by K Pierce
‘Gone?’
‘There was a car. We heard it but there were no lights. He stood up and it just ploughed straight through him.’ The tears were falling harder, soaking the front of her jumper.
‘Did you see it? Colour? Make?’
‘It happened so fast.’
‘Think Emily,’ Nat pushed, ‘anything you can remember will help.’
Emily turned, swiping at her face, and regarded the dark-haired woman in front of her. ‘Why aren’t you sad?’
The question caught Nat off guard. ‘What?’
‘You’re acting like nothing unusual’s happened. Like this happens every day, and I suppose maybe it does for you, but he was your friend.’ She frowned and wiped her face with her sleeve. ‘You haven’t even cried.’
‘I’m well aware of who he is.’ Nat said quietly.
Emily’s voice rose a little. ‘Then why are you so calm? Why aren’t you crying? Or even angry? Why aren’t you out there trying to find this bastard!’
‘You think I’m not angry? That I don’t feel anything? You think you know me? You know nothing about me. And what good will it do anybody if I fall apart right now? How is that going to catch the fucker that did this?’
Emily dropped her gaze. ‘I’m sorry.’ She said quietly.
Nat’s hands were balled into tight fists. She took a few deep breaths and flexed her fingers, surprised at the ferocity of her sudden outburst. None of this was Emily’s fault. She looked up at Emily’s tear stained face, the sadness in her eyes, and Nat’s heart broke for her. She wasn’t used to this, and she wasn’t used to Nat’s habit of bottling up her feelings, at least until she was alone. Nat laid a hand on Emily’s knee and gave her a weak smile. ‘Don’t be.’
It was close to midnight before Emily was allowed home. They caught a ride back to the station with a couple of uniforms about to clock off for the night. Emily’s car was now part of the crime scene and wouldn’t be released until it had been fully processed as evidence. She wasn’t sure she could ever drive it again.
Nat unlocked her own car, watching Emily carefully as she slumped into the passenger seat. ‘You know it’s not safe for you to be on your own right now.’
‘I’ll go to Fiona’s. Can I at least go and pick up some clothes? My toothbrush? A shotgun?’
‘You have a shotgun?’
Emily looked at her sideways. ‘Do I look like I don a tweed hunting jacket at weekends?’
Nat gave her an appreciative once over and wiggled her eyebrows in an attempt to lighten the mood. ‘Maybe you should give it a shot.’
‘I see what you did there, with the pun. If I wasn’t knackered and terrified I could probably give you a pity chuckle for such a poor effort.’
Nat smiled and pulled away.
A short ride later and Nat eased the car up onto the drive. Emily fumbled her keys, dropping them loudly onto the front step. She let out a frustrated growl. Nat gently nudged her out of the way and slipped the key into the lock.
Emily gave her a grateful smile and stepped inside, flicking lights on as she went. ‘Is it too late for a coffee?’ Emily asked.
‘It’s never too late for coffee.’
‘Good because I’m about to drop and I still have to grab my stuff.’ Emily flicked on the kitchen light and grabbed the kettle. As she filled it she frowned at the cups in the sink. She was sure she’d washed up. She shook her head and flicked the switch. She wasn’t even sure what day it was anymore, let alone when she’d last done the housework.
Nat wandered over to the fridge, her eyes roaming over the various photos and magnets stuck to the front of it. Most were of Emily and Fiona. A few were Emily as a child. Nat smiled. ‘You have a sister?’ She asked.
‘I do, but we don’t talk much. Long story.’
‘I’ve got all night.’ Nat said.
‘Maybe another time. Milk?’ Emily said opening the fridge. The Snickers bar that she’d been saving toppled out and landed at her feet. She picked it up, surprised when sticky caramel covered her fingers.
‘Guilty pleasure?’ She jumped at Nat’s words. ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Everything ok?’
Emily threw the chocolate back onto the shelf and grabbed the milk from the door. ‘Yeah, I just don’t –’ There was a click as the kettle finished boiling. A plume of steam rising from the spout and leaving a sheen across the cupboard above it.
‘You just don’t what?’ Nat asked.
‘Nothing.’ Emily raised the corner of her lips in a half smile. ‘I’m just tired. My brain isn’t working properly.’ She handed Nat her coffee. ‘I’ll just pack a few things. Won’t be a sec.’ Grabbing a suitcase from the cupboard under the stairs she made her way up to the bedroom. At the doorway she stopped. The door was slightly ajar. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Her bedroom door was always propped open with a heavy stuffed owl she’d gotten for her sixteenth birthday. Always. Emily put the suitcase down and backed up a few steps. Nausea rolled around her stomach. The cups. The chocolate. The door. She glanced around but her feet were now glued to the carpet. She tried to shout for Nat but there was only a croak. Emily felt dizzy, her vision blurring as panic set in. She reached out, knocking over a vase on the landing dresser. It hit the corner of the wood and shattered.
Nat was checking her phone in the kitchen when she heard the shattering of glass. She took the steps two at a time, rounding the wall at the top of the stairs and almost crashing into Emily who stood staring at the doorway of her bedroom.
‘What?!’ She said. ‘What’s wrong?’ Emily shuffled sideways and gave Nat room to move around her.
‘The door.’ Emily whispered. ‘I never close the door. I didn’t eat the chocolate. The cups in the sink.’ The words tumbled out one after another and Nat struggled to make sense of what she was being told. Then it clicked. The confusion downstairs. She stepped towards the bedroom and took a deep breath. She pushed the door gently with her boot. It was dark inside. She glanced backwards at Emily, torn between chasing away her panic attack and finding out what was in the darkness. Emily met her eyes and nodded.
Nat stepped forward and flicked on the light. Nothing moved. She stepped closer to the doorway, bracing herself for what might jump out at her. Still nothing moved. Taking a deep breath, she propelled herself through the door. The bedroom was empty. She glanced at the wardrobe before her eyes were drawn to the bed. There was the imprint of a figure in the duvet, as if someone had lay there for a while. Next to it a small mound of what looked like underwear. ‘Stay out there, Emily.’ She said as she stepped closer.
‘What is it?’ Emily’s voice trembled.
‘Just stay there.’ Nat took a pen from her pocket and used it to move some of the underwear. Emily’s underwear. On it were thick globs of white fluid. She could hazard a guess at what it was. She turned and practically ran out onto the landing. ‘Come on.’ Nat grabbed Emily’s hand. ‘We’re leaving. Now.’ She pulled her back down the stairs, heart pounding, on high alert as they made for the front door.
Nat tugged the handle, breath held, waiting for the Bogeyman to leap out and grab them. She’d unlocked the car before they’d reached it and, gunning the engine, she barely waited for Emily to close her own door before she swung out of the driveway and floored it back up the street.
She swung the car around each corner like she was a Formula 1 driver. Emily’s death grip on the door tightened; her hand clenched almost as painfully as her stomach. He’d been in her house. In her bedroom. She shuddered, swallowed the bile that burned the back of her throat and vowed that she was moving to a new house if she made it out of this mess alive.
A loud ringing made her jump and she glanced over at Nat tapping at a phone in one hand and trying to steer with the other. Oh God, I’m definitely going to die. Barry’s voice came through the hands-free speaker. ‘Ladies, how- ‘
‘He was in her fucking house.’ Nat ground out over the roar of the engine, swerving widely around a bus going far too
slow for her liking.
‘What?!’
‘Yep, he’s been in her fucking house. Left her a very romantic present on her bed.’
Emily heard muffled voices, shuffling and then he was back. ‘Where are you?’
‘Driving.’
‘I gathered that.’ He spoke calmly, as if trying to soothe an agitated child. ‘Where are you driving to?’
‘I don’t know. I’m just driving.’
‘Like a rally driver.’ Emily muttered.
Nat gave her a sideways glance and she felt the car slow a little. Emily’s grip on the door relaxed slightly.
‘Do you want me to bring her to the station? I’m pretty sure nobody’s following us.’
Barry went quiet. ‘No, not a good idea. He tampered with her brakes at some point in the last twenty-four hours and since they were fine when she got here, I think it’s safe to say he’s been watching her. Safe assumption is that he did it while she was here; Ryan is working backwards on CCTV to see if we can catch him at it.’
‘Makes sense. So where do I take her?’
‘The fewer people that see her and know where she is the better.’ Barry said.
‘Erm, guys?’ Emily said loudly. ‘I am sat right here. Can we not talk about me like I’m not?’
‘Sorry, Emily.’ Barry said. Nat carried on driving, heading towards who knew where. ‘Nat? Plan?’
‘Manchester.’ Nat said.
‘What?’
Nat slowed for a red light, shifting into first and rubbing a hand across her face. ‘I’ll drive into Manchester. It’s less than an hour from here and we can hole up in a hotel until we find him. It’s busy, lots of people to hide out with.’ The light changed. Nat pulled away, heading for the motorway.
‘This guy is good. Very prepared for all eventualities it seems. He knows we’re onto him. What if he goes underground for a while?’ Barry said.
‘Then my credit card will get a damn fine workout at a shitty hotel.’
‘Manchester is too far for me to help if we need it. Aside from that, it’s a different force, there’ll be complications because we’d need to inform them, set things up properly.’
‘So, what do you suggest? I put her up on my couch? Now there’s a conflict of interest, or is that your subtle way of finally getting me fired and off your arse?’ The line went quiet again. Emily shifted uncomfortably in her seat. There was no way she wanted to intrude on Nat’s life.
The phone line crackled. ‘They wouldn’t dare fire you. It wouldn’t be worth the hassle.’ She could hear the smile in his voice. ‘You don’t need to put her on the couch though.’
‘Thank- ‘
‘That’s what you have a spare room for.’ Barry finished. ‘Take her home, lock the doors and switch off your mobile. I’ll get someone to sit outside in an unmarked. We know he’s good with technology I’ll only use the landline to call you. I’ll try to get a safe house sorted and figure out some kind of plan but for now just stay home.’
Before she could protest the phone went dead. Nat was torn between carrying on to her original destination or listening to her partner. Her boss. She sighed and swung the car in a wide arc across the quiet road. Home it was.
19.
Quinn was waiting for them when they got out of the car. His protest at being left alone for so long was loud in the quiet street. ‘I know, mate. I got held up at work.’ Nat said, bending over to tickle behind his ears. He dodged her hand and let out a disinterested yawn.
‘He shares your people skills.’ Emily said, only just managing to stay on her feet as he wound his way between them. ‘I would never have guessed you had a cat.’
Nat ignored the dig and opened the door. Quinn darted inside. ‘I think it’s more a case of he has me, and that’s only because he doesn’t have thumbs. If he could open the food pouches himself then I’d be out on my ear.’ As Emily stepped inside Nat lingered on the step, eyes searching the darkness for anything, or anybody, out of the ordinary. There was nothing.
‘You coming?’ Emily’s voice carried from inside. With a final glance out at the road Nat went inside and firmly locked the door behind her.
The house wasn’t at all what Emily had been expecting. Instead of a dark and broody space that was sparsely furnished Nat’s home was light and airy, filled with the kind of rustic and shabby chic décor she saw in country cottages, not too unlike her own. She was impressed.
Before Emily had even taken her coat off Nat was tipping a pouch full of cat food into Quinn’s bowl, murmuring soft words as he head-butted her. The normality of it all was a stark contrast to the previous few hours of chaos. When she was finished with the cat Nat filled the kettle and gestured to the space around her. ‘Help yourself to whatever you can find. Mi casa es su casa and all that.’
Emily cleared her throat. ‘I appreciate you letting me stay here. I’m not quite sure why I’m not in some hotel surrounded by fifty armed guards, but I’ll try to keep out of your way.’
The hands filling cups with tea stilled. ‘Is that what you think? That you’re in my way?’
‘I don’t think you’re exactly wild about me being here.’
Nat still hadn’t turned around. ‘A hotel room and fifty armed guards is a little conspicuous and not at all practical. Besides we don’t have the budget.’ She turned. ‘It is a little bit of a conflict of interest, don’t you think?’ Emily stayed silent. ‘We met on a dating site. There was the intention to date and become personally involved with each other.’
‘But we never actually did it.’
‘That’s true, but now it’s my responsibility to keep you safe without letting my personal feelings get in the way. Complicated to say the least.’ She handed Emily a steaming cup but refused to meet her gaze.
‘Maybe that makes you the only one qualified enough to keep me safe. If you have more to lose then surely you’ll try harder than anyone else?’
Nat let the comment go, unwilling to get into such an intense conversation this late at night. She found that the later the hour the more people were inclined to divulge their deeper thoughts, their more personal secrets. She hoped to God that Barry knew what he was doing.
She gestured with her head towards a door. ‘Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.’
***
It was just after five when Nat woke up. She groaned into her pillow. Less than three hours sleep by the time she’d sorted out Emily’s room and managed to relax enough to drop off. It was still dark outside, but Nat heard the slam of a car door and the purr of an engine as someone made their way to work.
The house was already starting its morning routine. The old pipes creaked and groaned as the boiler kicked into life and the heating came on.
Nat swung her legs over the side of the bed and shoved her feet into a pair of well-worn slippers. She padded quietly down the hall to the bathroom, sorted herself out, and went downstairs.
Emily was curled up in the corner of the sofa reading. She wore a pair of sweatpants and a hoody that Nat had given her and in the short time they’d known each other Nat hadn’t seen her look as tired, or as beautiful, as she did now. She looked up as Nat appeared in the doorway.
‘Couldn’t sleep?’ Nat asked.
‘Silly to think I could with everything that’s happened. Every time I close my eyes, I just see him…’ She trailed off for a moment. ‘I just came down for a glass of water but then I saw your books and figured I might as well since I wasn’t going to sleep.’
Nat ran a hand through her hair. ‘You should’ve woken me.’
‘Not much point in both of us losing sleep.’
‘You’re assuming I slept.’ Nat pointed at the mug on the coffee table. ‘Coffee this time?’
‘That’d be great. I was going to get up and make one a while ago but…’ She moved the arm that was holding the book in her lap. Nat could make out a bundle of fur and a pink padded paw tucked between Emily and the sofa.
‘He’s such a ladies’ ma
n. Unless that lady is me.’ Nat shook her head and went to put the kettle on.
When she returned, Emily had put her book down and was staring into space, absently stroking Quinn. She gratefully took the mug that Nat put in front of her. ‘So, what now?’ Emily asked.
‘Well, as much as I hate to say it, we wait.’
Emily cocked her head. ‘For what? For your Avengers super team to come up with a plan? For this nutter to find out where I am and call round for a hot, sweet tea with an added dash of murder?’ Emily’s voice rose with each suggestion.
Nat raised an eyebrow. ‘You done freaking out?’
‘Am I not allowed to freak out?’
‘Of course you are,’ Nat conceded, ‘but it’s probably not going to help.’
‘Neither’s sitting here doing nothing.’ Emily said.
‘True.’ Nat sipped her coffee. ‘So, what do you want to do?’
Emily’s head flopped against the back of the sofa. ‘I don’t know! Wake up and have this all of been a dream?’ Frustration coloured her words. ‘You’re the police, you’re paid to fix this, not me.’
Nat’s eyes widened. ‘They’re supposed to pay me for this?’
‘Ha bloody ha.’
‘Ok, how about we just chill out and regroup? We can put on some films, eat some junk and pretend that a psycho killer isn’t after you for a few hours. By then I should’ve heard something from the Scooby Squad and we can go from there, yeah?’
‘The Scooby Squad? Really?’
‘Would you have preferred the Power Rangers...?’
They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Neither wanted to discuss what was happening for fear of it becoming any more real. Nat lost herself in thoughts of Phil and their unlikely friendship. He’d spent a stupid amount of time trying to persuade her to go out with him, never letting the fact that she wasn’t into men in the slightest deter him from his goal. It had taken a good six months and the threat of a punch to the throat to get him to back off. After that they’d fallen into an easy comradery, more of a brother and sister kind of love hate.