Leaving Lewis to put away the shopping he had bought, Crash flicked the kettle on so he could make himself a drink.
It was as he was leaving the kitchen, mug of coffee in one hand, that he noticed the first aid kit on the side near the fridge. He wasn't sure where the kit could normally be found, but he did know that it hadn't been next to the fridge when he left earlier.
"What's that doing out?" Crash wanted to know, gesturing to the small, green case, adorned with a white cross.
Lewis' eyes darted to the first aid kit guiltily, wishing he had had the sense to put it away in the cupboard under the sink where he got it from, rather than leaving it out where his partner could spot it. "Alice had a cut on her hand, I had to clean it up and put a plaster on it," he said, deciding that there was little point in dissembling; he didn't doubt that his, somewhat scary, partner would figure out the truth soon enough.
"How did you know about her cut?" Crash asked in a dangerous voice, though he didn't actually give Lewis a chance to answer. "Jesus Christ, but you're an idiot, d'you know that, a goddamned bloody idiot. You went in the room again, didn't you." He glared at Lewis accusingly, an edge of anger in his voice. "Didn't you learn anything this morning?"
"I had to check on her," Lewis said defensively. "We can't let her go without food and water, and I couldn't leave her with a used bucket, that's neither pleasant nor hygienic."
"What if she'd tried to escape again? If she'd made a break for it and managed to lock you in that room again, she'd have had all the time in the world to get away." There was a dark look on his face and his eyes flashed dangerously.
"She didn't, though, she didn't even try," Lewis told his accomplice. "She's so scared after you caught her this morning that she barely moved." It disturbed him to see how much that comment pleased Crash, who seemed to take a horrid kind of delight in having frightened their teen captive into immobility.
"You're bloody lucky," Crash declared. "When Jim hears how stupid you've been, he ain't gonna be happy."
YOU ARE READING
Where There's A Will
Mystery / ThrillerAn armed robbery, a kidnapping, and an enemy that's closer than anyone realises. Inspector Stone has to put aside problems at home and an ambitious underling when the daughter of a local businessman is kidnapped, and a multi-million Euro ransom dema...
