...
“Nadia!” Mateo yelled. “For fuck’s sake, Nadia, where are you?”
He was pissed off. He walked in to the area where Nadia had been sat earlier and saw the door to the cabin unlocked.
“Ah, you’ve gone and joined your pathetic friends,” he said, his voice sounding more relaxed.
He walked into the cabin and looked bemused.
“Where is the little whore?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Maxine replied.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Mateo said.
Mateo walked further into the small space, his hand was raised, ready to slap Maxine.
It was then he heard a creak behind him as Jen had accidentally moved.
He turned, expecting to see Nadia.
He paused a moment, confusion in his head at the unfamiliar woman stood in front of him.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked.
Jen stood there, frozen, terrified.
“I said, who are you?” Mateo yelled.
From the distance, Mateo heard a shout.
“Everything OK, Mateo?” the boss called out.
“Not exactly, boss, I think you need to come here.”
The engine came to a stop, and moments later the boss entered the cabin.
25
DS Lisa Whitney knocked on the front door of the house in Roath Park that she had become so familiar with in recent months. The house was in darkness. As she stood waiting, she saw a light come on at the top of the stairs. It was late, granted, but not horrendously so, a little after ten pm. Lisa knew that this was a visit that couldn’t wait until morning.
The front door opened, and Martin stood in his pyjamas and dressing gown, his face showing signs of a man who had been woken up. As he saw who was causing the disturbance, he was jolted back to full consciousness.
“Martin, can I come in please?” Lisa asked. “And is Roberta home?”
“You’ve found a body, haven’t you?” Martin said, his face full of fear and distress.
“No, Martin,” Lisa reassured. “We’ve found her, and she’s alive.”
As Martin ushered Lisa into the living room, a bleary-eyed Roberta appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Martin, who is it?” she asked.
Martin walked to the bottom of the stairs.
“It’s DS Whitney. They have found Nadia, she’s alive!”
Roberta ran down the stairs and into the living room.
“Nadia, Nadia!” she yelled as she ran, expecting to find her daughter in the living room.
Her joy turned to disappointment as she entered the room and saw Lisa, alone.
“Roberta, can you sit down please?” Lisa spoke in a calm, yet authoritative manner.
Roberta nodded and sat on the sofa. She reached her hand out to Martin, who sat next to her and took her hand.
Lisa sat on the chair and began to speak.
“Nadia has been found in Lanzarote. She is safe. She is being cared for. We are arranging flights for tomorrow morning. There isn’t a flight from Cardiff, but we are arranging flights from Bristol.”
Roberta nodded, as she began to cry with relief she struggled to speak.
“Lanzarote? How? Is she hurt?”
“I want you to take a minute,” Lisa replied. “I need to phone the office. Are you both going to come to Lanzarote?”
Martin answered, aiming his question to Roberta. “Do you want me to come? What about Toby?”
Lisa interjected, “I think it would be wiser if Toby didn’t come. Is there anyone he could stay with?”
“Why is it wiser he doesn’t come?” Roberta said, fear evident in her voice. “Is she hurt?”
“She has been through a significant trauma,” Lisa looked into Roberta’s eyes, trying to demonstrate the compassion that she felt. “Your daughter is pregnant.”
...
Gemma had been waiting for the FaceTime call from Lisa. Marcus had rung her to say that he’d been in touch with Lisa and Troy and that they were flying out from Bristol the following morning. He’d said that Lisa was going straight around to the Jenkins household to inform Nadia’s parents that she had been found.
Gemma had told Nadia that her mother would ring once the police had been to tell them that she had been found. The teenager was clearly exhausted. Gemma hoped that it wouldn’t take Lisa too long. The child needed some sleep, and Gemma herself needed to come to terms with the fact that her friend was missing. Her friend that had escaped an abusive marriage and now found herself in the hands of sex traffickers. Gemma couldn’t allow herself to think of that until Nadia was asleep, she couldn’t let the young girl see her emotions, she needed to be strong.
Her phone rang. She answered.
“Gemma, I have Nadia’s mum here. Is Nadia able to speak?” Lisa began.
Gemma nodded and handed the phone to the waiting teenager.
As soon as her mother came into view on the screen, Nadia burst into tears again.
“I’m so sorry, Mam.” she cried.
Roberta could barely speak through her own tears.
“My darling girl, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Roberta answered.
Her relief at seeing her daughter alive, and understanding what she had probably been through, paled her daughter’s foolishness into insignificance. Roberta vowed there and then that she would never mention it.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Nadia sobbed. “I love you, Mam.”
“I love you too, and I’m coming to get you tomorrow, OK?”
Nadia nodded.
“The police woman has told me that you’re very safe with Gemma.” the mother added. “She knows her and her husband and knows she’s a really good person, so you are safe. Do you hear me Nadia, you don’t have to worry. You’re safe until I get there.”
Gemma hoped that this was true. In the back of her mind she worried about what would happen when Jen was found on the boat. Would Nadia’s captors want to come back to get her? Would Jen tell them where Nadia was?
“You go to sleep now, my darling. Mammy will see you tomorrow, OK?”
“Night, Mam,” Nadia replied and handed the phone back to Gemma.
“Thank you, thank you so much!” Roberta sobbed to Gemma.
Gemma didn’t know how to reply and was grateful when Lisa reappeared on her screen. She could see Lisa walk out of the room she was in with Roberta and into another room, a kitchen. She spoke in a whisper, obviously not wanting Roberta to hear.
“Our flight leaves at 9.40am. We should arrive in Lanzarote at around half one, so hopefully we’ll be with you by half two. Please, for your own safety, do not leave the apartment, and do not leave Nadia alone. Can you do that, Gemma?”
Gemma nodded.
“Marcus is coming with me, and so is Troy. If you hear anything from Jennifer, please let us know.”
Gemma was about to reply, when the screen went blank. Lisa had hung up.
She looked at Nadia.
“You look ready for bed,” Gemma said. “I have a nightie that should fit you.”
Nadia looked in horror for a moment, at the thought of needing to undress.
“It’s OK, you do know you’re safe now, don’t you?” Gemma said, gently.
Nadia nodded, but a twinge of fear stayed in her eyes.
“You sleep in the bedroom. I will lock the window. I’ll sleep out here. Is that OK?” Gemma asked.
Nadia nodded. Gemma walked into the bedroom and grabbed a pillow from her bed.
“You can leave the light on if you want,” Gemma said.
Nadia walked into the bedroom and lay down on Jen’s bed without considering changing her clothes. Within a minute she was asleep.
Gemma closed the door slightly, leaving a small gap. She then dragged the dining table and pushed it against the front door, just in case. She locked the doors onto the balcony.
She was struck by a thought. If they weren’t arriving until early afternoon did she have any f
ood for herself and Nadia?
She opened the fridge. There was about half a pint of milk, a bottle of white wine, two bottles of water and some cheese and butter. All that remained of the items that she and Jen had bought in the shop.
She looked in the cupboard. There was coffee, teabags, about half a loaf of bread and a packet of cashew nuts. It wasn’t much, but she could probably stretch out some toast for breakfast and some sandwiches for lunch. She hoped Nadia wasn’t allergic to nuts.
26
Mateo dragged Jen out of the cabin and locked Maxine and Abdul back in the room. Jen tried to free herself from Mateo’s grasp. She just got loose of his grip, when the boss slapped her, stopping Jen in her tracks.
The boss threw Jen down onto the chair that Nadia had been sat on earlier.
“I think you and I need a little chat, don’t we?” he said.
His voice was calm. So impassive it was menacing.
Jen looked at him. The slap she had received took her back to the abuse she had suffered from Oliver, but instead of fear it gave her a sense of tranquillity. She survived that, and she was going to survive this.
“Who are you?” the boss asked. “Who sent you here?”
Jen continued to stare at him, silently.
“Answer his fucking question!” Mateo hissed at her.
She stared at them both. In her silence, she thought about what she should say. One thing she was sure of was that she was not going to say anything about knowing who Nadia was. She hoped that when she did speak, that it would be loud enough for Maxine to hear, and for her to also back up her story.
“I saw a young girl run from the boat,” Jen began. “I thought maybe there was a fire or something, so I came to investigate.”
Would they buy her story? Jen didn’t know, but it was the best she had.
The boss slapped her again. “Who sent you here?”
“I don’t understand!” Jen replied. “Why have you slapped me? I told you, I came to investigate when I saw the girl running. I saw the locked cabin and I opened it and found the other girl and the young boy. Who are you? Why were they locked inside?”
Jen had already worked out in her head exactly who they were. She knew that these must be sex traffickers the minute she had seen that Nadia was pregnant. Seeing such a young boy had turned her stomach, and whilst Maxine was clearly an adult, she was a young adult and was covered in bruises. Jen knew exactly what that felt like. She felt a wave of nausea come over here as she fought the mental images of what she imagined these people had been through.
Mateo spoke, “Hey boss, can I give her a little view into why they were here. She’s a cute one.”
He looked Jen up and down, his eyes burning into her.
“She’s too old for our clients,” the boss answered. “She may be attractive, but she’s clearly over thirty. I have no use for her.”
“I can keep her as my plaything,” Mateo answered. “You know that children and trannies aren’t my thing.”
Mateo didn’t wait for the boss to answer. He walked over the Jen and ripped at her sundress. The front buttons broke instantly, exposing Jen and revealing her underwear. He grabbed her breasts.
Jen winced, determined not to show any fear.
“Nice titties you have,” he said.
Then he scanned his fingers down her body, opening the remaining buttons as he did, his eyes following his hand and he saw her scar. Her abdomen forever tainted by Oliver’s violence.
“What the fuck is this!” Mateo yelled, tracing his hand roughly over her stomach.
“It’s a scar,” Jen replied, matter of fact.
Mateo turned to the boss. “She’s ruined my hard on right there, boss. She’s no use to me either.”
“Get rid of her, then,” the boss replied.
“How?” Mateo answered.
“Just chuck her overboard. Let her drown. Then, when her body washes up, they will just assume she was another drunk British holiday maker who went for a swim when they shouldn’t.”
Mateo grabbed Jen.
“Come on then, lady, it’s time you went for a swim.” Mateo said, dragging her to her feet and pulling her through the yacht.
“Please, no!” Jen exclaimed.
“Just get shot of her, and phone Biscuit,” the boss added. “As he’s still at the hotel, he can go looking for the little whore. She can’t have got far.”
Mateo dragged Jen to the side of the boat. Jen fought him as he lifted her onto the edge.
“See you, princess,” he said, grinning at her. Then he pushed her into the water.
Jen readied herself, as Mateo pushed, she took a deep breath. She knew she had to get away from the boat. The engines would be starting back up again.
She hit the water. It was cold, but not as bad as she had been expecting. She knew she would have to pull off her dress and sandals, so that the weight of the clothes wouldn’t drag her body down. But she wanted to wait until she knew they weren’t looking at her.
Mateo, by ripping her dress, had done her a favour, it was easy to pull her dress off. Her sandals too were easy to unstrap and let sink away. She felt a twinge of sadness, she loved the sandals. They were an expensive pair that she had bought just after she had married Oliver, at a time when she still had her own funds. They were the most expensive pair of shoes she had ever bought, but they were just things. She needed to float for a few moments and get her bearings, get a feel for what the water was doing. What the current was like, where it was flowing. Then she would swim. She was born for this.
27
Once the yacht had disappeared, Jen needed to allow her eyes to adjust to the light. The moon was strong, but as it danced on the surface it made it harder for her to really see, the reflections hitting her retina like a flash of light.
She looked in the distance all around her, looking for any signs of land. She could see Lanzarote behind her. It looked a long swim, many miles in the distance, against a tough current. Then she looked ahead, she was sure that she could see signs of a mountain, and was that a lighthouse that she could see? Jen was sure that it was a lighthouse. As it moved around, it confirmed it. She was looking at a lighthouse, it wasn’t a trick of the moon.
She knew that was her best option to swim towards. A clear beacon for her to sight, a target point for her swimming. She tried to estimate how far away it was. It was tough to tell. Three kilometres, maybe four. Whilst she had started swimming regularly again, she was still rusty for open water.
She knew the salt water would be tough for her eyes without any goggles. She decided she would keep her eyes closed when under the water, and would come up to sight the lighthouse every couple of breaths.
She was glad that she hadn’t drunk any wine with dinner. She had been tempted to have a glass of wine with her pizza when Gemma had a glass of wine with her pasta. But she hadn’t, she had stuck to water due to the heat. She was grateful now for her earlier restraint, she was able to swim with a clear head.
She knew she would need to swim hard. Without a wetsuit she would be cold unless she kept moving with enough effort to keep her warm. She also knew that if it was around four kilometres that she would be swimming for probably around an hour and a half. She just hoped that she could reach the lighthouse, reach the island.
She thought as she swam. It must be Fuerteventura she was swimming towards. She knew that it was close to Lanzarote. It was a shame that Lanzarote had been too far away, and against the current.
She knew her best option for survival was to swim to the closest shore. She wondered how Gemma was, how Nadia was.
Troy. He’d be going out of his mind with worry. Jen knew that Gemma would have called home.
Jen hoped that she would be able to find someone that could ring Gemma for her. Then she thought, she didn’t know Gemma’s mobile number. She could remember Gemma’s number from when they had been children, back in the days when you physically dialled numbers, but now all you did was program it in once and hit a
button.
How could she get in touch?
Then she felt a sting which brought her back to the moment, she was swimming through a shoal of jellyfish. With so much of her body exposed, this was going to hurt. However, the pain she felt as she was stung was oddly reassuring. It proved to her that she was alive, she was and continued to be a fighter.
She was going to get back to Lanzarote somehow. She didn’t know how, with no money and no phone, but she was. She was going to see Gemma, she was going to see Troy again, and most importantly she was going to live.
She continued her swim. She was energised, she didn’t feel tired, she felt invincible.
Her thoughts took her back to the boat, to Maxine and to Abdul. She vowed that it was her duty to help them, she didn’t know how. Would Nadia have the answers? She hoped that the girl would be OK.
She thought about Abdul, about how young he was. He would have experienced horrors that no child should have to endure. She wondered how he had ended up there. What had happened to bring such a small boy into such an abhorrent life?
She had to stop thinking about him. It hurt her heart to even begin to imagine the trauma the boy had suffered.
The lighthouse was getting closer.
28
Gemma was unable to sleep. Her mind raced overtime as she thought about Jen. She loved her like a sister. She should have never allowed her to go back to the boat.
She knew that there was no way that she could have stopped Jen, and she loved her for her compassion and determination.
Her mind went through hundreds of different scenarios of what would happen to her. Each thought more horrifying than the last. Rape, Torture, Murder.
She was relieved when her phone lit up. A message from Marcus.
Hold in there, my love. I’ll be with you tomorrow.
Gemma smiled. She had never felt more pleased to know she would be seeing her husband. She typed her reply.
You have no idea how pleased I am to hear that. I love you.
No Escape (Sinister Minds Quick Reads Book 2) Page 7
