Exposed by M. A. Hunter

Author:M. A. Hunter [Hunter, M. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008443405
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Now

Alton, Hampshire

I don’t hesitate. Breaking into a sprint, I tear off across the car park. Rachel struggles to keep up. I don’t want to frighten Anna, but I also don’t want to give her the chance to get to whatever vehicle she’s arrived in and make her escape. She doesn’t notice me at first, which gives me an advantage, but flailing arms in a bright-yellow overcoat aren’t exactly subtle, and it isn’t long before our eyes meet and I see her flick the cigarette away. I can’t be certain she realises who I am at first; I see her tense, and immediately look to the opposite side of the car park, as if anticipating seeing a troop of police cars moving in to block her exits.

My thighs and lungs are burning in equal measure as I swallow up the distance between us, and although she remains coiled like a spring, she maintains her position at the front of the campervan. I’m breathless as I pull up, and as much as I want to tell her I can’t believe I’ve finally found her after all these years, I can’t get a single word past my lips. Who knew I was so out of shape? If she were to take off now, I don’t think I’d have the energy to give chase; I’ll just have to hope that her standing by our car is more than coincidence.

Rachel catches up with me while I’m bent over, hands pressed into my legs, trying to compose myself. It irks that she’s not so out of breath.

Anna hasn’t spoken a word, but is eyeing the pair of us carefully; I imagine with everything she’s been through, she doesn’t welcome trust and faith without a full cavity search.

I straighten, ready to speak, and yet the time it’s taken to catch my breath has also filtered fresh doubt into my mind. I’ve never been much of a hugger, aside from Rachel and Mum. Given how long it’s been since I last saw Anna, I don’t instinctively feel like hugging her is the right move. Throw into the mix the fact that for all I know she’s murdered two people in cold blood in the last few days, and maybe I should be a bit more wary of mine and Rachel’s safety.

‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ I settle for, now resting my hands on my hips as the adrenaline continues to flood my system.

She continues to eye us warily, while her other eye remains on the two possible escape routes from the car park. ‘They said… they said you’re my sister?’

Her voice is deeper, grittier than I’m expecting. There’s an edge to it that would suggest an upbringing in maybe London or Essex, though the smoking could also be the cause of the gravelly echo.

‘That’s what they told me too,’ I reply, offering a passive smile, trying to put her at ease, but now I’m questioning whether Oakley and Yates could have lied to the pair of us, and in fact this woman’s DNA doesn’t match my sister’s.

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