Skin and Bones by Tom Bale Read Free Book Online

interview
concluded and the presenter gave a brief, unnecessary recap, emphasising
the words significant and casualties with particular relish.
    'Quiet news day, was it?' Craig muttered. He could well imagine the
excitement filtering through news agencies and TV stations across the
country, perhaps even the world. Tragedy meant a story. It wasn't
personal, and Craig knew that as well as anyone. He couldn't really
blame them for sounding thrilled by what might transpire to be the
death of his father.
    It was the first time he'd admitted that possibility to himself, and
it brought him up with a jolt. Although in his seventies, his father
was still fit and active. After a long legal career as a QC, circuit judge
and finally a spell as Attorney General on the island of Montserrat,
in retirement he'd found a new lease of life as a dedicated guardian
of the village he had made home. If Abby was right, and someone
had gone on the rampage, there was very little chance that Dad would
have settled for running or hiding. Whatever the risk, he would see
it as his duty to confront the gunman.
    Craig sighed. No point thinking the worst. He jabbed the remote
control and the screen went blank. In the silence that followed he
registered what he'd been hearing subliminally for some time, but had
attributed to the TV.
    Dropping the remote, he got up and left the room. He was aware
of a breathlessness, his heart beating in peculiar rapid trills. When he
opened the front door the sound grew louder and unmistakable. Sirens.
    Goosebumps rose on his skin as he stood on the driveway and
listened. The Maidenbower estate was situated on the south-eastern
edge of Crawley, and the road in which he lived was less than half a
mile from the M23 motorway. Sirens were simply part of the soundtrack
of their lives, barely noticeable any more, but Craig had never
heard anything like this. The noise was so intense, so unwavering, it
could only be a whole fleet of vehicles, speeding in convoy towards
their destination.
    And their destination was Chilton. Craig had no doubt about that.
    Briefly the sirens were drowned out by the deep throbbing burr of
a helicopter. It raced overhead, travelling south. A few seconds later
another followed. When someone grabbed his leg, Craig gave a start.
He looked down to see Maddie, gazing at him with a concerned
expression. The sound of the helicopters subsided, allowing the wailing
chorus of sirens to dominate again.
    'Is that police cars, Daddy?'
    'I think so, darling. Police or ambulance.'
    'Or fire brigade.'
    'Or fire brigade,' he conceded.
    'There's lots of them. Has something really bad happened?'
    Craig tried to look genuinely untroubled. Lying to his daughter
had never been such a challenge.
    'I don't know.'

Nine
    Julia regained consciousness once on the way to hospital. At first she
thought it was the man in black holding her down, and her relief at
being alive was tempered by the knowledge that he had taken her
prisoner. Terrified of being raped, she struggled against her restraints
and tried to scream, but there was something blocking her mouth. As
she thrashed in panic, she heard muffled voices, almost drowned out
by a deafening clatter of engines. Someone shouted, 'Whoa! Careful!'
and someone else said, 'Watch the IV. She'll pull it out.'
    She was moving, but immobile. Strapped to a board, being manhandled
into a vehicle of some sort. She tried to open her eyes but
saw only blurs of light. Her senses were overloaded by noise and movement
and a terrible threatened pain. She could feel it lurking deep
within her, like a deadly animal barely held at bay. If it broke loose
it could kill her, and with this knowledge came an understanding that
she mustn't struggle. She must accept her fate.
    She drifted away for a time, then opened her eyes again. Now it
was a little clearer. She saw people huddled beside her and recognised
them as paramedics. The terrible rhythmic noise increased, and
a slice of blue sky shifted oddly