Every Little Breath: A Tense Psychological Thriller Full of Twists

The next half an hour passed in a blur.

Casey had been in shock by the time the emergency vehicles arrived, and the paramedics had checked her over in the back of the ambulance, while the first police officers on the scene, a woman of around her mum’s age and her male colleague, asked questions.

Casey tried to answer as best as she could, telling the woman, Thompson she thought she had said her name was, about the outbuilding and the girl in the basement. She saw her exchange a nod with her partner, before he headed over to the entrance of the driveway, scoping out the property as a second patrol car pulled up, this one with two younger officers spilling out.

The passenger joined the male officer, while the driver strode towards the ambulance. Thompson intercepted him and Casey tried to listen to what she was saying, though was prevented from doing so when the paramedic stepped into her line of vision.

‘You’ve got whiplash and you’re still in shock,’ the woman told her. ‘You’re probably going to ache a bit later, have a stiff neck and shoulder from where you jerked against the seat belt. I strongly recommend you go see your doctor tomorrow, get checked over.’

‘I’m fine, honestly. Shocked yes, but I didn’t hurt myself.’

‘That’s the adrenaline. When it wears off, the pain will kick in.’

Thompson rejoined them, waiting patiently until the paramedic had finished talking.

‘This is PC Murphy, he is going to take you back to the station,’ she told Casey, as the younger officer returned from his car.

Casey’s eyes flicked in his direction and he gave her a brief nod.

‘What about the woman? You have to help her.’

‘What’s your name, love?’

‘Casey. Casey Fallon.’

‘Okay, Casey. We’re going to investigate, but we really need you to go back to the station with PC Murphy. The best thing you can do for us right now is to tell him everything that happened.’

‘He was hurting her. You need to go now.’

Thompson’s lips were in a tight line as she twisted them into something Casey thought was supposed to be a smile. Ignoring the comment, she gave Murphy a nod before heading over to join her colleagues.

‘Okay. Miss Fallon. I’m going to need to breathalyse you.’

Casey had been watching Thompson as the woman approached her colleagues, all sharp features and cropped blonde hair, one hand on her walkie-talkie, the other hovering over her baton. She now tore her eyes away and looked at Murphy, seeing him properly for the first time and surprised by how young he was. He probably wasn’t that much older than her, with dark hair, cropped short under his hat, and clean-shaven.

‘What?’

‘I said I need to breathalyse you.’

‘You called me Miss Fallon.’

‘I did.’

‘It’s Casey. You can call me Casey.’

His lips curved into the hint of a smile. ‘Okay, Casey. Have you ever been breathalysed before?’

‘No.’ And she wasn’t interested in taking the test. She was getting frustrated and simply wanted to know what the hell was going on.

He held up the device so she could see it. ‘It’s really simple. I just need you to blow into this tube here. Can you do that for me?’

‘Why do I need to be breathalysed? There’s a woman being held prisoner in that house and he is hurting her, yet all you’re worried about is whether I’ve had a drink? It’s the middle of the bloody day. Of course I haven’t been drinking.’

She was getting high-pitched, but couldn’t help herself. This was ridiculous. Why weren’t they storming the house and trying to stop Steve? The sound of the woman’s muffled, panicked screams were still echoing in Casey’s head, playing on a constant loop. She wanted, needed it to stop.

‘Look, it’s mandatory, okay. You’ve crashed your car, so I need to do the test, but no, I don’t think you’ve been drinking. So we will get it done quickly, then I will take you back to the station and you can tell me exactly what happened.’

‘But the woman–’

‘My colleagues are now going to investigate. They will do everything possible to ensure she is safe, I promise you. There’s nothing you can do to help them other than talk to me and tell me everything you know, so come on, what do you say? Let’s get the test done quickly and get back to the station.’

Casey sniffed. Given how young he was, he was being incredibly patient with her. She guessed he had to be in his line of work. He was also right. Frustrating as it was, she had to let the police do their job. She couldn’t interfere.

She took the test, knew, as she suspected he did too, that it was going to be negative, and once the result was confirmed, she let him lead her over to the patrol car, accompanied him back to the station.

‘Do you want a drink?’ he asked her, once they were in what she assumed was one of the interview rooms. ‘The coffee isn’t great, but the tea is okay.’

All Casey wanted was to get on answering his questions. She was desperate for news on the woman, needed to know she was safe and that Murphy’s colleagues had found her in time. The guilt of leaving her in the basement weighed heavily. Even though there was no way Casey could have freed her in time, she had left her behind, and she hadn’t missed the desperate, pleading look the woman had given her when she realised Casey was fleeing, just as she hadn’t been able to drown out the awful sounds coming from the room before she had made her escape. If the woman died, she would never forgive herself.

She wanted, needed to help Murphy, but her mouth was so dry. ‘Could I just have some water, please?’

‘Sure thing.’

When he returned to the room, she gulped down the drink, put the empty paper cup down on the table, noted her hands were shaking, and buried them in her lap. She looked up and met his eyes. He had kind eyes, deep pools of blue that were calm, patient and sincere, and they steadied her.

‘Okay, I’m ready. What else do you want to know?’

Casey lost track of how long she was in the interview room.

She went over everything with Murphy, answered all of his questions as best she could, then there was a short wait before another more senior officer came to speak with her. He was a detective constable she recalled him saying when he introduced himself, though she couldn’t remember his name. He was older than Murphy, more serious, and blunt with his questioning, and seemed impatient when she faltered.

All the time the clock was ticking and there was no update on what was happening at the house where she’d found the woman. Had Steve been arrested? Was the woman safe or had the police been too late to save her? And what about Gareth, Julie and Gareth’s younger brother, Ethan? Did they know what had happened?

Was Gareth possibly involved in this?

She had asked the detective these questions when he had first come into the room and he had bluntly shut her down. She hadn’t dared ask again. He went over the same questions Murphy had asked, repeated them again, but worded differently, as if he was trying to catch her out. Casey tried her best, wanting to help him, but she was tired and had a thumping headache.

Eventually he left and she was alone in the room, just waiting. Weary and frustrated, she scrubbed her hands over her face. Why wasn’t anyone telling her anything?

‘You okay in here?’

She parted her fingers, glanced through them at Murphy, who had poked his head in the door.

‘They’re going to let you go home in a bit. You’ll just need to read through and sign the statement you’ve given.’

‘Did they find her?’

‘She’s been taken to hospital.’

‘And Steve?’

He nodded. ‘Mr Noakes is in custody.’

A little of the tension eased out of Casey.

‘My car.’ With everything going on she had forgotten that she had crashed it, realised that the aches she had put down to sitting in the chair for so long could be the whiplash the paramedic had warned her about.

‘It’s with a recovery company. I’ll get you their details so you can give them a call tomorrow. Do you need me to call your mum or dad to come pick you up?’

‘They’re away.’

‘Is there anyone else I can call? Brother? Sister? A friend?’

Casey considered. She had two older brothers, but Liam worked weekends while Nick was away, and as for her friends, most of them hadn’t yet passed their driving tests. ‘It’s okay. I can catch the bus.’

Murphy studied her for a moment, nodded. ‘Wait here. I’ll be back in a bit.’

Forty minutes later they were in his patrol car on their way out to Framingham Earl, Murphy having cleared it with his boss to give Casey a ride home.

She had been surprised to see it was almost dusk, realising that she had been at the police station all afternoon and into the evening. It was a warm night and the car windows were down, the gentle breeze a welcome relief after having been cooped up in the interview room for so long. Casey was exhausted and, despite lacking an appetite, her stomach growled with hunger pangs, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

She still wasn’t sure if she could stomach anything, and she planned on having a hot shower before crawling into bed. She wasn’t foolish enough to think that sleep would come easily though. Knew that once she closed her eyes her mind would replay the awful scene she had witnessed in the basement of the outbuilding.

She had left the woman. Couldn’t shake that look of betrayal. Even though there had been no way to free her, Casey had left. She imagined herself in the woman’s position, trapped and terrified, the brief moment of relief knowing she had been found, only to have it cruelly snatched away. Despite the warmth of the evening, she shuddered.

Murphy must have noticed, because he briefly took his eyes off the road, glancing in her direction. ‘You okay?’

Casey nodded, her thoughts turning to Gareth and Julie. It was late. They would know what had happened by now. Had Gareth been arrested too?

It occurred to her that her phone was in her bag, that she had been so caught up with everything that she had completely forgotten about it. She reached for it now, switching it on, shocked when it lit up in her hand, repeatedly beeping as numerous text messages came through.

Her heart sunk recognising Gareth’s name, understanding that he had been trying to contact her all afternoon.

She read through the messages that ranged from worried to frantic to annoyed, telling her that his dad had been arrested, saying that he needed her and asking where she was.

She winced at the last one.

Where the fuck are you? CALL ME NOW!

What was she supposed to say to him? She could hardly go to his side and play the sympathetic girlfriend.

Casey was aware of Murphy flicking another glance in her direction.

‘It’s Gareth. Steve’s son. My… boyfriend.’ Was he still that? Casey had never seen him to break things off with him, so yes, she guessed that technically he still was. Except she had just reported his dad for kidnapping and torturing a woman, so she guessed that kind of knocked the head on their relationship.

Did Gareth know what she had done? From the messages, she suspected not.

‘He’s sent me a dozen texts. What am I supposed to say?’

She was aware her tone was panicked, couldn’t help it. This wasn’t a situation she had ever expected to find herself dealing with.

Would anyone?

Murphy was thoughtful for a moment. ‘You said your parents are away.’

‘Horse-trekking in Peru.’ She chided herself at his slightly raised eyebrow. John and Cecelia Fallon weren’t package-holidays-to-Benidorm type of people, but it was a stupid detail he didn’t need to know. ‘They’re not back until Friday.’

‘So are you home alone?’

‘My brother, Liam, works nights. He’ll be home tomorrow.’

‘Do you have a friend or relative you can go stay with tonight?’

Most of her friends still lived at home. Casey could impose, but she didn’t like to. Her aunt, Natasha, lived alone though. Her mum’s younger sister was only eight years older than Casey and different to her mum in every possible way. While Cecelia was a free-spirited hippy at heart, Natasha was studious, elegant and grounded. Casey was close to her, but it still felt like an imposition.

‘I guess my aunt, maybe.’ She frowned.

‘Okay, why don’t you give her a call?’

‘What about Gareth though? What should I say to him?’

‘Honestly, I would advise you not to say anything. Call your aunt, then switch off your phone. Stay with her for a few days if you can and try to avoid any contact with Gareth. It will be…’ He paused. ‘Less complicated.’

Less complicated.

Casey considered his words, thought they held a certain irony, as nothing about this situation was uncomplicated. Still, she nodded in agreement, part of her feeling cowardly at the relief that came with avoiding Gareth.

If Murphy thought her family home was quirky, filled with numerous mementos from her parents’ travels around the globe, he didn’t say, waiting downstairs for her while she gathered a few things together, just enough for an overnight stay. She figured she could always return for more stuff when Liam was back home.

She had spoken to Natasha, but her aunt didn’t yet know what had happened. Casey didn’t want to explain it over the phone, wasn’t looking forward to rehashing everything when she arrived at Natasha’s, but understood there were going to be questions. Even though everything had happened several hours ago, she still hadn’t really processed it, and all of the waiting around and the myriad questions that had been fired at her had zapped her energy. She was exhausted.

After calling her aunt she had switched off her phone, though a niggling dread nagged at the back of her mind, reminding her that she couldn’t avoid Gareth forever.

How was he going to react when he learnt about his dad? And how would he feel, knowing that Casey had been the one who had caught him?

She was quiet on the ride over to Natasha’s and Murphy didn’t probe, seeming to understand that the day’s events had taken their toll. He had been good to her and she knew it had been his idea to give her a lift home, just as he had been the one to offer a solution to her dilemma with Gareth. She appreciated everything he had done for her.

Her aunt lived in a terraced house in a popular area of Norwich known as the Golden Triangle. The lights were on in the front window, warm and inviting, as Murphy pulled up outside.

He turned to face her. ‘I know you’re beating yourself up about everything, but don’t. You did a good thing today and because of you, that woman is alive. Remember that.’

‘I know.’ Casey found a smile for him, though it felt tight. ‘Thank you for today. I mean that.’

‘I was just doing my job.’

‘I know you were, but you made things easier. You…’ She searched for the right word, but her scrambled brain couldn’t think straight. ‘Thank you,’ she repeated.

Grabbing her bag from the footwell, she climbed out of the car, aware he waited until her aunt had opened the front door and ushered her inside.

She turned to raise a hand in goodbye. He smiled and nodded, and then he was gone.