The Seventh Girl by Maslen Andy

Author:Maslen, Andy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2024-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

That evening, Kat arrived home to the sound of Ivan and Riley arguing. She dropped her stuff on the sofa on her way past the sitting room, then opened the kitchen door.

Ivan was standing with his back to the French doors, backlit by brilliant sunshine. He was jabbing a finger at Riley.

‘What’s going on?’ Kat asked.

Riley’s cheeks were aflame and his eyes glistened with tears. Ivan’s cramped expression signalled anger mixed with that deeper concern that couldn’t always be expressed in words.

‘Dad grounded me for a week! For nothing!’ Riley shouted.

Ivan inhaled deeply then sighed it out. ‘He’s in a WhatsApp group—’

‘I’ve left it!’ Riley interrupted. ‘I’m going to, anyway.’

‘—that was sharing images of a girl in her underwear.’

A cold weight dropped into the pit of Kat’s stomach. She sat down in a hard chair and looked into her son’s eyes. He was only twelve. How could this be happening? Images flashed through her mind, of pictures she’d seen on a brief rotation in the Sexual Crimes Unit at Jubilee Place. Of uniformed officers coming to arrest Riley. A courtroom. A judge, staring down at her son.

He’s only twelve! she heard herself screaming. Then another, darker, thought intruded. How old are serial killers when they start? She pushed it down.

‘Is this true, Riley?’ she said, heart thumping.

‘I didn’t post them. They were just there. I looked by accident.’

‘Is it true?’

A tear rolled down his scarlet cheek. He nodded.

‘I caught sight of one when I was making tea,’ Ivan said, coming to sit beside Kat. ‘I asked him to show me the thread and there were a couple more.’

‘Can I see, please,’ Kat said, holding out her hand towards Riley.

But it was Ivan who placed the unlocked phone in her palm.

She found the pictures easily. The girl appeared to be in her late teens. The background suggested a real bedroom – band posters, photos and inspirational quotes Blu-Tacked to the wall. It looked a little like Courtney’s.

‘Riley, who is she? This is so, so important. Do you understand?’

‘It’s Luke’s big sister.’

The courtroom images faded. ‘And how old is Luke’s sister.’ Please let her be in Year Thirteen. Better yet, at university, or working.

‘I don’t know. I mean, not for sure,’ Riley said. ‘She left school last year.’

Kat shuddered with relief. Oh, thank God. Not a minor. Big trouble out of the way. Which just left the regular kind.

‘Come here, sweetie,’ she said.

He complied meekly, standing in front of her, head down.

‘I didn’t ask for them, or anything,’ he said, his voice thick with snot and tears. ‘They just came, you know?’

She gently placed her finger under his chin and lifted his head up so they were eye to eye.

‘Who else is in this WhatsApp group?’

‘You can’t go and tell their parents!’ he blurted out. ‘They’ll never speak to me again.’

‘I need to know.’

He listed off half a dozen first names, all of whom she recognised.

‘How did Luke get these photos of his sister?’ Ivan asked.

Riley shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Maybe he, like, hacked her phone, or something? They look like selfies.

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