When the Evil Waits by M Lee (top fiction books of all time txt) 📕

this time, actually opening the car door and standing up to get her attention.

She wandered over to him as nonchalantly as she could. No point in letting the other ghouls know he wanted to speak to her.

‘There’s something going on.’

‘What?’

‘Dunno, but it’s at Parrs Wood. My scanner is going bonkers.’

She bent down and listened to his police scanner on the front seat. It tracked GMP’s radio calls to the police cars. There seemed to be a hell of a lot of activity around Parrs Wood.

‘What’s going on?’

‘Dunno.’

And then she heard it, loud and clear, from a controller to a police car.

‘Child missing in Parrs Wood. Look out for a white Vauxhall Corsa.’

Without waiting any longer, she took one look back at the gaggle of reporters clustered outside Michael Carsley’s gate. ‘I’m gonna get something to eat, waste of time here. See you lot later,’ she said, and she got into the car.

She had to get away before they realised what was going on.

Chapter 86

They arrived at the cinema only twelve minutes after Ridpath had left the car park of Police HQ.

Racing down Kingsway, sirens blaring and lights flashing, Ridpath had forced the other drivers to pull out of the way, going into an oncoming lane at one point when one stupid old man refused to look in his rear-view mirror.

Emily Parkinson, with her usual coolness, took down the miscreant’s number, intending to send him a warning about his driving.

Ridpath barely slowed down for red lights, looking both ways to ensure the traffic had stopped before stomping his foot on the accelerator and feeling the surge of the turbo kick in.

It was a joy to be behind the wheel of something more powerful than his usual car.

They arrived at the same time as a patrol from West Didsbury.

Emily stared at a text on her phone. ‘Chrissy says Sarah Challinor is in front of a Wagamama.’

They spotted her straight away, carrying another young child in her arms, rushing towards them.

‘Help me, help, I don’t know where he is.’

She was crying and her mascara was smeared in dark streaks around her eyes. Ridpath put his arm around her shoulders.

‘Take a few deep breaths and tell us what happened.’

‘He went to the toilet and then the cinema went black and the film started.’

‘He went on his own?’

She nodded. ‘He likes his independence.’

‘What happened next?’

‘You’ve got to start looking for him.’

‘Please tell us what happened next?’

She gasped twice, sucking in air. ‘I knew he didn’t want to miss the beginning so I took Amy and went to the toilet to find out what was taking him so long.’ Another gasp for breath. ‘But when I went there, it was empty. I found this on the floor.’ She opened her hand to reveal a large, black badge with the word Gryffindor printed on it.

‘Which cinema?’

‘Screen Two. He wanted to see Harry Potter on the big screen. They are reshowing the films after lockdown and he’s a big fan.’

‘Harry, go and check the toilets. You two…’ he pointed to the uniforms who were standing around, ‘check out the other screens. You’re looking for a six-year-old boy…’

‘Ben’s seven… today.’

‘A seven-year-old boy,’ Ridpath corrected himself, ‘called Ben.’

He turned back to the distraught woman. ‘What did you do when you saw the toilet was empty?’

‘I went back into the cinema. I thought maybe I’d missed him somehow. But it was dark and I couldn’t see properly so I called his name, but there was no answer. A few people told me to shut up and be quiet.’

More police arrived with flashing lights and sirens. A crowd had begun to gather, listening to the woman speak.

She started to hyperventilate and the child in her arms began to cry.

Ridpath touched her arm. ‘Take a few deep breaths and then tell me what you did next.’

The woman inhaled slowly, holding her child closer to her body. ‘I went out into the lobby but it was empty. I looked around for about ten minutes but I couldn’t see him. I was getting frantic now. He never wanders around on his own. Then I thought he might be with the cinema manager – children must get lost all the time. So I asked them and they knew nothing. The manager sent his people into each of the screens with a flashlight, shouting his name.’

‘Still no response?’

‘Nothing. I couldn’t think of anything else to do so I called my mum.’

‘Mrs Challinor?’

She nodded.

Harry Makepeace arrived back. ‘The toilets are empty, Ridpath, but I found this beside the sink.’ He held up a plastic evidence bag with a white handkerchief inside. ‘The thing stinks of chloroform.’

‘Is that good or bad?’ asked Sarah Challinor.

Ridpath frowned. ‘It’s not good,’ he finally answered. ‘Make sure forensics check it for fingerprints and DNA, Harry.’

The detective inspector nodded.

Next to Ridpath, Sarah Challinor and her child both began wailing.

Chapter 87

The boy still slept.

Had he given him too much diazepam in the injection? He hoped not but with these young ones, it was always difficult to tell.

He was tempted to wake up him to play but he decided against it. A drowsy playmate was no fun. They didn’t feel anything; no pain, no joy, no fear.

The voices wanted the boy to feel fear. They enjoyed that, feeding on it like a moth feeds on light. The boy might be afraid of Mother sitting there watching television. She still scared him even though he knew she was dead.

Should he cover her up? Hide her from sight?

No.

The boy had to meet her sometime. Today was as good as any other day.

He went back to the kitchen and stirred the saucepan of bolognese one more time. Let it cook for the next hour and it would be perfect. The boy should have woken by then and they could have something to eat together.

He enjoyed eating with people, he didn’t do it often enough. He would ask the boy about his family and his school and his life, hinting that if he told the truth he would