Deadly Lies by Ann Girdharry (read me a book .TXT) 📕

swung out his signature right hook. There was a satisfying crunch as it clipped the intruder on the side of the head. Ronnie followed up with his left hand and felt his fist impact the man’s belly. Air gushed out and the man doubled over.

‘You bastard!’ Ronnie screamed.

And that’s when Ronnie felt a pain so intense he was paralysed. It shot across Ronnie’s chest and down his left arm. Trying to draw back for another strike, instead Ronnie’s limbs were powerless and the intruder slipped from his fingers. Ronnie landed on his knees and the man kicked him in the stomach.

As the pain tightened across his chest, Ronnie watched through a mist of red. Joan was at the vehicle, trying to drag Emily out. Then his wife screamed. Ronnie was on the ground and he did his best to crawl back to help. Move – he commanded himself, but the pain in his chest was too intense. All he could do was clutch at his own body and struggle to draw breath.

The back tyres spun, scattering stones in his direction. There came the roar of the engine as the car, and his grandchildren, disappeared out the driveway. Ronnie landed on his face in the gravel.

2

Detective Chief Inspector David Grant didn’t usually respond to Superintendent Fox within seconds. In fact, he made it his business to wait a good few moments before answering her calls simply on the principle DCS Fox wanted everything done yesterday. Then again, Superintendent Angela Fox’s calls rarely came at three o’clock in the morning. The two of them had a prickly professional relationship though they never let it get in the way of the real work.

‘It’s a child abduction, David,’ was the first thing Fox said.

Hot sparks like electricity skittered across Grant’s back. It snapped him awake. A child abduction. The case most senior officers dreaded because the stakes were so high. Grant excelled at tough cases and this one sounded like one of the toughest.

‘I want you to handle it. I need my best on this one and it’s going to take at least three hours for me to get back from this damn conference I was dragged to,’ Fox said. ‘And in those three hours… well, you know…’

Yes he did – anything and everything could happen. With an abduction, the minutes after the event were vital. It would be up to him to allocate resources properly. He must prioritise actions on the go. He would have to be razor sharp and pinpoint the perpetrator’s weaknesses because the likelihood of finding victims declined rapidly, starting from the time of a kidnap.

Grant grabbed his clothes.

‘I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t mess it up,’ Fox snapped.

One minute she was hinting he was one of her best and the next Fox was biting his head off, it was typical of the Detective Chief Superintendent. Grant rolled his eyes.

He didn’t waste a second. When his wife stirred, he shushed her. Grant had been a top detective for over twenty years and his wife was a true copper’s wife. Likely she’d be back asleep within minutes.

Speeding across town the roads were deserted and Grant jumped the lights. Street lamps picked out dark houses and damp, deserted streets. Three o’clock in the morning was the graveyard hour – when drunks had gone home.

Fifteen minutes later, DCI David Grant arrived at a suburban street in the expensive end of town. Here, the houses were set back from the road, with front entrances big enough for several cars. He noted how most properties had burglar alarms and security features.

Slowing the car, Grant approached a uniformed officer. Crime scene tape blocked the entrance to the driveway and the police patrolman directed Grant into a next-door neighbour’s entrance.

‘The crime scene is next door, sir,’ the officer said. ‘Two children have been taken from the house. We’ve cordoned off the whole of the front. If you’d like to speak to the children’s grandmother, Joan Hardman, she’s waiting in the squad car. This is the grandparents’ place and she was here at the time of the abduction. Her husband collapsed and he’s been taken to hospital.’

It was a crisp update and better than most Grant got. ‘Good work, officer.’

‘One other thing, sir – the man who was taken to hospital, Ronnie Hardman – the paramedics said his condition was serious. They suspect a heart attack. His wife didn’t want to go with him until she’s spoken to whoever is in charge.’

‘I’ll get to her as soon as I can.’

A group of Scene of Crime Officers, which everyone called SOCOs, were getting suited up in the back of their van. Grant jogged over to them. ‘What do you know so far? Can you give me a rundown?’

The Crime Scene Manager stepped forward. ‘I don’t know much yet,’ she said. ‘Patrol did a good job keeping the drive contamination-free. It seems there were two grandchildren in the house and they were taken in a vehicle. There was a tussle outside the property between the abductor and the grandfather. We’re just about to go in.’

‘Keep me updated.’

From across the road, two of Grant’s detective sergeants, Diane Collins and Tom Delaney, arrived at a run. The Crime Scene Manager gave DS Tom Delaney the once over. It was the reaction of most women when they came across Tom’s dark good looks and rugby-player physique. DS Delaney, on the other hand, gave the forensics manager a courteous nod. He had been dragged out of bed by Grant and yet he looked as fresh as if it was eight o’clock in the morning. Ah, the advantages of youth, Grant thought. But his fifty-seven years gave him one thing Delaney did not yet have – decades of experience on the job.

‘Sir,’ Diane said. ‘We got here as soon as we could.’

DS Diane Collins had three teenage sons. An experienced member of Grant’s team, Diane had worked with him for over ten years. Her blonde hair was shoulder-length and neatly cut,