The Secret Child (DI Amy Winter #2)(84)

‘No thanks to you!’ Amy spat, briefly assessing the rest of his body for injuries. ‘You were meant to hang back.’

After mumbling something about following orders, he crouched down to help. Slowly and gently, she rolled Luka into the recovery position, assisted by the officer, who had nothing more to say. They had moved in without her authority and gone above her head. There was only one person who would have panicked enough to issue the order to arrest. Someone who had no clue of how people like Luka felt. DCI Pike. The betrayal bit deeply.

‘Luka,’ she said, squeezing his forearm. ‘Where are they? Please tell me.’ She prayed this would not be a dying declaration. Why should his father have to lose him a second time? Luka’s eyelids fluttered, but his eyes were unfocused, and there were no words on his lips.

‘Back off!’ she screamed at the people crowding around him. ‘Give him some air.’ Hot anger drove tears behind her lids, and she swallowed them back. She could almost hear Ellen and Toby crying out in fear. The sound would haunt her nightmares if she could not get to them in time. Hands trembling, she touched Luka’s cheek, praying for warmth. ‘Luka,’ she whispered, bending over until her lips brushed his ear. ‘Please, tell me where the children are.’

The tiniest of groans escaped from between his lips. ‘Mother knows,’ he said, before passing out.

Heavy footsteps broke the stillness as paramedics gathered around her in a flash of green uniforms and equipment bags. A warm sticky substance laced Amy’s fingers as she raised them from the ground. Blood was oozing from the back of Luka’s head at a frightening rate. Making room for them to work, she gave the paramedics a quick rundown of events. ‘If he says anything – utters a syllable – please tell us. There are children’s lives at risk.’

He was still breathing, but only just. Working quickly and diligently, officers took control while Luka was treated at the scene.



With some trepidation, Amy climbed into the back of the ambulance, squeezing herself into a corner seat. Having updated base, she left uniformed officers to take control. Officers were being drafted in to search all breaker’s yards and an appeal was soon to go live. But even if they put a stop to all the cars in England being crushed, Toby still needed medication and specialised care. He was a long way from being out of the woods. They needed to pin down his location, and it had to be soon.

As the paramedics hoisted Luka on board, she wanted to ask them how things looked. But she knew from experience how much she hated being asked for updates early on in an investigation. Was this the same? She could see by their grim faces and the haste of their actions that Luka’s life was hanging by a thread. As the ambulance weaved in and out of traffic at speed, Amy felt her stomach churn. She had never been the best of travellers and hated being in the back seat. Medical supplies rattled in compartments as she gripped the sides. One of the paramedics turned and gave her a sympathetic smile.

‘We’ll be there soon.’ The ponytailed girl seemed too young to hold such a responsible role, but her movements carried a confidence beyond her years.

‘How’s it looking?’ Amy said, no longer able to hold back the question on her tongue. ‘Can he speak? He’s the only one who can help me.’

‘At the moment we’re looking at broken bones and a serious head injury. It could be some time before he’s able to talk, if at all. Sorry.’

Amy gave a tight nod. She had always felt a sense of camaraderie with members of the emergency services, and they worked well with the police, helping each other along. But today, no comfort was being offered. All she could do was go to the hospital with the slim hope he could utter a couple of words. But with each minute that passed, that hope faded, along with the chances of finding the children in time. Amy took a deep breath to settle her stomach as another wave of nausea rose. Her colleagues’ voices buzzed on the radio and she pushed her earpiece, which had become dislodged, back into her ear. She knew she should speak to DCI Pike, but it sounded like everything was in hand. She had learned to be wise with her words when updating Control. All updates made over airwaves were recorded and transcribed into a report. That was something the Independent Police Complaints Commission could be trawling through later on. DCI Pike’s voice sounded worried. She should never have intervened.

A blast of cold air kissed Amy’s skin as the back doors opened, seconds after the ambulance came to a juddering halt. Her muscles stiff, she climbed out, watching as paramedics lowered Luka from the ambulance, his head and neck in a brace. The trolley rattling against the pavement, they wheeled him into the hospital with Amy following close behind. Luka himself was a crime scene. His clothes would be seized, a blood sample and forensics taken as soon as police were allowed.

‘I’ll have to ask you to wait here,’ the paramedic said as they came to a set of double doors. Amy watched, helpless, as their best chance of finding Toby and Ellen was wheeled away.





CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

‘Here. Get this down you.’ The smell of salt and vinegar filled Amy’s senses as Paddy shoved a bag of chips under her nose.

‘I don’t have time.’ Amy was too busy sorting through the paperwork she had just printed off.

‘Eat,’ Paddy said. He was not taking no for an answer. Minutes later, he followed up with a mug of tea. It was ten o’clock at night. Since returning from the hospital, Amy had been caught up in a whirlwind of investigative tasks. Overseeing briefings, liaising with crime-scene operatives and media support, and updating her supervisors. Today had taken its toll. She wolfed down the chips, realising that all she had eaten up to now was a protein bar. She had come back to the station, guns blazing, but DCI Pike had been nowhere to be seen. ‘I can’t believe she’s not here.’ Amy spoke her thoughts aloud. ‘And I’m not buying that rubbish about her being sick.’