’t know who she was hoping would hear her cries. Dan had gone. And there was no one else. It was like she was trapped in a whirlpool that was dragging her down, deeper and deeper. The depth of the water was amazing.

  She opened her eyes. Through the water, at the surface, she could see the silhouette of Stephen Myers looming over her.

  It was over.

  Suddenly tired of fighting, she relaxed into her fate, her eyes fixed on the figure above.

  ‘Emma, are you okay? Emma?’

  The image was fading.

  ‘Emma, please, wake up.’

  Emma opened her eyes. Lizzy was sitting over her in the semi-darkness, concerned.

  ‘You must have been having a nightmare,’ she said. ‘You were thrashing around, mumbling things.’

  Disorientated, Emma pulled herself upright. She glanced across at the clock, its dial casting a familiar orange glow over her bedside table. It was half past four in the morning.

  ‘Can you remember what you were dreaming about?’