Page 132 of Stolen Ones

‘What the hell was all that about?’

Bryant didn’t know why she’d been called out of the interview.

‘Something to do with circles on the table. The guys think he’s giving away the locations of the girls unconsciously.’

Bryant looked doubtful. ‘We stopped the questioning because—’

Bryant stopped speaking as the door opened.

Kate Swift exited the interview room and closed the door behind her.

‘I’m sorry, Inspector, but I can no longer represent Mr Harte. He refuses to tell me the truth or listen to my advice; therefore, my presence here is pointless. I’ve recommended alternative legal counsel, but as far as I’m concerned, Mr Harte is now on his own.’

Without giving them a chance to respond, the woman strode towards the doors to the foyer.

Bryant’s stunned expression matched her own feelings, which then turned to irritation. Without legal counsel, they could no longer talk to Steven Harte. Even if they were to appoint a solicitor on his behalf, he was now off limits for hours.

Eighty

It was three minutes past two when Alex heard the alarm in the distance as she sat on her bed. Perfectly timed. The sound was coming from the siren just outside the library. They all knew what it meant.Go back to your cell and await lock-up. Some would go quickly and others would try to linger and find out what the incident was about.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked Emma innocently as she bustled into the cell.

‘Dunno,’ Emma said, throwing herself onto her bed and reaching for her book.

Oh dear, it looked as though the woman still had the hump from their earlier chat. Never mind – Alex would enjoy the peace anyway.

And she knew exactly what was going on. Noelle had made it to the library in time to find Stella grabbing the phone from where she’d stashed it. Without Titch nearby, she was pretty sure Noelle was giving her the hiding she deserved. When the guards searched Stella, they’d find the phone, and as she’d restored it to factory settings, it would never be traced back to her. Just a little bonus.

She could hear the sound of rubber soles heading her way at speed. Any second now an officer would appear to lock them down. Standard practice during an incident.

If her plan had worked how she’d expected it to work, there should be a surprise waiting for them three cells down.

She heard raised, firm voices at the end of the corridor as a couple of prisoners refused to do as they were told. Other inmates were shouting to each other, trying to find out what was going on.

It was music to her ears when the second siren sounded, much closer this time.

She popped her head out of the door and, sure enough, guards were rushing into Lisa’s cell.

She heard frantic calls to each other, movement, panic, urgency and then silence.

Oh dear, what could possibly have happened? she wondered.

A guard appeared in the hallway, smears of blood over her crisp white shirt.

‘Back inside, Thorne,’ she ordered.

‘Of course, Officer,’ she said, returning to her bed.

She would get an update soon enough. But it looked as though her plan had worked.

Two major incidents in one day. And where was the warden during the chaos?

Same place she always went at 2p.m. on a Thursday afternoon.

Eighty-One

‘Okay, guys, did he give you what you wanted?’ Kim asked, rushing back into the squad room.