The Secret Child (DI Amy Winter #2)(77)

‘You’re making a big mistake,’ he said, releasing his thumbnail from between his teeth. ‘It wasn’t me who took those kids.’

‘There’s no mistake,’ Amy replied. ‘We know exactly who you are.’ Normally interviews progressed with open questions, but Jamie seemed unwilling to account for his whereabouts. She changed tactics. Some days you had to work with what you had.

‘If you know who I am, then you’ll know why he’s doing this,’ came Jamie’s response.

‘Doing what? Terrorising children? Killing innocent people? You’ve got kids of your own. How can you be part of this?’ Amy had made it her business to inspect the contents of his wallet and had found the family photo lurking there.

‘You’ll get Toby back safe. Just do as he says.’

‘Like Ellen was safe?’ Amy’s eyes burned with conviction. ‘And Nicole? She nearly died, Jamie. Just tell us what you’ve done with the children. Toby needs urgent medication. And why was Ellen’s nightdress covered in blood?’

‘What I’ve done?’ Jamie sat bolt upright. ‘I haven’t touched those kids. I swear.’

But Lillian’s words about the kidnapper having an accomplice were strong in the forefront of Amy’s mind. Quoting the exhibit number, she slid a photograph across the table. It captured Toby’s innocence as he sat in his wheelchair. ‘Look at it,’ Amy insisted, as Jamie drew away. Sliding the second photo from her folder, she showed him an image of Nicole Curtis, hooked up to a machine in intensive care. ‘That’s attempted murder right there.’

Jamie’s lips thinned as his gaze fell on the picture.

But Amy was saving the most impactful photo for last. Reeling off the exhibit number, she slid the crime-scene photo across the table and pushed it under his nose. It was the image that haunted her nightmares. Ellen Curtis’s nightdress, heavily stained with blood. ‘You did this. Nobody else – you. And if we don’t bring in Luka, you’re going to cop the lot.’

Jamie paled. ‘No . . . Luka said . . .’

‘He said what?’ Amy spat, her words filled with contempt.

Jamie rubbed his eyes as if to rid himself of the images forced into his field of vision. ‘I don’t know who he is. I met him once in a bar. We’ve been in touch by text ever since.’

‘And the phials? Where did you get them?’

‘They were sent to my address. I never meant to hurt anyone. I got in way over my head.’

‘Tell me everything that happened, starting from the first time you met Toby and Ellen’s kidnapper up to the present day.’ At last, Amy uttered the open question best suited for the interview.

‘I can’t,’ he said miserably, his head in his hands.

‘Then we’ll add obstruction to your list of offences.’ Amy allowed her words to sink in. ‘You can help us or obstruct us. You’re going down either way. Which will gain you the most leniency in court?’

‘You can still speak to a solicitor,’ Molly reminded him. The interruption was fair, but irritated Amy because time was running out. A private solicitor could take hours to arrive. Even the duty solicitor was rushed off his feet. They could not afford the time. His silence spoke volumes as he shook his head. Jamie was going to cooperate.

‘I was at a very low point. My wife had just left me, taking the kids with her. Everyone I cared about deserted me in the end.’

Amy focused on his words, a wisp of a thought floating in. ‘You were with Luka during the experiments, weren’t you?’ Next to her, Molly’s pen froze on her pad. This was why Luka had chosen him. He was one of the few who understood.

Nodding, Jamie confirmed her suspicions. ‘I was known as James back then . . . James Baliss. I changed my name when I got older. I didn’t want the doctor finding me again.’

It made sense. Subjects of scientific experiments were often followed up on later in life. But how did Luka catch up with him? And what did Dr Curtis do to make Jamie feel such a way? Had he been drugged too? There were so many things Amy needed to know. But this was meant to be a first-account interview. She’d planned to take what she needed and leave her detective constables to follow up with more.

‘You said you met him in a bar?’ Amy shifted in her seat. She wanted to get to the meat of the story but needed to obtain some background information first.

‘He bought me a drink, said he’d hired a private detective to track me down.’ Jamie hunched over in his seat, his gaze on his hands as they rested on the table. ‘First I thought he was hitting on me. I was about to tell him to fuck off when he mentioned my tattoo.’

‘Your tattoo?’ Amy said, trying to move him along.

Pulling up his sweatshirt sleeve, Jamie revealed a tiny tattoo of the number three on his inner right wrist. ‘He said he knew where I got it from because he had one too.’

‘And did he?’ Molly piped up. Amy accepted the interruption. It was important they verified that Luka was who he said.

Jamie nodded. ‘Kinda. He had a small ladybird on his inner wrist. It was fresh, still scabbing over. He said it was a cover-up, and his number was beneath. I didn’t understand the significance until he explained his plans. It was good to talk to someone who had been through the same thing.’

‘Did you remember him from the tests? Do you believe he’s Luka? Because our records show that Luka’s dead.’