Imposition (DI Gardener 5)

“I want to know one thing.”

Down in the basement, Grace heard crashing sounds and Robbie cursing.

“I want to know the name of the person who has saved me.”

More crashing and banging. Robbie was furious, and it wouldn’t be long before he was back up to the living room.

Grace gazed at Mary. “My name is Grace Browne.”

Grace gave her no time to say anything else. She turned and headed for the basement. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, he stepped in front of her and smiled.

So did she.

“Hello, Raymond.”

Chapter Forty-nine

The incident room door opened. “We need you at the front desk, sir,” said Cragg. “Quickly.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Mary Miller’s turned up.”

Gardener grabbed his jacket and his hat and followed Cragg. Reilly was close behind. Before he reached the front desk, he could hear the commotion. Emma Longstaff was trying to calm the woman down.

The sight that met Gardener’s eyes shook him. He’d seen a lot of things during his years on the force, but he’d never seen a woman as tormented as Mary Miller. She was dressed in a long black trench coat and nothing else, from what he could see. He recognised her pale face from the photo, but she was completely bald. She’d lost weight.

“You have to go there now!” shouted Mary. “She’s in grave danger.”

“Emma,” said Gardener, “take Mary through to the back. Get her a cup of tea.”

Once in the back room, Gardener offered Mary a chair at the table. The woman was extremely agitated, and started on them immediately.

“He’ll kill her. You have to stop him.” She grabbed Gardener’s hand. The strength of her grip surprised him.

“Please, Mary, just slow down for a minute. I’m Detective Inspector Stewart Gardener, and this is my partner, Detective Sergeant Sean Reilly.”

Emma Longstaff returned with the tea. As she placed it on the table, Mary immediately grabbed the cup and took a sip. “We’re wasting time, Mr Gardener. You need to get over there.”

“Mary, where have you been?”

“Robbie Carter kidnapped me, held me captive at a mill house in Sowerby.”

The rest of the team appeared from all corners of the station, crowding into the small back room.

Reilly addressed Mary. “Is he still there now?”

Mary nodded, her hands clasped around the cup of tea.

“When you said he’ll kill her, who did you mean?”

“Grace,” said Mary. “Grace Browne.”

“She’s at the mill house?” Reilly asked.

“Yes. She rescued me.”

“Where were you?”