Suddenly the security lights came on and illuminated the front of the house. Within seconds there was an explosion of sound – booms, as not just one door, but two or possibly three were smashed open. Loud shouts of ‘Police! Police!’ ripped through the night air.

Tom didn’t need to wait for any radio message to let him know they were in. He set off at a run up the drive. Lights were going on all over the house, and he hoped and prayed that the women were safe.

By the time he reached the side door the noise had died down. Inside, officers were swarming along corridors and running up and down stairs.

‘Have we found anyone?’ Tom asked the sergeant.

‘We’ve found the door. We’re going to have to break it down. They’re going in now.’

Tom heard the officers shouting to anyone on the other side of the door to move away, and then there was another loud boom as the door to the cellar was broken down. Tom rushed towards the entrance as two men raced down the stairs.

The sergeant’s radio crackled into life. ‘Ambulance needed. Woman down, unconscious.’

Tom desperately wanted to get into the cellar, but there were two officers down there and this was a crime scene, so until Jumbo arrived the priority had to be to get the women out.

‘Is the other woman okay?’ the sergeant said into his radio. There was a crackle before Tom heard the answer: ‘There’s only one woman here, Sarge. Nobody else.’

CHAPTER 66

66

When Becky returned to the interview room, she wasn’t entirely surprised to see Callie with her arms wrapped around herself as if she was trying to keep warm. Her face had a grey, defeated look to it.

‘Are you okay, Callie? Are you feeling ill?’

‘Yes, mainly because of what I’ve just read.’

Becky felt a pang of guilt. The article about Garrick was on Google for the world to see, though, and in spite of all that had happened to Callie, Becky felt she was still conflicted. The last few days may have been hell, but prior to that she had seen Thea and Garrick Atwell as her saviours and was struggling to balance the bad against the good. Becky needed her onside – to give them every piece of information they might need to convict the couple for their crimes.

‘I’m sorry, but I thought you deserved to know.’

Callie shrugged. ‘What a bastard. I never liked his so-called treatment sessions, but I accepted them because I believed I was such an evil person.’

There was nothing that Becky could say to that, so she changed the subject.

‘I’ve found an answer to your question about Albie. There were no babies reported missing in the period you mentioned, but we think we know what happened. DCI Douglas says you met Hannah’s brother.’