Silk Over Razor Blades (32 page)

‘Daddy?’ Lenina jerked
straight, snapping the damaged metal bar.

Her father marched into the
room, shaking off the desperate grasp of a community support
officer.

‘Hey, chuck,’ he offered her a
brief smile before turning his attention to the man at the table.
‘Chief Inspector Hobb?’

Rat-man sat straight. ‘You
can’t be here. We’re conducting an interview.’

‘No, you’re bullying my
daughter.’

Hobb stood, stretching his
spine to reach his full height of five feet and little else. ‘I
have one dead detective, another missing, two dead bodies and no
answers. No weapon. This woman—’

‘Lenina,’ Ray cut in.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Her name is Lenina.’

‘Right. This woman—’

‘Lenina. Use her name, Chief
Hobb.’

Half-hidden behind the door, PC
Jackson smirked into his hand.

Hobb wiped his hands down the
front of his bright pink shirt. ‘Lenina . . . Lenina is involved
with two of those three things and I’d like some answers. Now if
you’d step outside—’

‘Have you been answering the
chief’s questions, chuck?’

‘For an hour,’ she
muttered.

Ray nodded. ‘And do you have
anything else to add?’

‘No.’

‘Then surely you’re free to
go?’ He directed the question at Hobb whose neck had taken on the
colour of beetroot.

‘I’m not done.’

‘Fair enough. I’ll just need a
second.’ Ray tugged a mobile from the front of his leather
jacket.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Calling a solicitor.’ He
smiled. ‘I assume since you’re keeping my daughter here, that
you’ve arrested her. She’s entitled to legal representation, am I
right?’

Hobb’s cheeks and forehead
coloured to match his neck. ‘That isn’t necessary, Mr Miller, is
it?’

‘It is, and by “not necessary”
do you mean Lenina isn’t under arrest?’

‘Yes, but—’

‘And she isn’t going to be
charged?’

‘Not at the moment, but I still
need—’

‘If there’s no charges and no
arrest, we’ll be on our way.’

‘I can hold her for twenty four
hours, Mr Miller. I don’t have to arrest her.’

Ray didn’t lower the phone. ‘I
understand. In that case, if you’re going to hold her, I trust
you’ll be providing her with a counsellor or some other support? My
daughter has been through a number of traumas in a short space of
time. Did you know her fiancé was murdered less than twelve hours
ago? He worked for the local newspaper.’

‘Newspaper?’ The change to
Hobb’s face was startling. His gaunt cheeks now resembled the white
table on which he suddenly leaned. ‘Yes, I . . . I did know that. A
terrible, terrible thing.’

‘Terrible.’ Ray’s voice
hardened. ‘And I’m sure you’re all working hard to catch the madman
who’s clearly been stalking my daughter.’

‘We have his description. All
officers are on active search.’

‘I’m not talking about the
homeless man. I mean the detective who was grooming my distraught
and vulnerable daughter from the moment he met her.’

Hobb opened his mouth but no
words came out. Eventually he managed, ‘What do you mean?’

‘Did you tell him how he came
to the house alone, Chuck? How he gave you his personal number when
he thought I wasn’t looking? How he touched you?’

Learning that her father had
been eavesdropping shouldn’t have surprised Lenina at all. She
looked at him, watching his face and the sympathy there mingled
with frustration and anger.

Hobb’s lips twisted as though
he’d bitten a lemon ‘Did Detective Blake touch you, Miss
Miller?’

She hesitated. ‘Yes.’

‘Inappropriately?’

‘He said I was beautiful,’ she
murmured, skirting around the question. ‘He said he would take care
of me. I wanted him to— I was so scared. Everything happened so
fast.’

‘And he came to your house
without Inspector Thorne?’

‘This morning.’ She glanced at
the clock. ‘Yesterday. He said he wanted to check on me.’

Hobb looked like a man
realising he’d lost his winning lottery ticket. ‘You never told us
about that.’

‘You didn’t give me a
chance.’

Nervous fingers fanned his pink
shirt against his chest. ‘This changes things somewhat.’

‘I don’t know what your rules
are on victim support,’ said Ray, ‘but we have every reason to file
a list of complaints about the conduct of your officers and your
personal handling of this investigation. Fortunately for you,
taking my daughter home and looking after my family at a time like
this is far more important than embarrassing you or your
staff.’

The threat couldn’t have been
clearer if he’d shouted it. Lenina bit her lip and kept still,
trying not to bring attention to the broken cuff dangling from her
right wrist.

‘Get those things off her.’
Hobb jerked his head at the uniformed officer. ‘She can go.’

Ray beamed. ‘Thank you, Chief.
I’m glad we understand each other.’

PC Jackson pushed away from the
wall and walked around his boss. Though he kept his gaze averted,
Lenina saw the smallest hint of a smile playing over his lips. The
left cuff flopped against the chair with a clang and he reached
across her for the second. He sucked in a sharp breath.

‘What the hell?’

‘Maybe it was faulty,’ she
murmured. ‘I didn’t want to say anything.’

Saar took the opportunity to
lash out with his power, cracking a whip-like line of invisible
energy at the officer’s head. Jackson shook himself. Swayed. Shot
out one hand to grip the back of Lenina’s chair. ‘Right. Must have
been.’ His voice was a toneless drone.

She stood. ‘Does that mean I
can go, Chief Hobb?’

Interrupted from his glaring
match, Hobb turned away from her father and rubbed his furry upper
lip. ‘Not far. I’ll need your passport and don’t even think about
leaving the city. We’ll be watching you.’

‘She’ll be with Ramona
Phillips,’ Ray cut in. ‘I’m sure you remember her from
earlier.’

The twist of Hobb’s mouth
confirmed he did. ‘We have her address at the front desk.’

‘Good. Come on, chuck.’

Determined to get the last
word, Hobb leaned over the table. ‘Make sure you get changed before
you go, we need those clothes for processing.’

‘I’ll take care of it,’ Ray
murmured, leading the way out.

***

Focused on rubbing her aching
wrists, Lenina stumbled and almost fell when Ramona smothered her
with a giant hug. Spitting out mouthfuls of curly red hair, she
clutched her best friend and felt some of the tension ease from her
limbs. Even Saar, though clearly baffled by her reaction, stepped
back in her mind and watched with wary curiosity.

‘Nina, how awful! What
happened? Why did you go to his house? What did he do? Did he touch
you?’

Lenina jerked away, afraid the
truth of her actions might somehow show on her face or in her
words. ‘It’s my fault.’

‘What? No, it’s not.’ Ramona
thumbed her nose. ‘You weren’t to know what he was like.’

‘What?’

‘You’ve not heard, have you?’
She lowered her voice and cut a significant glance at the front
desk.

Ray stood beside it arguing
with a frowning Chief Hobb, pointing at a community support
officer.

Lenina tugged her friend to one
side. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Your dad ended up at my house
looking for you. We came here to bust some heads – or so he put it
– and found out they were questioning you.’

‘I know all that, but—’

‘Don’t interrupt, I’m setting
the scene.’ Ramona flicked her hair and pressed on. ‘So he goes on
this crazy rampage and marches down the hallway, saying he’ll knock
on every door until he finds you. That guy,’ she hooked a thumb at
the cringing CSO, ‘follows and leaves the desk completely empty. So
I wait here, twiddling my thumbs like an idiot and hear these other
guys talking about Blake.’

Lenina flinched. She couldn’t
feel him or hear him, but the faint imprint of his presence
lingered in her mind like a stain she couldn’t wipe away.

Saar growled. killed him>

Ignoring him, she waited for
more of the story.

Ramona’s grin widened. ‘They
said he was in big trouble for sneaking you away like that. That
Chief Hobb suspended him and that’s why the other detective was
going to get you. They already
knew
that he’d kidnapped
you.’

‘Kidnapped?’

‘What else would you call it?
That crazy guy attacks you in your house, kills poor Nick, and runs
off. Then this detective comes along and takes you to his house
instead of protective custody. I think he saw a chance to play with
a new, fragile victim and whisked you away before anybody could
help.’

Lenina shook her head.

‘And it turns out this isn’t
the first time he’s been in trouble for
fraternising
with
witnesses.’ She made quote marks with her fingers. ‘Before he
transferred here, his last force disciplined him for indecent
relations with a female officer linked to a murder case. Three
weeks later she disappeared.’

Lenina opened her mouth but no
sound came out. ‘When you say “disappeared”?’

‘Those guys said “disappeared”
but I guess they meant “transferred”. Probably chased out, made to
feel slutty for being targeted by a serial womaniser.’

She thought of Tristen’s warm
fingers on her hips. His lips, his eyes. The cold, smug smile when
he spoke of forging a link with her. How she wasn’t the first.

‘Hey, you’re shaking. Come
here, hon, it’s okay.’ Ramona put an arm around her shoulders. Her
voice levelled off, as though for the first time she remembered why
else they were there. ‘Wherever he is, he can’t bother you again.
And that ginger guy won’t find you either. You’re coming with me so
Verni and I can look after you. You’re safe now.’

Safe.

Folding into her friend’s
embrace, Lenina closed her eyes and wished she could believe that
were true.

Lenina woke to an unfamiliar
ceiling and sheets smelling strongly of lemons. She sat up,
squinting into the shaft of sunlight slicing through the
ill-fitting purple curtains.

for attack>

She groaned. ‘Attack from
who?’

Though amused at Saar’s
nickname for Tristen, Lenina had no patience for it. ‘After last
night he won’t come near me. I’m safe.’

Swinging her legs out of bed,
Lenina rubbed her eyes.

The borrowed nightdress fell
three inches short of her knees and she watched the goosebumps
prickle into being across her shins and thighs.

She stared at the dresser and
the collection of essentials on top: moisturiser, deodorant,
cleansing wipes. So small compared to her own. When she would see
her own essentials again, let alone her house, was something she
didn’t want to consider. Memories of the night before crept back
slowly, a miserable film reel of events combining to bring her to
this lonely moment.

are weak>

‘Shut up.’

together?>

Lenina turned her gaze away
from the dresser and over the rest of the room. A cold bowl of
porridge stood on the bedside table, complete with a glass of
orange juice. A small fly floated on the top.

Many people came in this room>

‘You would have dealt with any
real danger. Wouldn’t you?’

weak>

As if to add weight to his
disappointment, the barely healed wound on her left cheek
itched.

Soft knocking at the door stole
her attention. ‘One second.’ She knew without looking who it would
be. Snatching at Verni’s dressing gown, she tugged it on and
wrestled it closed.

the other. She has generous bosom, like you>

Lenina rolled her eyes and
chose not to give credit to the ancient vampire’s fashion advice.
When covered enough to suit her sense of modesty, she opened the
door.

‘Hey, chuck.’ Ray spoke in a
whisper, his gaze focused on her toes.

She smiled. ‘Hi, Dad. You look
exhausted. Did you sleep at all?’

‘Not really. Too worried about
you.’ He shuffled his feet, a subtle display of emotion from a man
so tall and broad one might expect him to be immune. Lenina knew
better. Even without the abilities of a vampire.

‘I’m sorry. I should have
listened to you.’

‘You’re my daughter . . .
you’re not supposed to. How are you feeling?’

She hugged herself. ‘Tired.
Sore. What time is it?’

‘One-thirty.’ He nodded at her
gasp of surprise. ‘Guess you needed the sleep. Lunch is gone, but
Ramona won’t mind if I make you something. Or I could take you out
for a meal?’

‘I’m not hungry.’

He nodded, still not meeting
her eyes. ‘I wish I knew what to say.’

‘It’s okay.’

‘It’s not. You’re my daughter.
My only little girl. But there’s nothing I can do to make this
better.’

His guilt wrung her heart.
‘This isn’t your fault.’

Ray gnawed his thumbnail. ‘Your
mother’s coming up with Jordan in a couple of hours. I thought
you’d appreciate the extra company.’

‘Thanks.’ She watched him for a
moment longer. ‘Actually, Daddy, lunch would be nice.’ His smile
made the sacrifice worthwhile. ‘I’m not promising I’ll eat, but I
don’t want to stay indoors.’

She set her jaw. ‘I want to
hear people laugh. See people smiling.’

‘I understand, Chuck.’

Lenina felt sure he really did.
‘I’ll get dressed.’

‘See you downstairs.’ Ray left
with a lightness to his step and a lift to his shoulders that
hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.

After closing the door, Lenina
returned to the bed and perched on the end. She shut her eyes,
folded her hands in her lap and let her mind drift. Mere seconds
passed before she found Tristen. He was far away and moving
further, at speed. How she knew, she couldn’t be sure, but her
awareness of him remained constant. Lenina lifted her hand, pointed
through one of the walls and knew with absolute certainty that
Tristen lay somewhere in that direction.