Paparazzi by Jo Fenton (best free e reader .txt) 📕

“Yes, I’ll be fine. That caller – it sounded like Nigel. That annoying guy from Band On The Wall, who works with Penny.” And who used to fancy Linda. It makes sense after all for him to be involved.

Joanna nods slowly.

So does Troy. “Bloody hell. Yeah, I thought I recognised the bastard. Right, who’s coming with me?”

“All of us.” I suppress the gut reaction to my statement. I need a clear head, not clammy palms, nausea and a racing pulse. “I know that warehouse. There’s a road a bit further down, and out of sight.” That had been my downfall previously. This time I would make it work for us. “Gaz, can you drive Troy? Will can take me and Joanna, and we’ll stay out of sight until the time comes for action.”

“Sure. Troy, I’ll drive you, mate. Becky’s right. It’s a sound plan.”

“Why didn’t they ask for a ransom?” asks Will. “It’s a strange set-up. It sounds like a trap.”

“That warehouse usually is. That’s why we’re staying out of sight. Troy, we just need to fit you up with a listening device. We’ll meet you there.” I suggest a route for them to go. It should take them about twenty minutes. The route I have planned for us should take about fifteen, and will allow us to get discreetly in place before they arrive.

As I kit Troy out with the equipment, I can feel him shaking. It’s not surprising. He’s clearly terrified about his daughter. He’s just lost everyone else he loved. Despite my own fears, I can’t let him lose his little girl as well. I have to conquer my own demons.

***

In the car, away from Troy and Gaz, we go over the plan, but also take a few minutes to review what we know. Joanna is on her phone while Will and I re-hash our knowledge.

“Did you know Penny knew Troy at school?” she suddenly pipes up.

“No – how did you find that out?” My pulse speeds up another notch. This feels important.

“When you’d gone to Huddersfield earlier, after the paracetamol kicked in, I started thinking, and emailed a few questions over to Troy. One of them was about his school. I checked back against the questionnaire from Penny, when we first took her on as a client. It looked as though she was a couple of years below Troy at the same secondary school.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean she knew him though, or vice versa.” Will’s voice of caution fails to have an effect. Joanna has more information for us.

“No, but I contacted the school, and spoke to the Head. She’s new there, but said she’d ask around amongst some of her more longstanding staff. This is the email she just sent me.” Joanna passes her phone to me. I start reading to myself.

“Read it aloud, Becky. I can listen and drive at the same time, and frankly the suspense is killing me.”

I grin at Will, but relent.

“‘My Head of Science remembers them both well. She said Penny had an obvious crush on Troy from the time she was about thirteen. When Mrs Dixon was teaching Troy, she’d often notice Penny outside the door before or after the lesson. There was a stronger and more lasting obsession than is usually seen in girls of that age. Natalie Dixon took an interest in the emotional welfare of the pupils, and tried to persuade Penny to open up about her feelings, but without success. After Troy left, Penny had a couple of short-lived relationships with boys, but always seemed discontented. Natalie suspected she was still hankering after Troy.’

“So does that affect our case?” I ask. “I’m trying to get my head around the implications. Also, that call was from Nigel. Would he have assisted Penny to that extent?”

“I don’t know. But it makes more sense that he’d help Penny, rather than kill Linda. If she roped him in because he has a grudge against Troy for ‘stealing his girl’, he’d probably be only too keen to help. Maybe he doesn’t know that Penny murdered Linda?”

“Possibly. But more likely his grudge against Troy outweighs his horror at what Penny has done. Or he just hasn’t thought about it.”

“Either way, we’ve just arrived at the address you gave me, Becky. I assume the warehouse is near here?”

I nod. My stomach has suddenly gone into hyper-drive, and I suppress a wave of nausea.

“Okay. I’ll let Finn know where we are and ask for discreet and careful back-up. Please God that Nigel – and Penny, if she’s involved in this – won’t be armed.”

“Whoever killed Troy’s family is capable of further murder, don’t forget.” Joanna puts her hand on my shoulder. I don’t know if she means to be reassuring, but it doesn’t work. “They might not have guns, but they’re pretty adept with knives. We need a stronger plan before we go barging in there.”

“Stronger than the one I proposed earlier?” I hand Joanna back her phone.

“Yes. You were going to go in, negotiate with Nigel, and get Emma back for Troy. It’s a bit weak.”

“Obviously, we’re going to be listening to Troy, and when it’s appropriate we’ll go in and help.” I hear my phone ping and check the message that’s just arrived from Finn.

‘Bloody hell, Becks. Are you okay going in there?’

‘No choice. Can you back us up?’

‘I’ll be there in 15.’

“Finn will be here with back-up in fifteen minutes.” I show them on the map where the warehouse is. My instincts are shouting at me. Go home. Get out of here. This place is a death trap. I ignore the voice in my head, and turn on the receiver for the bug that Troy has hidden on his person.

“Are we nearly there, Gaz?” Troy’s voice comes through loud and clear. I turn the volume down a notch.

“Just a couple of minutes, mate.” The car falls silent for a moment. “Right this is it. I guess that’s