The Broken Ones

by Carla Kovach

Genres: General Fiction; Mystery; Police Procedurals; Thrillers; Crime Fiction; Psychological Thrillers; Suspense

Synopsis

An absolutely gripping crime thriller with a jaw-dropping twist Amber applies a dash of red lipstick and checks herself out in the mirror before heading out on a date. ‘Don’t wait up!’ she calls to her housemates as she leaves. But Amber never returns home that night. Amber Slater is never seen again. The last person to see Amber was her housemate. He remembers everything she was wearing that night. He watched her leave. He listened to every word of her phone conversation with her friend before she left. He knows more about Amber’s movements than anyone. At university, she is well-liked by her fellow students and teachers. Her tutor’s voice shakes when he is questioned by the police. Some say he and Amber were very close. Too close. Some say his wife had just found out about their relationship. The manager at the restaurant where Amber was supposed to eat that night says she didn’t show up. Yet the chef at the restaurant is overly chatty about her. He wasn’t working that night. He wasn’t answering his phone. Nobody knows where he was when Amber went missing. Rumours begin to circulate about Amber, it seems that everyone has a story to tell. But when the young girl’s lifeless body is found in a local park, with her blue lips glued shut, the gossip suddenly goes quiet. As the police trace the last few hours of Amber’s life, it seems that the girl simply vanished on her way to catch her bus. And when another woman goes missing in the dead of night, it’s a race against time to find her before she too is silenced forever. Fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter, and Clare Mackintosh will love The Broken Ones.

Release date: March 1, 2021

Publisher: Bookouture

Print pages: 350

Sample

Ten years ago

I tap on Hailey’s bedroom door hoping that my mother can’t hear me. The last thing I want to do is wake my mother up. ‘Hailey,’ I whisper, but I know that isn’t enough. If she’s asleep, there’s no way that would have woken her but what I have to say can’t wait the few hours until morning. I have the solution to all our problems. There will be no school tomorrow or ever again. I have a plan and everything is in place, just like I promised her. I asked you to be patient and you have. Our nightmare will soon be over and we can start again, somewhere else, away from all the hurt that we’ve endured.

A creak comes from my mother’s bedroom and I hold my breath. A trickle of sweat slips down my forehead and eventually bounces off my nose. Quietly exhaling, I grip the door handle and pull it down. Hailey’s perfect nose and the curve of her forehead is lit up by the moonlight that comes through her bedroom window.

Something’s odd. She normally has her curtains closed, preferring to sleep in pitch-blackness. She always said she couldn’t sleep if there was the faintest bit of light coming through. I creep across the floorboards, purposely missing the squeaky one and I stare at her face. Her skin has a serene blue hue, like an almost white baby blue. I reach out and move her hair from her mouth then I tuck it behind her ear. She still has her earphones in. She must have fallen asleep while listening to music. I pull the one bud out and place it to my ear. Nothing. I pick up her phone and play the last thing she was listening to as she fell asleep, hoping that my movement and presence will slowly wake her. The last thing I need to do is startle her and make her scream. We need to get out of the house quietly before Mother hears us.

‘Beautiful Dreamer.’ That’s the song she was listening to last. That’s weird too. It was one of Nan’s favourites. Hailey normally prefers the Black Eyed Peas. Her bedroom is testament to the fact that she is their number one fan. There are posters of will-i-am and Fergie on every wall. As I remove her other earbud by reaching under her head, I flinch and gasp for breath. ‘Hailey.’ I nudge her. She’s freezing cold. I reach for her arm. That is cold too. I nudge her again. ‘Hey, wake up.’

Nothing. No breaths, no reply, no movement.

‘Get up. Hailey, we have to go.’ Tears begin to slip down my face as the realisation of what has happened dawns on me. ‘No!’

I grab her stiff body and place her head on my chest and I can’t hold my sobs back. It was all going to be okay. I’d fixed everything for us but now she is gone forever. We were finally going to be safe and happy. I spot the empty blister packs of tablets on her bedside table, the water glass is on its side and some of the packs have fallen onto the floor. I let out a distraught yell and grip her ice-cold hand, knowing that she’s not coming back from this. Everything I’ve done has been for nothing. I’ve lost her.

I draw her quilt up to her chin before rushing out of the bedroom and into my mother’s, turning the main light on. I can feel the veins on my head pulsing and my hands ball into a fist. I’d always held back at Hailey’s insistence, but not this time.

‘You did this.’

I grip the sides of my head and pull my hair as she stirs. At the back of my mind, I hear Hailey’s voice, telling me she doesn’t want anyone hurt. She doesn’t want trouble and she doesn’t want to be punished. She won’t be punished again. I left it too late. I should have done something earlier.

‘What? Go back to bed. It’s the middle of the night,’ she murmurs and yawns under the blanket but I can hear what she’s saying. My mother. My lovely mother. ‘Turn the light off.’

I jump on the bed and reach for her neck under the top blanket, my hands gripping her windpipe to a squeeze. She flails and wriggles beneath me. I hate her. I’ve never hated anyone so much. I feel her fist hit my nose and I fall to the floor, landing on the rug. She has a punch on her that would rival a boxer, Hailey and I have felt the strength behind her fists on many occasions. ‘You killed Hailey.’

My mother looks puzzled as she rubs her neck. ‘What?’ My blood is smeared over her knuckles and I just want to pound her head to a pulp.

‘You heard me.’ I’m back on my feet, seething, and my own fist hits the side of her head, and I don’t stop there. I hear a rib crack and a shriek as I catch her jaw. She goes to fight back but I am no longer a kid. I’m a man now. After a few blows, I feel a weakness run through my body. So much for being a man. That didn’t save Hailey. Another punch and another. I can’t stop myself as I think of Hailey’s cold body.

Mother has to pay for what she did and I’m making her pay, right now.

‘Stop! You’re killing me.’

If only I cared.

Now

Amber sifted through her clothing rail and held up the pale pink jumpsuit. ‘How about this one?’

Scrunching her nose, Lauren shook her head. ‘You should go with the blue dress, it really suits you and it will be easier to take a pee.’ Her friend giggled. She remembered the time that Lauren had got so drunk while wearing a jumpsuit that she’d almost peed herself outside a nightclub in Birmingham.

‘No! The blue looks like an old lady dress. I wore it for a job interview. Why don’t you make us a drink while I get ready?’

Lauren padded out of the room, pulling a comedy face as she glanced back before leaving the room.

Grabbing her phone, Amber smiled as she spotted another message. She didn’t give this phone number to anyone, but he wasn’t anyone. She liked him, a lot. He definitely wasn’t like the others.

I seriously can’t wait to see you for real. You don’t know what you do to me. Xxx

She twiddled her finger through her curls. That’s what student life was all about, trying new things, new men, new women. She’d tried it all and only regretted the one and that was Lauren. She shrugged as she pulled the jumpsuit on, pairing it with leopard print heels and a long winter coat, which she knew she’d be able to remove when she arrived at the restaurant. Grabbing a chunky necklace to finish off the look, she was as ready as she’d ever be.

She typed back.

Bring it on!

She finished the message with a wink emoji before hitting send. Maybe that sounded too forward. No, it was exactly what she meant to send and it sounded perfect. She unclipped her hair, allowing the rest of her long black locks to flow down her back.

‘Oh my goodness, you look beautiful, Amber. Your eyes are so… feline.’ Lauren placed the cup of mint tea on her bedside table, kicking a few items of clothing aside to get there.

‘Thanks, and thanks for the drink.’ Amber knew she wouldn’t be drinking it. As soon as she could get Lauren out of her apartment and back into her own, she’d go.

‘I may or may not be home this weekend. We’ll see how things go.’ Amber winked. Insensitive maybe, but Lauren needed to get the message.

‘You know, you do look hotter in the pink. Go have a good time. If I don’t see you tomorrow, then I’ll know you’re having too much fun.’ The forced smile on Lauren’s face told another story. ‘Catch you later. I’m off to FaceTime my mum before she turns up uninvited to check on me.’

She listened as Lauren left and the door slammed.

One last spray of her hair and a splash of her favourite perfume, and she was ready to go. Bending over, she picked up the tiny overnight bag she’d packed earlier, containing the bare minimum. It looked like a going out bag but larger. Nothing would be assumed by its presence but she’d be prepared if she needed her toothbrush and some clean lacy underwear.

As she locked her door, Lauren opened hers. Her pale face had blotched up a little bit. ‘I’m going to miss you.’

‘You said we were okay.’ Amber didn’t have time for this. Regretful, that’s how she felt. She had crossed the line with Lauren and damn, she wished she hadn’t. All that ‘have a good time’ was a front. It was now obvious that Lauren had wanted more. ‘I have to go.’

‘Please stay.’ Lauren reached out and placed a hand on her arm as she passed, her fingers stiff and cold.

Her phone beeped in her pocket. He’d be waiting for her at the restaurant. ‘We’ll talk about this when I get back, I promise.’ Amber broke away.

Wiping a tear from her cheek, Lauren slammed her front door.

As Amber navigated each step in the most impractical shoes she owned, she couldn’t get the look on Lauren’s face out of her mind. Let it go for now, she thought.

She pushed through the creaky main door and an icy gust filled the hallway. It hadn’t snowed yet, but the weather forecasters were threatening it. If only it could hold back for the next hour, she’d be fine.

The sound of someone yelping made her stiffen and stop. A man leaned over the boot of his car at the back of the car park, holding his back as he tugged something. She squinted to see into the darkness. As he yanked again, he slipped and stumbled backwards onto the kerb, screaming out as he hit concrete.

‘Oh my goodness. Are you okay?’ She teetered towards him, almost slipping on the ice in her stilettos as the contents in her bag jangled. An icy blast whipped up the bare branched trees that surrounded the car park, whistling through the underpass opposite.

‘Hi, Amber. I’m lucky you came out when you did. My leg, it kills. I was just trying to get my crutches out of the boot and now look at me, I’m a mess.’

‘I didn’t know you’d hurt yourself.’

‘It only happened yesterday. I had a few too many and you know how it goes. The pavements have been icy and I just went. Whoosh. Just like that. Looks like I’ll be trussed up for a bit.’

Her gaze was immediately drawn to his pained smile. She checked her watch. She could have him back on his feet in a minute and still make the bus. ‘Right, I’m going to have a go at helping you.’

He yelped again and began breathing heavily as she tried to pull him up. ‘I’ll be okay, honest. Just go for it.’

She winced as she imagined what pain he must be in. She knew all too well how much a broken leg hurt after she’d fallen in PE at school and broken her own. ‘Right, let’s try again. Are you ready?’ He nodded.

‘I tell you what, can you just get my other crutch out of the boot? I think I wedged it in a bit tight. That’s how I fell in the first place.’

She nodded and glanced into the boot. He was right, the crutch had been jammed between the two sides of the car; the rubber nugget at the end was firmly pressed on its interior. She tugged and tugged but it wouldn’t come free. It was definitely stuck. ‘I can’t seem to budge it.’ Warm breath, that’s what she could feel on the back of her neck.

Shaking, she turned only to be faced with his nose almost touching hers. The grin on his face told her that he didn’t need help. It was a trap and she’d fallen straight into it. A sharp pain flashed through her head as he struck her with something hard. As she stumbled to the frozen ground, her trouser leg caught on something, she heard the tear. Glancing across at her apartment block, she knew no one was looking. All the curtains were shut and she was all alone with a man who was trying to kill her.

The moon above appeared to be spinning. Climbing to a standing position, she tried to turn and run but the dizziness sent a sickening wave through her body. Her heel caught in a pothole and she stumbled back into his arms. She went to punch but he batted her fists away.

‘You’re not going anywhere.’

Any sign of his limp was now gone. All she could see was his seething mouth and his penetrating stare.

‘Why are you doing this to me?’ She paused, knowing that her words were slurred. ‘I’m meant to be somewhere. He’ll call the police if I don’t turn up.’ He grinned and shook his head. She tried to pull her phone from her pocket. ‘You won’t get away with this.’

He snatched it from her hand and popped it in his pocket. ‘You won’t need that any more.’

Another flash of pain seared through her head as he brought the rock down again before forcing her into the boot. Pinpricks of light filled her vision as she fumbled for anything but there was no room to move. When the boot lid slammed, she knew she was in trouble. Her shoes were catching on everything and her coat was twisting. The other crutch was sticking into her side. Jammed in, she was stuck. The car trundled over a speed bump, then it carried on and on. Then nothing but the sound of a dual carriageway followed. The whooshing past of fast-moving cars and a horn in the distance.

She was going to die, she knew it.

The thaw had begun and there was an icy chill in the air. DI Gina Harte sloshed across the car park at the station, headed through the main door and along the corridor until she reached the ladies. She ran her fingers through her tangled brown hair and tied it up at the back with an elastic band, the very thing that kept ripping it to pieces.

‘Ah, guv.’ DC Paula Wyre headed towards the sink and ran the tap. Her jet-black hair fell down her back and her fringe had almost grown out. It wasn’t like Wyre to let herself become even remotely unkempt.

‘Are you okay?’ Gina leaned against the sink waiting for a reply.

Wyre began fiddling with her cuff. ‘Me and George, we’re over.’

‘I am so sorry. The wedding?’ Stupid thing to say and Gina instantly regretted it. She glanced down at Wyre’s ring finger. The shiny rock that had recently adorned it was no longer there.

‘It’s as over as it’s going to be and…’ She shrugged. ‘I had no idea, not an inkling that anything was wrong in our relationship. He wasn’t keen on my hours but I told him from the start, I’m a police detective. People don’t just commit serious crimes between nine and five. Anyway, shit happens but another day waits for no one. I’ve just got to get on with things. Maybe I’ll get myself back out there, back in the saddle as they say.’

‘Look, if you need to take a short break to—’

She shook her head. ‘No. What I need is a distraction. It is what it is. At least the tenancy on the flat was in my name so I sent him packing yesterday. He is gone.’ She sighed. ‘Anyway, I just want to get on with things so less talk about me and George.’

‘A distraction would be most welcome. It’s been a bit quiet lately, not that I’m complaining.’

‘Not as quiet as you might think.’

‘Do tell.’ Gina finished pulling her hair into the elastic band and checked out her appearance. It wasn’t good but to hell with it. At the moment, she didn’t really care. It was January, it was gloomy and it was freezing cold. On top of it all, the boiler at the station was on the blink and they were relying on fan heaters in every room to keep hypothermia away. She almost revealed her smile, the one that might reveal that last night she was with her DCI, Chris Briggs. That night shouldn’t have happened but history had repeated itself. She enjoyed his warmth and the fact that he always managed to press her right buttons, but no one would know. She didn’t want to be moved from Cleevesford Police and neither did he.

‘A woman called Lauren Sandiford is coming in to report her missing neighbour as she hasn’t come back to her apartment all weekend. They’re both students and live at the large converted house on Bulmore Drive.’

‘I know the one. There’s been a lot of trouble there in the past but I don’t recall any incidents there over this past couple of years. Do we know anything more? Is it just a case of uniform following this one up?’ Gina straightened her back, undid her heavy woollen overcoat to expose her grey suit jacket.

‘As you say, we’ve been a bit quiet but uniform have been run off their feet with volume crime lately so I thought we could take the pressure off them for a change.’

‘Sounds good. I hope that our missing woman is just staying with friends.’

Wyre leaned against the sink. ‘Lauren Sandiford did say that she and Amber Slater had become close friends and that she’s not answering her phone. It may be something, it may be nothing. Let’s hope it’s nothing and Amber turns up.’ Wyre reached into her pocket again and pulled a proper hair bobble out. ‘I got this for you, guv. It pains me to see your hair being ripped to shreds when you remove those elastic bands.’

Gina snorted out a little laugh, prompting Wyre to follow suit. ‘Thank you.’ She wrenched the elastic from her hair, pulling out a few more strands, and replaced it with the lovely padded bobble. ‘Better.’

Wyre nodded.

‘I think we’ll interview this woman together when she gets here?’

‘Great.’ Ever the professional, Wyre had left whatever heartache she may be suffering in the toilet block.

Gina hoped that their missing woman was just having a wild weekend with some guy she’d met. After all, she hadn’t been gone long. A little cold shiver prickled on her neck. Hope was pointless. What she needed to do was find the woman, then she could relax.

Lauren Sandiford nervously sipped on the tea that Wyre had made. Her face was blank, giving nothing away, but her fingers nervously traced the grain on the wooden table. Gina had chosen the room she considered their best, although none of them were particularly inviting, such was the result of the cuts to their budget. The fan heater whirred away, making a clanking noise every now and again. The smell of burning dust filled the room.

‘I feel stupid for being here.’ The young woman threw her mini backpack to the floor but kept her khaki duffle coat completely zipped up to her round double chin. Her mousy hair fell from the sides of her fur-lined hood. After grabbing a tissue from the box on the table, she wiped her red nose and blew.

‘You shouldn’t feel stupid. It’s good that you’re concerned about your neighbour.’ Gina leaned forward as Wyre flicked over to a fresh page in her notebook. ‘Can you tell me a little about her?’

‘We’re friends. Really close actually. She left to go on a date on Friday night and I haven’t seen her since. It’s just weird that’s all, and she’s not answering her phone. I’ve tried calling loads of times.’

Gina checked the details she noted down. Lauren was twenty. She was studying the Early Years foundation degree at Worcester University and she worked part-time at the chip shop in Cleevesford. ‘Okay, we’ll start with her name.’ They’d been told when Lauren originally made the call but Gina needed to clarify that they’d taken it down correctly.

‘Amber Slater.’ She cleared her throat and had another sip of tea.

‘How old is Amber?’

‘Same as me, twenty.’

‘And what does she do?’

Lauren dragged the chair along the carpet tiles and placed her gloved fingers on the table. ‘She’s a student and she works behind the bar at the Angel Arms. She’s studying accounting and finance, year two.’

Even with the heater on full, Gina shivered and she knew everyone else in the room would be as cold. ‘Do you have a photo of her?’

Lauren pulled her phone from the outer pocket on her rucksack and prodded at it with her gloves on. After realising it wasn’t going to respond, she pulled them off and started again. ‘This is her Facebook profile picture.’ She held the phone out across the table.

‘May I?’

The woman nodded and handed Gina the phone. ‘Of course.’

Gina clicked on the photo and pinched it to make it larger. The smiling young woman on the screen exuded confidence in her orange jumper. Her wavy hair shone with health, giving her a model-like appearance. Her eyebrows were definitely painted over to give them a flattering arch and her tight jawline and her heart-shaped face was finished with a pointy chin. ‘Could you please email that photo to me once we’ve finished.’

Lauren nodded and unzipped her coat a little. ‘Yes, no worries.’

‘You last saw her on Friday night, when she left you to meet someone for a date? Is that correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘Can you tell me what time that was?’

‘Erm… I think it was around seven. She was getting the bus to meet this man at a restaurant outside Cleevesford. It’s called the Fish and Anchor. She was meant to be on the twenty past seven bus.’ She paused as if thinking. ‘It pulls up at the stop a little further down Bulmore Drive.’

‘We can certainly contact the restaurant and the bus company to check her whereabouts that night. Are there any reasons she may not be answering her phone or could she have just stayed with someone over the weekend?’

Lauren paused and went to speak but then stopped as if trying to carefully compose her next sentence. ‘Maybe. She could have stayed with her date but she would have called me by now? I know she would.’

‘Did she usually call you if she was going to be staying away for a couple of days?’

‘She’s never stayed away like this, except when she’s been home to her dad’s house. But still, she’s always called me or sent a message of some description.’

‘So would you say this was out of character for Amber?’

‘Yes. Something’s happened. I know it has.’

‘Can you tell me what she was wearing?’

‘A bright pink jumpsuit and leopard print heels. She has a gold nose ring too. I can’t remember which coat she had on now.’ Lauren scrunched her brow in thought.

There was a tap at the door. Gina stood. ‘Excuse me.’

She opened it gently and DC Harry O’Connor stood in the corridor, his bald head shining under the strip light. ‘Can I have a word, guv?’

She allowed the door to gently close as she let go. ‘Of course.’

‘A walker has found a body at the lake.’

Gina swallowed, knowing that it could well be Amber Slater. The woman who was younger than her own daughter, Hannah… Her heart rate began to speed up. They had to get over to the lake, now.

Gina passed the play park and headed towards the outer cordon that PC Smith was finishing off by tying it to a tree. ‘Morning.’ Wyre gave him a smile.

‘Morning, both.’ Smith’s bulky fluorescent police coat made his frame look twice its size. ‘Hey, get back, please. There’s been an incident. You can’t get through.’ He held his hand up, pointing to another path that the jogger could use. His other hand gripped the scene log.

The sweaty jogger held his arm up and ran back the way he came.

‘Where’s the person who found the body?’ Gina glanced around but she couldn’t see anyone speaking to the PCs.

‘He’s on the other side of the path with PC Kapoor. He came from the other side of the lake.’ He began writing Gina and Wyre’s names on the log, the words looking skewered as he kept his gloves on. ‘Right, I have you on the list so enter.’

‘Thank you.’ Gina lifted the cordon up, allowing Wyre to duck underneath first.

A couple of mothers parked their pushchairs behind Gina. She ignored them and followed Wyre under the cordon. In the distance, she spotted Bernard Small, the crime scene manager, along with his team of assistants who had all donned their white forensics suits. His name certainly didn’t match his appearance. He was the tallest person she’d ever come across, his wiry frame always hunched above her when they spoke. His once long grey beard had now been neatly trimmed since he’d started dating again. A PCSO darted past them, chasing an errant dog as its owner waited behind the cordon while trying to gently call the terrier’s name.

‘Time to suit up.’ Wyre took a suit from one of the CSIs and passed Gina one.

The CSI shifted her facemask slightly. ‘They’re just finishing taking the photos and video, if you could give it a couple of minutes that would be great.’

Gina tried to glance over her shoulder. ‘Do you have a description as yet?’

‘I haven’t seen the victim. I just know it’s a woman. We’ll have all the stepping plates down in a minute. It shouldn’t be long.’

Cameras clicked away and another clean CSI walked around with a video camera. Two PCs had started walking up and down the path that led to where the body was, looking for the tiniest of clues beyond the cordon. People were beginning to gather. From the corner of her eye, Gina spotted Kapoor standing under a leafless tree with a man who looked to be about fifty. That had to be their witness. Even more people began to crowd. A sea of bobble hats, raincoats and damp mops of hair added to the crowd. Gina glanced across, wondering if one of them was the murderer coming back to check out their handiwork. Maybe it was the woman who was peering over, wearing a yellow mac; or the man with the maroon bobble hat covered in white knitted snowflakes who was standing behind her. The man in his sixties with the yappy terrier. The two young men in track bottoms and sweatshirts. All of them, going about their business along with twenty or so other people. As more faces joined the crowd, it became impossible to take them all in.

Wyre crept up behind her. ‘Guv, Bernard is calling us over.’

‘Good. We need to get that body moved with some dignity while this lot are around.’ She z. . .