Page 73 of The Truth Will Out
“I warned you, Inspector Cobbs,” the woman’s voice echoed through the speaker. “Some truths come with blood. A price tag like no other. You’ve opened the door… now you need to walk through it.”
The screen went black, throwing the room into darkness once more.
Why is she always talking in riddles? What door? The door I’ve just stepped through?
Time was running out. The rest of the team would be sending out the search party soon. She rang Liam. “I’ll make this brief. I’ve got Bob. Call for an ambulance.”
“On it now, boss. Shall we come and help?”
“Yes. Bring something sharp to cut through the thick ropes.”
Sam ran back to the room where Bob was being held and waited for the team to arrive. She didn’t attempt to remove the ropes in case she ended up tightening them. She spent the time touching her partner’s face, feeling guilty about the way she had treated him.
“I’m sorry. I was in the wrong, not you. Don’t leave us, Bob. I love you… like a brother,” she added swiftly, in case he thought she was confessing her undying love for him.
He stirred and offered her a weak smile. “I didn’t mean to… deceive you. Forgive… me… Sam.”
“I do. Stay with me; an ambulance is on its way.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered. A glimmer of a smile tugged at his dry lips.
“Good. Glad we got that sorted.”
The paramedics arrivedat the location within ten minutes. Bob insisted on walking unaided to the ambulance, but Sam brushed his protests away. His ability to walk was slow and unsteady, but his stubbornness prevailed. In the end, he managed to reach the stretcher under his own steam. The paramedics checked his vital signs.
“We’re going to take him in. A doctor needs to see him as soon as possible,” the male paramedic said.
Bob opened his mouth to object, but Sam placed a finger on his lips. “Do as they say. It’s for the best.”
He removed her hand gently. “I’m not leaving you to face this alone,” he said, his voice shaky.
“You’re forgetting who’s in charge. Let the medics do their job, Bob. And for your information, I’m not alone. The rest of the team are right here beside me.”
As the paramedics closed the door, Sam turned to Nick and said, “Our priority is to trace where that live feed is coming from. Can you get Adam out here? Will he come?”
“If I ask him to. He owes me. I saved his life when we were on the beat together, back in the day.”
“Great stuff. Give him a call.”
Nick stepped away from the group and made the call. He returned seconds later, a smile in place. “He’s on his way.”
“Thanks, Nick. I truly appreciate you calling in a favour for me. We’ll need to start with the transmission frequency. I suggest your friend works backwards from the timestamp. I’m going inside to have another look around.”
She returned to the warehouse and scanned the room from which she had viewed the live feed. The camera was old, but the broadcasting equipment it was attached to was modern—too modern, Sam suspected, for someone like Michele Turner to have installed the setup herself.
“Someone’s helping her,” she murmured. She knelt beside the transmitter and examined the small blinking light still active on its side.
A trace signal.
The frustrating part was that now she’d have to wait for Adam to arrive before they could do anything else.
9
Adam unpacked the equipment he needed in the room where Sam had witnessed the live feed. He got down to business straight away.
Sam paced outside the warehouse door, just within earshot.
“Okay, I’ve got something,” he shouted.
