She still felt filthy, though. She could smell her own urine and body odour. Her breath was rank, her skin felt greasy, oily and grubby. She could feel the large scab on her scalp – from where the man had beaten her unconscious – which had bled quite badly. She still felt pain whenever she moved her head around.
She pulled the blankets from the floor and, even though they were dirty, she used them to cover herself. She felt the sting of tears again and for all her certainty that her father would come for her, she began to wonder if he was even looking for her yet. Why hadn’t he found her already? He was the hardest man in fucking Europe! Why had she been taken? This couldn’t be a kidnapping – if it was, surely she would have been forced to make a tape of the kidnapper’s demands? Or talk to her father to prove she was still alive? Her father would insist on that. He wouldn’t pay a penny until he was assured she was still in one piece. So what the fuck was this about? She still had her very expensive Rolex, and it gave her the time and the date. It was five days since she had been abducted, and the man who was keeping her chained up didn’t seem to be bothered about anything. There was no urgency about him, or his movements – in fact, he was a bit too laid back. The food, the light and the clean clothes, though, made her think that maybe he wasn’t going to leave her to starve to death. Maybe he did have a hidden agenda. But what that might be, she couldn’t even hazard a guess.
Chapter One Hundred
and Six
Dana O’Carroll was in her late thirties and she knew she wasn’t a beauty. She was a heavyset woman with a flat face, heavy lips, and deep brown eyes. She had worked for the Flynns since three months before Jake had been born, employed to look after the child and also Josephine. She was a state-registered nurse, and she had taken this place knowing that she would stay for the duration – the lure of a newborn baby had been too much for her to resist. Jake Flynn was the child she would never have. She absolutely adored him.
Although Dana had ostensibly been brought in to look after Jake, she had known within the first five minutes that Josephine Flynn was seriously in need of psychiatric help. Dana thought the world of Josephine, but there was no getting away from the fact that she was becoming odder by the day, and that was why she was paid so much. She had to watch her like a hawk.
Dana gave Jake everything he needed, and he loved her with all his little heart. As he was getting older, he was starting to question his world and the people in it. His mother Jessie was an anomaly to him; she drifted in and out of his life and didn’t know how to treat him when they were together. But what would she know about love and caring? It wasn’t as though she had learnt it at home. Dana saw that Josephine would always put her husband Michael above anyone, even Jake, if it came to it. How was Jessie supposed to live with that knowledge? Now that Michael had given Josephine a much-needed reality check, forcing her to acknowledge the truth of her life for once, it seemed that Josephine had suddenly forgotten she had a small grandson who needed her. Josephine had locked herself away in her room, broken-hearted and full of self-pity. She had refused to see her little grandson, saying she was too upset. It was shocking and cruel to ignore the little boy like that, but what could she do about it?
Michael Flynn came into the kitchen and, sitting down beside his grandson, he kissed him on his cheek heartily, grabbing the boy out of his chair. Jake laughed loudly with happiness; he loved to be noticed.
‘I hear a certain young man is going to Mass this morning with his school. He’s learning about his Holy Communion.’
Jake grinned at his granddad. ‘I am. That’s me! How did you know?’
Michael shrugged theatrically. ‘I heard about it, and I wanted to give him a hug before he went! It’s a sacrament you know, Jake, Holy Communion, like a deal you make with God. It’s very important. It’s a big thing for anyone. Remember that. You’ll make your First Confession, and then, when you’ve been absolved of all your sins, you can finally make your First Holy Communion. It’s a big event in your life, mate.’
Jake was hanging on his granddad’s every word.
‘Never forget that you are a very special person, who is going to do a very special thing, and that being a Catholic is very important, OK?’
Jake nodded solemnly. ‘Will my mummy be there?’
Michael hugged his grandson tightly. ‘’Course she will be there, Jake, she wouldn’t miss something as important as this!’
As he said the words, he hoped he wouldn’t be proved a liar. For all he knew, his daughter was already dead.
Chapter One Hundred