She was so fast that he didn’t even see the blow to his head coming until it had already connected. The force of her foot in his face caused his head to snap to the side. He saw stars for a moment before he refocused on her. She smiled at him and lowered her guard, and he used the opportunity to launch himself across the room at her, but fell hard onto his knees when she darted out of the way. Another blow to the back of his head left him sprawled face down on the floor.
‘Now, where was I?’ she asked, walking around his prostrate body as he struggled to breathe through the pain. ‘Ah yes, the nameless nine-year-old. Have you ever been to Siberia, Daniel?’
‘What?’ Daniel wheezed, pushing himself up onto all fours only to be kicked in the ribs and collapse onto his back.
‘Let me tell you: it’s cold. Freezing fucking cold. Have you ever been hungry and freezing cold? So hungry and cold that you would do anything to be warm, anything to be full?’
He tried to sit up and she squatted in front of him, delivering a swift punch to the throat that left him winded and gasping.
‘My mother and I, we were that hungry, Daniel. She would have done anything, and she did, right up untilherpimp killed her. He might not have been as successful a pimp as you but he, like you, knew how to keep his bitches in line.’
She put one foot either side of Daniel’s torso and squatted down, grabbing his shirt collar to lift his head off the floor and looking straight into his eyes.
‘That’s why they recruited me, you know,’ she told him, never breaking eye contact. ‘At nine years old I knew what to do with a murdering pimp, and I did it. When they found me they thought to themselves: if she can do this at nine with no training, what could she be capable of as a grown-up, and how could we use her? Just another example of men using women to get what they want.’ She threw his head back and it made a sickening crack against the floorboards. ‘Yes, I know what to do with pimps, Daniel, but unfortunately for you in this case I’ve already sold that privilege to somebody else.
‘I … I –’ Daniel stammered through his aching throat, watching as she crossed the room and started unlocking the door.
‘Sometimes I work for governments, sometimes for private companies, but sometimes I simply work for whoever can pay me the most. I’m not fussy that way, and you, Daniel, have a lot of enemies. You really should have thought before you killed Gregoski. Us Russians aren’t big on mercy.
‘You know, I’m very private. I would never tell anyone that much about my background. Not if I thought they were going to be able to repeat it.’
He watched the door swing open and several large bodies filled the room whilst Goodie melted away into the background, her dog padding silently after her.
‘I see the little girl has had her fun,’ the largest of the men said in a strong Russian accent. ‘Our turn now, I think.’
*****
‘We’ve been over this enough now,’ Sam growled at the inspector for about the fourth time, standing up from the uncomfortable hospital chair and crossing his arms over his chest.
‘Listen, Mr Clifton, if Daniel Baxter was there, then the more details we can get the better.’
‘She’s given you everything she knows; just like she gave the other officers.’
‘If we’re to have any hope of finding him then we have to make sure we have all the details. I know that she –’
‘It’s fine,’ Katie cut in, and both men turned to her. Sam felt his hands clench into fists at his sides. She looked so small on the bed, one side of her face covered with a large purple bruise and her eye nearly swollen shut. She laid her hand on Sam’s arm and he frowned at how cold it felt. ‘When I regained consciousness there were just the other two men lying on the floor. Daniel had left. He didn’t share any of his plans with me before he knocked me out, other than all that stuff about how he was going to make me happy, that he was powerful and that he could …’ she took a deep breath and Sam felt her shiver, ‘… that he could make people disappear.’
Sam was done. They had all they needed and he knew that they would never find Daniel Baxter, even with all the evidence in the world. Not in this lifetime.
‘That’s it, boys. You’re out of here,’ he told them. The inspector eyed Sam’s large frame for a moment, then sighed in defeat.
‘Okay, but if you remember anything, Dr Kendrick, please call me on this number, day or night.’
‘Wow,’ Katie said, taking the extended card reverently. ‘Day or night, just like onLaw and Order–awesome.’ The grim-faced officer shocked Sam by actually breaking into a smile. Katie was too adorable for her own good, Sam decided, as she forced a tin of biscuits that Lizzie, one of her A&E mates, had given her onto the inspector before he left, telling him he had to keep his energy up to ‘take down perps and such like’.
Katie’s smile died as the inspector left the room and she eyed Sam cautiously. ‘Um, I haven’t had the chance to say it yet, what with CT scans and police interviews, but … thanks. If you and …you know who… hadn’t turned up and –’
‘She’s not Voldemort, Katie,’ Sam said, rolling his eyes. ‘And the room’s not bugged. You can say her name.’ Katie widened her eyes, beckoned Sam closer and her voice dropped to a whisper.
‘I’ve watchedloadsofLaw and Order, Sam. They’re probably listening outside the door. Crime never sleeps.’
‘I don’t think that an extensive knowledge of crap American telly qualifies you to make accurate predictions with the British police force. Daniel might be a big fish but these guys are hardly MI6. I doubt their budget extends to chocolate biscuits, leave alone sophisticated surveillance equipment to monitor a witness who’s highly unlikely to lie in the first place.’
‘Where did she take him?’ she whispered.
‘I don’t know,’ Sam lied. ‘And even if I did I would never tell you. Believe me when I say, the less you know, the better. And don’t you dare thank that bitch. When I get my hands on her I’m –’
‘She did what she thought was best, Sam.’
