A Tangled Web

by A L Fraine

  That had been the last time she’d seen Jacob. Was he still out there, somewhere, looking for her? Or had he found her, and taken his anger out on her?

  Maybe Olivia was right. Maybe it was time to get out. Now that her friend had gone, the reality of what was happening to them started to sink in. She had no one to comfort her anymore, no one to tell her everything would be okay.

  But it wasn’t okay. Nothing was okay, or alright, or normal. Everything was a mess, everything was, quite frankly, fucked.

  What on earth were they doing here, living this life? Olivia had seen the reality of it before she had. She’d told her that Vassili and the others were using them. They’d groomed them, drawing them into their circle with money and praise, giving them so-called freedom and liberty. But in fact, it was nothing of the sort.

  It was slavery of the worst kind, and they were trapped in it. Vassili, Jacob, and the others, they knew where her parents lived, they knew of her and Olivia’s families. They’d cut them off from their friends and all their lifelines, leaving them bereft and alone, so they only had each other and their abusers.

  And once they had nowhere else to go, that was when the nightmare started.

  With Olivia gone, the truth of it was laid bare before her, and she knew she couldn’t stay here any longer. She had to get out. She had to risk it all, and find help.

  Fuck them, she thought, and stormed out of Olivia’s room and back to hers.

  Where could Olivia be? she wondered. What could have happened to her to make her not message back? But the answers to that were many and varied.

  Jacob, or Vassili, or Yana could have found her and even now were holding her captive, torturing her maybe. Or perhaps she was at her parents, who’d confiscated her phone? Or with the police, perhaps?

  Any of those were a possibility, and that wasn’t even counting options like Olivia losing her phone, or her meeting someone Lily was unaware of. No, she needed to get out of here and find her friend, and she needed to do it now.

  Shit, she wished she’d gone with Olivia yesterday, it would have been so much easier. But there was nothing for it, she had to do this on her own.

  Lily stuffed some items in a bag. A few clothes and other bits, before finally giving up and taking a deep breath as she stared at the door to her room.

  This was it. This was the moment.

  Steeling her nerves, she strode out and made for the stairs. Heading down, she saw no one in the hallway ahead and pressed on. Her luck was holding. As she approached the entrance hall, she stopped and looked back at the top of a cabinet. Amongst the stubbed out cigarettes, dirty glasses, and other crap, she spotted a set of keys.

  Car keys.

  She recognised them, having seen them around the house and being used for one of the cars outside. She knew which one too. Moving back, she went to grab them.

  Movement up the corridor caught her attention as she got her hand to the keys. Yana stepped out into the hallway from the kitchen. Lily froze as the woman gave her a curious look.

  “Lily?” she said.

  Shit. Grabbing the keys, Lily turned and ran. She dashed for the door, which was mercifully only on the bolt. Grabbing the knob to unlock it, Yana suddenly grabbed her from behind. Lily lashed out, her bag flying open and its contents spilling across the floor. Stumbling into the cabinet against the far wall, Yana fell away. Lily spotted her phone bounce on the floor, but there was no time to lose as Vassili’s cruel bitch steadied herself.

  Opening the door, Lily charged outside as Yana shouted for her from close behind.

  “Lily, don’t you… Jesus fucking Christ, who didn’t lock the door again?”

  Sprinting, Lily aimed for the car she knew the keys were for, clicking the unlock button as she went.

  The car’s side lights flashed as the locks slid into their housings. Slamming into the side of the car, she pulled the door open and jumped in. Shit, she was in the passenger seat. Lily reached for the lock button and pressed it. The car secured itself and not a moment too soon as Yana appeared at the window and started to yank on the door, screaming at her.

  “Lily! Get out of this car right now! I mean it. Open the door.”

  Lily climbed over into the driver’s seat and inserted the key.

  “Don’t you start that car,” Yana shouted.

  Lily ignored her and twisted the key. The engine roared into life.

  “You bitch! You ungrateful cow. I’ll find you. You can’t hide anywhere. You hear me? We’ll hunt you down, no matter where you go.”

  Lily dared not look at her. She didn’t want to see that woman’s face, contorted in rage, screaming at her. She only wanted freedom.

  She slammed the car into reverse and backed out. Smashing the gates open she realised a little too late that she wasn’t looking for oncoming traffic. Lucky, no one was close by and she bumped into the road without issue. Changing gears with a crunch, partly out of fear and partly out of unfamiliarity with driving, she looked up to see several men stepping out of the house, and Yana standing at the end of the driveway, still shouting.

  With another attempt, she finally got the car into first and drove off. Heading into the warren of back streets, hoping she’d lose them, and keep her freedom.

  7

  Stood in the bathroom on the second floor at Horsley Station, Jon fixed his shirt in the mirror, wondering what would be best. Tie, or no tie?

  He didn’t really like them, most of the time. They got in the way and made for a convenient way for a criminal to grab him. But he also had standards to keep, and so relented, and put it on for now, keeping it loose. He hated the feeling of something tight around his neck.

  Besides, this wasn’t the only reason why he was fussing over his outfit today, if he were being honest with himself.

  Looking around the house last night with Kate had been fun, and the property itself was exactly what he wanted. So this morning, he’d called up the estate agent and put an offer in for it.

  Some of the rooms were in a better state than others, and it needed work generally, but the price was cheap, and it wasn’t as if he was going to be spending much time there anyway. It was a place for him to sleep before he returned to the office, and that was about it, really. Besides, he liked the idea of a project. Something to keep his mind busy when he wasn’t working.

  There’d been a certain bittersweet feeling when he’d put the offer in, after leaving his old house in Nottingham behind. The house that he’d shared with Charlotte.

  Now he was buying somewhere new, with the money they’d saved, and she couldn’t be there. The thought made him sad, but he’d always known that he’d get a new home eventually. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life renting that place.

  The memories of Charlotte were just too strong there. He’d needed a break. He’d needed to get away from his old stomping ground and start afresh. It was a realisation that he’d only recently come to, after spending a few weeks down here, away from what he’d previously considered home.

  He was now more confident than ever that this had been the right thing to do.

  He’d needed this.

  Satisfied with the tie, well, as much as he was ever going to be satisfied with it, he walked out and checked his watch. Their shift was about to start, and his team would be making their way into work.

  He walked around to the break room and pulled a mug down from the cupboard as he set the kettle to boil. Reaching for the tea bags, he stopped and looked at the pack of loose leaf tea.

  He felt like he almost wanted to hiss at the thing, like a Vampire at a cross. But with a force of will, be pulled the bag down and went through the motions of what he guessed was a more traditional method of tea making. It felt overly complicated and fussy to him, but he did it anyway, and before long, he had a pot of tea brewing away on the counter as he stared at the mug, holding the carton of milk in his hand.

  This was all kinds of wrong.

  Just the thought of putting the milk in fir
st threatened to send him into a fit. That would make for a nice welcome back for her, wouldn’t it? For Kate to find him lying on the floor, frothing at the mouth, babbling about the milk going in first.

  Amused, he launched himself into the task at hand and poured some in.

  Was it enough? Was this right for the amount of tea? It felt right, but he couldn’t be sure. Maybe he could have timed himself pouring it out. How did she do this?

  Suddenly hearing the first members of the team enter the room, Jon shrugged and poured in the tea. Within moments he knew he’d messed up. It was too strong. Not enough milk.

  “See,” he muttered to himself, in repressed frustration. “This is what happens when you try to be nice. How does she even do this? It’s madness.”

  Jon went back and forth between pouring in a bit more milk, and then tea, and then milk.

  By the time he’d finished, the mug was overflowing, but the colour was perfect.

  “By heck, never again, Jon. Never again. Stick to what you know,” he muttered to himself, before tipping some out into the sink and wiping the side of the mug.

  “Having fun?” Nathan asked.

  “Oh, oodles and oodles of it,” Jon replied, turning to him. “I’m exhilarated. Can’t you tell?”

  “Oh, sure. I can see,” Nathan replied sarcastically.

  He sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever know how she does this.”

  “It’s magic, clearly. Still, that’s a nice gesture, though.”

  “I know, right? I’m just trying to be nice.”

  “Did you have a look at that house then?” Nathan asked as he followed Jon over to Kate’s desk.

  “Yeah, I did. It was nice. The price makes my eyes water, and I think I might have a heart attack when the first mortgage payment comes in, but I’ll have Valium on standby.”

  “What do houses go for up north? Tuppence and handshake?”

  “Something like that. I’ve put an offer in though, so we’ll see, I guess.”

  “The market moves pretty quick down here… Kind of like how you did with Kate.”

  “Takes two to tango, mate,” he replied, placing the mug of tea on the coaster beside Kate’s keyboard.

  “I know. Still, you two got close pretty quickly.”

  “Not jealous, are you?”

  Nathan laughed. “No, not at all. I’m not interested in her in that way. But I also don’t want to see her get hurt.”

  “Neither do I,” Jon replied, looking up at him. “And I think you should know that about me, by now.”

  “I do, I know.”

  “Good. So how’s the hostage case coming along?”

  “Just fine, the idiot hasn’t got a leg to stand on, so all being well, he’ll be going down for the murder of his wife and child. The media is already having a field day. You don’t get away with killing kids.”

  “Good, he deserves everything he gets.” Jon looked up to see Kate walking in, making for her desk.

  “Good morning guys. How are my two favourite men?”

  “Two, favourite?” Jon asked. “Now, come on, surely it’s no contest?”

  “I agree,” Nathan replied. “I mean, I’ve known her longer, so clearly it’s me.”

  “It’s not the time, Fox, it’s the mileage.”

  “Aww, who made me tea?” Kate asked.

  Jon smiled. “I think that might edge it,” he said, giving Nathan a smug look.

  “Thank you,” Kate replied, taking a sip. “Mmm, not bad.”

  Grabbing something from his desk, Nathan handed a packet to her. “Welcome back,” he said. It was a pack of Fig Rolls.

  “Oh, he’s got a secret weapon,” Kate said with a smile at Jon, before turning back to Nathan. “Thank you.”

  Nathan smiled over at him, and Jon looked from him to Kate’s rapturous expression as she looked at the packet and then hugged it to her chest.

  “You do realise,” Jon said, looking up at Nathan, “this, of course, means war.”

  Nathan laughed.

  “Now now, boys, no fighting over me.”

  “Morning,” DS Rachel Arthur said in greeting as she wandered over. “Good to see you back, Kate. These two reprobates aren’t bothering you, are they?”

  “Nope. Good to see you too,” she said, hugging Rachel and swapping some brief pleasantries.

  Turning to Jon, Rachel said, “We’ve had a walk-in this morning, and I wondered if you wanted to take it?”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s a girl claiming her friend’s gone missing. Her name’s Lily Austin.”

  “Sure, I’ll take it,” he said and took the file that Rachel handed him. Jon turned to Nathan. “You alright dealing with the hostage case?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be done with it before long.”

  “Great. Kate, are you feeling up to this?”

  “Ready and raring to go.”

  Jon nodded, and led the way to the interview rooms downstairs. There they found the girl, Lily, sitting in the room with another woman, who they’d been informed was a social worker who was acting as the girl’s responsible adult.

  “Good morning,” Jon greeted them.

  “Hello, I’m Evie Gill,” the social worker said with a smile, and offered her hand.

  “DCI Jon Pilgrim and this is DS Kate O’Connell,” he replied to the rotund woman, giving her hand a shake. Kate did the same.

  “Nice to meet you,” Evie replied.

  “Lily, is it?” he asked, checking her name on the file.

  She sniffed as she looked up through tear-filled eyes, and then looked over at Evie.

  “It’s okay, you can answer.”

  “Oh, um, yes,” she said, looking back at John.

  “That’s good,” he replied and explained what was about to happen. Once the formalities had been addressed, Jon let Kate take the lead, and got ready to take some notes.

  The girl, who was apparently sixteen, looked quite upset. Aware of how intimidating it could be to have a man like him question her, he thought it best to hang back at first.

  “So, Lily, why are you here today, what brought you to us?” Kate began.

  “I just, I had nowhere else to go.”

  “Right, what do you mean?”

  “It’s my friend, Olivia. She’s gone missing, and I can’t seem to contact her.”

  “Alright, and when do you think she went missing?”

  “The night before last,” she replied.

  “And how do you know this?” Kate pressed. “She might be home with her family.”

  Lily stifled a brief incredulous smirk and then briefly sobbed once. “We’ve been living together for months now, at… at a friend’s house. She needed to get away, but she said she’d message, but didn’t, and I can’t seem to call her now either. The calls won’t go through. That’s not Olivia, she wouldn’t do that.”

  “Wait, hold up,” Jon said, leaning forward, unable to let that go. “You’re sixteen, right?”

  “That’s right,” she replied.

  “And you don’t live with your parents?”

  “Um, no. I’ve not lived with them for a while now.”

  “Okay,” Jon replied and flicked through the file. There wasn’t much in here. Nothing about Lily or who she was. Just the report from the officers who’d brought her in early this morning, and what she’d said.

  “I didn’t get along with them, but I was friendly with Olivia who was friends with these guys who we ended up moving in with.”

  She said it like it was no big deal, which he supposed, it wasn’t on the face of it. There was nothing against the law here, but something felt off. He had the distinct feeling that she was leaving out whole reams of information.

  “These guys? Who are these guys?”

  Shifting in her seat, Lily looked uncomfortable. “Just some friends of Olivia’s. Jacob was her main friend. Her boyfriend I suppose. He invited us to live with them. It was great for a while, but Olivia has fallen out with him, and…” Lily
leaned forward, and fought back the tears again.

  “Just friends, were they?” Jon asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “And this is Jacob’s house you’ve been living in?”

  “Erm, no. It’s not his house, but he lives there, with Tyler and Zack and Yana, and...”

  “Right,” Jon replied, a note of incredulity in his voice. The more Lily spoke, the crazier it all sounded. What on earth was going on?

  “Okay,” Kate picked up the thread. “So you’ve lived with her for a while, and she’s fallen out with her boyfriend. So, wouldn’t she just go to her parents?”

  “No,” Lily replied. “She hates her parents.”

  “Is it not worth checking?”

  “I did. That’s what I’ve been doing all night. I went there to ask them for help, but they don’t like me, so…” She shrugged.

  “And Olivia wasn’t there?”

  “No, I’m sure of it.”

  “Right. Well, I don’t think we’ve had a missing persons report filed in the last few days, but we can check that out.” Kate looked at Jon as she spoke.

  He nodded back to her and then addressed Lily. “So you have Olivia’s number on your phone?”

  “No. Well, um, yes, but I lost my phone. I dropped it.”

  “You dropped it? Where?”

  “In the house.”

  “Oh, ok,” Jon replied.

  “So, is this Jacob worried about her too?” Kate asked.

  “I don’t know. He was angry with her. He… um. He hit her.”

  “He’s attacked her?”

  Lily nodded. “He hit me too.”

  “He’s not such a great friend then, is he?” Jon remarked.

  “I’m worried that he might have found her, and really hurt her.”

  “We understand,” Kate replied, but Jon was perplexed. Surely she should have led with that bit of information? But so far getting anything out of her had been like getting blood out of a stone.

  “That’s why she wanted to run away,” Lily continued. “It’s why I left too. I couldn’t stay there any longer, not without Olivia.”