“Neil, for fuck’s sake where are you?” he gasped. His friend was only a few doors down and the rest of the police were just next door. Someone must have heard the racket they were making.
He spied the tiny foot again, which remained limp and unresponsive, filling him with a fury so potent that he barely felt the next punch to his face. He shook it off and charged at the Colonel, using his superior height and strength to grab him around the waist and lift him bodily off the floor. Mike kept on running, hurling the Colonel at the patio door leading into the kitchen. His body crashed through the glass, the sound raising jagged splinters of colour before Mike’s eyes. The Colonel hit the kitchen floor hard where he remained on his side, unmoving.
Panting and a little dazed after the fight, Mike retrieved the dropped lump hammer and staggered back to the wall, to those poor little lifeless feet. The breath rattled in his chest and the pain that lanced through his side as he raised the hammer told him he had some broken ribs.
Ignoring the pain, he slammed the hammer into the plasterboard just as Neil ran into the room.
“Mike, what the fuck are you doing? I could hear the noise down the street. What have you done to the Colonel?” he said, running to the man’s side, who was unconscious on the floor.
“Isla’s behind the wall,” he gasped.
“You’ve totally lost the plot now,” he yelled back, pressing his fingers to the Colonel’s neck. “Thank God he’s alive,” he said, taking out his phone.
“Never mind him. Help me.”
Another swing of the hammer brought a fresh bout of pain but finally the wall crumpled in on itself to reveal the plastic sheeting that sealed the gap between the plasterboard and the brick. Behind the sheeting, which had a couple of small air holes poked into it, was…
“Hannah,” breathed Mike, the hammer slipping from his hand.
“Oh my God,” gasped Neil as he gaped at the figure in the wall. Her body had slumped forward so her cheek was pressed against the plastic.
“What’s going on?” said Will dashing inside. “I heard some weird noises…Hannah,” he cried. “Oh Jesus, she’s in the fucking wall.”
Mike produced a penknife from his pocket and cut through the sheeting. Together he and Will tore it down and cast it aside. Now the plastic was gone her body was unsupported and she fell out of the hole. Mike and Will caught her between them but she didn’t stir. Together they lay her flat on the floor. Now they could see she was gagged. Her hands were bound before her and her ankles tied together.
“Hannah,” cried Will, taking her hand. “Wake up babe.”
Neil abandoned the unconscious Colonel to press his fingertips to her neck. “She’s alive, her heartbeat’s strong and steady.” He lifted her lids to reveal dilated pupils. “I think she’s been drugged.”
Will removed the gag and cradled her head in his lap, tears streaming down his face. “It’s okay now sweetheart, it’s okay,” he whispered, stroking her hair.
“Isla,” yelled Mike, staggering around in a circle, one arm cradling his injured ribs. His gaze fixed on the Colonel, who was starting to come round. He snatched up the hammer and lurched towards him. “Where is she?” he demanded.
“Gone, gone far from here,” he growled back before cackling with laughter. “Gone far far away.”
His laughter turned into screams when Mike slammed the hammer into his left foot.
“Where is she?” yelled Mike, unable to see the nightmarish scene before him because of spears of colours.
“I’ve been tortured by much worse than you. She will remain my secret.”
Mike turned back to look at the wall Hannah had come out of. Then it struck him. “He likes balance. Everything has to be balanced.”
He dragged himself to the wall opposite the one Hannah had been in and drove the hammer into it. The falling plasterboard revealed more sheeting. The sweat poured off him as he delivered another powerful blow that shattered the wall and the whole thing collapsed to reveal Isla behind the plastic, her eyes closed. Her bound hands were curled into claws, as though she’d tried to escape but had been unable to break through the plastic prison, which again had just a couple of air holes cut into it.
“Isla,” cried Mike in joy and terror, desperately praying she’d just been drugged like Hannah.
Her eyes flickered open above the gag and widened slightly as her body started to writhe.
“Neil,” he cried but his friend was already by his side with his penknife, which he’d dropped on the floor. “We’re getting you out of there honey,” he told her. “Just hold on.”
“What’s going on? We heard shouting and banging,” exclaimed Billy, racing in followed by Macbeth’s witches, Phillipa and Mr Collins and his dachshund. “Oh my God,” he cried, looking from the still-unconscious Hannah to Isla behind the plastic.
Isla’s eyes widened even more as her nails desperately scraped against the plastic. As Neil cut, Mike tore down the sheeting, Billy joining in, ripping it apart in a frenzy. Mike held out his arms, ready to catch her when she fell but she remained upright, body jerking and it was only then he realised there was a cord around her neck drilled into the wall behind her head. The cord had been tied in such a way that it only just allowed her feet to touch the floor.
“I’ve got you sweetheart,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up, supporting her weight while Neil cut the cord.
With a groan she crumpled onto Mike. Even though she was only light he staggered and almost fell because he was so exhausted and his ribs were damaged. He sank to the floor with her, cradling her in his arms. He removed the gag while Neil freed her hands and ankles.
“Thank God, thank God,” Mike murmured over and over, holding her to him, kissing her red hair, which was now only jaw length.
She shook in his arms, clinging onto him, her tears staining his chest.
“I knew you’d find me,” she rasped, throat sore thanks to the cord and dehydration. “I knew it.”
“Are you okay?” he said, taking her face in his hands.
“My neck hurts…I feel so weak.”
“The ambulance is on its way,” said Neil. “They won’t be long.” He looked in the direction the Colonel lay. “Oh shit.”
“What?” replied Mike.
“He’s gone.”
“He can’t have got far, not after I smashed his foot in.”
“Stay here with Hannah and Isla,” he said, leaping up and running through the house.
“Like I’m going anywhere,” replied Mike, holding her tighter.
“The Colonel did this?” said Billy. “Really?”
“Really,” replied Mike, rocking a shaking Isla in his arms. He wanted to scream and shout with joy. She was back safe, with him.
“I always knew he was a bit weird but I didn’t think it was this bad. I’m going after the bastard.”
Billy tore through the house to help Neil with the hunt. Even Mr Collins and his dog followed. Phillipa and Macbeth’s witches remained behind.
“Thank God you’re safe,” said Joyce, crouching beside Isla, stroking her hair back off her face. “We’ve all been so worried.”
Isla could only manage a weak smile in response.
“Is she alright?” Phillipa asked Will, kneeling beside Hannah.
“I don’t know, she’s not woken up yet,” he replied, feeling awful now he knew what Phillipa’s husband had been up to with his wife. “I think the Colonel drugged her.”
“Horrible, it’s just horrible. I can’t believe this has happened in our lovely village.”
Mike spotted the long screwdriver Phillipa was hiding behind her back, which he’d noticed earlier in the pile of tools in the garden. “Will, look out,” he yelled.
With a screech, Phillipa raised the screwdriver in the air and brought it down on Hannah. It was only Will’s quick reflexes that meant it avoided spearing her chest and went into his upper thigh instead. He threw back his head and howled with pain as bloo
d poured out of the wound.
Macbeth’s witches started screaming and flapping helplessly about the room.
Mike was overjoyed when Stewart ran in along with Wheeler. They wrestled a screeching Phillipa to the floor and cuffed her hands behind her back. They had to keep her pinned there when she spat and swore and writhed in an attempt to shake them off.
“See to him,” Stewart yelled at the two officers accompanying them, nodding in Will’s direction, whose face had gone ashen, blood pumping from the leg wound.
“The screwdriver hit the artery,” said one of them.
“No shit,” retorted Stewart. “You know first aid. Help the man.”
Overcoming their shock, the two officers between them managed to stem the blood flow by pressing down on the wound, making Will scream with agony. Hannah continued to sleep on, oblivious to the drama going on around her.
Isla nuzzled even closer into Mike, he could feel her heart thumping with fear against his chest. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he soothed, running his fingers through her short hair. “They’ve stopped the bleeding, he’ll be fine.”
“That bitch has been sleeping with my husband,” screamed Phillipa as Stewart and Wheeler hauled her upright. “She deserves to fucking die. She’s ruined everything.”
Stewart shoved her into the arms of three uniformed officers when they arrived leading a team of four paramedics. “Take her back to the station, she’s being done for GBH.” His look said that charge could always change to murder if Will didn’t survive. The bleeding had stopped but his body bucked and shook as he went into shock. Two paramedics rushed to attend to him while another two turned to Isla.
“I’m fine,” she rasped, pointing a shaky hand at Hannah. “Check her first.”
“You’re sure?” asked one of them.
“Yes, very. Please help her.” When they hurried to Hannah’s side, Isla turned her attention to Mike and touched his face. “You’re in pain.”
“Just a couple of sore ribs,” he said as cheerfully as he could. “Nothing to worry about.” In truth he felt horrible, he was shaking and he felt like he could throw up but that didn’t matter because she was alive and back in his arms. That was all that mattered. He showered her pale face with kisses, so relieved he could cry.
“Isla, you’ve no idea how good it is to see you,” said Stewart. He looked to Mike. “Where’s Sergeant Hawkins? Has he already taken the perpetrator away? As we’re in his house I assume the perpetrator’s the Colonel?”
“Damn right he is,” replied Mike. “Neil’s chasing him.”
Stewart’s eyes widened. “You mean he let him escape?”
“He can’t have got far. I smashed his foot in with a lump hammer.”
“Which way did they go?”
“Through the house to the front.”
“Wheeler, stay here and secure the scene. The rest of you with me,” Stewart yelled at his officers, more of whom had arrived.
Will was stabilised and taken away in an ambulance, quickly followed by Hannah, who still hadn’t woken up.
When it was Isla’s turn to be placed on a stretcher to be taken out she began to shake all over again and refused to relinquish Mike.
“You need to go to hospital to get checked over,” the paramedic gently told her.
“I’m fine. I just want to go home.”
“We need to do a CT scan of your neck to make sure there’s no internal damage.”
“Listen to the man,” Mike told her. “He knows what he’s talking about. I’ll be with you the whole time.”
“Okay but I don’t want to go on a stretcher.”
“Not a problem. I’ll carry you out.”
“With those cracked ribs?” said the paramedic knowingly.
Mike had to give the man his due, he’d spotted his injury without even examining him.
“What?” said Isla. “You’re hurt Mike?”
“It’s nothing really.”
“Then I’ll walk out of here.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he said when she started to get to her feet.
“When I was in that wall the image of me walking out of here with you kept me going. I’m doing this Mike.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “I am so proud of you.”
She squeezed his hand. “Let’s go home.”
As Isla was barefooted, Joyce took off her own trainers and gently placed them on her feet. In that moment she shot up in Mike’s estimation.
“Perfect fit,” said Joyce with a gentle smile.
Mike helped her upright and they limped out together. He kept a firm arm around her waist, as though he was afraid someone would try and take her from him again.
Together they limped out of that house of horrors, slowly following the paramedics. As they came around the side of the house they were confronted by the entire village gathered together on the main road. Cars just passing through practically slowed to a halt to stare at the circus before being moved on by the police.
When the locals saw Isla they burst into applause, warming Mike’s heart. Some of them even had tears in their eyes. He scanned the crowd and wondered where Alex was. Had he even heard of Hannah’s rescue?
“Have you caught the Colonel?” he asked one of the uniformed officers they passed.
“I’ve not had word back yet. I’ll make sure you’re kept informed.”
“Thanks.”
They were assisted into the back of a waiting ambulance, an exhausted Isla finally relenting and lying down on the stretcher while Mike sat beside her and held her hand.
“I just want to go home,” she rasped, tears spilling down her face.
“Soon,” said Mike, kissing her hand. “Promise. We need to make sure you’re okay.” She had no idea that the body of her grandfather had been found under the cellar. Could that cottage ever be a home to her again? And how the hell was he going to break that news to her?
He wanted to ask how long she’d been in that wall. The prospect of her being walled up alive for days filled him with a horror so profound he turned away from it, unable to look into its terrifying depths, his dream returning to him -
It’s dark, cold. It’s difficult to breathe.
CHAPTER 16
A uniformed police officer was waiting to greet them at the hospital, as well as a hoard of journalists who had got wind of what had happened. Security had to come out to help the police officer shove the reporters back so Isla could be manoeuvered inside on the stretcher, Mike hobbling along beside her.
Once inside A&E they wanted to separate Mike and Isla but she kicked up such a fuss they were forced to keep them together. They wanted to x-ray Mike’s ribs but he refused to allow it until Isla had her neck scanned. He stood watching through a viewing window while she had the scan. It was found she was just bruised, no internal damage. Apart from that she was dehydrated and a bit malnourished and had a large lump on the side of her head from where she’d been knocked out during the abduction but otherwise she was unharmed. Mike wanted to cry with relief. It could have been so much worse.
She was permitted to stay with him while he had his x-ray, sat in a wheelchair behind the protective screen with a drip attached to her arm. It struck him with all the force of a train just how hard her recovery was going to be. She’d been basically buried alive, tied by her neck to keep her in one position. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how terrifying that had been. He reasoned she couldn’t have been hidden in that wall the entire time she’d been missing or she would have been dead, no doubt about it. He recalled the faint whiff of bleach that had emanated from that space in the floor when the Colonel had opened the hatch. Had she and Hannah been kept down there first? Hannah had been drugged. Had Isla been drugged too for most of it and only just woken up when he’d found her? God he hoped so. But he was determined to be there for her and help her along every step of her recovery. They’d been given a second chance and he was going to make the most of it.
It turne
d out his ribs were indeed cracked and after being told to use ice and painkillers, he was discharged with the order to go home and rest. Apart from the cracked ribs he had a massive bruise in the middle of his back, as well as bruising to his face from the Colonel’s fists but it was all superficial, if painful. They wanted to keep Isla in overnight because of the dehydration but the prospect made her scream.
“No,” she yelled at a startled nurse. “I will not stay here one night, do you hear me?”
“You’re dangerously dehydrated Isla,” pressed the nurse gently. “It will just be one night.”
“You’ll make Mike leave and I don’t want to be apart from him. Please, I want to go home,” she rasped, tears rolling down her face.
The nurse was well aware of what she’d been through and her heart went out to her. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you,” said Mike while Isla flopped back onto the bed.
The nurse vanished and Mike took Isla’s hand. Fortunately she still had her engagement ring. At least that hadn’t been taken from her.
Stewart entered the cubicle, the curtain swirling dramatically around him.
“Isla, it’s very good to see you,” he said, surprising Mike by the warmth in his eyes.
“This is DI Stewart,” Mike told her. “He was leading the search for you.”
“Then how come you found me and not him?” she said.
“I got lucky,” replied Mike with a wink that drew a small smile from her. He looked to Stewart. “Have you found the Colonel yet?”
“He was recaptured attempting to sail down Loch Fyne on his boat.”
“Thank God for that,” he breathed.
“Don’t worry, he’s not getting out of this one. You should know, he’s in this hospital.”
“It’s okay sweetheart,” Mike told Isla when she gasped and started to shake. “He can’t get near you.”
“He certainly can’t,” said Stewart. “Number one, because his foot is the size of a watermelon thanks to Mike and number two, because he has a police guard. Number three, he will remain cuffed to the bed at all times. He’s going nowhere, I promise.”
The Loch Page 23
