Blood Atonement by Dan Waddell Read Free Book Online Page A

and move out. I’d also add that your killer obviously drives. He is also reasonably fit and strong. I think I can come up with some more given time.’
    ‘Thanks, Susie,’ Harris said. ‘That’s all very helpful.’ A murmur of assent passed around the gathering. She flashed a quick smile but her look swiftly became sombre once more.
    What about a media appeal?’ Foster said. “I spoke to
    Naomi’s dad. He’s willing to do one.’
    Your call,’ she said. ‘Some paedophiles get their kicks
    from watching the family of their victims suffer. That may well be playing right into his hands.’
    “I agree,’ Harris said. ‘Let’s make him sweat.’ The others nodded their heads.
    “I don’t,’ Foster said. ‘A girl is out there, perhaps still alive. We need the public as our eyes and ears if we’re going to find her quickly.’
    Harris went silent for a while. We’ll revisit this later, but for now we hold the appeal back for another day.’
    ‘Fair enough,’ Susie said. ‘But I can only echo Grant’s
    point about finding her quickly. You know the rule in
    these cases — find them sooner rather than later, or they’re dead. These cases very rarely have happy endings. He will almost certainly kill Naomi once she’s served her purpose.
    If she’s not dead already, you have three or four days maximum or you’re looking for a corpse.’
     
    After the meeting broke up, Harris asked Foster to stay
     
    behind.
    “I owe you a coffee,’ Foster said to Susie as she left.
    “I’ll hold you to it,’ she replied.
    Harris closed the door behind her. ‘Grant, how does it
     
    feel to be back?’
    ‘Good. I suppose there have been gentler
    reintroductions,
    though.’
    ‘Yes. Nasty business. But it’s good to have you back
    when something like this breaks.’
    He’s flattering me. This is definitely not good news,
    Foster thought. Well, it’s nice to know I’m appreciated.’
    ‘Do you remember the evaluations and tests you underwent prior to your return to work?’
    Remember? How could Foster forget? After three
    months’ convalescence he’d decided to explore the idea
    of going back to work. It soon became clear that it might be easier to retrain as a brain surgeon. First he met with the force’s medical officer, a schoolmarmish woman in her late fifties with a double-barrelled name and a fearsome bedside manner. Then he met her again. Then he met with Harris and other members of the management
    team. Alongside the physiotherapist he was already seeing as part of his recuperation, he was sent to see a young doctor who took it upon himself not only to check Foster’s pulse and tap his chest but for some other unfathomable reason stick a gloved finger up his arse. He also underwent something called psychological evaluation with a young blonde woman in her thirties. He was then referred to a counsellor, whom he was still seeing monthly. That, actually, had been the thing that proved beneficial.
     
    Once his evaluation was complete he went back to see
    the Medical Officer, who took off her glasses and sucked one of the arms before asking what was his rush, wouldn’t he rather spend time at the police convalescence home in Harrogate? Foster said he would spend time in a home when he was eighty and unable to wipe his own backside,
    at which point she accused him of being hostile. He was
    referred back to another psychologist for a second opinion because his outburst was apparently in keeping with the first signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, and then sent to see Harris who tut-tutted at his attitude and told him if he wanted to return to work then being aggressive towards the person whose job it was to allow him back might not be the most politic thing to do. The second
    opinion agreed with the first: Foster was fit to return, though with a few caveats. He then spent countless hours in meetings with a dreary woman from Human Resources to discuss a ‘return to work plan’. When he pointed out in