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something about money placed in her account, No, no, no. It can't be. She couldn't access it and she needed it desperately.
    “Sir, I need the money in cash. The account I was using has been frozen until the estate is released.”
    “Honestly, I don't give a fuck. The money has already gone into the account. Pack your belongings and get out.”
    “But…”
    “GET OUT.”
    Avery knocked the chair to the floor in her hurry to escape her boss’ fury and condemnation. After grabbing her purse, she stumbled from the building.
    ****
    Avery scoured the papers for work. Most jobs these days were advertised online but her personal computer, like everything else, was listed on her father's asset register and had been impounded. Would this nightmare never end?
    She had managed to secure a few dollars from the government unemployment department but this emergency grant wouldn't even give her enough to live on. They said she would get more when she proved she had applied for, and attended, job interviews. How the fuck could she do that when, as soon as she gave her name people slammed the phone down in her ear.
    Giving a false name had gotten her as far as a couple of interviews but as soon as they clapped eyes on her face, she had been told to leave. Even employers in Talcott, ten miles away, wouldn't have anything to do with her. She was a social pariah.
    She didn't even have the option of fleeing the country. There was no money. She had underestimated Vince and now she was paying the price – big time. Would she become his captive again?



Chapter Four
    Gabe wrapped his arm around his mother's waist and held her close as the coffin containing the body of his sister was lowered into the earth. His father stood beside him. A quick glance revealed trembling lips and unchecked tears rolling down his dad’s cheeks. Gabe swallowed against the lump in his throat. His father, Grant - a former Police Chief, never shed tears.
    Gabe's mother, Ruby, wailed as her daughter disappeared into the void. She clutched at the lapel on his police jacket, buried her head into his shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably.
    After a few minutes, he eased his mother away. “Come on, mom. Let's get you home.” They paused while his father picked up a handful of earth and threw it onto the coffin.
    He guided his parents through the hundreds of mourners, back to the car. Ruby struggled into the back seat with her son's help. Grant joined his wife while Gabe climbed in behind the wheel, fired up the engine and drove the vehicle slowly away.
    Ruby clutched Grant's hand and leaned against his shoulder. “Why, Gabe, why?” she asked softly. “She was a good girl, who would murder her?”
    Gabe kept his eyes on the road as he answered. “I don't know mom, but I promise you we will find the bastards who took her from us.”
    Tegan Jervis' body had been found five days earlier She had been naked, dumped in the bush alongside a large vacant allotment. No-one would have heard her screams. Nowhere was close enough to run to. How terrified she must have been. She had died all alone, tossed away like a piece of garbage. It was this thought that angered Gabe most of all. He loved his little sister with a passion and he would make sure the monster who had killed her paid. A thousand times over. If not for his pride in being an officer of the law, he would have ensured the asshole paid with his life. But, the fucking vermin wasn’t worth losing his career over. He would play things by the book.
    The medical examination had found she had been badly beaten. This was stating the fucking obvious. When Gabe had been called for a formal identification, he had been barely able to recognize her. The doctor had told him her nose, cheekbones, six ribs, a wrist and an elbow were all broken while a shoulder had been wrenched from its joint. He had stood there, staring at what had once been his beautiful sister. When the doctor patted his shoulder, he broke down and blubbered like a