No More Lies by Rachel Abbott

Author:Rachel Abbott [Abbott, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-15T16:00:00+00:00

46

Taya stood by Raff’s side, watching his every move as he gently lifted Hana from the car. She was terrified he might drop her, which was ridiculous. She’d watched him do this hundreds of times.

Charley had driven them to the hospital, and the doctor had confirmed there wasn’t so much as a scratch on Hana. Her nappy hadn’t been changed often enough, and she needed some cream, but there were no bruises or broken bones. Relieved as she was, Taya was still going to check every inch of her daughter’s body for herself. Only then would she be convinced.

Out of the corner of her eye, Taya could see Charley watching and waiting, and she realised the family liaison officer was following them up the path.

‘Taya, Raff,’ she said quietly, ‘I do still need to talk to you, I’m afraid.’

Taya wanted to tell her to go away. They had their baby back. They didn’t need anyone else in their house, and they hadn’t slept since Friday night. She glanced at Raff, who gave her a small nod. She knew he was telling her to cooperate.

‘You’d better come in then.’

They stepped into the hall, and Taya kicked off her shoes.

Charley’s voice was soft but determined. ‘I know you want to spend time with Hana, but she’s asleep now, and we need to find out who did this. DCI Douglas will want to talk to you again, but he’s left it to me to have a word with you while he remains at the scene.’

‘We’ve got her back,’ Taya said. ‘I won’t let her out of my sight again.’

‘I know, but this was an immaculately planned abduction, and we don’t know why it happened or who was responsible. They didn’t want a ransom, and they haven’t touched her. There seems no rhyme nor reason to it, and yet every step was mapped out.’

‘I need to put Hana in her cot while she’s sleeping,’ Taya mumbled. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She wanted to sit and stare at her little girl until her eyes ached.

She felt Raff’s hand on her shoulder. ‘I understand it’s urgent that you get to the bottom of this, Charley, but if you could give Taya some time alone with Hana, that would be much appreciated. I’m happy to talk to you in the meantime, but she’s had a dreadful twenty-four hours and needs a bit of space.’

Charley nodded. ‘Of course, but the note left in the car seemed to be intended for Taya, so it seems more likely to hold the clues, if only we can dig them out. And the badger and the location mean something. If this is a lead, we need to follow it up.’

Taya looked from one to the other. Her husband was trying to protect her, but much as she wanted to be with Hana and to cry out all the pent-up terror that had gripped her body since the moment her car had been driven out of the supermarket car park, whoever had done this mustn’t be allowed to get away with it.

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