to them about the different birds in the park. As Solly and Rosie slowed down, the bird man took out a tin of seed then placed a little into the hands of each of the children. They watched and waited as the children stretched out their palms, standing stock still offering the seed to any little birds that might be brave enough to venture from their perches in the bushes and trees that surrounded the pond.
Sure enough, a great tit appeared, landed on one of the girls’ hands, pecked then flew off again. A low murmur of pleasure came from the families and Solly and Rosie exchanged glances.
‘That’ll be us one of these days,’ Solly murmured, moving past the little group. Rosie caught his arm and gave him a hug. Things might have changed for ever with the arrival of their daughter in their lives but there was so much to look forward to and Abby wouldn’t always be a little baby whose every need seemed a mystery to him. As he glanced back at the families, Solly saw the little girl who had fed the bird taking her father’s hand and smiling up at him. That would be him, one day, he thought again. And the child’s innocence gladdened his heart.
Smiling still as they made their way along the narrow path, Solly’s mind was blissfully free from any thought of the police cases that had commanded so much of his time and energy.
There was no premonition of danger, no hint on this peaceful Sunday afternoon that the man whose profile he had helped develop was at this very moment threatening the life of another young woman.
Barbara woke, wondering why she felt so thirsty and why everything hurt so much. Just as the darkness refused to turn to light, Barbara remembered where she was. It was at that same moment her bladder decided to release its contents, warmth flooding her trousers and with it came a sense of helplessness that made her weep. Then the events of the Sunday afternoon began to come back to her.
Stepping down into the chilled interior of that garage space, everything in the detective constable’s head had screamed out that she should turn around, call this in at once and wait for backup. She had been trained to follow certain procedures when facing a potentially dangerous situation. Hadn’t she? So why had she meekly followed the suspect down to the basement? Why had she asked such obviously pointed questions?
He’d sussed her pretty quickly for a cop, hadn’t he? Yet there were some moments that Barbara simply could not remember, like that blow to her head as she’d turned away, still pretending to examine the white Mercedes car. Now she was closer to that vehicle than she had ever wanted to be, her body crushed into its boot, legs and arms fastened tightly, duct tape preventing her from crying out. Barbara’s head throbbed as she tried to make out any sounds that could give her a clue as to where she was being held captive, but there were none.
The cold was intense and her body, already rigid from its enforced position in the car boot, was probably suffering from a mild case of hypothermia. Wetting herself wouldn’t help any, either, she thought gloomily. Was she still in the garage then? Not knowing how long she had lain unconscious in the dark made Barbara unsure whether it was still Sunday or not. The lack of any noise from the premises upstairs suggested it could be night-time. She tried to remember if the opening times had been listed anywhere on the front door but thinking only made her head ache and she gave up, concentrating instead on her immediate needs. She wanted desperately to get out of her enforced imprisonment. And her throat ached with thirst. How long ago had she drunk that coffee in the reception area? It was impossible to tell.
For a moment Barbara considered her situation.
Why was she still alive, trussed up like a big fat turkey? The mechanic had bumped off several women with impunity, hadn’t he? So why spare a single policewoman, especially when Barbara had posed a threat to him? Did he imagine that one more corpse would change his life sentence? Perhaps, she thought. Maybe he reckoned that killing a cop would bring down the whole weight of the law upon him.
Cling to that thought, she told herself, blinking away the tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.