Then Sean reared and the spell broke.
In a rush, reality came hurtling back to Claudia, rain water soaking her face, the knife flashing through the air, the sneer of victory spreading across Sean’s mouth.
Adrenalin coursed through Claudia, her heart thundering. She would not give up. She would not die here. In the wet, on the ground, in the dirt.
CHAPTER 77
Lightening lit up the woods and suddenly Dominic could see around him, and more specifically, in the direction he’d heard the scream come from, the outline of two people, battling.
Claudia and Marlin.
He tried to run, but the ground was uneven. Tree roots tripping him. Fallen trees and logs to jump over. Slipping in the wetness of it all. The rain blurring his vision.
Dominic’s brain focused on the few seconds he glimpsed Claudia and Marlin grappling on the wet soil. Claudia fighting for her life.
He closed in on them, and as he did, his eyes cleared.
Claudia was on top, but they were fighting for something. Claudia was attempting to stop Marlin getting it. She was like a wildcat. He was so proud. Keep going, girl. Keep fighting. Don’t give up. I’m coming.
The ground beneath him slipped again, and he was down. The wrench flew from his grip. He reached out, couldn’t find it in the darkness. He swore again at the lost time. Pushed on the wet soil and rose. Looked around, trying to find the wrench in the darkness and his bearings at the same time.
There she is. He was off again.
Marlin had something in his hand. He was rising, pushing Claudia away. She was punching at him, while at the same time trying to cling on to him. Not wanting him to be free of her.
Dominic wanted to let her know he was there but dared not shout again. He didn’t want to distract her. He was so close, but the trees were fighting him all the way. Branches flicking into his face. Pushing him backwards.
Through the trees, Dominic could see Marlin freeing himself. He straddled Claudia, and though Dominic still could not see what he was holding, he knew it had to be the knife.
Dominic couldn’t help himself. Fear was driving him. He shouted for his daughter.
Marlin started and turned as Dominic ploughed into the clearing.
He locked eyes with Dominic for a fraction of a second and thrust the blade down.
Dominic and Claudia cried out as one. Marlin raised his arm to strike again as Claudia kicked and lashed out beneath him.
Dominic grabbed Marlin around the throat from behind and pulled, squeezing his hands together. Yanking him off Claudia, forcing the very life out of the man who was attempting to take the life out of his daughter.
Marlin roared like a bear and threw himself backwards, flinging his arms out wide. Dominic felt something like a soft punch in his side as Marlin’s elbow pulled back, and then a coldness seeping around his waist. He slid to the ground, pain slicing into him. Had he been hurt? Had Marlin caught him?
The darkness began to penetrate.
Claudia screamed. Loud and primitive. A battle cry.
Dominic willed himself to focus. Before him, Marlin and Claudia were standing, each fumbling to take possession of the knife. Blood was soaking through Claudia’s top. But they were both visibly weakened. Then Claudia’s knees seemed to buckle and Marlin began to gain dominance.
Dominic rolled onto his side, winced and pushed himself up unsteadily. His legs were shaking, and with one last ditch effort he threw himself at the pair. He had no idea where the knife was. His hands again found Marlin’s throat. This time he would not let go. The three of them tumbled to the ground.
Marlin struck a root as his head hit the ground and went limp. At last, Dominic threw the killer off his daughter and dropped to his knees on the sodden ground. He didn’t care what state he was in. All he cared about was what state Claudia was in.
He stared down at his only child as she fell back on the soaked woodland floor. Blood blooming around her stomach. Her face pale. Her eyes closed.
CHAPTER 78
Claudia let the rain drip down on her face. She sank into the soil. She never wanted to open her eyes again. The soft woodland floor was enveloping her. Pulling her down.
But the voice was insistent. It was her father. ‘Claudia. Claudia. Oh my God, Claudia.’ There was pressure on her stomach. Hands pushing down.
Claudia reluctantly opened her eyes. ‘What are you doing?’
Relief flooded Dominic’s face. ‘Thank God. We need an ambulance.’ He rummaged around in his pockets awkwardly with one hand while keeping his other hand on her stomach. His face a mask of pure horror.
She raised an arm towards Sean, curled up on the ground next to her father. ‘He needs it, Dad. Not me. It’s his.’ It was an effort to talk. She sucked in air, still disbelieving. She’d survived.
Dominic looked down at his hand on Claudia’s stomach, soaked in blood, and shifted the hem of her top. Comprehension dawned on Dominic’s face as he looked at the man he’d pushed aside to get to his daughter.
Sean lay quiet. The blood pooling around him. A hand protectively holding the knife that was still lodged in place.
Dominic removed his hand from Claudia’s abdomen. ‘Oh, thank God.’ He bent his head and closed his eyes. ‘But you’re still injured.’ Blood streamed down from her shoulder. Her arm hung at her side awkwardly. She was in pain.
‘Dad, the ambulance?’
He opened his eyes and looked at her. Something silent passing between them.
‘The ambulance,’ she said again.
‘Yes, the ambulance.’ He slumped down beside her and it was then that she saw his own blood. Her heart swelled. He’d kept himself awake long enough to save her and now they were safe he was rapidly losing consciousness.
‘Dad!’
The ground around them was slick. The air was heavy with the tang of copper. Flies hummed over them, landing to inspect the glistening mulch. Then voices and the thud of footsteps could be heard running towards them through the thick undergrowth.
The cavalry were here.
CHAPTER 79
Claudia took three weeks off work after her ordeal in the woods with Sean Marlin.
She’d told Sharpe and Connelly she didn’t need her sick leave extending. It was hardly the longest abduction in history and the wound in her shoulder was healing.
Sharpe had argued that, what with Marlin dying from his wounds, she might want to take some time to process things, but Claudia had fought back, arguing that if the CPS agreed it was self-defence then she was not going to allow it to play on her mind.
And she wasn’t. He’d tried to kill her. He hadn’t been messing around. He’d genuinely wanted to push that knife into her chest and for her to die and complete his masterpiece. The fact that the blade had ended up inside of him instead of her had been a complete accident, but all the same, it was his doing. She was not going to worry about it.
The lift took her up to her floor as she thought about her return. The team would have completed the paperwork for the file. The murders that Marlin had committed would be classed as detected, no further action, due to his death and the fact they’d managed to gather all the evidence they needed at his home. He’d taken photographs of all his victims in the same poses he’d drawn them in, as well as making multiple drawings of the crime scenes. It seems he’d sought to perfect them before sending them on to Claudia. He had Brendan’s gym bag stuffed under his bed. Dirty, stale, sweaty gym gear festered in the bag along with a water bottle, a towel and a pair of trainers. These items were tested and proved to be covered in Brendan’s DNA. Marlin had wrapped Zach’s phone in Brendan’s towel in the bag. Still turned off. Marlin’s home also contained the maps of the locations used. The DNA and urine from his victims, found in the boot of his car, had been the final bow on the file.
Luckily, the two cops who had been guarding her had not succumbed to the poison and were not on the victim list. They had, Claudia had been informed, returned to work, long before her.
She’d sent them both get-well cards, thanking them for what they had done in their attempt to protect her. But now she was back she would make time to check on them in person.
During her weeks of leave she’d spent time relaxing. Yes, logic told her she was not responsible for what had happened, but she had killed a man.
Not on purpose. But still, she had been involved in the man’s death. And deep down, she knew that she would be dealing with it for some time to come.
In the meantime, she was on the fast-track promotion scheme. Being traumatically affected by events would not help her career plans.
The lift doors slid apart and the corridor yawned, exposed in front of her. Empty of foot traffic at this time in the morning. She’d wanted an early start so as to not be greeted by a huge array of faces. That was not what she wanted.
Claudia strode quickly to her office, keeping her head down.
Her father had visited her a couple of times during her leave. It had been some of the most difficult periods she had ever spent with him. He had wanted to make sure she was coping with everything, but Claudia wasn’t ready to analyse it more than she needed to.
Dominic had stumbled awkwardly around the subject and eventually allowed her peace. He had healed pretty quickly from his own stab wounds. Nothing major had been hit, thankfully.
Her office was as she’d left it. Some files had been removed from her desk pertaining to the Marlin case, but other than that it all looked normal.
Last night Sharpe had called her and organised a meeting for first thing in the morning with both her and Dominic.
This had been their first case as the newly formed task force. Had they failed because Claudia had been taken and the offender had been killed? What would happen to them? Would they all go back to their previous assignments?
The questions swirled through her mind as she switched her laptop on and checked her emails. They would keep her busy until it was time to deal with Sharpe.
Gradually the incident room started to fill. Staff entered, and at first they didn’t notice her. After all, she hadn’t been in her office for the last three weeks. But then out the corner of their eyes they saw movement and spotted her. Their faces brightened and they raised an arm in welcome recognition. Claudia waved in return and sighed with relief that none of them had run in to talk to her. They were giving her space.
The clock ran round and eventually it was time to see Sharpe. She and Dominic walked together in grim silence, until he broke it before they reached Sharpe’s office.
‘How does it feel to be back?’
She had to accept this was going to be how it was for a couple of days. ‘I think it’s what I need.’ She’d had a session with a force-mandated counsellor before being allowed to return. She’d said the same thing to him. He’d agreed to allow her to find her feet within the parameters of work guidelines, so long as she promised to call him if she had any major problems. She’d agreed. She believed she could cope with work. It was the people talking about it that she would struggle with. They were trying to be kind, of course, but Claudia needed to be left to deal with events in her own way.
Dominic gave a curt nod. He’d pushed against this wall enough to know he’d get no further.
Maxine greeted them with a smile. ‘She’s waiting for you, go right in.’
The normalcy from Maxine was like a breath of fresh air. Claudia could have hugged her right then and there.
Sharpe was indeed waiting for them. Standing at the window, staring down at the world below her. The great heat they’d been dealing with had broken. The sun was still shining, but there was more breeze in the air. It was easier to breathe.
Sharpe turned as they entered, her gaze landing on Claudia, arms crossed over her chest. Stance pensive. ‘Why is it your family that’s always in the middle of something difficult?’ she asked with a sigh.
There was no answer forthcoming, so she waved a hand in front of her at the chairs and told them to take a seat. They did as directed.
Claudia’s nerves got the better of her. ‘What is it, ma’am?’
Sharpe sighed again and sank into her own chair. Giving nothing away until she was ready. ‘It’s good to see you,’ she said. ‘How are you feeling? Ready to be back?’
‘I’m healed from the stab wound. Whatever drugs he used on me were out of my system pretty quickly. I’m good to go,’ Claudia said.
Sharpe nodded. She wouldn’t know the ins and outs of Claudia’s counselling sessions but she would have an overview. She’d know that she was mentally fit to return.
Dominic grunted a response that was practically inaudible. Sharpe smiled at him, but Claudia knew she had his page marked. She would have made sure he was properly fit before returning.
‘Do let me know if I can do anything to help,’ Sharpe said.
‘Of course.’ What was the real reason they were sitting here? Her chest tightened as she waited for Sharpe to go on.
Eventually she spoke. ‘I have some bad news for the pair of you.’
Claudia straightened in her chair. Preparing herself for whatever was to come.
‘There’s been an incident in Doncaster prison.’
A chill ran down Claudia’s spine.
‘Craig Lawton has been killed.’
Craig Lawton. The cellmate who had given a statement that Tyler told him he had killed Ruth.
Dominic was silent beside her. Claudia’s mind whirled.
‘What happened?’
Sharpe paused before she spoke, gathering her words. ‘He was being transferred out to another prison because of the statement he’d made. While the paperwork was processed, he’d been moved out of Tyler’s cell and into another wing for his own protection. They thought he was safe, but he was found shanked in the shower block. It was too late. Nothing anyone could do.’
Claudia’s scalp crawled. ‘Tyler?’
‘It can’t be proved, but it’s more than likely.’
She had planned to talk to him, but time had slipped away from her. The investigation into the Artist had taken her every waking moment even before the injury. Now that chance was gone and she would never know the truth behind the statement. If the conversation had really happened. If there was anything else behind it. If there was anything more he could tell her. All she wanted was the truth.
‘I take it his statement stands,’ said Dominic.
Sharpe nodded. ‘Of course. It’ll be read out in court under hearsay provisions, section 114 of the Criminal Justice Act.’
‘With no chance of a cross-examination,’ said Claudia.
Dominic looked across at her. ‘I for one am glad it’s over. I’m tired of having this hanging over me. The sooner he goes to trial and is sentenced the better, as far as I’m concerned.’
Claudia looked back at him. There was nothing else for her to say. Not now. But it wasn’t over.
It was far from over.
THE END
Acknowledgements
A book comes together because people come together, and it is these people I wish to thank for bringing Seconds to Die together.
Huge thanks go to my editor, Emma Grundy Haigh, for her insight and belief in the story. For pulling it all together and cheering me on as I worked. Thanks to Laurel Sills for editorial input, Anna Harrisson for the copy-edit and Matthew Grundy Haigh for proofreading. Police systems really aren’t that sophisticated! Thanks to Nina Kicul for her help and support this year.
Thank you to my wonderful agent, Hannah Weatherill, who responds to emails at such speed I feel like I’m the only client she has. That’s super agenting right there. And to all at Northbank Talent Management who work to keep everything ticking over.
Thanks to Graham Bartlett for policing advice on issues I might be a little rusty on. I’d rather check than get it all wrong. Of course, this is fiction, so a little leeway is allowed, but if you spot any faults, they’re not because of Graham.
To the crime writing community who keep me buoyed and
the readers who take a chance on a new book and then maybe come back for more. Without readers this would be a lonely journey, so thank you.
And finally, to my family, who give me the space to write without distraction. I love you all.
ALSO BY REBECCA BRADLEY
DETECTIVE CLAUDIA NUNN
Book 1: BLOOD STAINED
Book 2: SECONDS TO DIE
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