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Chapters (60)
  1. CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR LEIGH RUSSELL
  2. Glossary of acronyms
  3. Prologue
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. Acknowledgements

‘You ought to report him,’ Christine said at last, in a decided tone of voice. ‘You can get the police to issue an injunction against him.’

‘What does that do?’

‘It means he isn’t allowed to come anywhere near you and if he does he can be arrested. You can’t let him near the baby. And you shouldn’t let him hit you, for that matter.’

‘I know; you’re right. He kept promising he would change, and I kept giving him another chance, and another one. But with Lily it’s different. If he lays a finger on her, he could kill her. She’s so tiny. I had to get her away from there. I had to bring her somewhere he wouldn’t find me. So you mustn’t tell anyone we’re here, not until I’ve figured out what to do.’

‘You did the right thing,’ Christine said. ‘We’ll keep her safe. No one’s going to hurt her. We won’t let them.’

‘I can’t believe she’s settled so readily with you.’

Christine let out a grunt of contentment as she felt the warm bundle resting in her arms. Smiling, she stroked Lily’s tiny fingers and Ella congratulated herself on having had the wit to find a safe haven, while outside the police continued hunting helplessly for her.

47

47

Within hours, DNA evidence found at Ella’s flat had been confirmed as a match for Daisy. They knew who had taken Jessica’s baby, but now Ella had vanished.

‘It can’t be that easy for a woman to disappear with a baby,’ a constable said.

Several other officers agreed.

‘Assuming she still has Daisy with her,’ Geraldine muttered, voicing everyone’s worst fear.

Panicking and alone, Ella might have realised the game was up. On her own she might be able to avoid attention, but with a young baby to care for wherever she went, her chances of escaping detection were slim. Clearly she was deranged to have kidnapped a baby in the first place, which meant her plans might be erratic at best, and certainly unpredictable. If she had decided to ditch Daisy, after leaving her flat off Holgate Street, there was no way of knowing what she might have done with the baby. The outlook for Daisy was not looking positive, and the longer Ella remained at large, the more of a danger she was going to pose, whether to Daisy, or to anyone else, including possibly any other baby she chanced to come across. At the risk of causing widespread panic, Eileen decided to give a statement to the media. It was a tricky subject, and Geraldine was concerned about what the detective chief inspector was planning to say, and how sensibly the media would report the story. Lurid headlines of a baby snatcher would not help the investigation.