sounded good. He didn’t really smile or laugh a lot since they’d lost her mother to breast cancer a couple of years before.
“Nothing wrong, love. She rang me tonight to say how excited she was about the weekend ahead. Going ice-skating, aren’t you?”
“That’s the plan. That reminds me—any chance you can look after Henry for the day? I wanted to spend the whole day with Charlie. You know, take her ice-skating and then stay in town for a meal. Please, Dad?” She knew her father would kick up a fuss, but she also knew that it wouldn’t last long, because deep down he loved the dog as if he were his own.
He exhaled, pretending to be mad at the request. “If I must.”
Pushing her luck, she added, “Can I pick him up on Sunday morning?”
“Only because I love my granddaughter so much and think she needs to spend more time with her mother. Umm…That’d be you!”
“I get your point, Dad. You’re a gem. What about coming to Sunday lunch? Maybe you can bring him back then. I’ll do your favourite: roast pork with all the trimmings,” she added, trying to appease him.
“Hmm…You certainly know how to get around me, young lady.”
“I’ll see you Saturday, then, Dad. Love you.”
“You take care, sweetie. I’ll give your case some thought. If I come up with anything, I’ll give you a ring.”
“Okay. The minute I hear from Tony, I’ll let you know.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
L ack of sleep made her eyes hurt, and the next morning, she found it a strain to concentrate on the road ahead. Thick fog and the glare from the car in front’s fog lamps added to her difficulty.
Worry was taking a chunk out of her heart, too. Despite all his assurances that he would, Tony had neglected to call the previous evening. He always made sure he found time in his busy schedule to call her. Which meant one of two things: Either he had arrived at his destination and it was way out of reach of any communication posts, or he’d been captured by the Taliban. She was hoping it was the former of the two scenarios. It didn’t stop that niggling gut instinct she relied upon so much to start up.
He’s fine. Now where will worrying unnecessarily get you?
She nodded as if answering herself and indicated right at the next traffic lights. Parking the car in the station car park, she sucked in a few breaths and began her working day.
Most of the team was already at their desks when she arrived. “All quiet last night, AJ?”
“Appears to be so far, ma’am.”
“That’s a relief. I’ll be in my office if you need me. Is Katy here yet?” Lorne asked, searching the room.
“Not yet, ma’am…”
They both glanced up at the clock. Eight fifty-five. She still had five minutes to make it.
“Send her in when she gets here, will you?”
“Will do,” AJ replied.
Lorne started on the mail lying on her desk and soon spotted the pathology reports from Patti. There it was in black and white: no evidence to go on. The kids were killed, and their mothers beaten, but not a single hair or fingerprint was picked up to help their case. She opened the rest of the post, feeling disheartened by the news. Bloody paperwork!
Half an hour had flown past before she realised there was still no sign of Katy. She kicked out at the table leg in annoyance. Great! I wanted to get down to the security firm first thing.
Lorne left her office to find out what was going on. She called across the incident room, “AJ, no Katy, yet?”
An uncomfortable look covered his handsome face, and he avoided eye contact with her. She knew there was something wrong even before he opened his mouth.
“She arrived about five minutes ago, ma’am. Umm…She’s in the ladies’.”
Without responding, Lorne headed for the loo, fearing what she was going to find, if AJ’s demeanour was anything to go by.
At first the toilet appeared to be empty, but then Lorne saw that one of the cubicles was occupied. “Katy? You in
“Nothing wrong, love. She rang me tonight to say how excited she was about the weekend ahead. Going ice-skating, aren’t you?”
“That’s the plan. That reminds me—any chance you can look after Henry for the day? I wanted to spend the whole day with Charlie. You know, take her ice-skating and then stay in town for a meal. Please, Dad?” She knew her father would kick up a fuss, but she also knew that it wouldn’t last long, because deep down he loved the dog as if he were his own.
He exhaled, pretending to be mad at the request. “If I must.”
Pushing her luck, she added, “Can I pick him up on Sunday morning?”
“Only because I love my granddaughter so much and think she needs to spend more time with her mother. Umm…That’d be you!”
“I get your point, Dad. You’re a gem. What about coming to Sunday lunch? Maybe you can bring him back then. I’ll do your favourite: roast pork with all the trimmings,” she added, trying to appease him.
“Hmm…You certainly know how to get around me, young lady.”
“I’ll see you Saturday, then, Dad. Love you.”
“You take care, sweetie. I’ll give your case some thought. If I come up with anything, I’ll give you a ring.”
“Okay. The minute I hear from Tony, I’ll let you know.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
L ack of sleep made her eyes hurt, and the next morning, she found it a strain to concentrate on the road ahead. Thick fog and the glare from the car in front’s fog lamps added to her difficulty.
Worry was taking a chunk out of her heart, too. Despite all his assurances that he would, Tony had neglected to call the previous evening. He always made sure he found time in his busy schedule to call her. Which meant one of two things: Either he had arrived at his destination and it was way out of reach of any communication posts, or he’d been captured by the Taliban. She was hoping it was the former of the two scenarios. It didn’t stop that niggling gut instinct she relied upon so much to start up.
He’s fine. Now where will worrying unnecessarily get you?
She nodded as if answering herself and indicated right at the next traffic lights. Parking the car in the station car park, she sucked in a few breaths and began her working day.
Most of the team was already at their desks when she arrived. “All quiet last night, AJ?”
“Appears to be so far, ma’am.”
“That’s a relief. I’ll be in my office if you need me. Is Katy here yet?” Lorne asked, searching the room.
“Not yet, ma’am…”
They both glanced up at the clock. Eight fifty-five. She still had five minutes to make it.
“Send her in when she gets here, will you?”
“Will do,” AJ replied.
Lorne started on the mail lying on her desk and soon spotted the pathology reports from Patti. There it was in black and white: no evidence to go on. The kids were killed, and their mothers beaten, but not a single hair or fingerprint was picked up to help their case. She opened the rest of the post, feeling disheartened by the news. Bloody paperwork!
Half an hour had flown past before she realised there was still no sign of Katy. She kicked out at the table leg in annoyance. Great! I wanted to get down to the security firm first thing.
Lorne left her office to find out what was going on. She called across the incident room, “AJ, no Katy, yet?”
An uncomfortable look covered his handsome face, and he avoided eye contact with her. She knew there was something wrong even before he opened his mouth.
“She arrived about five minutes ago, ma’am. Umm…She’s in the ladies’.”
Without responding, Lorne headed for the loo, fearing what she was going to find, if AJ’s demeanour was anything to go by.
At first the toilet appeared to be empty, but then Lorne saw that one of the cubicles was occupied. “Katy? You in
Similar Books
