shat herself, probably at the point of death. All I saw at this distance of about fifteen feet away was someone I really cared for, maybe even loved, on her knees, her blood splattered all over the bed. And she’d had the same done to her as Aida.
I was taking deep breaths and wiping my eyes. I knew I still had another two rooms to clear – another bathroom and the large annexe above the garage. I couldn’t give up now because I might land up getting dropped myself.
I cleared the other rooms, and half collapsed, half sat on the landing. I could see my bloody footprints all over the carpet.
Stop, calm down, and think .
What next? Kelly. Where the fuck was Kelly?
Then I remembered the hiding place. Because of the threats to Kev, both kids knew where they had to go and hide in the event of a drama.
The thought brought me to my senses. If that was where Kelly was hiding, she was safe for the time being. Better to leave her there while I did the other stuff I had to do.
I got up and started to move down the stairs, making sure that, as I moved, I had my pistol pointed. As I descended I could see the blood I had left on the wall and carpet where I’d sat. I was almost willing the attackers to appear. I wanted to see the fuckers.
I got a cloth and a bin liner from the kitchen and started to run round the house, wiping door handles and any surfaces where I might have left fingerprints. Then I went over to the patio sliding doors and closed the curtains. I didn’t want anybody to discover an alien set of fingerprints before I was well out of it, hopefully on a plane back to London.
I took a quick look at Kev and knew I was back in control. He was now just a dead body.
I went back upstairs, washed the blood off my hands and face, and got a clean shirt and pair of jeans and trainers from Kev’s cupboards. His clothes didn’t fit me but they would do for now. I bundled my own bloodstained stuff into the bin liner that I’d be taking with me.
5
Kev had shown me the ‘hidey-hole’, as he called it, built under an open staircase that led up to a little makeshift loft stacked with ladders. If ever Kev or Marsha shouted the word ‘Disneyland!’ the kids knew they had to go and hide there – and they were not to come out until Daddy or Mummy came and got them.
I started making entry into the garage. Pushing the door slightly, I could see the rear of the large metal up-and-over doors to the right. The garage could easily have taken three extra vehicles besides Kev’s company car. ‘Fucking thing,’ I remembered Kev saying, ‘all the luxury and mod cons of the late Nineties in a car that looks like a Sixties fridge.’
The kids’ bikes were hanging from frames on the wall, together with all the other clutter that families accumulate in garages. I could see the red laser splash on the far wall.
I moved in and cleared through. There was no-one here.
I went back to the area of the staircase. Chances were she wasn’t going to come out unless her Mum and Dad came for her, but as I moved I started to call out very gently, ‘Kelly! It’s Nick! Hello, Kelly, where are you?’
All the time the pistol was pointing forward, ready to take on any threat.
Moving slowly towards the boxes, I said, ‘Oh well, since you’re not here I’ll go. But I think I’ll have one more look and I bet you’re hiding in the Disneyland place. I’ll just have a look . . . I bet you’re in there . . .’
There was a pile of large boxes. One had contained a fridge freezer, another a washing machine. Kev had made a sort of cave with them under the staircase and kept a few toys there.
I eased the pistol down my waistband. I didn’t want her to see a gun. She’d probably seen and heard enough already.
I put my mouth against a little gap between the boxes. ‘Kelly, it’s me, Nick. Don’t be scared. I’m going to crawl towards you. You’ll see my head in a minute and I want to see a big smile . . .’
I got down on my
I was taking deep breaths and wiping my eyes. I knew I still had another two rooms to clear – another bathroom and the large annexe above the garage. I couldn’t give up now because I might land up getting dropped myself.
I cleared the other rooms, and half collapsed, half sat on the landing. I could see my bloody footprints all over the carpet.
Stop, calm down, and think .
What next? Kelly. Where the fuck was Kelly?
Then I remembered the hiding place. Because of the threats to Kev, both kids knew where they had to go and hide in the event of a drama.
The thought brought me to my senses. If that was where Kelly was hiding, she was safe for the time being. Better to leave her there while I did the other stuff I had to do.
I got up and started to move down the stairs, making sure that, as I moved, I had my pistol pointed. As I descended I could see the blood I had left on the wall and carpet where I’d sat. I was almost willing the attackers to appear. I wanted to see the fuckers.
I got a cloth and a bin liner from the kitchen and started to run round the house, wiping door handles and any surfaces where I might have left fingerprints. Then I went over to the patio sliding doors and closed the curtains. I didn’t want anybody to discover an alien set of fingerprints before I was well out of it, hopefully on a plane back to London.
I took a quick look at Kev and knew I was back in control. He was now just a dead body.
I went back upstairs, washed the blood off my hands and face, and got a clean shirt and pair of jeans and trainers from Kev’s cupboards. His clothes didn’t fit me but they would do for now. I bundled my own bloodstained stuff into the bin liner that I’d be taking with me.
5
Kev had shown me the ‘hidey-hole’, as he called it, built under an open staircase that led up to a little makeshift loft stacked with ladders. If ever Kev or Marsha shouted the word ‘Disneyland!’ the kids knew they had to go and hide there – and they were not to come out until Daddy or Mummy came and got them.
I started making entry into the garage. Pushing the door slightly, I could see the rear of the large metal up-and-over doors to the right. The garage could easily have taken three extra vehicles besides Kev’s company car. ‘Fucking thing,’ I remembered Kev saying, ‘all the luxury and mod cons of the late Nineties in a car that looks like a Sixties fridge.’
The kids’ bikes were hanging from frames on the wall, together with all the other clutter that families accumulate in garages. I could see the red laser splash on the far wall.
I moved in and cleared through. There was no-one here.
I went back to the area of the staircase. Chances were she wasn’t going to come out unless her Mum and Dad came for her, but as I moved I started to call out very gently, ‘Kelly! It’s Nick! Hello, Kelly, where are you?’
All the time the pistol was pointing forward, ready to take on any threat.
Moving slowly towards the boxes, I said, ‘Oh well, since you’re not here I’ll go. But I think I’ll have one more look and I bet you’re hiding in the Disneyland place. I’ll just have a look . . . I bet you’re in there . . .’
There was a pile of large boxes. One had contained a fridge freezer, another a washing machine. Kev had made a sort of cave with them under the staircase and kept a few toys there.
I eased the pistol down my waistband. I didn’t want her to see a gun. She’d probably seen and heard enough already.
I put my mouth against a little gap between the boxes. ‘Kelly, it’s me, Nick. Don’t be scared. I’m going to crawl towards you. You’ll see my head in a minute and I want to see a big smile . . .’
I got down on my
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