Truth or Die. Katerina Diamond

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ not speaking but still somehow comforting with their presence.

      The sight of Caitlin was something to behold: her face was swollen and bandaged, and she was barely recognisable. The one eye that was on display was full of tears as she stared out the window.

      Imogen went over to the bedside and sat in Caitlin’s eyeline. Caitlin blinked a tear away as Imogen gently placed her hand on top of hers.

      ‘Hey, Caitlin, do you remember me?’ Imogen spoke softly.

      Adrian felt like an intruder. Even though they were there to get a statement so that they could find the bastard who did this, he couldn’t help thinking they should leave the poor girl in peace.

      ‘Hello,’ she whispered and closed her eye.

      ‘I know this is difficult, but can you remember any details of the attack?’ Imogen asked.

      ‘Yes, I can,’ she whispered, her voice rough and crackling with pain.

      ‘I’m sorry, but would you be able to tell us what happened?’

      Caitlin blinked slowly and wheezed in a deep breath before speaking.

      ‘He put his hand around my throat and told me he would kill me if I called out,’ she said, tears flowing freely from her one uncovered eye. ‘I thought I was going to die. He punched me in the side of the head and I just felt the pain in my eye exploding; it was so horrible. I was dizzy. He told me to get on the floor, but I said no, and that’s when he punched me in the stomach and made me take my pants off. He got on top of me and I tried to push him away, I even hit him, but he still wouldn’t stop. I tried to fight him …’ Caitlin’s whisper disappeared into a breathy cry as she got more and more distraught. She was fighting back the tears.

      How could anyone do this to someone else? Adrian never could get his head around this kind of crime.

      ‘Just take your time,’ Imogen said.

      Caitlin nodded gently before taking another deep breath.

      ‘After he was done, he made me do other stuff, too.’

      ‘How long was he there?’ DI Walsh said.

      Imogen shot him an angry look, but he ignored her.

      ‘A couple of hours, I don’t know.’

      ‘Did you know your attacker? Could you tell us his name?’ DI Walsh said.

      For the first time since they had entered the room, Caitlin turned towards the men who were standing at the door. She lifted her hand and pointed at Adrian. What was happening?

      ‘He did it.’ She burst into tears as she said it.

      ‘Excuse me?’ Imogen removed her hand from the girl’s immediately as though a bolt of electricity had just shot through her.

      ‘After Detective Miles drove me home last night, he raped me,’ Caitlin said.

      ‘What?’ Adrian finally managed to push a word out of his mouth; he wasn’t even sure what word it was. His head was thumping and his ears were ringing. This was up there with his worst nightmares. This couldn’t be real. Being accused of rape was one of those unshakable accusations. Once it had happened, everyone would always wonder. Once the seed was planted, there was nowhere to hide. It would be a rumour that would follow Adrian for the rest of his life. He wanted to throw up. ‘Caitlin!’

      ‘Could you wait outside the room please, Detective Miles?’ DI Walsh said calmly.

      ‘This is not true. Caitlin, why are you doing this?’ Adrian said – he knew he shouldn’t say anything, but the impulse was too strong.

      ‘Just for a moment, I’ll be right out,’ Matt pressed.

      Adrian looked at Imogen for guidance. She nodded that it was best for him to leave. He walked out of the room and watched intently through the glass of the door as they spoke to Caitlin. Why would she do this?

      It wasn’t long before Imogen and the DI came out of the room. Imogen kept staring at Adrian, willing him to look at her; he could see her out of the corner of his eye. He kept his eyes down though. If he didn’t focus on the floor, he would be sick.

      ‘We have to investigate this,’ DI Walsh said.

      ‘I swear I didn’t do this. I couldn’t!’ Adrian said, struggling to breathe.

      ‘That’s not for me to decide, I’m afraid. There has to be a proper investigation. Do you at least have an alibi for last night?’

      ‘Not really. I went to the pub, someone might have seen me there. What happens now?’

      ‘We go and tell Mira. She will have to contact the Professional Standards Division and they will send someone to come and figure out who is telling the truth here.’

      ‘You think I did this?’ The idea of having PSD looking into his conduct at work made Adrian uncomfortable. He had been investigated for evidence tampering before and even though he was eventually exonerated, the process was degrading. He could just imagine the talk that would be flying around the station. It didn’t even bear thinking about.

      ‘I don’t know you. I think at this point it doesn’t matter what I think.’

      ‘It matters to me,’ Adrian said, trying to ignore what he felt DI Walsh was inferring.

      ‘I think you will probably get assigned to desk duty for as long as it takes to clear your name,’ DI Walsh said unapologetically.

      ‘Imogen. You believe me, right? I didn’t do this.’ He could feel his voice getting higher as he got more agitated.

      ‘I know you didn’t,’ she said without hesitation, calming the swirling in his head for a second.

      ‘False rape claims are a lot rarer than people think they are,’ DI Walsh said. ‘There’s a lot of physical evidence that she’s been assaulted.’

      ‘I’m not saying she wasn’t raped, I’m saying it wasn’t me,’ Adrian said.

      ‘Well, the PSD will clear it up. Now, let’s get back to the station.’

      ‘Am I under arrest?’

      ‘That’s not my call. DCI Kapoor will make that decision. I think there will be at least some preliminary investigation before that happens. See what the rape kit turns up.’

      All Adrian could think about was what had happened to Caitlin; it was horrific and brutal. Maybe the head injury she’d sustained had messed with her memory and she really did think he had done it. He had dropped her off, but then driven straight home before walking to the pub. Something was bothering him about the timing of all of this though. For him to coincidentally get mugged on the same day, covered in scrapes and bruises on the exact same night, what were the chances? Maybe the attack on him wasn’t a random mugging, after all. Maybe he was targeted. But why would someone target him? And what did Caitlin have to do with it? Adrian couldn’t help feeling paranoid at this point. After what he had been through in the past with Dominic Shaw, his son’s stepfather – a man СКАЧАТЬ