Page 17 of Silent Scream

She kissed her fingers and placed them firmly against the cold stone. ‘Good night, sweet Mikey, sleep tight.’

The tears stung her eyes but she fought them back. They were the same words she had spoken right before the last breath had left his fragile, defeated body.

Kim put the memory safely back into the box and donned her helmet. She pushed the Kawasaki Ninja to the exit gate. There was something disrespectful about igniting the roar of the 1400 cc engine within the confines of the cemetery. A metre out and she spurred the machine into action.

At the bottom of the hill she pulled into an industrial estate awash with ‘To Let’ signs; a stark testament to the area’s industrial history and a suitably barren area from which to make the phone call.

Kim took out her phone. This was not a conversation that took place anywhere near Mikey’s grave. She would not allow his final resting place to be contaminated by evil. She had to protect him, even now.

The call was answered on the third ring.

‘Nurse Taylor, please.’

The line went dead for a few seconds before she heard the familiar voice.

‘Hi, Lily, It’s Kim Stone.’

The nurse’s voice was warm. ‘Hi, Kim, it’s lovely to hear from you. I thought you might call today.’

The nurse said the same thing every time and yet it had never changed once. She’d made this call on thetwelfth of each month for the last sixteen years.

‘How is she?’

‘She had a quiet Christmas but she seemed to enjoy the choir that visited ...’

‘Any violent episodes?’

‘No, not for a while now. Her medication is stable.’

‘Anything else?’

‘She asked about you again yesterday. Although she has no concept of dates, it’s almost like she knows when you’re about to call.’ The nurse paused. ‘You know, if you ever wanted to come and ...’

‘Thank you for your time, Lily.’

Kim had never visited and never would. Grantley psychiatric clinic had been home to her mother since Kim was six years old and it was where she belonged.

‘I’ll tell her you called.’

Kim thanked her again and hit the ‘end’ button. The nurse treated Kim’s monthly phone calls as a welfare check to see how her mother was doing and Kim had never informed her otherwise.

Only Kim knew that she made the call to ensure that the murdering, evil bitch was still safely behind bars.

Eleven

‘Righty, update folks. Kev, what do we know from Mispers?’

‘Professor Milton has just divorced for the third time. A bit like Simon Cowell, all his exes have nothing but good to say about him. No natural children of his own but step-father to five. No hostility noted.’

‘When did he go missing?’

‘Wednesday was the last time he was seen. His assistant at the college raised the alarm when he didn’t appear on Thursday morning. He hasn’t been in touch with any of his family members, which is apparently very strange.’

‘Anything to suggest he’s done this before?’

Dawson shook his head. ‘To hear the exes talk he’s a reincarnation of Gandhi; mild-mannered and gentle.’ Kev consulted his notes. ‘The latest ex spoke to him on Tuesday afternoon and he was excited that he finally had permission for the dig.’

‘I’ve been looking into that, Guv,’ Stacey offered. ‘The original application made by Professor Milton was two years ago. There've been more than twenty objections to the project; environmental, political, cultural. I ain’t got anything further on that yet.’