Ready or Not by Alex Lake

Author:Alex Lake [Lake, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2021-08-23T17:00:00+00:00

Alice

She read over the article for a second time. It was good – full of dramatic details about the letter box banging and waking her, how she glanced at her daughter as she left the room, how shocked she was as she and her husband realized the Crucifix Killer had been at their door, the torturous discussion about the safety of their daughter as they decided she had to continue to cover the story.

She hit send, then picked up her phone and called Kay.

‘Hi,’ Kay said. ‘You’re the woman of the hour. I read about the letter. That’s fucked up.’

‘I know,’ Alice said. ‘But that’s not why I’m calling. I need to talk.’

‘That’s not why you’re calling? What kind of a life do you have? What else is going on?’

‘It’s Tom.’

‘Oh?’

‘I’m worried about him.’

Kay paused. ‘Has something else happened? After the bath?’

‘Not exactly.’ She opened up her messages on her phone. ‘Hang on. I’ll send you an exchange we had earlier. Let me know when you’ve read it. The background is that I got some interest from the national papers and was saying I have to keep on with the story about the Crucifix Killer.’

She sent a screenshot of their recent texts.

‘What do you make of it?’ Alice said.

‘I don’t know,’ Kay replied. ‘It could just be him saying he’ll look after Jo.’

‘You don’t think it’s a threat?’

‘I suppose you could see it like that. Maybe he’s saying he’ll take her somewhere safe.’

‘Or worse,’ Alice said.

‘What are you saying, Alice?’ Kay said. ‘Spell it out. Because now I’m worried too.’

Alice took a deep breath. ‘You can’t tell anyone,’ she said. ‘If it gets back to Tom, he’ll kill me. But I’m worried he’s becoming depressed. Suicidal, even. And I’m scared what he might do to Jo.’

‘This is pretty serious stuff,’ Kay said. ‘I mean, really, really serious. What makes you think it?’

‘Jo had a bruise on her arm. Then there was the bath—’

‘He fell asleep, Alice. That’s hardly a sign of suicidal intentions.’

‘I know. But I got the impression it was more than that. And now there’s another bruise. We’re taking her to the doctor to see if there’s a medical problem, but – well, it’s obvious someone did it, Kay. Someone squeezed her.’

‘It might not have been Tom.’

‘Then who? His mum? Martha? They wouldn’t. He thinks it could be his brother, but he’s not with her enough.’

‘It could be his mum or Martha,’ Kay said. ‘Just as much as it could be him.’

‘It’s him that’s under stress,’ Alice said. ‘It’s him that isn’t sleeping. It’s him who’s lost it with me a few times recently. And it’s him who sent a text message that looks like a threat of some kind.’

‘Fuck,’ Kay said. ‘You’d know better than me, mate. So what do you do?’

‘I don’t know. That’s the problem. I have no idea what to do, but I’m worried, Kay. I’m really worried.’

Alice met Tom and Joanna at the doctor’s surgery. Tom held Joanna on his lap as they waited for their appointment.

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