‘My mind is whirring away and it’s not coming back with the answers. What isn’t she telling us?’
He smiled warmly. ‘It’ll come. There’s not enough to make the links as yet.’
She finished her orange juice. ‘We’re meeting at the squat at eleven in the morning, hopefully we’ll come out knowing more than before we went in. Do you want a beer, maybe the powers of a light alcoholic beverage might get my cogs moving a bit faster?’
‘I’ll have a soft version if you’ve got one. Got to drive home.’
Their gazes locked and Gina broke away with a smile before grabbing the two beers from the fridge.
‘How are you taking everything? This murder wasn’t only personal when it came to Alexander Swinton, it’s personal against you. That letter must be going through your head constantly.’
She swallowed and plonked the opened beers on the table. It was going through her head, twenty-four seven. Every thought of the letters took her back to her time confined in the shed, where the walls seemed to be closing in on her. She held her expression, not wanting to give her deepest thoughts away. Briggs couldn’t see that she might lose it; he might take her off the case for the sake of her own mental health. That wasn’t going to happen. ‘Alcohol free for you.’
He gave a little laugh. ‘It’s quite nice.’
As she took a gulp, she shrugged. ‘It is what it is, and I have to get on with my job. It scares me that someone has chosen me in all this, but it’s also made me more determined to get whoever is doing this.’
He leaned over the table and gazed into her eyes. She could see that he wanted to kiss her so she cleared her throat and sat back.
‘I suppose I should get going.’ She didn’t disagree with him. ‘Your drive-by protection is due soon, at least we’re keeping an eye on you. And you have my number if you need me.’
She nodded. She had his number, she had all her locks, her alarm system and CCTV. There was no way on earth anyone was getting through all her barriers without causing a commotion. The skin on the back of her neck prickled. A flashback to her lying in the dark shed, curled up against the cold scratchy wall in only her pyjamas, made her shudder. She had only been locked in a shed and that had terrified her with its boarded-up windows. She remembered the first few hours that went slower than the rest of the weekend. The icy chill in the air. She’d grabbed some plastic bags and old sacks to wrap herself in. Hours later, she found herself talking to no one, even making jokes; lucid dreaming followed by night terrors – maybe the effects of mild hypothermia and extreme fear. The thought of being locked in a coffin to the point of losing your mind, then death, didn’t bear thinking about.
‘Are you okay?’
She forced a smile. ‘It’s like Fort Knox here. I’ll be fine.’ Her locks protected her from intruders but they didn’t protect her from the nightmares she knew she’d have that night. She glanced at the wall clock. ‘The drive-by is due in ten minutes. You best grab some pizza and go. I don’t want them coming by and seeing your car here.’
He grabbed one more slice of pizza and gobbled it down. ‘I’m going,’ he jokingly said with his mouth full. ‘But one sniff of a worry, call me immediately.’
She nodded. ‘You know I will.’ And she would. She knew he’d come running without any hesitation. She literally trusted him with her life.
He placed a hand on her shoulder as they stood and rubbed it gently. ‘I’ll message you in a bit.’ With that, he grabbed his coat, swigged the rest of his drink and left, pulling the door closed behind him. Gina hurried to the living room window and gazed out as he pulled away. She dragged the curtains closed and hurried to the front door. Alarm set, deadlocks on. What did the murderer want from her? The letter that the perp had sent ran through her mind.
Trapped people, they claw, they beg, they plead.
She knew how it felt to be trapped. She closed her eyes and saw the outline of a person. Was it the same person who was following Alexander Swinton along George Street? Had they been watching her chasing the kids around the estate?