The Anita Waller Collection

by Anita Waller

  ‘Late last night. I stayed at a friend’s house, I still can’t get into ours. He says I can stay as long as I want, so I’m okay.’

  ‘This is going to be so difficult for you. You’re so young. If you need to talk, we’re here.’

  Tanya walked in carrying a tray. ‘I did extra toasts,’ she smiled. ‘And you, young man, need to eat something.’

  ‘Tanya is our family liaison officer,’ Liz explained to Christian. ‘We can say anything to her, and she bats it right back, but makes us think we’re not being stupid. You can do the same.’

  ‘I have questions,’ Christian said, the simple statement belying the anguish written on his face.

  ‘I’m sure you do,’ Tanya said, ‘but they’ll keep until after you’ve eaten something.’ She handed him a plate with two slices of toast on it. ‘Eat.’

  And he did, chewing slowly, clearly not wanting it. But the police lady scared him.

  He turned towards Liz, unable to wait any longer. ‘They found your husband there as well?’

  Liz nodded. ‘Yes, they did.’

  ‘Why? If he was collecting Jake why was he still there? What’s going on?’

  She hesitated. Tell it bluntly, like it was, or soften it?

  She went for blunt. ‘They were having an affair, Christian. I’m sorry…’

  ‘No, I’m sorry.’ Once again, his head dropped, the anguish clearly evident. ‘Why would she do that? Since she threw my father out all those years ago, she’s never had anyone. Why now?’

  ‘Who knows. There’s never any real answer to infidelity, Christian. It just happens.’ Liz’s mind drifted towards Phil. It just happens…

  ‘But it doesn’t make sense. Do you think she was trying to stop whoever was after your baby? If somebody’s out to hurt you, to destroy you, why did they take Mum?’

  ‘I agree,’ Liz concurred, ‘but I do think one day we’ll know. You will meet DI Brent, probably today, and I think you’ll then begin to feel a confidence that the truth will come out.’

  Tanya stood. ‘I’m going to ring the boss now, and tell him you’re in Sheffield. He’ll probably send a car for you, and you can give your statement and have a look at the CCTV pictures. How long are you home for?’

  ‘I’ve told them I’ll be up here for as long as it takes.’ He put down his cup. ‘Do you know when I can get into our house? I’d prefer to stay there, rather than on a settee at my friend’s.’

  ‘I’ll check. But are you sure you’ll be okay there?’ Tanya voice showed her concern. ‘I’ll go and ring, get some answers.’ She left them and moved into the kitchen.

  He ignored Tanya’s question, his mind veering off. ‘Had they been in bed that afternoon?’

  Liz spoke quietly. ‘It appears so.’

  ‘Why aren’t you ranting about it? Why are you so… bloody accepting?’

  ‘Because it’s not a priority in my mind.’ Her tone had sharpened to match his. ‘My eleven-month-old son is missing, remember? That is of far more importance than my husband having it off with… well,’ she finished lamely. This was a twenty-year-old boy who had lost his mother. She didn’t need to say what she really thought.

  Tanya re-joined them. ‘There’s a car on its way. Christian, I know you can’t tell them much, but say what you can. That will be one more problem out of the way. DI Brent seems to think you can go back home tomorrow, so if you’re sure your friend can give you somewhere to sleep for tonight…’

  ‘I’m sure.’ Christian stood. ‘I’ll go and wait outside. I’d like to get it over with. Thank you, Mrs Chambers, and I’m so sorry for everything that’s happened. If I can do anything to help with Jake…’

  ‘Christian, please call me Liz. Go and get this business over with, and please feel free to come here anytime you want.’

  He nodded, left the room and went out of the front door. They watched him chatting to the two officers still stationed at the top of the drive. Liz ached for him; such a young man to have a heavy burden on his shoulders. A second police car pulled up outside, and the driver got out, spoke briefly to his colleagues and helped Christian into the passenger seat.

  Two minutes later he had gone.

  ‘Nice boy,’ Tanya said.

  ‘His mum was so proud of him…’ Liz felt the tears prick her eyes. She wiped them away angrily. ‘I’m going up for a shower. And I’ll see if Dan is awake yet, it’s not like him to sleep in.’

  She went upstairs and knocked gently on Dan’s door. ‘It’s me, Dan,’ she called. When there was no response she opened the door.

  The bed was untidy, but Dan wasn’t in it.

  Chapter 28

  Liz stared at the bed, then moved quickly down the landing to the bathroom. She knocked on the door, and called loudly, ‘Dan. You in there?’

  There was no response, and she pressed down the handle. The door opened inwards; the bathroom was empty. She quickly checked the other upstairs rooms, before almost falling downstairs in panic.

  ‘Tanya,’ she called. ‘Have you seen Dan?’

  ‘Dan? No, I haven’t. I thought he was still sleeping. He’s not here?’ She took out her mobile phone and pressed for DI Brent. She quickly explained, said yes a couple of times, and went out of the front door, still speaking to the DI.

  Liz watched her walk up the small driveway to the squad car still parked outside and speak to the two officers. She saw them shake their heads, and she felt sick.

  Tanya re-entered the front door. ‘They haven’t seen anyone leave the house. They also haven’t seen anything suspicious. Try not to panic, there may be a perfectly simple explanation…’

  ‘What sort of simple explanation? Even Brent thinks I’m being targeted. Have they taken my other son?’

  ‘They?’

  ‘Figure of speech, Tanya, bloody figure of speech. I’ve no idea who would want to hurt me, apart from Rosie Latimer, and I’m damn sure it’s not her, so where does that leave me and my family? Confined to this damn house, that’s where it leaves us.’ She broke down in tears. ‘Where’s Dan?’ she whimpered.

  ‘I’ve spoken to our two officers, and they’ve seen nothing. Not even a postman has been to the door. That leads me to think that maybe Dan has left out the back. I don’t know why he would have gone out, but Dan is a big lad, he would have kicked off if someone had tried to abduct him.’

  ‘If he was conscious,’ Liz sobbed. She was trying desperately to stop crying; she wanted to show no weakness.

  ‘Liz.’ Tanya held her by the shoulders, and looked into her face. ‘Be strong. DI Brent will be here anytime, along with other officers. Don’t give up.’

  Liz turned away from her. ‘I’ll be fine. Just give me five minutes on my own.’

  Tanya nodded and headed for the kitchen. ‘I’ll get you some water, it’ll help calm you.’

  Liz walked towards the bay window, and saw one of the officers get out of the driver’s seat. His eyes were trained down the road, and then he moved, quickly. She followed where he was looking, and saw Dan.

  The officer reached him, put an arm around his shoulders, and escorted him at speed towards home. Liz reached the front door as he came down the drive.

  ‘Is this the young man we’ve got half of South Yorkshire Police looking out for?’

  Liz raised her hand and slapped Dan across the face, then pulled him into her arms. The tears she had managed to dry overflowed again, and she brought him into the lounge.

  ‘Where’ve you been? You know we’re virtually confined to the house, at the moment?’

  ‘What? What do you mean?’

  It dawned on Liz that Brent had issued his instructions after Dan had gone to bed. She groaned. ‘You didn’t know…’ She reached up and stroked the red mark she had left on his cheek. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit you, I was so scared. The police officers out front are here to babysit us. DI Brent feels we’re being targeted and wants us protected. So, where’ve you been? They didn’t see you go out of the door.’

>   ‘I went out the back. I dropped down to the playing fields, looking. Looking for the pushchair, Jake’s blankie… anything really. I needed to do something to try and get him back. I’ve been out about three hours, but not found anything.’

  The front door opened, and DI Brent came through. ‘You’re back then. You okay?’

  ‘I’m fine, and I’m sorry. I hadn’t been told I couldn’t go out. As if I’d upset Mum any more than she already is. I genuinely didn’t know I’d cause all this trouble. Mum…’

  She held out her hand and clasped his. ‘You’re safe. Go and have a shower, it’ll warm you up. You’re freezing.’

  They watched as he climbed the stairs, his head bowed.

  Liz turned to Brent. ‘I’m so sorry. I should have known…’

  ‘I’m pleased he’s safe. I’ve sent everybody back to the station, so there’s no harm done. Your reaction was understandable, and Tanya did exactly the right thing.’

  ‘And have you heard anything?’

  Brent shook his head. ‘Nothing. We’re continuing with house-to-house, but so far nobody has seen anything. What we would like to do is a television appeal. We need you to ask for Jake’s safe return. We’ll show the one piece of CCTV we have, and hope it jogs someone’s memory. They’ll film it later this afternoon, and we can get it out on the six o’clock news. This will be hard, Liz, but if it brings in something, it will have been worth it.’

  ‘I’ll do anything.’

  Brent nodded. ‘I know. The filming crew will guide you through it, and I’ll be there as well, because I’ll follow up with a police request for information and the CCTV. The lads who will be on duty at two will bring you down to Moss Way. Will Dan be with you?’

  ‘I’m sure he’ll want to. Is that okay?’

  ‘It’s fine. It’s what we want. I’m heading back now, I was about to start the morning’s briefing when Tanya rang.’ He turned to go out of the door. ‘And Liz, I’m thankful it wasn’t anything worse. See you later.’

  She watched him speak to his officers, then climb into a car. She felt overwhelmed. Her heart was aching. Where was Jake? Was he still alive? She felt that he was, but was that wishful thinking? Her baby needed to be home with her.

  Chapter 29

  Phil lay on his bed, watching his son sleep. The child was beautiful; blond hair, blue eyes closed, yet flickering occasionally as if he was dreaming, tiny hands clutching on to the tag that was sewn into the hem of the blanket covering him. He had noticed that a tag calmed Jake down, and Phil handed him one every time he cried.

  He lay there for a while, until his own eyes drooped. Captor had sent down a flask of coffee and Phil had welcomed it. He missed coffee. He slept deeply and was shocked awake by the sound of a child crying. For a moment, he was disoriented. He sat up and the room swirled around him; he shook his head, and finally things settled down. Jake was standing, looking over the edge of the cot.

  Phil smiled at him. ‘Hi, son. How long have we been asleep? You want out of jail? Join the club.’

  He lifted the little boy and sat him next to him on the bed. He put on his tiny slippers, more to keep him warm than as cushioning for his feet as he tried to walk.

  ‘There you are, Jake,’ he said, and lifted him on to the floor. Jake grabbed for the edge of the bed to steady himself, then turned and looked at this man he had come to accept was part of his life.

  Phil stood and moved across to the toilet, then washed his hands. He turned to go back to Jake and Jake was standing, unmoving, not holding on to anything. He lifted his arms and took three tentative steps before dropping to the floor.

  ‘Good boy!’ Phil clapped his hands, then immediately his smile disappeared as he realised Liz had missed a milestone in Jake’s life. His first steps. She would be devastated.

  ‘God, Liz, our child is bloody amazing,’ he said, under his breath. ‘And I promise, while ever I live, I’ll protect him until he can go home to you.’

  Captor watched the scenario that was being acted out on his monitors. So, the child had walked. Another little bit of salt to rub in Liz Chamber’s wounds, once the information could be got safely to her. It was time to step up a few things, give a bit of information out to torment her even further.

  Plans would be made, and acted upon. Captor switched off the monitors, closed the room door, and left the building. Time to drive her to distraction.

  Chapter 30

  30

  Liz broke down in the middle of the filming, and the cameras kept rolling. She was heartbroken, and it showed. Dan tried to comfort her, and the whole world saw it. Brent’s face was grim as he outlined the information they needed, and followed it up with the CCTV.

  ‘We desperately need to find this baby. Please think about the CCTV you have seen – does anything about the person pushing the pushchair make you think of someone you know? Is somebody close to you behaving strangely? Out of character? Have you heard a baby crying somewhere where you wouldn’t normally hear that sound? The number to call is scrolling across the screen. If you have anything at all, call it in.’

  And the picture faded.

  Liz and Dan were on the sofa watching the broadcast, Tanya standing behind them.

  ‘That was really good, Liz. Let’s hope we have some sort of response from it. Now, you need to eat. Neither of you have had anything today, have you?’

  Dan stood. ‘I’ll see to it. I’ve all sorts of stuff in the freezer. Tanya, do you like curry?’

  ‘You don’t have to feed me, Dan,’ she smiled. ‘I’ll nip to McDonald’s or somewhere and get a meal.’

  ‘It’s no problem. My freezer portions are always for three people anyway, so do you like curry?’

  ‘Certainly do. Thank you.’ She turned to Liz with a smile. ‘Why didn’t my son have aspirations to be a chef instead of a geologist?’

  ‘I didn’t realise you had a son!’

  ‘Yes, he’s doing something in Peru, right now, but his job has taken him all over the world. There’s just the two of us, although from his emails, I think things are getting serious with a young lady called Hannah.’

  ‘Three of us on our own with a son – you, me and Sadie.’

  The landline telephone rang stridently, and Tanya and Liz looked at each other. Tanya moved across. ‘It’s showing a number,’ she said. ‘This isn’t our kidnapper.’

  Liz glanced at the tiny screen. ‘It’s my friend, Julia. I’ll let it go to voicemail, and ring her back after we’ve eaten.’

  ---

  ‘Julia? I’m sorry I missed your call. As you can imagine, things aren’t normal here at the moment.’

  ‘Oh, God, Liz, I’m so sorry. I’ve been in Paris for a few days, so only found out about it when I watched the news tonight. Is there anything I can do to help?’

  ‘There’s nothing anyone can do,’ Liz said quietly. ‘The police have nothing to go on; whoever has taken Jake hasn’t communicated in any way, and I think the DI in charge of the case is pinning all his hopes on that appeal. I’m not convinced we’ll get anything from it.’

  ‘Shit, that’s awful. Can I come and see you? You’ll need a hug. Has Oliver been to see you?’

  ‘Yes, him and Tom both came up the morning after I found the bodies.’

  ‘You found the bodies?’ Julia’s voice rose as she digested Liz’s words.

  ‘I did. And come up whenever you want, have your mobile phone handy in case I have to cancel. Sometimes they need me at a moment’s notice.’

  ‘Give me an hour. We can talk more, face to face.’ Julia disconnected.

  Liz turned to Tanya with a smile. ‘She’s a bit of a whirlwind, is Julia. It sounds as though she’s back to her usual bouncy self – she’s Oliver Hardwick’s soon to be ex-wife. I’ve known her for years, since school days. She’ll be here in an hour, she says, but that could as easily be two hours.’

  ‘Then will you be okay if I go home? I need to check everything’s okay, and I’ll have my mobile on.’

&nbs
p; ‘Of course I’ll be okay. Stay the night, come back in the morning.’ Liz held up a hand as Tanya opened her mouth to protest. ‘Honestly, I’ll be fine. Tell our babysitters outside what you’re doing, so they are aware Dan and I are on our own, but I suspect Julia might stay the night anyway. You need time out from this, you know you do.’

  Tanya nodded. ‘I’ll check with DI Brent first. If he says okay, that’s what we’ll do.’

  She disappeared into the kitchen to make the call, and returned a couple of minutes later. ‘I checked if there had been any response to the appeal, and they’ve had a few phone calls saying they saw somebody pushing the pram, but one says it was a man, one says it was a woman, another one says whoever was pushing it, put it in the boot of the car without folding it, after struggling with it for a bit.’

  Liz’s head shot up. ‘That’s the one he needs to concentrate on. The pushchair is easy for me to fold, but Gareth never quite got the hang of it. It has safety devices on it, and different levers to release to get it to fold. If you don’t know about them…’

  ‘He’s given me permission to take the night off, so I’ll ring him before I go, tell him what you’ve said. He may ring you for more information. Are you sure you’ll be okay?’

  ‘Tanya, go! I’ll be fine.’

  Tanya nodded. ‘I’ll ring him from my room.’ She headed for the stairs, almost colliding with Dan as he came from the kitchen.

  ‘Okay, I’ve set the dishwasher going. I’m off to bed. I was up really early this morning.’

  ‘Julia’s coming. You want to stay up to say hello?’

  ‘Julia? You still allowed to be friends with her, then?’

  Liz looked puzzled. ‘Of course. Why shouldn’t I be?’

  ‘I don’t think Oliver was happy about them splitting up. Not according to Simon, anyway.’