Deep Hurt - Eva Hudson Page 0,96

embassy? Just to let her know we’re still here to support her.”

“Not possible,” Radcliffe said. And I’m surprised you’re even asking. You know better than that.”

Ingrid glanced at Gurley. He was staring into space, his face flushed red.

“You’re going to release her on bail.” Ingrid made it a statement rather than a question.

“In her state of mind? I think it might be better to keep her in custody for her own protection,” Radcliffe said.

“The embassy can give her all the protection she needs.”

“The solicitor will make her case to the magistrate.”

Ingrid felt the sudden need for air. She’d been cooped up in a stuffy room with Gurley for too long. “I’ll be outside. I need a few moments to take all this in,” she announced, and left the room.

Once outside she walked up and down between the parked vehicles, trying to get some blood pumping in her legs, and tried hard to work out why she wasn’t feeling in the least bit satisfied her hunch about Kyle Foster’s innocence had been proved right. Maybe there were just too many questions that remained unanswered, especially now, with Radcliffe’s latest revelation. As she walked it occurred to her they needed to contact Kyle Foster urgently. He was so pissed at them the last time he called, Ingrid was worried what he might do next. She found Yvonne Sherwood’s number in her cell and called her, but the call went straight to voicemail. She considered leaving a message to let Sherwood know about Carrie Foster’s confession, but somehow it didn’t seem right to tell Sherwood before Kyle Foster was informed. She needed to discuss what their next move should be with Gurley.

Ingrid hurried back to the observation room to find Gurley slumped against the corridor wall outside, hands on knees.

“Pretty intense, huh?” she said.

He looked her hard in the eye but didn’t say a word. Ingrid suspected he was unable rather than unwilling to speak to her.

“I’m going back to the embassy,” she told him, suddenly feeling more sorry for the guy than he deserved. He looked so devastated by what he’d just heard. “I think you should come too. We need to work out exactly what we’re going to say to Kyle Foster the next time he calls.”

“If he calls.” Gurley’s throat sounded dry as he spoke. He looked up and down the corridor. “Let’s get out of here.”

They’d exited the police station and had been walking for at least ten minutes before Gurley spoke again. “I guess I owe you an apology. You were right to keep an open mind. I just can’t believe Carrie would hurt Molly like that.”

“You heard what Carrie said—it was an accident.”

“Her own mother?”

“You were prepared to believe her father could hurt her.”

Gurley stopped suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk and grabbed Ingrid’s arm. “You think Kyle Foster knew Molly wasn’t his?”

Ingrid considered the possibility for a moment and quickly rejected it. “I don’t think so—every time we’ve spoken to him he’s always referred to Molly as his daughter. He wants to protect her just as much as Tommy.”

“But maybe he had to say that. Otherwise we would have been even surer he had motive to hurt Molly.”

“You seemed pretty sure he wanted to hurt her anyway.”

“I’m not sure about anything anymore.” Gurley shrugged his massive shoulders and started walking again. As Ingrid hurried after him her cell vibrated in her pocket. She grabbed it and stared at the screen: it was a cell number she didn’t recognize. This time it was her turn to stop in her tracks, getting in the way of pedestrians hurrying along the sidewalk. She hit the answer option and waited.

“Agent Skyberg?”

Gurley mouthed “Who is it?” to her and she mouthed “Foster” back.

“Kyle?” she said.

“I told you no police—why did you go against my wishes? I thought I could trust you.”

“Kyle, is Tommy there with you? Is he OK?”

“Tommy’s just fine—why wouldn’t he be?”

“Absolutely no reason at all. Everything’s changed now, Kyle. Your wife has told the police exactly what happened. We know you didn’t hurt Molly. We know that for sure now. You don’t have to hide out anymore.”

“You’re lying. This is a trap to get me to give myself up.”

“Truly, please believe me—I’m not. Just take Tommy to the nearest hospital, wherever you are, get those injuries looked at again. We can arrange for you both to see Molly. Wouldn’t you like that?”

“You lied to me before. Why should I believe you now?”

“It’ll be on the news soon,