Behind Closed Doors (Season One: Book 7) (Jessica Daniel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

address of the house.
    ‘If you want to come and find us, subject to the assessment, you would be welcome to do so. Obviously you would not be permitted to bring a vehicle, so you would have to rely on a
different form of transport if you chose not to come on our bus. We realise it is a large commitment but you would also not be permitted to bring anything except for the clothes you have on. Our
entire philosophy is based upon building something new and different. Having things from your old life wouldn’t fit with that.’
    Zipporah stepped away again, clearing her throat. It was dawning on Jessica quite how far she was going to have to go. This could be weeks, months, away from everyone. She hadn’t been
spending time with people anyway but at least the option had been there. Here, she would be on her own with no idea of what the ‘assessment’ might mean, let alone anything beyond
that.
    Jessica knew she was going to accept but that she could not be on the bus. At the very least, she had to speak to Charley.
    Before she could say anything, a man began shouting nearby. Zipporah and Jessica turned at the same time to see a figure with thinning dark hair grabbing at Heather. The other members of the
group surged forward at the same time, putting themselves between the two.
    ‘She’s my daughter!’ the man yelled. ‘I’ve got a right to see my daughter.’
    Heather shrunk away, staying behind the wall of people as Zipporah stepped through them, standing in front of the man.
    ‘If she wants to see you, she will.’
    He jabbed a finger in her face. ‘It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the one who stole her away, filling her head with lies and nonsense. Making her think she was better off
without her family.’
    Zipporah was unmoved, even though the man towered over her. Her features were fixed as his finger waved centimetres from her nose. The man was shaking with rage, his large belly bulging under
the bottom of his shirt, long tattoos on both of his forearms. He was glancing over the tops of the people towards his daughter.
    ‘Heather, honey. Come on, love. We miss you.’
    He sounded heartbroken. Heather was next to Jessica, shivering.
    ‘Are you okay?’ Jessica asked quietly, unsure if she should be taking sides.
    ‘Just keep him away,’ the young woman replied tearfully.
    ‘He seems really concerned. I think he just wants to talk.’
    ‘You don’t understand . . .’
    Zipporah continued to stand firm. ‘I think you should leave,’ she said calmly.
    ‘How can I leave? She’s my daughter. I watched her grow up. I wiped her nose, cleaned the scuffs when she fell off her bike. I picked her up at night, dropped her off in the
mornings. She’s my little girl . . .’
    He was close to tears but no one moved and Heather continued to cower, edging slightly behind Jessica so she was out of sight. Shoppers were stopping and staring.
    As the stand-off continued, three security guards came out of the shopping centre. Two of them were young and fit, the other was as wide as his colleagues put together. He seemed to be the one
in charge, approaching slowly, one hand on the radio clipped to his belt.
    ‘We’re going to have to ask you to move on,’ he said, trying to sound firm but clearly out of his depth. Jessica knew the type, a security guard more used to watching monitors
and sending juniors out to do the real work. Somehow he had got himself promoted one rung too far, meaning he had to deal with anything remotely serious. His voice was wobbling more than his
stomach.
    Zipporah didn’t take her eyes from Heather’s father. ‘We have a right to be here. We’re here every month.’
    The security guard held back, letting his colleagues come between the two parties. ‘I’m afraid you’re going to have to move on, Sir,’ he said.
    The man turned away from Zipporah and the two guards to face the one in charge. ‘But she’s my daughter. Don’t you have kids? What would you do if she was stolen