WILL TIME WAIT: Boxed set of 3 bestselling 'ticking clock' thrillers (76 page)

She pouted again.  “Thought I was grounded.”

“Not anymore.  Your grounding is over.”  I patted
her knee, wishing that this nightmare I had to shield her from was also kicked
into orbit.

“Can’t I go to a friend’s and come back when you’re
done?  I know it’s dark, but it’s not late.”

“I thought you liked being at Brian’s?”

“I do.  But I was there yesterday,” she said, while I
stared around the room, looking for the camera.  At least Nicola had
covered the lens, I just prayed whatever she’d done to it worked.  “If I
meet my friends I can still sleep here tonight.”

I hated that Chatting to my daughter didn’t feel private.
 

“Mum.  You listening?  What are you looking at?”

“Huh?”  I lowered my gaze from the wall and ceiling,
cupped her soft cheeks with my hands.  “You know I love you more than
anything in the world, right?”

She nodded. 

I placed a tender kiss on her warm forehead.  “John was
very proud of you.  So am I.”  I rose off the bed.  My comfort
was thin, my words inadequate.  It killed me that instead of wrapping my
arms around her I was pushing her out the door.  “Love you.”  My
voice cracked.  Inside I was yanking at my hair, punishing myself.

Sarah hugged a pillow, then flicked the duvet back and got
out of bed.  “Does the phone work yet?”

“Dave’s outside trying to fix the line.”  I pointed at
the phone socket next to her desk, one of three sockets in our house. 
“But don’t use it.  Not today,” I said, still unsure if our lines had been
tapped.  I dashed back down to the lounge and found Dave perched on the
sofa, clasping Nicola’s hand while she finished pitching him a tale.  They
looked pretty good together.  Nicola deserved a nice man in her
life.  I just hoped that Dave could overlook our weirdness and give her a
chance.

Nicola glanced up.  “Christa.”

Dave turned and smiled.  “Phone line’s fixed. 
I’ve twisted the wires together and found tape in your kitchen drawer
to...  Anyway, it’s done, but you need to get an engineer to fix it
properly.”

“Thanks so much.”  I held out the photocopy of the cafe
receipt.  “Can I ask another favour?“

“I’ve already explained,” Nicola said as he took it. 
She gave me a sly back-me-up look.  “You know, that some dodgy guy’s been
hanging around, the one that followed me last night, and we think he dropped
it.”

“That sure does explain why you two are so jumpy. 
That, plus your husband.  Jeez,” Dave said, appearing satisfied with
Nicola’s story.  “I’ll ask at the cafe but I don’t see why the police-“

Nicola squeezed his hand, shutting him up.  “You’re
great.”

He winked at her.  “You sure you don’t want me to stay
and... you know, a guy in the house ‘n’ all.”

Nicola shook her head and glanced away.

A flicker of doubt passed across Dave’s face.  He was
clearly keen to help and protect us, perhaps a part of him wanted to prolong
his moment with Nicola.

“We’ll be fine,” I said, smiling sweetly to banish the doubt
from his head.  “The police know all about it.  But thanks for the
offer.  There is one more thing you could...”

“I’ve already asked him about driving Sarah to Brian’s
house,” Nicola jumped in again.

“You’d better lock this house up good and tight,” Dave
suggested. 

“Sure will.”  I nodded my thanks, the pretence
suffocating me like plumes of smoke blowing in my face.  Then I
realised.  Maybe Brian’s house wasn’t safe after what happened to John. 
And what if Brian was with Claire?  Perhaps getting it on and... 
 “N...no!  Will you drive her to my parents’ house instead, please?”

Dave stared into my eyes as though trying to peel away the
layers behind my change of heart.  “No problem.”

A sudden suspicion entered my mind as I looked at him. 
Dave knew where we lived, a receipt from a cafe that
he
frequented had
been dropped in our back garden, and here he was tonight of all nights, turning
up on our doorstep the moment we planned to do a runner.  Very odd. 
Was it just a coincidence?  Unblinking, I stared intently into his brown
eyes.  Soft, concerned, confused.  A kind face.

Despite the silent ping-pong as we sized each other up, yes,
I trusted him.

After swapping phone numbers and giving him my parents’
address, I shouted for Sarah to come downstairs.  “Oh, I told her to be
ready in five minutes.”  I tutted and glanced at Dave.  “I’ll get
her.”

“No rush,” he said, then crouched next to Nicola and took
hold of her hand.

“God, I need a cigarette,” she murmured.

“Those things’ll kill ya.”

“I’ve been given extra lives.”

“Listen,” Dave said.  “I might be crazy... but how does
dinner and a movie sound, this weekend?  Maybe you can show me that you’re
not such a crazy chic after all.”

Nicola gave a light laugh.

I darted into the hall then climbed the stairs. 
“Sarah, change of plan,” I said, projecting my voice upstairs.  I walked
along the landing and knocked on her door.  “You’re going to Grandad’s
house.”

I waited.  “Sarah?”  When she didn’t reply, my
heart sank.  She’d be crying in bed again, hugging her pillow.  I
pushed the door open.  My eyes did a one-eighty sweep of the room. 
“Sarah?”  Empty.  “Sarah, love.”  I rushed further along the
landing and pushed the door open to my bedroom, raced to the far side to check
my en-suite.  Empty.  Crap. 
Where is she?
  I
wrenched around and raced back to the stairs shouting, “Sarah! 
Sarah!  Where are you?”

“What’s wrong?” Nicola shouted from the lounge while I thundered
down the stairs.

I grabbed my coat and sprinted to her side.  “Can’t
find her,” I said, breathless with worry.  “Oh, crap.  I told her she
wasn’t grounded anymore and...”  I tried to replay our conversation,
unsure I’d made myself clear that she had to go with Dave.  Ugh.  By
not
saying
no
when she asked to meet her friends, had she taken that to mean
yes
?  “She asked if she could go out to see her friends, and I
think she misunderstood me.  I should have been clearer but I was looking around
her room for the camera.”

“What camera?” Dave asked.

“D-digital,” Nicola said.  She pushed herself up to a
sitting position.  “She can’t have gone far.”

I heaved a sigh.  Anger, at myself, sparked inside me.
 I locked eyes with Nicola.  “I’m really worried.”  Tonight of
all nights, I needed to know where she was and that she was safe.

“I know you are.  But this isn’t the first time she’s
done this.”

“A typical teenager,” Dave murmured.  “I’m always
getting calls from my ex saying our son’s out doing god-knows-what.  They
roll back home when they’re cold and hungry.”

“This is different,” I said, looking at Nicola.  I
signalled around the room, trying to indicate the cameras.

“Dave,” Nicola said, breaking our gaze.  “Would you
mind fetching more biscuits?”

Dave smiled.  “I can take a hint.”

Nicola touched his arm.  “Top cupboard on the
right.  Thanks.”

Dave headed for the door.

“I have to find Sarah,” I gushed, pulling on my coat. 
“I don’t want to leave you but... Will you be all right here?  Ask Dave to
stay a bit longer.”

She grabbed my arm.  “You can’t go.”

I frowned.  “Why not?”

“Sarah’s better off on the streets with friends than in this
house.”

Did she really just say that?
  There was some
truth there but... “She’s only thirteen!  It’s dark outside, people are
watching us and threatening to kill us.” 

Nicola checked over my shoulder.  We were still
alone.  “Exactly.  If the cameras aren’t on Sarah, she’s safe.”

“Safe?” I seethed through my teeth.  “No.  I’m
going after her.”  I stood and turned for the hall.

Nicola grabbed my sleeve.  “I meant safe from those
men.”

I spun around.

“Look, Sarah’s sneaked out many times and she’s always come
back in one piece, right?”

“Well, yes, but...”

“If you chase after her, those men might chase you!  Do
you really want to lead a gang of criminals and murderers to Sarah?”

I straightened.  “Absolutely not!” 

“Then leave her be.”

A horrid thought popped into my head.  “What if whoever
drove past our house, came back, saw her leave and took her?”

“If they have, it’ll be like hunting for a needle in the
dark.  But they haven’t taken her.”

“How can you possibly know?”

“We’re still here.  We came back into the house,
haven’t phoned the police, so we haven’t actually broken their rules. 
Besides, they’d be stupid to abduct Sarah if they want us to keep quiet. 
If they take her, then it’s kind of like... all bets are off.”

I agonised over what to do. 

“If
we
didn’t notice her leaving, maybe the men
didn’t either.”

“The security light above the drive would have come on if
she’d gone out the front.” 
But would I have noticed it from
indoors?  Probably not.

“She must have gone out the back way, used the gate at the
end of the garden.  Maybe she climbed out of her window or something.”

“What?  Jumped down onto concrete?  Don’t be
daft.”  I chewed my fingernails.  If those men had taken my daughter,
they’d have to know that I’d tear this town apart looking for her like any
mother would, and therefore the story of the website, the murder... it would
all unravel because of
their
doing.  Maybe Nicola was right. 
They hadn’t taken her and she’d slipped out through the back garden, somehow.

How the hell does she leave the house without me hearing
her?
  “I wonder if she took her mobile.”

Nicola tugged my sleeve again.  “Text her.  Tell
her you’re not mad, and she can stay out for a couple of hours.”

I thought about it.  “Yes.  And we’ll use that
time to come up with a new plan of attack.”  I pinched my bottom lip
between my teeth.  I glanced around the room, trying to spot the camera. 
“Why on earth would anyone be interested in what we do inside these walls?”

“I guess some people enjoy watching what others get up
to.  I know this is different, but I have to admit, I watch the odd bit of
reality TV, and I’m guilty of people-watching when I go out.”

“I know you like eyeing up men, but...” I frowned. 
“What’s the fascination?”

Nicola pursed her lips.  “Maybe we enjoy seeing other’s
misfortunes unravel.  It’s kind of intriguing seeing people argue, flirt,
or make a fool of themselves.”  She paused and stared at me.  “Don’t
you ever wonder about people?  You know... is that red-head really as
flawless as she makes out?  Is our neighbour’s sex life better than mine?”

“People must have too much time on their hands,” I said
bluntly. 
Oh, Sarah, why did you have to run off?
  “They
should get a life of their own and stop nosing into other’s.”

“Well, some people must get a kick out of it or they
wouldn’t subscribe to this website.”

I shuddered.  “It’s sick and twisted.”  The
cameras had practically turned the brick walls of my house into glass.  We
had to push these monsters out of our lives before they totally destroyed us.

“I’m just saying I get it...  that’s all, the
fascination, not that I agree or want my life made public myself.”  Nicola
glanced over my shoulder, then placed her finger to her lips.  “Hush,
Dave’s coming back.”

When Dave returned with more biscuits, I nipped out of the
room and sent a text to Sarah:

‘You can stay out with your friends for a couple of
hours, just text me and tell me where you are.  Don’t wander off on your
own or speak to any strange men.  Stay with your friends.’

A moment later, Dave walked past me.  “I’ll be off
then.  Nicola says you two need to sort some things out.” 

I pressed my lips together and gave him a solid, long look
of respect.  “Thanks for helping us.”

“No problem.  I hope you find Sarah.  I’ll have a
look for her as I drive home, if you like.”

I showed him out of my house. 

“If you need me...”  He waved his mobile then walked
down the drive to his van.

As I stared into the night’s sky, I ached to track Sarah
down, but that could put her in worse danger.  What kind of mother doesn’t
shield and protect her own daughter?  I had failed her. 
I am
disgraceful.

While shame writhed inside me, I had to admit this was the
one and only time I was glad that she’d sneaked out.  Nicola was right;
being on the streets with her friends had to be safer than being inside this
house of glass.

CHRISTA

I
peeked through the lounge window while waiting for Nicola to return from the
bathroom.  Now that Dave had left, we finally could talk freely.  But
not knowing the whereabouts of my daughter, well, my mind was broken, pieces
floating in a vacuum.   I could have kicked myself for not keeping a
better eye on her.

“Minutes will turn into hours before we know it,” Nicola
said, walking back into the lounge.  “We’ve got to make the house safe
before Sarah gets back.”

That was just the poke I needed. 
Pick yourself up
. 
“Okay.  Let’s figure this out.”  We sat on the sofa. 
This
problem is just like a computer that needs fixing; disable things, swap parts,
play with different settings - in other words, pinpoint the weakness and
eradicate it.  
“We have to find a way to bring the police into the
circle without those men knowing, without the cameras picking them up.” 
Leaning in to Nicola, I swallowed around the clog in my throat and met her
hopeful gaze squarely.   She smelled of cigarettes.  Jeez,
wouldn’t that make her feel more faint?  “Tell me about these cameras
again.  You think they’re motion activated?” 

“I think so.  When John and I were hidden in the coat
cupboard, Sarah’s bedroom flashed onto the screen as a thumbnail when a guy
entered her room.  To view a room larger, you have to click on the
individual thumbnails.”

“Colour?”

“Yes.”

“What about in the dark?  Do the cameras have
infra-red?”

She frowned.  “I can’t be sure.  John watched the
screen more than I did.”

I slid closer to her on the sofa and flicked through a
magazine to look casual.  I kept my voice at a whisper and didn’t even
look at her, just in case.  “So, the cameras are dormant, and only pop up
on the website when movement is detected.”

“I think so.”

“So it’s real-time footage, but I wonder if there’s a
latency.”

Nicola fidgeted.  “A what?”

“A delay in the feed, ‘cos of the mechanics, routing,
buffering of data stream and... even just a small delay could help us,” I
explained, my brain gluing back together, my pilot light flaring up
again.  “If these cameras are indeed motion-activated, there could be a
delay before movement is detected and streamed on the website.”

Nicola brightened.  “I get you.  So if we run
through rooms, the cameras might not pick us up?”

“Well, from what you’ve said, once a camera detects
movement, the viewers have to click on the thumbnail to get a closer
view.  So it’s more likely we’d be out of shot, or seen leaving a room by
the time the feed pops up full-screen, but...”

“Oh, I hate buts.”

I chewed my fingernail.  “It depends how sensitive to
movement the cameras are set at, and how fast the page loads on the website
once someone clicks on a thumbnail.”

“How can we find that out?”

“Without logging onto the website to test it, we can’t.” 
A chill of disappointment spread through me.  Guesswork had its place, but
not where the lives of those I loved were concerned.  I wasn’t sure how
yet, but every second we could gain might help.

“And I have no idea what the website is called.”

My mobile beeped.  “Hold on.”  It was a text from
Sarah.  I sighed in relief.  “She’s under the bridge by the canal
with friends.”

“Thank goodness.” 

At least I prayed she was there, prayed that was a genuine
text.  Yes.  It had to be.  These men were good, but would they
know the hangouts of local children off-camera?  I sent a smiley face in
reply, and put my mobile on the coffee table.  “Okay.  Now, let’s
take worse case scenario.  Let’s presume we have a one second delay until
viewers see us on the website.  That’s just enough time to run through
some rooms unseen.”

“What would that accomplish?” Nicola asked.

“Not a lot.  I’m just trying to figure stuff out.”

“A second is not long enough to get the cops round here and
explain what’s going on.”

“Not nearly enough,” I said, biting my nails again. 
Where
was my brain going with this?

“Maybe one of us should stay here and be on camera while the
other sneaks out to the police station.”

An invisible strap tightened around my heart when my eyes
fixed on Nicola’s jaw, the swelling more prominent now.  I dumped the
magazine.  “No.  We’re sticking together.”  Nicola was the only
female friend that truly gave a shit about me, and me her – living in each
other’s pockets had strengthened our bond to rival that of siblings.  I didn’t
like the idea of leaving her vulnerable after her beating last night. 
“The police would want to come here anyway, to examine the cameras, find out
where the signal goes.” 
Think.  Think.
  Outsmart the
bastards.  “We have to gain time, and we need to somehow be... invisible.”

“Invisible?”  She tapped her lips.  “We need a
pause button, a longer delay in the feed or...”

“Loop the feed somehow, freeze the footage...  We need
those guys to think that what they’re watching is in real-time but...”

“But it’s not,” she finished for me. 

A grin spread over my lips.  “So that we can move
around freely.  Let the cops into the house to look at the cameras, dust
for fingerprints and those men would be non the wiser.”

“And before they know what’s hit them, they’ll be arrested
and our families will be safe.”  She slumped.  “Great idea.  But
how?”

She prodded my thigh with her finger, then gestured to my
handmade birthday card on the fireplace.  “You’re the brainy one,
Christa,” she said in a horrid, self-loathing tone that upset me.  “Give
me craft stuff, pens, paper, photos and glue and...”

I clasped her leg, my brain hooking... something.

“That’s about as useful as I get, Christa.”  She hugged
a cushion to her chest.

I snapped my head her way, saw disappointment at her lack of
contribution rampage across her face.  But there was no need for her to
feel that way.  A cunning idea came to mind.  That’s it!  I
grabbed her face and planted a noisy thank-you kiss on her cheek.  “You’re
not useless.  Don’t ever think you are.  You’re a genius!”