Eeny Meeny Read Online Free PDF Page B

Grieves. Emilia Garanita wasn’t going to go away and there would be others behind her. A young girl had shot her boyfriend in a deserted location. It was horrific and thus good copy.
    ‘As little as possible. Until we’re in control of this, we can’t let out there’s a third party involved. So we call it a domestic but go gently on the detail. The press will infer all sorts of things about Sam and why Amy killed him …’
    ‘But we don’t want to blacken his name unnecessarily.’
    ‘Exactly. He and his mum deserve better than that.’
    ‘Ok, let’s play it tight for now.’
    He headed back to work. He was unquestionably rough around the edges – rangy, unshaven, rugged – but on form Mark was a good copper to have on your team. Helen hoped it would last.
    Satisfied everything was in hand, she allowed herself five minutes for a cup of tea. She was tired – the interview with Amy had been gruelling and the visit to the mortuary even worse. She wanted to tune out for a moment, but her brain wouldn’t let her. Sam’s awful death had got to her and she couldn’t shake the image of his lifeless, twisted face. What a thing for his mother to have to see.
    She was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice Charlie until she was virtually on top of her.
    ‘Boss. You’ll want to see this.’
    The day had already been full of nasty surprises, but Helen sensed she was about to get another.
    Charlie handed her a pair of photos – two smartly dressed business types, one in his thirties, one a fair bit older.
    ‘Ben Holland and Peter Brightston. Reported missing three days ago. They were travelling back from a legal pow-wow in Bournemouth. Never made it home.’
    A sickening feeling was creeping over Helen.
    ‘Their car was found in the New Forest. Local plod and the park rangers have scoured every inch of the forest. No sign.’
    ‘And?’ Helen sensed there was more.
    ‘Coats, bags and wallets still in the car. Their mobiles were found near by – the SIM cards have been deliberately destroyed.’
    Another abduction then. And this one even stranger than the first. Two grown men, smart, strong and able to take care of themselves, had vanished into thin air.

13
     
    How do you wake yourself when you’re dreaming? When you’re in the midst of a nightmare, how do you climb out of the abyss?
    Ben Holland rolled these thoughts round and round. He must be dreaming. He is dreaming. Perhaps he and Jennie hit the off licence after work and picked up a bottle of Bison Grass? Maybe he’s dreaming a vodka dream right now? Any second now he’ll wake up with his head pounding and a stupid smile on his face …
    Ben opened his eyes. He’d known all along of course – the smell down there was overpowering. How could you imagine you were anywhere else? And even if you could, then the constant whimpering from Peter would bring you back to your senses. Ever since their abduction, Ben had been a riot of anger and disbelief. But Peter had opted for despair.
    ‘Peter, would you shut up for God’s sake …’
    ‘Fuck you’ was the reply, spat back. Where are your leadership qualities now, Ben thought venomously.
    They were trapped. It made no sense but it was true. One minute they had been in the van, relieved and happy, the next they had woken up here. Groggy, bruised and covered in thick, clinging dust. Ben had stumbled to his feet in disbelief, screwing up his eyes to penetrate the gloom and make sense of their surroundings. They were in some sort of giant silo or storage facility, the floor of which was covered with coal. This is what covered them, coal dust creeping into their ears and eyes, making their tongues thick and dirty. Instinctively Ben scrambled towards the sides. The going was tough, the surface constantly shifting beneath his feet, but eventually he made it. Cold, smooth steel. Using the wall as a guide, he stumbled round, hoping against hope for a door, a hatch, some means of escape. But the sides were