No Going Back by Casey Kelleher (bill gates books recommendations TXT) 📕

‘No. Not a kidnapping,’ Zack confirmed with a rueful shake of his head. ‘Kidnappers’ motives are usually money or power. This appears like something else altogether. We believe that the assailant had intended to steal the woman’s child. To cut the baby from her womb. We think that his first attempt, last week, went terribly wrong. And that he tried to commit a second foetal abduction last night; only this time his victim fought back.’

Lucy could hear her colleagues all around her discussing their thoughts on the heinous crime, but all she could do was focus on herself.

‘What sort of a sick fuck goes around cutting babies from women’s stomachs?’

Holder’s voice. His words penetrating her brain. She felt her chest constrict. Her heart was beating wildly now, and she could feel beads of sweat forming on the back of her neck and panic rising up inside of her. Heat rocketed upwards from her feet.

One pregnant woman and her baby murdered, and another woman attacked. This time at the Griffin Estate. The same estate that Lucy grew up on. The same estate where her mother had been murdered so brutally over twenty years ago. She’d been pregnant too. Breathe.

When DS Morgan had first told her about the case, when he’d asked her if she wanted him to take her off the investigation, she’d thought she could cope. That she could deal with the investigation professionally and not let her emotions get the better of her. Only this new information changed everything. This wasn’t just a one off. They were looking for a depraved murderer who hunted pregnant women down while they were alone at night and butchered them. This wasn’t going to be a shut and close case. Still, Lucy was adamant that she wanted to work on the case with her team. Not just for the first victim’s sake, so that she could help bring this depraved killer to justice, but for her own sake too. She wanted to finally lay her demons to rest. To deal with this head-on once and for all.

‘I mean, I’ve heard of it. Womb raiding, they call it in the States. But I’ve never known of it happening over here.’

Lucy could hear Holder still talking. She could hear Zack’s voice too, but their voices were faint, faded out, as an incessant, high-pitched ringing filled her ears, drowning out the rest of the noise in the room. She felt as if the room was slowly closing in on her.

‘There could be a number of reasons behind the attacks,’ Zack intervened, sensing the tension in the room now. How hard it was for these good, decent officers to get their head around what they were dealing with. ‘But you’re right. It’s a very rare crime and, because of that, there’s no real study for us to compare the motives and methods behind these attacks or last night’s attack. Foetal abduction is not exclusively linked to mental illness, but we mustn’t completely rule it out.’

‘Yeah, I mean you’d have to be completely gone in the head to even think about attempting something so messed up,’ Holder voiced loudly before Zach could continue.

‘Predominately, yes. There have been a small number of these types of attacks carried out in America. Mainly by women, I will add. But our attacker is a male. We know this because the second victim managed to get a good look at him.’ Zack exchanged a look with DS Morgan to confirm this fact.

‘Yes. Thankfully, Shelby Cooke managed to get a good look at the attacker and is willing to give a description to our Facial Imaging Officer, once she’s able to. Hopefully, we will have something more to go on then. But we need to move fast with this.’

Zack Lownrey nodded in agreement. ‘It’s a race against the clock. The attacker is an extremely dangerous and volatile man. He’s attempted this attack twice now, and he isn’t deterred by the fact that these women and their babies may lose their lives in the process. So, it’s safe to assume that he’ll try it again. And more than likely, soon.’

Lucy felt the room spin around her and closed her eyes to try and shut out the images that were flooding her mind now. Her mother’s body, wrapped in a white dressing gown, sprawled out on her bed. A pool of blood all around her. So much blood. Her vision blurred; tiny white spots fluttered in the air around her as darkness closed in.

‘Lucy, are you okay?’

Holder. She tried to find her voice and speak. To tell him, that no, she wasn’t all right. She needed to sit down. She needed air. Only her throat felt as if it was closing up and she couldn’t find her words. Reaching for a chair that sat just a few centimetres from where she stood, she felt her legs give way beneath her. Falling, she expected to hit the floor, instead she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves tightly around her. With no other choice than to give in to the darkness. She was gone.

12

Opening her eyes, Lucy flinched as the three male faces stared down at her. She was lying on the floor and a jumper had been placed underneath her head. Sitting up, her face flushed with embarrassment as she realised that her entire team had stopped what they were doing and were looking at her.

‘Sleeping on the job, huh!’ Holder said, staring down at Lucy as she opened her eyes. ‘I mean, I get it, we’re all knackered.’

Holder grinned, hoping to make Lucy smile and make light of the fact that she’d just fainted in front of their entire team.

‘Okay, everyone. Take five. Grab a coffee. We’ll resume the brief in a minute,’ DS Morgan said, sensing Lucy’s discomfort and dismissing his team.

‘Are you okay, Lucy?’ DS Morgan said, the concern in his voice evident for them all to hear.

Lucy nodded, still dazed.

‘You fainted,’ Zack said, seeing how disorientated Lucy