Page 73 of 36 Hours
The crowd was heading their way at speed, their eyes alight with interest and expectation, and Kim realised just how entertaining this was to people who didn’t have all the details.
And she was sick of it. A man’s life was at stake.
‘This is no game, Officer, so wipe that smile off your face.’
Her boss would love reading the incident report on this.
She turned to the keyholder. ‘I didn’t damage anything while retrieving the box, but if you want to make a complaint, feel free,’ she said, heading towards the car.
Yep, Woody would love that too.
She was almost at the car when a blue Toyota sped into the space behind Bryant’s Astra.
A man in his late thirties jumped out almost before the car stopped moving. He wore jeans, sweatshirt and baseball cap.
‘You the team working the wild goose chase?’ he asked with the animation and manners that only came with one breed of professional.
He was a journalist, most likely from one of the neighbouring boroughs’ daily sheet.
She chose to ignore his question and opened the car door.
‘How’d you get it, Inspector?’ he asked, looking to the box in her hand.
‘Not your business,’ she said, placing the box on the passenger seat.
He frowned. ‘So you stole it?’
‘Excuse me,’ she said, fixing him with a hard glare.
‘Police disregarding rules again. Viewers are going to love that.’
‘Viewers?’ she asked as her blood ran cold.
‘Yeah, I’m Steve Ashworth, a correspondent for Sunrise News.’
‘Sunrise are gonna run it?’ Kim asked of the newest news streaming channel.
‘Yeah, if I can make it juicy enough. And I think you’ve just given me exactly what I need.’
Of everything that had happened, she was sure Woody was gonna love that news the best.
FIFTY-SEVEN
3.45A.M.
I chose the moment a car sped up to the pavement to make good my escape. No one even glanced my way as I headed down a back street away from the scene.
They were later than I expected. The clue was easy enough. Yes, I changed where I posted it, but they should have been watching every channel of communication.
Are they tired, listless, worn down and devoid of hope? I hope not. The rest of the game will be boring if they merely limp from clue to clue. I’m tired too but no less enthusiastic. That’s why I came here in the middle of the night. To watch the fruits of my labour.
The show was worth waiting for, and DI Stone is a worthy opponent. She assessed the situation quickly and had no hesitation in climbing over the gate to retrieve the box.
It was fun watching her shepherd the crowds away. She was one woman with one pair of arms, but there was a natural authority about her that brooked no argument from the onlookers. All of whom were having a wonderful time. Because of me.
It was good to get away for a while. The whimpering from Hiccup has been starting to annoy me. Either way, it isn’t going to be my problem for much longer.
It wasn’t difficult to abduct him, and he could have been any one of that community. Who knew that all it took was a soft voice and the promise of a hot meal and shelter to persuade a grown man to follow you anywhere? It was almost like being on the streets robbed him of his common sense and made him as vulnerable and trusting as a child.