Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney

Author:Marie Tierney [Tierney, Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781804181898
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Forty-Two

T

HE EADES HOUSE WAS OPPOSITE the park. Ava could turn back and choose not to telephone the police in the mad hope of helping them catch a child killer. It was funny when she thought about it; so silly in its seriousness, like she was in a film or on TV given the stage fright she felt. To make this work she had to perform, pretend to be somebody she wasn’t – someone brave and confident.

Ava crossed the road, her stride long and sure, like she was meant to be there. She pulled the key out of her jeans pocket.

The property was flanked by thick hedges and a tall fence so Ava was able to casually walk up to the front door without hindrance. She turned the key in the lock and walked in.

The house was silent.

In the living room, she stood over the rotary telephone, pulled out her notebook and, very quietly, panicked. Being called upon to act alone was terrifying. And so Ava decided to warm up. She stretched and made wide lunges and explosively huffed as if she was doing kung fu. She studied her script as she didn’t want to spring off the subject in random tangents. Dictionaries and her trusty thesaurus had been checked for all the correct terms in correct contexts, as well as the rare books on the subject, to ensure everything was just right. There were many foreign names that she could spell, just hoped she could pronounce. She would be perfunctory, precise, professional then gone.

She also had to make sure it was Miss Misty that came out of her mouth – there could be no trace of Ava, even to her own ears.

Her throat was too dry. She went into the kitchen and drank directly from the tap.

Ava picked up the telephone receiver and rang the number of the incident room on the card Delahaye had given her, nervous but breathing normally. Yet she needn’t have worried: when the receiver was picked up the other end, Miss Misty snapped on instantly, as if she’d been waiting in the wings for just the right moment.

She closed her eyes.

‘Good afternoon, Bournville Lane CID, Detective Sergeant Delahaye speaking. How may I help you?’

Ava would have faltered on hearing Detective Sergeant Delahaye speak with such immediacy at the other end of the line. But Miss Misty didn’t miss a beat.

‘Good morning, Detective Sergeant.’

* * *

It was Miss Misty. Delahaye’s pause was too long.

‘Misty, hello,’ he said eventually. ‘Long time, no hear.’ He gestured frantically to Perrin and Lines then set the telephone onto speaker. The team froze and fell silent. His colleagues looked as gobsmacked as he felt.

‘Indeed,’ said Miss Misty.

‘How are you?’ asked Delahaye.

‘Fine, thank you.’ A pause, then, ‘I have some information you might find useful regarding your investigation.’

Delahaye grabbed a pen. ‘Please continue.’

‘You’ll be tempted to disbelieve what I tell you, but I advise you to take it very seriously, for the sake of Rubery’s children. Are you ready, Detective Sergeant?’

‘Yes,’ said Delahaye.

‘Have you recognised a pattern thus far?’

Delahaye paused.

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