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

the woman they wanted. If she tried to run, they'd give chase. If she took the left turn and carried on walking, they'd soon catch her anyway.

The slow-moving car turned at the junction and stopped in front of Abbie.

Perhaps sensing what was about to happen, the officers sped up again. One of them spoke. Abbie didn't just pretend not to hear them. She forced herself not to. Like a method actor.

With no idea who was in the car at the curb, she leaned forward, opened the door, and jumped into the front seat. Inside might be a murderer with a machete. He might chop her to pieces, but at least she wouldn't suffer the indignity of a couple of uniformed officers cuffing her and dragging her back to their car. Again.

As Abbie dropped into the front passenger seat, one of the cops started to yell, trying to grab her attention. The slamming door cut the word (Wait) in half.

At once, the car was moving, picking up speed but not in a suspicious manner. It was as though Abbie had walked to the junction knowing someone was due to pick her up. The someone had stopped the car, had collected Abbie, and was now picking up speed to match the traffic.

Maybe the police were already turning and rushing back to their car. Perhaps they were on their radios, reporting who they might have seen to their superiors. They would definitely have noted down the car’s numberplate.

As soon as the armed response teams learned Abbie was no longer at the school, they'd release the dogs, both literally and metaphorically.

Taking a deep breath as the car turned right at the first opportunity, Abbie turned to the driver.

"I think I'm going to need some good legal advice."

At the wheel, taking another turn, searching for a road with a higher speed limit, Ana smiled.

"You know what?" she said. "I can recommend just the person."

Twenty-Two

Abbie picked the lock, and she and Ana entered through the back door.

“Not to be a Debbie Downer, but this feels like a crap idea.”

Because they'd already had this conversation in the car, Abbie ignored Ana. They had entered a neat, sleek kitchen centred around an island. It was a modest size, neither cramped nor cavernous. Perfect for a small family.

Abbie went straight for the sink. Her clothes were stained with blood and dirt, nothing Abbie could do about that right now. Her hands and wrists were cut and marked. At the sink, Abbie used soap and hot water to clean her wounds and remove from her skin all traces of her fall. This done, she used the nearest tea towel to dry her hands and arms, and turned to Ana.

"I need coffee," said Abbie. "You want?"

Need was not a strong enough word in his context. Abbie was coming down off her adrenaline high and felt as though she might collapse. Her heart was still racing, her mind bouncing.

Mostly, she was angry. Angry she had again failed to deal with Smoker, angry she had been too distracted by Ben to more carefully scrutinise Gary, angry Orion had ably arranged for her to be framed for killing a police detective.

No doubt they'd have her up on charges for killing Hammond, too.

There was a ceramic jar filled with instant coffee on one of the surfaces. Ana hadn't answered, so Abbie looked to the young woman as she filled the kettle.

"As your lawyer, I should advise you not to get your prints on everything."

Abbie glanced at the kettle's handle. Shrugged. She understood why Ana was nervous, them being here, but it made sense. The police would expect Abbie to flee town. They would expect her to hide if she stayed, but this was one of the last places they would look.

Abbie filled the kettle with enough water for two and set it to boil. After a couple of tries, she found a cupboard filled to bursting with mugs. Avoiding the one that said "World's Best Mum," she collected two and held them up for Ana to see.

"Last chance."

Ana closed her eyes. Sighed. "Fine."

Smiling, Abbie placed the mugs on the side and closed the cupboard. As the kettle boiled, she turned to face her lawyer turned presumed accessory to murder.

"You’ve changed in the last month," said Abbie. “Can’t imagine the same Ariana who was prepared to destroy a teenage boy for revenge against his father would worry about touching a kettle."

“Grief makes us reckless,” said Ana. “I was worried about nothing other than avenging my sister. Didn’t even consider the fact that my actions would have horrified Aurora. It wasn’t the justice she would have wanted.”

“Sounds like grief alright,” said Abbie as she made for the fridge. “Let me guess, white with sugar?"

After extracting the semi-skimmed milk, Abbie turned back to Ana, who nodded. Returning to the counter with the mugs and the kettle, Abbie placed the milk down and located the sugar pot next to the instant coffee. From a drawer at her waist, she retrieved a couple of teaspoons. With the first, she scooped instant into the two mugs.

"We were careful," Abbie said, moving the conversation away from Ana's past. "And it's all very well acting nervous now, but need I recall how prepared you were for a situation just like this?"

Ana said nothing, but this was entirely true. That morning, the lawyer had driven her car to the police station and entered to free Abbie. Once the two women split, despite Abbie telling Ana to go home, the younger woman had prepared for the kind of trouble she and her mother were sure Abbie would soon face.

Alice, Ana's mum, had provided Ana with numerous tools and piece of kit she believed might be useful to Abbie in her latest mission. Most of these were in Ana's hotel, but a few choice items, chosen by Abbie, were in a black bag held at the lawyer's side.

Upon leaving the station earlier that day, Ana had driven to a Park and Ride lot and collected an untraceable