by A L Fraine
“Shut it, you.”
“Why are you here, Jacob?” Jon asked, keen to distract him and keep him talking.
“Because of this little shit bag.”
“Why? What’s he done?”
“He’s got Olivia, and he’s going to tell me where I can find her.”
“I don’t.”
“You do, stop lying.”
“Jacob,” Jon called out. “What makes you think he has her?”
“Because he was flirting with her at the club. I saw the photo Lily took. I know what he was doing.”
“No, it’s not me. I was ju—” Russell hissed.
“Shut it. Unless you’re going to tell me where she is, be quiet.”
Something clicked inside Jon’s head in that instant, like a puzzle piece falling into place. Russell wasn’t lying, he was sure of it. Russell didn’t have Olivia, because Blake did.
He was suddenly sure of it.
He’d been the one to take Olivia’s number, he was the one with two phones, and he also wasn’t here to protect Russell. Did Sydney know this? Did Russell?
He thought back to the other cases, and he was willing to bet that Blake had been present at the cases of the two girls Nathan had uncovered too.
“Hey,” Jon said. “What if he doesn’t know? What if you’re wrong.” He needed to get Jacob to put the gun down and let Russell go.”
“No, it’s him. I know it.”
“Why? How?”
“Why else would she leave me? For his money, that’s why. That’s why she left me.”
Jon grimaced. That was an incredibly shallow view of Olivia.
“She’s just like all the other girls, all they want is our money.”
And just like that, he’d generalised it across the whole gender.
“But Jacob, you hit her, didn’t you? You abused her and hurt her. Do you think maybe that might have something to do with it?”
“Shut up!”
“What if you’re wrong, Jacob? What if she’s not here? Are you going to shoot him for no reason? You know how that will end, right?”
“But, he did…”
“I didn’t,” Russell protested. “I promise you, I didn’t.”
“Jacob,” Jon said. “We’re looking for her, and you have my word we will not stop until we have her.”
“But… I… I just want to find her. I miss her,” he pleaded, his voice cracking.
Jon could see him starting to relax his grip. “That’s it, just let him go. You need to leave this to us. We will find her, I promise.”
“But, what if you don’t?”
“We will.”
“Shit…” Jacob pulled his arm away from around Russell’s neck, and then pushed him. He fell forward to land on his front.
“Put the gun down,” Jon called out.
Jacob sighed, nodded, and threw it onto a nearby sofa, much to Jon’s relief.
The uniformed officers ran forward and grabbed him. Jacob didn’t resist and allowed himself to be cuffed without a struggle as Russell got to his feet.
Kate rushed to Russell’s side and helped him sit in a chair. Jon walked towards Jacob. “You did the right thing, but you’re coming with us.”
“I know. But, do I have your word you’ll find Olivia?”
Jon found it odd that this abuser could care for the girl he was hurting in what sounded like an honest way. But then, maybe when your mind was so warped, this was how you expressed your love for someone. He wasn’t sure he’d ever really understand it, and he kind of never wanted to, either. For right now, though, keeping Jacob calm was probably the right way to go. “Sure. We’ll find her. Right now, it’s my highest priority. I’m not looking to do anything else.”
“Thank you,” Jacob replied. He sounded genuine. Did the guy have actual feelings towards Olivia? If so, he had a damn funny way of showing them.
The two uniformed officers, who’d now bagged the gun, led Jacob out of the house leaving Jon and Kate with Russell who was sitting in one of his chairs looking strung out. He had his head back, and his eyes closed, apparently catching his breath. With that moment of excitement over, Jon turned his attention to finding Olivia. He needed to talk to Russell, and he needed the man to answer honestly.
“Are you okay, Mr Hodges?” Jon asked, taking the sympathetic route.
“I think so,” he replied and looked up. “That was… intense.”
“It certainly was,” Jon said not wanting to sympathise with this man any more than he needed to. He was a prime suspect, but they needed him to talk, especially if his theory about Blake was true.
“They say your whole life flashes before your eyes in situations like that,” Russell said.
“And did it?” Kate asked.
“I’m not sure it was my whole life, but it did make me think.” Russell frowned, and then looked up at them. “Why are you here? I mean, you can’t have known that this crazy man was coming here today, could you?”
“No. We didn’t—”
“In fact,” Russell cut in, “I’m glad you’re here, I need to talk to you.”
“And we need to talk to you, too,” Jon replied, keen to run through the cases with him and see what he knew. “You say you had nothing to do with Olivia’s disappearance, but—"
“Well—”
“Mr Hodges, with respect, let me finish, please.”
Russell nodded and shut his mouth.
“As I was saying, you claim you had nothing to do with Olivia’s disappearance, and I might even believe you,” he felt Kate’s eyes on him suddenly, “but we’ve found evidence that links you to two previous cases of missing women so far, and we think there might be more. Firstly, Iryna Polka, a Polish woman who worked for you, who went missing under mysterious circumstances. The second, Maya Reid, was a teenager, like Olivia, who went missing after a night out with you, and your… friends. Now, I don’t know about you, but one instance could be a coincidence. Two? Well, that’s suspicious, sure, but still within the realms of possibility. But three? Now things are starting to look bad, Mr Hodges. These direct links, two of which are almost identical, are downright suspicious. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“I know how it looks. I do. But I’m a wealthy socialite, someone with money and power, so I tend to attract attention.”
“That’s fair enough, but my point still stands. It’s suspicious.”
“Things will go much easier for you if you’d just be honest with us,” Kate added.
“That’s the thing,” he answered, with a slightly amused smile. “I am being honest. I can show you where I was those days in my diary and provide you with witnesses. I can promise you that I was not involved in those girls going missing, but I think I know who was.”
“You know?” So he did know, interesting.
“I do. I think I do, anyway. I’ve come to suspect it more recently, and I’m happy to tell you.”
“I’m sure any judge would look favourably upon you if you were to lead us to the right person.”
“I’m going to be charged, am I?”
“That depends on whether it’s determined you knew for a while, and were protecting him. But that’s not for me to decide.”
“Well, shit. This day just gets better and better.”
“Are you going to tell us?” Kate asked.
“Yes, yes,” he said with a sigh.
“No need, I think I know who it is. It’s Blake, isn’t it?
“Your security guy?” Kate asked
“Err, yeah, how did you know?” Russell asked, perplexed.
“We have CCTV footage of him taking Olivia’s number, he’s not here today to protect you, and I’m willing to bet he was with you when you met Maya too, right?”
“That’s right. He was interested in Iryna too. I remember him fixating on her, almost to the point of obsession. I didn’t think much of it back then but… He’s been distant these last few days. He’s not been around half the time and got offended when I quizzed him about
it. That, and the fact that you came to me about Olivia, another girl going missing while he was in my employ. Like you say, three times is just a little too suspicious.”
“Do you know where he has her?”
“Maybe. I think I have an idea. He bought a house that he thinks I don’t know about. But I make a point of knowing as much as I can about the people who work closely with me, and I know about the house he owns in the countryside. It would make the perfect place to hide someone. They could scream all they liked, and no one would know.”
“And where is this house?”
“I don’t know the address by heart, but I can find it on a map. I know where it is.”
“Here, show me on my phone,” Kate said, opening Google Maps and handing it to him to navigate to the right place. He checked it on Satellite View, and then on Street View, before handing it back.
“That’s it,” he said.
“Are you sure?” Jon asked, looking at the view of the property from the road, displayed on the screen.
“Positive.”
“And he’s there now, with Olivia?”
“If it’s him, and I’m positive it is, that’s where they’ll both be.”
“Why didn’t you come to us sooner?” Jon asked.
“I… I wasn’t sure, and… I’ve just had a bit of a wake-up call.”
“Well, I hope it hasn’t come too late. Stand up please.”
“Wait, why?” Russell asked.
“We’re taking you in, Mr Hodges. We have way more questions to ask you, and we’ll be doing it at the station.”
“Oh, well, I guess that’s okay.”
“It had better be,” Jon replied and took Russell by the arm to lead him out of the building. Another police car had already appeared, and they were able to hand Russell over to them right away.
Jon made to head back to his car, and then stopped, and looked back at Russell.
“One other thing,” he asked. “Where’s Sydney?”
Russell’s eyes turned cold at the sound of her name. “She left, yesterday. I have no idea where that bitch is.”
“That’s a little harsh…”
“You would be too if you were in my position,” he replied, and turned away, apparently done with the conversation. Nearby, Kate had already started the car up. Hopefully, it was time to end this, he thought, as he jumped into the passenger seat.
31
“Do you know where you’re going?” Jon asked as Kate raced along the country roads, leaving the suburban area of Kingswood behind.
“Yeah,” Kate replied. “It’s in Headley, on one of the roads going through there. There’s a bunch of random, isolated houses that way.”
“Where no one would hear her if she made a fuss.”
“Yep,” Kate replied. “If he’s telling the truth.”
“You think he isn’t?”
“Do you trust him?”
“Well, no, of course not, in general. But on this. I don’t know. I think there’s something to it. I mean, we have him, right? It’s not as if we’ve let him go, is it? So, why lie? Why throw your trusted security guy under the bus, if he’s innocent?”
“Okay, fair point. It’s going to be all over the news tomorrow that he’s been arrested. His reputation is crumbling around him, so I guess he doesn’t have much to lose by telling us the truth as he sees it. In fact, if he’s right, this might actually save him some face. He could turn this into a positive.”
“Yeah,” Jon remarked, finding the idea to be a troubling one. “I’m not sure I like that idea. He could use this to whitewash himself.”
“But, if he’s right, then he’s helped us solve the case.”
“As much as it annoys me to admit it, yeah, he has. And yet, why do I feel like we’ve been out-manoeuvred all of a sudden?”
“Probably because we have. I don’t trust Russell at all. He’s a slimeball, but a cunning one.”
“Aye up, hold on,” Jon remarked as he pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket. It was the station. “Yup?”
“Guv, I thought you’d want to know,” Dion replied. “I’ve been going through the CCTV from the club, and there’s footage on there showing Russell’s security guy, Blake, taking Olivia’s number.”
“You’re sure?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Right, good work.”
“That’s not all.”
“Of course it isn’t, why would it be?”
“Um, something the matter, sir?” Dion asked.
“No, nothing, Dion. It’s just this case, it’s doing my head in. Go on, what have you got?”
“In the footage, Blake is clearly seen handling two phones.”
“Which is why you didn’t find anything on the records you pulled,” Jon replied, expanding on the revelation.
“Right.”
“OK, cool. We’re on our way to find Blake now, so hopefully, we’ll have some good news for you shortly.”
“Do you want backup?”
“We’ve called some in already,” Jon replied. “Thanks.”
“No worries,” Dion replied. “Go get him.”
Jon hung up and explained what Dion had found.
“I think that just about confirms it, then,” Kate remarked. “Blake’s our man.”
“I hope so, I really do. And I hope she’s still alive.”
Kate nodded and accelerated. Jon hung on. They needed to get there as soon as possible.
Ten minutes later, they approached the building. It was an older house, off to their right, surrounded by fields without any other homes around.
“Russell wasn’t kidding about how isolated it is,” Jon said.
“I’m going to block the driveway,” Kate replied.
“Go for it.”
As they got closer, Kate slowed. She veered right pulling off the road into the driveway entrance at an angle, blocking it off completely. Anyone trying to run would need to do some serious damage to both cars to get out.
Jon jumped out and realised he’d need to get over the bonnet to walk up the driveway.
“Wait, wait. I’ve always wanted to do this,” he said and took a running jump at the car as he attempted to slide over the bonnet like Starsky or Hutch.
The slide went surprisingly well, but the landing, not so much. Stumbling, he went arse-over-tit and landed awkwardly.
“Aww, I think I landed on my keys.”
“Twat,” Kate muttered.
“Don’t just stand there, help me up.”
She rolled her eyes and offered her hand. “Deary me, Gravy-Boy.”
“Yeah, alright. Shut it,” he replied and rubbed his hip. “That’s gonna leave a mark.”
“Come on,” Kate urged. Jon got moving, figuring the best thing was to work it off as he ran. They jogged up the driveway, noting the large 4x4 as they approached the house.
“What’s the plan?” Kate asked. “There’s bound to be a rear door.”
“Almost certainly.”
“Want to wait for backup?”
“Hell no. I want Olivia out of there as quickly as possible. How about I take the back door, and you the front?”
Kate nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
Jon reached into his pocket for his device. “Grab your phone, put it on silent.” She did as he asked, then he called her, and she picked up. “Keep in touch.”
She moved off, and Jon went looking for a way around the back. Keeping low, he ducked under windows, peeking inside a few of them. Halfway round, through a side window, he saw a shadowy figure move out of one of the rooms and disappear from sight.
Blake was in the building. Or, someone was, he couldn’t be sure without a better look.
“I just saw movement in the house,” Jon said over the open line.
“Copy that.”
He hoped Russell hadn’t just sent them to a random house, and they weren’t about to scare the pants off some poor unsuspecting guy.
Pressing on, Jon made his way
around the building, ducking past more windows, and in one case, a set of patio doors at the back that led to an outside seating area. Just past that, he found the real back entrance.
“I’m at the door. I’m going to try it.”
“Careful.”
“Have you tried the front door?”
“Yeah, it’s locked.”
“Shit. Okay, wait a moment,” he replied and reached out. Quietly turning the handle, the door suddenly swung loosely on its hinges. “Mine’s open.”
“Lucky you.”
“I’m moving inside, I want to catch him off guard.”
“I’ll come around to you.”
“No, wait there in case he runs. I’ll come to you.”
“Please be careful, Jon,” she replied, a clear note of concern in her voice.
“I will.” He pushed the door open. Slipping inside, he found himself in a utility room, with discarded shoes and coats beside a washer and dryer.
Moving up, Jon crept to an open door that led to the kitchen. Inching forward with his baton in one hand and phone in the other, he peered into the room.
Empty.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he stepped into the room, placing each foot down as quietly as he could. So far, the going was clear. A door at the far side of the room led deeper into the house. He couldn’t see much from his current position and took a few more steps.
His heart worked overtime, beating like a drum against his ribs as adrenaline surged through his system. Part of him wanted to turn and run out right that second and wait for backup, but he couldn’t. Something about the feel of the place made him stay. He felt sure Olivia was here somewhere. Probably upstairs in a bedroom, or the attic. Maybe in the basement.
Approaching the door, he leant forward, looking into a hallway with doors on either side, and another at the end. He took another step, only for a shadowy figure to step out from a side room and cross the hall.
Jon ducked back on reflex and heard his foot scuff the floor.
Shit, he cursed in his mind, hoping the man hadn’t heard him. He tensed. He couldn’t see up the hall from where he was, so held his baton ready in case the man appeared.
Nothing.
Focusing on his breathing, Jon calmed himself down and edged forward once more. The hallway was clear and the house was silent once more.
