He drew an arrow from Eli’s photo to Bob’s.
Kay ignored the stunned murmurs that filled the room and leaned forward. ‘If Bob Rogers was Eli’s father, why didn’t he let him stay with him? Why make him stay with his mother if he knew she still abused him?’
‘Careful planning,’ said Sharp. ‘Rogers knew his son had a tendency to keep souvenirs, and didn’t want to get caught. By keeping Eli away from his house, he protected himself while still having someone to snatch their victims.’
Gavin emitted a low whistle that cut through the shocked silence. ‘The eleven-year-old, who was found wandering,’ he said. ‘She was their first one?’
Sharp shrugged, his face grim. ‘Suffolk Police have undertaken to open all their old cases that show any resemblance to this. She might not have been their first, but that little girl was the only one we know who survived.’
Kay shuddered.
If Bernard Coombs hadn’t reported the blood he’d glimpsed in the back of Eli’s van that night; if Grey hadn’t looked at that purchase order more closely, if—
It could all have turned out so differently.
Sharp tossed the pen onto the desk nearest to him.
‘Good work,’ he said. He glanced out the window as the sun began to part the clouds. ‘Right, I think you’ve all deserved an early finish,’ he smiled. ‘I want you all back here at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.’
Kay said her goodbyes as the team left the room one by one, then wandered over to her desk, picked up her bag, and grabbed her car keys.
As she straightened, she saw Barnes approach Sharp, and then both men disappeared into the inspector’s office, the door closing behind them.
‘Damn,’ she muttered.
SIXTY-SIX
Kay turned at the sound of footsteps on the staircase, tied a towel around herself, and stepped out of the en suite as Adam walked into the bedroom.
‘Hi,’ she rasped.
Adam took one look at her face and neck and cleared the space between them in two strides, pulling her to him.
‘You said it wasn’t too bad on the phone,’ he said, then cupped her face in his hands while he inspected the lacerations with a practised eye. ‘What did they put on these?’
‘I don’t know, but it stung like hell.’
‘Christ.’
He hugged her tight, burying his face in her hair. ‘Did you get the bastard who did this to you?’
‘Yes,’ she mumbled into his chest. ‘He’s going away for a very long time. So is the other guy.’
While he stripped off his work clothes, she told him what she could about the case, and the fact that Ian Barnes’ daughter had also been taken.
‘She’s a feisty one, though,’ she added. ‘I think she’s going to be okay eventually.’
Adam bunched up his boxer shorts, and threw them into the laundry basket. He turned at the door to the en suite, and smiled.
‘Fancy another shower?’
She grinned. ‘Maybe.’
‘I’ll take you out to dinner,’ he said, as she drew closer. ‘It’s been too long since we celebrated something.’ He frowned. ‘That is, if you’re okay going out?’
She smiled. ‘It sounds like a great idea.’
She stepped closer, and loosened the towel. ‘Care for an appetiser?’ she said, then laughed as he pulled her under the hot jet of water.
Later, she marvelled at how good Adam looked dressed in a suit and tie.
‘I’d forgotten that you tarted up quite well,’ she said.
He cocked an eyebrow. ‘Don’t look at me like that. We’ll be late.’
She giggled, and then caught herself.
‘That’s a nice sound,’ he said. ‘I didn’t think I’d hear that again.’
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him, then turned to pick up her earrings.
‘But there’s something still bothering you,’ he said. ‘I can tell. What is it?’
She sighed, and put the earrings in. ‘You’re not going to like it. It’s about the Professional Standards investigation.’
‘Come on, then,’ he said, his face turning serious. ‘Tell me. What’s going through your mind?’
Kay sighed, and ran her hand through her hair. ‘This’ll sound crazy.’
‘This is me you’re talking to,’ he said, and winked. ‘Remember?’
She took a deep breath. ‘I need to find out what happened to the gun that disappeared,’ she said.
‘It obviously wasn’t me. But someone took it. Made it disappear. Knew it was all we had to pin that death on that suspect.’
Adam leaned against the dressing table. ‘Why?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Well,’ said Adam, handing her a cufflink and turning over his wrist so she could fasten it. ‘You’re the detective. I guess you’ll just have to figure it out.’
‘I can’t. If DCI Larch finds out I’m sticking my nose in, he’ll lynch me.’ She raised her eyes to his, and was faced with an intense stare. ‘What?’
‘You could always use the spare room. Run your investigation from here.’
She bit her lip.
‘We have to get on with our lives at some point,’ said Adam, and laced his fingers through hers.
‘What about you?’
‘I worry about you,’ he said. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her fingers. ‘If you’re happy, I’m happy. And I think you need to find out the truth. For yourself, if no one else.’
‘You don’t mind?’
He shook his head. ‘Do it.’ He smiled. ‘Just don’t get any ideas about wallpapering photographs of your suspects all over the room, okay?’
Kay rolled her eyes. ‘That only happens on television.’
He grinned, and kissed her fingers once more.
A car horn sounded in the street below.
‘Taxi’s here,’ she said.
Adam squeezed her hand. ‘Head downstairs. I’ll be there in five minutes.’
Kay smiled, grabbed her shoes and padded down the stairs before slipping them on, not trusting herself to navigate the incline with heels on.
She opened her clutch bag as she made her way through to the kitchen to check the back door was locked.
Keys, cash, credit card, mobile phone—
She stopped, level with the microwave, her heart in her mouth.
The top to Sid’s glass case was off-kilter, a large gap showing in one corner, and the salt shaker was on its side on the kitchen worktop, white granules strewn across it like a hailstorm.
‘Oh, no,’ said Kay, her voice shaking.
She backed up against the refrigerator, and then yelled.
‘Adam? Where’s the bloody snake?’
<<< THE END >>>
FROM THE AUTHOR
Dear Reader,
First of all, I wanted to say a huge thank you for choosing to read Scared to Death. I hope you enjoyed the story.
If you did enjoy it, I'd be grateful if you could write a review. It doesn't have to be long, just a few words, but it is the best way for me to help new readers discover one of my books for the first time.
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You can also contact me via Facebook, Twitter, or by email. I love hearing from readers – I read every message and will always reply.
Thanks again for your support.
Best wishes,
Rachel Amphlett
COPYRIGHT
SCARED TO DEATH
By Rachel Amphlett
Copyright © 2016 Rachel Amphlett
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved.
ced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. While the locations in this book are a mixture of real and imagined, the characters are totally fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead is entirely coincidental.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Creator: Amphlett, Rachel, author.
Title: Scared to death / Rachel Amphlett.
ISBN: 9780994433763 (paperback)
Series: Amphlett, Rachel. Detective Kay Hunter ; 1.
Subjects: Serial murderers--Fiction.
Detective and mystery stories.
eBook ISBN: 978-0-9944337-5-6 k12
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
From the Author
Copyright