‘I’m guessing someone doesn’t want anyone to see what’s going on inside that house,’ Officer Blythe says with urgency, pressing the main button and calling it in, requesting immediate backup.
‘Do you think it’s Jamie? I mean Jamie wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. I’m sure he wouldn’t…’
Officer Blythe decided that Lisa needed to hear the truth. ‘I don’t want to worry you, but I had the tapes from last night analysed by an ex-colleague of mine who owed me a favour, so that we could speed things up a bit. Rebecca was adamant that we took a look at them, and she was right, someone had tampered with them. They’d deleted the original footage and placed the old footage on a loop. Just like this.’
‘So, Rebecca could be there right now. In one of these rooms. But we can’t see her?’ Lisa questioned, panic spreading through her. ‘But why would Jamie go to such lengths to disguise the footage? What could he be hiding?’
‘That’s what we need to find out,’ Blythe said, having already suspected Jamie’s involvement in all of this. He had concerns of his own.
‘We don’t know anything for certain yet; right now our priority is finding Jamie and making sure that Rebecca is safe.’
‘You think she’s in danger?’ Lisa asked, her voice rising, but Officer Blythe didn’t answer her question.
‘I’m going to get a family liaison officer to come and sit with you and Ella, okay? I don’t want either of you to move from this house.’
Lisa nodded as she watched him hurry out through the front door and wait for back up to arrive, just as Ella started to cry, probably picking up on the fear that rippled through her right now.
Lisa hugged her closely, rocking the baby back and forth to soothe her cries, as she prayed that she was wrong about Jamie.
‘It’s okay, darling,’ she whispered to the child. ‘Nothing’s going to happen to you, I promise.’
She just wished she could be so certain about Rebecca.
Jamie wouldn’t hurt her though, Lisa knew that.
Would he?
Chapter Forty-Four
‘Get the fuck off me.’ Rebecca’s words were lost as she chokes loudly, twisting her head away from Mark’s grip as he pinches either side of her face. Her lips were forced apart, as Mark pours a few more tablets into her mouth, his grip too strong.
He forces down more water, clamping her mouth shut with the palm of his hand to ensure that she does what she’s told and swallows the medication.
‘There’s a good girl! Drink it all down.’
‘You can’t do this,’ Jamie blurted out, unable to remain silent any longer.
The knife is on the coffee table now where Mark had placed it down beside him. Just a little too far from Jamie’s reach.
The man’s threats were still spinning around and around Jamie’s head.
He was really going to kill Rebecca.
‘Whatever she’s done, this isn’t going to make it right.’
‘Whatever’s she’s done? You heard exactly what she’s done, and you still don’t get it, do you?’ Mark said with a sneer, as Rebecca choked down the last of the tablets now that the confession had been written.
‘I killed Jessica. I left her inside the car, and I ran away,’ Mark said mimicking Rebecca’s voice as he read the line out loud.
‘This isn’t about making things right. Nothing can make any of this right. Nothing will bring back my Jessica. This is about making this bitch pay. This is about taking everything away from her that she’s ever loved. Think about it, Alex. You won’t get to see that precious baby of yours grow up. You’ll miss her first word, her first steps. Her first day at school. You’ll miss all of it. Just like I’ve had to…’
Mark was bellowing now, his hands clenched at his sides to stop them from shaking.
‘Her last day at school. Her wedding day. You took that from me, you took all of it…’
His eyes don’t move from Rebecca’s.
She’d gone quiet now, slumped back in the chair, the medication she’d been forced to take starting to take effect on her. Drowsy. As if at any moment she would just close her eyes and go to sleep.
Only, he knew that as soon as she did, she wouldn’t wake up again and Mark wasn’t ready to let her go just yet.
He wanted her to suffer. To really suffer.
He wanted her to hurt as much as he was.
‘How could you do it, Alex? How could you leave her there, inside that car? You should have at least tried to get her out. But instead you ran. Because you’re a gutless coward. All you care about is yourself. That’s all you ever cared about.’
Jamie found his moment then, aware that Mark was caught up in his anger as he stood up and paced the room, that he was distracted. Jamie knew it was now or never.
He made a grab for the knife, pouncing from the sofa, reaching out his hands until he was just millimetres away.
Only Mark had already anticipated Jamie’s move.
And he was on him in just seconds.
‘Jamie!’ Rebecca managed to scream, trying to warn Jamie as she swung her legs off the sofa, forgetting they were tightly bound, that she couldn’t do anything to help.
It was already too late, anyway.
The two men were exchanging blows and although Mark’s frame was more slight than Jamie’s, he fought ferociously, like a wild, frantic animal, fuelled by years of fury.
Jamie fought back, but he was losing. He didn’t look as if he stood a chance as Mark punched him, wrestling him to the floor.
Rebecca screamed loudly as the two men crashed through the coffee table, the wooden legs splintering beneath them, as they obliviously continued to exchange blows.
Rebecca could already feel herself growing tired, the energy draining from her, her eyes just wanting to close.
She needed to get out. Staring over towards the front door, she realised that this was her chance to escape, only her mind was foggy, and she wasn’t thinking clearly. Awkwardly, she tumbled onto the floor and scrambled to get back up, only she couldn’t. Her whole body felt heavy, as if it was beginning to turn to lead, the tablets had started working.
Move, she told herself silently, only her body was fighting against her now, and a part of her just wanted to just give in to it, to lie down on the carpet and go to sleep. She’d feel better then. She was sure of it.
Only, she kept thinking about Ella.
MOVE, REBECCA. MOVE.
‘Where’s Ella, Jamie?’
She needed to get out of here. To stay awake. Stay alive. For Ella’s sake, if nothing else.
Seizing her opportunity as Mark and Jamie continued to struggle, she wriggled along the floor as best as she could with her legs still bound, turning to keep an eye on them.
Jamie had the knife now. There was hope, only it was diminished quickly.
‘Let it go, or I’ll break every bone in your hand,’ Mark threatened Jamie through gritted teeth, his hand clamped hard around Jamie’s, squeezing his fingers with every bit of strength he had, so that Jamie had no choice but to release his grip on the knife’s handle.
Rebecca watched in horror as the weapon fell to the floor, wincing as Mark got on top of Jamie again, straddling his body, pinning him to the floor, before unleashing a rain of almighty punches.
Jamie was losing. Mark was overpowering him.
It would be her turn soon, Rebecca knew.
She needed to move faster.
Dragging herself across the floor, her head was spinning, her mind going into overdrive at what Mark would do next.