Hidden Agenda (DI Kayli Bright Trilogy Book 3)

by M A Comley

  She waited until eight o’clock then rang Giles. She felt guilty when his groggy voice answered her call. “This better be good, sis. It’s Sunday, after all.”

  Kayli chewed her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. Go back to sleep.” She hung up.

  Her mobile rang seconds later. “Don’t do that to me. You obviously rang me for a reason. What’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry, Giles, please forgive me. Hey, just be grateful I didn’t ring you at three, when I first woke up. At least I left it until it was a decent hour.”

  “Eight on a Sunday is a decent hour? Not in my book, love. What’s wrong... as if I didn’t know?”

  Kayli let out a shuddering breath as she struggled to fight back the tears. “I’m worried—no, more than that—I’m petrified for Mark’s safety. Are you sure the guys out there are doing their best for him?”

  “Christ, I hope you never get the chance to meet them if you think that, love. Of course they are. If they knew you were doubting their abilities, they would be mortally offended. He’s one of their own. A soldier never really leaves the forces. These men will be going above and beyond to find out where he’s being kept. It’s a vast country. You have no idea what the terrain is like over there. And you know our guys are going to stick out like sore thumbs amongst the locals.”

  “I know. I’m not really doubting their abilities. It’s just that I dreamt about Mark last night, and he said they were starving him to death. He’s been missing two weeks now. If they’re not feeding him, he won’t have long left. I thought I read somewhere that a body can’t survive without food for longer than two weeks.”

  “Your research is wrong, love. A body can survive for up to three weeks without food. Without water is another story entirely.”

  “Crap! What’s that?”

  “Less than a week, in most cases.”

  Kayli gasped. “No! I didn’t realise that. In other words, you think he might already be dead?”

  “I didn’t say that, sis. I doubt it. Look, I’ll see if I can contact the team searching for him today. It’ll have to be later, though.” His voice went to a whisper. “Annabelle has been up half the night. This pregnancy has hit her badly this time.”

  “What has the doctor said?”

  “That if she doesn’t stop being sick soon, they’ll have to take her into hospital.”

  “Oh shit. Giles, I’m sorry for burdening you with my silly concerns at a time like this. You go. Give my love to Annabelle and Bobby.”

  “I will, and please stop worrying. I’m just as concerned about my best friend as you are. Try and put it out of your mind. There’s no point dwelling on something that’s beyond your control. You’re only going to make yourself ill. You’re going to Mum and Dad’s for dinner today, aren’t you?”

  “I’m supposed to be.”

  “You can’t let them down now, Kayli.”

  “The last thing I want to be is a down in the mouth around them. As you can imagine, I haven’t got a lot to smile about at the moment, what with this frustrating case I’m working on and with Mark still being missing.”

  “Nonsense. They’ll understand. Mum’s a good listener, and that’s what you need right now. It’ll do you good to talk about things rather than let them fester.”

  “Maybe you’re right. I wish you guys were going to be there today.”

  “It’s just not possible with Annabelle feeling under the weather. I have to go now. I can hear Bobby calling out for his mum, and she’s still in the bathroom, wrapped around the loo.”

  “Okay, thanks for chatting. Sorry I woke you so early. Ring me if there is anything I can do to help.”

  “I will. Take care of yourself and open up to Mum and Dad, for God’s sake. Love you lots.”

  “All right. Thanks for chatting. Love you lots too.” She hung up, feeling a little better.

  Then she thought over her brother’s words about surviving without the necessities in life. Maybe her dream had revealed Mark’s final words to her. Perhaps he was dead now. Fresh tears filled her eyes, and she broke down and really sobbed for the first time in her life. Until now, her life had been filled with a lot of happiness. Sadness and black days had evaded her until Mark had come out of the army. Although they weren’t married, she and Mark lived together as man and wife, and she was finding it difficult to exist without him by her side. Drying her eyes, she jumped in the shower then slipped on a clean pair of jeans and a pullover. She left her home at ten o’clock and drove to her parents’ house.

  Her mother squeezed her tightly when she walked into the kitchen. “Hello, darling. You’re early, not that I’m complaining.” She held Kayli away from her and shook her head. “You look dreadful. You haven’t been looking after yourself at all.”

  Kayli hugged her mother again. “Don’t be silly. I’m fine. Overworked and a little stressed out, but that’s nothing unusual in my job. You know that.”

  Her mother turned away and withdrew a few pots from the cupboard before she moved over to the fridge to extract the vegetables that needed preparing for their meal. “We can natter and work at the same time. Your father has nipped out to the shops as I didn’t have any ice cream in the freezer for pudding.”

  “You needn’t have gone overboard, Mum.”

  “I haven’t. This is our usual roast dinner. It’s a shame Giles and Annabelle couldn’t join us.”

  “I rang Giles first thing, I woke him up actually. He said that Annabelle is finding this pregnancy really tough. How is it that some people breeze through pregnancy while others have the life sucked out of them? I don’t profess to know the workings of the body in such instances, but the thought of spending most of my day throwing up is enough to put me off having kids for life.”

  “I don’t know. It depends on your hormone levels, I think. I’m not an expert on that side of things as I was one of those who breezed through my pregnancies when I was carrying you and Giles. If you want children, don’t let Annabelle’s experience put you off.” She clicked her fingers. “I bet she’ll be right as rain in a week or so.”

  “I hope so, for her sake. I wish I could do more to help...”

  “But you have your own problems to deal with. Is that what you were about to say, darling?”

  Kayli smiled at her intuitive mother. “No flies on you, Mum.”

  “I’m sure Mark will be fine, sweetheart. Did Giles mention if the team out there had any news regarding where these evil men are keeping him?”

  “No, nothing. I dreamt about Mark last night. He was pleading for us to help him.”

  Her mother gathered her in her arms as the tears began to fall once more. After a few moments’ comfort, Kayli pulled away and dried her eyes on a nearby tea towel.

  “I know how hard it must be for you, sweetheart. Lord knows your father has had his share of fighting in dangerous situations over the years, during his army days.”

  “How did you cope, Mum?”

  She shrugged her ageing shoulders. “You just do, lovely. It’s what army wives are expected to do. Hey, I’ve had days when I’ve been gravely concerned about you over the years too. Your job is right up there in the danger stakes, and yet, look how capable you are at dealing with the trauma et cetera that is flung at you on a daily basis.”

  Kayli smiled and kissed her mother on the cheek. “How come you always know the right things to say?”

  “Because I’m a mother. It’s inbuilt from the day I felt you growing inside.”

  She chuckled. “I believe you.”

  They heard her father enter the front door. Kayli rushed into his arms the minute she saw him.

  “Hey, what’s all this? Not that I’m complaining. I’ll have all the cuddles you ladies want to throw at me. I’m not fussy. Can’t afford to be at my time of life.”

  Kayli took a step back. “Idiot. The thing is, I don’t tell either of you enough how much I love you. You’ve been rocks for me over the years, and I’ll be forever grateful for the sacrifices you’ve ma
de to raise Giles and me in difficult circumstances.”

  Her father put the ice cream he’d just bought in the freezer then threw an arm around Kayli’s shoulder. “It’s all part of the parenting process. To be there when our children need us the most. We’re lucky to have two incredibly intelligent children in you and Giles. It was never a chore bringing you up. Always a genuine pleasure.”

  “Thanks, Dad. That means a lot. If we have time later, can I bend your ear about a few things?”

  Her father frowned. “Such as?”

  “Just things in general,” she said evasively.

  “Of course. You know I’m always here for you if you need to run anything past me.”

  “I’ll help Mum with the veg first, and then we can have a chat, if that’s okay?”

  “That’s a deal. I’ll be in the study until then. Bring a coffee with you when you come.”

  Kayli laughed. “I know where I get my love of coffee from, that’s for sure.”

  After preparing the sprouts, red cabbage and green beans while her mother peeled the potatoes and parsnips to get them ready for roasting, Kayli boiled the kettle and made them all a coffee. “Why don’t you put your feet up for half an hour in the lounge, Mum?”

  “I think I’ll do just that, dear. Enjoy your time with your father. I have an idea what the discussion is going to be about.”

  “That’s because you’re an extremely smart lady.”

  Kayli eased her father’s study door open. “Is it safe to come in? You don’t have any official papers on show?”

  “Don’t be daft. Those days are behind me now, love. Come in and sit down. Thanks for the coffee.”

  Kayli set the mugs down on the edge of his leather desktop. “Thanks for this, Dad.”

  “You know my door is always open for you. What’s on your mind? As if I couldn’t guess.”

  “How did you cope, Dad? You were captured by the enemy in your early days in the army, I seem to remember.”

  “I was. A small conflict we got involved in out in Thailand. However, luck was on our side back then when a few of us managed to overwhelm our captors one day.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know that. How did you escape?”

  “How? There were six of us. The idiots left one man guarding us. One of our guys pretended to be ill. The little guard panicked, asked us what to do. I told him to untie the soldier so that he wasn’t restricted. The fool did just that. As soon as his hands were untied, the soldier knocked him unconscious and released the rest of us. We escaped into the hills before our captors could return. We watched them arrive. They slapped around the guard who was put in charge of us for a while before one of the bastards shot him in the head. My team and I were mortified, riddled with guilt for days as we tracked through the jungle to civilisation and our freedom. It was one of the worst periods of my life. Luckily, I had your mother, you and Giles to think about—I had to get home to be with you. That determination saw me through that tortuous ordeal, love.”

  Kayli grabbed his hand. “That’s reassuring to know, Dad. I hope the same grit and determination is within Mark to keep the faith. My dream last night was so vivid, I fear that he isn’t going to make it through this.”

  “He will. He’s a determined critter. Giles is confident that the team will find him soon. Don’t lose heart, sweetheart. These are experienced, resolute men trying to find him. I’m sure they won’t let Mark down. Give them time.”

  “But in my dream, he spoke to me, told me that they were starving him to death. If that’s true, then who knows what condition he will be in when they find him, or even if he will still be alive by then? I’m not sure what I’ll do without him, Dad.”

  “Nonsense. Stop being so negative now. Do you hear me?”

  Kayli nodded. “I’m trying. But fear keeps swooping down and consuming me.”

  “You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel that way about someone you loved. Let’s not dwell on what ifs and maybes, okay? If he’s still alive—and at this point, there’s no reason to assume otherwise—then I’m sure it will only be a few days or weeks before you two are reunited. And when you are, I hope for your sake, you can persuade him to give up his dangerous career. If he needs to find work in this country, I’ll do everything I can to see he secures a decent job. You have my word on that.”

  Kayli leaned forward and hugged her father, clinging to his neck for a long time. “Thanks, Dad,” she whispered through her tears. “That means a lot.”

  “Now, enough talk about what is out of our hands. Tell me all about the case you’re working on. By the looks of you, it seems to be taking a toll.”

  She pulled away and sat back in her chair. “I’m fine. No need to worry about me. The case is one of the most frustrating I’ve had to deal with in my career. My team and I have been working super hard to find the killer of a woman who was murdered in her flat. She’d only been home from work less than an hour before her life was taken from her.”

  “No suspects at all?”

  “We hauled the ex-boyfriend in within hours but were forced to release him. He’s in the navy, based in Plymouth.”

  “Ouch. Would a serviceman really kill a civilian?”

  “You’d be surprised, Dad. I’ve dealt with a few cases over the years that would prove your theory wrong. The good news is that before leaving work yesterday, I took a call from the pathologist dealing with the case, and she’s stumbled across DNA she believes the killer left behind. Her team are searching the database for a possible match.”

  “I know what you’re going to say. Without him being registered on the database through a previous crime, the likelihood of finding the killer is negligible.”

  Kayli nodded. “That’s the frustrating part. I’ve told the team to take the day off and we’ll hit the road running tomorrow. Maybe going over the evidence with fresh eyes will highlight something that we’ve missed up until now. I can’t help wondering if my worrying about Mark has caused a distraction at work. I feel guilty for not getting the victim the justice she deserves.”

  “Nonsense. What utter tosh. How long has the case been open? A few days?”

  Kayli nodded.

  “Then how are you to blame for not solving it already? You know as well as I do that some cases take years to solve.”

  She shook her head. “Not on my patch, Dad. My team is one of the most competent in the Bristol area. We pride ourselves in solving the cases within a few weeks, max.”

  “Then stop worrying. You have another week and a half before you exceed your self-imposed deadline. Relax a little and start eating properly. That would be my advice. Mind you, your mother usually makes enough Sunday roast to feed a small army, so there’s no fear of you going hungry today, lass.”

  They both laughed.

  “Thanks for the pep talk, Dad.”

  He patted her on the knee. “You’re always welcome. A problem shared and all that. Come on. I can smell that dinner isn’t far off now. I better do my husbandly duty and lay the table or my life won’t be worth living when you leave later. Of course, you’re always welcome to stay with us for a little while, if you want to?”

  “Thanks, I really appreciate the offer, Dad. It wouldn’t feel right leaving the house unattended. I know it sounds daft, but when I’m at home, I can feel Mark around me.”

  “Doesn’t sound silly at all. He’ll be home soon enough, love. I guarantee it.”

  She hugged her father before they left his study. She spent the rest of the day with her parents, trying her hardest to put Mark’s situation out of her mind. Her parents enveloped her with love as they relived special birthdays and days out during her childhood. She left their house at eight that evening, wearing a huge smile.

  However, the second she stepped through the door of her home, the usual anxieties surfaced. After her head hit the pillow at ten o’clock, the same dream invaded her sleep.

  She sat bolt upright at three o’clock in the morning, soaked in sweat. The more Kayli trie
d to shut off her thoughts, the more sleep evaded her. Finally, she gave in and went downstairs to make a cup of coffee. At five thirty, the house was pitch-black, and the wind was howling through a gap in the back door. She glanced out the window to see a mini-tornado in the rear garden. She shuddered and pulled her towelling robe tightly around her middle. Glancing up at the inky sky, she muttered, “Be safe, Mark. Come back to me soon. I miss you.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Kayli met Dave in the car park and rushed to help him get out of the car. “I bet you’ll be glad to see the back of those crutches?”

  “Morning. You could say that. It’s the thought of climbing the stairs all the time that gets to me. Maybe we should put in a request to have a lift installed at the station. A bit archaic not to have one these days.”

  Kayli winked at him. “I’ll have a word with the chief. Did you have a good day off?”

  “Yeah, relaxing. I did bugger all except play with Luke all day.”

  “That sounds like heaven to me.”

  “You look tired. Have you slept at all? Or did you spend the day going out of your mind with worry?”

  “The nights have been bad, waking up at three, but I went to Mum and Dad’s yesterday and had a lovely day. It was good to get out of the house.”

  Dave locked the car and put his keys in his pocket, then they walked towards the entrance of the station. “I can’t begin to image what you’re going through at this tough time. Lord knows I keep trying to put myself in your shoes, but I just can’t do it. You know we’re all rooting for Mark, don’t you?”

  Kayli rubbed his arm. “I do, and it’s really appreciated. Less chat—you need to channel your concentration into getting yourself up the stairs. I’ll run on ahead and buy the coffees. That’ll be an incentive for you.” She laughed and raced ahead of her partner rather than listen to him grunting as he climbed the stairs on one good leg.