‘Listen, we’d like to take you at your word, but there was nobody there. We checked the surrounding buildings, the dockside –’
‘He was there.’
‘Then why can’t we find any trace of him?’
‘Do you think I made him up? Why would I have called my colleagues to the docks if I was responsible? Why would I do that?’
‘You tell us.’
Helen was getting angry now, insisting that she had acted properly throughout the investigation. She was telling them that she hadn’t kept her connection to the first two victims to herself – she had discussed it with her commanding officer and been asked to continue on the case. They promised to follow this up, before launching into a series of new questions about her relationship to the deceased. Helen brushed these off, urging them to verify what she was saying, before asking her anything else. Again they batted her back and Gardam was surprised to see Helen now turn towards the two-way.
‘I’m not saying another word until you get him in here,’ Helen was saying. ‘Ask him under caution if I raised the issue.’
‘With all due respect, you’re the only one under caution here and I’d like you to answer my questions …’
Helen ignored her interrogator, staring straight at Gardam. It was a bold gesture but a pointless one. She would only see her own face staring back, whereas he could see everything. He had the advantage now, which is how he wanted it.
They would come to him, of course, asking if what she claimed was true. He had the opportunity to extend a helping hand to her now … but why should he, when she had already sunk her teeth into it? He would dismiss her claims. He would be surprised, bemused, even saddened that she should try to draw a fellow officer into her depravity.
He had been fascinated by her – maybe he was still – but she had poured scorn on him. And for that she was going to pay.
129
The door closed behind her and Helen heard the key turn in the lock. It was strange how different it sounded on the inside. Out there, among colleagues and friends, the turn of the key had always sounded like a job well done. In here, it was like a death knell.
Helen sat down on the bed and stared at the walls. Her mind was turning on a thousand points, searching for the weak points in Robert’s scheme, but she could find none. She knew already that there would be no help coming from Gardam. If he’d wanted to save her, he would have done so by now. No, this was the perfect get-out for him – if she reported his assault now, who would believe her? Still, Helen wondered if he was enjoying her destruction. Or did it hurt him, knowing that he would never see her again?
She heard footsteps and looked up. The door remained closed, but a newspaper slid under the gap at the bottom. The footsteps moved away and Helen could hear the custody officers laughing. It wasn’t hard to see why. Their gift to her was a copy of the Evening News. Picking it up, she flicked past the sensational headline to the inner pages. Much of the paper was devoted to the story, but the crowning glory was Emilia Garanita’s profile piece of her. It was entitled: Fall from Grace.
Helen binned the paper and lay down on the bed. The fight had finally gone out of her. There was nothing to do now but lick her wounds.
Robert had waited for his moment, then struck with devastating effect. He was a man possessed – his loneliness, bitterness and rage altering him beyond all recognition. He had stayed alive purely to gain vengeance for his mother and Helen had paid dearly for her sins. Robert had taken from her everything she held dear. Her reputation, her job, her friends.
And, worst of all, her freedom.
DI Helen Grace will return in …
‘Helen Grace is one of the greatest heroes to come along in years’
JEFFERY DEAVER
‘The new Jo Nesbø’
JUDY FINNIGAN
THE FIRST DI HELEN GRACE THRILLER
The girl emerged from the woods, barely alive. Her story was beyond belief. But it was true. Every dreadful word of it.
Days later, another desperate escapee is found – and a pattern is emerging. Pairs of victims are being abducted, imprisoned then faced with a terrible choice: kill or be killed.
Would you rather lose your life or lose your mind?
Detective Inspector Helen Grace has faced down her own demons on her rise to the top. As she leads the investigation to hunt down this unseen monster, she learns that it may be the survivors – living calling cards – who hold the key to the case.
And unless she succeeds, more innocents will die …
THE SECOND DI HELEN GRACE THRILLER
A man’s body is found in an empty house. His heart has been cut out and delivered to his wife and children.
He is the first victim, and Detective Inspector Helen Grace knows he will not be the last. But why would a happily married man be this far from home in the dead of night?
The media call it Jack the Ripper in reverse: a serial killer preying on family men who lead hidden double lives.
Helen can sense the fury behind the murders. But what she cannot possibly predict is how volatile this killer is – or what is waiting for her at the end of the chase …
THE THIRD DI HELEN GRACE THRILLER
A young woman wakes up in a cold, dark cellar, with no idea how she got there or who her kidnapper is. So begins her terrible nightmare.
Nearby, the body of another young woman is discovered buried on a remote beach. But the dead girl was never reported missing – her estranged family having received regular texts from her over the years. Someone has been keeping her alive from beyond the grave.
For Detective Inspector Helen Grace it’s chilling evidence that she’s searching for a monster who is not just twisted but also clever and resourceful – a predator who’s killed before.
And as Helen struggles to understand the killer’s motivation, she begins to realize that she’s in a desperate race against time …
THE FOURTH DI HELEN GRACE THRILLER
In the dead of night, three raging fires light up the city skies. It’s more than a tragic coincidence. For DI Helen Grace the flames announce the arrival of an evil she has never encountered before.
Because this is no firestarter seeking sick thrills, but something more chilling: a series of careful, calculating acts of murder.
But why were the victims chosen? What’s driving the killer? And who will be next?
A powder keg of fear, suspicion and dread has been laid. Now all it needs is a spark to set it off …
THE BEGINNING
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MICHAEL JOSEPH
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa
Michael Joseph is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published 2016
Copyright © M. J. Arlidge, 2016
Cover images: © Wolf Kettler/Arcangel Images and © Shutterstock
The moral right of the author has been asserted
ISBN: 978-1-405-91924-1
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Little Boy Blue: DI Helen Grace 5 (A DI Helen Grace Thriller) Page 25
