by J. P. Carter
She watched him guzzle some more whisky. Then he placed the bottle on the floor and held the gun in both hands.
‘That’s enough talking, Detective. I’ve used the opportunity you gave me to get a load of stuff off my chest for Jacob’s sake as well as my own. I just hope the boy has been listening. But now I’m ready to go, and I hope it’s obvious to you that I’m not going to let you stop me.’
Anna gulped at the fetid air, struggling to get it into her lungs. She would have pleaded with him not to go through with it if she’d thought he would listen. But she knew he wouldn’t.
‘I’m going to count to ten and then squeeze the trigger,’ he said. ‘So unless you want to see my brains splattered all over the wall and ceiling I suggest you get out of here sharpish.’
As he started to count, Anna told Sweeny to go upstairs.
‘But what about you, guv?’ Sweeny said.
‘Don’t worry about me, Megan. Just go. Someone needs to bear witness to what’s going to happen next.’
Benning finished counting just as Sweeny reached the top of the stairs.
‘If I could go back and change things I would, Detective,’ he said. ‘But I can’t, and I’m really sorry about that.’
They were his last words. Anna closed her eyes and the gun went off. It was so loud in the close confines of the cellar that she feared her eardrums might burst.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
Four days later
Presenter: ‘Welcome to the BBC news at nine o’clock … This is the second consecutive day of peace on the streets of London and other major towns and cities across the UK. The end of the disorder is being attributed to a number of factors, including battle fatigue among the rioters, the heavy, persistent rain that has been falling on most areas since Tuesday, and the tough prison sentences that are being handed out by the courts to those convicted of serious public order offences.
‘Arrests in connection with the riots are still taking place, and in the last hour there’s been a major development in the case of Jacob Rossi, the ten-year-old son of entertainer Mark Rossi. The boy was abducted and chained up in a derelict pub where he died of smoke inhalation after the building was set on fire.
‘His kidnapper, Met Detective Joe Benning, committed suicide in the very same cellar on Monday. Scotland Yard has confirmed that an eighteen-year-old man has now been charged with throwing the petrol bomb that caused the blaze. It’s understood he was identified after someone posted mobile phone footage online of the incident taking place.
‘Meanwhile, according to the latest figures released by the government, a total of twelve people were killed during the riots. There were six hundred arrests and four hundred people face charges. In London alone the damage is put at more than a billion pounds. This afternoon the Prime Minister addressed reporters outside Ten Downing Street.’
Prime Minister: ‘At last we have reclaimed our towns and cities from the criminals who sought to destroy them. It’s not true to say that we completely lost control of the situation, but there were times when it appeared to be the case.
‘Thanks to the self-sacrifice and bravery of our frontline teams order has at last been restored. This government will now take whatever action is necessary to ensure it never happens again.
‘A cross-party group will spearhead an inquiry that will examine the root causes of the riots and how the emergency services responded to them. We will seek to find long-lasting solutions to the social and economic inequalities that blight so many communities, the high rates of youth unemployment, the shocking cycle of reoffending, the racial tensions that persist, the mistrust of law enforcement agencies, and the epidemic of gun and knife crime.
‘The way forward will not be easy, but we have to pull together and work hard to get to where we want to be. And we must succeed for the sake of our children and our children’s children.’
EPILOGUE
It was the first time Anna had ever attended two funerals in one day. First thing, she joined scores of mourners in Bromley to pay her last respects to Jacob Rossi.
There was a media scrum at the gates to the cemetery that included two television crews who were filing live reports.
During the service a friend of the family read the eulogy and there wasn’t a dry eye in the chapel. Afterwards, as the coffin was lowered into the ground, Mark Rossi let go of his wife’s hand and dropped to his knees next to the grave.
‘We will always love you, Jacob,’ he cried out. ‘I’m so sorry that we weren’t there to protect you. Please forgive us.’
As Anna watched from a distance she thought about the moment two weeks ago when she broke the news to him that it was his estranged stepbrother who had abducted Jacob, and not Roy Slater. Thankfully he hadn’t got around to telling his wife about his affair with Slater’s wife, so at least she was spared the agony of knowing that her husband had cheated on her.
Later Anna stood with Chloe in the crematorium chapel as another coffin slid towards the furnace. Inside it was one of the young men who had saved Chloe’s life.
Ryan Claymore.
This was a much smaller gathering, just a handful of people including the lad’s mother and father, and his best friend Wesley.
After the service, Wesley gave Chloe a small framed photograph of himself and Ryan sitting side by side on a park bench.
‘This is so that you won’t forget us,’ he said to her.
‘As if I would,’ she replied, but the words were barely out of her mouth before emotion overwhelmed her and she started to cry again.
Anna folded her arms around her and pulled her close.
‘Let it all out, Chloe,’ she said. ‘I’m here for you and I want you to know that I love you so much.’
Chloe looked up at her mother, her eyes drenched. She then uttered the words that Anna had been desperate to hear.
‘And I love you too, Mum,’ she said.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Once again I would like to express my appreciation for all the help I got while writing this book from the team at Avon. A special thank you to my editor Molly Walker-Sharp who found so many ways to improve the first draft I submitted to her.
Keep Reading …
Love DCI Anna Tate?
Then why not read the first book in the series to see where it all began …
A gripping thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.
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What happens when the past
comes back to kill you?
An addictive new thriller in the DCI Anna Tate series, for fans of Cara Hunter and M. J. Arlidge.
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About the Author
J. P. Carter is the pseudonym of a bestselling author who has also written sixteen books under the names Jaime and James Raven. Before becoming a full-time writer, he spent a career in journalism as a newspaper reporter and television producer. He was, for a number of years, director of a major UK news division and co-owned a TV production company. He now splits his time between homes in Hampshire and Spain with his wife.
Also by J. P. Carter:
In Safe Hands (DCI Anna Tate book one)
At Your Door (DCI Anna Tate book two)
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