Page 134 of Her Last Walk Home

‘I think you’re the one without a conscience.’ He threw her words back at her. ‘Don’t forget I know all about you and what you’ve done. I won’t hesitate to use that knowledge if you dare come near me or enter my home again.’

‘You’re in no position to threaten me. I know everything.’

‘You only think you do.’

‘Oh, and what is that supposed to mean?’ For the first time there was a wobble of uncertainty in her voice.

‘Exactly what I said.’

‘I can say you had John Morgan killed. He was found on your fucking site after all. And I know about you using the escort agency. How low do you go?’

Her words burned a hole in his brain and his heartbeat trebled. How did she know about the escorts? He had a fake profile; that Greg Plunkett couldn’t vet a paper bag.

He strode across the room, intending to grab her and push her back out the way she’d arrived. But he stopped when he caught sight of the child’s wide eyes; only then did he see the knife in the woman’s hand.

‘Hey, no need for violence,’ he said, forcing his voice to be calm. ‘We can work this out.’

‘That’s always your answer. Working things out. But look at the mess you’ve made.’

‘I’m serious. This time I can make things right.’

He sincerely hoped she believed him.

If not, he was a dead man.

95

TUESDAY

The birth certificate tingled Lottie’s hand. She knew she’d had no right to enter Diana’s house, let alone take anything, but the woman had disappeared with her grandson and needs must.

The creased yellowing document made no sense. The names of the child and the mother meant nothing to her. No father was included on the cert. It was dated thirty years previously. She searched the names on PULSE without success; similar negative result on Google. Two phantoms to add to the mystery of the murders and disappearances.

Kirby was with SOCOs at the lane beside the Moorland houses. The warrant for Laura Nolan’s financials had been executed and the bank submitted them that morning. McKeown was working his way through them, having given up trying to enhance the old group photo found among Aneta’s possessions. He’d forwarded the photo to the tech guys. Lottie hoped the photo or the financials yielded a result, because she needed something to happen soon.

She went in search of Boyd. ‘I need to get out of here.’

‘You’ve only just arrived,’ he said.

‘I can’t settle. Let’s see if Gordon Collins has reappeared.’

Boyd drove and she leaned her head against the side window. ‘How did Sergio get on with Amy?’

‘Brilliantly. He had no objection going there this morning.’

‘She works in town, doesn’t she?’

‘Two mornings a week. She mentioned she can take them off this week to look after Sergio.’

‘Kirby hit pay dirt when he met her.’ As they drove along the narrow road to Collins’s house, she noticed a thick plume of grey smoke in the sky. ‘Is that a fire?’

‘Gosh, it could be.’

At the turn in the road, the way ahead was blocked by a fire engine. Boyd parked up on the grass verge and Lottie jumped out, running as fast as she could towards where the smoke grew thicker, clogging her throat. At the open gate, she paused. There was frantic activity, with a glut of firefighters spraying water on the house.

‘Where’s the owner?’ she asked one firefighter.

‘Hey, you can’t go any closer. It’s in danger of collapse.’

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