Blindsided

‘Possibly.’

Holly was thinking hard. Alexi had always been a bully, and from the age of ten he’d beaten up all the little kids on the Seaview. Roman was slower to be drawn into a fight, slightly less evil-tempered than his brother, but willing to do anything Alexi said. They had loads of enemies, from every stage of their lives. Even before they killed Larissa and her baby daughter, there would have been a list of people willing to take them out of play. Plus, of course, with them gone, the Balinta family was reduced to just Niko and his dad …

‘It is a possibility that this is not related to anything that has been happening recently, but I don’t believe in coincidence.’ DC Marriot was sipping her takeaway coffee now, eyes narrowed, clearly thinking hard, echoing Holly’s thoughts. ‘We are still very interested in the current dynamics on the Seaview, especially how this will affect certain business deals. But I can’t ignore the fact that all the key players have links to Larissa. Added to this fact, we have the obvious extra information that Devril Mancini has been seen in Westbourne, Niko Balinta is out of prison, and your brother …’

‘You really think my brother is alive and has come back with Niko and Devril?’ Holly considered this, heart pounding, and swallowed hard, trying to force herself out of the nightmare.

The DC shrugged. ‘Again, we honestly don’t know at the moment. It could be that the perpetrator is leading us towards that conclusion, but the reality is something totally different. Obviously, we will be talking to Niko, and trying to track down Devril Mancini, to see if either of them knows anything. Some of my colleagues are with Mason Balinta.’

‘They drew the short straw then? Sorry, this isn’t funny. I just can’t believe it. Are you going to question my aunt again? She’s going crazy wondering if we buried Jayden, metaphorically of course, or if he’s suddenly going to ring the doorbell one night.’

‘At this stage, we’re just trying to establish if there is a link between the incidents. If you can think of anything that might help us, or Niko or Devril, make contact, just ring me.’

‘Yeah, I will.’ But she couldn’t even begin to think where Devril might be hiding. Both Westbourne and Panfield had miles of estates, stretching from the coast to Highton Downs. The thought of Dev getting in touch set her nerves buzzing again. Niko would be back at his dad’s and she couldn’t imagine why he would ring her. But both men brought unwelcome memories. Had she totally wasted her time trying to turn herself into someone else? Someone normal … Tom’s voice came back to her, raised in anger during one of their many arguments. ‘You can’t do it, can you? Can’t really leave it behind. In your heart you’re still one of them, and I don’t want that in a wife!’

‘Holly?’ The DC’s sharp voice broke into her thoughts. ‘You might as well call me Karen, and screw the formalities. I know you don’t trust us, and I get why, but we need to work together.’ She smiled properly. ‘This is turning into a bitch of a case and the DCI is going to want daily updates. Not to mention DI Harper keeping a close eye on things.’

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