Page 77 of Her Deadly Promise

Gina called the station as she looked at the address on the piece of paper he held up. ‘I need officer backup and an ambulance at unit twenty-nine. It’s on Talbot Road, Cleevesford Industrial Estate.’

‘I’ll fill you in on what O’Connor just told me. We have to go, now!’

SIXTY-ONE

CANDICE

As she aimed for his neck, he dodged the blade. Instead, Candice struck the new stainless-steel counter, scraping a line in the shiny surface. The angry line was nothing on Gavin’s angry face. She’d missed him. She’d blown her last chance to get out of this alive. Hands trembling, she didn’t know what to do as she gripped the handle. She had no option but to go at him again. His smirk told her that he wasn’t scared, in fact, it looked like he wanted her to try, like it was a game they were playing.

She ran around the table; he mirrored her from the other side. She went in the opposite direction. The table was the only thing keeping her alive. Reaching out, she tried to scare him back with the knife, but he didn’t even move, knowing full well she couldn’t reach him. ‘You’ve really surprised me, Candice. You’re tough, I’ll give you that but you’re not going to get out of this one. We can keep doing this all day while you wear yourself out.’

He was right. How many times could she run back and forth around half a table? A man in a fluorescent jacket walked a little way past the window. She ran and smashed her hands into the glass, but the man didn’t even flinch. She saw his headphones and she wanted to cry. ‘No,’ she yelled, then before she could get back to the table, Gavin was on her.

The next few moments passed in a blur. She tried to duck past him, and he reached for the knife. As they struggled, the weapon fell to the floor, bouncing under the table. His broad shoulders had her trapped. He slammed her onto the floor like she was a doll. Wind knocked out of her; she could see the knife, but it was too far away. If she reached for it, he would get it first. Where did they go from here?

He grabbed the collar of her shirt, strangling her as he pulled her to her feet. She saw his gaze rest on the noose, then back on her. ‘I bet you’d love to feel what it’s like for one of your dogs, being trapped in place by something that could strangle them to death. Do you get off on the power?’

It wasn’t like that. It just encouraged them to stay in place while she groomed them. A dog that jumped around all over the place while she held a pair of sharp scissors could easily be hurt. She also used a belly strap and a calming cradle. She loved the dogs and it hurt her to think Gavin was insinuating that she tortured them like he was torturing her. ‘Gavin, whatever you’re thinking—’

‘Maybe I’ve lost the ability to think.’ He flung her forward and the noose slapped her head. ‘Scream for me, just a little.’

Tears fell down her face. Why would he make her do that now? She shook her head.

‘Oh well. No chance of a parting memory then.’ He grabbed the cord and pushed her head through it, tightening is as much as he could around her neck. She gasped and flailed, arms reaching for anything. He grabbed them and held them behind her back as he pushed her forward.

As her vision prickled, she heard a car skid to a halt outside and Gavin let her go.

He stormed over and threw himself to the floor. She did the same and they both scrabbled for the knife. She needed to stop him. The police would be on her side because she was defending herself. Both pairs of hands grappled for the prize but only one could declare themselves the winner.

SIXTY-TWO

Gina rushed out of the car outside the unit. Two marked police cars pulled up and she could see the ambulance turning the corner, closely followed by a paramedic on a bike. She hurried to the unit and tried to look through the window, but it was reflecting everything. She leaned forward and cupped her hands over her eyes. That’s when she saw Gavin Brent lying in a pool of his own blood. ‘Man injured on the floor.’ His eyes flickered slightly, and he curled his little finger.

A shadow caught her attention. There was someone else in the room with him – Candice. Gina hurried to the door, checked her stab vest one more time and went to open it. ‘It’s locked.’ She banged on the door. ‘Mrs Brent, open up.’ No one came. She glanced around at the team. Two uniformed officers waited, a battering ram filling the arms of one. Gina lifted the letter box but kept back, not knowing what might greet her. ‘Candice, please open the door. Are you hurt?’

The woman wailed from inside. Gina fidgeted in her stab vest, hot to the core and burning up with the early afternoon temperatures. ‘Mrs Brent, stand back. We’re coming in.’ She turned to the officers. ‘I’m going to stand at the window. When I say go, get that door open.’ She walked back to the window. ‘We need to get in there, assess the situation and once safe, the ambulance crew can treat Mr Brent and assess Mrs Brent.’ She stared through the window again. The swaying dog noose made her shiver. There were ropes scattered on the floor, empty bottles of water and a dirty old sheet against the far wall. Some fight had gone down. The shadow remained in place. If they were to slam the door down, Mrs Brent was out of the firing line. ‘Go.’

The officers banged repeatedly. The heavy industrial door creaked before it finally gave in, bouncing off the wall as they entered. ‘Police.’

Gina followed and the police waved the paramedics in. She spotted Mrs Brent facing the far wall, sobbing. She’d covered her ears with her hands. ‘Candice?’ Gina reached for the woman but all she did was yell and cower. ‘Please come with us.’ She led the trembling woman out of the room and onto the sunshine covered tarmac where a paramedic led her to a wall to sit on. That’s when it clicked. Gina knew. She knew why, who, how and when. Especially now that they had Mr Brent’s computer.

Her phone rang, it was Bernard. She might be in the thick of it but whatever Bernard had to tell her, it had to be urgent. He wouldn’t call if it wasn’t. She listened to what he had to say and if it wouldn’t seem inappropriate, she’d have jumped with joy. He’d just confirmed what her mind had been putting together and the clue was in BenedictCarnY on the Hi There Horny site. She knew who Ben was.

She watched as Mr Brent was brought out on a stretcher, his eyes pressed together and an oxygen mask covering his mouth. He half opened his right eye, and he held a finger up and wiggled it, like he was gesturing for Gina to come over. She walked over to him as the paramedics put him in the ambulance. She tried to listen to what he was saying behind the mask, but it was all garbled. ‘Can we remove the mask?’

The paramedic shook his head. ‘Sorry.’ Mr Brent jerked and began to fit. ‘I’m going to have to ask you to leave. He’s critical and we must get him to a hospital, now.’ Gina gestured to a uniformed officer who got in with him. With that the doors were closed, and the ambulance pulled away.

Gina stepped back into the dog parlour. The scene had been messed up good and proper by them all going in. She pulled out some boot covers and gloves from her pockets, and continued, careful to avoid the corner with the sheet. That’s when she spotted something out of place above one of the eye level wall cupboards. Reaching up, she grabbed the flat, hard, item and held it carefully, using it as a tray for the items that were shifting on it. One tablet and three phones. It had to be Billie’s two phones and Nadia’s. She called an officer in. ‘Can you find out if forensics are on their way?’

She nodded and left the scene. Jacob peered around the corner. ‘They’ve nearly patched Mrs Brent up. She has a few injuries, but nothing is broken, well except one of her teeth. She’ll need a dentist to fix that, but the bleeding has stopped, for now.’

‘Jacob?’

‘Yes.’

‘Can you get me some evidence bags?’

He hurried out and she heard his boot open and slam. He came back, his shoes covered, and he in turn opened each of the bags as she popped the devices in. ‘Are these what I think they are?’

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