Free For the Sake of the Children: The first Chloe Webster thriller (Chloe Webster Thrillers Book 1) by Alex Highcliffe

head office in Amsterdam. She was on a business trip and they’d come with her. And why not? An all-expenses paid trip to a great city, staying in a top hotel with plenty of time on their hands. What could be better than that?
    ‘Can we go on a boat daddy?’ asked Francesca looking out over the canal which was now running alongside them.
    ‘Maybe at the weekend, when mummy’s with us. I think she’d really like to do that too don’t you?’
    ‘Yes, she would. Can we get an ice cream?’
    ‘Good idea.’
    They wandered over to a café and came out with two huge cones piled high with double chocolate ice cream. They were probably too large in all honesty but his inability to speak the native language meant that the café owner had taken the chance to serve him the most expensive ice cream they had. But nothing was too good for his little angel and he didn’t feel cheated at all.
    Nathan breathed in the fresh afternoon air and took a mouthful of the creamy chocolate.
    ‘Now this really is better than being at school. Right?’
    ‘Right!’ she agreed, and grabbed his hand again as they set off down the street. Leaving a row of shops behind them they approached the river Amstel which ran through the heart of the city. The river was busy, and they sat on a bench and finished their ice creams, whilst Francesca pointed out all the different kinds of boats which glided gently by.
    ‘I’d like to go on one like that ,’ she said, as an impressive pleasure cruiser slipped by, leaving a wide V-shaped wave behind it.
    ‘We’ll see what we can do. You and mummy can decide which boat you want to go on.’
    They continued on down the path next to the river and as it wound away to the right, they parted with the water’s edge, crossing a road that ran alongside it. Nathan hoped they were heading towards the town centre, but he wasn’t convinced this was the right way. He’d forgotten to bring a map with him, but he wasn’t concerned. He knew they could jump in a taxi at any point and head back to the hotel if necessary.
    ‘Look, daddy, there’s a park over there. And it’s got a great big slide in it. Can we go in daddy? Please!’ Francesca was hopping up and down and she started to pull him towards the gate which led into the park.
    ‘Yes of course we can. Let’s go and have some fun in the park.’
    It turned out to be a really bad idea.

26                  
     
    Nathan sat down on a bench and smiled to himself as his daughter ran off to play on the slide. Before long she was making new friends despite the language barrier. No one could ever accuse Francesca of lacking in self-confidence; she was one of those children who would talk to anyone at any time.  And in his opinion that was no bad thing.
    He closed his eyes as the late afternoon sun began to sink towards the horizon. Not exactly warm, but certainly not cold, he felt himself relax to the cheerful sound of children enjoying themselves. He wondered what his wife was doing. No doubt she was in some high-powered meeting or other, planning the latest marketing strategies.
    A sudden scream caused him to open his eyes in alarm. He saw that a boy had fallen over and a pang of guilt accompanied the relief that he felt at seeing his own daughter happily climbing back up the steps to the slide. The boy’s mother was already dashing over to provide the necessary reassurance. He closed his eyes again with contentment.
    ‘Weet u misschien hoe laat het is?’ A large man appeared in front of him, dressed in a long black coat with a scarf pulled up over the bottom half of his face. Nathan was sure he had asked for the time, but certainly wasn’t well enough versed in Dutch to reply.
    ‘I’m sorry I’m English,’ said Nathan. ‘Do you speak English?’
    The man seemed taken aback at his reply. He turned away and stared across at the busy play area as if he was looking for someone, then turned back to Nathan.
    ‘You’re from England?’ He