Free The Waiting Game by Sheila Bugler Page A

into the corner as he could. Felt the sofa move as she brushed against it. And then, just when he couldn’t bear it a moment longer, a black nose and two brown eyes around the back of the sofa, staring right at him.
    ‘Digger!’
    His voice shook, relief, not fear. The dog moved forward and started licking his face. Normally he’d never let Digger do that but right this moment, he didn’t mind.
    The dog soothed him, and soon he started to feel stupid. What in heaven’s name was he thinking? Hiding behind the sofa like some stupid child. He crawled out and stood up, wiping his hands together, wincing as he felt the little grains of dirt rubbing against his skin. He’d better get those washed first. And then he’d get to work. Get the house in order before Bel came back.
    It wouldn’t do for her to walk in and find things in disarray. Bel was like him. She needed order, everything in its right place. A mess would only upset her. And he didn’t want that. Not for his Bel.
    A silver-edged mirror hung on the wall over the brown marble fireplace. He barely recognised the face staring at him from the mirror. So old and scared. Pathetic. He licked his fingers and took hold of the two long pieces of hair on either side of his head,smoothing these over the bald patch at the top.
    Nodding at the improvement, he bent down to rub Digger’s head. Hands were already dirty so he might as well.
    ‘Not a word, hey, Diggs?’ he said. ‘Our little secret. No one else’s.’
    The dog looked up at him, brown eyes staring into his, tail wagging hopefully. Stupid mutt. Not a clue. If Monica came back, the bloody dog would probably wag his tail and greet her like an old friend.
    With a bit of luck, that was the end of it. She’d had her say, done what she came here to do – frighten the life out of him – maybe that’s all she wanted. He told himself this, tried his best to believe it. But deep down, he knew his daughter, knew what she was capable of.
    The knowledge offered no comfort whatsoever.

Fourteen
    Spending wasted hours waiting around at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court wasn’t Ellen’s ideal way to spend the day. She was here for the first appearance in the case against Lewis Dayton, the man charged with a double murder on Loampit Vale two weeks ago.
    Lewis shot his ex-girlfriend, Roxanne DuParc, and Jason Taylor, the man Roxanne had left Lewis for. The shooting happened on a Thursday afternoon during rush hour. Which meant plenty of witnesses for the prosecution when the case went to the Central Criminal Court. Today’s hearing was the first step in the long process to get justice for Roxanne and Jason.
    Roxanne’s mother, Darlene, was here too. Sitting beside Ellen, bouncing Roxanne’s one-year-old daughter on her lap. Thehearing was scheduled for eleven o’clock but it was the afternoon now, and they were still waiting.
    ‘There’s no chance he’ll get out on bail?’ Darlene asked Ellen. Again.
    Ellen shook her head. Again.
    ‘No way, Darlene,’ she said. ‘You don’t need to worry about that. After today, he’ll be kept in custody until the trial. And he will be found guilty, I promise. The CPS case is strong. You’ll see justice done, I promise.’
    ‘This isn’t justice,’ Darlene said. ‘Justice would be letting me put a gun to that man’s head and do the same thing to him that he did to my little girl. That’s justice, Ellen. All this? It’s window-dressing. Nothing more than that.’
    Ellen understood how Darlene felt. She watched Roxanne’s little girl, sleepy now. Thumb in her mouth as she snuggled into her grandmother’s chest.
    Lewis Dayton was this girl’s father. Ellen couldn’t begin to understand how he could have done this to the child. She knew too well the devastation children experienced when they lost a parent. To think that anyone would deliberately inflict that pain on their own child, it was inconceivable.
    She felt a sudden, sharp surge of anger and stood up, needing