The Secret Child (DI Amy Winter #2)(26)

‘But the fire took care of that,’ Malcolm added.

Amy nodded. ‘By the time the alarm was raised, it was too late.’

‘Or was it?’ Malcolm said. ‘You’ve seen the records . . . there’s no grave. Perhaps our kidnapper is Luka? Maybe he survived the fire after all.’

‘Well – that,’ Amy said, stifling a yawn, ‘is what we have to find out.’

Malcolm did not know it, but he had just read her thoughts.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN

July 1984

From the moment he boarded the plane, Luka felt the walls of the cabin closing in. Even the air seemed thinner as he dragged it into his lungs in short, anxious breaths. In truth, he wanted to be a big boy and make Papa proud. Besides, how could he tell Mama he was scared? She had been brimming over with excitement ever since the date was set, unable to sit still for more than a minute at a time.

His father had remained suspicious, brooding over the doctor’s motivations for bringing them halfway across the world. It left Luka in a permanent state of nervousness, and he wasn’t sure if it was the good or bad kind. The doctor’s visit to his home was brief and did not allay his father’s fears. Dr Curtis was an abrupt man, with little time for pleasantries. It was only due to his companion, Deborah McCauley, that Luka was still allowed to go. He could tell by the way her father looked at her that he thought she was pretty. Luka liked her gentle voice, and there was something in her eyes that made him feel a connection, even though they had never met before now. Her long blonde lashes fluttered each time her father turned his attention towards her, and she effortlessly translated his concerns to Dr Curtis. Deborah voiced the doctor’s abrupt answers in a way that sounded comforting, softening his explanations to put Ivan’s mind at rest.

Luka leaned forward, his world expanding as he stared through the frosted porthole window at the earth rising up from below. ‘Look, Mama! I can see England!’ he exclaimed – and, smiling, Sasha craned her neck to enjoy the view. Her eyes shone with hope, but the ragged tissue clutched between her fingers told Luka there was fear there too.

After negotiating the airport, they were met by Dr Curtis, who drove them to the institute in his car. Their journey was cloaked in darkness, and by the time they got there, Luka was too tired to take in the sights. ‘I’ll see you in the morning,’ Dr Curtis said, leaving Deborah to bring them in. She was wearing a white lab coat, her blonde hair tied into a ponytail. ‘Right.’ She clapped her hands together, making Sasha jump. ‘You must be exhausted. Let me show you to your rooms.’ Luka understood why Mama was jumpy. This creepy old building was not what they had expected at all.

‘Rooms?’ Sasha tightened her grip on Luka, drawing him near. ‘We stay together – yes?’

Deborah smiled. The kind of patient smile you give a toddler when they don’t understand. ‘We thought it would be best if you had separate rooms. Besides . . . this used to be a university. There are only dorms – no family rooms here.’

‘This cannot be right.’ Sasha spoke in Russian, pausing for Deborah to absorb her words. ‘Luka shares with me.’

Deborah continued walking as if his mama had not spoken at all. She explained that the building had been empty for a year before Dr Curtis leased it for his studies. ‘We’ve had some problems with vandals, so Dr Curtis thought it better to leave the windows boarded up on this floor.’

The absence of windows created an eerie sense of isolation, and Luka was sure he’d just caught sight of a mouse scuttling down the corridor. A flush rising to her face, Deborah led Sasha to her quarters. Despite the damp spores creeping up the walls, the room was dry and warm, with a television in the corner and a thick blue blanket covering a single bed. Deborah showed them to the small communal kitchen across the way.

‘I tell you what,’ she said conspiratorially, after checking the hall to ensure that Dr Curtis had left. ‘We’ve got a fold-up bed somewhere. Why don’t I squeeze it into Luka’s room, and you can join him later tonight?’

‘I was promised a double room,’ Sasha said in her native tongue. ‘This is not good enough.’

‘It’s the best I can do for now,’ Deborah replied. ‘He won’t be far . . . only down the hall.’ After giving Luka a kiss and a hug, Sasha reluctantly let him go.

The dimly lit corridor seemed to go on for ever as Luka was shown to his room. Like in his mama’s, the windows were boarded and a blue-blanketed single bed was pushed against the wall. As he followed Deborah in, Luka’s stomach did cartwheels at the prospect of sleeping in such a strange place. But at least a two-bar heater provided warmth, and he had never heard of an en-suite until Deborah explained what it was. The thought of having a bathroom all to himself seemed beyond luxurious, even a little ludicrous. But one thought hung like a warning in his mind, making his heart beat a little faster than it should.

Was this a bedroom or a prison cell?





CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

‘Is it true?’ Deborah inhaled a breath and held it in her lungs until she received a response. Most people would dance lightly around the subject of Nicole’s poisoning, but she was not most people. Since hearing about it last night, she had not got a wink of sleep.

‘Who is this?’ Dr Curtis’s voice was gruff. Answering the phone was his wife’s domain and not many people had his number these days. Deborah knew she was the exception to the rule because they went back such a long way.