No Safe Place(Detective Lottie Parker #4)(27)

‘I’m not playing, Mollie. That’s your name, isn’t it? If you walk quickly, I won’t have to hurt you. Come along like a good little girl.’

‘You’re out of your fucking mind.’ Mollie opened her mouth to scream, but in that second of hesitation, his gloved hand filled the void and a cloth was stuffed halfway into her mouth. She looked around wildly, but everyone was either in their cars queuing up to exit or rushing away up the hill, heads bent against the biting wind.

‘Help.’ She thought she said the word, but nothing came out of her mouth because the cloth was there. His arms circled her body, pulling her close to him. The cloth was choking her. And that smell …

‘Do what you’re told or you die, do you understand?’

The car lock beeped. He opened the door and pushed her inside. She cracked her head against the steering wheel and fell across the two front seats. He lifted her ankles and shoved her legs in behind her. She raised a hand to press the horn before he got in behind her, but she was too slow. He gripped her fingers and shoved her out of the way, sitting himself into the driver’s seat. She lashed out. Her nails snagged on the collar of his shirt.

‘Bitch,’ he cried, and placed his hand back over her mouth, stuffing the cloth in further. From his pocket he took a plastic bag. She could see another cloth, just like the first one.

‘You’ll be sorry for trying to hurt me,’ he said. ‘So fucking sorry, you won’t know what’s happened to you. You’ll beg. Beg, do you hear me? You will beg for your life and do you know what I’ll do? No, I don’t suppose you do, but you’re sure going to find out.’

His hand thumped into her face again and he brought the second cloth to her nose. A sickly-sweet smell filled her senses as darkness fell upon her like a shower of soft rain.





Twenty-Two





‘Am I in the right house?’ Lottie asked as she hung her jacket on the clutter-free stair post.

The aroma of chilli and cheese drifted in waves from the kitchen. Didn’t smell like microwave food. Opening the sitting room door, she was surprised to find it neat, tidy and empty. She walked to the kitchen. The table was set with matching cutlery. There was even a tablecloth that only saw the light on Christmas Day.

‘What’s going on here?’ she said.

Standing in a line at the cupboards to her right were Sean and Chloe, with Katie holding Louis in her arms.

‘Surprise!’ they cried.

‘But why? … What? … I’m stunned.’

‘You could try a thank you,’ Katie said.

‘Thank you. I mean, this is a major shock to the system. I’ll have to sit down.’

‘Yes, you sit down and I’ll take out the lasagne,’ Chloe said. ‘Do you think it’s cooked, Katie?’

‘Definitely. Here, Mam, you hold Louis and I’ll dish up. There’s chilli in it. Sean insisted, hope you don’t mind. We found a jar in the cupboard.’

Lottie took Louis in her arms as they began fussing over the food. Her mind went into overdrive mode. They wanted something. Nothing for nothing in her life. What, though? Why had they gone to this much trouble? She glanced around to see if her mother was commanding the operation. She was nowhere in sight. That figured. Rose was in a lethargic mood recently, feeling unwell all the time, and Lottie was trying her best to call to her with food in the evenings.

Definitely a conspiracy. But she had no idea why, so she decided to play along.



* * *



‘This is delicious,’ she said when they’d finished eating. ‘And it’s great to sit around the table as a family. We should do it more often.’ It was then she caught a look passing between Chloe and Katie.

‘I’ll take Louis and put on Baby TV.’ Sean released the brake on the buggy and pushed it out to the hall, pulling the door behind him.

‘Right, tell me what this is about,’ Lottie said.

The doorbell rang.

‘I’ll get it,’ Sean shouted from the hallway.

‘Oh, shit,’ Lottie said, jumping up.

Boyd stood in the doorway, a bunch of six red roses in his hand.

‘I see you had dinner without me,’ he said.

‘Oh God, Boyd. We didn’t agree anything, did we? I should have made myself clear. I’m sorry. I didn’t …’ Shit, she was babbling.

‘Let me hang up your jacket,’ Sean said.

‘No, I’m disturbing a family gathering. I’ll leave.’

‘It’s okay,’ Chloe said.

‘Bring Boyd into the sitting room for a minute,’ Lottie told her. ‘I want to have a chat with Katie.’

When they were alone, she looked at her daughter standing with a pile of plates in her hands. ‘Sit down and tell me,’ she said.

‘Mam.’ Katie put the dishes on the counter, ‘I know you don’t agree with me going to New York to visit Louis’ grandad, but I want to go. I put it off when you were attacked, and then there was Christmas and … Wait a minute. Don’t jump out of your skin yet.’

Lottie sat down again and studied her daughter’s beautiful, sad face. Katie had endured so much in her twenty years that maybe it was time to allow her to live for herself. To have a life. Wasn’t that what Boyd had said?