Miss No One, Mark Ayre [romantic love story reading .TXT] 📗

Orion was already pivoting to plan B. He kidnapped your daughter, and we know what happened next."

Abbie finished her theory and folded her hands in her lap. Ndidi was crying now, and she saw no need to force him to confess. It was written all over his face.

She stood, and the Detective jumped in shock.

"Like I said, I hope you don’t go to prison. When I spoke to Gary, I suggested he keep everything he knows to himself. The Hammond murder case is closed, and I don't believe Davesh will be found."

Ndidi was staring at the floor. With his sleeve, he dried his eyes and forced himself to look at Abbie.

"What happens now?"

"The loose ends are tied," said Abbie. “More or less. My work in this town is done, and I hope never to come back. The men you murdered were bad men. Hammond murdered your wife, but killing is a slippery slope. It only gets easier."

Ndidi turned his eyes up in shock. "I'd never again... I could never..."

Abbie raised a hand to silence him.

"Use this as your clean slate, detective. Take care of your daughter, be better, remember your wife, and try to move on."

He stared at her with unvoiceable gratitude and relief. Abbie gave him a slight nod and pointed to the mug.

"Thanks for the coffee. I'll see myself out."

“Wait.”

She stopped at the door, turned back. Ndidi was standing, his hands by his sides, looking numb.

“You said, about Gary, you were giving me the benefit of the doubt for the first time… that implies there’s a second?”

“Yes, Idrissa. And on the second occasion I need to give you the benefit of the doubt or I might kill you. I daren’t ask any questions. I’m just taking what you told me at face value.”

“I don’t understand.”

Sighing, Abbie opened the door.

“Killers are unimaginative,” she repeated. “Hammond and Davesh both had their throats cut.”

Abbie looked back to Ndidi who was speechless, but afraid.

Walking out the door Abbie finished, “And so did Christine.”

Forty-Four

By the time Abbie reached the hospital, Bobby was gone. She was standing at his bedside, staring at the empty sheets, when she heard the door open and someone enter.

"He left about an hour ago," said Taylor, the Doctor to whom Abbie had yesterday lied. "Against my advice, I must add."

When Abbie had arrived, the bedside table had been bare, the draws also empty. Because she trusted Bobby, she wasn't surprised when she turned to see Taylor clutching her bag.

"He gave me this," she said, holding up the bag when she saw Abbie's eyes drift to it. "Said I must hand it only to Abbie King. You wouldn't happen to know when she'd be making an appearance, would you?"

Abbie sighed. "Given your tone, you obviously know I'm Abbie. Bobby must have shown you a picture."

"He did. I don't like being lied to."

"It's no one's favourite thing," said Abbie and outstretched a hand towards the bag. Taylor only hesitated a second, then passed it over. At once, Abbie reached inside and felt the book's comforting shape between the folds of the pillowcase.

"When I visited yesterday," said Abbie. "I was wanted by the police for assault and attempted murder."

Taylor's eyes widened, and Abbie tried what she hoped was a disarming smile.

"I've since been cleared of all charges, but you'll understand why, at the time, I wanted to keep my identity under wraps. Someone was framing me. I needed to stay free to prove I was innocent... like in The Fugitive."

"I've not seen it."

"Don't worry. I won't tell."

Removing her hand from the bag, Abbie looked back to the bed. A few seconds passed before the Doctor cleared her throat.

"Bobby gave me something else."

Abbie turned to see a folded slip of paper between Taylor’s fingers. Abbie took the note, unfolded it, read the few words on the page, and scrunched the paper into a ball. While thinking she should locate a bin and chuck it away, she stuffed the ball into her pocket.

"Waste of ink," she said. "Bobby could have asked you to deliver the message verbally."

The Doctor said nothing to this. Abbie allowed her gaze to linger on the bed a few moments longer, then turned back towards the door and Taylor.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Taylor prevaricated, then nodded. "Like I said, we wanted him to stay under observation a little longer, but I have no worries about his long term condition. So long as he follows the steps we laid out and takes regular—"

Abbie raised a hand.

"He's going to be okay. That's all I need to know."

"Great," said the Doctor. "Well, if you don't mind..."

"Of course, back to work," said Abbie. "I've got everything I came for right here."

She held the bag aloft and resisted the wave of misery inside. She forced a smile as the Doctor walked away, then clutched the bag tight to her chest. In the book, she had much of what she wanted. But not everything...

Not by a long shot.

Back in her car, Abbie removed the book from its pillowcase and placed it on one knee. Despite knowing what the note said and understanding she would derive no comfort from a reread, Abbie removed it from her pocket and smoothed the page.

Her phone was on the dash. Local police had been trying to get hold of her, wanting to talk about the house fire. Abbie had no doubt they would declare it as arson and had no interest in discussing it. Not yet. She had insurance but doubted they'd pay. Influential people would ensure Abbie's claims were rejected.

The phone began to ring as Abbie smoothed the note over her spare knee. For the second time, she read those few words. They were like daggers to the heart, and adding insult to injury, Abbie could hear the last words Bobby had spoken to her rattling through her mind.

Stay safe. Come back to me.

Well, she had tried, hadn't she? He hadn't upheld the implicit end of his bargain.

The phone continued to ring. This time, it wasn't