Victim of Innocence: A DCI Matilda Darke short story. Michael Wood

      

      Victim of Innocence

       A DCI Matilda Darke Short Story

      MICHAEL WOOD

       One More Chapter

      an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

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      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

      Copyright © Michael Wood 2019

      Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019

      Cover photograph © Shutterstock.com

      Michael Wood asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      Ebook Edition © December 2019 ISBN: 9780008374846

      Version: 2019-10-14

      Table of Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

       Copyright

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Chapter Seventeen

       Keep Reading …

       Also by Michael Wood

       About the Author

       About the Publisher

       Chapter One

       Sunday March 6, 2011

      Caitlyn Brown was confused. She staggered forward and held out her arms to hold on to something, anything, to stop her from falling.

       What the hell had happened?

      She heard the front door closing. Was that someone coming in or going out?

      ‘Hello?’ She called. Her voice slurred, but she had been sober since New Year. ‘Are you still there? Can you help me? I think …’

      Steadying herself on the mantelpiece, Caitlyn turned around to face the living room door. It seemed to blur in and out of focus. Was someone about to come in? That wasn’t possible. She made a point of locking and double-locking the front door as soon as she came home from work. Her mother was the only other person with a spare key, and she wouldn’t turn up unannounced, not since the discussion they had about privacy over Christmas.

      Caitlyn felt sick and dizzy. She needed to sit down before she fell. She needed a drink. She needed her mother.

      Flopping into the armchair, Caitlyn reached over to the telephone and lifted the handset out of its cradle. She stared but couldn’t focus on the buttons. They wobbled in front of her eyes.

      She scrolled through the phone’s built-in contacts and pressed the green call button when she saw what looked like the three-letter word ‘mum’. She held the phone to her ear and listened to the echoing ring. It sounded odd, as if it was the only noise in a large empty room.

      ‘Hello?’ A voice Caitlyn didn’t recognize answered. It sounded slow and deep.

      ‘Mum? Is that you?’ Caitlyn asked, concern in her slurred speech.

      ‘Yes. Caitlyn? Are you all right?’

      ‘I don’t know.’ She ran her hand through her hair. It came away wet. ‘I think there’s someone in my flat.’

      ‘What? What are you talking about?’

      ‘Mum? Is that really you?’ Caitlyn’s voice wobbled. It sounded slow in her head.

      ‘Oh God, Caitlyn, have you been drinking? You promised you’d quit. You’ve been doing so well, too.’

      ‘Mum, I haven’t been drinking.’

      ‘Then why do you sound like your dad when he comes home after United have won?’

      ‘Mum, I haven’t had a drink in months.’ That was a lie, but there was no reason to tell her mother the truth. She would only worry more than she already did.

      ‘Caitlyn, I’m not stupid. I know drunk when I hear it. Look, you’re going through hell right now, but drinking won’t help. And what will Mr Jowett say tomorrow when you turn up for work hungover? He’s been very good to you lately, Caitlyn.’

      ‘Someone’s in my flat,’ Caitlyn said, her eyes still fixed on the doorway.

      ‘Yes, of course. And Tom Selleck is waiting for me in bed upstairs. Look, sleep it off and I’ll see you tomorrow.’

      ‘But—’

      ‘Goodnight.’

      The line went dead.

      ‘Shit,’ she said to herself. ‘I’ve phoned the police,’ she called out towards the doorway she could barely see.

      There was no reply. Caitlyn remained in the armchair staring at the door, wondering if someone was going to enter. The walls seemed to be moving; the door to the hallway was getting further and further away. Eventually, she lifted herself up and used the wall to steady herself. It was closed and the Yale was locked. Maybe she hadn’t heard the door closing.

      What did she remember? She was sat having a drink of wine—

      ‘Don’t tell mum. Mustn’t tell mum.’

      —watching a repeat of Blue Planet on Sky when the