Amber

by Julie Sykes

  ‘In you go.’ Baldy pushed me over the threshold. The house was clean, but the air smelled stale and there was a faint whiff of damp. It was obvious that no one had lived here for a while. On the table, in the hallway, rested a small box of groceries. A label on the side bore the logo of a canal boat and the words, Falkirk Holiday Homes. Baldy shoved me past the table and upstairs. At the top of the staircase he directed me to a room at the front of the house.

  I was so scared I almost couldn’t breathe, but I wasn’t going into the room without some show of resistance. I stood in the doorway, feet astride. ‘Who are you? What do you want?’

  ‘All in good time,’ Baldy pushed me and I almost fell over. I spun round on instinct, ready to disarm him but my reactions were a fraction too slow. The door slammed shut in my face. The key turned in the lock. Footsteps sounded down the creaky stairs. There was a muffled conversation in the hallway and then the front door banged shut. I crossed over to the window and watched Baldy and the driver climb into the car. I just had time to note the number plate, and commit it to my photographic memory, before the car drove away. I leaned on the windowsill and watched until it had gone. At first I was too stunned to move. Who had done this to me? And more importantly why? I was outraged, but at the same time I couldn’t help being impressed at the efficiency and smooth execution of the kidnapping. Someone obviously knew about my travel plans. Who though? The only people that knew about my trip by bus to Edinburgh were my friends at Waterside. And Nardo.

  The thought was as welcome as a rat in a sweet shop. When I’d texted Nardo to confirm our rendezvous he’d asked where I was coming from. Without thinking I’d given him the details of my bus and train trip. But why would Nardo arrange to have me kidnapped at gunpoint? It didn’t make sense. Not to me, but what about Amara? Did she know what was going on? Fear squeezed my insides until I felt like I was suffocating. I needed air. I tried to open the window, but it was locked. I would have cheerfully broken it but, apart from a neatly made bed and an empty wardrobe, there was nothing in the room to break it with. I was on the verge of hyperventilating.

  In times of crisis what’s the golden rule?

  The dark-haired woman appeared in my mind.

  ‘Stay calm,’ I choked back.

  Her eyes flicked to mine and she smiled her approval. When her image died I was left with renewed courage. I could and would escape.

  Thirteen

  I perched on the end of the bed while I considered what to do next. Things weren’t looking great. I was a prisoner. I had no idea where I was, or who was holding me. Worse still, I didn’t know what my kidnappers wanted with me. For a while I explored my earlier theory that Nardo had kidnapped me, but the more I thought about it the more unlikely it seemed. What would be the point? He could have been trying to scare me but that seemed unlikely. His texts had been friendly, and he sounded relieved to hear from me. I’d agreed to meet him, so why would he go to the bother of stealing me away? No, Nardo wasn’t responsible for my current predicament. But he did have answers about my previous life. It was essential that I kept our rendezvous.

  Breaking in to places was my speciality. I’d proved that yesterday when I’d broken into the Margaret Becker building. By that reckoning, if I could break in to a building then I must be capable of breaking out again. I jumped off the bed and was at the door in a few strides. I was so fired up that I was practically burning. I forced myself to stay calm while I reached out with my mind and asked it to grasp the lock. It was a standard tubular latch, nickel plated, and freshly oiled. It slid back with ease. The bedroom, like the rest of the house, had a musty, unlived feel about it. The front door had stuck in the frame. I should have thought to question why the lock was so well maintained, but I didn’t. Flushed with my success, I stood on the landing and did a mental dance of victory. Then I hopped down the stairs, taking them two at a time. In the hall I forced open the front door and ran outside into the sunshine.

  Baldy and the driver were waiting for me. The driver raised his eyebrows and Baldy nodded. His grin was so wide that it almost severed his face. My escape had been a set-up! I could have stamped my feet in frustration. I needed every ounce of self-control I possessed, to stand tall and face my kidnappers with dignity.

  ‘We’d heard that you were special.’ The driver could hardly contain his excitement. ‘Holly’s a good girl. I knew she wasn’t exaggerating.’

  Holly had betrayed me. She hated me because I was different and my weirdness frightened her. I’d got her into trouble at the hospital. But to get me kidnapped was pretty extreme. Most girls Holly’s age would have stuck to bullying me.

  ‘I can see you’re confused. Let’s go back to your room for a wee chat.’

  I didn’t move. Should I make a run for it? There was no sign of the gun and I was fit, from all the exercise I’d been doing. I could easily outrun Baldy and his paunchy friend. Baldy watched me closely. Suddenly he lunged and grabbed my arm. He twisted it behind my back. I bit my lip rather than give him the satisfaction of crying out in pain.

  ‘Upstairs,’ he hissed.

  His breath reeked of onions and stale tobacco. I did as I was told, mutinously dragging my feet as I walked up the stairs. My heart sank as I entered the bedroom again. I’d only just escaped from here. Why hadn’t I been more cautious? It was a stupid mistake to underestimate my enemies. Baldy forced me to sit on the bed. He and the driver towered over me. It was an old interrogation tactic. Make the captive feel small. I mentally made myself bigger and refused to be cowed.

  ‘Introductions first,’ the driver held out his nicotine-stained hand. ‘I’m Robert Jenkins.’

  Jenkins. Where had I heard that name before? Then I got it. ‘You’re Holly’s father.’ There was a strong family resemblance.

  ‘Smart lass! This is my brother, Johnny Jenkins.’ Johnny held out his hand but I kept mine firmly in my lap. He sniggered. Robert shrugged as if shaking hands with them made no difference either way.

  ‘And you are?’

  ‘Amber.’ He must already know that.

  ‘Amber who?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Oh, come on. Let’s drop the pretence. What’s your full name, lass?’

  ‘I don’t know my full name. So, for now, it’s Amber, and I’m not your lass,’ I snapped back.

  Robert and Johnny exchanged a look of surprise.

  ‘You really don’t know who you are? How very interesting!’ Robert walked to the window. He turned with a deliberate slowness, and then leaned against the sill so that he was looking straight at me. Sunlight illuminated his profile, silvering the grey flecks in his hair. His face was partially shadowed and it softened his wrinkles and made him look younger. He must have been handsome once, if Holly was anything to go by.

  ‘I don’t understand why no one has missed you. You’re very special. Or have you learned to keep your uniqueness a secret, to fit in? It must be awful to be the freak.’

  He sounded as if he was talking to himself. Just as well because I had no intention of answering any questions. The silence played out until at last he pushed himself upright and took a step closer. ‘Let me tell you something about my position. I’m an accountant. Financially I’m comfortable. I’ve made extra money by taking a creative approach with those of my clients who aren’t shy about breaking rules. Over the years, we’ve done some good deals. Very good! It’s been easy money. I’ve brought you here because I want to offer you a slice of something similar. Call it the chance of a lifetime. With your talents and our business acumen,’ a nod at Johnny showed the ‘our’ included him too, ‘we’d make a formidable team. There’d be no stopping us. I’m not talking creative accounting now. I’m thinking much bigger, a good, old-fashioned heist with an extrasensory twist. Just think, your telekinetic skills combined with our business expertise – we could have riches beyond our dreams.’

 
‘Except that I already have riches beyond your dreams.’ The words came from nowhere. They were as much of a surprise to me as they were to Robert and Johnny. I shut my mouth. I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about and I was filled with unease. Something told me I’d just let slip not just any old secret, but one of major importance.

  ‘Is that so?’ Excitement and triumph blazed from Robert’s eyes. He spoke slowly, emphasising his words. ‘Then, when you do finally remember your name, you’ll also remember who will want to share those riches with us to ensure your safe return.’

  The silence that followed was suffocating.

  ‘Sleep on it,’ he added.

  He left the room abruptly. Johnny followed and their heavy footsteps receded down the stairs. The front door grunted open and then shut and I heard footsteps on the drive as they left together. There was no point locking me in, but to leave me here unguarded – was it another trap?

  I went to the window and watched Robert and Johnny stride round the side of the house. They’d come on foot, which explained why I hadn’t heard the car return. It also meant they hadn’t come far. I shot out of the room and ran into the one opposite. It was another bedroom and the window looked out onto a long, overgrown garden. Tucked away in the bottom corner was a blue sun house. Robert and Johnny crossed the lawn and, walking quickly, they entered the building. I watched for a little while longer, but there was nothing more to see. Deep in thought I returned to the original bedroom and began to search it. I had no idea what I was looking for, but instinct told me that I’d missed something important.

  The cream-coloured room was unremarkable. It was furnished with a single bed, a pine wardrobe, a dressing table and a chair. The lamp base on the dressing table was also made of pine and the shade was made of a green synthetic fabric. There was another light fixed to the ceiling, a wavy, brushed pewter bar with three equally spaced LED spotlights fixed to it. My heart did a double beat. It wasn’t an ordinary light fitting. I flopped down on the bed and studied it furtively, through my eyelashes. It was just as I thought. The middle spotlight was split in two: one side was a light and the other the sort of camera that records moving images. So that was why Robert and Johnny had left me unguarded. They were sneakily viewing my every move from their little hut in the garden. I was almost as annoyed about the invasion of my privacy as I was about the kidnap. It was tempting to disable the camera, in the same way that I’d silenced the alarm in the Margaret Becker building, but something was telling me not to act in haste. I lay on the bed while I worked out an escape plan. At last I had it. It was incredibly simple, as the best plans are.

  Robert and Johnny might think I was still resting but my feet were carefully easing off my shoes and socks. Once I was barefooted I didn’t move again for ages.

  The next phase was to create a diversion. I sat up and yawned as I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I walked to the window where I made a show of feeling round the wooden frame and tapping at the glass. It took great control not to glance at the camera as I continued my examination. Meanwhile, my mind was busy moving my socks along the floor. When they reached the door my mind lifted them up until they were touching the ceiling. I needed to see the light fitting for the next part of my plan. I continued to tap at the window but turned my head until I could see the socks from the corner of my eye. I hoped Robert and Johnny were still enjoying my antics. While they were watching me, my mind was busy guiding an incoming pair of stripy socks towards the hidden camera. Any second now and they’d be landing.

  The instant my mind released the socks, effectively blacking out the camera, I grabbed my shoes and ran. I sped down the stairs, jumping the last few, and landed halfway up the hall. As I burst out of the front door I was met with a wall of warm air, heavy with the scent of pollen.

  It took half a second to acclimatise to the heat and another half to assess the best route of escape. The driveway was clearly the quickest way, but it was very exposed. A dense jungle of bushes and trees lay to the side of the house. It offered brilliant cover but would be harder to navigate and I wasn’t sure where it would take me. My brain processed the options. To use the drive would be suicide. I might as well hand myself straight over to Robert and Johnny now. Decision made, I ran towards the trees. The stony ground bit into my bare feet. After a few painful steps I stopped to pull on my shoes. Then I was off again, plunging deeper into the vegetation. The further I went the more confident I became that I’d escaped. The relief was like water bursting through a dam. But over-confidence is as good as a tripwire. As I ran from one tree to another, hands grabbed me from behind.

  Instinct, and the personal survival training I didn’t remember taking, kicked in. I leaned back into the unknown person’s arms, lifted my right foot and stamped it down on the top of my attacker’s foot. He grunted in pain. I stuck out my behind and used my body weight to flip him over my head. There was a satisfying thud as he hit the ground. As I went to jump over his prostrate body a small voice called out, ‘Amber.’

  ‘Dan! Bloody hell. What are you doing here? Are you hurt?’

  ‘Winded,’ he gasped. ‘I saw you get snatched. I followed you in the car.’

  Dan gratefully took the hand I offered to help him up. Back on his feet, his grip tightened and he pulled me towards him. The world, along with my heartbeat, stopped. My face burned and I half-closed my eyes, my lips moving soundlessly as they came towards Dan’s.

  ‘Run!’ Dan’s mouth was so close to my ear that his cry nearly burst my eardrum. As the bushes rustled and began to part I realised I was an idiot. Dan hadn’t been going to kiss me at all.

  ‘She’s over here!’ yelled Johnny. His clothes were covered with twigs and leaves, and his breath came in short gasps.

  Embarrassment burned my cheeks. Dan still had hold of my hand and he pulled me so hard that my arm nearly came out of its socket. I stood my ground and refused to run with him. Johnny had something of mine. I wasn’t going until I’d got it back.

  ‘Amber, run.’

  ‘Hold on.’ My eyes flicked over Johnny’s clothes as they scanned for pockets. He had three, one on his shirt and two in his jeans. My freaky habits didn’t include seeing through things. I could only hope that the bulging pocket on Johnny’s right thigh was the one that contained my phone and purse. I created a picture of them both in my head as I reached out with my mind. Dan was still pulling at my arm.

  Lift up.

  There was a soft tugging sensation as my mind split in two; then the funny grappling feeling as it sought to grip the unseen objects. It was one of the hardest lifts I’d tried. My head spun, but I forced myself to remain focused. At last Johnny’s pocket began to ripple. Excitement filled me but I kept my cool and concentrated on extricating my purse and phone.

  Faster.

  At first Johnny’s attention was all on me and he didn’t notice what was happening. Dan tightened his grip on my hand, but he stopped pulling me. His eyes widened as a purse and a phone winged their way towards us. With my free hand I reached out and plucked them from the air. As I tucked them safely in my own pocket I saw the colour had drained from Dan’s face. He opened and closed his mouth, but the words stayed trapped inside. I yanked at his hand.

  ‘Run.’

  I set off at speed. Johnny charged after me. He lunged and grabbed at my hair. I winced in pain as he ripped a handful from my head. Brambles scratched my legs and long-fingered branches clawed at my clothes. I battled on, towing Dan with me through the undergrowth.

  ‘This way.’ Dan suddenly pulled me sideways.

  We crashed through some bushes and came out on the drive. We ran across it, dodging the potholes. There was a flash of blue through the trees.

  ‘That’s my car, over there,’ said Dan.

  He’d parked in a small clearing. ‘Get in.’ Dan pulled his keys from his pocket. One click of a button disabled the central locking. He shoved me in
through the driver’s door. As I scrambled over the gear stick he clambered in after me. I was out of breath and gasping like a fish on a riverbank. I collapsed into the passenger’s seat. Dan shut the door, locked it and started the engine.

  ‘Seat belt,’ he barked, as he whacked the car into reverse.

  My hands fumbled with the belt; then something banged on the window. I jumped as Johnny’s face appeared against the glass. Eyes wild, nostrils dilated, he hammered and kicked at the side of the car. Dan skidded out of the clearing and onto the drive. He swerved to avoid the dark saloon that came at us head on. Robert was at the wheel. He slowed and Johnny leapt inside. There was a smell of burning rubber as Robert performed a handbrake turn. Dust rose in clouds as the car screamed after us.

  Fourteen

  The driveway wasn’t designed for two cars but somehow Robert managed to pull his alongside us. He swerved violently to force us off the road and into the bushes. Dan’s jaw tightened. He hung on to the steering wheel and pressed his foot down hard on the accelerator. He hunched forward, as if that would make us go faster. There was a metallic shriek as the cars touched. Dan’s foot was flat on the floor, the two cars neck and neck, when Johnny drew his gun.

  Dan’s knuckles whitened. ‘Amber, down,’ he growled.

  I looked across at Johnny. He grinned back at me in an evil, cat’s-got-the-baby-birdie kind of way, but I was over my initial shock of seeing a real weapon and more ready to take chances. My mind flew to the handgun and gripped hold of it. Slowly, I forced the gun round until it was pointing at Johnny’s heart. His surprise was priceless. The colour leached from his face and his smile drained away. He recovered himself quickly though and fought against me, using both hands to swivel the gun back my way. He was very strong. It took everything I had to push the barrel back again.