WILL TIME WAIT: Boxed set of 3 bestselling 'ticking clock' thrillers (60 page)

I smiled at her.  “He will.  You’re worth it.”

“It must be in my car.  I’ll nip out and get it.” 
She picked up her keys from the worktop.  “So... what did lover boy have
to say?”  A cheeky grin slid over her lips as she stepped past me and
nudged my arm.

“Oh, stop it.”  I ran a hand through my hair. 
“Apparently Claire’s on her way round
here
to collect Sarah’s laptop.”

Nicola paused in the kitchen doorway and her eyes sprang
open.  “You’re kidding?  Thunder-face is coming here?”

I nodded.

“Wow.  This I have to watch.”

RACHEL

R
achel’s
mobile rang in her coat pocket.  She pulled it out and glanced at the name
on the screen.  The dreaded phonecall.  She cut the music, took a
quivering, noisy breath inside her car, then hit the answer button.

“Hey.  Are we on?”

Rachel closed her eyes and massaged her temples. 
Suddenly everything felt wrong.  A huge dose of doubt swamped her. 
Could she go through with it?  “Something’s not right.  I say we hold
off.”

“Jesus! Rach!” Dale said in his all-too-familiar chilling
tone.  “You do this every fucking time lately.  What is it about
these people?  You don’t feel guilty about the others.”

“I’m sorry.  I-I just kinda–“

“I don’t want to hear another peep out of you.  Put
some socks on those cold feet of yours and focus!  Like I said last week,
you carry on doing what I ask, and I’ll give you what you want.  But if
you fuck me over, I’ll make sure the happy little life you crave will go to the
knacker’s yard.”

“That’s harsh.”  Rachel sat rigid in her seat, fighting
tears.  “It’s easy for you,” she dared to growl back.  “You’re not
the one who has to interact with these people.  It’s hard having to watch
what I say when I’m around them.  It’s hard to-“

He grunted, cutting her off.  “I told you not to get
emotionally involved.  It’s your own fault.” 

Rachel sighed.  What was the point in digging her heels
in?  Her brother always won or talked her round.  She chewed her
fingernails and stared at the chaos of traffic outside of her snow-covered
windshield.  As she relayed her numerous voicemail messages to him, guilt
gouged a hole in her chest.

Dale softened his voice.  “It’s tough on me, too,
sweetie.  But we’ve got a good thing going here and I won’t let you ruin
it.  Besides, how else will you afford that handbag fetish of yours? 
Huh?”

“It’s just hard.”  Exploiting people to get her nugget,
was tougher than he’d said it would be.  Although she disliked Christa and
that caul child of hers, this one... well, it was a little too close to home
and Claire hated having to be mindful of what slipped past her lips in
certain
company.

“He doesn’t love you,” he said, interrupting her
thoughts.  “No one will ever have your back like I do.”

Something inside snapped.  “Bullshit!  Don’t you
ever say that again.  He’s in love with me.  He just doesn’t know
it.”

“How can he be, sweets?  He doesn’t know the
real
you. 
He hasn’t asked you to move in with him and... Hell!  He doesn’t even know
your real name.”

Her huffing breath misted the driver’s side window. 
She raised her hand and drew a heart in the opaque patch with her finger. 

“So you wanna marry, make babies and live a fairytale life
with this guy?  Is that what you think will happen here?”

She scrubbed the heart out with her palm.  “What’s so
wrong with that?”

“Things like that don’t happen to us.  The only people
we can rely on are each other and you know that’s true.  Anyway, from what
you say, his heart rests elsewhere.”

Rachel shivered to the bone.  His blunt words pained
her.

“Stick to the plan, and although I think you’re head’s in
cuckoo land, as promised, I’ll do all I can to help you attain your man. 
But I’m telling ya, those fairytale ideas in your head ain’t all they’re
cracked up to be.”

Rachel huffed, disagreeing.

“But if you back out of tonight then...”

Rachel squeezed the phone, annoyed that he was playing tit
for tat.

“So are we on?”

Tears rolled down her cheek.  “I really don’t like
using him in this way.”

“If she hadn’t cancelled her birthday plans, you wouldn’t
have to.  But she did, so it’s tough.”

“I’m not sure how much time I can give you.  Maybe half
an hour.”

“Not good enough!  If it weren’t for that jerkoff
trying to break in last night, they’d be in a restaurant by now and we’d have
plenty of time to do the uploads.  Besides, her husband shoved something
in a vent, so that needs removing.”

Rachel pictured what she’d witnessed the other day. 
“Shouldn’t we tell her what he’s up to?”

“Use your brain!  She’d ask how you know.  Do you
want to go to jail?”

“No,” she grumbled.

“Besides, it makes for great entertainment.”

“Two hours tops,” Rachel said.

“That’s more like it because we also need to find that
computer.  Quick.”

“Well, I was trying to get that myself, but I don’t know if
it’ll pan out.”

“Are you sure you can get them out of the house?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.  Since the break-in, I think he’s
looking for an excuse to whisk her out of there.  So yeah, I’ve handed him
one.  I think I’ve riled him up enough to come and track me down, accused
him of...  Never mind.  I think he’ll want to show me, in the flesh,
that there’s nothing between them.”

“Good job.”

“Not that he’d tell
her
that,” she mumbled. 
“Anyway, he’ll chase me, and he’s bound to drag her along to help.”  Fresh
tears fell and she heaved a sigh.  “He always does.”

“And her housemate?”

“They’re both scared.  She’ll follow like a puppy.”

CHRISTA

A
n
hour and a full stomach later, as the last light drained out of the day, my
mobile rang.  I answered it.

“Christa.  Hi.”  It was Brian. 

“Found her yet?" I asked.  Brian’s sigh answered
my question.  “Oh.  Sorry.”

“I’ve driven the routes she might have taken, but can’t find
her car anywhere,” he said.  “And she’s not answering my calls.  Does
she want me to go out of my mind with worry?  I'll strangle her one of
these days.”

“Calm down.”  It was unusual for Brian to sound this
stressed.  Perhaps they’d been arguing.  “So, her mobile's ringing?”

“Yes.”  His car engine hummed in the background.  “Will
you help me search for her, Christa?”

“Oh, I really don’t want to leave my house empty.”  I
should have guessed this was coming. 
Is this Brian’s way of getting me
out of the house in case the burglar returns?
  No.  He must be
genuinely worried that she's in a bind.  Claire would never do anything by
choice that might result in Brian asking me for a helping hand. 

“Please, Christa,” he said, softening his voice which always
hooked me.  “I’m worried she’s skidded off the road or something. 
She might be too proud to ask for help.”

“You’re overreacting.  Besides, wouldn’t she call a tow
truck?” 

“Probably, but you know what it’s like round here when it
snows.  I bet they’re bombarded with calls right now.”

If I did agree to help him... No.  I could not leave
Nicola alone in the house after last night.  “She’s probably at a shop,
stocking up in case you get snowed in.” 
Or deliberately gone AWOL to
get his attention without considering that he'd enlist me for the search.

“All I’m asking is have a quick glance around, and then you
might as well give me Sarah’s laptop seeing as I’ll be over on your side of
town.  Something to occupy her now that we’re not going climbing.”

After all Brian had done to support me over the years,
how could I say no to such a small favour?
  When Sarah’s dad died
during my pregnancy, Brian, her uncle, voluntarily took on the father figure
role.  “Okay.  I’ve had some drinks so I’ll have to go on foot. 
Phone you in a bit.”  I disconnected the call.

“What’s Brian roped you into now?” Nicola asked, flipping
through a magazine in the kitchen. 

“Roped?”

“I bet he’d like to.”  She sniggered.  “He seems
the type.”

“Nicola!”

She mouthed sorry.  “But I’m telling you... any excuse
and he’s straight on the phone.”

“That’s not true,” I said pointedly.

“It is.  What about the other day?”

I frowned.  “Just work stuff.  He offered to get
me a deal with a local company he’s been doing some consultancy work for, you
know, for me to service their computers.”

“An excuse to contact you,” she said bluntly.

I rolled my eyes.  “Anyway, I told him no.”

Her eyebrows shot up.  “Are you crazy?  I thought
you were strapped for cash.”

“I’m getting by,” I said, a little too abruptly, the lie
smothering me like a caul.

Nicola continued eyeing me.  “You’re too proud for your
own good.”

“It’s just not good to rely on other people to get me out of
a rabbit hole.”  Truth was, it frightened me to rely on others too
much.  Like a crutch, that help could easily snap, fall short or get
whipped away, and I was also worried that if I let people in, they might learn
about what deep, deep shit I was in financially, now made worse by the addition
of solicitor fees. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Nicola asked.

“Everything around me seems to go wrong and...  Thanks,
you’re so good to me, but no, let’s not dredge over my shit.”  Most people
spread a little mask of glitter over their problems to save face.  I was
no different.  Who really wanted to hear about all the grit and slime of
other people’s lives? 

“Wanna talk about Brian?”

“Nothing to talk about.  He does so much for Sarah
and... I owe him.  So I’m going to help.”  

“Not what I meant.  Have you ever heard of the
expression ‘can’t see the woods for the trees'?  He loves Sarah, but she's
also the glue that gives you two an excuse to be in each other's lives. 
I’m convinced you’re the reason he moved back to this town the other
year.  The way he looks at you... he can’t keep his–”

“Please.  Let’s not talk about this.”  I dashed to
the understairs cupboard and dug out my chunky boots.  “I’m gonna do a
quick search of the neighbourhood," I said, changing the subject, then
sniffed the air in the hall.  “What is that God awful smell?  I can’t
seem to get rid of it.”

Nicola followed me.  “It’s vile.  Like piss. 
And it’s worse when the heating is on.”

“Anyway, I'll give Brian that laptop and look around for
Claire on the way.  Then I’ll come back and sit it out as planned.” 
I tossed Nicola her boots.  “Put these on.  I’m not leaving you
alone.  You’re coming with me.”

“But my face!”  She tried, in vain, to pick the green
face mask off for it was already hardening on her skin.  "Give me a
few minutes to wash."

I shook my head.  “I know how long you take in the
bathroom.  You’ll end up doing your hair and make-up.  Besides, we’re
not going far.  No one will see you in the dark and, if they do, they’ll
probably just stare at your chest.”  Nicola’s cleavage could easily engulf
a man’s head.

Nicola rolled her eyes and although she smiled at my
comment, her face was a roadmap of displeasure.  “Okay.  I’ll go, but
you owe me.”

“Thanks.”  While I checked the lock on the back door,
Nicola grabbed the laptop from my office.  There was no way I had time to
wipe and upgrade the operating system tonight.  Not that it
mattered.  I was sure Mrs Hill wouldn’t have given it to me if there were
any unsuitable files on there.  Besides, Sarah would likely only use it to
chat on Facebook while sprawled in bed.  After wrapping ourselves in coats
and scarves, I locked up my office, then the front door, and dragged a
reluctant mutant-ninja-turtle-faced Nicola into the falling snow. 

My neighbour Harry’s curtain twitched.  He owned the
other half of my old Victorian house and was a pretty good neighbour.  Not
bad looking either, save for the slight geekiness.  I waved, but Nicola
hid her face and crunched through the snow past his window.  Moonlight
bounced off the white snow drifts and bathed the undisturbed path in a radiant
light.

On reaching the end of our street, a teenager came whizzing
round the corner dragging a younger boy on a makeshift sledge.  Caught
unawares, I jumped sideways to avoid them and whacked Nicola with the laptop
bag.  She squeaked out a little yelp, lost balance and took a tumble,
plonking butt-first into the snow.

I reached down.  “You okay?  Sorry.”  I
tugged her by the slender wrist to her feet.

She rubbed her bottom and shot a waspish stare at the
passing children.  “Fine.”

Thick snow fell all around us, blanketing what few dark
patches of the landscape remained, as we trudged along in search of Claire’s
red car.  What few vehicles braved the slippery roads rolled forward at a
snail’s pace, their headlights casting halo-fuzzy cones along the street.

“This is no good,” Nicola complained ten minutes into our
search, irritation pulsing off her like a sonar.  “Sorry, Christa, but
phone Brian and let’s head back.  Claire might not even be in this area
and I’m freezing my ass off.”

I glanced up and down the streets, thinking. 
“Okay.  I’ve done my bit.”  I pulled my mobile out of my coat pocket
and dialed.

Brian answered quickly.  “Hey!”

“We can’t find her.  Sorry.  Where are you?”

“Parked outside your local shops.  Figured I’d see if
she stopped here on the way.”

“Stay where you are.  I’ll cut through the alley and
walk to you.  Has your sister arrived yet?”

“Erm.  Well...”

His reluctance to answer made my stomach cave in.  “Erm
isn’t an answer.”

“She’s kind of got... car trouble.”

There it was.  I stood bolt upright.  “Sarah’s
home alone?”

“Yes.”

I had to keep my cool.  Brian loved Sarah and would
never leave her alone purposefully.  If it weren't for my unsettled nerves
from last night, it wouldn't have been such a big deal.  After all, Sarah
was thirteen.  “Look.  I know you’re worried about Claire, but the
whole point of Sarah being at your place is so she’s safe.” 
Not only
from burglars.

“I know, and I’m sorry things haven’t gone as planned. 
But I’m also worried about you, you know.”

Something twigged.  “Is that why you phoned me for
help?  To get me out of the house?”

“Of course not!”  His overly-dramatic voice did little
to squash my theory.  It charmed me how deeply Brian cared.

"Thanks.  But I'm a grown woman.  Anyway, I’m
not alone.”

He didn't respond straight away.  “You’re not? 
Oh, do you mean Nicola or...”

“See you in five.” 

“W-wait.  Hold on!”

I ended the call and turned to Nicola who battled to stop
her long, curly hair from sticking to her green mask.  “Follow me.” 

We turned left down the next street, trudged through a
snow-thick alleyway and came out into the local pub’s icy car park. 

We walked across it and picked up the pace on the less
slippery surface at the other side.  Then, suddenly, tyres squealed as
though braking on ice.  This was followed by an immense bang and the
crumpling of metal.

“Holy crap!” I shrieked, eyeing Nicola.  “That didn’t
sound good.”

Nicola geared into panic mode.  "Come
on."  She hurried me around the corner where a car, the left side of
its bonnet crumpled against a stone wall, belched steam into the winter night
from its radiator.

“Oh, my God!”  I slid to a stop and slammed my hand on
the mangled bonnet.  I stooped to look through the front window as Nicola
raced to the driver side.  A dark-haired man sat behind the steering
wheel, his face partially obscured by the deflating airbag. 

I knocked on the bonnet to get his attention.  “You
okay?  Are you injured?”

Nicola yanked the door open.  “He’s alive.”

I rounded the car and stood at her side as the man raised
his unshaven face.  “Christ!” he said, running a shaking hand across his
eyebrow and finding a trickle of blood.  “Damn, stupid weather.”

“We’ll call an ambulance.”  I fumbled for my phone and
pointed at him.  “Don’t move.”

“How do you feel?”  Nicola leaned across and unclipped
his seatbelt.  “There.  Is that more comfortable?”

He nodded and swung a leg out of the car.

“Hey, hey!” I said, lowering my mobile.  “You shouldn’t
move.”

“Yes, he should.”  Nicola frowned at me.  “What if
the car blows up?”

I rolled my eyes.  “It’s a crash, not a bomb.  And
I can’t smell fuel.”

“I’m fine,” the man insisted.  “J-just a bang to the
head.”  He glanced up at the sky, twitched and groaned.  “I couldn’t
tell which was road and which was...  Just snow flying at me.”

“You’re lucky you’re in one piece,” I commented. 
"This town is a minefield of danger when it snows.  Are you from
here?"

"Kind of."  He pushed up off the seat and
paused as he caught my gaze.  A haunting look filled his dark slitted
eyes.

I tilted my head.  Did I know him?  No.

“Th-thanks, but don’t bother phoning for help.”  He
shifted focus to Nicola, frowned, then used the door for support and hauled
himself up.

“Why not?” Nicola asked, steadying him as he staggered out
of the car.

“There’s a big pile up in town."

"Really?"

"Yes.  Every ambulance will be headed there. 
I’d be waiting for ages.  Besides, nothing’s broken.”

Reluctantly, I pocketed my mobile.  “You sure?  I
mean... you should get checked out.”

“I’m fine.”  He waved a dismissive hand with greenish
dots tattooed on his knuckles, then studied the crumpled mess of his car. 
“Guess I’m on foot from here.  Damn.”

“Well.  At least let me help you with that cut on your
head.”  I grabbed a tissue from my pocket and dabbed blood off his
eyebrow.  “It looks pretty bad.  You might need stitches.”

“Where are you going?” Nicola asked.

“What will you do about your car?” I said, giving his
eyebrow one last dab.

He leaned down into the car, grabbed a box of sticking
plasters and a mobile phone from the footwell.  “Meeting a friend.” 
He shut the car door and locked it, never again meeting my eyes
square-on. 

“Plasters,” I said.  “You came prepared.”

“Oh, err... yep.”  He pocketed them.  “Thanks for
your help.  But I need to get going.  I’ll arrange for a tow in the
morning.”  He limped away, glanced back at us once with an unreadable
frown, then cut tracks in the snow toward the pub we’d just passed.

“Poor guy,” I whispered.

“Did you see the way he looked at us?” Nicola commented,
then touched her cheek.  “My facepack.  Jeez.  No wonder. 
I’m a human monster.” 

“You do look scary,” I giggled, although it was more the way
he
didn’t
look at my eyes that struck me.  “He’s embarrassed.”

“Come on."  She tugged my coat sleeve. 
"I don’t wanna be on these streets any longer than I have to.”

“Nor do I.”  Strange, weird evening... and damn that
Claire and her stupid mission to get Brian’s attention!  On the one night
I needed to stay at home...  Grrr.  The plan to defend my house was
already falling apart.