Page 79 of First Blood

Lisa shook her head and Kim knew she was lying.

‘You made a call to Hayley Smart, the ex-girlfriend of your paedophile brother, which lasted for three seconds, and I think you need to explain it to us.’

Lisa’s body seemed to wither before her eyes as she folded into the nearest kitchen chair.

‘I knew you’d find it. She’s dead, isn’t she? She’s the body on the news?’

Kim knew the news of another murder had broken; however until they established there were no next of kin, her identity would be withheld.

‘Is Mia okay?’ Lisa asked.

‘How do you know them?’ Kim asked, unwilling to offer the woman anything until she got answers. She’d had no contact with her brother and appeared to actively hide from him and yet she had the phone number of the woman they’d been trying to find.

She took a deep breath, and Kim took a seat.

‘I saw them, together. At my bloody supermarket of all places. I hadn’t seen Luke in years. Last I heard he’d moved north, Yorkshire, I was told. So when I saw him I was scared to death. I ran into the back and feigned illness until I was sure they’d gone. It was only later, once I was safely back here, that I remembered there had been a child holding the woman’s hand.’

‘So, what did you do?’

‘Nothing at first. You have to understand how hard it’s been to get him out of my head. That one sighting brought it all back. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep and suddenly I was seeing him everywhere. The nightmares returned and then they changed. I was no longer seeing Luke’s face but the face of that child.’

‘So?’

‘I tracked him down, found his address and waited for her to come out alone.’

‘And?’

‘I tried to tell her what he was like, that he was into kids, but she wouldn’t listen. Said he loved her child like his own. I talked until I was blue in the face, hoping that something I was saying was going in, but she just stormed away. I saw her again when I was at work and I tried once more, insisting she take my phone number in case she ever needed anything. I left it there at that time as there was nothing I could do except hope she started looking for signs or talk directly to Mia.’

Kim couldn’t help a growing respect for this young woman who had voluntarily involved herself in a situation that brought her closer to a man who frightened her to death.

‘And did you hear from her?’

She nodded. ‘About a month later when she called me to say that she had suspicions and that she was leaving him.’

‘But she went back?’ Kim asked, trying not to judge but still wondering how a mother could do that.

‘He found her and she had nowhere else to go. I don’t think her life has been easy but I still tried to talk her out of going back. She told me that it was just until she got sorted and she would make sure nothing happened to Mia.’

‘And was that the last you heard from her?’ Kim asked, wondering about the recent call.

She shook her head. ‘She texted me from a new number and told me she’d left and he wouldn’t find either of them again.’

‘Did you offer her a place to stay?’ Kim asked, unable to help herself. Knowing what she knew about her brother, Kim would have thought this woman would have been the first to step forward and offer assistance.

Lisa looked at her as though she’d lost her mind. ‘Firstly, officer, my husband knows nothing of my past and it’s something I’ve chosen not to share with him. I’m entitled to make that call.’

Kim nodded her acceptance of the fact. There was much of her own past that she chose to share with no one.

There were other ways. Lisa wouldn’t have needed to divulge Hayley’s true identity to give her a bed for a night or two. ‘But surely you could have—’

‘You don’t get it, do you?’ she said, licking her lower lip nervously. ‘Even talking about him puts my nerves on edge and I know the bastard is dead. It doesn’t matter, I’m still scared of his power. Having Hayley in my home would only have been one step removed from inviting Luke back into my life, when I’ve done everything I can to escape him. If you don’t understand the fear I can’t explain it. I had a full-blown panic attack when I received a text message from her giving me her new number.’

‘Was this about a month ago?’ Kim asked, leaving the subject alone. She didn’t blame Lisa for Hayley’s death, but she would remain convinced that Lisa could have done more.

‘Yes.’

When Haley put Mia into the custody of the state and had clearly gone into hiding herself, Kim realised.