Sally felt the shiver of dread pass through her.
'They did what they could but unfortunately it was too advanced, and she passed away.'
She could see the hurt on his face, the bewilderment at having lost someone he loved shadowing his eyes.
'What about children?' Sally asked.
Instantly, the colour drained from his face, and Sally felt the shock rise as the tears sprang into his eyes.
'Have I said the wrong thing again?' she asked as she winced inside.
Stone tried to smile though this time he couldn't seem to manage it. 'We both wanted kids, but it never happened, though now I suspect she had the cancer way back and it stopped her from getting pregnant.'
Sally was suddenly at a loss for words as he wiped at his eyes and then laughed shakily.
'Anyway, that's enough about me, what about you, do you have a family?'
'No, I suppose the job gets in the way of having a steady relationship. I've had two serious partners but in the end they had enough and walked.'
'You're married to the force then?' he asked, leaning over to pick up the glass.
'I didn't think I was, but they both accused me of that.'
Stone shrugged. 'You do an important job and I would imagine there is never a right moment to jump off the roller coaster.'
Sally looked at him in surprise and then nodded. 'You're right, besides, I always wanted to do this job, even as a kid I wanted to be in the police force.'
'That's what those in power rely on, they know for most it's a vocation rather than just another job, so they keep piling the pressure on knowing you'll just soak it up and carry on.'
This time Sally could do nothing to hide her surprise. 'You're very perceptive.'
'Not at all, believe it or not I was the same with computers, it was all I ever wanted to do and even in that industry they take advantage because they know we went into the job because it starts out as a passion.'
'I'd not thought of that,' Sally admitted. 'So why don't you get out of it?'
Stone eased back in the chair and glanced up at the blue-suffused sky. 'Well, to be honest I work for myself which was always the goal really.'
'Wise man,' she smiled as the tension seemed to evaporate.
'It's tough at times but still better than relying on others to make a living.'
'I would imagine you travel around a lot in that job?'
Stone nodded. 'All over the UK, occasionally I go to the US and China.'
'You must be good if they pay you to travel the world.'
'Well, I get by,' he admitted as he took another drink from the glass.
'I'd better get the credit card that isn't maxed out then,' she said with a smile as a family of blue tits swept noisily into the garden, bickering for a moment before flying off again.
'Don't worry, there's no charge,' he paused, 'though perhaps you'd like to go out for a meal sometime?'
Sally watched his cheeks blush with colour; his eyes now held a note of uncertainty.
'That would be lovely,' she replied.
'Great, what about tomorrow night?'
'Well I'm on earlies so barring any disaster that suits me fine,' Sally replied with a smile.
'That's sorted then,' he said before finishing the drink. 'Now, what sort of food do you like?'
'Well, I can eat anything to be honest, but I am partial to Indian food.'
'Indian it is then,' he said as he rose to his feet. 'I'll just make sure the scans have finished and then I'd better get going, but say I pick you up tomorrow around half-seven?'
'I'm looking forward to it already,' she replied honestly.
She watched as he smiled before turning and heading towards the French doors.
A few seconds later, she followed him into the house, the warm feeling inside growing, a spring in her step.
81
'But Faith said she would put some petrol in the car and then come straight back here,' Kelly said in a voice laden with apprehension.
'Well, give her chance,' Suzanne replied. 'You know what it's like, sometimes you can wait for ages at the station if there's a queue.'
'But we've tried ringing her four times and she's just not answering,' Belle piped up, the same look of concern on her face.
Suzanne looked at them both and felt her own anxieties start to build.
'I bet I know what's happened,' Belle suddenly said. 'I bet her father's blocked her credit card and she can't pay for the petrol.'
Kelly nodded rapidly in agreement. 'He said he'd make sure she never got a penny if she didn't get rid of the baby.'
'He actually said that?' Suzanne asked as she thought about what Alan had said, about how Hinton had lost the plot and refused to see reason.
'It was one of the first things he threatened her with, and he told her she'd better get back to the house immediately or she'd have no home to go to,' Kelly said, her hands twisting and turning in uneasiness.
Suzanne looked out over the garden and pictured a faceless Hinton, raging and shouting the odds, unwilling to listen to reason, and suddenly Belle's suggestion that he would put a block on her credit card didn't seem farfetched at all. He would do it to prove a point, to prove to his daughter that without him she had nothing, no safety net, no support. The thought that a parent would be willing to blackmail their child made her feel numb with disgust.
'Do either of you know where Faith lives?' she asked.
Both girls shook their head, their eyes still wide with shock and concern.
'Well, what about the petrol station she used?'
'It'll have been the one just before the motorway, all the students use it because it's a little cheaper than most of the others,' Belle replied with confidence.
'OK, you two head over there and see if you can find her.'
'But what if she's not there?' Kelly asked.
'Just go, and I'll ring your father, perhaps he can find out where Faith lives and…'
'But surely, she wouldn't head back there, not after the threats he made?'
Suzanne looked at her daughter and sighed. 'I have no idea, Kel, but perhaps she might see it as the only way forward.'
Her words only stoked the look of fear on their faces and she stepped forward and placed a hand on their shoulders. 'Look, I have no idea what Faith might do but we need to find her, now that does not mean breaking the speed limit to get there, is that clear?'
They nodded again in unison.
'Keep trying to ring her and if she answers then you contact me and let me know.'
Suddenly, both of them huddled forward and gave Suzanne a hug and then they were hurrying from the room.
She watched them go, her hand shaking slightly as she pulled out her phone.
82
'You do realise that if I wasn't so easy going then I might see this as harassment?' Robbins commented as Shaun Rourke carried the desktop tower from the room.
Lasser shrugged. 'The sooner this gets cleared up the sooner you can get back to normality.'
Robbins was sitting on the huge leather sofa, his Hush Puppies barely touching the floor. 'Well, I like to do all I can, though the truth is I'm still not sure what you are even doing here.'
'Confidential I'm afraid.'
'Fair enough,' Robbins replied with a sniff of disdain.
Opening the computer desk drawer Lasser glanced inside at the empty space and felt the frustration grow.
'You're a very tidy individual, aren't you?' he asked, turning to face the man on the sofa.
'Tidy house, tidy mind,' Robbins replied with a deadpan expression.
'I suppose when you work with numbers you have to be organised?'
'Exactly, when you're dealing with substantial amounts of money you can't afford to make mistakes, otherwise your reputation could be ruined in an instant.'
'And being locked up for arson didn't ruin your ''reputation''?' Lasser asked.
Robbins laughed lightly and shook his head. 'I will admit I did lose one
or two clients, but the bottom line is they know I can save them money, so building the business back up was not really hard.'
When Odette walked into the room, Lasser looked towards her, she shook her head slightly and he felt the sigh try to escape but managed to keep it locked away.
'Everything in order?' Robbins asked, the slight knowing smile plucking at the corners of his thin mouth.
'Until we've searched your computer and phone then I can't in all honesty answer that,' Odette replied. 'Now, if you would like to accompany us to the station then…'
'I'm afraid not,' Robbins interrupted.
This time Lasser let the sigh out as quietly as he could. 'Why not?' he asked.
'I am more than willing to make a statement here, but I don't see the point in accompanying you to the station. The fact is I have nothing to hide, you have searched the house, taken my phone and computer, I think that is enough disruption for one day,' he paused, 'unless of course you feel you have grounds to arrest me?'
Odette crossed the room until she stood in front of Robbins who looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.
'We won't be arresting you, Mr Robbins.'
'Glad to hear it.'
'At least not yet,' she snapped as she spun on her heels and left the room.
Robbins shook his head and sighed. 'Now I definitely feel as though I'm being harassed.'
Lasser glared at him and then tilted his head slightly. 'I know you consider yourself an intelligent man, always one step ahead of everyone else, you plan, don't you, you think you cover all the angles, but people like you always slip up?'
'People like me?' Robbins asked as he folded his arms.
Lasser plastered a grim smile onto his face. 'You see yourself as unique, but the truth is you're not, eventually you'll come unstuck and we'll be there to cart you away like the sorry sack of shit you are.'
Lasser saw Robbins's face twitch and a brief flash of anger flared in his eyes. 'I might start calling you 'Long-winded Lasser, it kind of fits somehow.'
'Remember, Robbins, small mistakes will be your undoing,' Lasser snarled as he walked from the room.
Bradley Robbins remained seated, arms still folded, tiny beads of sweat peppering his scowling face.
83
'Lasser's convinced that Robbins is behind all this,' Bannister said as he sat down in the chair facing Carole Henson.
'Odette feels the same way, and they could be on to something, that's why I agreed to have his computer seized and the house searched.'
Bannister's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
'I know it might seem irrational, but Frank does offer a link, albeit a tenuous one, to Robbins.'
'Pamela Fitzsimmons?' Bannister asked as he loosened his tie.
'That's right, but I also warned them both on the dangers of becoming fixated with Robbins.'
'Bradley Robbins is a slimy little sod, but let's face it, in this day and age there are loads of people like him knocking about.'
'I've been taking a look at some of the suicide sites with Roger and to be honest they are terrifying, all those people at the lowest point in their lives pouring out their grief and loss, and yet quite a lot of the replies they receive are blasé, even unsupportive about the position they find themselves in. They seem more interested in giving advice about the best way to kill themselves rather than helping them see a way out of the turmoil.'
Bannister felt the disgust rise inside. 'You'd have thought there would have been legislation to put a stop to that kind of shite.'
'Well, there is up to a point, but you know what people are like, they will always find a way to navigate around the rules and regulations?'
Bannister grunted in agreement. 'It would be an ideal place for this manipulator to find the right kind of person to control.'
'I agree, we know Foster visited such sites, but we have no proof that he was actually taking part in any of the threads.'
'Another dead end then,' Bannister grumbled.
Carole eased back slightly in her chair and threaded her hands beneath her chin. 'Exactly, although you could have phrased it better! The truth is whoever is responsible now has another follower like Foster under their control.'
'I take it Robbins has an alibi for the time Frank was attacked?'
'He was on the golf course when it happened.'
'Playing alone?' the DCI asked.
Carole nodded. 'Oh yes.'
'Which means he could have been on the phone to Foster while he was strutting around in plus fours and no bugger would have known.'
'An ideal place to be seen and yet it wouldn't interfere with any calls he was making.'
'Like I said, the man is a slimeball.'
When Bannister's phone began to chime, he dug it from his pocket, frowning when he saw Suzanne's name flashing up at him.
'It's Suzanne, am I OK, taking this?' he asked.
Carole looked surprised at the request and then she smiled and nodded. 'Of course you are.'
Tapping at the screen, Bannister lifted the phone to his ear. 'Hi, Sue, is everything OK?'
Carole watched his face change as he listened to what his wife had to say.
'Where are the girls now?' he asked.
Rising from the chair, Carole headed over to the window, the late afternoon sun was still shining down on the fields at the back of the station, in the distance she could see a bright yellow tractor driving down the lane before vanishing behind the woodland that filled the horizon.
'Right, I'll find out where Hinton lives and call in on the way home… yeah, yeah leave it with me, but give me a call if Faith turns up.'
Carole heard the phone beep and turned from the window. 'Problem?' she asked.
Bannister paused for a moment and then he started to talk, Carole looking more perplexed as the tale unfolded.
84
David Stone sat on the single bed, the pale pink walls covered with images cut from magazines and papers, some of the bands he recognised, most would forever remain a mystery to him.
He thought about Sally and felt a sliver of guilt slide into his heart.
Since Dawn had died, he had never even considered seeing anyone else, over the last couple of years he'd had to fend off his friends who had tried to fit him up on blind dates, insisting that it was time to move on with his life.
Eventually, they had got the message and backed off, and he preferred it that way and yet he had arranged to meet Sally tomorrow night for a meal. He tried to fathom why he had asked her and then the truth hit him, he had asked her out because she seemed genuinely nice. Someone he felt comfortable with, not some unknown woman he was thrown together with on an artificial date.
Stone looked at the walls, his eyes seeing nothing as he tried to come to terms that for the first time in the two years he actually felt attracted to a member of the opposite sex.
More guilt eked its way into his heart and yet he knew that Dawn would have been happy for him, in fact she had even talked about it when she had been ill.
He could remember the shock as she told him that she wanted him to move on after her death and meet someone new.
'Why are you saying this now?' he had asked, his voice faltering with panic.
They had been sitting in the garden, a warm summer's day, the view stretching out over fields of golden wheat, a day that should have been cherished, yet all he could recall was how ill she had looked, the cancer slowly sapping her life force as the sun shone down on them both and the butterflies skittered by in the summer haze.
'You're only young, Dave, you deserve happiness, and I don't want you to live a lonely life.'
'Please, Dawn, we can't be talking about this now.'
'Why not?' she had asked as she raised an eyebrow.
'Because it's you I love, and I don't want anyone else.'
She had smiled before taking his hand, despite the warmth of the day her skin had felt cold, another indication that she was slowly losing the battle that raged inside her.
'I look at this time we have left as a blessing.'
He could remember the despair flooding through his mind as he realised she had come to terms with what was going to happen to her, yet he had still been clinging on to a hope that she was going to somehow get better, the miracle would happen and she would escape the death sentence that her body had imposed on her.
'I've tried hard, Dave, but the truth is I've had enough of it all, we have to face the truth, but I need to know that when I'm gone, you'll eventually find someone else to share your life with.'
'Please don't, sweetheart, I…'
'Just promise me that in time you'll consider it?'
He had looked into her eyes and seen the pain there – both physical and mental – and he had found himself nodding.
'OK, I promise,' he'd lied.
She had smiled then and some of the tension had left her face.
Three weeks later she had passed away, he had been at her bedside and felt the finality slam into him leaving him like an empty shell, a husk with nothing left inside.
Closing his eyes, he heard the sound of crying, the memory of that terrible day imprinted on his brain forever, and the aftermath as he withdrew from the world and all the time the sound of crying had grown more urgent, more desperate.
Lowering his head, he started to sob, his shoulders shaking as he realised how he had failed in every way.
'I'm sorry, Jilly,' he whispered as the memory of the cries of anguish continued to ripple through his mind.
On the walls, the nameless faces stared at him, oblivious to his anguish.
85
Lasser leaned against the bar, Odette by his side, the barman glanced at her and smiled as if he liked what he saw.
'So, Bradley Robbins was definitely in here last night?' she asked.
Samuel nodded. 'Oh yes, he was in the bar for about an hour or so.'
'Do you know what time he left?' Lasser asked.
The barman glanced at the clock on the wall. 'Around nine o'clock.'
'Did you see him talking to anyone else while he was here?'
'To be honest no, it was quiet last night, in fact I thought Mr Robbins had left but when I went to move his drink from the table he appeared from the gents.'
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