Deep Hurt - Eva Hudson Page 0,1

they say if the women are unharmed?” Ingrid asked, cutting across whatever venomous statement her mother was in the middle of.

“How can they be unharmed? They have been held against their will for years and years. God knows what tortures they have suffered.”

“Are they in the hospital?”

“The police sent them all straight to the nuthouse for assessment. It’s not their brains that need testing. It’s that goddamn evil bastard’s.”

Ingrid walked shakily to the door leading out onto the roof terrace of her apartment. After struggling for a moment with the stiff key, she stumbled outside and drew in a deep breath. “You still haven’t answered my questions: have the police arrested him?” She paced to the end of the roof, the wooden deck creaking beneath her feet. “Are they looking for anyone else?”

“The police have not arrested anyone. They are searching the house. Like they’re going to find him hiding in a closet somewhere. They did find some vicious dogs tied up in the yard.” She mumbled something in Russian Ingrid couldn’t make out.

Then she fell silent.

Ingrid didn’t want to ask any more questions. She didn’t want to know anything else about the case. They’d been through this too many times already in the last three or four years. Svetlana would call her about the latest case of recovered abductees. The rescued women would then be identified, and once it was clear Megan Avery wasn’t one of them, the phone calls from Svetlana would cease. Until the next time.

Ingrid braced herself for what was inevitably coming next.

“I’m at Kathleen’s house now,” Svetlana said. “All night we have watched the news together.” She took another long pull on her cigarette.

Here we go.

“I told her she should not get her hopes up. Like she has every other time this has happened.”

Ingrid gripped the metal rail at the edge of the roof.

“Kathleen wants to speak to you.”

Ingrid closed her eyes and said nothing. Her mother never gave up. Even though Ingrid had made it perfectly clear she couldn’t speak to Megan’s mom.

“Ingrid? You still there? Ingrid?”

“I’m here.” The tremor in her voice took her by surprise.

“Tell me this time you will talk to her. Like a grown up. Like…” She paused. “Like a goddamn human being.”

Ingrid wanted to hurl the phone over the side of the building.

“Well?”

“You know I can’t. Nothing’s changed. I just can’t do it.”

Svetlana said something in Russian again. This time she didn’t mumble. But Ingrid had heard all the Russian curse words her mother could throw at her. They were accompanied by, ‘coward’, ‘no child of mine’ and ‘your papa would be ashamed’. Bringing Ingrid’s dead father into the conversation? That was a low blow. Something Svetlana reserved for special occasions. It had the desired effect: Ingrid’s eyes started to sting. “There’s nothing I can say to Kathleen that will make things better.”

“How can you say that? When have you even tried?”

“No matter what I say I can’t justify why I’m alive and Megan is dead.”

“We don’t know she is dead. Not for sure. Besides, Kathleen has never asked you to justify anything.”

“But that’s what’s in my head. I can’t face her. Don’t you get that?”

“For once, why not stop thinking about what is in your head and think about what is in hers?”

Ingrid squeezed her eyes shut, forcing out the tears. How could Svetlana be so cruel? Hardly a day went by that Ingrid didn’t think of Megan and the loss Kathleen had to endure. But she made no comment. She didn’t have the energy to fight.

“Megan’s vigil is coming soon. Why not come home for once and light a candle for her?”

Ingrid wiped her damp cheeks with the back of her hand. “I can’t.” The words came out in a sob.

“Stop feeling so sorry for yourself, like always. I should have known already what your answer would be.”

If you knew then why put us both through this?

“If you won’t speak to Kathleen, at least promise you will do one thing for her.”

“What?” This was new. Normally Svetlana would hang up about now.

“Ask your FBI friends for any information they have about this house and these women. It’s no good just watching news on TV. They tell the TV people only what they want them to know.”

“You’ve never asked me for my professional help before.”

“I’ve got more reason to this time.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The house where they found these women is only thirty miles away.”

2

After Ingrid had promised her mother she would ask one of her contacts in the