The Attic Room: A psychological thriller by Linda Huber

that
if you know what’s good for you. I’ll be in touch.’
    The line went dead. Nina dropped the handset and fell to her
knees on the study floor, clutching her middle. Shit, shit, she had spoken to
the scumbag blackmailer. Her stomach heaved and she clutched it, oh God she was
going to be sick. He had known her name…
    Still shaking, she forced herself to her feet and stood
leaning on the desk, panting. Please let Naomi stay upstairs, please, her
daughter mustn’t see her like this; she’d be scared witless. But that terrible
voice… had it been the blackmailer? Or some other pervert after the money…
David, she had to call David Mallony, right now this minute. Fighting to keep
control of her gut, Nina scrabbled on the desk for the number of the police
station.
    David came to the phone himself. ‘I’ll be with you in
fifteen minutes,’ he said, and the very neutrality in his voice sent a further
shiver down Nina’s spine. ‘I was coming round this morning anyway. There’ve
been some developments.’
    Nina was left holding a dead phone. She stood there, her
breath coming in short pants. The developments weren’t going to be good news,
she had heard that loud and clear. They must have found out something about
John Moore, something that was too horrible to tell her over the phone. And
hell, Naomi was right here in the middle of it all. Oh, what should she do,
what should she do? Loneliness crept into her head as she realised that apart
from Sam, there was nobody she could call on for help.
    ‘Mum! What’s wrong?’
    Naomi was beside her, putting her arms round her, cuddling
her. Nina held on tightly, feeling Naomi’s heart beating next to her own and
breathing in the scent of her child. Blessed calmness crept through her. This,
right here, was the single important thing in her life. For Naomi, she could –
and would – do anything.
    Strengthened, Nina made sure her voice was reassuring. ‘It’s
all right, darling. Remember I told you John Moore had been sent a blackmail
letter? Well, the – I think that was the blackmailer on the phone. It gave me a
fright but I’ve called the police and they’re coming round. Naomi, darling, I
want you to be very good and stay upstairs while they’re here.’
    She saw refusal in Naomi’s face and went on firmly. ‘I
promise I’ll tell you afterwards what’s going on, but some of the things DI
Mallony might want to talk about aren’t for you to hear yet.’
    The doorbell rang before Naomi could answer, and Nina kept
the girl hugged to her side while she answered it. David Mallony was there with
Sabine Jameson.
    ‘This is my daughter Naomi. She’s going upstairs while we
talk.’
    Naomi tugged at Nina’s sleeve. ‘Can I go right up to the
attic room? I could see what’s in those old boxes?’
    Nina opened her mouth to agree, but David was already
speaking.
    ‘Right – um – hello Naomi. Ah, Nina, I should have told you
– don’t touch the boxes, will you?’ he said, looking from Nina to Naomi in a
way that made Nina feel giddy. She listened incredulously as he went on.
    ‘We might need to, um, fingerprint them later. In fact it
might be an idea if DC Sabine here goes upstairs with you, Naomi.’
    Nina gaped at him. Why on earth would the police want to
fingerprint the boxes in the attic? They didn’t look as if anyone had been near
them for decades. The sick feeling returned to her stomach. What was going on?
    The young detective followed Naomi upstairs, and David
Mallony turned to Nina, his face grim.
    ‘You can guess it’s not good news,’ he said, as they went
into the kitchen and sat down.
    ‘We found large numbers of pornographic images on the hard
drive of John Moore’s computer, most of them involving young boys. Children.
Paedophilia. I’m sorry.’
    Nina inhaled sharply and clapped both hands to her mouth. So
the horrible suspicion had become even more horrible reality. For long seconds
she couldn’t speak. She was living in this