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

to stash his stock in case he got frisked? In a daze, she went to the bus station and queued to buy her ticket to London.

‘The next bus leaves at three thirty,’ the man at the ticket counter told her.

‘And the one after that?’

‘Five thirty.’

She should get the three thirty and get the hell out of there. Sitting in Brighton waiting for her to return, he would already have realised she’d deviated from his plan. If she took the bus leaving in half an hour he’d never catch her. The problem was if she travelled without a supply would she be able to hold out? Would she be able to get some in London?

‘Which one would you like, miss?’

‘The three thirty please.’

‘A return?’

‘No, definitely a single.’

With half an hour to kill, she decided to get something quick to eat. At a kiosk, she paid for a sandwich and spotted Joey down the street speaking to a man with a scar down the side of his face. A jolt of fear shot up her back. She tried to slink out of sight just as the man with the scarred face looked down the street and spotted her.

Of course, she should have realised. He’d sent his friends to find her. It had been a mistake to speak to Joey.

Dropping the sandwich, Maria ran.

34

Maria had been born in Himlands Heath. She’d gone to school there, spent her teenage years hanging around the streets and whenever her mother took in a worthless boyfriend, Maria got used to spending the night in the shelter of doorways or under the bridge. It was better than hearing her mother at it, or finding a naked stranger in the kitchen often throwing lecherous glances in her direction.

Maria knew paths dog walkers took and the cycle tracks and the cut-throughs, which was how she got away from the man with the scar. Shit. He’d sent instructions up from Brighton and ordered his spies to find her. How stupid she’d been.

As she was hiding at the back of the supermarket, she spotted the second of his spies searching for her. This one was a lanky young man with a long stride and dirty matted hair hanging halfway down his back. He looked like a rough sleeper and the type to know the alleyways of Himlands Heath as well as Maria did. She tried to slink out of sight but he saw her.

She sprinted through a maze of streets trying to shake him off until she came out at her old primary school. She had lost Lanky, she was sure of it. The school was deserted and, scaling the wall, she dropped down into the playground. Daylight was fading and she crept along in the shelter of the wall until she came to a niche. Maria hunkered down. She would have to hide until dark and then go across country. She would hitch-hike down to the coast and get a train to London from there.

Her skin was itching like hell from needing a fix and she knew it would get worse. If her muscles started cramping and she needed to run, what would she do? Don’t think about it, she told herself. Lanky didn’t follow you so you should be safe. Just wait a little longer and then work your way to the main road and get a ride.

On the far side of the playground, the iron grille of the gate gave her a view onto the street. The occasional car passed and a few pedestrians. It wasn’t until cold from the ground started to seep up her legs that she realised withdrawal had her in its grip. The lack of coke started messing with her mind.

In the gloom, shadows jumped out at her. Someone was calling her name. She screwed herself as small as she could, hugging her body to stop the shivers. It’s not real. It’s made up. Then she made out a shape by the gate – a tall form with dreadlocks.

The withdrawal symptoms brought a terrible fatigue. Her body’s cravings sucked the energy from her and muddled her thoughts. Was it real? Should she run? Could she bargain with Lanky? If she offered him money would he let her go?

‘I can see you,’ he said.

Maria eased out from the recess. She had to run. Her muscles were so weak she couldn’t get up and instead she crawled.

‘You can’t hide from me. He’s coming for you.’

Oh God. ‘I’ve got money. If you let me go I can pay you.’

Lanky was peering through the bars of the gate. ‘Sorry I can’t do that. You know what he’s like.’

A car’s headlights shone outside. She heard the engine cut out and then Lanky turned and spoke to someone. Using the wall, Maria pulled herself up. She wept with fear and she tried again to run but couldn’t.

‘Hello Maria.’

Her left leg went into spasm and she fell.

‘You shouldn’t have left me,’ he called out.

Maria tried to drag herself away. A trickle of urine ran down her leg as they climbed over the gate and walked towards her.

‘I’m s-s-sorry. I got scared.’

Kneeling beside her he stroked her hair. ‘I know, babe. Don’t worry, I’m going to make it right.’

He snapped his fingers and Lanky picked her up and carried her to the car.

35

When Alice was finally sent details of the handover, Tom’s adrenalin spiked. The abductor had given them very little time to prepare. Worse, the location was outside their area, in the middle of the countryside at a South Downs beauty spot, a few miles north of Brighton.

Tom hurried to the team briefing. Grant had put in an emergency request and the team were to be joined via online link-up by two officers from Brighton.

By the time Tom got there, a uniformed chief inspector and a younger woman, presumably a detective, were present on screen. It looked as if everyone had been waiting for Tom.

‘If your DS is here at last, can we get started?’ the Chief Inspector on the