The Secret Child (DI Amy Winter #2)(36)

Her muscles tensed as the doors opened, the tannoy announcing her train’s arrival. Bustling past commuters, she offered no apology as her thoughts raced ahead. Surely Luka was not following her now? She would have noticed someone giving chase. But how was he reaching each location before her? With his all-seeing commentary, he was beginning to seem very godlike as he continued to play his game. She only hoped her team was making some inroads. A feeling of foreboding taunted her movements. As she emerged into daylight she welcomed the cold spikes of drizzle on her face. Despite the wintry weather, her armpits were damp with sweat, her clothes itchy against her skin. But the biggest prickle of discomfort came from within. She held her phone aloft, groaning at the lack of reception. Which direction should she go in? Her team would be tracking her radio on GPS. As if in response, her phone buzzed in her hand. She exhaled with relief to see four bars on the screen, a good-enough connection to accept the call.

‘I’m here,’ she said, panting slightly. She glanced up and down the street, picking out fellow Londoners on their phones. A man with a briefcase, a couple arm in arm. Any one of them could hold the key.

‘And here is where we part,’ the response came. ‘You have five minutes to get to Ellen. Shame, as it’s a ten-minute walk. Of course, you could get a cab, but traffic is bad. You’d never reach her in time.’

‘Where am I going?’ Amy asked, feeling like a runner on the starting blocks.

‘Oxford Street, Marylebone Lane.’

There was little time to call Molly, but Amy knew the area well enough to find it on foot. Breaking out into a run, she held the phone to her ear as she raced past bustling Londoners. ‘Where is she?’

‘You’re a resourceful woman,’ Luka taunted. ‘I’m granting you with enough intelligence to work that out.’

‘I can’t, not in time. Is she in danger?’ Swerving to one side, she dodged a Labrador who shot out in front of her as it escaped its owner’s lead. On any other day, she would stop to help, but he would have to fend for himself today.

‘Let’s just say her whole world is about to come tumbling down.’ Luka responded. ‘You’ll see when you get there.’

‘Please!’ Amy hated the sound of her voice as he made her beg. ‘I don’t know where I’m going. Give me something more.’ Silence fell between them, and for a moment she thought he had hung up.

‘Seeing as it’s you, I’ll help you out. Head to Welbeck Street. You’ll find her there.’

‘Luka, wait . . .’ But her words were cut short as the line went dead. Her feet pounded the pavement as she ran, her mind focused on the task ahead. Her breath came thick and fast as she relayed the information to Molly, ignoring passers-by as they glanced in her direction. ‘What’s in Welbeck Street? Any derelict buildings? Maybe leisure centres with swimming pools? What could put her in so much danger that it would risk her life? And on a countdown too?’ Amy knew this could be a wind-up and she’d be playing right into Luka’s hands. But this had to be the last stop.

Tapping her computer keyboard, Molly brought up the latest information, all the while relaying Amy’s instructions to their team. Amy’s colleagues were on hand should they find the missing child, and a paramedic was on standby to resuscitate her, if it came to that. ‘We’ve got luxury apartments, a couple of hotels, some private clinics – nothing that stands out. There’s an unusual-looking high-rise car park at the end, but that’s closed now. Officers are ringing local hotels to make them aware.’

‘Get them to check their swimming pools and rooftops,’ Amy said, pausing to catch her breath as she reached the long, narrow street. It has to be something obvious, otherwise he wouldn’t have given me so little time.’

‘Unless he set you up to fail.’ Molly voiced Amy’s concerns. It didn’t bear thinking about. An image of Ellen floated into Amy’s consciousness. Her gap-toothed smile was enough to melt the hardest of hearts.

Ellen was near, Amy could feel it. But time was slipping away.

She jogged up Welbeck Street, looking left and right. ‘Ellen!’ she called at the top of her voice. ‘Ellen, are you there?’ She glared into shop windows and apartment doorways. There were no derelict buildings in this well-to-do location. What could put the girl in immediate danger? Molly informed her that officers were discreetly making house-to-house inquiries. Amy threw a glance behind her, watching the police cars pull up. It was risky, given Luka’s instruction, but she was grateful for the backup just the same. Above her, the car park loomed, an ominous grey reflection of her plummeting spirits. She craned her neck, tapping into her intuition.

‘That’s it,’ she whispered, her words barely audible as she voiced her thoughts. ‘That’s what he meant.’ Sliding her radio from her shoulder harness, she brought it to her lips and pressed the button to speak.





CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The Curtis Institute, August 1984

Luka ran a hand over his freshly cut bristles. His once long and wavy hair was now shaved, and he hated the way the cold air curled around the nape of his neck. He sat on his bed, legs folded, as he checked the label stitched into the collar of his sweatshirt. Subject 5. If he was number five, did that mean there had been four others before him? Was that why they had numbered him? So they could tell them apart? He thought about the children he sometimes saw in the corridor, and of the markings on the inside doors of the cubicle toilets. With some reverence he had traced his fingers over the names ‘Martha’ and ‘Julian’ which were scratched into the wood.