“They’re thick as thieves, always in and out of each other’s offices, whispered conversations that stop as soon as I enter the room.”
Frances tingled from head to toe. She wanted to leap to her feet and kiss the younger woman square on her perfectly shaped mouth. Instead, she got to her feet slowly. “Well, you’ve been very helpful, Charlie. I’ll keep your confidence as I said I would and, in return, I implore you to keep mine regarding Christian, until I’ve had a chance to investigate.”
“Of course,” Charlie said, also getting to her feet and shrugging into her burnt-orange coloured jacket, which Frances noticed was the exact shade of her lipstick.
***
Mary saw her mummy. She stood just outside the bedroom doorway and beckoned for her to follow.
With tears of joy rolling down her cheeks, Mary chased after her.
“Mummy, wait!” she cried.
But there was no sign of her mother by the time she got to the top of the stairs.
“Mummy!” she screamed, almost falling down the stairs in her haste. She ran through to the kitchen and stopped. A gasp caught in her throat.
Her mother stood with her back to her, gazing out of the window.
“Mummy,” Mary sobbed and ran to her.
She turned and pulled Mary into her arms.
Overcome by the familiar scent of her mother, Mary held her tight.
“Hey, my baby, don’t cry,” her mother cooed, burying her face into Mary’s hair. “Don’t cry,” she said again. “We’ll be together soon.”
“Soon?” Mary asked, opening her eyes. She suddenly realised she was hugging herself, and she was no longer in the kitchen but back upstairs in the wardrobe.
Chapter 51
After finishing up with Charlie, Frances made a few phone calls, and discovered that Christian Owens was not as charming as she first thought.
In his previous practice, he’d been accused of sexually abusing one of his clients. Things were never proven and no charges laid, but he left the practice soon after, choosing instead to work for his estranged uncle. Maybe that was when their deranged plan was hatched.
Frances called Karen Saint-John and explained everything, and they arranged to pounce on Christian first thing in the morning. She felt thrilled with herself, knowing they were hours away from cracking the case.
*
She stopped in at the hospital on the way home, and found Amanda dozing at the side of Adam’s bed, her head beside his on the pillow. They looked so sweet. Amanda loved him, of that Frances was certain, but what a mess. Like Amanda said, Adam was too honest to ignore what she’d told him about Mary being Amanda’s kidnapped child. So, where that left things was anybody’s guess.
“Oh, sorry, I must have nodded off.” Amanda stretched and yawned.
“It’s okay. I’ve only just arrived. You must be shattered. Why don’t you get off? I’ll sit with him a while.”
Amanda glanced at Adam, her eyes tightly knit together. “I could do with popping home and checking on the kids for a short while, if you’re sure?”
“Of course, and don’t rush. I’m going to tell the boss all about the case we’ve been working on.” Frances winked.
“Eh?” Amanda screwed up her face, then relaxed. “Oh, I get you. Yes, the nurse said he can probably hear us.” She got to her feet and stretched again, biting down a yawn.
Frances noticed how pale Amanda was looking. “Have you eaten anything?”
“Not really. I’ll grab something when I get home, then I’ll have a shower and be right back. I promise.”
“Why don’t you stay at home and sleep in your own bed for the night?”
“No. I want to be here when he wakes up. I need to let him know that I love him.”
“Go on, get off then. I’ll sit here till you get back.”
Amanda hugged her then left.
Frances approached the side of the bed and sat in the still-warm chair. She wanted to update Adam on the developments, and had thought it would be easy on the way over. But now, sitting here with the machine’s beeping and the sounds of visiting time coming to a close behind the door, she felt foolish.
“Erm ... It’s me, boss.” She swallowed hard and wiped her hands on her trouser legs. “I think I might have cracked it. We arrested a man called Doctor Nigel Smith. He owns the local therapy clinic, and we have footage of him collecting the bags after each and every murder.” She was on a roll now, and the words came thick and fast. “We couldn’t find any further evidence against him, and just as it looked as though we had to release him, his step-daughter told me stuff off the record. She suggested he might be in cahoots with his nephew, the other therapist at the clinic. And we’re all set to search his house in the morning, but it’s true—I feel it in my water, Adam. This time tomorrow, it could be all over.”
She’d worked herself up as she relayed the events of the past few days, hoping it would reach somewhere deep inside his brain and wake him up. Or at the very least, he’d give her some sign to show he’d heard, but there was nothing. Not a blink or a twitch of the hand. Nothing.
Losing heart, she didn’t say anything else. Sitting in silence, she went over and over the evidence in her mind in case she’d missed something. Hopefully tomorrow would go without a hitch, and they’d find all the evidence needed to put the case to bed once and for all. That is if Charlie didn’t have a fit of the guilts and go blabbing to Christian in the meantime.
Frances knew she wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight. This was the first case she’d cracked on her own, and although she shouldn’t count her chickens, she was certain they would be able to lay charges, especially after Charlie’s hushed declaration.
“I wish I knew if you can hear me, boss. I want to tell you that your theory of the aliens was almost spot-on. You said you thought all the victims had been brainwashed into doing something completely out of character. I don’t know why you thought of an alien and not a hypnotherapist though.” She laughed. “Seems obvious now, doesn’t it?”
She kept the one-sided conversation going on and off for the next two hours, until Amanda returned. Visiting times had been finished for more than an hour, but the rules didn’t seem to apply to the private rooms.
“Any change?” Amanda panted, as soon as she entered.
Frances thought she looked better, although still very pale and dark under the eyes. “No, nothing at all, even though I told him all my exciting news.”
“I had a call from a Detective Miller, and it seems they’re scaling down the search for Mary.”
“No! Why?”
“They think Andrew must have paid somebody else to travel with her to throw the police off the scent. They think she’ll probably be long gone already.”
“I hate to say this, but he’s probably right. Otherwise we’d have been alerted by now—a young girl all alone.”
“Well, hopefully, once they see the news and realise Andrew won’t be back for her, they’ll hand her over. She needs to come home.”
Frances sighed and rubbed Amanda’s arm. “You’re coping well. I must say I admire the way you’ve coped up to now.”
“You should have seen me yesterday—I cried for hours—something I’ve never really done before. I can tell you, it’s exhausting.”
“You need to keep your strength up, you know, with the baby and all.”
“I know. I just had an hour long lecture from Sandra.” She smiled.
“Well, I’ve got a busy morning, and to be honest, I’m unsure how long I’ll be tied up for. But I’ll be over as soon as I can to give you another break.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. Hopefully he’ll be awake by then.”
“Yes, I’m sure he will.”
Chapter 52
It was clear by Doctor Christian Owens’ reaction that Charlie had kept her word.
“What’s this all about?” he demanded, standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a pair of white cotton boxers—not the least bit self-conscious.
“Is this about my uncle?”
“We have a warrant to search the premises,” Frances said, finding it difficult to tear her eyes off his abs and the exquisite line of his torso. She cleared her throat as she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “Could you go and get dressed, please, Doctor?” She nodded at one of the male officers to accompany him.
“This is atrocious!” he said, stomping off. She could still hear him ranting long after he was out of sight.
“Okay, then, let’s get on with it,” she instructed the rest of the team.
The doctor reappeared minutes later dressed in grey slacks, a white open-necked shirt, dress shoes and a jacket thrown over his shoulder. He could have just stepped off the cover of Esquire magazine.
“Okay, Doctor, I need you to accompany me to the station.”
“Am I being arrested?”
“I’d prefer not to, at this stage. I just want to chat, but if you insist.”
“Of course I won’t insist, you stupid woman. I’ve got absolutely nothing to hide.” He sauntered from the house towards her car.
His smart-arsed demeanour irritated the shit out of her. The fact that she’d actually thought the prick chivalrous and well-mannered in the first place blew her mind.
*
After giving the doctor Karen’s compulsory hour alone, they set about interviewing him.
“I don’t want either of us left alone with him,” Karen said on the way to the interview room, taking over as usual.
“Okay, but why?”
“He’s cocky, and full of himself, but what if he’s the mastermind behind the whole thing. He could hypnotise us into letting him walk.”
Frances laughed. “You think?”
“Not only that, but his type tend to be able to tie everyone in knots, given the chance.”
“He won’t get a chance from me,” Frances said, marching into the interview room.
Doctor Owens was seated, legs crossed, one foot balanced casually on his knee, his fingers tapping on the desk in front of him.
“I need to call the office to cancel my appointments for the morning.”
“I have a feeling you’ll need to cancel more than just this morning’s appointments, Doctor,” Frances quipped.
He rolled his eyes as though bored and made a point of eyeballing his watch. “Let’s get on with it, shall we?” he said.
“We’ll go at our own pace, Doctor. You will be detained as long as necessary,” Frances said.
“But I’ve not been arrested, so I’m here voluntarily at this stage, correct?”
The smarmy prick! Frances scowled at him. “Correct, but, as I told you earlier, we could arrest you if necessary, so I suggest you cooperate, and that way we’ll get finished much sooner.”
“Tell us about the trouble you had at your last place of employment,” Karen said.
His foot dropped as he suddenly scraped his chair backwards, his face like thunder. “I was never charged then either. It was just a stupid woman who made a pass at me. When I didn’t take her up on it, she cried sexual assault.”
“If you say so, Doc,” Karen said.
“Damn right, I say so. And if you carry on with this I’m going to demand to call my lawyer.”
“I thought you were in a rush to leave,” Frances said.
“You know I am.”
“Then just answer the questions, and stop wasting everybody’s time.”
“You’ve not asked anything yet,” he spat.
“If it was all so innocent, why did you leave the clinic and cosy up with your uncle?”
“I didn’t like the way my colleagues began looking at me. I was never convicted of anything—never even charged, yet they were all of the opinion there’s no smoke without fire.”
“So you ran away?” Frances sneered.
“Meow! Quite catty aren’t we, Miss Frances?”
“Detective Frances to you, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, sorry. Hit a nerve, did I? I forgot you were petrified of cats.”
“Grow up and answer the question.”
“No. For your information, I didn’t run away. My uncle told me he intended leaving me the business and asked me to join him to learn the ropes while he was still well enough. So, hardly stepping down or running away, in my opinion.”
“Is that when you hatched the plan to hypnotise as many clients as you could, and rob them of their life savings?” Frances asked.
He snorted. “Are you for real?”
Frances raised her eyebrows in response.
“This is ludicrous. My uncle has his own clients. I have mine. I’ve never been anything but professional in my conduct. I have no idea what you think you know, but I can assure you, you’re wrong.”
A knock on the door broke their stare.
Cal popped his head in the room. “Can I have a word?” he said to Frances.
Frances met him in the corridor. “What is it?”
“Bingo! We’ve got him.”
“Tell me.”
“The holdall belonging to Lynley was found in his garage—still containing the cash—every penny.” He looked pleased with himself.
Frances squeezed his hand, itching to dance a jig on the spot. “Thanks so much, Cal. Drinks on me, later.” She rushed back into the interview room to pass on the wonderful news.
Chapter 53
There was still no change with Adam, and Amanda was beginning to convince herself the specialists had got it completely wrong.
“Cuppa tea, lovey?” the healthcare assistant called from the door.
“Please. I’d love one, Joan.” Amanda was now on first name terms with a lot of the ward staff.
“Coming right up.” Moments later, Joan returned with a steaming mug of tea. “There you go, lovey. How was your evening? Did you get to see those kiddies of yours last night?”
“I did. Adam’s workmate sat with him for a couple of hours, and I popped home. They were already in bed, but they woke when I kissed them.”
“Any news of your niece yet? I’ve been watching the news and saying a little prayer.”
“No, nothing.”
“They will find her soon. Someone’s got to know where she is.”
“Hope so.”
“Must get on. We’ll chat later, lovey.”
Amanda watched as Joan wheeled her trolley up the corridor. Then she returned to her chair by the bed.”
“Two seconds earlier and I could have had a cuppa.”
Amanda’s head snapped back towards the door as Frances breezed in.
“Oh, you’re early. I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”
“I couldn’t wait to come in. I wanted to gloat to Adam that I’ve cracked the case.”
“You did! Well done, you. Who was it? Can you say?”
“I shouldn’t, but it will be all over the news soon. It was the two therapists from the Healthy Habits and Anxiety Disorders clinic.”
“I know who you mean—the handsome one?”
“Yeah, and his uncle.”
“And did they admit it?”
“No, did they hell. It will have to go to court, but we’ve got them bang to rights, with hopefully enough evidence to lock them up for years.”
“Well, I’m pleased for you. Maybe you’ll get a promotion?”
“I don’t want a promotion. I love working with Adam and Cal. The others I can take or leave easily enough. I feel good though. This case has been driving us all demented.”
“Any news of Mary?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Amanda. Boasting like a teenager when you’ve got all this going on. I’ll call Amy, but I think she’d have called me if there was any news.”
“Don’t be daft, I wasn’t meaning that. I just thought I’d ask, that’s all. They want me to identify Andrew’s body later. I was hoping Adam would be awake and be able to come with me.”
“I’ll go with you,” Frances said.
“Would you? I can’t bear the thought of going alone. It’s fu
nny. We were so close as children, and I’ve not really had much to do with him as an adult. But when I think of viewing his body, in my mind I see the little boy lying on a slab.”
“I’m sure that’s normal. Like you said, you didn’t really know him as an adult. Adam told me a bit about how you discovered he was still alive.”
“Yeah, it was strange. I felt as though someone was watching me and Michael, my husband at the time. I thought I was being stupid. But then we found out my dad had been released from prison around the same time as the strange feelings began. I convinced myself it was him, but it turned out to be Andrew.”
“Shit!”
“It wasn’t until after I found out he was still alive that I discovered he’d installed cameras at my house. I almost died when I first saw his computer room with several monitors showing different angles from inside my home.”
“That’s weird.”
“Tell me about it. I stared at the screens for a few minutes not really able to comprehend what I was seeing until Michael came into shot, and it suddenly struck me. I still felt as though he was watching me after he vanished for the second time, but I no longer minded.”
A movement on the mattress in front of them caused them both to gasp.
Adam’s hand lifted to his face and began to claw at the tube going into his nose.
Frances jumped to her feet. “I’ll get the nurse,” she said before racing from the room.
“Adam, keep still, love.” Amanda tried to stop him from pulling out the tube.
Moments later, Frances and a lanky male nurse arrived.
“Adam, can you hear me, sir?” the nurse asked in a slightly raised Scottish accent.
Adam’s eyes, though still closed, moved behind the lids.
“I’ll get that for you, sir.” Moments later, the nurse had removed the tube.
Adams lips moved silently. The bandage, although no longer covering his face, now went from his forehead and up over his head above the left ear.
“We can’t hear you, Adam. Don’t stress yourself. You need to rest,” Amanda said, reaching for his hand.
Psychological Thriller Series: Adam Stanley Boxed Set: Behind Shadows, Positively Murder and Mind Bender Page 60
