Sara's Child by Susan Elle Page B

have discovered on the internet and their discussions about Llwyd; but it all comes back to that voice.
    ‘Just watch what this one does,’ he’d taunted Catherine while holding up an instrument that looked like pliers but had some kind of bolt going through the handles joining them. ‘ I designed the changes my self – much more efficient now. ’ He had taken each of her mother’s fingers, put the pliers around the knuckles and slowly tightened the screw to increase the pressure on the bones. Catherine remembers her mums face, her eyes bloodshot and crying while her screams, stifled by the duct-tape, were still terrible to hear; as was the ugly popping of bone when the pliers finally crushed the knuckle.
    How could Logan think she would ever forget a man like that? His voice has haunted her over the years – she can hear it still.
    “Catherine,” Logan smiles looking somewhat relieved, “I’ve been searching the house for you.” And so the sun shines in my world again.
    “Sorry,” she smiles back, having missed him more than she realised, “locked out.” Catherine explains about lunch with Ben. “He was a bit off at first,” she recalls, “probably annoyed by the fact that I’m still not going into the office; and he has a point.”
    Because I’m a selfish cow, only ever thinking about me. Sorry, mum.
    “Have you ever considered making him a partner?” Logan asks while taking a seat beside Catherine. She looks shocked and bemused at the suggestion. “I’ll take that as a no,” he chuckles then draws her in for a long tender kiss. “Mmm,” he sighs as their lips reluctantly part, “I’ve been looking forward to doing that all day.” Wow! Don’t stop on my account.
    Leaving his arm around her shoulders, Catherine snuggles in. “I…missed you too,” she confesses shyly; then hurriedly changes the subject. “Don’t you have to train to play rugby? I mean, are you not doing things that you normally would because I’m staying here?”
    Putting a finger under her chin, Logan draws her face up to look at him and watches her blush prettily. “You are not in the way of anything important,” he assures Catherine, then bends to kiss the tip of her nose. “I spoke to Carl, the team captain, yesterday and explained that I won’t be free for at least a couple of weeks.” She wants to protest, to be unselfish enough to tell him he should go, but the memories of her mum and what that man did to her prevent Catherine.
    Logan can see the conflict of emotions play out on Catherine’s unguarded expression. “What we are doing now is more important than rugby, my work or yours,” he tells her gently but firmly. “Part of the reason I had to go in today was to set things up so that they could run without me, for the most part, for at least the next few weeks.”
    “I’m so lucky to have you in my corner,” she sighs and moves her head back to lean against his lovely broad shoulder.
    “In your corner, in your life,” he tells her simply, “for as long as you’ll have me.” I wish I could believe that. I want to believe…
    They take a companionable walk around the garden before heading indoors to resume their task.
    “I’ve got a spare front door key hanging in the kitchen,” he tells her once they are inside. “I’ll get it for you now and bring a jug of coffee in – I think we’re going to need it.”
    They do. By midnight, the second jug of coffee is gone, their heads are aching but Catherine has found a break at last. “Logan, look at this,” she calls over excitedly.
    Leaning in to look over her shoulder, Logan is astounded by what he reads. “Good lord, it could be a mirror image of what happened to your mother,” he gasps. “I wonder if the police have put the two together – it can’t be a coincidence, opposite ends of the country maybe, but it must be the same man!”
    Catherine agrees, feeling that at last they are getting somewhere.
    We’re closing in, and when we find