Dead Memories (D.I. Kim Stone #10)(98)

‘I’m the one you want,’ Kim said, taking a small step forward.

Mallory did the same, towards Alison.

‘If you try to come near me, I’ll push her,’ she warned. ‘You should know that I’m the one in control here and I will get what I want.’

Kim stood still. ‘You know, Mallory, if you wanted my attention that badly you could have called. We could have done lunch. Did you really have to kill all those people?’ she asked, trying to keep her voice calm and even. Right now, Mallory held all the cards. She was only a few steps away from Alison.

She had done exactly what Mallory had asked of her, in an effort to save Alison’s life, but now she was here she honestly didn’t know if she could, and no one knew where she was.

Mallory was right about two things: she was in control and Kim was very much on her own.

The woman smiled at her in a sickly sweet way as she took two steps backwards. The evil glinted at her; the menace stilled the breath in her chest.

Mallory reached out one delicate, manicured hand and pushed Alison over the edge.





One Hundred Thirty





‘What’s the time?’ Bryant asked, as they hurried towards the car.

‘Ten to eight,’ Stacey answered.

‘And Dawson died at?…’

‘About three minutes past the hour,’ Stacey answered.

Bryant cursed himself for having called it wrong. If anything happened to either Alison or the guv he would never be able to forgive himself.

‘So, we’re agreed?’ he said, as they got back into Penn’s car. ‘The flats where the guv lived at Hollytree.’

‘It’s the only place left,’ Stacey said, breathlessly, as his phone began to ring.

‘Damn it,’ he said, seeing Woody’s name flashing on the screen. He had the feeling of being out of time in more ways than one.

‘Sir…’

‘Bryant, please tell me that an incident on the roof of Chaucer House has nothing to do with your boss, yourself or the current investigation into—’

‘What type of incident?’ he asked.

‘No detail as yet. Officers are en route now what the hell?…’

‘Thank you, sir,’ Bryant said, ending the call and switching off his phone.

Bryant did a quick calculation of the time and distance that stood between them and the guv.

‘Okay, Penn, let’s see how you can make this thing go,’ he said, putting on his seat belt.

As his colleague tore out of the car park Bryant had that feeling of rushing and speeding to work when the clock was telling you that you were already too late.





One Hundred Thirty-One





‘All those people died because of how much you hated me?’ Kim asked, as they stood facing each other. Her eyes were now focussed on the taut rope that strained against the heating equipment, saving Alison from certain death.

‘Don’t try and distract me, Stone. I’m sure you’ve put it all together.’

‘By my reckoning, if you want to do this right we’ve got a few minutes to kill. What the hell am I going to do to stop you?’ Kim asked, throwing out her arms. ‘I have nothing to fight you with and Dawson fell at three minutes past the hour, so talk to me. Why so many people?’ she asked, trying desperately to think. She had nothing. No weapon. No way to distract her opponent to gain the upper hand.

All she could do was play for time.

Time… she realised, suddenly.

She deliberately looked down towards the straining rope. Mallory watched her every move. She took a step closer to the heater knowing that the woman would do the same.

‘You were the outreach worker,’ Kim said. ‘You offered Amy and Mark blankets, a meal. You gained their trust. Told them you could help them with a flat. You called and lured them there with the key Duggar had cut when he viewed the flat?’

‘Ah, yes, John, a lovely boy.’

‘You met him at the prison, didn’t you?’ Kim asked, taking another step towards the straining rope.

Mallory did the same.

Timing, Kim reminded herself. It was all in the timing.

‘You saw a tall strong man who could be easily manipulated with a few gentle words. The guy only ever wanted someone to be nice to him. To treat him like a human being.’

‘And I did that,’ she answered. ‘It paid dividends.’

‘He had no clue what he was doing, did he? You told him what to do and he just did it. He got his ex-cellmate to send the blackmail email to Beckett. He had no idea what you were going to do to Billie but he lured her to those woods so you could assault her so brutally.’

Mallory shrugged without one ounce of emotion.

‘He ran away like a stupid little girl,’ Mallory said, sounding uncomfortably like her father. ‘He’d served his purpose, so I dispatched him. It was the kindest thing to do,’ she said as though he was an injured animal beyond repair.

Kim worked hard to hide her disgust but she knew she had to fight the emotion back down if she had any hope of saving Alison’s life. She had to concentrate and keep Mallory focussed.

She took another step forward.

Mallory followed and held out the knife. ‘Stone, I’m warning you…’