David hadn’t spoken until the call had ended.
‘Who was that?’
‘Tom Douglas.’
‘Douglas? Jack’s brother?’
‘He’s a friend, David. I called him because I thought there would be a ransom, and Tom’s got more money than anybody else I know. Jack’s money. We still might be able to buy Ollie back, you know.’
David looked at her, his sad face telling her how unlikely that was.
Arriving at the supermarket, Emma reversed into a space that was hardly wide enough for the car and turned the engine off.
‘Now we wait.’
Around them shoppers pushed trolleys past their car, heads down against the rain, holding the hands of children or partners, or sometimes they battled alone with a shopping cart on wonky wheels.
Emma’s phone lay on her knee, and she glanced at it every few seconds until finally it vibrated and without picking it up she answered the call and put it onto speaker.
‘Okay, Emma – great choice of parking spot, but you need to know we think they’re here.’ There was a small gasp from the back of the car.
Tom continued. ‘They’ll have picked up Natasha’s GPS on her phone. We’ve been checking any suspect cars that contain two or more men coming into the car park. We’ve got a hit on one of the number plates. They’re watching, so you all need to be very smart about this, but no need to be frightened. They’ve turned into the top of your aisle, and they know where you are. Don’t, whatever you do, stare at each car as it goes past. The fact that you haven’t got out yet might be confusing them, so turn to each other now and start to argue – about anything. I’ll tell you when they’ve passed.’
That was one instruction that probably wouldn’t be hard to achieve, Emma thought, as she looked at David’s stony face. She knew he was already regretting the fact that he had agreed to this.
Tasha slid even further down in her seat and Emma turned to David, shouting nonsense about the mess in the back garden – the first thing that came into her head that was nothing to do with Ollie. They couldn’t hear, but they would see her expression. David stared at her mutely, a look of shock on his face that she knew wasn’t an act. She kept it up for two minutes before she heard Tom’s voice.
‘They’ve gone past. It’s pouring with rain,’ Tom said, ‘so you can run into the supermarket with your hood up or hat on. Emma and Natasha walk quickly to the back, where there’s an entrance to the ladies toilet. Go down that corridor, and somebody will be waiting for you. David – hang back a little, pick up a trolley and make your way to the back as if you’re going to meet them.’
‘Will they follow us in?’
‘I doubt it – they’ll just be watching your car for when you come out.’ Tom paused. ‘You okay?’
‘Fine,’ Emma answered. ‘See you in a few minutes.’
She disconnected and went to open her door. David grabbed her arm.
‘Emma – are you sure we’re doing the right thing? I don’t like it.’
She had no words. She wasn’t sure that she liked it either, but if Rory’s arrest meant the whole plan had fallen apart, she had no idea what would happen to Ollie. And she wasn’t going to take that risk.
She gave her husband the most reassuring smile she could muster, opened her car door and turned to release Natasha from where the child lock was holding her prisoner.
42
Emma and Natasha were met in the corridor at the back of the supermarket by a lady of indeterminate age – she could have been anything from early forties to early sixties in her slightly frumpy uniform and her sensible shoes. She didn’t smile at them but eyed them suspiciously as she introduced herself as Mrs Clayton and informed them that Mr Douglas was waiting for them.
Without expecting a response from Emma, the woman marched off, leading the way, but Natasha hung back slightly.
‘What’s up?’ Emma whispered.
‘I think she recognised me,’ Natasha murmured.
‘What, from the newspaper articles?’
‘No – I think she used to work at another supermarket near where we lived. It was one of my targets.’
Emma gave her a puzzled look and Natasha tutted.
‘I used to nick stuff from there,’ she said, as though it should have been obvious.
Emma closed her eyes briefly and reached for Natasha’s hand.
The office they were shown into was an airless box, with one closed and locked frosted glass window, criss-crossed with thin wires, situated high up on the wall, letting in next to no light. How anybody worked in here every day was a mystery to Emma. She would go slowly mental.
Tom was standing looking at a noticeboard and much as Emma wanted to go to him and hug him, she resisted. She knew that creating allegiances that excluded David and Natasha on any level would potentially make this so much more difficult.
Tom’s eyes met Emma’s for a second and they showed nothing. She understood.
He turned to Natasha. ‘You must be Natasha. You’re a brave girl – we know this can’t have been easy for you. Come and sit down. We’re going to have a chat to see where we’re up to, and what we need to do next. Okay?’
The door opened again and David was ushered in.
‘David,’ Tom said, reaching out his hand. ‘Tom Douglas.’
Tom had arranged the chairs so they were in a group with a low coffee table in the middle. As soon as they were seated, he started to speak.
‘We haven’t got much time. Anybody in your situation would do a hasty whizz around the supermarket aisles for necessities – it’s not a pleasure trip – so we need to be quick. Okay?’
Emma and David nodded. Natasha didn’t seem able to look at Tom.
‘Natasha, I know you’ve had a hard time, but if I’m going to help you I’ll need to ask you some questions. Is that all right?’ Tom waited for a response that didn’t come. ‘We understand that you’ve only done what you’ve been told to. But things haven’t gone quite to plan, have they?’
Natasha’s eyes were glued to the floor, where she was kicking the toes of her trainers backwards and forwards, her hair obscuring her face – a child again. But there was the trace of a shake of her head.
‘We know a bit about Rory Slater and Finn McGuinness. They’re dangerous men – and we need to keep you safe from them. But to do that, you’re going to have to help us too.’
Emma noticed a tear splash on Natasha’s knee. She could see that Tom didn’t miss it either.
‘You’re scared of them, aren’t you?’ he asked. A small, but definite nod was his answer.
‘Well, the only way we’re going to get rid of that fear is to get them both locked up, where they can’t hurt you any more.’
A sound that was suspiciously like a derogatory laugh came from behind the curtain of blonde hair.
Tom looked from Emma to David, with an apologetic expression.
‘Do you know what their plan is, Natasha? You told Emma and your dad that it might be off now – because of Rory Slater being arrested – but what was the plan?’
‘Don’t know. They said it wouldn’t be what David was expecting.’
‘Why would your dad be expecting anything?’
‘Look – I just did what I was told.’
‘Why did you agree to it? It’s not an easy job for a young girl like you.’
At that, Natasha looked up and thrust her face towards Tom. ‘Do you think saying no is allowed? Do you know what would have happened to me if I’d nixed it?’ Her mouth dropped open slightly, her young face a picture of incredulity. She looked down again and murmured something.
‘Sorry, Natasha. What did you say?’
She looked up again. ‘I said I wanted to do it.’ The room went quiet.
‘Do you want to tell us why?’ asked Tom, his voice quietly persuasive.
‘I think we need to move on, Tom. I think it’s upsetting Tasha too much.’ David looked at his daughter, the worry lines deep on his brow. ‘We nee
d to be looking forwards now, don’t you agree.’
Natasha made a pfff sound.
Emma watched Tom’s face. She couldn’t read it.
‘Okay – what do you think will happen if whatever they were plotting is cancelled because of Slater’s arrest?’
‘They’ll come for me.’ The voice was quiet now, but there was no hesitation. She was in no doubt.
‘And if it goes ahead and it’s successful?’ This time she paused for longer.
‘I’ll go back. I’ll be thrown in The Pit for screwing up, then sent to Julie’s.’
Tom gave a questioning look to Emma and David. Emma nodded to show that she understood at least part of what Tasha was saying, but now wasn’t the time to repeat it.
‘Do you want to go back?’ Tom asked. Natasha looked up, glanced at David, then at Emma, and shrugged, dropping her head back down. Poor kid. It was so clear she didn’t feel she belonged anywhere.
Emma reached out her hand to Tasha’s. ‘You’re not going anywhere, Tasha. They’re not getting you back.’
Tasha snatched her hand away. ‘No? What if it’s me or Ollie? Then you’d change your tune, wouldn’t you?’
Tom shook his head at Emma, and she realised he wanted her to be quiet.
‘We’re going to make sure nobody hurts you, Natasha. You just have to help me a bit. Let’s start with where you’ve been living. There are lots of other kids there, aren’t there? Was it fun?’
Natasha made the scornful pfff sound again. ‘No,’ she said.
‘Did you have a favourite friend there?’
‘Izzy.’
‘How old’s Izzy?’
‘Same as me,’ she answered quietly. She looked up, straight at Tom. ‘Is she dead?’
Emma heard a sharp intake of breath from David and she closed her eyes. Something else she hadn’t told him.
‘Why do you think she might be dead?’ Tom asked.
‘Cos they put her in The Pit until she gave in, then they sent her to …’ Natasha paused and frowned. ‘She said she was going to run away, and I’d told her stuff I shouldn’t have. If she’d run away, they’d have caught her. There was that girl you thought was me. Is it Izzy?’
‘I don’t know, I’m afraid. That’s the truth, but we do believe it might be. Where do you think she would have gone?’
‘She’d have gone to the woods. When she used to run off from her mam’s she went there.’
‘You mentioned being sent to Julie’s. Who’s Julie?’
Natasha looked up, her eyes darting from Tom to Emma and back again. Her hand covered her mouth as she spoke.
‘I didn’t. I never said nothing about no Julie.’ She started to breathe rapidly as she dropped her gaze.
Emma wasn’t sure how much more of this Natasha was going to be able to take, but Tom was handling her well. Maybe it was because he had a daughter himself. Until Julie had been mentioned, she had seemed to be opening up to him, but now she looked wary again.
‘Let’s forget about Julie for now. What I would like to know is how you came to be living with Rory and Donna Slater.’
She looked at David for a long moment, then turned back to Tom.
‘It was the night Mummy died.’ Natasha’s voice caught slightly, and she suddenly sounded like the child she was six years ago. ‘The men grabbed me. I thought they were going to hurt me, but one of them picked me up and threw me in the back of a car.’ She stopped.
‘Why don’t you tell me everything you remember from that night. Just do your best.’
Emma watched Natasha’s face. She was looking at nobody, gazing, it seemed, at a waste bin in the corner of the room. Her face was pinched, as if she was consciously holding every feature taut. The only sound in the room was the faint hum of an antiquated heating system pumping warm air into the room around their feet. When Natasha started to talk, her voice was low – little more than a whisper – and the three adults in the room all leaned forwards to listen.
‘I think I’d been asleep, and I woke up because I heard Mummy talking. She was driving really slow and I could see another car on the road. I thought Mummy had stopped. But then she started going really fast. We went up a bit of a hill and then it was like we were on our side. We came down again, but then we were all over the road – like she couldn’t drive straight – and we shot back up this hill and the car turned over. It was upside down. Mummy called out,’ she looked up at Emma, ‘like I told you, but that was it.’
Tom gave Emma a questioning glance, but she shook her head. She would have to tell him, but unless Natasha said anything now, it could wait.
‘Do you remember what happened next?’
‘Suddenly there were lots of people. They seemed to come from out of the hedge and they were rushing towards me. I was screaming because they looked as if they were walking on their heads. I was crying for Mummy. Then somebody pulled me out of my car seat.’
Emma risked a glance at David. His face was white and she wished she could reach out and hold his hand, but Natasha was sitting between them. Everything the girl was saying proved beyond any doubt that it was no accident that had killed Caroline. Something had been planned and Tasha hadn’t wandered off, as they had always believed. It must have been tearing David apart to listen to this.
‘Can you remember anything else?’ Tom asked.
‘Not really. They were all shouting and swearing at each other. I only remember one thing that I heard. Somebody said, “What are we going to do with the fucking kid?” It was the first time I’d been called that.’
Emma was somehow certain that it wasn’t the last.
43
Emma saw Tom glance at his watch. She knew time was short, but he was starting to look concerned.
‘Natasha, you’ve been really helpful, but I need to talk to your dad and Emma for a few moments. I’m not keeping secrets from you, but it’s better if there are some things you don’t know in case Rory or Finn contact you again. Is that okay?’
Natasha sucked her top lip and turned her head to glance at Emma under worried brows.
‘Tom, I’m not sure that Tasha should be on her own. Can I go with her?’ Emma asked.
‘No need – Becky’s down the hall. She’ll look after her. Give me a second.’
Tom consulted a post-it on the desk phone and pressed a number. While he was speaking, Emma turned to Natasha.
‘You’ll be okay with Becky, Tasha. We’re all looking out for you, I promise.’
Natasha’s eyes filled up for just a second before she glanced away and took some deep breaths. Emma looked at Tom. He was watching Natasha and he shook his head very gently as if the sadness of this child was stabbing at his heart too.
The moment was lightened as Becky pushed open the door and cast her easy smile around the room, her expression the right balance of concern for the circumstances and relaxed confidence that all would be well. She ushered Natasha into the corridor while offering to organise something for her to drink, and the room fell quiet as the door swung to.
Tom was all business again.
‘Okay. This is what we’re going to do. Emma – when we leave here, you’re coming with me. Becky’s going to change tops with you, and she’s going back with David and Natasha.’
Emma felt her eyes flood with tears and she put her head back, willing them not to spill. She knew that if she let go, she would begin to sob and would lose the last of her control. When she finally spoke, she could hear the broken tones of her own voice.
‘You told me you would help, Tom. What right have you got to separate me from my family now, of all times? What if they know that Becky’s not me, and it ruins everything?’
‘We need somebody in your house, Emma, just for three or four hours. No more.’
‘Why?’ she asked, lips clenched.
Tom was looking straight at her, his eyes locked on hers.
‘We need to do a risk assessment. If it was up to me, I’d take all three of you to a safe place now and st
art negotiations for your baby’s safe recovery. But I’m letting Natasha and David go home because we think the best chance for Ollie is if you appear to be going along with their wishes. Becky will work out the best plan to keep you all safe.’
Emma knew when she was beaten. Already she felt isolated – no Ollie, no David, and to her surprise the thought no Tasha sprang into her mind.
‘Becky also needs to talk to Natasha – to make sure that she’s now on our side, not on theirs. We don’t have time to be sure about that sitting in this office, and we can’t risk being wrong.’
Emma wasn’t sure herself. Tasha’s motivation for coming here had been fear – but it wasn’t clear whether the girl would feel safer helping them, or bowing to the wishes of her masters. At least she understood the gang’s rules, and at the heart of all this Emma was certain she was missing something. There was something Tasha was trying to tell her, but couldn’t. If only she knew what it was.
‘Do you need me right this minute, Tom? I know we’re running out of time, but I want to explain to Tasha myself why I’m not coming back. I don’t want her to think that somebody else has abandoned her.’ Emma caught David’s frown in her peripheral vision, but she was focused on Tom, praying that he would agree.
He nodded. Thank God.
‘Second door on the right, Emma. We’re out of here in five minutes.’
Emma stood up and, to her surprise, Tom walked her to the door. He held it open and moved slightly into the corridor.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked. ‘I need some time with you as well. I’ll explain later.’
Emma had no idea what he could possibly mean, but she nodded and walked off down the corridor, knowing Tom was watching, making sure she made it safely to the room where Becky and Tasha were waiting.
*
Tom felt that finally they had most of the picture. Caroline and Natasha, or maybe just Caroline, had been targeted for some reason. The car that Natasha said was blocking the road had gone by the time the police got there, and the men – by the sound of it the same men as this time – were hiding behind hedges. It could have been a random carjacking that had gone wrong, but Tom didn’t think so.
Stranger Child Page 20
