The Mother: A shocking thriller about every mother’s worst fear…. Jaime Raven

Чтение книги онлайн.

       2

      Sarah

      Brennan took the phone from me and squinted at the photo. Then as my fellow detectives fell silent he read the text message out loud.

      ‘I have no idea who sent it,’ I said. ‘It’s from a blocked number. And I don’t recognise the room Molly’s in.’

      Brennan lifted his eyes and pursed his lips. ‘You usually leave her with your parents, don’t you?’

      I nodded. ‘That’s why this is so weird. I dropped her off earlier and Mum was going to take her to the park.’

      ‘And have you tried calling your mother?’

      ‘Of course, but there’s no answer on her mobile or on my parents’ home phone.’

      I explained that my father didn’t have a mobile and that nothing like this had ever happened before.

      ‘Well you shouldn’t jump to conclusions,’ Brennan said. ‘We’ll help you get to the bottom of it. First thing to do is run a check on your phone to see if we can unblock the number of the caller.’

      ‘That’ll take time,’ I said shakily. ‘I can’t hang around. I have to go to the park and then to Mum and Dad’s.’

      ‘I quite understand, Sarah. In fact, I’ll come with you while your colleagues make inquiries.’

      Brennan assigned two of the other detectives to the task and told another to go to the hospital to interview the stab victim in my place. Then he got me to forward the message and the photo to the office manager’s phone so that he could arrange for it to be checked out.

      ‘Try not to worry,’ he said, turning back to me. ‘I’m guessing this is some unfortunate misunderstanding or someone’s pathetic attempt at humour.’

      The trouble was he didn’t sound convinced of that, and the knowing looks he gave the others sent a wave of adrenaline crashing through my bloodstream.

      Brennan drove and I sat in the passenger seat of the pool car. The park was only a few miles from the police station in Wandsworth, and that was going to be our first stop.

      It was within walking distance of my parents’ house and where my mother usually took Molly. If they weren’t there, then we’d go straight to the house.

      I prayed silently to myself that I was overreacting, but it was impossible not to dwell on the worst-case scenario – that my daughter had been abducted.

      It was every parent’s nightmare, and I’d had first-hand experience of the devastating consequences of such an event. During my time on the force I’d investigated seven cases where children had been kidnapped by strangers. Only four of them had been found safe and well. Two were still missing, and one six-year-old girl had been brutally raped and murdered.

      But in none of those cases had the abductor sent a photograph of the child to the mother. And I hadn’t heard of it happening before. That at least gave me reason to believe that this might not be a straightforward snatch; that perhaps it was indeed some pathetic prank.

      ‘Try calling your mother again,’ Brennan said, as he steered the car along side streets in order to avoid the worst of the South London traffic.

      I tried but it rang out and went to voicemail. I’d already left a message for her to call me and it wasn’t like my mother not to respond asap. I left another just the same and this time I told her I was desperately worried.

      ‘Please get back to me straight away, Mum. It’s urgent. I need to know that Molly is OK.’

      I rang my parents’ landline again but still there was no answer.

      My heart was in my throat as I hung up. I gulped down a breath and squeezed my eyes shut.

       Oh God, please don’t let my worst fear be realised.

      I opened my eyes and looked again at the photograph of Molly on the sofa. My beautiful little girl clutching a beige teddy bear that I didn’t recognise. I wanted to believe that my parents had bought it for her, but I doubted it. Molly had plenty of cuddly animals both at home and at her grandparents’, and I had always discouraged them from spoiling her with too many toys.

      So who had got it for her? And who had sent me a picture of СКАЧАТЬ