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

circuits. Even as Abbie told herself Ndidi was not to blame for his actions, the image of Christine's body surfaced in her mind, and a burning hatred coursed through her veins. She realised she wanted the detective dead.

But now was not the time. There was nothing Abbie could do to Ndidi even if she wanted, and she had to focus.

Before she could get her head straight and think of what she needed to say next, Ndidi was talking again.

“You’re right. You’re so right. I forgot about Rachel and acted on instinct. I knocked Ana down and put a bullet in her head. Would have done the same to Christine but after I hit her with the gun Orion made me stop. He said a bullet was too good for a grass.”

"Yes," said Abbie, her tone cold as ice. "I saw what Orion thought of as an adequate punishment."

"It wasn't me," Ndidi garbled. "It was Rachel. It was..." He broke off, which was good. Had he continued to ramble, he might have inadvertently enticed Abbie to start screaming. Luckily, he seemed to sense the road down which he was walking.

"Christine was screaming at me, calling me a monster for what I did to Ana. I am a monster. I freed Rachel, and I watched. She told me to draw that message on the wall, and I did. Orion said—"

"Stop," said Abbie. With her free hand, she clutched her temples between forefinger and thumb. Her head was pounding. She could take little more of Ndidi's voice. "You knew I was here. The cop who found you is still watching. Because it was a cop, wasn’t it?”

It made sense, and Abbie had to turn some of her hatred for Ndidi on herself. She had correctly surmised that Evans and Franks were keeping tabs on Ndidi before Isabella's kidnap. That's how they were there to prevent Abbie beating Ndidi for attacking Gary.

She knew this, so why hadn't she considered they might, with Moore, still be tracking Ndidi after Isabella was caught? They wouldn't have been on him 24/7, but it made sense they would regularly check-in to ensure the cop was still dancing to Orion's tune.

Failing to make this leap was a dire failure in Abbie's duties to save Isabella. It was a failure that came from the same place that allowed her to follow Gary so quickly when he was obviously telling her lies, luring her into a trap. And from the same place that made her fail to connect Orion's actions to the nearby prison and Rachel. Her arguments with Ben had thrown her off, but that was no excuse. She should have shaken the conflict and focused on the job. She was responsible for the murders of Christine and Ana. For Kilman's shooting. And soon for the deaths of Ndidi and Isabella.

"What does Orion want?" said Abbie. "His man's outside. He saw me arrive. He called you, so you must have been given a message. What is it?"

Ndidi hesitated. He didn't want to say it, but there was nothing to be gained by holding back.

"Stay where you are," he said. "The police are on their way. When they arrive, give yourself up and confess to Christine and Ana's murders and to the shooting of Kilman."

"What's the stick?"

A confused pause, then, "What?"

"The stick. If I don't do what I'm told, how will Orion punish me? I assume he won't send one of his bent coppers to spank me, so what?"

"PC Evans is waiting in the car park. He's the one who told me you'd arrived, and he called the police to tell them he'd seen you. If you don't give yourself up, if you escape or fight, Evans will tell Orion, and Orion will murder my daughter."

Abbie closed her eyes. Held them tight for a few seconds and, when she opened them, found herself sitting on the floor, though she had no recollection of sliding down the doorframe.

Why? She had known what Ndidi was going to say, and did it matter?

"You're not driving," said Abbie. "I take it you're in a cop car with another bent officer?"

Another beat, then, "So what?"

"Rachel's beside you?"

"You know she is."

"Then Orion already has everything he wants," said Abbie. "I told you he's a twisted bastard. Only reason you're still alive is he wants you to watch your daughter die. The moment you arrive at wherever he's hiding, it's curtains for you and Isabella. So what's to be gained by me surrendering my freedom?"

"He's promised he'll let her go."

"I'm sure he has. He's lying."

"Abbie," said Ndidi. His voice a whisper. "Please. My daughter means everything to me. I need to believe there's a chance. I need..." He paused, breathed in his tears, then said, "I can't make you do anything, but I'm begging you. You said Isabella was your priority, and right now, this is our only chance. If you meant what you said, you'd take the risk."

He let these words hang over the line. He held on a few seconds, long enough for Abbie to intake her breath in preparation to speak again, then he said, "I'm sorry for what I did," and hung up. He was afraid of what Abbie might say next. The detective knew Isabella was doomed but could not bear to have his final hope dashed before he reached her. He needed to believe.

Abbie replaced her phone in her pocket; put her gun at her side.

And from somewhere in the distance, she heard sirens, moving towards her position, coming to put her in handcuffs.

Thirty-Six

For ten seconds, Abbie listened to the sirens grow closer without moving a muscle.

She did not believe there was more than one of Orion's men in the carpark. She could avoid him and escape the onrushing police. Of that much, she was sure.

But should she?

She believed what she had said to Ndidi. Isabella was doomed. But what if Abbie handing herself in bought the child more time?

Abbie had failed. The little girl she had come to save was