Stolen by Lesley Pearse Read Free Book Online Page A

worth. Of course now I’ve met her parents, that explains that.’
    ‘Would you call her impetuous?’
    ‘No, not at all.’ Dale shook her head. ‘She wasn’t one for jumping into anything, even buying something impulsively. Definitely not a risk taker! I always had the idea that once she met the right man she’d settle down and have several children and never stray.’
    ‘Did she tell you of any past boyfriends?’
    ‘No. But I got the idea there had been someone important. She wasn’t entirely innocent, despite looking as if she’d just stepped out of a fairy tale. She’d definitely had a few lovers. But she wasn’t promiscuous either, she never dabbled with anyone on the ship, even though there were lots of guys who fancied her. That’s about all I can tell you.’
    ‘That’s OK. It’s time now I took you and your friend Scott to Chichester to visit her anyway.’ Bryan got to his feet. ‘I’m sure it will go without saying that she is very weak and still suffering from the effects of being in the sea such a long time. So don’t expect too much. I’m hoping that seeing you two will trigger her memory, but it is likely she won’t even know you, so please be prepared for that. Now, do you need permission to come with me?’
    Dale pulled a face at the prospect of having to ask Marisa. ‘We’d better,’ she said. ‘And I’ll need to call Scott. Can we meet you in reception in ten minutes?’
    An hour and a half later Scott and Dale were with Lotte in St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester. She had been put in a private room on Singleton Ward on the ground floor, with a policeman on duty outside the door.
    ‘Shit!’ Scott murmured as he saw the uniformed man. ‘I didn’t realize they saw this as a really serious crime. They must think she still needs protection.’
    If DI Bryan heard what Scott said, he made no comment, but said he would remain outside so they could see Lotte alone.
    ‘You’ll be less inhibited without me there,’ he said with a smile. ‘You’ll probably get more out of her too, if you don’t stand on ceremony with her. Bring up all your little private jokes, be real. Call me if she starts to remember anything. But don’t go on for too long, she badly needs rest.’
    Dale gasped involuntarily as they walked into the room, for Lotte looked terrible, almost unrecognizable as the outstandingly pretty girl they’d shared so many good times with. Her hair had been hacked off in lumps, she was very thin, terribly pale and bruised, and the skin on her face was flaking off. Even the big blue eyes they knew so well looked haunted and afraid.
    ‘Do you know us, Lotte?’ Dale said, taking her hand. ‘I’m Dale and this is Scott. We were your best friends on the cruise ship, we did everything together.’
    ‘Dale and Scott,’ Lotte said slowly as if testing the names against anything remaining in her memory bank. She looked searchingly at their two faces and it was clear she didn’t know them.
    Dale started to talk about the hairdressing salon and the names of the other staff there.
    ‘I used to call you my “slave”,’ she went on, tears prickling the back of her eyes and her voice shaking. ‘I am such a slob, you used to pick my clothes up for me and wash them. You are the best friend I’ve ever had.’
    Lotte squeezed her hand. ‘Your voice kind of sounds like I know it,’ she said, a look of frustration crossing her face. ‘I’m trying so hard to remember something, but there’s just shadows, nothing else.’
    ‘It’s very early days yet and you’re still very weak,’ Scott said, bending over to kiss her forehead. ‘I used to call you “Barbie Girl”.’
    Lotte looked hard at Scott for some little time, then sighed. ‘It’s there, I know it is, but there’s something blocking the way.’
    ‘We’ll find out what,’ Dale assured her. ‘We’ll come tomorrow with photos we took on the cruise. We’ll talk and talk until something gives and you remember