Chapter 98
Beaumont’s lacquered front door gave way to Reynolds’s boot on the first attempt. The fury of a father whose daughter had been taken from him. No need for messing around with disguises or lock-picks. This time they had righteousness on their side.
Cook followed Reynolds into the house.
‘Ruby?’ Reynolds bellowed.
But the house was silent. A stillness in the air. None of the smells that come from habitation.
Reynolds ran up the stairs, full of hope. Gracie felt it too, he could see. Putting together the answer, hurrying through the streets. The satisfaction of kicking in the door. All of it led to an expectation, like turning the page and starting the final chapter.
‘It’s my fault,’ Gracie said.
‘No,’ Cook said. ‘Evil men do evil things. It’s in their blood. You couldn’t have stopped this any more than you could stop the tide.’
Cook saw the console table – a lamp and a telephone. A carbon copy of the house on Regent’s Place.
‘The shelter,’ Cook said.