Perfect Prey by Laura Salters

Author:Laura Salters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

July 31, England

THIS HAS TO be relevant.

“Erin’s grandmother had a rare genetic disorder. Aubin’s syndrome. Manifests later in life, like Parkinson’s. She was an empty shell.”

I do a quick internet search. According to the NHS website, it’s a very rare illness. Only around one case in every 100,000 ­people in the UK.

“She was a wonderful lady, Simon’s mother. I miss her hugely. The way she was with the girls . . . before it all went downhill . . . it was exactly how Simon was with them. Pure, unadulterated love. She’d have done anything for them.”

There’s no way this is a coincidence. Erin’s grandmother, whom she loved dearly, suffered from a rare genetic disorder. Four years after she died from said disorder, Erin went missing within a few hundred yards of the Bastixair Distribution Center in Novi Sad. Bastixair, known for its research into Aubin’s syndrome and easing its unpleasant symptoms.

Definitely not a coincidence.

I scan the NHS entry.

No cure.

I rub my tired eyes again. Think, think, think. How does this fit?

Maybe Erin was looking for a cure. For a way to ease the symptoms.

But why? Her grandmother is already dead.

Does her father suffer from it?

I freeze.

Does Erin suffer from it?

Does her baby?

It’s late on a Friday night, so it’s not like I’m surprised when Officer Tierney doesn’t pick up, but a rush of disappointment floods me anyway. I leave a shaky voice mail—­something about being told to leave a message after the tone unnerves me—­and hang up.

Have the police uncovered this link yet? Maybe not. I only know about Erin’s grandmother through talking to Karen at her kitchen table. I’m sure the detectives have spoken to her in great detail, but would an ailing grandmother, dead years ago, have come up?

Even if so, they may not have context for the piece of information, like I didn’t until five minutes ago. Bastixair is right on their doorstep, but would they really know what medical research the pharmaceutical giant is carrying out? I’m undeniably ignorant when it comes to knowledge of what scientific discoveries are occurring in my home region. Why would they be any different? Besides, Aubin’s might not have been mentioned at all.

I feel my heart beating: palpitations. Anxiety attacking me with vengeance after I tried to quell it with drugs. ­Coupled with fear over what I’ve just potentially discovered . . . the dose of adrenaline feels near-­lethal.

Aubin’s syndrome. Time to do some research.

Government health websites tell me all I need to know. It’s a degenerative genetic disorder with harrowing symptoms. They start physically—­muscle weakness, slow movement, difficulty walking and talking. The mental deterioration comes soon after. Dementia, depression, insomnia, behavioral changes. Sensory confusion. Emotional detachment.

My heart aches for Erin, watching her beloved grandmother become a stranger. Personality atrophy that’d soon drive her father to alcohol and violence. Cramps seize my chest.

I keep reading. The disease tends to manifest most commonly in old age, with most sufferers being over the age of seventy, but several cases of early onset Aubin’s have been reported in the UK this year.

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