“I know, but trust me, please. I really believe it’s Matthew you need to find. If you bring him in, I can perform a simple test. There’s a strange pattern under the skin that only shows up in UV light. Bring him in, Paolo. I’m sure I can give you the proof you need.”
“We’ve just pulled up outside his apartment. I must go. Don’t worry, whatever happens we’ll find Matthew tonight and bring him to the station. You can explain the science to me when we get there.”
Paolo snapped his phone shut and opened the car door. “Dave, I can’t explain it, because I don’t really understand it myself, but Barbara thinks Matthew’s DNA could still be a match with the killer. We need to find him, if only to rule him out.”
Dave frowned. “What about the brother?”
Paolo shook his head. “Apparently he isn’t a match.” “Well neither was Roberts. Don’t tell me there’s another one out there?”
“Not exactly. Barbara says Roberts could have two lots of DNA.” He shrugged. “I felt at the time he offered that bloody test that he was playing me, but I thought it was just to drop me in it with the chief. It seems there might have been another reason. Let’s find him, shall we? We can worry about understanding the whys and wherefores later.”
They entered the building to find the same security man as before guarding access to the foyer and lifts.
“If it’s Mr Roberts you’re after, he hasn’t come in yet.”
Paolo stepped up to the desk. “Are you sure? Could he have come in without you seeing him?”
“Nope, not possible. To get to the penthouse you have to come past my desk and he hasn’t been in this evening.”
Paolo smiled as if it was no big deal. “What time do you come on?”
“I took over at two and I’ve been here ever since. Some of the tenants are home, but not Mr Roberts.”
Paolo thanked the man and signalled for Dave to follow him out. “Jennifer saw Matthew at four-thirty, so if the security guy has been here since two, there’s no way Matthew could have come back to his apartment without being spotted. Let’s call in the cottage address to the station. I’d like some uniform backup – just in case Barbara is right.”
Dave tapped the address into the satnav and followed its directions out into the countryside.
Paolo’s phone rang and an unknown number lit the screen. As he flipped the phone open, Katy’s voice came through in an urgent whisper.
“Dad, you’ve got to help me.”
“Where are you?”
But the only answer was the sound of a hard slap, someone falling and then a high-pitched scream before the phone went dead.
CHAPTER 26
He’d driven around the corner and received such a shock he’d almost swerved into a lamp post. Regaining control of the car, he’d pulled over to the kerbside, his heart hammering so hard he could barely breathe. My God, could it be true? Talking to one of the older whores, acting for all the world as if she’d belonged there, was Paolo Sterling’s daughter. She was nothing more than a dirty little whore.
He hadn’t known what to do. She looked nothing like the others. Nothing like the photograph of the first. But if he’d left her there she would tread the same path. He’d closed his eyes in prayer, begging Jesus to guide him. The Lord’s words had answered him. Save her.
“Katy, what are you doing here? Does your father know where you are?”
She’d scowled at him in recognition. “No, but he...”
“He doesn’t know? What about your mother?”
A man, drunk or drugged, it was hard to tell, had appeared from an empty shop doorway and staggered towards Katy, yelling and swearing. Her eyes flicked between the incoherent man and the car.
“I can’t leave you here. Your father would never forgive me. Get in the car.”
“I’m fine,” she said, but he’d heard the edge of panic in her voice.
The junkie had lurched forward, trying to grab Katy’s arm. She’d pushed the man away, opened the car door and scrambled in. God had delivered her into his keeping.
And now, he had to fulfil the Lord’s wishes. He slipped the cassock over his naked body and then dropped to his knees in front of the prie dieu. The Lord had entrusted him with a special soul. He wouldn’t let him down. Before dealing with Katy he had to compose himself. The thought of saving this one from the devil’s clutches excited him more than he’d believed possible. The lash wouldn’t help, he knew that. If anything, it would increase his desire. He rested his head on the prie dieu and begged for the strength to hold back until she was dead. He’d believed her innocent, but she was a whore like all the others.
When he finally had himself under control, he rose and picked up the key to the bedroom where he’d locked up Katy while he prepared for the ritual. His heart pounded as he left the cell and walked along the passage.
Dear Lord, help me to do thy bidding. Help me to remain pure in thy name.
He slipped the key in the lock and opened the door, astounded to see Katy with a mobile in her hand. The bitch must have searched his things. He rushed across and smacked her across the face. As she fell backwards the phone dropped from her hand and spun across the floor. He grabbed her hair and dragged her to where the phone lay. Stamping down, he ground the phone with his heel until the casing shattered.
He shook her by her hair, wanting to kill her there and then. The bitch was spoiling everything. Still holding her hair in one hand, he slapped her with the other.
“Who did you call?” he yelled. “Was it your father? Did you tell him where you are?”
Katy shook her head. “I couldn’t get through. Please let me go. I won’t tell anyone you brought me here. I promise.”
He smiled at the devious look on her face. The little whore thought she could fool him. Letting go of her hair, he brought his fist back and let fly. As she sailed across the room he felt a surge of blood in his groin. The fucking little bitch was trying to make him come while she was still alive. Anger surged through him. He must calm down.
Walking over to where Katy cowered on the floor, he knelt down next to her.
“Are you ready to repent?” he asked, reaching forward to caress her face.
She scrambled away from him until backed into a corner. “I haven’t done anything. Please let me go.”
“You were whoring. I found you waiting for customers. Don’t try to deny it.”
“I wasn’t. Honestly. I was looking for Father Gregory.”
He laughed. “You expect me to believe that? He’s gone. Locked up in rehab where he should be. You were whoring, weren’t you?”
Katy shook her head. “No. My dad will come looking for me. You should let me go.”
“Your father hasn’t a clue where you are. No one knows about this place. Just me and the Lord. I’m going to save you, Katy. I’m going to wash your soul clean. You should say thank you.”
“What are you on about? You’re not right in the head.”
He walked over to her, and pulled her to her feet by her hair. As she screamed, his desire rose.
“You see what you’re doing to me, you bitch, but the Lord will keep me pure until the time is right.”
Ignoring her cries, he dragged her over to the table where the CD was set up ready to play.
“Katy, sweet Katy, we’re going to dance.”
***
Dave pulled the car into a lay-by. Paolo’s hands shook so badly he could hardly press the keys to get Katy on speed dial. When he did, her phone rang and rang.
“Whose bloody phone was she using, Dave? And why the hell isn’t she answering her own?”
He ended the call and keyed in Lydia’s number, gasping with relief when she answered.
“Lydia, where’s Katy?”
“What do you mean, where is she? She’s with you.”
“What? No, she isn’t. I’ve just had a call from her on someone else’s phone and she sounds like she’s in trouble. She’s not answering her own phone.”
�
��Paolo, this isn’t funny.”
“Jesus, you think I’d joke about something like this? Why did you think Katy was with me? Where did she say she was going?”
“She didn’t come home from school. She called to say she’d be meeting you at the station and the two of you were going to do something together. Didn’t she turn up? Is that it?”
Paolo thought back to Katy’s call earlier, when he’d brushed her off. A freight train hit him in the pit of his stomach. Katy was in trouble and it was his fault for not listening to her.
“Lydia, I’ve got to get off the phone so that I can put a trace on the number Katy called me from and one on her phone as well. Don’t worry, I’ll find her. I promise.”
“You mean you don’t even know where she called from? Paolo, I swear to God, if anything happens to Katy I’ll never forgive you. Never.”
“You think I’ll ever forgive myself?”
Before she could answer, he ended the call and scrolled through the menu to find the number Katy had called from. He read it out to Dave who was already on the line to the tracing service.
Paolo was vaguely aware of Dave saying they needed to know the whereabouts of the two signals urgently, but couldn’t concentrate on the actual words. He couldn’t breathe. His head swam as nausea washed over him in waves. Someone had Katy. His beautiful daughter was in trouble. She needed him and he’d let her down.
They sat in silence until Dave’s mobile rang. Paolo wanted to snatch the phone out of Dave’s hand, but forced himself not to move. Katy’s safety depended on him following procedure. If he did his job, he’d find her. Please God, let that be true.
“Right, yep, got that. Thank you,” Dave said and shut his phone and started the engine. “Katy’s phone signal is showing as still in town, but...”
“But what?”
Dave pulled out onto the road. “But the coordinates from the phone Katy used are the same as those for Roberts’ cottage. It looks like he might have Katy.”
The freight train picked up speed and demolished Paolo’s insides. This couldn’t be happening.
“Drive, Dave. Put your bloody foot down. If that bastard hurts her I’ll kill him. Put out a call for all units nearby. Let’s hope there’s a car closer to the place than we are.”
After a nightmare journey, with Paolo’s mind painting pictures he couldn’t bear, they finally arrived at the GPS coordinates.
“Christ, Dave, this is the back of beyond. No other houses for sodding miles, apart from that tiny building up ahead. Are you sure we’re in the right place?”
“It’s where the satnav is taking us, so it must be.”
Dave pulled up outside the cottage and Paolo jumped out before the car had even stopped moving. As he ran towards the front door, he could hear music playing. Then, overlaying the words of Bad Moon Rising, the sound of someone in agony rent the air. Katy, that was Katy screaming. His brain felt like fire as he pounded on the door.
“Open this fucking door,” he yelled. “Dave, help me here.”
They tried to force the door open, but it wouldn’t give an inch. Another scream filled the air and Paolo nearly threw up.
“The windows,” Paolo yelled. “You go that side and I’ll go this way.”
But when he ran to the nearest window, he found burglar bars blocking the way. Dave called out to say the windows on his side were also protected. Then a klaxon sounded, getting closer with each note. A uniform car screeched to a halt and Paolo ran down the path towards it.
“I’m DI Sterling,” he panted. “The girl screaming is my daughter. Get the fucking door open.”
One of the uniformed officers opened his car boot and pulled out a portable battering ram. He and his colleague rammed it against the door, again and again until it flew open and the sound of Katy’s screaming intensified. Paolo pushed past the officers and ran inside.
He was halfway down the passage when the music stopped. Katy screamed.
Then the screaming stopped.
CHAPTER 27
Paolo ran, almost falling over in his haste to reach the first door, but the room was empty. Rushing to the next door, he flung it open and stopped dead on the threshold of a room that looked for all the world like the inside of a chapel – with the exception of the bed in the middle of the room.
Naked and spread-eagled on the bed, tied hand and foot, was Katy, her face a mass of bloodied bruises. Straddled over her was a figure in a monk’s robe, his hands round Katy’s throat. Paolo flew towards the bed and launched himself at the man, his momentum carrying both of them to the floor.
Pinning the monk to the floor, Paolo lashed out, fists flying.
“You’ve killed her, you bastard. You’ve killed my Katy.”
Rage such as he’d never known took over. He’d kill the bastard with his bare hands. Taking hold of the hood, he smacked the man’s head against the floor. When Dave tried to grab hold of his arm, he turned on him with a snarl.
“Fuck off.”
Dave was yelling something, but Paolo couldn’t take it in. He tried to get his arms free, but was eventually pulled away by Dave and one of the uniformed officers.
“Let me go. Fuck you, let me go. I’ll kill him. Let me go!”
“Sir, she’s alive. Katy’s alive.”
“What? Are you sure?”
Dave nodded. The fight went out of Paolo. The two men freed his arms and he turned towards the bed. Dave had untied Katy and covered her naked body with his jacket, but she lay unmoving.
Paolo was vaguely aware of a voice in the background, but couldn’t seem to grasp the words. Sounds were coming at him in slow motion, as if his brain was working through treacle.
“Uniform have called for an ambulance, sir. She looks bad, but she’s still breathing.”
Paolo fell to his knees next to the bed and took Katy’s hand in his. Her skin felt waxy and at first he thought Dave was wrong, but then he saw a tiny movement as her body struggled to breathe.
He turned back to Dave. “Did uniform say how long before the ambulance would get here? She looks... she looks...” He couldn’t finish. The words refused to come. Dropping his head to the mattress, he silently begged Katy to hang on.
By the time he’d pulled himself together, Dave and the uniform guys had handcuffed the monk to a chair. Dave reached down and pulled the hood from Matthew Robert’s head.
The bastard had taken some direct hits and his face showed signs of bruising. Compared to Katy’s bloody and swollen face, he hardly bore a mark. Nowhere near enough in Paolo’s eyes. Never had he hated anyone as much as he hated this bastard.
Matthew smiled. “You should thank me, Paolo. I was trying to save her. She’s a whore, just like all the others.” Paolo jumped to his feet and rushed towards Matthew, but Dave stepped in the way.
“Don’t give him that satisfaction, sir.”
Paolo leant round Dave. “I’ll kill you for this, Matthew. I’ll fucking kill you for what you’ve done to Katy.”
Matthew laughed. “I hope all you honest police officers are taking note of his threats.”
Paolo tried to shove past, but Dave stood his ground.
“Don’t rise to the bait, sir. He’s doing it deliberately. Listen, I can hear the ambulance siren.”
Paolo nodded. His vengeance could wait. He went back to the bed and looked down at his lovely Katy, battered beyond recognition. If it took Paolo the rest of his life, Matthew would pay for what he’d done.
The paramedics seemed to take forever working on Katy. Not once did she appear to respond and Paolo, watching from the side of the room, too scared to move in case he somehow caused them to lose concentration, had to keep telling himself that she wasn’t dead.
Dave tapped his arm and he jumped as if struck by a bolt of lightning.
“Sir, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, but don’t you think you should let Katy’s mum know?”
How could he have forgotten Lydia? She must be beside herself with worry. Hands tremblin
g, he dialled her number and she answered within one ring.
“Have you found her? Where is she?”
“Lydia, Katy’s been attacked...”
“She’s okay, though, isn’t she? Tell me she’s okay.”
He opened his mouth, but couldn’t force out the words to tell Lydia just how bad things were.
“Tell me, damn it.”
“She’s going to be okay, but...”
“But what?”
“She’s in a bad way, Lydia. I’m sorry. It’s my fault. All my fault.”
“I don’t need you to tell me that,” she spat. “Where is she?”
“At the moment she’s being attended to by paramedics, but they’ll be taking her to the hospital soon. Do you want to meet me there?”
“I don’t ever want to meet you anywhere ever again, but I want to see my daughter, so yes, I’ll be at the hospital. But I warn you, Paolo, I’ll never forgive you for this. Never.”
The line went dead and Paolo felt again that sense of a freight train out of control running through him. The senior paramedic looked over, his expression grave.
“Her condition is just about stable enough to move her now, but her injuries are very serious. I’ve already called ahead to let them know she needs immediate surgery. We’re ready to go. Will you follow or come in the ambulance with her?”
Dave stepped forward. “Go with them, sir. I’ll take care of Roberts.”
Paolo felt tears pricking his eyes. “Thanks, Dave.”
He nodded to the paramedics and they carefully lifted the stretcher they’d manoeuvred under Katy’s body. As Paolo followed them out to the ambulance, Dave called after him.
“Good luck, sir.”
An image of his daughter’s shattered face came to his mind. “It isn’t me needing the luck, Dave, but thanks.”
CHAPTER 28
The ambulance ride passed in a blur. Every fibre of Paolo’s being was concentrating on willing Katy to keep breathing. The slightest beep from the equipment wired to her body sent him into fresh agonies of fear. He couldn’t lose her. Not his Katy.
As soon as the ambulance stopped outside the hospital, the doors flew open and a team of doctors and nurses took over, wheeling Katy out of sight.
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