The familiar mouse clicks sounded. “Newcastle and then Berwick-upon-Tweed.”
“There’s no way to know for sure, but my gut says they got off that train at either York or Darlington.”
“You’re an hour and fifteen from York, around two hours from Darlington,” Mark supplied.
“Okay, I’m going to head for York. Have a look at CCTV footage for both York and Darlington, and let me know what you find. At least then I’ll be heading in the right direction, whichever they chose.”
“Okay. I’ll get back to my burger.” She could visualise the smirk on his face. She shook her head and hung up the call without saying goodbye.
Getting off the train was a surprising twist. As was the phone call. Hopefully they are starting to lose their nerve, making mistakes. She knew that the first twenty-four hours were essential to any case. Once the trail went cold it was a matter of waiting for them to make a mistake. Claudia hated relying on her prey to slip up.
It was half an hour later when Mark rang back.
“I have them,” he announced. “They got off the train in Darlington at eleven. They then proceeded to walk north out of the town. I followed them to the edge of town, I’m sending the coordinates to your satnav. After that, I have no idea.”
“They’re either heading to a specific location, or they’re heading off the grid,” Claudia surmised. She watched as her satnav received the information and recalculated the distance. “I’m an hour away.”
“I’ll keep searching and contact you if I find anything.”
12
Master Criminals
Amy whistled happily to herself as she walked across the field and back towards the tent. She cocked her head to one side as she looked at the structure; it was definitely leaning. She was happy that it had managed to stay up during the night. Pitching the tent in the dark, with frozen cold fingers, with only the aid of the dummies guide, had been difficult to say the least.
Kerry’s head burst from tent, her eyes wide, hair a disaster.
“Where were you?” Kerry demanded.
“Getting breakfast.” Amy held up the paper bag and the takeaway coffee cups.
Kerry blinked and then rubbed her eyes. She’d woken up recently. “Breakfast?”
“Yeah, I woke up when the sun came up. I’m not used to sleeping in a cloth dome. The sun was like boom, and then the birds were singing. So, I thought I’d get up.”
“I was talking to you, and you weren’t there,” Kerry grumbled. She pulled on her hiking boots and coat and exited the tent. She stood up tall, stretching out her back.
“Did you say anything interesting?” Amy handed her a coffee.
“I was cursing your existence, telling you that it was cold and if I died out here I’d be blaming you.” Kerry sipped the coffee. “Where the hell did you get this?”
“There’s a little town just over the hill. The coffee shop is so cute, they have the best china. Anyway, I met a guy called Pete, and he said he is willing to give us a lift to Newcastle.” Amy threw the coffee cup holder inside the tent and sipped her own drink. It was her second that morning, but there was no reason to tell Kerry that.
Kerry paused, the coffee cup centimetres from her lips. “Newcastle?”
“Yeah. It’s north from here, which is where we are going. And there we can hitchhike,” Amy explained.
Kerry furrowed her brow. “Hitchhike?”
“Yep.” Amy threw her gloves into the tent. She opened the paper bag and handed a muffin to Kerry. Kerry would be a little more receptive to the idea of Amy chatting to half the village about their predicament once she’d eaten something. “I’ve been thinking, if we get on a train, or in a car, or use a bus... we’re screwed. There are cameras everywhere, and Duncan in the coffee shop says they might have some kind of sci-fi facial recognition stuff. Like on TV.”
“Who is Duncan?” Kerry asked, exasperation clearly starting to take hold.
“Just some bloke in the coffee shop,” Amy said with a shrug. “Anyway, I think we need to be a bit random, do things they don’t expect.”
“Like speak to blokes called Duncan about facial recognition technology?” Kerry held the muffin in one hand and sipped at her coffee. “But, back to the point, the reason people don’t hitchhike is because it’s dangerous and they don’t want to die.”
“I’d rather take my chances with Pete than get on a train and be arrested at the station.” Amy reached into the bag, picked up her croissant, and bit into it. Also, her second one of the morning.
Kerry nibbled on the muffin. Her forehead furrowed in deep concentration as she considered Amy’s plan.
“I know self-defence,” Amy reminded her.
“You took one lesson and strained a muscle in your thigh,” Kerry reminded her.
“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” Amy defended. “But, Kez, seriously, I just have a feeling about this. I think we need to keep moving. I want to get out of here, and I don’t fancy walking to Newcastle because Joan says that’s going to take about half a day.”
Kerry blinked. “Who’s Joan?”
“She owns the coffee shop. I told her I worked in a coffee shop and we got talking.”
“Don’t you think that maybe you should be keeping a low profile and not chatting to the locals? Especially those who own the local coffee shop and are presumably very chatty. And random blokes called Duncan who seem to know about CCTV.”
Amy shook her head. “No, Joan, Duncan, and Pete are cool.”
“Amy, you can’t just trust everyone you meet. The world doesn’t work like that, babe.”
Amy had heard it all a thousand times before. People told her that she was too trusting and that she needed to think more before she spoke. But it wasn’t true, Amy knew that people were mainly good. People were like dogs, they could sense a good person. And Amy was a good person. She knew that Joan, Duncan, and Pete were also good people. She trusted them, even if she’d only just met them. It was hard to explain, but it was how Amy lived her life.
“I like to think it does,” Amy said. She wasn’t going to defend herself. She’d gotten up early, got breakfast, and found a way out of town that didn’t involve hiking. As far as she was concerned, she’d had an excellent morning. “Anyway, get packed up. We’re meeting Pete in an hour.” Amy kicked off her muddy boots and stepped into the tent.
Inside the tent, she packed up her stuff. She was starting to reconsider the wisdom of carrying the Pocket Scrabble set, not to mention her bullet journal. She didn’t think she’d get much time to draw an artistic spread on her latest cinema adventures while on the run.
“Amy?” Kerry called from outside.
“Yeah?”
“I feel like we’re being watched,” Kerry said. “Like, not right now. Just… always.”
Amy stopped what she was doing. It was something she had been noticing more and more. The paranoia was starting to intensify. The feeling of being watched was now a constant. “Me too, all the time.”
“Okay. I suppose that’s what it’s like now,” Kerry said sadly.
Amy opened the tent flap and stuck her head out. “We’ll get it sorted. I promise. But, until then, keep an eye out. You never know.”
Amy pulled her long hair across her face and chewed on the ends. She peeked over the high collar on her coat and looked out of the car window. The road was busy, presumably with rush hour traffic. She hadn’t made a note of the time. Time seemed so redundant now. Time was for people who took their kids on the school run, people who had jobs. On the run, time was a wasted concept.
“Where was it you said you were going?” Pete asked. His kind eyes sought out hers in the rearview mirror.
Kerry stiffened beside her.
“Glasgow.” Amy tried to hide her wince as she lied. She trusted Pete, but she wasn’t about to tell him where they were really headed.
“Ah. Never been.”
“We’re seeing a friend,” Kerry added.
“We’r
e on the run,” Amy said. She could almost feel Kerry’s glare. “We didn’t do anything wrong.” Amy knew that Kerry wanted to throttle her, but Amy felt strongly about telling the truth. Or at least some of the truth. The whole point in going on the run was to clear their names. If they were going to lie their way to Aberdeen, then they were bad people and Amy desperately didn’t want to be thought of as a bad person.
Pete chuckled. “Well, well. Two hardened criminals in my Volvo. Who’d have thought it? Is there a reward?” He joked.
“Might be,” Amy said. She turned to Kerry who was just shaking her head at her. Amy shrugged. Kerry had known Amy long enough to know her big mouth couldn’t be controlled.
Kerry rolled her eyes and leaned forward to address Pete. “Of course, we’re going to be caught in an instant because this one feels the need to tell people that we’re on the run.”
“Honesty is the best policy,” Amy said.
“Aye, it is,” Pete agreed. “Well, if they come sniffing around here then I’ll tell ‘em I saw you both and you were headed south. I’ll send ‘em to Cornwall!”
Amy laughed and smiled at Kerry. “See? Pete’s helping us. You’re a star, Pete.”
Kerry shook her head and turned to look out of the window. She clearly didn’t want any more to do with the conversation.
“It’s the least I can do. We have to stick together. How long have you been on the run for?” Pete asked.
“A day. We’re pretty new to it.” Amy pulled her collar up a little higher. “It’s actually really hard. They send out drones with facial recognition cameras and Tasers to hunt you down.”
“No, you’ve made that up in your head and now you believe it,” Kerry pointed out without facing her.
“So, what’s the plan?” Pete asked.
“Stay off the radar,” Amy said. “We’re going to hitchhike up the country. I think we’ll be there in a couple of days. When we get to Glasgow we’re going to see a friend who will prove our innocence and then we’ll go home. Probably be asked to be consultants to the police because they’ll be so impressed by our evasion tactics. Or maybe not, but they should ask us because we’re making them look pretty silly.”
Kerry turned to face her. “We slept in a field for one night. I don’t think we’re going to be called up by the police commissioner and asked how we did it.”
“If these drones with the cameras and the...” Pete started.
“Tasers,” Amy supplied. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure of the details of the drones, but she was pretty sure she’d seen a documentary on it. Kerry was adamant it was a movie.
“That’s right, cameras and Tasers, if they are everywhere, then should I drop you outside of Newcastle? It might be dangerous in the town. One of those drones could see you and zap you!”
Kerry stared at Amy with disbelief. When Amy got home she was going to Google the documentary and prove Kerry wrong. Unless her Googling found that it was a movie. In which case, she’d drop the conversation altogether.
“You know, Pete, you’re right,” Amy said. “Drop us at a motorway services, there will be plenty of people there. Easy to catch another lift.”
13
On The Trail
Claudia stepped out of the coffee shop and bit into the flaky croissant. She straightened herself up and took a deep breath as she looked around the small village centre. Villages in England were supposed to be picturesque, but Claudia thought they all merged into one with their similarities. The tiny road through the middle of town, the village green, the old pub on the corner.
She stretched her neck from one side to the other. She reasoned that maybe she was just grouchy about only being able to catch a couple of hours’ sleep in the car.
Arriving in Darlington in the very early morning had presented no clues at all. Mark had nothing further to go on and that meant legwork. Of course, legwork could only be done when there were people to talk to. At three in the morning in a small English village, every soul was sleeping soundly. So Claudia had allowed herself to sleep until sunrise.
The good thing about the locality was that most people were up with the sun. Before she fell asleep, she’d plotted a route to the eight villages to the northeast of Darlington, all were only a five-minute drive from each other. But that was at least an hour’s walk.
It was in the fifth village that things had started to look up. A chatty coffee shop owner was probably the twentieth person Claudia had spoken to that morning, and she had provided some valuable information. Before she clammed up, that is, wondering if she had said too much. But it was enough.
Claudia tapped her earpiece twice, and the familiar ringtone soon sounded.
“Hey, everything okay?” Mark asked.
Claudia smirked. “Better than okay. They were here.” She walked away from the coffee shop and crossed the road. “Just spoke to a woman who owns the local coffee shop. She saw Amy this morning. Said she stuck out like a sore thumb because she was from out of town and was wearing her pyjamas.”
Mark laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. She checked the photo and said it was definitely her. Then she seemed to realise what she had said and stopped talking. But not before confirming that, at least, Amy was here.”
“She was staying locally then?” Mark asked.
“I suspect so. There is a local pub here that has accommodation. But let’s not forget that they have backpacks and camping equipment so they could have pitched up in a field. I’m going to ask some questions.”
She stopped in the pub car park and looked around the sleepy village. “My suspicion is that they’ve moved on. They won’t want to stay in one place too long.”
“Agreed. There’s no train station there, so they are either walking, taking a bus, or getting a lift from someone,” Mark said.
Claudia nodded. “Yeah, I checked the bus timetable: one bus every other Tuesday unless it’s a full moon. I’ll speak to the locals. Clearly, they are sticking out like sore thumbs and not worried about who knows they are here. Presumably they think we’re nowhere near them, so there is no need to be discreet. Which is great news for us.”
“Well, I have some news of my own,” Mark said. “Remember Cara, Amy’s mystery lady from the services?”
“Yes?”
“She’s turned up dead. Her body was found in a lake in Surrey.”
Claudia raised her eyebrows at the unexpected news. “We need everything we can get on her, Mark.”
“I know,” he agreed.
“We need to know who she was, what she did. Andrew’s team will be working on the assumption that she is the person who turned Amy. We need to know everything they know and more.”
Mark posed the question back to her. “You don’t think she is the one who turned Amy?”
She pursed her lips. “I’m not sure. It seems unlikely, especially considering that Amy took her best friend with her on the run. Childhood friendships are strong, but I can’t see how Cara’s influence on Amy would translate to Kerry too in such a short amount of time. There’s something we’re missing. Are we any further on obtaining the CCTV from the services? We need to see how all of this started.”
Mark blew out a breath. “I’m trying, but I’m hitting a brick wall at every turn. MI5 claim that there was a recording failure at the services. But then I spoke to the services, and they say they’ve had no issues. They have given their tapes, and backups, to the police.”
“Interesting,” Claudia said. “Is this general MI5 incompetence or something more?”
“I don’t know, but I’m investigating it.”
“Good, we need that tape. And information on Cara.”
“You got it. I’ll get back to you.” Mark hung up the call.
Claudia walked across the car park towards the pub. Wooden beams showed the age of the building. She pushed through the door and into the cramped bar space. She quickly looked around the room in case Amy or Kerry were sitting at any of the tables.
“Morning,” a friendly male voice called out. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”
“No problem,” Claudia replied. She sat on one of the bar stools and took in the ambiance. The low ceilings and dark wood gave a friendly and welcoming feel. In the next room she could hear the distinctive crackle of an open fireplace.
“What can I get you?”
Claudia turned to look at the landlord. He leaned comfortably on the bar, looking very much like he had spent his entire life there.
“Do you have anyone staying here at the moment?”
“No, we don’t get that many people here, especially not during the week.”
She pulled up Amy’s picture on her phone. “Have you seen this woman?”
He pulled his glasses down from the top of his head and took the phone from Claudia’s hand. He held it at arm’s length and squinted at the screen. He shook his head and handed the device back to her. “Nope, she’s not been in here. Is she in some kind of trouble?”
Claudia didn’t like to divulge who she was and why she was looking for people, it was the quickest way to end a conversation. “Is there anywhere else to stay in town?”
“Just here. As I say, we don’t get many people in the village.”
“Are there any fields nearby where someone could pitch a tent?”
“No campsites,” he replied.
“I’m not thinking a campsite exactly, just somewhere you could feasibly pitch a tent.”
He pointed through the window. “Just out there you’ve got Dave’s land. No animals and close to town. On the other side, you have the Cambridge farm, but they have plenty of animals so I can’t imagine anyone would set up there.”
Claudia looked towards the window and nodded her head. She pulled a business card out of her inner jacket pocket and handed it over to him. “If you see her, call me.”
He took the business card and looked at the scant information. “She in trouble?” he asked again.
Huntress Page 9
