Page 135 of Silent Scream

‘But there is one major thing you forgot, Victor.’ She smiled widely. ‘And it will be your undoing.’

As Victor leaned in towards her to hear over the siren, William groaned and rolled onto his back.

She saw Lucy’s emergency pendant hanging around his neck. It hadn’t been his chest he’d been clutching after all.

The siren grew ever louder. Her hands and feet were bound to each other.

‘What exactly did I forget, Detective?’

His face was beside her own. He was sure that the siren was not for them and wanted to know what tracks he had left to cover.

Even trussed up, Kim now knew she had the upper hand.

‘You already said that I know how to use my head.’

Kim craned her head backwards, then launched it forward, hard. Her forehead met with the bridge of his nose. The fireworks shot through her head and for a second she wasn’t sure if the sound of cracked bone was from her or from him.

The wail of pain that came from Wilks’ mouth told her it was most definitely him.

His hands reached instinctively for his face, while the knife dropped half a foot from her bound hands. He staggered to his feet and she wriggled her body towards the knife.

‘You fucking bitch,’ he cried, staggering around the room.

As her bound hands clutched the knife handle, Victor seemed to realise he no longer had possession of it.

Still holding his face, he headed for the shovel in the doorway.

Breaking his nose had bought her a minute but in her bound state one swing of that shovel around her head and she was gone.

The sound of the siren was now deafening.

She turned the knife towards her and hacked at the piece of rope that William had managed to loosen. It cut through but didn’t free any of her limbs, although it did offer her another inch or two of movement.

Kim’s hand worked quickly. Two more steps and he’d be upon her.

William’s right hand shot out and grabbed Victor’s ankle. He stumbled and fell but quickly regained his footing.

Kim used her middle finger to pull one of the twines tighter. It tightened around all of her limbs. It was the connecting twine that held her hands to her feet.

She worked harder. Her breath now came in short, sharp bursts as she put every ounce of energy she had into cutting that one connection of rope.

Victor stood above her. Rage burned in his eyes as blood dripped from his nose. In the light of the street lamp the blood had formed a moustache and beard on his face.

He lifted the shovel high into the air, then swung it down. She rolled to the left. The shovel landed on the ground an inch from her head. The sound exploded in her ear.

She could feel the tightness of the rope loosening against the blade. In her mind’s eye she could picture the rope fraying under the pressure of the blade.

But it was not fraying quickly enough.

Again, the shovel was raised high above his head. The rage in Wilks’ eyes was murderous.

She knew that the next strike would not miss.

The siren had stopped and the sudden silence was ominous.

Victor readjusted the grip of the shovel in his hand, a triumphant gleam in his eyes.

Kim saw the head of the shovel coming down towards her head.