August Read Free Page A

damage.’
    McGrath slid his chair back, making a loud grating sound, and stood up. He stepped close to the bed and loomed over me, centimetres from my face. ‘You’ve been one hell of a thorn in our sides, Ormond. You’ve done a lot of damage and you’ve wasted a lot of police hours. But now that we have you–’ he paused to make a crushing movement with his fist, ‘we want some answers.’
    I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t going to tell him anything.
    He moved in even closer to me. I could smell coffee on his stale breath.
    His next question dropped on me like a bomb. ‘What have you done with your sister?’
    What?
    ‘What have you done with your sister?’ he repeated slowly and aggressively, spit flinging off his pursed lips.
    Gabbi? Fear gripped me.
    ‘You know, your sister, Gabbi Ormond,’ he mocked. ‘What do you know about her disappearance ?’
    Disappearance?
    ‘My sister?’ I whispered, shaken. ‘What are you talking about? What’s happened to her? She was at my uncle’s house, being cared for. What do you mean, she’s disappeared?’
    The sergeant leaned away from me and frowned.
    ‘They told me you were a top-notch liar, but I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself. They warned me you’d be convincing , said you can lie straight-faced and look like you’re telling the truth, but you really are something else. Look,’ he scoffed to the nurse who had been keeping to himself with a folder in the corner. ‘The kid looks like he’s going to cry!’
    Anger surged through me. I jumped up, tried to rip my hands out of the restraints, but McGrath pushed me back, then sat down.
    ‘What has happened to Gabbi? Has she been kidnapped?’ I screamed at him. ‘Tell me what has happened to my sister! I need to get out of here and save her! She’s sick–what if the kidnappers don’t know how to look after her?’
    ‘Don’t move, Ormond. Just answer my question . What have you done with her?’
    ‘Listen to me ! Answer my question! I know nothing! This is the first time I’ve even heard about it! I need to get out of here to save her. What’s happened to her?!’
    I tried to keep my voice steady, but I couldn’t control it. The detective wasn’t taking me seriously .
    Dorian McGrath shifted in his seat. ‘I can handle this,’ he said to the nurse, who looked uneasy, like he was about to call security. ‘Ormond. I know you’re not working alone. An anonymous phone call came in last night, alerting us to where you were. Emergency Services suspected it was a hoax, but they sped to the scene, located you, and dug you out. We’re very interested in the identity of the emergency caller .’ McGrath opened his laptop, and switched it on. After a moment, he looked up at me, and turned the laptop a little. ‘Listen to this.’
    Suddenly a recording of Winter’s distressed, sobbing voice cut through my tumultuousthoughts and into the grim air of my hospital room.
    ‘Emergency Services? Oh thank God! Listen, you have to help me! Please! My friend, he’s, he’s been buried alive! These people put him in a coffin and buried him!’
    ‘Calm down. Take a deep breath,’ said the operator. ‘Where is your friend? Are you nearby? Are you in danger?’
    ‘Infinity Gardens! The cemetery! He’s been buried here, in a coffin, but I don’t know where! I need help! I’ve been digging, but I can’t find him! There are a dozen fresh graves, and he’s in one of them! He’s going to die if we don’t get to him soon!’
    ‘You say he’s in a coffin?’ the operator asked dubiously. ‘Is this some sort of prank gone wrong?’
    ‘No, this is not a hoax! Or a prank! There are these people who are … Please, please just believe me! Please help! He’s going to die if you don’t come quickly! We need to dig him out! Send people with diggers! Fast! He’s running out of oxygen! Please–’
    Senior Sergeant Dorian McGrath stopped the recording.
    In front of my boiling thoughts, I