Free The 3rd Victim by Sydney Bauer

fog. She fought desperately to hold it all together, knowing that at least at this point, it was the only option open to her. She stopped short on a concrete stair landing, staring at the two all-too familiar faces that looked down at her with intent. ‘I am not sick, Richard, my daughter has been murdered.’ She swallowed the sob in her throat.
    ‘Yes,’ said Daniel, the first words he had spoken in moments. Daniel's eyes searched her own as he moved forward to take both her hands, her left wrist still encircled by the hospital's plastic ID bracelet. ‘But after listening to Dick's reasoning, I think he is right. The fact is, Eliza is gone, and your immediate priority is damage control.’
    Sienna took a breath.
    ‘The police want to ask you questions,’ Daniel continued, his cool hands firm against her own, ‘which is why we need to get you out of here, and speak to your lawyer.’
    He pulled her further down the stairwell as she shook her head, trying desperately to make sense of it. ‘I have a lawyer?’ she asked.
    ‘I'm in the process of organising it.’
    ‘Why do I need a lawyer?’ she asked.
    ‘Because Eliza is dead.’
    ‘And they think … you think I …?’
    ‘It is not about what we or anyone else thinks, Sienna. Our only desire is to protect you.’ Davenport hesitated then and slowed to turn toward her. ‘Jim is dead. You were grieving. Eliza was a handful. You were tired, emotional.’
    ‘I didn't kill my daughter,’ she said through gritted teeth, attempting to shake free from his grip.
    ‘You've been through a very tough time,’ said Davenport.
    As they reached the level labelled ‘Exit’, his cell echoed in the stairwell, causing Sienna to jump.
    ‘It's the driver,’ said Davenport, opening the text message. ‘Someone alerted the media. They are blocking the entrance out front.’
    Hunt's hand moved upward to form a circle around Sienna's ID band. ‘This might be an opportunity,’ he said to Davenport, completely ignoring Sienna. ‘We should take her out the front. Show the media she has nothing to hide.’
    Davenport's brow folded but Daniel turned to Sienna, decision made.
    ‘Appearances matter,’ he said. ‘We need to turn around and take you back out the front, and you need to follow my lead, move when I move, stop when I stop, and when I give you the signal, profess your grief but your hope that the person who killed your daughter will be brought to justice. You need the media on your side, Sienna, and that means getting them to fall in love with you …’ his fist tightened against her skin, ‘… the moment you walk out that door. Do you understand me?’
    Sienna Walker stood stock still on the landing, her bare feet cold against the smooth grey concrete. There were, of course, so many ways she could react – with tears, despair, gratitude, violence, resistance, rage – but in the end she chose the safest option, that of controlled acquiescence. ‘I understand,’ she said, turning her wrist ever so slightly to indicate that she was willing to do as they said.
    *
    ‘They're gone,’ said Frank McKay, announcing the news as he ran up the corridor toward Joe.
    ‘ What? ’
    ‘Who's gone?’ asked Katz. ‘I demand to know what is going on.’
    Frank looked at Joe, his expression saying that the time for stalling was over, that like it or not, Katz had a part to play in all this, and they would need him to get this done.
    ‘Go find out if there is a rear exit way out of here,’ said Joe to Frank. ‘Radio HQ for backup and keep in contact.’ Joe lifted his own radio, signalling for Frank to stay on the line.
    ‘Mannix.’ Katz grabbed Joe by the upper arm. ‘I said, what the hell is –’
    ‘All right, just shut the hell up and listen,’ Joe cut him off, shrugging his hand from Katz's grip. ‘Sienna Walker is a suspect.’
    Katz's jaw dropped to the floor. ‘You have evidence against her?’
    ‘The wire screen on the kid's window was forced from the