She picked herself up from the floor and began to walk in the direction of her office, closing the door behind her. She poured herself a gin and tonic and took a seat behind her desk. From down the corridor, she heard the first of many pairs of feet making their way out of the lift and towards the office.
She took her iPad and swiped the screen to take one last look at the extensive list of tasks she’d always begrudged yet needed to complete before her working day was over. But it was blank – Ula had already erased it.
Chapter 96
MANDY
‘Stay in the car until I know what’s happening. Promise me you won’t move from here.’
It wasn’t a question; it was an order. Lorraine, Mandy’s police liaison officer, was firm in her demand and didn’t wait for a reply before jumping from the driver’s seat and hurrying towards the front door of the cottage.
Two other police cars and a van were already on the scene, parked on the cobbled road next to two ambulances. Mandy hunched forwards in the rear of the car, barely breathing, and craned her neck to see past the headrests to gain a clearer view of what was happening in the house. It was a frenzy of activity, with uniformed police officers coming and going, speaking into walkie-talkies and mobile phones.
Eventually, a frustrated Mandy couldn’t wait any longer, so she clasped her fingers around the door frame and pulled herself out.
The journey from Essex to the Lake District had taken five hours and, on occasion, the vehicle’s motion combined with the stress had made her so uncomfortable that Lorraine had been forced to pull onto the hard shoulder so Mandy could vomit onto the grass verge. Her head was spinning with adrenaline, and nothing was going to prevent her from being reunited with her child if he was indeed being kept there.
The picture of the family’s Lake District cottage had jolted her memory, and she’d remembered Pat mentioning how much Richard had loved it there. Detectives had quickly discovered the title deeds to the home buried away in Pat’s files, and an immediate operation had been launched, beginning with officers inside an unmarked police car scoping out the property. When they confirmed a woman matching Chloe’s description had entered the home, the rescue plan had begun in earnest.
‘Where is he?’ shouted a panic-stricken Mandy as she made her way towards the front door from which Lorraine was exiting.
‘Mandy, I need you to stay calm,’ she said, and took hold of her arms. ‘Chloe has already been arrested and was taken away earlier. Your son is with Pat; however she’s barricaded herself in the bathroom.’
‘What’s she doing in there?’
‘He’s safe as far as we can ascertain, but Pat wants to talk to you before she unlocks the door.’
‘I don’t have anything to say to that woman, I just want my baby back.’
‘It goes without saying that we want a positive outcome from this, so let’s give it a try. I’ll be by your side, so please don’t worry.’
Mandy wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and was led inside the small, thatched cottage, up a narrow carpeted stairway and towards a panelled wooden door. Dusty framed photographs of Richard and his family hung from the walls, partially hidden by the half-a-dozen police officers crowding the corridor. One held a black, metal, battering ram, ready to break down the door if necessary.
‘Relax, take deep breaths and talk to Pat in the same way you used to before all this happened,’ Lorraine began. ‘Nice and calm, OK? Don’t get involved in an argument or lose your temper with her. Do you understand me?’
Mandy nodded, unsure how she was going keep a lid on her emotions when she’d spent so much of the last month waiting for this moment to tell her baby’s paternal grandmother what she thought of her.
‘Pat, I have someone here who wants to talk to you,’ Lorraine said, and nodded at Mandy.
Mandy paused and took a few breaths before she spoke. ‘Hello Pat, it’s Mandy.’
She could hear movement, a shuffling sound, in the bathroom, and for the very first time, she also heard her son make a noise, like a delicate whimper. She closed her eyes and wanted to cry – suddenly her son was real, and all that separated them was a few feet of wood and plaster. It was all she could do to stop herself from tearing down the door with her bare hands.
‘Is my baby safe, Pat? Can you just tell me that he’s safe?’
‘He’s fine,’ Pat’s voice inside replied. She sounded exhausted, Mandy thought.
‘Pat, I need to see my son.’
‘I know you do, I just need a little bit longer with him.’
‘You’ve had long enough, Pat. I haven’t seen him at all yet.’
‘He looks like his daddy, don’t you, little man? You have the same eyes and the same colouring.’
‘I can’t wait to meet him.’
Mandy looked towards Lorraine for confirmation that she was saying the right things and Lorraine nodded encouragingly.
‘Why did you take him, Pat? Why did you run away with him? We’ve all been so worried.’
‘I’m sorry, but we had no choice. You weren’t going to let us see him.’
She was right, Mandy thought. Once she’d learned how Pat and Chloe had lied to her about Richard’s death, she wanted to get herself and her baby as far away from them as possible.
‘Of course I would,’ she lied. ‘You’re his grandma. Why would I keep him from you?’
‘I don’t think I believe you, darling, but we had to see if it worked …’ Pat’s voice trailed away.
‘What worked?’
Both the bathroom and the hallway fell silent. ‘Pat, what do you mean? To see if what worked?’
‘We didn’t want to replace Richard like you think we did …’
‘Then why did you take my baby? I don’t understand.’
‘Chloe read somewhere that the children of Matched couples can be powerful enough to bring a parent out of a coma … He was our last hope.’
Mandy looked at Lorraine to see if what Pat was saying was true. Lorraine shrugged.
‘But Richard’s not in a coma, he’s in a permanent vegetative state. They’re two very different things.’
‘I know, but don’t you see, we had to try. We took Richard’s son to the nursing home and we sat with them both for hours, but nothing happened. He didn’t move. My boy just didn’t move …’
Mandy thought she heard gentle sobs coming from behind the door.
‘So why didn’t you bring him back to me then?’
‘I don’t know,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t know. We need to rest now, I’m sorry.’
Mandy felt herself growing more and more anxious. ‘Can I have him back now please Pat?’
There was no response
She repeated herself. ‘Pat!’ she said again, raising her voice.
‘I just need to sleep,’ Pat replied quietly, her voice barely audible. ‘My grandson and I, we need to sleep. When Chloe finds out the truth, please tell her I’m sorry.’
‘What’s she talking about?’ Mandy asked Lorraine, who turned to look at another detective. ‘Lorraine!’ yelled Mandy. ‘What’s going on?’
Mandy felt someone pull her backwards by the shoulders and the police officer with the battering ram slammed it against the door handle, breaking the lock. As three officers charged into the bathroom, Mandy rushed in after them to locate her son.
Slumped on the floor against the side of the bath were the motionless bodies of grandmother and grandson, both with closed eyes and skin as white as snow.
Chapter 97
CHRISTOPHER
Amy knelt before Christopher as he sat restrained in a chair inside the home of what should’ve been his final kill. In her tightly clenched palm Amy held the key that could unlock the handcuffs keeping his ankles bound tightly together.