Page 41 of Silent Scream

She jumped up and headed out to the garage. Bryant was no more than two steps behind.

She took her treasure from the workbench and turned to face him. She tenderly peeled back the cotton pillowcase protecting it from the temperature.

Bryant stared in wonder at the motorcycle fuel tank. ‘Original?’

‘Oh yes.’

‘It’s a beauty. Where did you get it?’

‘eBay.’

‘May I?’

Kim passed it to him. She’d spent six weeks trawling the internet for the 1951 model. Far easier to find were parts for the 1953 model and upwards. But she’d never done easy.

Bryant caressed the rubber knee pads fitted on each side of the tank and shook his head. ‘Beautiful.’

‘That’s enough, give it back.’

Bryant handed it to her and walked slowly around the motorbike. ‘Wasn’t this the model Marlon Brando rode inThe Wild One?’

Kim jumped up and sat on the workbench. She shook her head. ‘Nineteen-fifty.’

‘Are you ever gonna ride this bike?’

She nodded. The Triumph would be her therapy. The Ninja was a rush, a challenge. Riding it satisfied a need deep within her, but the Thunderbird was a thing of beauty. Just being near it transported her back to the only three years in her life that she’d felt anything even resembling contentment. A mere interlude.

The sound of a phone ringing startled her. She jumped off the work bench and retrieved her mobile from the kitchen.

She saw the number. ‘Hell, no,’ she whispered. She darted through the house and into the street. Two houses away from her own, she pressed the answer button. Her home would not be contaminated.

‘Kim Stone.’

‘Umm ... Miss Stone, I’m ringing about an incident with your mother. She ...’

‘And you are?’

‘Oh, my apologies. I’m Laura Wilson, the night supervisor at Grantley Care Facility. I’m afraid she’s had an episode.’

Kim shook her head, confused. ‘Why are you ringing me?’

There was a brief silence. ‘Umm ... because you are listed as her emergency contact.’

‘Does it say that in the file?’

‘Yes.’

‘Is she dead?’

‘Goodness, no. She took a dislike ...’

‘Then you should have read the file better, Miss Wilson – because then you’d have known that there is only one situation for which I require an update and you’ve already confirmed that not to be the case.’

‘I’m so sorry. I had no idea. Please accept my apologies for disturbing you.’

Kim could hear the tremor in the woman’s voice and instantly felt bad for her reaction.

‘Okay, what did she do now?’