The Doll's House - [52]
‘How did Roisin handle motherhood?’
Sinead would be closed to them soon – a total collapse looked imminent – so Helen pressed on, wanting to get as much information out of her as she could.
After a long silence, Sinead finally replied:
‘It wasn’t easy. She was still so young. None of her mates had kids, she just wanted to party, y’know? Don’t get me wrong, she loved Kenton to bits, but she wasn’t ready for him.’
‘So when she went missing, you didn’t report it at first?’
Sinead shook her head and took another long drag on her cigarette.
‘She’d been finding it tough. Kenton was never a good sleeper and Roisin always hated mornings,’ Sinead continued, smiling briefly at the memory of her grumpy daughter. ‘She tweeted saying she had to get away for a while, so it wasn’t that surprising…’
‘But?’
‘But it still didn’t feel right. Kenton was here alone in the flat. All night. If she really wanted to get away, I felt sure she would have brought him to me. I would have kicked up a fuss – I’ve got problems of my own – but she knows I would never have turned him away. I would have done what I could.’
Helen didn’t doubt it – Sinead’s love for her grandson shone through – the one bright spot in this whole story.
‘So you were worried?’
Sinead nodded, then went on:
‘But I didn’t want to contact the authorities, didn’t want to get Roisin into any trouble. She didn’t have much and relied on benefits to feed the boy.’
Bryan shifted uneasily in his seat – Sinead’s judgement of him was coming through loud and clear.
‘What did you think, Bryan?’ Helen said, shifting the focus to him. ‘When you heard Roisin was missing?’
Bryan shrugged – he clearly wanted this to be over as quickly as possible.
‘Were you surprised?’
‘Guess so.’
‘Why?’
‘Because… because this was all she had. The flat, the kid.’
‘Your son?’
‘Sure.’
Helen looked at him. She felt there was more here. That his surliness was more than just awkwardness.
‘You weren’t living with her when she went missing?’
‘Nah, we’d split.’
‘How long was this before…?’
‘About six months.’
‘And where were you living at the time?’
‘With friends.’
Helen was starting to get irritated by his determined non-engagement, but she swallowed her frustration and persevered.
‘Did she ever mention anything to you that subsequently you’ve thought was suspicious? Was she scared of anyone? Was she in trouble?’
‘No,’ he replied, shrugging.
Helen took this in, then:
‘So when Roisin went missing, who had keys to the flat?’
Helen said it lightly, but it was this that interested her most of all.
‘I did, of course,’ Sinead confirmed.
‘Bryan?’
‘She made me give my set back.’
‘Do you still have your key, Sinead?’
‘Of course. I’ve got all her things boxed up,’ she said, a touch indignantly.
‘I’m going to have to look at whatever you have – I hope you understand,’ Helen replied.
Sinead looked at Helen for a moment – it was clear that handing over the treasured keepsakes of her daughter would be hard – then she rose and headed upstairs with McAndrew, sense finally prevailing.
‘Were there any burglaries? Break-ins?’ Helen continued, turning back to Bryan.
Bryan shook his head.
‘Did she mention anyone hanging around? Did she ever have to change the locks? Or express any fears for her security?’
‘No, nothing like that,’ Bryan replied. ‘She was ok.’
‘I’m going to need you to write down the names of everyone she was in touch with,’ Helen continued, as Sinead rejoined them. ‘We’ll need to check them all out, see if anyone had reason to want to harm Roisin.’
The pair promised to help, for once singing from the same hymn sheet. Helen rose, thanking them for their time and headed for the door. She paused in the hallway to look at the boxes of possessions – three of them – that now encapsulated Roisin’s short life. Helen was suddenly overwhelmed with sadness – for her, for her son – and was pleased to make her excuses and leave. As she walked away, she turned to look once more at the bereaved family through the living room window. Bryan was getting ready to leave, Sinead had her head in her hands and beyond them playing happily on the sofa was Kenton, utterly oblivious to it all.
87
There she was – slumbering as usual. Snapping the wicket hatch shut, he drew the bolts and unlocked the door. He was still scrupulous about security, despite the thawing in their relations and never hung around. He had paid the price for carelessness before.
‘Summer?’
Shaking his head, he shut the door, locking it quietly behind him. Summer had never been a morning person. Sometimes it irritated him, other times he found it entertaining. Today he was in indulgent mood.
‘Time to get up. We haven’t got much time, but I can get you something nice for breakfast if you like. I can do pancakes…’
Pancakes had always been her favourite. Why shouldn’t he spoil her now and again?
The international bestseller that "grabs the reader by the throat" (Crime Time).First in the new series featuring Detective Inspector Helen Grace.Two people are abducted, imprisoned, and left with a gun. As hunger and thirst set in, only one walks away alive.It's a game more twisted than any Detective Inspector Helen Grace has ever seen. If she hadn't spoken with the shattered survivors herself, she almost wouldn't believe them.Helen is familiar with the dark sides of human nature, including her own, but this case-with its seemingly random victims-has her baffled.
Детектив-инспектор Хелен Грейс расследует серию преступлений, в каждом из которых похищены два человека. Похититель ставит свои жертвы перед страшным выбором – убить другого или умереть самому. Как долго продолжится эта смертельная игра, зависит только от Хелен. Ведь этими похищениями маньяк шлет послание лично ей.
Detective Helen Grace faces her own dark compulsions in the new thriller from the international best-selling author of Pop Goes the Weasel and Eeny Meeny.In a world where disguises and discretion are the norm, and where one admission could unravel a life, a killer has struck, and a man is dead. No one wants to come forward to say what they saw or what they know – including the woman heading the investigation: Detective Helen Grace.Helen knew the victim. And the victim knew her – better than anyone else.
THE FOURTH DI HELEN GRACE THRILLER BY BESTSELLING AUTHOR M J ARLIDGE 'Helen Grace is one of the greatest heroes to come along in years' JEFFERY DEAVER In the dead of night, three raging fires light up the city skies. It's more than a tragic coincidence. For DI Helen Grace the flames announce the arrival of an evil she has never encountered before. Because this is no firestarter seeking sick thrills, but something more chilling: a series of careful, calculating acts of murder. But why were the victims chosen? What's driving the killer? And who will be next? A powder keg of fear, suspicion and dread has been laid.
From the international bestselling author of Eeny Meeny comes the second thriller in the truly excellent series * featuring Detective Helen Grace."A man s body is found in an empty house.A gruesome memento of his murder is sent to his wife and children."He is the first victim, and Detective Helen Grace knows he will not be the last. But why would a happily married man be this far from home in the dead of night?The media call it Jack the Ripper in reverse: a serial killer preying on family men who lead hidden double lives.Helen can sense the fury behind the murders.
В порыве гнева гражданин Щегодубцев мог нанести смертельную рану собственной жене, но он вряд ли бы поднял руку на трёхлетнего сына и тем самым подверг его мучительной смерти. Никто не мог и предположить, что расследование данного преступления приведёт к весьма неожиданному результату.
Предать жену и детей ради любовницы, конечно, несложно. Проблема заключается в том, как жить дальше? Да и можно ли дальнейшее существование назвать полноценной, нормальной жизнью?…
Будущее Джимми Кьюсака, талантливого молодого финансиста и основателя преуспевающего хедж-фонда «Кьюсак Кэпитал», рисовалось безоблачным. Однако грянул финансовый кризис 2008 года, и его дело потерпело крах. Дошло до того, что Джимми нечем стало выплачивать ипотеку за свою нью-йоркскую квартиру. Чтобы вылезти из долговой ямы и обеспечить более-менее приличную жизнь своей семье, Кьюсак пошел на работу в хедж-фонд «ЛиУэлл Кэпитал». Поговаривали, что благодаря финансовому гению его управляющего клиенты фонда «никогда не теряют свои деньги».
Очнувшись на полу в луже крови, Роузи Руссо из Бронкса никак не могла вспомнить — как она оказалась на полу номера мотеля в Нью-Джерси в обнимку с мертвецом?
Действие романа происходит в нулевых или конце девяностых годов. В книге рассказывается о расследовании убийства известного московского ювелира и его жены. В связи с вступлением наследника в права наследства активизируются люди, считающие себя обделенными. Совершено еще два убийства. В центре всех событий каким-то образом оказывается соседка покойных – молодой врач Наталья Голицына. Расследование всех убийств – дело чести майора Пронина, который считает Наталью не причастной к преступлению. Параллельно в романе прослеживается несколько линий – быт отделения реанимации, ювелирное дело, воспоминания о прошедших годах и, конечно, любовь.
Егор Кремнев — специальный агент российской разведки. Во время секретного боевого задания в Аргентине, которое обещало быть простым и безопасным, он потерял всех своих товарищей.Но в его руках оказался секретарь беглого олигарха Соркина — Михаил Шеринг. У Шеринга есть секретные бумаги, за которыми охотится не только российская разведка, но и могущественный преступный синдикат Запада. Теперь Кремневу предстоит сложная задача — доставить Шеринга в Россию. Он намерен сделать это в одиночку, не прибегая к помощи коллег.