Page 87 of Her Last Breath

‘And yet he knew you well enough to give evidence against you. It must have been a real kick in the teeth, I bet. Look at you now. Living alone, working as a volunteer at some local foodbank. Whereas out there though you had real power, what you did mattered. Bill took that away from you.’

‘A lot of people took that life away from me.’

‘Bill was key though, he filmed you. Did you know that?’

Silence as Colin weighed up her words. Jane could hear his ragged breathing, the red mist creeping through his system.

‘That was the evidence that they couldn’t refute. And then you saw Bill in Burnley. Or did you come back here on purpose to find him? Was getting Bill always on your agenda?’

‘Stop it! Just stop. You don’t know anything.’

‘Yes, I can see it now. You came back here to get your revenge. Did you enjoy what you did to Bill? What did it feel like when you took his life?’

‘You’re lying. I didn’t do this, I’m not your guy.’

‘Make me understand, because right now it looks like Bill did you over and you wanted to destroy him. Bill, such a kind, gentle man, did no wrong to anyone. Was it worth it?’

‘He was a weak bastard. I helped Bill while he was out there. He was about to get done over by some local militia, him and the other lorry drivers. I had to negotiate them out of that situation, I had to give stuff to the warlord or those guys wouldn’t have survived and they would have taken everything.’

‘So you saved his life and in return he dobbed you in? Is that why you were so angry?’

‘I didn’t kill him!’ Colin’s voice was loud, echoing off the walls. ‘But he owed me.’

Jane stepped forward. She could see his face now, his features clear in the dim light. He looked livid rather than afraid. Which was good. Angry people were easy to manipulate into making mistakes.

‘I believe you, Colin. I think you’re telling me the truth. Come on, let’s get down from here. Let’s go somewhere private where me and you can talk. What do you say?’

Every cell in her body gripped by tension, Jane held her breath, waiting for Colin to respond. She needed to get them both down safely, before he did something stupid. She needed justice for his victims; Colin had to pay for his crimes. This was it. A few more steps and she would be able to cuff him.

Stepping forward, Jane kept her eyes on Colin’s face. He was softening to her, she could feel it. There was that tell-tale shift in the atmosphere when someone was coming around. But it was a spell easily broken.

Jane was so focused on Colin, on talking him down, that she didn’t see the fissure in the panel ahead of her. Didn’t spot that it wouldn’t bear a person’s weight. Suddenly, she felt timber collapse beneath her feet, her stomach dropping as she found herself plummeting down towards the hard concrete floor.

Chapter 59

Jane screamed out in terror, her arms flailing, as she plunged downwards.

Air rushed past her, her stomach somersaulting with the feeling of falling through empty space. The fall was only for a few seconds, but she had visions of the unforgiving floor rushing up to meet her, before concrete shattered skin and bone.

Jane threw out her right hand to save herself. The back of her hand connected hard against a metal pole and she reached out, catching hold of the cold metal. She clenched her fist as tightly as she could, as the agony ripped through her wrist and arm, her precipitous descent suddenly arrested. Hanging suspended from the creaking metal structure, her shoulder joint throbbed wildly. Gratefully, she brought her free hand up to grasp the pole that had saved her life.

Her body rocked shakily, her breaths coming in short bursts of panic. Jane knew she needed to get her feet lodged somewhere, but when she kicked forward, found nothing solid. Despite herself, she looked down again at the solid concrete floor. Thoughts of her mother being left alone flashed through her mind, dying with no one to be there for her. No, she wouldn’t let that happen, she would fight this.

Jane’s hands were raw and sweaty, aching from the torture of holding up her body weight. She had seconds before she would fall, she knew. She tried swinging her legs again, but still they only moved through empty space. Next to her, Jane saw the transverse bracing. Summoning her resolve, she moved towards this, groaning in agony as her failing wrists propelled her forwards. Swinging her legs, she felt temporary relief as her feet locked into the angled joint connecting to the side pole.

Out of the blue, Jane saw movement in the shadows, trying to keep the shock from her face as she saw DS Johnson at the foot of the scaffolding. He moved himself to the opposite side of the structure to Colin and Jane, easing his way stealthily up the metal poles. The seconds ticked by slowly before he was directly across from where Jane was clinging on. She could see the concern on his face, realising she was wedged between scaffolding poles.

Rolling her eyes upwards, Jane indicated Colin. She wanted DS Johnson to get to him before helping her. Silently, DS Johnson climbed higher, trying to reach the cornered suspect.

Breathing out, Jane looked upwards.

‘Colin, come with me before one of us gets seriously hurt,’ she shouted up to him, keen to distract him. Colin leant over the top rail, staring down at her. It would give DS Johnson a chance to come up behind him, she hoped.

‘You fell, I didn’t push you,’ Colin yelled down wildly at her. ‘They’re going to blame me for this as well. I didn’t do anything, I’m innocent.’

‘I believe you,’ she said between breaths. ‘I honestly do.’

‘I liked her, you know,’ Colin said, as though he wasn’t listening to her. ‘Alice. I could tell she was different, just a victim of circumstance. Bad choices. She wasn’t like the usual crackheads that came in.’