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  Ruby had sobbed while he was doing it, but Lila George had glared at him with fury, pulling away from him as he yanked the duct tape around her head.

  He needed money for the girls, so he couldn’t do much more than give them a couple of slaps. He didn’t want damaged goods on his hands.

  Benny, on the other hand, was just a nuisance, and Marlo didn’t have to put up with him any longer.

  He turned around to look at Benny, who hadn’t moved from his spot on the floor.

  He leaned down, put his head very close to Benny’s and said, “Get up, you stupid lump of lard.”

  Benny grimaced and started to cry, and Marlo’s lip curled back in disgust.

  He had to get rid of him and fast. He had a plan but he was on borrowed time. He needed to have it done and dusted before Rob returned.

  Chapter 32

  The Watsons’ family liaison officer, Kelly Johnson, stifled a sigh.

  Peter Watson had been berating his wife for the last ten minutes. As a family liaison officer, she trod a fine line. She needed to be supportive, providing the family with information and keeping the channels of communication open between the police and the family.

  She was an experienced officer and had worked on many harrowing cases, but the very worst thing, in her opinion, was seeing a family turn on each other and rip each other to bits, especially when they needed the support of their loved ones to get through the tough times ahead.

  Both Peter and Claire Watson were in the kitchen, and Kelly sat on a sofa in the living area. She was facing the large windows, pretending to look out at the London cityscape. Listening in to an argument between husband and wife felt like the worst kind of prying, and she tried to give them some space, but at the same time, she needed to listen in case any relevant information came to light.

  “I can’t believe you thought it was a good idea to go alone,” Peter Watson said for the tenth time.

  He leaned heavily on the marble kitchen counter, glaring at the kitchen sink, as though he couldn’t force himself to turn around and face his wife.

  Claire Watson stood in the middle of the kitchen and let his angry words wash over her before replying.

  “I told you. I went alone because that’s what the text message instructed. I couldn’t risk –”

  “She is my daughter, too. Don’t you think I should get a say in it.” Peter Watson slammed his fist on the counter. “What if you’d messed it up, and they’d killed Ruby and you because of your recklessness?”

  Kelly stood up and walked over to the open-plan kitchen. The argument was turning nasty and things were going to be said that couldn’t be unsaid.

  “I think the best thing we can do now is move on and focus on what’s going to happen next,” she said. “Claire made a mistake, but an understandable one, and she needs your support, Peter.”

  Peter Watson turned his icy-cold eyes on Kelly. “I don’t remember asking for your opinion.”

  But Kelly stood her ground. She wasn’t easily intimidated. You needed to be calm and confident as a FLO, even when people where hurling insults left, right and centre.

  She maintained eye contact with Peter until he looked away, shamefaced.

  “I know feelings are running high, but recriminations won’t help at this stage.”

  Peter Watson whirled around and jabbed a finger in his wife’s direction. “She still should have told me about the message.”

  Claire Watson’s quiet demeanour suddenly snapped. “Oh, will you shut up? I’m sick to the back teeth of you. What would you have done in my position?”

  Her voice was high-pitched and verging on hysteria.

  At that moment, the Watsons’ son walked out from his bedroom and wandered into the open plan kitchen, looking at his parents with interest.

  “I think it’s best if we all take a break for five minutes to cool off,” Kelly said, trying to diffuse the situation.

  Curtis shrugged and picked up an apple from the fruit bowl. “Oh, don’t stop on my account. I’m used to it.” He bit into the apple and then walked through the kitchen, ignoring his parents, and headed towards the front door. “I’m going out.”

  “Wait,” Kelly said hurriedly. She didn’t have the power to make the boy stay here, but surely even he could see it wasn’t a good idea to leave the apartment in the current situation.

  Kelly began to walk towards him, planning what she would say to convince him to stay, but before she got to him, Claire Watson was at Curtis’ side.

  She grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. “Please, Curtis, don’t go. I can’t… Please…”

  She gripped the material of his sweatshirt so tightly her knuckles turned white.

  Curtis paused for a moment and stared at his mother. After a brief hesitation, he shrugged.

  “Okay. I’ll stay.”

  Claire released him and then covered her face with her hands, gulping down large breaths of air.

  Peter watched all this without saying a word and then strode from the kitchen to take up his spot by the floor-to-ceiling windows and resume his pacing.

  Chapter 33

  Mackinnon arrived at Drake House to touch base with the Watsons. He’d travelled on foot and reached the front of the building, intending to use the street-level entrance, but before he got there, he saw the familiar figure of Claire Watson standing outside and talking to someone.

  There was a plain-clothed detective across the street, and Mackinnon wondered whether he had a better view of the woman talking to Claire Watson.

  Mackinnon’s pace slowed as he studied the two women. He couldn’t see her face as she had her back to him, but she had brown hair and a thick-set figure. She wore a pair of loose-fitting trousers and a startlingly white pair of trainers.

  That and her straggly hair with a half-grown out perm, which didn’t look as though it had seen the inside of a salon for quite some time, told Mackinnon she probably wasn’t a resident of Drake House.

  As he drew nearer to the two women, Claire Watson suddenly looked up. When she saw Mackinnon, her face tightened, and she whispered something to the other woman who quickly darted away without looking back.

  “Who was that?” Mackinnon asked as he reached Claire Watson and nodded at the woman who was now crossing the road.

  Claire Watson shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  She was lying. But Mackinnon didn’t know why.

  “You were talking to her.”

  “So? I just said good evening. It’s hardly important in the grand scheme of things,” Claire Watson snapped. “And I could do without the third degree, thank you.”

  Mackinnon turned to see the retreating figure take a left off Moor Lane and disappear from view.

  He turned back to Claire Watson, but she’d already started to walk back inside Drake House, heading towards the penthouse lift.

  He didn’t know why, but he knew for sure that Claire Watson was hiding something.

  Mackinnon travelled up with Claire Watson in uncomfortable silence. She clearly had something else on her mind.

  When they entered the Watsons’ apartment, Kelly walked over to say hello.

  Mackinnon gave them a brief update, trying to reassure the Watsons that they were making progress. When he’d answered their questions, Claire Watson informed them all she was going to have a lie down.

  “Leave your phone out here,” Peter Watson snapped, glaring at his wife.

  Claire Watson hesitated. She pulled the phone out of the pocket of her beige chinos and looked at it, as though she were very reluctant to let it out of her sight.

  But finally, she took a deep breath and set it down on the coffee table before walking off to the bedroom.

  A phone rang from somewhere else in the apartment and Peter Watson sighed. “That’s the phone in the study. I’ll have to take it. I won’t be long.”

  Now alone in the open-plan living area, Kelly turned to Mackinnon and asked, “Do you want a coffee?”

  Mackinnon sho
ok his head as they walked towards the kitchen. “No, thanks. I had one not long ago. How is everything going here?”

  Kelly shrugged as she switched the kettle on.

  “It’s not been easy. He is very angry, and she is remorseful on the surface but… underneath, I’m pretty sure she would do the same thing again given half the chance.”

  Mackinnon nodded. He agreed with Kelly’s analysis. “Have you got kids?”

  Kelly nodded. “Yes, a girl, Stephanie. She’s ten next month. I have to say I think any mother would have done the same thing in Claire Watson’s shoes.” Kelly sighed and reached for a mug. “It’s an impossible situation. Are you sure you don’t want a drink?”

  Mackinnon nodded. “I’m fine. I saw Claire Watson talking to someone downstairs, an older woman. Has anyone visited the apartment?”

  Kelly frowned and shook her head. “No, the only people who have been in the apartment are family or police. They’ve been keeping the news quiet, so we haven’t had anyone outside of Peter, Claire and Curtis here.”

  Mackinnon nodded, and in a low voice, he said, “She was definitely talking to someone and was quite defensive when I asked about it. I’m not sure it has any bearing on the case, but keep an eye out for Claire communicating with anyone other than us, her husband and her son.”

  Kelly nodded as she spooned instant coffee into her mug. “Will do,” she said. “How is Glenn doing?”

  Kelly knew how hard it was to be a family liaison officer, and she knew Glenn was relatively new at the job. She understood how personally he would have taken the fact that Janice George had run out of the apartment on his watch. The same thing happened to Kelly, but she was experienced enough to know that there was no point blaming herself.

  “He is okay,” Mackinnon said, “but he’s being a bit hard on himself.”

  As the kettle came to a boil, Kelly reached for it and poured steaming hot water into her mug. “I thought DI Tyler was going to blow a gasket when it happened.”

  “I think he came close, but he’s a good detective. He is doing his best.”

  Kelly picked up her mug and nodded. “That’s all we can do.”

  Both Mackinnon and Kelly turned when they heard a noise behind them.

  Curtis had walked out of his bedroom.

  “Oh, it’s you,” he said as he looked up at Mackinnon. “Do you have any idea who took my sister yet?”

  He lifted the apple he was holding to his mouth and took a final bite before throwing the core into the bin.

  Mackinnon said, “We’re still working on it.”

  “Is it true what they say that it’s usually someone you know who committed the crime?”

  “It depends on the crime,” Mackinnon said.

  Curtis nodded thoughtfully and then he said, “You should talk to Ruby’s friend, Kirsty. She is out of the country at the moment, but you should be able to get her on a video call.”

  “We’ve tried but haven’t been able to get in touch with her yet.”

  Curtis nodded. “Have you spoken to Mr Addlestone?”

  Mackinnon frowned. “Who’s that?”

  “He is Ruby’s English lit teacher and a bit of a letch, apparently.”

  “We’ll talk to him. Thanks, Curtis.”

  Curtis shrugged. “That’s all right. I’ll tell you if I think of anything else.”

  “At first, I thought you weren’t too worried about your sister’s disappearance.”

  Curtis smirked. “I hoped she’d come back on her own. We’re not the closest of families, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care. You know I’m adopted, don’t you?”

  Mackinnon nodded. “Yes, your parents told us both you and Ruby were adopted.”

  “Well, it’s not easy being as intelligent as I am. I suppose my parents told you I was a child prodigy, didn’t they?”

  Mackinnon exchanged a brief look with Kelly. The Watsons hadn’t mentioned that, no doubt because they were a little too preoccupied with Ruby’s disappearance to sing their son’s praises.

  Curtis didn’t pick up on Mackinnon’s reaction.

  He continued, “I don’t feel very connected to them, my parents, I mean. I don’t find them…interesting.”

  Kelly’s eyes widened. “Interesting?”

  Curtis sneered. “Yes. They are just predictable.”

  Curtis turned around and walked back to his bedroom, signifying that the conversation was over.

  Mackinnon turned to Kelly after Curtis was out of hearing range. “What do you make of him?”

  Kelly stared at Curtis’s closed bedroom door. “I don’t know. He’s definitely odd, but it could be an act, a type of self defence, but if it is, he keeps it up all the time.”

  Mackinnon nodded. “Right, I’d better go and get the teacher Curtis mentioned checked out.”

  “Do you think it’s a good lead?”

  Mackinnon shrugged. “I hope so. We really need one.”

  Chapter 34

  “Now, Benny, you’ve been a very naughty boy. What do we do with naughty boys?”

  Benny was silent.

  Marlo kicked him with the edge of his shoe. “Answer me!”

  “I don’t know,” Benny whispered.

  “They have to be punished,” Marlo said.

  Benny bit his lip and took a step backwards. “How?”

  “I haven’t decided yet.” He held up his hand and crooked his finger. “Follow me, Benny. We’re going for a little walk.”

  He lifted the broken door, leaning it against the wall. The lock and one of the door panels were shattered, so it wasn’t as though he could fix it and hide what had happened from Rob, but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.

  Marlo left the girls locked in the other bedroom, and he and Benny stepped outside into the balmy evening. There was a rumble of thunder in the distance.

  Benny followed Marlo up the steps to the pavement. “Where are we going?”

  “We are going to the allotments. It’s a lovely evening for it.”

  Benny looked up at the sky, narrowed his eyes at the dark clouds and shook his head. “You’re not supposed to go to the allotments after dark. I know because my mum used to have an allotment. You can’t grow bananas. It’s not warm enough here, but my mum grew tomatoes. We had to give it up after she died because Rob’s not got time. He’s too busy.”

  Marlo nodded and pretended to listen to Benny warbling on as they walked towards the bus stop.

  Benny was happy enough once they got on the D7 bus. Once they were outside the basement flat, Benny appeared to relax in Marlo’s company. It seemed as though he put all the bad experiences of the flat behind him and felt he was safe now he was out in the real world.

  Benny was about to get a rude awakening.

  They reached the allotments, which were fenced off and locked. They’d had trouble with kids hanging around and breaking into sheds, so they’d taken to locking up at eight p.m.

  Marlo didn’t let that bother him. It was only a normal padlock, and with practised ease, he picked the lock.

  Benny watched him with wide eyes. “You shouldn’t do that,” he said. “You’ll get in trouble.”

  Marlo didn’t bother to reply. He walked along the small pathway between the rows of runner beans, heading for a shed right at the back of the allotments.

  He’d spent a few nights here a couple of months ago, trying to lay low, so he knew exactly where he was going.

  “Hurry up,” Marlo said, and stepped off the path, skirting around a vegetable patch.

  He waited for Benny to follow him and then knelt down at the back of the shed.

  It was already getting dark so Marlo used his hands to feel along the wood panels at the back of the shed. When one of them gave way, he smiled. It still hadn’t been fixed. Good.

  He pushed two of the panels to one side and then looked back at Benny, scowled at the size of him and removed two more panels.

  He took a quick look round but nobody else was there. There was a g
entle hum of traffic from the main road behind the allotments, but otherwise it was quiet.

  He jerked his thumb, indicating that Benny should go inside the shed.

  Benny’s eyes widened, and he shook his head.

  “It’s dark in there. I don’t like the dark.”

  “I don’t care what you like. Get in there now before I lose my temper.”

  Benny slowly ducked his head in the dark hole and squeezed his huge body inside.

  He took his time about it, and Marlo kicked his backside with the tip of his shoe. When Benny was finally through the gap, Marlo followed him inside. It was dark and smelled of earth and potting compost.

  Benny stood and whimpered in the corner as Marlo scrabbled about under the bench to find the candles he had stashed there.

  He had chosen this shed in particular because it was clear the owner didn’t visit very often. The people who ran places like this were very particular on standards and expected everybody to pull their weight. All allotments had to be kept clean and tidy, and that included weeding the flower beds and vegetable patches. But the bloke who owned this shed had been in hospital for a while, and even the allotment manager wasn’t cruel enough to take it away from him while he was ill.

  “Right, Benny, sit in that chair and look straight ahead,” Marlo said as he lit a candle and stuck it on the bench.

  Benny ignored his instructions, and the light from the candle flickered across his large face, giving him an eerie appearance.

  “I said sit down,” Marlo growled.

  Benny let out another pathetic whimper but did as he was told and sat down in the chair.

  Marlo moved behind him and reached for the cable ties.

  As he began to fasten him to the chair, Benny spoke up. “No, I don’t like it. I want Rob.”

  “We are just playing a little game, Benny.”

  Marlo worked quickly to fasten his wrists. He had to tie him up because the big bastard was strong. He couldn’t take the risk of Benny fighting back, but despite Marlo’s concerns, Benny only struggled half-heartedly.