The Attic Room: A psychological thriller - Huber Linda - Страница 46
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The mobile Sam had lent Nina trilled out its sea shanty ring tone when they were on the way back to Bedford, and she scrabbled in her pocket for it, her heart pounding. Was this - ?
David Mallony’s voice was grim in her ear. ‘No news yet, though we’ve ruled out a few places,’ he said tersely. ‘But there’s information coming in about the Wright family. I won’t tell you on the phone but - ’
‘We’ll be with you in – ten minutes,’ said Nina, glancing out. And how horrible it was that she’d driven up and down this road so many times now that she knew within a couple of minutes when they would arrive anywhere. Her summer should have been on Arran, with Naomi pony-trekking and running wild along the beach. Not this.
Nina’s breath was catching in her throat as they hurried into the police station. Information that couldn’t be passed on over the phone wasn’t going to be good news. And it wasn’t.
‘Paul’s girlfriend doesn’t seem to exist,’ said David Mallony. ‘That was presumably a ploy to make you feel safe in his company. Okay, George Wright is currently in Thailand. Colleagues there are out looking for him but as he’s apparently been there for weeks there’s little doubt he’s unconnected with what’s been happening here. When they find him we’ll have him questioned about the abuse Paul’s accusing him and John Moore of. But we can be fairly sure that Paul himself is our blackmailer this time round. And I’m afraid that’s the good news.’
‘Shit,’ said Nina. What was coming now? Not the worst news, because Naomi was still missing – could there be any other bad news?
‘There are paedophilic images on Paul Wright’s computer too,’ said David, his eyes holding hers. ‘Seven in all. Three of them are the worst grade. Now it could be that Paul was doing what he said, researching the abuse dished out to him. Many victims do that, so at the moment we have to keep an open mind about what it means.’
Nina gripped the arms of the chair she was sitting in. Was Paul a paedophile too? And – worst grade? What did that mean? She tried to speak but failed, dear God, all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and howl. No. That was wrong. All she wanted was five minutes with her so-called cousin. What wouldn’t she be capable of doing to the man who had taken and quite possibly harmed her daughter. The thought of what might have happened to Naomi – of what might be happening right this minute – crashed into Nina’s brain and she choked, fighting for control.
David fetched her a glass of water. ‘Try to stay calm. He told you he was ‘researching’. At the moment there’s no reason to think he’d be abusive in that way himself. His former employers have given him a good character, too. He lost his job through no fault of his own. Don’t imagine the worst before we know more.’
Nina sat back, feeling the numbness take over again. She passed on what Emily told them about Paul, then buried her face in her hands. If Paul intended to use Naomi as bait for the men he was still looking for, God knows what he would do. Maybe that had been his intention all along, ever since he’d seen what a beautiful daughter she had. Naomi could be anywhere if that was the case.
‘And you’re quite sure she’s in this country?’ Sam asked the question for her.
To Nina’s relief David Mallony was positive about this. ‘Yes, the ports and airports were alerted as soon as we knew Wright had her. She’s in the country, and the odds are he hasn’t taken her too far away. The appeal’s being broadcast regularly, Nina, and people are keen to help in a situation like this. It’s quite probable we’ll get reported sightings of Naomi all over the place. We’ll check them all out, but the likelihood that they are Naomi is small. So don’t get your hopes up with every sighting, that would drain you.’
Nina swallowed. How was she supposed to not get her hopes up? The hope was almost killing her every single second, because it was all she had left to hold on to.
‘Where do we go from here? Should we print posters and things?’ Her voice sounded almost normal – how the shit was she managing to sound normal?
‘We’ll hold off with that for the moment. We’re still investigating Paul’s flat and his computer, and we’re finding all kinds of places to check. I’m hopeful we’ll find Naomi in one of them. That’s all I can tell you at the moment. And Nina – I don’t know if this helps, but – ’
Nina gazed at him.
‘Very few paedophiles are attracted to both girls and boys. So Paul’s abusers probably had no interest in abusing you, back then.’
Nina nodded silently. So she’d been right about that. Did it make Naomi any safer today? Unfortunately not. Paul was on a mission now to get revenge not only on his own abusers, but on paedophiles in general. Many might say it was a worthy mission. But it had put Naomi in terrible danger.
‘What do you want to do now?’ said Sam, back in the car.
Nina rummaged for a tissue. ‘This is doing my head in, Sam. I feel numb one minute and terrified the next. Let’s go back to the estate where Paul and I changed cars. Maybe if I walk about a bit this time I’ll find where he parked.’
Sam drove to the top of the High Street and turned left over the bridge. Nina pulled out the mobile he’d lent her. Several people had sent messages of support, but of course the one name she wanted to see on the screen wasn’t there. Oh God, if only she could press a couple of buttons and have Naomi’s voice in her ear. She wrenched her gaze from the mobile out to the street they were driving along. Sam stopped at a zebra crossing and a little family of four passed in front of the car, and Nina stared bleakly. This could be her and Sam, in another time and place. A white, blonde mother and a dark-skinned, handsome father, swinging a cute and laughing little boy between them, an older girl skipping along at their side. She squinted up at Sam. His mouth was tight, and she could feel the band of tension round her own head. If anything happened to Naomi she would go away from this place and she’d never see Sam or Emily again and she’d never want to, either.
They came to the estate where the car-change had taken place and Sam pulled up in front of a solitary shop, a newsagent’s, where a wire guard criss-crossed in front of the window. Nina hunched into her jacket, cold in spite of the warmth of the day.
‘Let’s walk about a bit,’ she said, and Sam nodded. They headed downhill, and Nina stared round in resignation. There were so many streets, most of them mirror images of the last one; they couldn’t possibly walk through them all. This was hopeless. It was the only thing she could do to help Naomi and it was hopeless.
‘I didn’t see any shops, and the street wasn’t as wide as this one,’ she said, stopping at a crossroads and looking right and left. They continued down to the next junction, where the intersecting street was narrower. Nina peered to the left and shrugged. This wasn’t anything like as poor a district as the one where she’d been held captive, but there was no great affluence here, either. She turned a full circle, looking as hard as she could for something, anything that could give her that one vital clue to lead them to Naomi. There was nothing.
‘Hell, Sam, this is no use. I wasn’t looking at the scenery; I was concentrating on Paul and how scary it all was.’
He frowned. ‘Did you notice any people about?’
Nina pictured the scene, her eyes closed. ‘I heard kids shouting in the distance when we were walking to the other car. Smaller kids than Naomi. But that’s all. There was no one nearby who’d have seen us.’
‘Little kids. I wonder if there’s a swing park or something nearby,’ said Sam, and called out to a passing teenager.
‘Hey, man! Any swings around here?’
The youth shook a finger at him. ‘You’re way too old for swings, Grandpa!’ he said, his face one big grin. ‘You try ‘em out right along there and see!’ He pointed down the side road.
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