WILL TIME WAIT: Boxed set of 3 bestselling 'ticking clock' thrillers (74 page)

Nicola located her lighter, lit up and took a couple of deep
drags.  “Ooh, that’s better.”

We stood near the edge of the garden, beneath white-capped
tree limbs, with frozen roots, stones and uneven soil beneath my feet. 
The tree seemed lifeless and lost in time and stripped without its jacket of
leaves.  A bit like how I felt right now. 

But we were invisible here in the spiky shadows. 
Hopefully.

“I’ve been trying to think of a way to screw these guys
over,” Nicola said, a ghostly cloud of cigarette smoke around her.  “I
just can’t come up with anything.”

My fingers stiffened in the cold.  I cupped my hands
together and blew warm breath into them.  “How will they know we’ve phoned
the cops?” 

“Trust me,” Nicola said with a shiver.  “They’ll know,
or at least figure it out.”

“Does the website have sound?  Are there microphones in
the house.”

“Erm... I don’t think so.  But I could be wrong. 
So be careful what you say in the house, and on the phone.”

Nicola was clearly terrified that those guys might even
overhear our phone calls for help.  Perhaps they were bugged.  I had
to trust that her fears carried weight. “Okay, Nic.  So phone calls are
out.  We could text, be discreet.”

“I guarantee they’ll be monitoring us.  Closely. 
We’re safe so long as we behave as normal.”

“Texting under a duvet is not necessarily abnormal.”

“But the cops showing up twice in one day is.  You’re
willing to take that risk after what they did to John?”

I made a noncommittal hum while mulling it over. 
Perhaps she was right.  “Fair point.” 

A relieved sigh escaped Nicola.

If the men noticed a dramatic change in our behaviour,
there’d piece it together.  But then my mind shot to Sarah.  No way
could I let her stay in this house, nor did I want her out of my sight. 
Perhaps we could all disappear to a hotel... or I could get Brian to pick Sarah
up and whisk her off to somewhere safe.  He may have shit on me from a
great height, but he’d always have time for Sarah. 

“We need to decide what to do,” Nicola said.  “They’ll
wonder what we’re doing under here.”

“Just a minute.”  I hooked her arm.  Something
didn’t add up about last night.  “So those men thought this house would be
empty yesterday evening?”

“Yes,” she answered.  “That’s what I heard one of them
say.”

“How?” 

Nicola touched my shoulder.  “It’s your birthday. 
Besides, like I said, they have eyes everywhere.” 

“Then why didn’t they see you come back into the house?”

“Maybe they were already on their way.  I don’t know,
all right?  I don’t have all the answers.”  She drew on her cigarette
again.

“I’m sorry.”

“What I do know is, they’ve threatened, me, you, Sarah and
our families.  If we breathe a word...  Look, the police won’t be
able to guard everyone we care about.  I’ve already thought about
this.  While we’re talking to the cops, those bastards could be on their
way to hurt our families.  I’m not willing to risk even one person
slipping through the net.  Are you?”

I shook my head.  Absolutely not.  What to
do?  Stalemate. 

It may not have been the most thrilling of lives, but it was
mine and I wanted it back, without anyone else getting hurt.  I so ached
to pull this voyeur ring down on the unscrupulous heads of those running it,
but right now...  “Then we ensure our families are safe first and
foremost.  Drive round, pick everyone up, take them to a neutral place,
then phone the police.  Agreed?”

Nicola’s lips twisted with uncertainty.  “I’m not even
sure my dad will be home from work yet.  He’d have to drive to meet
us.  And my gran’s in a nursing home.  But, wait.  Those men
will see us leaving.”

“If those men cotton on to our plan, how long do you reckon
we’d have before they come after us?”

She dropped her cigarette and ground it with her heel. 
“Yesterday, that guy phoned someone from the kitchen and told them to come
round.”

“And?”

“Bear in mind I had been knocked out, so it’s hazy, but...

“Go on,” I prompted, rubbing my throbbing temples, it was
like I had brain freeze behind my eyes. 

“I reckon it took maybe twenty of thirty minutes until the
other guys showed up.”

I shuddered.  Crikey.  We’d have to drive like
Formula One racers and... oh, hell... the snow!  “We have to try. 
Come on.  We’ll take both cars and meet up at...”  I twisted my lips
in thought.  “What about that hotel on the north road out of town? 
Near the petrol station.”

Nicola rubbed a hand across her forehead.  “Okay. 
I’m in.  But I hope to God you know what you’re doing, Christa.  Cos
if we fuck this up, we’re as good as dead.”

CLAIRE

C
laire
had waited until the police finished questioning Brian, then offered him a lift
home. 

As she pulled her car to a stop behind the petrol station,
it chilled her heart to see Brian so down, confused and stunned.  The last
couple of days had been such a mess.  And her heart ached for Brian. 
If she could just play the nice, caring, and doting girlfriend, he’d see the
error of his ways and would fall into bed with her.  Sex had a way of
smoothing over the sharpest of edges – at least temporarily – and Brian surely
needed a smooth-out as much as Claire did.

“Won’t be long.  Want anything?” Brian pinched his suit
jacket together over his chest, ready for the cold.

“Get me a diet coke?”

“Sure.”  Brian hopped out of Claire’s car and dashed
across the snow into the station. 

Claire opened the glove compartment, suddenly worried she
had forgotten to switch Brian’s mobile off.  The screen was black. 
Phew.  As she closed the glove compartment, her own mobile started barking
from in her coat pocket; the ringtone for her brother.  She answered it. 
“Hi.”

“Hey.  Where are you?” Dale asked.

“At a petrol station.  I’ve just left the cop station,
and I’m driving Brian home.”

“Brian?”

“Yep.  The one and only.”  Claire paused. 
Would Dale confess?  The stunt with John had his name written all over
it.  She didn’t want to believe Dale had done it, but in her rolling gut,
she knew.

“S-s-so... ummm...” Dale stuttered, perhaps sensing Claire’s
dark suspicion.  “We’ve had a couple of orders come in.  Check your
emails.  Some guy wants one of those red little lingerie pieces and wine sent
over to a girl on Harper Street.  Package it up nice in one of those gift
baskets.”

“Sure,” Claire said.  “But I’m kinda busy.”

“Get it done as soon as you get home.  And put a note
in with that one.  Something that’ll make her want to try it on and prance
around in it.  I know you’ll come up with a good line.  We need to
keep our audience happy, right?“

“Sure do.” 

“Your idea for viewers paying us to send gift baskets is
really taking off.  Good little earner.”

Claire drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and drew a
breath of courage.  It was clear that Dale wasn’t going to confess without
a push.  “Was it you?”

“Huh?”

“You know what I’m talking about.  Well, was it?”

“How’s lover boy holding out?” Dale asked.

Claire sighed.  Typical Dale, avoid giving a straight
answer.  “They’ve kept his car.  Forensics will be going over every
inch of it.  And they’ve been questioning Brian.”

“As they should.  Glad to hear the cops are doing what
they get paid for.”

“I don’t want them to lock you up again.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“This isn’t what I had in mind, Dale.” Claire glanced toward
the station.  Brian would be back any minute.  “I thought you were
just gonna mess with Brian’s life, a little.  I’m really not happy with
you right now.  Why on earth did you do that to John?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sure you don’t.  He was already dead, right?  Did
you
kill him?”

Dale cleared his throat.  “Where are you taking Brian?”

“He wants to go home.”

Dale hummed.  “I guess it would look suspicious if he
raced round to her place, I mean, given what just happened.  News is
spreading like a virus that he’d done it so Christa and him could be
together.  That’s what folks are saying.”

Huh.  I wonder who gave them that impression?
 
“Do the others know what happened?”  Claire closed her lips, giving her
brother a chance to elaborate on the situation.  He didn’t.  Then
Brian popped round the corner, heading back to the car.  “Look, I’ve gotta
go.  I’ll phone you to talk about this later.  Just don’t do anything
else
that
stupid.” 

“Get that lingerie delivered today, Rachel.”

“Claire.  Call me Claire.  I’m sick of telling
you.”

“You’ll always be my little sister Rachel, but okay,
Claire
it is.  And as for today, well... no harm in taking advantage of the
situation right, sis?  Worm your way back in.”

Claire said nothing, just rolled her eyes in disappointment
at her brother’s brutal act born out of sibling love.

“Have you changed your mind about wanting him back?”

“What do you think?”  She hung up.

Brian opened the passenger door and sat down.

“Okay?” she asked.

“Yes.”  He handed her a bottle of Coke.  Their
fingers brushed slightly and Claire revelled at the contact.  “Thanks for
waiting and driving me home, Claire.”

“No problem.  I’d hardly leave you stranded at the cop
shop.”

He smiled.

Great!  Is he softening to me?  “If there’s
anything I can do to help, just say the word.”

Brian smiled again, a radiant yet sad smile. 

A rush of heat throbbed through her as he made eye contact.

Brian unscrewed the bottle cap of his drink and took a quick
sip.  “It’s been one gruelling day. I need a shower and to find my damn
phone.”

Claire started the car and inched forward to the main
road.  She racked her brain for a way to convince Brian that he would want
her company beyond the time it would take to drive him home.

CHRISTA

“Y
es,
I did say I’d bloody throttle him, but it wasn’t meant literally!”

“Calm down, Miss Silverlock,” Detective Phillips said to me
over my mobile phone.  “I’m just doing my job.  See to your daughter
and we’ll speak in a few hours.”

I ended the call, shocked that I’d been so
uncharacteristically rude.  Oh, God, what must he think of me?  His
prying had put me on edge so much that everything I’d said to him came out
snappy and wrong.  But Nicola’s words about the men threatening to hurt
our families were engraved in my mind and prevented me from opening up.

Nicola emerged from the hall into the kitchen.

Chewing my fingernails, I faced her.

“Can’t find my old mobile anywhere.”  She pouted and
glanced around.  “Mind you, the sim card might not even fit, or work
anymore.  Have you got a spare phone?”  She stopped walking and
stared at me.  “What is it?

“A detective just phoned.  He wants to meet, to talk to
me.”

“No way!” 

The shock of the call and the day caught up to me.  I
cried. 

Nicola rushed over and flung her arms around me.

“He was good.”  I sobbed on her shoulder.  “Very
slick with his questions.  And God! He’s got one of those really
authoritative voices, it scared the crap out of me.  He kept steering
things back to Brian, our relationship, details of my divorce.”

Nicola gasped.

I pulled away and wiped my eyes.  “Lots of awkward
pauses.  Jeez.  I swear he was trying to trick me into saying
stuff.  Says there’s rumours being spread... not good ones.  And they
found John’s car and mobile phone and heard that voicemail I’d left him.”

She frowned 

“Apparently I’d said, ‘drag Sarah into it and I’ll bloody
throttle you.’”  The words seemed to scrape my throat.

She bit her lip.  “Oh, I see.  Is the detective
coming here?”

“I put him off, told him the only thing I cared about right
now was comforting my daughter.  He’s going to phone back later after he’s
questioned Brian’s neighbours.” 

She stroked my cheek and inhaled deeply.  “That’s
good.  If he suspected foul play, he’d come straight round, surely.”

I raked a hand through my long tangled hair, replaying the
conversation. 

“Hmmm... You think he’s piecing things together, don’t you?”

“You could call it that.  But not in the way you
think.”  Crap.  I tried to shake my emotions into order.  “I’ve
got this awful feeling that the accusing finger is about to be pointed Brian’s
way, and then mine.  Whoever is spreading malicious rumours has a lot to
answer for.”

“So you and Brian are suspects?  Did he actually say
that?”

“Persons of interest.  But I can see why.”

She swallowed.  “Try not to panic.”

“Panic?”  I pointed to the ceiling.  “If they take
me in for questioning then who’s going to protect Sarah?”

“Well, I will.”

“On your own?  You against all those men?”

“Well... we’d have to...”

I balled my hands into fists and cut her off.  “Oh,
that detective is like a dog in heat.  It’s not what he said, more the way
he said it, kind of hinting at who benefits from John’s death, basically
me.  We’re still married, and unless he’s changed his will I’ll get the
life insurance and full ownership of the house and business.”  I closed my
eyes and sighed.  “I know that’s what I wanted, but not like this.”

“You have to calm down.”

“I’m sure he saw right through my lies.  I wanted to
tell him the truth but I can’t risk my family getting hurt.  God, if he
finds out about John’s threat to spill my secret, it’s gonna look ten times
worse.”

Nicola turned her back to the camera.  “If the cops
think you and Brian somehow... offed your husband so you could be together or
to protect Sarah, let them.”

“Let them?”

“Yep.  In an hour or two, once our families are safe in
a hotel, we’ll put them straight about the murder, the website, the lot. 
Besides, if that detective really suspects you and Brian, he’d be banging on
the door right now.”

“He’d need proof.”

“But there isn’t any.  So stop worrying, at least about
that cop.”

When it came down to the wire, family and friends were the
heart of life and I had to ensure their safety first and foremost. 

“Let’s stick to the plan,” Nicola said, covering her mouth
with her hand so the camera’s didn’t catch what she said.  “Are you ready
to go?”

I covered my mouth.  “You’re right.  Until my daughter
and our families are safely hidden away, my mouth is zipped.  That’s just
the way it has to be.”

Nicola grabbed her car keys and headed out of the kitchen.

I followed her into the hall and shouted up the
stairs.  “Sarah!  Come on.  Time to go.”

“Can’t I stay here?” she shouted back.

“Please, just get down here.”  Oh, great.  I
hadn’t banked on her being stubborn.  Of course she’d want to stay at home
tonight.

She stomped downstairs, all glassy-eyed and dazed. 
“Where are we going?  How long for?  Do I need my pyjamas?”

“No bags.” I hugged my traumatised daughter, passed her coat
and motioned to the front door.  Luggage would arouse suspicion.  “I
know you feel upset, Sarah.  But please, sweetie, we have to go.  It
doesn’t matter what you wear.”

“Why?  I don’t want to,” Sarah protested.  “It’s
cold, I’m tired and you’re scaring me.” 

No way could I tell her the truth.  She’d panic, become
hysterical on camera and give us away.  “It’s just a short trip.  I
think we all need to do something to take our mind off things, right?  Now
please hurry.”  I slung my handbag over my shoulder and opened the front
door.

“Fine,” Sarah said, glaring as she stomped past me. 
“But this had better be worth it.”

“It will.  We’re going to see Gran and Grandad. 
It’ll cheer us all up.”

“The word cheery definitely doesn’t come to my mind,” Nicola
mumbled, zipping up her coat at the entrance. 

I raised a finger to my lips to hush her.

Sarah glanced at her analogue watch, which Brian had bought
her last week.  “The long hand’s the minutes, right?”

Jeez!  You’re thirteen.
  “Yes,” I answered,
realising that Brian had not bought her the watch because of her latest craze
about cow collectibles, but because it wasn’t digital.  “Short hand’s the
hour.  I can’t believe you don’t know how to read a watch.  Grandad
used to repair watches.  He can show you how they work if you like. 
But right now, the long hand is pointing to five minutes past
let’s-get-the-heck-out-of-here.”  I opened the front door revealing a dark
sky.

Somewhere between rushing Sarah and Nicola out the house and
taking urgent strides down the drive, my brain bit into something pertinent
Nicola had said earlier.  Today was my birthday, not yesterday.  So
how
exactly
did the men know that we had planned to go out to celebrate
last night, rather than today?  I stopped dead.  A burning fear
ignited within.  Perhaps this proved that those men could also hear
us.  Had they bugged our phones?  Planted microphones in my house?

Sarah crashed into my back.  “Watch out.”

“S-sorry.”  Or was it ridiculous to think that someone
we knew was involved, and had spilled our plans?

“Why have you stopped?” Nicola asked, bounding along behind
us.

“Something bad’s happening, isn’t it, mum?  Something
else,” Sarah said.

She was perceptive.  I didn’t enjoy lying to her, but
it was for the best.  “Wha-t?  Don’t be ridiculous.  Who told
you that?”

She shrugged and pouted.  “No one.  I can just
tell.”

She can tell?  “Er...  Sweetheart, everything’s
going to be okay.  Just...”  I nudged Sarah ahead then gasped when
she triggered the security light.  She stood on the drive, illuminated
like a beacon.  I’d hoped to avoid it.  Damn.  My fault.  I
faced Nicola and whispered into her ear.  “We need to be discreet about
what we say or text over the phone.” 

“Okay,” Nicola said.  “And we’ll meet up at the hotel
in about an hour.”

“Yes,” I said.  “At reception.”

Thankfully, Sarah showed not the slightest interest in our
mumblings about the rendezvous point.  Instead, she tugged my
sleeve.  “Mum, mum.”

“What is it?”  I swung around and saw her pointing a
finger down the drive.  I spotted movement and gasped at a hulking figure
near our cars.  “Who the hell is that?”

A white van, parked at an awkward angle, blocked mine in the
driveway.  Someone bent down behind my car. 

I spread my arms out to shield Sarah and Nicola, then a
shadowed head popped up above the bonnet.

“Nicola!” a deep-voiced man said.

I leaned into her.  “Who’s that?”

“You’re here!  Oh, crap.” Nicola’s bag slipped from her
grasp and she stood rigid.

I tensed and leaned into her.  “One of those men?”
 I squeezed Sarah’s hand and dragged her behind me.

“No,” Nicola whispered, shaking herself unfrozen.  Her
eyes brightened for a second, then dulled.  “I-it’s Dave.  The guy I
phoned last night when...”

Dave came around the bonnet of my car and approached
us. 

“I... I... What brings
you
here?  How did you
find me?”  Not waiting for an answer, Nicola hardened her voice. 
“You have to leave.”

“Leave?”  He clamped his keys between his teeth for a
second, brushed his palms together, then snatched the keys back out of his
mouth.  “Well, hello to you too.”  As he breached our shadows cast
from the security light behind, I recognized his face.

Dave? 
That’
s the Dave she went on a date with
last weekend?  I took a step forward, smiling awkwardly and focusing
through the poor light.  “You’re Brian’s climbing buddy, right?”  I’d
seen a photo of him hanging off a cliff.

He nodded.  His brown wavy hair, longer at the front,
flopped down over one of his eyes. “You must be Christa.”  He leaned to
glance behind me.  “Hi, Sarah.”  Then he jerked his thumb over his
shoulder.  “Whose car is that?  Did you know the tyres are flat?”

I gasped.  “It’s mine.  Are you kidding me? 
All of them?”

Sarah moved out from behind me, but I tightened my fingers
around her arm, stopping her.

“Go see for yourself.  All four have been slashed,”
Dave said, zipping his navy, bulky jacket right up to his chin.  “Brrr...”

“Shit!” Nicola mumbled.  “The bastards.”

“Watch your language in front of...”  Oh, what did it
matter today?

“Who’ve you pissed off?” Dave asked as I sprinted down the
drive past him, tugging Sarah with me.

Sure enough, the front tyre was flat as a pancake.  The
back one too.  In the darkness I couldn’t see any nails or glass poking
out, but after what I’d just learned tonight, I suspected they’d been slashed
by the men who murdered John.  I wrenched around and stared at Nicola who
was glancing nervously every which way into the darkness.  “I only have
one spare tyre.”  I turned and kicked the deflated rubber, stubbing my toe
through my boots.  “Fucking wonderful.”  I caught Sarah’s eye. 
“Sorry, sweetheart.  I didn’t mean to swear.”

“Can’t we patch them?” Nicola asked, ignoring Dave who was
fast approaching her.

“Nicola,” Dave said, waving and competing for her
attention.  “I’ve been so, so worried.  Why didn’t you phone me back
last night?”

“I’m sorry.” Her eyes never left mine.  She held her
arms out in a silent what-shall-we-do gesture, while she continued mumbling to
Dave who stopped next to her. “I-I broke my phone and I’ve had a lot on my mind
and...and...”

He stepped in front of Nicola, eclipsing my view. 
“What happened last night?” he asked.  His hand went to cup her jaw. 
Had he noticed her bruises under the makeup?  “I phoned the police, drove
to every freakin’ pub in town and nothing.  No staff had reported any
fights.  I’ve been going out of my mind with worry.”

“How did you find me?” Her voice was small, tentative. 
She moved his hand away.

“A friend of a friend told me you live with Christa. 
But I had one hell of a battle locating this place.  I even tried phoning
Brian.”

I jerked up straight and shouted up the drive, “Do you know
where he is?”

Dave faced me.  “No answer.”  He narrowed his eyes
at each of us in turn.  “What’s going on here?”

Nicola looked searchingly at me.

We couldn’t afford Dave to have a large reaction on camera,
and so I said, “Family emergency.  I’ll not bore you with the details.”

“I see,” Dave replied.  “Can I help?”

“Mum, I’m cold,” Sarah said.

I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and kissed her
hair.  “Just a minute, sweetheart.”  I looked pointedly across to
Nicola, desperate to connect to her thoughts. 

Suddenly, Nicola became more animated and pointed around,
barking orders.  “Change the tyre.  Patch the others.  See if my
spare will fit...”

“We can ring for a taxi.”

“Or take Dave’s van.”

“Mine?”  Dave frowned.  “I need it for work.”

“Good idea, Nicola.”  Holding Sarah’s hand, I walked
nearer to Dave, aiming for polite and disarming, but what slipped out was
rushed and surly.  “Can we borrow your van?  It’s really important.”

Dave paused a beat.  “How will I get home?”

Nicola stepped closer to him.  “We’ll drop you
off.  Look we don’t have time to explain.  Please, just let us borrow
your van.”

He stroked her shoulder.  “Is any of this linked to
what happened to you last night in a bar?”

That’s an understatement.
  I sighed and glanced
at my undriveable car.  Hell.  I had one spare, not four, and without
a second car...  I turned and met Nicola’s scorching eyes as she stood in
the glow of light pooling from above the front door.

‘Twenty minutes,
’ she mouthed to me.