Delaney opened her front door and looked back at her. 'I'll be seeing you again, Stella. Don't be making any calls on your mobile.'
19.
Delaney came out of the house, his face impassive. Sally stepped over to him. 'Everything all right, sir?'
Delaney took her arm and steered her none too gently towards his car. He stared straight ahead as he spoke. 'Don't look at the house. Just get in the motor.'
They both got into the car. Delaney pulled out his mobile and called Bonner. He updated him, told him to put the wheels in motion and hung up.
'We wait here?'
'You wait here. I'm going up.'
'You can't, boss.'
Delaney shook his head. 'Stella may have phoned her. She might be spooked. I'm not taking the chance that she might hurt the girl before we get there.'
'The girl might already be dead, guv.'
'Then I'm not going to let her get away.'
'I'm coming with you.'
'You're not. You're going to stay here and wait for back-up.'
'You can't go in on your own. She's dangerous.'
'I can't waste time arguing about this, Sally.'
'Let's go then.'
Delaney sighed and opened his car door. He hurried back to the house with Sally close on his heels. The door to the upstairs flat was next to Stella Trant's. Delaney pulled a small pick out of his pocket and smiled sideways at Sally. 'You didn't see this.'
He twisted the pick and the lock clicked open. He opened the door gently just as Howard Morgan came charging up the street towards them.
'Is she in there? Is my Jenny in there?'
Delaney cursed. 'Jesus Christ on a fucking bicycle. Keep him down here, Sally.'
'Sir, I…'
'Just do it.'
Delaney hurled the door back – there was no point in stealth now – and ran up the stairs to the first floor. It was deserted and completely barren. He moved from one room to the next. The place had been stripped back to bare wood and the walls were ready for renovation. The floorboards were rotten in places and evidence of water damage was everywhere. No wonder the owners had moved out whilst the builders were in. The place was a death trap.
Delaney moved back into the corridor and walked slowly towards the back of the house.
'Candy, if you're here, we don't mean you any harm. We just want to know that Jenny is all right.'
He listened, but there was no response. 'Talk to me, Candy. Everything can be sorted out. It's not too late.'
He heard something, a rustle, a movement, and edged towards the room at the end of the corridor. The faded green door was closed and Delaney was sure he heard something behind it.
'I'm coming in, Candy. Don't do anything stupid.'
Outside, the sounds of police sirens and screeching tyres signalled the arrival of at least one car.
Delaney took a breath and opened the door. Stepping quickly into the room, he pulled the door shut behind him.
Into darkness. The windows had been boarded over and he squinted in the gloom. His eyes, used to the white glare of the sun, needed time to adjust.
As he walked slowly into the room, he could see a woman climbing quickly up a set of steps that descended from a loft hatch in the ceiling. Delaney charged after her. She cleared the ladder and tried to pull it up. Delaney tugged it down, holding it firm as she disappeared into the darkness above. 'Don't do anything foolish, Candy. My name is Jack Delaney. I'm here to help.' He took a step on the ladder and paused. 'We just want to know she's all right.'
He took another tentative step up, and then another, raising his head into the loft space above. His eyes had adjusted now as he scanned the space, ready to duck below. His heart was racing but no sign showed in his impassive face. 'It's okay, Candy. We're not here to hurt you.'
Candy sat in the corner of the room, one arm wrapped around Jenny, the other holding the carving knife forward. Jenny looked at Delaney, her eyes round with fear. Behind them on the floor were a couple of sleeping bags, some bottles of water, a blanket, a child's comic, a half-eaten loaf of bread. Dangling from the rafter was a blue rope.
Candy spoke, her voice a low rasp. 'How can I trust you?'
Delaney recognised the panic in her voice and wasn't reassured by it. Frightened people did stupid things. The impulse to self-protect could be the most destructive force on the planet, and Delaney knew that better than anyone.
'We're the police. We're just here to make sure that Jenny is safe. Look.' He held out his warrant card. 'Are you okay, Jenny?'
'Yes.' Her voice was tremulous, unconvincing.
'She hasn't hurt you?'
'She's my aunt. She wouldn't hurt me, she's looking after me.'
'Are you going to put the knife down, Candy?'
Candy shook her head, her knuckles paling as she tightened her grip on the knife. 'I was only looking after her.'
Delaney sighed. She wasn't going to make this easy for any of them. He edged closer, smiling reassuringly at the huddled, frightened little girl. 'It's okay, Jenny. There's nothing to be scared of.'
He walked forward some more, his foot slipping a little, and a large section of plasterboard and ceiling fell into the room below. Candy moved instinctively back.
'Don't move. You're going to bring the floor down.'
Delaney held out his hand in a reassuring gesture. 'Just stay calm.' He edged around the rotten section of the floor and reached out his arms. 'All I want is the girl. Just let me take her and everything is going to be all right.'
Downstairs, Bonner burst into the room and looked up at Delaney through the newly made gap in the floor.
'Guv?'
'It's okay, Eddie, stay there. We'll be right down.' He turned to Candy and smiled, forcing some reassurance into his expression. 'Pass her over, Candy.'
Candy shook her head, her eyes nervous, her breathing shallow. She clung on to Jenny, who whimpered a little as the floor creaked and sagged.
Delaney moved slowly forward. Candy backed further into the eaves, one hand clutching Jenny protectively to her, the other holding the knife out, her eyes glittering and skittish. 'Back off.'
But Delaney took another step forward. 'I can't do that, Candy. You know that.'
'I mean it.'
'And so do I. You how these things work.'
He moved forward again, and Candy held the knife, straight and unwavering.
Delaney paused for a moment, then calmly stepped forward and put his hand around the blade of the knife. Candy glared at him, rage coming off her like the shimmer of heat on a hot tarmac road. Her grip on the handle tightened and Delaney swallowed, his Adam's apple inches from the tip of the knife. Then, in a heartbeat, the fire died in her eyes, like the sudden cessation of a summer lightning storm, and, as tears formed, Delaney could see the young child Candy had once been, a lifetime of hurt away. She looked down at the floor and then back up at Delaney, letting her hand fall from knife so that he could take it from her.
'I only wanted to take care of her,' she said in a whisper.
Delaney fought to keep his voice level. 'I know.' He threw the knife across the loft and nodded to Candy. 'Just pass her to me.'
Candy wiped a dusty hand across her eyes and released her hold on the young girl who stood frozen to the spot. 'I love you, Jenny.'
Delaney held out his hand to the petrified girl, fighting to keep it still. 'Come on, Jenny. Take my hand.'
Jenny took a step forward, and the rotten plasterboard beneath her collapsed. She screamed as she was pitched towards the gaping hole in the floor, and Delaney, bracing himself against the eave rafters, swung out and caught her. She dangled for a moment or two, still screaming, as Delaney's forearm muscles strained, but he held her tight and swung her back up on to the safe section of the attic floor.
Eddie Bonner came up the steps into the attic and gathered the child safely into his arms.
'It's all right, Jenny. Nobody's going to hurt you now.'
'Take her downstairs, Eddie.'