Time To Play by KA Richardson (best book club books of all time TXT) 📗

uppercut that sounded like it made her teeth rattle in her head, and followed it with another punch, this time to the girl’s stomach. Her breath left her body with a whoosh, and she made a sound similar to that of a donkey as she gasped for breath. Her eyes were bulging now, fear creating the instinctive response. Pulling back slightly, he boxed her ears, knowing that when he stopped, they would ache and swell.

Glancing at the clock, he registered the time. That was it for now. He had things to do and he couldn’t delay here. He unhooked the straps and pulled her roughly from the chair, frowning as he saw tears streak down her cheeks.

‘No. You must learn to cope with the pain. It’s the only way you can survive. I’m teaching you this so that you may live, little one. It’s the only way.’

He punched her in the stomach, causing her to double over, and giving him the perfect angle from which to shove her inside the cage. The door to the cage slammed with a screech – metal on metal.

And for the first time that morning he smiled.

He had a good feeling about this one. She would learn, he was sure of it.

Turning the camera off, he pushed his messy hair into a semblance of tidiness and left.

Sunderland City Police HQ – 7 November

Ali rubbed his hands over his eyes, and not for the first time that week, he wondered what the hell he was doing. In the last week, he’d had two bodies in the water. Something that in his whole career had probably only happened a handful of times. Which was good: the less the better as far as he was concerned.

Every time he was near the water, he felt his gut tighten and the nausea appeared from nowhere. It had always been the same.

Except it hasn’t. I used to love the water. I loved the feel of it on my skin, and the weight of the tank on my back. I loved the bobbing of the RIB as we went out over the Forth, and the good feeling from recovering something that only the dive team could do. I would still love it too. If it hadn’t happened…

He pushed his chair back suddenly and stood. He wasn’t going down that route, not here and definitely not now. It was just the two deaths that were bringing his memories to the forefront, he knew that. He just had to keep fighting and leave them in the box where they were in his mind.

Packed away in the recesses where the bad stuff was sent, never to see the light of day.

Damn, I need a break. Why didn’t I just tell Alex ‘no’ when he asked me to cover his damn shift today?

His mind wandered back to the recovery of the body two days before. Deena, one of the CSIs had arrived seconds after the RIB had been launched. They’d stood together and gasped as the hull of the RIB had made a beeline for Marlo’s head.

He’d been ready to ditch his shoes and jump in, he knew he had. He’d been too busy to ponder on his almost-action until now, and he didn’t know why his subconscious chose this moment to pop the memory back in front of him.

He could still swim – wasn’t afraid of pools – but he hadn’t been near a river since it had happened. It was so long ago, but it was as fresh in his mind as if it had happened yesterday, even if he never opened the box to let it out. He knew if he did, he’d be able to smell the salty breeze from the water, his body would feel the gentle lull of the boat on the waves, he’d be able to smell the jasmine in her hair … Pulling himself from the edge of the steep cliff of remembrance was harder today than usual. Unresolved issues had a habit of coming back at inopportune times, and this was definitely one of those times.

Suddenly realising he was standing beside his desk, in the middle of a crowded office, was enough to pull him back this time, back from the place he didn’t want to go. Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and headed to the kitchen. Coffee, that’s what I need right now.

‘Liar!’ his mind taunted. ‘What you need is her not to be dead.’

Guilt threatened to open the catch to the box, and he strode purposefully to the kitchen. Changing his mind last minute, he decided to work the rest of the shift on call from his flat. He had things to do, but there was nothing urgent and nothing had happened as yet. He could be at a scene in a flash, and at least at the flat he could use the running machine that his brother had left with him. Ali had inherited the flat from Alex when he moved in with his wife, Cass. Cass’s cottage was smaller, without the room for the makeshift gym Alex had used at home. So he’d left it in the flat and just came round when it suited, though that had been much less often since the baby had arrived.

Picturing his niece in his mind, Ali realised it had been too long since he had visited the cottage. When they got back from seeing the family, he’d make more of an effort. His niece was coming up on a year old. He had to go round more often, or he’d miss the important stuff.

Filling his mind with thoughts of his niece helped his mind push the bad stuff back. He told Charlie he was going home for a bit, and she nodded at him in acknowledgement before turning back to her computer. He knew she’d call if anything major happened, as would the