Miss No One Mark Ayre (children's books read aloud TXT) 📖

me, though?" He said. "Don't you fear what I might do?"

"People who fear the sights of a gun don't turn from the shooter," said Abbie. "I'm alert; my hearing's in top condition. You might think you can rush me. Why not give it a try?"

Her back to him, Abbie couldn't see Kilman's face, but that didn't matter. His hitched breathing told her all she needed to know. His temper was rising. Question was, how far could she push it before he did something stupid?

"You're in a world of trouble, girl," he said, which inspired some anger in Abbie, too.

"The police should be about more than stopping crooks," said Abbie. "As guardians, they should be held to a higher standard."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm twenty-nine," she said. "I've long since left girlhood behind and become a woman, though calling me woman wouldn't be ideal either. You know my name. Why not use it?"

"Someone's sensitive." Kilman sniggered at his own comment. Abbie rolled her eyes. At least he hadn't thrown out the phrase time of the month.

There was still time, of course.

Glancing at Gary, who remained on the floor, his knees to his chest, his head tucked in, Abbie said, "Was this part of the plan? The police?"

"What are you talking about?" said Kilman.

"Gary led me here," said Abbie. "He told me this was where the bad guys were keeping Isabella. But it’s a trap. Someone who doesn't want me involved threatened Gary, got him to lead me here. I wonder if that plan involved you."

Kilman chuckled. "Is that how you think you're getting out of this? Inventing other criminals? I believe the only crooks involved are those working with you. You targeted Ndidi and had your pals kidnap his daughter. Now you're assaulting the witness for giving a statement against you."

"That's a clear narrative," Abbie noted. And she meant it. And it was annoying. There was no hard evidence Abbie had anything to do with Isabella, but the circumstantial stuff was compelling. Plus, now Kilman had caught Abbie pointing a gun she wasn't legally allowed to carry into Gary's face; he had everything he needed to lock her up. Ana might get her out, but not before a trial, and there would be no bail in the interim.

All of which meant Abbie couldn't let the officer put the cuffs around her wrists.

Evading police capture would only make things worse in the long run, but the priority was saving Isabella. Once the danger to the girl had passed, Abbie would face the consequences of her actions.

How she would escape Kilman was still very much in question.

"Maybe you're in on it," she said. "Whoever kidnapped Isabella is linked to police corruption. Are you corrupt, Kilman? That would explain how you knew I was here."

"Oh, you do have a nerve, don't you? Girl."

Kilman wouldn't get this, but the fact he'd used the word specifically to annoy, rather than casually, unthinkingly, stole a lot of its power to frustrate Abbie.

"People in your station are being investigated," Abbie said. "Don't you know?"

Because she still had no intention of turning towards the armed detective, Abbie could not tell what Kilman's face was doing. Her clues to his state of mind came only from his tone.

"I've met some vile liars in my time."

And that tone told her plenty. A shiver ran down her spine, and she tried not to flinch. She couldn't let Kilman know she was slightly nervous he might lose control of his temper and put a bullet in the back of her skull.

"So, how did you know?" Abbie asked. "Lucky guess?"

"Are you going to tell me you came here under an invisibility cloak?"

“I’d never have guessed you were a Harry Potter fan."

"A uniform saw you make your way up here. They saw your gun and called me at once. I told them to back off. Said I'd deal with you."

That was interesting.

"My gun was concealed," said Abbie. "I was alert on my journey. Uniformed officers don't drive unmarked cars, and I'd have seen a cop on foot or in one of those glowing vehicles you make them drive. Which means one of two things."

"And they are?" Kilman asked. His voice was tight, as though his jaw had frozen and he was forcing the words through whatever gaps remained between his teeth.

"Either you're lying, there was no uniformed officer, and you're the bent cop. Or the uniformed officer is the one on the take, and they've orchestrated this little meeting."

"Or you're the liar," said Kilman.

"I appreciate you'd need to consider that as an option if you were telling the truth about the uniformed officer. The question is: if the uniformed officer is real and therefore corrupt, why did they want us to meet? Why here? They must have a plan."

Slowly, Abbie twisted towards Kilman. While her back was turned, he'd lowered his gun. When their eyes met once more, he raised his weapon, aiming at her chest. Centre mass. Smart.

Abbie looked at Gary.

"What did the crooks tell you, Gaz?"

Gary pressed his face deeper into his knees. Only under duress would he reveal more information, and Abbie couldn't put any pressure on the teenager with Kilman around. She had to do it through the cop.

"I've had enough," the detective was saying. "You'll allow me to cuff you, or I'll put a bullet in your leg. Turn away, see if I can't call it self-defence and get away with it. See if—"

"Shut up," said Abbie. She was sure she'd heard something on the building's other side. What was that? The sound of feet on concrete slabs?

At Abbie's order, Kilman's face went red with rage, and at first, his fury choked him. This gave Abbie a few seconds to listen and plot the newcomer's course, then Kilman was storming towards her, gun moving from Abbie's chest to her head.

'How dare you tell me—"

While Kilman shouted, Abbie lost track of the unknown element. How close were they now?

Annoyingly, she had problems far closer at hand.

Kilman was still coming. He wasn't going to shoot Abbie, but