Free Behind Closed Doors (Season One: Book 7) (Jessica Daniel) by Kerry Wilkinson Page A

younger. Given the natural charisma he exuded, plus the lack of alternatives, any of the vulnerable girls looking for a father figure to protect them had one natural choice. Jessica glanced up
to see Katie gazing sideways towards Moses, awestruck, killing any doubt that she was anything other than his mistress. Zipporah had entered with her, apparently unconcerned. Either that, or she
had no choice.
    Jessica didn’t get a chance to ask anything else as a large metal plate of steaming vegetables was placed between her and Heather, with a smaller bowl of sauce-soaked meat on the other
side. It was as if everyone around the table had been brought up by Jessica’s mother, taking small amounts and eating in near silence, exactly as Jessica had been taught to do when she was
younger. It hadn’t taken long for habits her mother wouldn’t approve of to develop after she left home.
    The meat casserole was straightforward but tasty nonetheless. Jessica couldn’t quite figure out whether it was pork or beef but wasn’t hungry anyway. She rarely was nowadays, but
followed everyone else’s lead while trying to take a closer look at the people around her. There was only one non-white face, an Asian man who was likely the youngest male there. He was
certainly the only one who looked under thirty. Liam Renton had been twenty-four when he was killed, so he would have stood out as well.
    Just as they were finishing, a chair scraped opposite Jessica. She looked up to see the woman sitting next to Glenn pulling her arm away from him, muttering a ‘no’ loud enough for
everyone to hear. She folded her arms but Glenn fixed her with a glare of such fury that she cowered under it, sliding back towards the table, head bowed. Everyone carried on as if it had not
happened.
    ‘Is that his wife?’ Jessica whispered.
    ‘Yes, Naomi,’ Heather replied softly.
    ‘What’s going on?’
    This time the reply didn’t come. Jessica swayed towards Heather in case it was because she wanted to speak more quietly but Heather whispered a snippy: ‘You’ve got to stop
asking questions.’
    Soon, the cooks returned, clearing the plates and glasses until the table was empty of everything but the tablecloth. Nobody stood, or spoke, sitting in silence until they returned and the table
was full again.
    Moses stood, arms wide and welcoming. He looked along the lines of people smiling gently, focusing on Jessica for a second or two longer than the others.
    ‘It has been another lovely meal,’ he said, his voice reassuringly firm. He named the four cooks and thanked them for their efforts. Jessica joined in as everyone clapped
politely.
    ‘We do have some new faces this week,’ Moses added. ‘I thank our recruitment team for their efforts.’
    Another round of applause.
    As soon as Moses stopped clapping, everyone else did too. ‘Come now,’ he said, stepping backwards until he was in front of a wide fireplace surrounded by a thick marble step.
    At first nobody moved but then Jessica realised she was being watched by everyone around her.
    ‘Go on,’ Heather whispered, as if Jessica should have known she was being summoned.
    Jessica stood slowly, glancing from side to side as two men rose at the same time. They were both older than her, one with a bright red face, the other thinner than she was. They both had untidy
mops of grey hair and were wearing identical black trousers and white shirts, like waiters.
    When the three of them reached the front, Moses organised them into a line, facing away from the fireplace towards the table. There was more movement of chairs as the other residents shunted
themselves into position so everyone could see what was going on. Jessica felt the same hum of anticipation that had been there when Moses had entered.
    She was between the two men, with Moses in front, walking the line. Jessica did not risk meeting his gaze, instead staring at a spot on the far wall as she felt him running his eyes up and down