by Diane Saxon
Hot tears soaked into her shirt from where Fliss rested her cheek on Jenna’s neck, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care about her own tears rolling down her face into Fliss’s mangled hair, she just clung, the ball of fear rolling in her chest. It didn’t matter. She had her sister, safe in her arms. Alive, if damaged.
She sniffled again, drew back to inspect Fliss.
‘Christ, you’re a mess. Did your mother teach you nothing?’
Fliss spluttered out a tearful laugh. ‘You don’t look so hot yourself.’
The door was flung open and a short, slender nurse stepped inside the room Fliss had been assigned. ‘Only two in here at a time, please.’ She gave a long, hard stare at Mason and Ryan until they pushed themselves off the wall they’d leaned on and ambled out one after the other. Ryan a close imitation of the older man as they both dipped their hands in their trouser pockets and hunched their shoulders in a show of juvenile recalcitrance. Adrian had already been abandoned in the waiting room, his nose deeply buried in work since the DI had assured him he was no longer required while Taylor was there.
Mason paused, glanced over his shoulder, his gaze skimmed over Fliss and he opened his mouth as though he were about to speak, then shrugged. With a regretful smile kicking up one corner of his mouth, he headed for the door. ‘I’ll be back.’
He closed the door behind him and Jenna came to her feet. Left with no option but to release Fliss’s hand, she moved her chair back out of the way, so the nurse could get closer. Taylor never moved.
‘The doctor will be here in just a minute.’ With a tilt of her head, the nurse pinned Taylor with an inquisitive stare. ‘And you are?’
He almost stood to attention, coaxing a smile from Jenna. ‘DI Taylor, nurse, I’m one of the investigating officers.’
The nurse turned to Jenna, her gaze filled with empathy. ‘You’re Felicity’s sister?’
‘Fliss, we call her Fliss.’ Jenna nodded, her throat almost too tight to swallow. She didn’t need sympathy, she needed to remain in control. ‘Yes.’
‘I’m Lana, Fliss’s forensic nurse. I’m here for as long as she needs me.’ Lana made her way to the opposite side of the bed and touched Fliss’s arm as she handed her a glass of water. ‘You look so alike.’ Jenna shot Fliss a quick look. Some people saw it, others couldn’t. ‘It’s the shape of your eyes, although they’re not the same colour, they tilt up, and your jawline.’
Jenna forced a smile and nodded at Lana. A clever woman, obviously experienced in her field, she’d engaged both sisters with surprising ease, reducing the speed of Jenna’s pulse before it took a foothold.
Fliss closed her eyes, but a ghost of a smile hovered over her mouth. ‘I think it’s because we both look as rough as hell.’
Jenna gurgled out her laughter and sank back into the chair, exhaustion taking hold of her. Fliss was safe. It didn’t matter what had gone on before, she was here now, she’d escaped. Jenna would sleep for the first time in days.
Lana took the glass from Fliss and placed it on a bed trolley and then turned to check the IV fluids. When she turned back, she made direct eye contact with Jenna. ‘Fliss tells me you’re a police officer.’ At Jenna’s nod, Lana continued, ‘I’ve carried out all the required tests on Fliss, with her permission, and now we’re waiting for the doctor. Once he’s been and checked her over, Fliss will be allowed to shower and then we’ll get her into a fresh gown. As far as I can tell, there are no life-threatening injuries, but the doctor will verify everything I’ve done.’ She touched Fliss’s shoulder. ‘Hopefully, he’ll let you go home once we X-ray your arm.’ She picked up the file and with clinical professionalism took a seat in the corner of the room, silently studying the information she had.
‘Felicity.’ DI Taylor drew a chair close into the bed and sat down, his lined face calm and placid and Jenna remembered why she respected the man so much.
‘Fliss,’ Jenna corrected.
Taylor inclined his head. ‘Fliss, I need to ask you some questions while we wait for the doctor. Are you okay with that?’
Jenna drew back but kept hold of Fliss’s good hand while she sat in the chair.
Tears swamped Fliss’s green eyes, turning them almost neon in the bright lights of the hospital. ‘He killed Domino, Jenna. He killed him. Have you found him?’
Close to tears herself, Jenna leaned forward into Taylor’s line of sight, but she didn’t care. He might be her senior officer, but this was her sister. She clasped Fliss’s hands in hers to warm the icy chill from them. ‘No, he didn’t. Domino’s alive, Fliss.’ Her voice caught on a sob. ‘He’s as beaten up as you, but he’s alive.’
‘Oh God. Really?’ Fliss screwed her eyes shut, tears leaking out of the corners to trickle into her hairline. Pitiful keening broke from Fliss’s lips to make Jenna’s heart tremble.
‘Would I lie to you?’ She raised one hand and smoothed her sister’s wild hair back from her face to give herself comfort as much as Fliss.
‘No.’ Fliss swiped at the tears on her cheeks and flopped back on the pillows, all the strength she had appeared to have melted from her. She covered her mouth with her plastered hand and then drew it away, her lips curling with distaste, and rolled her head, so her gaze met Taylor’s. Her jaw clenched while she swallowed several times, her delicate nostrils flaring. ‘Where do you want to start?’
Taylor drew an old-fashioned notebook from his jacket pocket and poised his pen. ‘At the beginning, Fliss. Tell me what happened from the very start.’
‘I was walking Domino.’ Her voice slurred, and her eyelids slipped shut. She licked dried and cracked lips before she continued. ‘It started to get dark, and stupidly I’d taken the narrow path.’ She opened weary eyes and flicked Jenna an apologetic glance. ‘I wanted to be alone, and I thought I was safe with Domino.’ She shook her head. ‘Poor Domino. When can I see him?’
Jenna smoothed her thumb across the back of Fliss’s good hand. ‘He’s at the vets’ right now, but when you’ve been checked over, we’ll see him. He’s due home tomorrow anyway.’
Only the soft puff of Fliss’s breath greeted her.
35
Tuesday 30 October, 13:10 hrs
The door swung open, admitting a young, fresh-faced doctor. He glanced around the cubicle, surprise flickering in his dark stare, then his gaze landed on his patient.
‘Felicity Morgan?’
Fliss gave him a vague nod, then stuttered through her date of birth and address when asked.
‘I’m Doctor Ahmed.’ Softly spoken, the doctor sank into the chair beside Fliss’s bed that Jenna vacated and touched her arm in a gentle reassurance. ‘Are you comfortable with me asking you questions in front of the police, or would you rather I ask them to leave?’
‘No, I’m okay.’ Fliss’s eyelids flickered closed and she rested her head back on the pillow, her nose pinched with stress. ‘DS Morgan is also my sister.’
The doctor gave Jenna a cursory nod and then returned his attention to her sister as he wound a cuff around her arm and pumped it up. ‘I’ve spoken with the paramedics, and Lana,’ he nodded towards the nurse, ‘but would you like to tell me what happened?’
White around the mouth, Fliss clenched her teeth as the cuff tightened for several long seconds and then deflated. As the doctor jotted down the results on her medical notes, Fliss chewed her bottom lip. ‘I was walking Domino, my dog.’ She hitched in a breath and glanced at Jenna. ‘I thought he was dead,’ her mouth twisted in a crooked downward grin. ‘But he’s alive.’
Jenna’s chest burned as she held onto every ounce of her self-control.
‘And then the man was there. Just there, above us in the woods. He killed Domino. I thought he had.’ She screwed her eyes shut. ‘I heard something. He came from the hillside above us. A huge branch in his hands, he hit Domino.’ She paused, breath heaving. ‘And then I stepped over the edge of the path and fell, and fell, and fell.’
She went silent, her breathing evened out.
Just as Jenna thought her little sister had fallen asleep, Fliss mumbled. ‘I told Lana I didn’t think I’d been raped.’
Hot relief flooded Jenna’s system. She couldn’t think of anything worse than Fliss being kidnapped, raped and murdered. Two of those had been discounted and now they needed to get to the bottom of why she was kidnapped.
The doctor leaned in closer. ‘We’re waiting to see what drugs are in your system, because Lana told me you said you believed you’ve been drugged.’
‘I have been drugged. Several times. He used a needle.’
Doctor Ahmed jotted something down, all the time nodding. ‘I believe Lana has already arranged samples of your urine and blood. This will give us a better idea of what he might have used, and if you’re at risk of any needle-associated diseases.’
Jenna swallowed hard. She’d not given consideration to the after-effects. She’d focused on Fliss being safe. But she may not be. The man may have ruined her sister’s life in other ways.
Fliss rolled her head from side to side, her skin almost as white at the pillow. ‘No, I don’t think he used dirty needles. From what I remember, the couple of times he stabbed me, he used gloves and removed them from the packaging. He was very precise. His actions were so weird, like he thought he was a doctor.’ She rubbed her furrowed brow, her speech so slurred Jenna leaned in to hear her better. ‘He said he’d had training. I can’t remember clearly, but I’m sure he said he’d trained as a doctor.’
Jenna’s gaze clashed with Taylor’s. His eyebrows winged up before he gave a brief nod and made another note.
Doctor Ahmed made a humming sound in the back of his throat as he wrote some more. ‘I see Lana has also carried out rape tests.’
Taylor continued to write without looking up.
With a weary sigh, Fliss passed her gaze around the circle of spectators. ‘We don’t think I was raped. I was drugged heavily, but the man showed signs of disgust because I was on my…’ she stared at Taylor’s bowed head for a long moment as he scribbled, ‘on my period.’
Taylor raised his head, his soft gaze filled with understanding and Jenna’s heart stumbled. She’d always respected him, but now she was just a little in love with him for the way he treated her sister.
Fliss’s cheeks flushed, but she continued. ‘Lana says there’s no sign of damage.’
‘That’s good news.’ Doctor Ahmed lifted Fliss’s uninjured wrist and placed fingers against her pulse. ‘We’ll have a much clearer idea once we have all the results back. We’ve put a rush on them.’
Fliss closed her eyes, her strength almost gone. She licked her lips. ‘There’s something else…’ She took two long drawn-out breaths, then licked her lips, her quiet voice barely there in the silence. ‘I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before. My mind is a little hazy.’ She paused again for a long moment, then drew in a breath, the words carrying as she expelled it. ‘He said he knew me.’
A ripple of fear shuddered through Jenna. Unable to contain herself, she shuffled closer to her sister. ‘Was it Ed?’ He might have an alibi, but the question still had to be asked.
Fliss shook her head. ‘Definitely not. I may have been drugged, but there was a world of difference between them. His smell alone was different.’ She wrinkled her bruised nose. ‘I have no idea who the man was, but he took me because he believed I recognised him.’
‘Okay.’ Jenna nodded. ‘We had Ed in for questioning, but Salter and Wainwright were convinced he had an airtight alibi. At least it rules him out for certain.’
Taylor leaned in, his voice honed steel. ‘Thank you, DS Morgan. I’d appreciate it if you allow me to follow through. Perhaps you would like to track down a cup of coffee for us all?’
Jenna breathed in until the thud of heartbeats slowed in her head. ‘I’d like to stay, sir. I won’t say another word.’
With a soft snort, Taylor turned back to Fliss. ‘Could you describe him, if we get you a police artist?’
Fliss’s face went blank. ‘I’m sorry.’ Her voice slurred and she raised her right hand to her forehead. ‘I can’t think straight.’
The doctor continued his obs, checking the screen for each of her vitals.
Jenna almost called a halt as the silence stretched out, but Fliss continued, her voice a soft whisper.
‘His eyes were…’ Her forehead crinkled. ‘Dark. Dark and dead. He wore glasses. Really thick glasses. When he was angry, spittle came out of his mouth.’ She touched her cheek, revulsion rippling over her features. ‘His teeth weren’t nice. He had a horrible smell. As though he lived in mothballs.’ She rolled her head to look at Jenna. ‘You know the smell at Grandma’s house, down in the cellar? We used to call it the spider room. I always think of spiders whenever I smell it. An old-fashioned smell.’
An image of their grandma’s cellar formed in Jenna’s mind, the overpowering scent of dust and dead things hung in the air to remind her. Jenna gave a shudder and restrained herself from checking if there were any spiders in the room.
‘I was in the cellar.’ Her breath came in fast snatches. ‘The cellar, with one light bulb and the river water rising. I had to get out. I had to escape.’
Taylor placed a hand on Fliss’s arm but withdrew it immediately when she flinched. Instant responsiveness, which Jenna could only admire.
With an automatic move, Jenna linked her fingers with Fliss’s good hand. Her sister may not have been raped or murdered, which to everyone surrounding her would be an excellent outcome, but the impact of what had happened to her was already taking its toll.
Fliss sniffled. ‘I want Domino. I want my dog.’
Jenna studied her sister. She was fragile. They’d mend together. All three of them.
Tears lodged in Jenna’s throat and she leaned in to take Fliss into her arms. She rocked her like she used to when Fliss was a baby, like she had when their mother had died, and again when Fliss had left Ed, the bastard. ‘Let’s get you seen to and once we’re finished up with the questions, we’ll ring the vets, see what they say.’
‘Okay.’ Fliss gave her a one-armed squeeze, then lay back down, weary lines streaked her face. She rolled her head on the pillow to look at Taylor. ‘I slipped down the embankment, and I scrabbled around to find Domino so I could get him away from the man, but instead I found…’ Her eyes flew wide, she slapped her hand over her mouth, dry-heaved for a moment while Lana reached for a cardboard bedpan. Fliss accepted it and laid it on her lap and then shook her head, removed her hand from her mouth and sucked in great gulps of air. ‘What I touched was dead. Oh my god, cold and clammy and very obviously dead.’ A tear slipped from under her eyelashes and trickled down her cheek.
‘It’s okay. We found her.’ Taylor scribbled for a moment longer before he glanced up. ‘She’d been dead some time. The coroner believes a snapped neck.’
Horror filled Fliss’s face as memory flooded back. ‘She was naked.’
‘Yes, she was. Do you know anything about that?’
‘No. Just, she was naked. I touched her hand. It was icy.’ She rolled her head to one side, her eyes still closed.
‘It’s time for Fliss to rest.’ The doctor stepped closer to the bed, but Fliss opened her eyes again and gave her head a shake.
‘One more minute,’ Taylor requested.
‘Just one,’ Dr Ahmed agreed as he finished writing his notes and hung the clipboard on the bottom of the bed.
‘As I grabbed her hand, a ring came off.’ Fliss raised her hand and rubbed her fingers together as though she still felt the ring in her grasp. ‘I held on to it as long as I could.’
‘We found it, too, thanks to you. Well done. It could prove invaluable if we can identify it. You dropped it along the trail, near the car park.’ DI Taylor’s eyebrows dipped low as he took in both medical staff. ‘This is information we haven’t made public, so I’d appreciate your discretion.’
Dr Ahmed and Lana nodded in agreement and DI Taylor continued.
‘Wha
t else can you tell me?’
Fliss raised shaky fingers to her throat. ‘He tried to strangle me, but my fingers were wrapped in the dog lead.’
‘Dog lead?’ Taylor enquired.
She threw Jenna an apologetic glance. ‘Yes, I’m sorry. I normally loop his lead around my neck, save holding on to it while we’re walking.’ She demonstrated with a weary wave of her hand around her neck. ‘I snap the clip onto the metal ring to keep it from sliding off.’ She dipped her head, defensiveness slipping into her husky voice. ‘It’s easier.’
Jenna leaned in and growled, the desire to make a better job of strangling her sister brewing just under the surface. ‘Bet you won’t do it again.’ The amount of times she’d told Fliss not to wrap the lead around her neck, but her younger sister always thought she knew better. Well, not on this occasion. She’d say it served her damned well right, but it didn’t, it never would. Fliss shouldn’t have to worry about maniacs wanting to strangle her.
Fliss cast Jenna a sheepish glance as though she could read her mind and stuttered out. ‘I somehow managed to get my hand snagged in the lead.’ She raised her plastered hand, the fingers poking out were purple and bruised.
Jenna’s heart stumbled.
Fliss cleared her throat and Lana passed her a glass of water. After several small sips, Fliss returned the glass to her and continued. She held her plastered hand with the other one and frowned down at it. ‘I felt the bones snap,’ she sucked air in through her teeth, nursing her arm. ‘It crunched. I felt it grind all through my body as he twisted and wrenched the lead and I knew, just knew, I couldn’t let go. If I did, it would be my neck.’ She let out a soft sob. ‘I should be dead, but instead I have a mangled hand.’
Dark clouds washed over Jenna’s vision as heat clawed its way up her neck at the horror Fliss had suffered. Jenna had never reacted this way to a victim telling her their story, but this was different. This was her sister. The heat of bile rose in Jenna’s throat and she wondered if she could make it through the rest of her sister’s statement without dashing from the room to throw up in the ladies’ toilets.
