Hooker(93)

‘Yes. I’ve spent the last twelve years searching. That’s how I came to work for M. After my wife died, I fell into a deep depression. I started drinking heavily. I wasn’t there for my daughter when she needed me most. I was so wrapped up in my own grief that I didn’t even stop to think that she was going through the same thing.’

‘Oh Rupert.’ I don’t know what else to say.

‘She ended up getting involved with the wrong crowd, and started taking drugs. It was her coping mechanism. I’ll never forgive myself for not being there. If I was, maybe she’d still be alive. She was only sixteen when her mother passed.’

I see him wipe a tear from his eye and a lump rises to my throat.

‘She was such a good girl. A straight-A student, until our family fell apart. She never gave us any trouble. The day before she went missing, she came to me. She told me about the drug addiction and how M had cleaned her up and given her a job. Can you believe, in that moment I felt gratitude towards that woman for helping my daughter. I was so misguided.’ He shakes his head as he speaks.

‘Your daughter worked for M?’ I ask in disbelief. That’s why she looks so familiar. I must’ve seen her at the house.

‘Yes. The night she came to see me, she told me she wanted out. She’d met a young man and they were in love.’

Knowing M as well as I do, I know that wouldn’t have gone down well. ‘Do you think M had something to do with her disappearance?’

‘I know she did. That’s why I started working for her. I thought being on the inside, I’d be able to find out more. That’s how I came to know about the hidden room. The one I found you in. I’d gotten hold of the plans of her house, hoping it would give me a clue. Anything.’

‘Jesus. Did you find anything?’

‘Nothing. Not a damn thing.’

‘What was her name?’

‘Sasha … Sasha Taylor.’

Oh. My. God. The moment he says her name, memories of that night, and M’s voice, flash through my mind. It’s a name that has haunted me for years. ‘Nobody walks away from me, Sasha. Nobody!’ M had screamed into the girl’s face. ‘Do you understand me?’ I’ve tried to block out memories of that night for the past twelve years, but no matter how hard I try, the dreams and flashback still come. I look at the picture again. She’s a lot younger in this photo, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s her.

Dread fills me. ‘Sasha was your daughter?’ I ask.

‘You remember her?’ His face lights up and he groans, clasping at his shoulder, as he tries to sit up.

‘Oh Rupert.’ Tears are freely falling down my face. I’ll never forget what happened. ‘I remember the night she came to the house. I’d only been living with M for a few weeks. I was woken by the sounds of screaming. It frightened me. It was coming from downstairs. Sneaking out of my bedroom, I went to the staircase. Sasha and M were arguing in the foyer. I wanted to run back to the safety of my room, but I didn’t. I squatted down and watched through the bannister.’

‘Do you remember what happened? What they were saying?’

‘Yes,’ I whisper. ‘You’re not going to like it.’

‘I need to know … please.’

I look at my lap—I don’t want to see his reaction to my news. ‘Sasha was crying, and M was screaming at her.’ Sighing, I close my eyes I transport myself back to that night. ‘She said she’d met a man and they were in love and were planning to get married. M was furious and told her she couldn’t leave, and then—then …’ My hands cover my face, just like they did that night. ‘M grabbed her around the throat. She was choking her, Rupert.’

When I hear a sob escape him, I look up. He’s crying, and I feel awful.

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Don’t be,’ he replies, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘I’ve been searching for answers for the last twelve years. It’s ironic that we’ve been working together for all this time, and you’ve had them all along. It’s the not knowing that’s been the hardest thing to live with. I accepted her death years ago—I didn’t have a choice. In my heart I knew she was never coming back.’

‘Oh, Rupert.’

‘I need to find my baby and give her the proper burial she deserves. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I won’t be able to find peace until I do. I want to bring her home and lay her to rest beside her mother.’

I lean over the bed and wrap him in my arms as we both cry. My heart is truly breaking for him. I hate that he’s suffered for so long.