by Beevis, Keri
There was another long pause before, to his relief, he heard, ‘Yeah.’
‘Okay, listen to me. Lila’s missing and I’m scared this has something to do with Steph and what we were talking about on Sunday. I know Lila called you about the French trip and we’ve spoken to Jessica Drummond, she told us about the fight Steph had with one of the teachers on that trip, Mr Gruger. If you know anything about what happened, please, I need you to tell me.’
It was as if there was a huge time delay, the girl taking an age to hear his question and respond. Jack forced himself to keep a grip on his temper; aware losing it would only scare her off.
‘I remember that trip,’ she said eventually.
‘And do you remember the argument?’
‘Yeah, I do. But Mr Gruger, he wasn’t the problem. He was angry with Stephanie, but he didn’t understand that what had happened hadn’t been her fault.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He blamed Steph for the fight.’
‘The fight?’
‘Yeah, she punched his son in the face. Gave him a black eye.’
‘His son?’ Suddenly Jack couldn’t breathe.
‘His name was Aaron Gruger and he was vile. He hit on Steph and when she rejected him, he turned violent on her, attacked her. That’s why she punched him, because she was trying to get away.’
And now Lila was with him.
‘Ruby, thank you.’ Jack ended the call before she could reply. He’d heard enough. Lila was with the kid who had attacked his sister, who was likely The Bishop. Jack glanced around the town centre. She was no longer there, he was sure of it.
And then he spotted the circular bench under the tree, and the pair of crutches leaning against it.
Lila?
He rushed over, grabbed the crutches, almost willing them to tell him where she was. There was no sign of her anywhere, but Hayley had seen Lila there so the crutches had to be hers. There was no way she would have left without them. Unless she had been taken. It was a busy town centre though. How the hell would anyone manage that? He glanced around again, saw the old bloke busking with the guitar looking in his direction and Jack strode across.
‘There was a girl here using those crutches. Did you see her?’
The busker continued singing, glancing at Jack a little suspiciously. Jack pulled up the picture of Lila he had saved to his phone from Facebook and thrust it under the man’s nose. He finally stopped strumming, a frown on his face as he studied the picture.
‘Did you see her?’ Jack repeated, his temper rising. ‘I know you’re busy here and everything, but she’s missing and I’m worried something has happened to her. If you’ve seen anything, I really need your help.’
The busker met Jack’s eyes, took a moment seeming to gauge if he was genuine, and eventually nodded. ‘Yeah, I saw her. She was sitting on that bench and she didn’t look well. I asked her brother if he needed a hand getting her to the car as she seemed out of it, but he said he had it under control.’
Jack pulled up the screenshot he had grabbed of Aaron. ‘This her brother?’
The busker nodded again. ‘Yeah, that’s him. Seemed a nice young fella.’
Thanking him, Jack threw a fiver in his guitar case. He put his own phone back to his ear. ‘Elliot?’
‘Yeah?’
‘I want you to stay in Lila’s flat. Call me immediately if she shows up or you hear anything.’
‘Should I call the police?’
‘No, whatever you do, don’t call the police. After what happened the other night, it will only make things worse. Sit tight and wait for me to get in touch.’
‘Okay.’ Elliot sounded hesitant. ‘What’s going on, Jack? Where is she?’
‘I think she’s at Gruger’s house and I’m gonna go get her back.’
39
It was great to finally be in her bed, lying down.
The toll of everything that had happened must have finally broken her, exhaustion sweeping over her like a mist and pulling her under. Lila had no idea how long she had been out for, was just grateful she was home and safe.
She blinked sharply, her vision still swimming, tried to force herself to focus. Someone was in the bedroom with her.
Elliot?
He had picked her up from Fakenham, brought her home, except she couldn’t actually remember calling him.
She had been in his car though, she knew that much. He had half carried her down the street, buckled her seat belt and driven her home. The drive back to Norwich was a blur, but she vaguely recalled him helping her up the stairs and into her flat, putting her on the bed.
Her flat didn’t have stairs.
That was odd, because she remembered climbing them. More like being dragged up them, the cast on her leg banging as it hit each step. As if the reminder set it off, her broken leg began to throb.
‘Elliot?’
‘You’re awake.’ His voice sounded odd, un-Elliot-like.
‘Water… please.’
He got up and came towards the bed, and for a moment, she thought back to the hospital. After the accident he had sat in the chair and watched over her, like now.
A glass pressed against her lips and she tried to move, but her limbs were still so stiff and heavy she could barely raise her head. He tipped the glass and she gratefully gulped at the water, could feel it running down the sides of her mouth and dripping down her neck, but she was so tired and didn’t have the energy to try to wipe it away.
She blinked again as her brother took his place back in the chair beside her bed. There was a window behind him and that was odd, as he was sitting to the right of the bed where the wall backed on to her living room. The window was supposed to be on her left.
What had happened to her flat?
‘I’ve been waiting for you to wake up. I thought I’d given you too much.’
Too much what? What the hell was Elliot on about?
And why was he still in her room? She was home now and wanted to be alone so she could brood over Jack.
God, yes, Jack. All the anger came flooding back, the betrayal and how he had hurt her. She hated him with every fibre of her body, even if she couldn’t properly feel most of it. But as much as she hated him she still loved him. Damn it, why did it have to hurt so badly? And talking of hurt, why was her leg aching so much?
Her crutches. They had been left behind when Elliot had helped her to the car. Had he gone back for them? There was no way she could manage without them. She attempted to sit up again, this time getting annoyed when her limbs didn’t comply. Elliot sat in the chair watching her and she blinked hard, tried again to clear her vision. His face swam before her before slowly coming into focus, and she realised with a start that he wasn’t Elliot; that the face staring back at her was Aaron Gruger.
Why was he in her bedroom?
She stared at the window behind him, remembered the stairs they had climbed again, and an icy finger of fear stroked down her back as she realised she wasn’t in her bedroom, wasn’t in her flat. Where the fuck was she?
If she was with Aaron and she wasn’t at home, she had to be in his house.
This time she fought the haziness, struggling to sit up. Her good leg complied, her bad one reminding her it had been punished, but her arms wouldn’t move. They were stretched above her, something pulling them down. She wiggled her fingers, her hands, trying to ward off the numbness, realised her wrists were bound together and anchored to something above her head. Panic seared through her as she tried to sit up again, with each passing second, the haze clearing and her current predicament becoming all the more real and all the more frightening.
Why had Aaron brought her here and why had he drugged her and tied her down?
‘Aaron? What are you doing?’ Lila hated how shaky her voice was. She wanted to sound authoritative, but damn it, she was so scared.
‘Good, you’re coming back to me.’ He sounded pleased. ‘I thought I had put too much ketamine in your coffee and you
were going to be calling me by your brother’s name all afternoon.’
‘Please untie me.’
She watched him get up from the chair, stride over to the bed, the mattress dipping as he sat down beside her, and she tried to recoil as he softly stroked her hair.
No-one knew where she was.
That sudden realisation shook through her and for a moment, she thought she was going to be sick.
‘You know I’m not going to do that.’ His fingers knotted in her hair, pulled tightly holding her head in place. ‘You had to start asking questions, had to keep digging.’ He leant over her and his breath was hot on her face. It smelt of stale coffee. Lila squeezed her eyes shut. ‘I can’t let you go, you know too much. But we can have a little fun first.’ He tiptoed his fingers of his free hand down between her breasts and over her stomach and she tried unsuccessfully to twist away.
He was going to kill her. Pure fear coursed through her veins and, although she tried to stay calm, not wanting to show him how scared she was, her body betrayed her, trembling violently.
‘You know I’ve liked you since that first time I met you, even if you were too stuck up to accept my friend request on Facebook. You’re older than my usual type, but when you connect with someone, I don’t think age matters.’
Her brain was still a little fuzzy and her whole body leaden. It would be a struggle to fight Aaron even if she wasn’t tied up. How the hell was she going to get out of this? No-one knew she was there. She had run out on Jack, hadn’t managed to get hold of Elliot. Had they even noticed yet that she was missing? And she didn’t have her phone or her crutches. Even if she could somehow manage to get free, find a way out of the house, how far would she get with a broken leg?
‘People will be looking for me.’
Aaron shrugged at that, seeming unconcerned. ‘I doubt it. If I remember rightly you were stranded in Fakenham and no-one knew you were there. Tell me, why did you want to call your brother and not Jack? Have you lovebirds fallen out?’
When Lila didn’t answer him, tried to turn her head to face the wall, Aaron continued sounding amused. ‘You have, haven’t you. I knew something was up when I saw you leave his house this morning and get into the taxi.’
Her head shot back. ‘You were there?’
Aaron looked pleased with himself. ‘Yes, I was there for most of the night, watching and waiting for the right opportunity. I didn’t dream you would make it so easy. All I had to do was follow the taxi to Fakenham and wait for the right moment to approach you.’
‘You planned this.’ It wasn’t a question.
‘I already told you, Lila, you know too much and you’re a loose end that needs dealing with.’ Aaron cocked his head, looking thoughtful. ‘I am curious though, how did you learn about The Bishop?’
Had Richard Gruger put his son up to this? Were they in on it together?
When she didn’t answer his question, he shook his head seeming disappointed. ‘Cat got your tongue? Never mind, we have the whole afternoon to ourselves and I’m sure I can make you talk eventually. I can be very persuasive.’
As though to make a point, he ran his hand up the bare flesh of her thigh, let his fingers creep under her dress. Lila flinched and drew up her legs, trying to get away from him, which only seemed to amuse him. Mercifully he removed his hand, got up from the bed and walked over to the window. She gave a testing yank on her wrists, frustrated when she realised just how tightly they were bound and that there was no way she would be able to wiggle her hands free. There was no give in the rope pulling them above her head either and the knots to whatever he had secured her to were firmly out of reach.
Aaron had said they had the afternoon together and while she dreaded what he had planned, it suggested he didn’t intend to kill her just yet. Was he waiting for his father to arrive home so they could kill her together?
A terrible thought occurred to her. If they thought she was a loose end, did it mean they were planning to go after Jack also? She had to find a way to warn him.
As she renewed her efforts to free herself, she became aware that Aaron was watching her struggle, a part-smile on his face, and she forced herself to still, refusing to give him what he wanted. Her breathing was heavy from the exertion, her skin slick with sweat, and she saw his gaze drop to her breasts, a hungry look in his eyes as he took a step forward.
She had to distract him.
‘What about Jack? Are you going to hurt him?’
‘Why, are you concerned for your boyfriend?’ When Lila didn’t answer, he shook his head. ‘Jack isn’t a concern. He doesn’t know what you do.’
‘But I don’t know anything else other than your dad is The Bishop. Is this why you’re doing this? To protect him?’
‘You don’t get it, do you. You don’t remember what you saw that night?’
‘What night?’
‘The night of the accident.’ Aaron tapped his forehead. ‘It’s all locked away up here and at some point it’s going to find its way out. That’s why you’re here. It can’t happen. That’s why I can’t let you leave.’
‘But your dad saved me. He pulled me from the water.’
Aaron slow clapped. ‘Bravo, Dad,’ he muttered sarcastically before his tone sobered. ‘You really don’t remember any of it?’
Lila thought back to the car accident. Her last memory before it happened was realising there was another car heading towards the bridge, and she had been screaming at Mark to slow down. After that it all went blank.
‘So you’re the one who’s been trying to hurt me? You’re the one who pushed me in front of the bus, broke into my flat, and attacked me at Veronica Crowther’s house?’
Aaron didn’t answer her. Instead he remained silent, studying her.
‘You demand a lot of answers for someone who, let’s face it, isn’t really in a position to be demanding anything at the moment. How about you answer some of my questions instead?’
He approached the foot of the bed, sank one knee into the mattress, and grabbed hold of her good foot when she tried to wriggle away from him, yanking off her boot. He threw it across the room, locked one hand around her ankle and used the fingers of his other hand to caress the sole of her foot. Lila struggled to pull herself free, repulsed by his touch, but he tightened his grip.
‘How did you connect Shona McNamara and Phoebe Kendall to my dad?’
When Lila didn’t answer him, his voice dropped to a menacing whisper. ‘Have you been lying to me? Do you really remember more about the night of the accident than you’ve let on?’
She swallowed hard. ‘I don’t remember anything.’
Holding her legs in place, keeping his eyes locked on hers, he climbed onto the bed and crawled his way up her body, his moves deliberately slow, and sat down so he was straddling her hips, his weight pushing her into the mattress. He leant forward, placed his hands either side of her head, his face inches from hers.
‘Suddenly I’m not sure I believe you.’
‘I’m telling you the truth.’
‘Are you really, Lila?’
* * *
She was lying, he was certain of it. He kept his eyes on hers, enjoying how scared she was as he reached down and unfastened the top button of her dress.
‘Shona wasn’t supposed to be here, you know. Phoebe was meant to come alone so I was really pissed off when they showed up together. The only people who know who I am are my clients and as they are as guilty as I am, I know they won’t tell.’
‘You’re The Bishop?’
Finally the penny had dropped. He gave a humourless laugh, amused by the shock on her face. He had really taken her by surprise with that little revelation.
‘Not quite as smart as you thought you were, hey, Detective Lila?’
He undid the second and third buttons, pulled the dress open and spent a moment admiring the pretty lacy pink bra she wore, his dick growing hard. She had stilled beneath him, was watching him warily, and he knew she understood exactly wh
at was going to happen, that there was nothing she could do to stop him. When she trembled, he wasn’t sure if it turned him on or pissed him off.
‘It had been Phoebe’s idea to fuck. She needed help, but couldn’t afford my fee, so she offered a compromise. At first I turned her down, but the more I thought about it, the more my dick liked the idea. I picked a weekend when my dad was away and my mum visiting my grandparents. It was a one-time thing. Once the day was over, she would leave with the test answers and our transaction would be complete.’
He hadn’t planned to tell Lila everything, but she wasn’t going anywhere, would be dead before the night was through. Besides, he was enjoying her reaction. She thought she had it all worked out, but she really didn’t have a clue.
‘That’s a lie! What about Stephanie Whitman? You said Phoebe Kendall was a one-off, but you wouldn’t take Stephanie’s money. You wanted sex and when she turned you down, you blackmailed her.’
Aaron could still feel Lila trembling, but her dark eyes were challenging, her expression defiant. He had already deviated from the original plan by bringing her to the house, knew it wasn’t supposed to happen this way, but when he realised she had to die, he just couldn’t help himself and had figured why shouldn’t he get to have a little bit of fun first. He didn’t appreciate her confrontational tone though, acting like she was calling the shots, and to make a point that he was in charge he slipped his hands inside her dress and cupped her breasts, pleased when her eyes widened and her body went rigid beneath him.
Still she jutted her chin out, glared at him. ‘Why was Stephanie different?’
He had to give Lila credit. She knew more than he realised. He thought back to Stephanie Whitman, recalled the moment of satisfaction when she came to him for help. The way she had humiliated him in France had stuck with him and he had long dreamt of getting back at the silly little cow.
‘Stephanie and I had history. I didn’t want her money.’ No, he had wanted to finish what he had tried to start with her in France and he planned to make her beg. ‘She needed to be taught a lesson. I had no intention of ever giving her the test answers. I just wanted to have some fun with her, a bit like how we’re having now.’
