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Chapter 260: Saviours, Part 18
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Mastering Charlotte Chapter 261: Saviours, Part 19, Five Years Ago
The following night, three dozen small alert bodies lie under their covers, waiting.And in the cold dark hours, there is the sound of scraping and grinding. "Tommy?""Yes, it's me. Just keep quiet and let me know if you hear anyone moving." Two girls dart to the door to the corridor, listening. All is silent save for the slight metallic grinding noise, the rasp of metal biting metal.Somewhere in the building, a toilet flushes."There's someone below you." a piping voice warns.The rasping noise stops.After a few seconds, there are the dull thuds of heavy boots echoing on bare wooden boards and the bang of a door somewhere far off in the building."I think it's alright now."And the noise resumes, a thin quiet fretting sound heard only by those gathered closely around.With the grate and scrape of grit and cement, a bar slides out of its socket. The voice murmurs through the glass. I've got one out. It'll be faster now. I can pick at the cement for the others.
Mastering Charlotte Chapter 262: Saviours, Part 20
JamesNone of us speaks through our journey. We know what we're doing, what our intentions are.And this time, it is almost certainly a question of rescue. What are the chances of Charlotte escaping again? Resourceful though she is....A worry nags at me. I lean back to Richard in the rear seat. "We are sure this is the right place we're going?""Will said that the gunman was anxious to 'be helpful'," he replies. "He knows he's up for twenty to life. It's a question of how comfortable he's going to be for most of the rest of his future. He insisted apparently, that if the underground hideouts are off the menu, this is where they would take the women."I suppose I have to be satisfied with that for now. In any case, we'll soon know.Would Charlotte and Beth's abductors choose something so close out of bravado? To throw us off by misdirection? Thumbing their noses at us? A last 'fuck-you' parting shot? Could the gunman taken from the hotel fire have even been sure that....
Mastering Charlotte Chapter 263: Saviours, Part 21, Five Years Ago
He sits in an armchair by the fireside, a teapot, cup and saucer and a small jug of milk on the table to his side.The room is warm and comfortable, homely, with framed photos displayed on a mantle. One is old, monochrome ageing to yellow of a young couple, smiling and arm-in-arm. Another is of a young red-haired girl. Mr Kalkowski moves slowly, his hair silver and cheeks sunken, but his eyes are bright and dark behind the spectacles.He takes the cup, sighing with enjoyment as he takes his first sip of morning tea, then unfolds the newspaper, shaking it to settle it to a comfortable reading position.And as he sees the headline, he goes still.Child Slavery Scandal - Children's Home Linked to Sex MarketReports are emerging of the escape of up to eighty children from the Blessingmoors Children's Home. Speculation is rife that the children were trafficked from countries worldwide and were destined for the sex market and labour gangs....He reads the article carefully, dr
Mastering Charlotte Chapter 264: Saviours, Part 21
RichardWe arrive under the window ledge. James inches up, looks in and then immediately drops down again, shaking his head and swearing under his breath. "Jeez… She's a fucking lunatic sometimes."Michael huffs. "What's she doing?""Winding them up, drawing them onto her. I think she's enjoying it.""You fucking bastards!" shrieks the voice. "You think you can do me? Let's see if you're up to it...."Michael's eyes meet mine and together we slide up, looking inside.The room is large, Klempner and his men gathered in a group.... And there's Elizabeth.My gut tightens. My beautiful Elizabeth. On the floor, hunched in on herself, arms wrapped around her knees she rocks herself. Her eyes are swollen with weeping, fiercely red against her pale face.She's terrified........ and Charlotte will keep her that way....Keep up the pretence....But the fear on her face is being nudged over by disbelief at what she sees. And at least for now, she's safe. Everyone is ignorin
Mastering Charlotte Chapter 265: Saviours, Part 22, Five Years Ago
A car crunches up the track, pulling into the yard. Mrs Collier looks out from the kitchen to see a uniformed police officer stepping out. She emerges, wiping soapy hands on a cloth."Afternoon officer. Is there something we can do for you?""Good afternoon Mrs…?""Collier.""Thank you." He takes a notebook from a pocket, jotting into it. "Good afternoon Mrs Collier. I'm looking for someone, a young woman by the name of Jennifer Conners. I understand she lives at this address. Is she around?""Jenny? No, she's not here." Mrs Collier frowns, pursing her lips. "Is she in some sort of trouble?""Nothing to worry about." The officer's smile is tight and somehow, not pleasant. "I just need a word with her. Got a couple of things we need to clear up. Where would I find her?" He swings his head around the yard, eyes invisible behind dark glasses."As I said, she's not here,"Something subtle shifts in his manner, an air almost of menace. He flips back a couple of sheets in the
Mastering Charlotte Chapter 266: Saviours, Part 23, Five Years Ago
Bech leans against the car, arms folded, pondering what best to do next.Klempner'll fuckin' fry me if I tell him I don't have the bitch....He looks up at the sound of footsteps. A young man, tall, blond, blue-eyed and unusually handsome approaches, then turns in to the Bennett house."Excuse me, would you be Chad Bennett?"He halts and turns. "Yes, that's right." He draws closer, looking surprised at first. "Why would a police officer be asking for me?""I'm asking in connection with Jennifer Conners. She's your wife I understand?"The man's eyes narrow. "Was my wife. What do you want with Jenny?""Was your wife? You're divorced?""If the papers haven't gone through yet, it'll happen any day. Now, why are you asking about Jenny? Has something happened to her?""We're trying to find her in connection with a series of recent petty thefts and scams."Chad snorts. "I don't believe that for a minute. You've got the wrong woman." Then he measures up the man in front of
Mastering Charlotte Chapter 267: Saviours, Part 24
RichardI'm pulled from my reverie by Charlotte's reply. "Yes, I would do that again. I couldn't leave Beth in here by herself. And I had to stop them realising that you were here."James' eyes soften, losing a little of their slit-eyed savagery. He glances across to Elizabeth, then back at Charlotte. "Beth is not your responsibility....""But she is," insists Charlotte. "She's my friend. It matters what happens to her. If you're going to punish me, then get on with it. I'd rather not wait, and I'm sorry for upsetting you, but I'm not sorry for what I did."His head tilts back, his gaze heading ceilingward for a few seconds, but the first blast of his rage is ebbing away. When he turns back to her, his voice is milder, although still with an edge."I haven't decided yet if I'm going to punish you. Astonishingly, I'd like to hear what you have to say."She looks up to him, meets his eye, then away again, blinking fast. "I didn't want Beth to get hurt." James' eyes flash t
Mastering Charlotte Chapter 268: Family, Part 1
RichardIt feels unreal. It can't possibly be real. The mind rejects such things. This isn't reality. It is the stuff of nightmares.The awful sight of James as the bullet impacts. His body jerking and jolting as he takes the shot intended for Charlotte. The agony and the shock when he cries out as he falls, unconscious, to lie in a pool of his own blood; a pool that spreads and grows, fed by the spurt of red where Corby's bullet speared into his flesh.Michael, gasping for breath, his blond hair dark with sweat, and eyes opaque with shock from the failure of his desperate attempt to bring Corby down before he could fire the shot.And Charlotte, howling in horror and disbelief, on hands and knees, covered in blood, James' blood, as she clutches and scrapes at his body.Is he dead?No....The blood is pumping....I have never seen Charlotte in anything like this condition. Always before, no matter how dire the situation, she has handled it. More than handled it. She has
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