“Not a Mick Jagger fan, I take it?” Steve grabbed Ella’s arm as the child swayed on the bottom step. “Whoa, Miss Ella, are you okay?”
“As I was saying,” Pippa said eyeing Steve’s concern with approval, “she’s a bit off-colour today. But we are not the type of family that stays in bed all day at the first excuse. Their grandmother was due to take Ruby to the park, Mr. Robinson. I’m sure the fresh air would do Ella the world of good. And no tall buildings, either. Right, now I am in Court for the duration, so my phone will be switched off.”
Pippa threw a bag over her shoulder and swept up a pile of files from the hall table. “If the children give you any problems just call Cassandra. I’ll be incommunicado most of the day, I should imagine. Jack just needs to finish his breakfast and he can get off to school. Ella, you’ll need to show Mr. Robinson where everything is.”
“Everything?” Ella said. “That could take a while.”
“Very funny, Ella.” Pippa eased Steve back into the kitchen. “Now, Cassandra should be home before me, but if not, I’ll be no later than five. There, I think I’ve covered everything.”
“Sure, get gone,” Steve said. “We’re gonna be fine, right girls?” To Jack, “Sorry mate, Mum says it’s school for you.”
“Yeah, I know. You three have a party while I’m slaving over a boring maths lesson.”
“Well, I was thinking more about a trip to the park than a party. As for maths, young man, if you’re finding it boring then you clearly need some extra tuition from yours truly. I love maths.”
Jack’s face fell even further, “Er, no thanks.”
Pippa stopped in the doorway. “I think that’s an excellent idea, Jack. You’ll start with Mr. Robinson next week.” To Steve, “You were serious? About the tuition?”
“On one condition. You call me Steve, the same as the children.”
Chapter 74.
“Pete, you still here?”
Metcalf was leaning on his car roof, watching the main gate. He looked round at the sound of Red’s voice.
“Waiting for Lee. Silly twat left his mobile behind. Can you believe that? A copper without a mobile is like a…” Metcalf’s comparison ground to a halt as Lee Roberts came running across the car park, waving the phone triumphantly. He slowed to a respectable fast walk when he saw Red and Terri chatting with Metcalf.
“Seeing as we’re here, guys,” Red said, “I was wondering if you might do me a favour?”
Metcalf shrugged. “Anything to help, Guv, you know that. We all want this sick bastard nailed as soon as possible.”
Red lowered her voice, as if someone might hear them across the car park. “Look, I know this isn’t strictly kosher, but I need you two to do some digging for me on our jumper yesterday. You know, as you’re going about your normal duties. Just put the feelers out?”
“Is this related to our snipper?” Metcalf ‘s brow crumpled with confusion.
Red engaged Metcalf with pleading eyes. “Nothing whatsoever. But you’d be doing me a huge personal favour.”
Metcalf stood turning over the request in his mind. “The suicide yesterday?”
“Please, Pete. It’s really important to me.”
Metcalf arched an eyebrow at his younger colleague. “What do you reckon, Lee? Do we have time to do a favour for a DCI in need?” To Red, “Leave it with us, Guv. We’ll see what we can do.”
Chapter 75.
“Ruby, you won’t have any fingers left if you’re not careful.” Steve relieved the child of the chocolate wrapper and wiped her sticky hands clean. To Ella, “Was that a tiny smile I saw there then, Miss Ella?”
Ella shrugged. “I might smile a lot more if we did something fun today.”
“Fun?” Steve considered the option. “I have to pop to the post office. Then, how does a trip to the park sound?”
Ruby strained against the straps of her booster seat. “I love the park! Can we feed the ducks? Please, Steve!”
“Up to Ella, Princess. She’s in charge today.”
Ruby turned to her sister. “Can we Ella? Pleeease.”
“Do we have to go to the stupid post office?”
“Car tax. You don’t want me getting in trouble with Cass, do you? It’ll only take five minutes and then we could stop by the shops and get some picnic stuff. What do you say?”
Ella shrugged. “S’pose so.”
“I might even throw in a ride down by the embankment on the way home, have a look at the boats. Do we have a deal?”
“Please, Els,” Ruby implored. “Can we?”
“Whatever.” Ella folded her arms across her chest. “It’s not like anything exciting’s gonna happen, is it.”
“Yay!” Ruby clasped her tiny hands together. “Thanks, Ella. You’re the bestest big sister, ever.”
Ella couldn’t prevent a smile twitching on her lips.
The smile spread even further when Steve winked at Ella as he lifted Ruby from her seat.
Chapter 76.
Red was deep in thought as they drove back to Terri’s apartment. The head thumping was easing, but the hazy, fleeting snatches of memory came and went in no particular order, like a broken dream.
“Bloody jaywalkers,” Terri muttered beneath her breath.
“I expect you’re used to driving something twice this size,” Red joked.
Teri shook her head. “Despite what you see in the movies, most Americans drive sensible cars nowadays, Guv. The days of the gas guzzling giants are long gone.”
“You ever think about going back?”
“For a vacation, sure. I miss my family, although with Skype it’s easy enough to keep in touch. But going back to live. To work… I’m not sure. There are some things about my country I really feel uncomfortable with. As a cop, I mean. I’ve never arrested a murderer or anyone like that, but I wouldn’t be happy knowing I was responsible for sending someone to the electric chair, whatever they might have done.”
“They still fry people out there?”
“Lethal injection is in vogue at the moment,” Terri winced. They pulled up in a tight parking space opposite Terri’s flat. “But supposing they’ve got the wrong guy?”
“Happens here all the time,” Red said as they crossed the road. It was now or never.
“So you never killed anyone while on duty?” Red ventured.
“Never fired a shot in anger,” Terri said. “But it’s all too easy, in the heat of the moment.” She cast a glance at Red.
“Do you remember anything about last night, Guv?” Terri let them into her flat with the assistance of a foot on the stubborn door.
Red stopped halfway across the threshold Her heart lurched in her chest. “Is there something I should remember?”
“Relax, Guv. Your modesty’s intact, if that’s what you’re referring to. And your behaviour was impeccable.”
Red blew out a sigh. “Jesus, don’t scare me like that!” The image of Terri’s naked backside paraded before her eyes. “I don’t remember much at all. From last night,” she added. She remembered every inch of Terri from this morning, from her heels right up to her…
“You were looking through some magazines of mine,” Terri said as they eased into the living room.
This is it, thought Red. I must have told her. The question is, did she tell me too? Or did I dream that bit? She asked, “Magazines?”
Terri picked one up from the coffee table. “Girls and Guns ring any bells?”
Red played it by ear. “Vaguely. It’s all a bit hazy.”
Terri chose her words carefully. “We talked about gun ownership in the UK.”
Just come out and say it, Red thought. She said, “I think you mentioned Liverpool?”
Terri took a deep breath, eyes firmly on Red. “I told you I had a gun. An illegal firearm.”
Red let out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t dreamed it. Hesitantly, “Yeah, I remember.”
“And then you said you had one too.”
Red nodded slowly. Ther
e it was, out in the open. Two law enforcement officers admitting they were in possession of illegal weapons. She took a deep breath, opening her mouth to answer as her phone’s ringtone drifted out from the bathroom. “That will be Pippa.”
Red bolted to the bathroom. “It’s Anna, not Pippa,” she shouted back to Terri. Into the phone, “Anna?”
Red came backthrough into the living room in faltering steps, her face ashen. She leaned in the doorway for support. Into the phone. “We’ll call you from the car.”
She let herself slump against the door jamb, slowly bringing her eyes up to Terri.
“Guv?”
“It’s Ella and Ruby,” Red said slowly, a tremor in her voice. “They’ve been abducted.”
Chapter 77.
Red slotted her Blackberry into the hands-free cradle. She re-dialled Anna as Terri gunned the engine into life.
“Which way, Guv?” Terri demanded.
Red took deep, steady breaths. Keep control. Stay professional. Into the phone, “Still heading for the Embankment, Anna?”
“Last sighting,” Anna’s voice came back clear over the speakers. “Where are you now?”
“Just leaving Terri’s, but we’ll never get through in an unmarked car. Is there a car with blues and twos I can ride with?”
“Negative. Every available vehicle is on alert. But if you can get to the station…”
Red shook her head. “That’s the opposite direction.” To Terri, “That pub we were at last night.”
“Guv, this is no time for a drink.”
“My car’s there,” Red retorted sharply. “I’ve got emergency lights fitted.” To Anna, “On our way. What do we know?”
“Very little. The girls’ father called it in. Richard Ward?”
Red nodded, mentally writing off the possibility is was a domestic abduction by the ex to get at her. It was almost a relief. “How is Richard involved?”
“Ward’s story is he was driving southbound on the A3220 when he slowed for traffic and saw Ella and Ruby on the opposite side of the road, pulling away in an unknown vehicle. As Ward slowed Ruby looked up and saw him and began waving frantically at him. He slammed the brakes on and another car shunted him from behind. By the time he’d got out the suspect vehicle had gone.”
“Jesus. Do we have a description?”
“Metallic blue saloon, possibly a Honda, driven by an unidentified IC1 male. Fair hair. Probably mid-twenties. Ward thinks the last three digits on the licence plate were Echo-Zulu-Romeo but can’t say for certain.”
“That’s better than nothing. Does Pippa know?”
“Ward has tried to contact her but no answer.”
“She’ll be in Court.”
“Ward said the same. Her phone will be switched off.”
“Was there any sign of Jack?”
“He’s safe and sound at school. They’ve been instructed not to let him leave the premises.”
“One less to worry about.” Red had a sudden horrible thought. “Madame Sin!”
Terri took her eyes off the road long enough to stare at Red. “Who?”
“The kids’ grandmother. She was supposed to be looking after Ruby today.” Red’s mind raced. “Ella probably had the day off school. Cynthia would have had them both. She could be hurt.”
“Ahead of you, Guv,” Anna came back. “Cynthia Crichton? Ward has already spoken with her. She’s in bed sick. She called Pippa early this morning to say she couldn’t make it.”
“He didn’t tell her what had happened, did he?”
“No, Guv. No pint worrying an old lady.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Red argued. “There’s no motive for an abduction.”
“Be serious, Guv, you’re a high-ranking police officer,” Anna said. “Pippa’s a high-profile barrister. Of course there’s motive.”
Terri pulled her car up alongside Red’s vehicle.
“Anna, just swapping to my car.” Red cursed beneath her breath when she saw the parking ticket. Could have been towed away, she consoled herself, a fleeting thought as she turned the key. She flicked a switch and turned on the emergency lamps in the grill. Her right hand reached beneath the seat and produced a magnetic lamp. She clamped it to the roof as she pulled into the traffic, thankful to see the cars in front pull over.
“Are you sure you should be driving after last night, Guv?”
Red thrust her mobile at Terri. “Just plug that in and reconnect with Anna.” She kept her breathing steady, her voice calm. “This still doesn’t make sense. Pippa wouldn’t have left Ella and Ruby home alone, surely?”
“She might have had no choice. You said yourself she’s on a big case this week.”
“Would Ella have taken Ruby out on her own?” Anna asked.
“Not usually,” Red said, “but if she wasn’t thinking straight after yesterday… Jesus. This is my fault.” Red took the red light, hoping the emergency lamps would be sufficient to get them through. “If I’d been home this morning, instead of out cold with a hangover on your couch…”
“You can’t blame yourself, Guv,” Anna’s voice came back over the speakers.
“Watch me. If anything happens to those two…”
“Stay positive Guv. You know that… Blue Honda saloon at two o’clock!”
Red and Terri strained to see the vehicle as it approached on the opposite highway, a thin barrier delineating the dual carriageway. It was on the inside lane in steady traffic. Red crossed to the barrier, slowing the traffic behind her, watching the blue Honda draw closer. “Single male driver. Too far away to see any detail. No front passenger. Can’t see the back. Yes, looks like a child. Female. This could be it. Stand by.”
Red held her breath as the car drew nearer, focused on the back seat passengers.Suddenly the inside lane traffic slowed slightly and the outside lane moved forward. A delivery van blocked Red’s view. “Get out of the way!” she screamed, slamming the brakes on. She clambered out of the vehicle and stood on the lower rung of the barrier, holding her card up. “Police!”
The van slowed. The inside lane traffic was speeding up again. Red mounted the barrier, dropping to her feet on the other side and ran out in front of the van towards the inside lane as the blue Honda sailed past, oblivious to Red standing in front of the stalled van. She just caught sight of Ruby’s freckled nose pressed against the side window.
Chapter 78.
Red stared, open-mouthed, as the saloon carried on, driver and passengers clearly indifferent to her shouts. “You idiot!” she shouted at the bewildered van driver. She was back over the barrier and in her car in seconds, speeding forward to the first emergency vehicle gap in the barrier.
“Anna, I’ve seen them. Ruby, anyway. Heading westbound on the A308. Vehicle as described. Sorry, no additional data. I was too focused on the kids. I’m in pursuit.”
“Roger that, Guv,” Anna came back. “There’s a chopper up and its closing in.”
Red slew the car at the first gap in the barrier, pounding her horn to add to the flashing lights. She clawed her way into the outside lane in the direction the children had gone.
Up ahead the traffic was slowing on the inside lane and Red’s hopes began to rise. Vehicles immediately in front were nudging across as the drivers caught sight of the blue lamps in their mirrors. Red bashed the horn to make sure they got the message.
“The upside is the perp won’t know we’re in pursuit until we’re almost on him,” Terri said, none too confidently. “That’s if they’re still on this road.”
“They’ve got to be. There’s no exit before the next roundabout.”
The whup whup of helicopter blades crept up on them, gathering volume as it flew overhead with a deafening roar. Red could feel the beating of its giant rotors in her throat.
The sound of Anna’s voice filtered through as the helicopter grew smaller in their windscreen view. “Guv, we’ve got an eyeball on the suspect vehicle. He’s exited at the roundabout. The ’copter has you both
marked. There’s two patrol cars closing in, but you’re as close as anyone, if you can make it through.”
Red hit the horn hard. “I’ll make it. How fast is the perp travelling?”
“Very casual. Obviously he has no idea he’s being tailed and is unaware of the overhead surveillance.”
“Tell him to stay high. If the driver hears the chopper he may panic and…” Red’s voice trailed at the thought of what might happen. “Just tell him to stay high. Roundabout’s in sight.”
“Roger that, Guv.Just heard the perp is stopping at pelican crossings for pedestrians. Gotta hand it to him, he’s playing it cool.”
“Trying not to draw attention to the vehicle,” Terri surmised. “Clever. Say, isn’t this near where you live?”
Red flew off the roundabout and picked up speed. “This guy is good. Taking them back close to the abduction scene, knowing any search will be fanning out.”
“He could be local,” Terri said, “Probably watching the house for days beforehand, waiting for an opportunity.”
“Which I handed to him on a plate by not being there. God, if anything happens to –”
“Guv?” Anna’s voice cut a across on the speakers. “You’re not gonna believe this, but he’s just turned into Onslow Square!”
“Jesus H. Christ.” Red slammed the brakes on and wildly backed up to a turning they had just passed. “Taking a short cut. Gonna try and head him off.”
“Guv! This is a one way street!” Terri screamed as Red’s car hurtled into oncoming traffic.
“Two minutes, Anna, if these bastards get out of the way.” Red slammed the horn hard. Oncoming traffic took evasive action, bewildered faces watching the unmarked vehicle with flashing lights storming towards them in the wrong direction. “Anyone else on the scene?”
Saffina Desforges' ROSE RED Crime Thriller Boxed Set Page 46
