The Torments by Michael J. Malone

Author:Michael J. Malone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orenda Books
Published: 2024-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Mr Mac arrived thirty minutes later at the café opposite the multi-storey, where Lewis was sitting in the far corner, already tired of people looking at him as if he was some kind of miscreant.

Mr Mac took one look at his bruised and swollen face and winced. ‘How does the other guy look?’

‘Like an arsehole.’

Mr Mac nodded. And smiled, as if he was happy to see Lewis’s reaction to the attack. ‘That’s the spirit.’ He looked down at Lewis’s drained mug. ‘Want another, or do you just want me to take you home?’

‘Let’s just sit for a while,’ Lewis replied. ‘And if my vision doesn’t go all blurry in the next hour and I don’t fall asleep on you I’ll go back up, collect my car and drive home.’

‘You sure?’

Lewis nodded. And closed one eye against the resultant pain. He grimaced before saying, ‘And while you’re up at the counter, get me a doughnut.’

While Mr Mac was away, Lewis mulled over what happened again. It was clear to him that Ryan Henderson had essentially lured him up to that rooftop parking space in order to deliver a message from Craig Oldfield, and he was furious that he’d allowed himself to be sucked in.

As Mr Mac arrived back at the table with fresh coffee and cakes, his phone rang. He looked at the screen. Winked, and said, ‘Trouble.’ Then answered, and Lewis could hear Mandy’s voice. Her husband looked over at Lewis. Winked again. ‘He’ll survive.’ He handed the phone to Lewis. ‘She wants to talk to you herself.’

‘You okay, honey?’ Mandy asked, sounding very worried indeed. ‘Do you remember anything?’

Lewis went through it all again, trying to minimise the discomfort he was in.

She saw through him. ‘If they called an ambulance for you that means you were way worse than you’re letting on.’

‘I’m fine. Honestly.’

‘You’re not fine. This whole thing is not fine. I wish Chrissie hadn’t got you two mixed up in this. You’ve been attacked, Annie’s spaced out and … and … ’

‘Hey, what’s up?’ Lewis asked. Mandy sounded more panicked than she had a right to be. ‘Has something else happened?’

Silence.

Then: ‘It’s Rose.’

It took a moment for Lewis to catch up. He recalled the woman he and Annie had met the other day. The way she’d had them hide out behind her workplace so they wouldn’t be seen talking together. His heart surged with worry.

‘Is she okay?’

Mandy sobbed. ‘Oh, Lewis. This is bad. If Oldfield is capable of this, what else might he do?’

‘What the hell’s happened?’ If he’d put this woman in danger, he’d never be able to forgive himself. His anger at Craig Oldfield simmered to rage. If he had…

‘So far the police are thinking it’s an accident. But — ’

‘Mandy,’ Lewis interrupted. ‘Just tell me.’

‘She’s dead, Lewis. Chrissie just phoned to tell me. Rose is dead.’

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