His dad had babbled about his mum hitting him over the head with a vase before the ambulance crew had arrived and stoically remained silent while the crew asked him the relevant questions. The only thing he told them was that he’d slipped on the bathroom floor.
Connor did a quick house search, room by room. He was sure she wasn’t inside. He made his way out into the rear garden. The large shed at the bottom was locked, and she wasn’t seated on the decked section.
Why didn’t I just get out of the car? Instead of sitting there like some kind of loser while my mum hits my dad then runs off. I’m such a bloody coward.
A noise sounded from inside the house and turning he ran back inside.
‘Mum,’ he yelled loudly, ‘You here?’
He pushed open the kitchen door and made his way into the hall, then paused, his mouth dropping open slightly.
His mum stood before him, wearing only her nightie, and next to her stood a cop.
‘Mum,’ he said, making his way towards her. ‘Are you OK?’
‘Where’s my son? He’s a policeman you know. He’ll arrest you both for being in my house without permission.’ Her voice sounded shaky, scared even.
Connor walked until he was right in front of her, ‘Mum, it’s me, Connor. You remember me, right?’
Narrowing her eyes at him, she screamed in his face. ‘You’re not my boy, you’re not my boy…’ She reached out her hand and went to slap him, but the police officer beside her caught her wrist and stopped the motion.
Connor knew he must look desperate. I don’t even know what to do now. This is ridiculous.
‘Connor? I’m Harry Green, the sergeant off D-Relief. We’ve met briefly. Is there somewhere she’ll calm down?’
‘Yeah, sorry, the chair in the living room window. She loves sitting there. It might help.’
Sheila pulled back against both of them as they manoeuvred her to the chair and sat her down. She had tears streaking down her cheeks and her screams slowly dulled to hiccups as she sat.
Connor and Harry sat on the sofa behind her.
‘Must be hard. We found her wandering down near the shops. Said she was looking for Marie and that she hadn’t come back with the milk?’
‘Marie’s my sister. She’s twenty-five and lives away at uni. She hasn’t been back in a month. Mum has Alzheimer’s.’
‘Figured as much, my granddad had it. Could barely remember his name most of the time. Is there someone to take care of your mum or do you live with her?’
Connor looked up. ‘My dad takes care of her, but it turns out he slipped this morning in the bathroom. He’s at hospital getting checked over, I’ll stay with her until he gets out, don’t worry.’
‘OK, no problem. I just happened to be near the shops. The shop owner told me where your mum lived. There isn’t any job on or anything. Can I suggest, though, that you have a chat with the social? See if they can offer any support?’
‘Yeah, thanks, sarge. I’ll give them a call later when Dad gets back.’
‘OK, son. I’ll leave you to your day.’
As Harry stood to leave, Sheila turned around. ‘Connor, baby, I didn’t realise you were here. Go make your old mum a nice cup of tea will you?’
Connor walked over to his mum, planted a kiss on her head, and sighed before adding, ‘Course I will, Mum. Stay here.’
As he walked Harry to the door, he heard the sergeant’s radio come to life in a burst of static. ‘Yeah, go ahead LV,’ he said to the dispatcher as he gave a wave to Connor and made his way down the path.
Wear Street, Sunderland – 4 November
The van pulled up outside the house on Wear Street. Elvie looked out of the window and shuddered. It looked dilapidated, in need of repair, and just plain dirty. This was where they’d taken Nita? Elvie felt a sense of foreboding as the skinny man opened the door and roughly pulled her out.
The street was by no means busy, but a few people were milling about. Maybe someone will help me. Elvie opened her mouth to scream but gasped instead as she felt the tip of a knife dig into her ribs.
‘Scream and you die,’ hissed Gaz pushing her towards the front door.
The other man pushed open the door and led the way inside.
The same scrawny girl glanced up from her perch in the hallway.
‘Upstairs, second on right. Will send man up when he arrive.’
Her job done, she turned back to picking her nail varnish off with her teeth.
Gaz pushed Elvie up the stairs, pausing at the door on the left not the right.
‘Danny, take her in there,’ he said, nodding his head towards the right-hand side. ‘I’m going to go and pay a visit to my friend in here.’
Elvie watched as he opened the door wide. She saw Nita lying on the bed, her dress torn and ragged, and her friend gazed at her with glazed eyes, not recognising her.
‘Nita?’ she said, pulling Danny towards the door.
‘Trust me, sweetheart, you don’t wanna go in there.’ He pulled at her arm, trying to navigate towards the room where they were supposed to be waiting. But Elvie resisted. The man holding her didn’t scare her, not as much as the other one anyway.
Tugging hard, she entered the room.
She watched as Gaz undid his belt, and realising his intent, she cried out. ‘Noh!’ She pulled hard at Danny’s hand, imploring him to let her go and to help her friend. But he just hung his head in shame.
Elvie tugged again as Nita licked her lips, obviously knowing what was coming. Gaz pulled a needle from his pocket and stabbed it into Nita’s outstretched arm. Elvie saw the moment her friend floated off into another world and pulled at Danny’s arm again.
This time though he was firmer. He pulled her back and shoved her out of the room and into the one opposite.
‘You can’t help her, not now.’
‘Please,’ begged Elvie, pulling back towards the door, forgetting for a moment that she wasn’t supposed to know English. Belatedly, she remembered, and turned back towards Danny with wide eyes. He stood with his head cocked to one side.
‘You understand me, don’t you?’
Elvie paused. If she admitted it, he would no doubt tell on her and she’d end up in trouble. If she didn’t, he might turn nasty and beat her like the other man would.
‘It’s OK, I’m not going to hurt you.’
‘Yes, I speak little. Understand more.’
‘Then listen carefully. There’s a man coming here who wants to take you away. He’s an evil man. He wants to make you his wife and will hurt you. He wants a virgin. Do you know what that is?’
Elvie nodded, fear gnawing at her stomach.
‘Unless you want him to take you home and rape you, then continue to do that for many years then you need to do something. When the man comes in, you need to look like you’re not a virgin. Do you know how you can do that?’
Elvie shook her head, tears pricking her eyes.
‘I don’t want you to get hurt. I won’t hurt you I promise. But if you kiss me when he comes in, then he might leave without you. I’ll take you back to the big house then. I promise I won’t hurt you. I want to help you, but this is the only way I can think to do that. Understand?’
Elvie nodded slowly. I don’t want to kiss him. What if he wants more? Like the other one would? But what if he’s right? She argued with herself until suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming up the wooden staircase outside.
‘Well?’ asked Danny, moving closer to her.
Elvie nodded almost imperceptibly and had to stop herself backing away as his lips met hers. He was gentle, and as the door opened, he whispered against her mouth, ‘Look like you’re enjoying it.’ He pulled the zip on the back of her dress down and slipped one sleeve further down her arm, stopping to protect her modesty.
Nervously, Elvie put her arms around his neck and pushed her body into his, deepening the kiss. It wasn’t like this was her first kiss. Before Noni had died, she’d been getting friendly with a boy from h
er village. She was shaking as Danny moved his hand down and cupped her behind, bunching the bottom of her dress upwards, whispering ‘sorry,’ as he lifted her slightly. She was close to panic as the footsteps finally entered the room.
‘What the fuck?’ snarled the man, entering the room and grabbing Danny’s arm, yanking him away from Elvie. She gasped as the man pulled his fist round and connected with Danny’s jaw. As Danny stumbled, she grabbed his arm and held on tightly.
Danny stood and put his arm round her protectively, glaring at the other man. ‘You’re too late; I’ve already had her twice today. Sorry, bud. Couldn’t resist this sweet piece of arse.’ He squeezed her behind, pulling her even closer to him, and she leant in, knowing how important it was that the other man believe she was no longer a virgin.
Elvie slid her hand across his chest. ‘You want that I go with him now? I please him too?’
She watched out of lidded eyes as the other man wrinkled his nose in disgust, turning and slamming the door with such force that it reverberated around the whole house.
Danny stepped away from her, and she knew instantly he meant what he had said, he had no intention of hurting her. She was just about to speak, when the door flung open and Gaz entered, fastening his belt as he walked in.
‘What the holy fuck? How come he didn’t want her?’
Elvie saw him look at the strap of her dress hanging off her shoulder and watched his eyes bulge as he realised what he was sure had happened.
‘Jesus, Danny. You must have a death wish. Boss lady’s gunna kick your arse from here to kingdom come. What was she like though? Bet she was as tight as a duck’s arse? Maybe later I’ll dip my wick, huh?’
‘Don’t think so, Gaz. This one’s mine. I’ll deal with the old bat when we get back to the house.’
Danny took hold of Elvie’s hand and led her from the room. Pausing outside the door behind which her friend was, she pulled him to a stop, begging him silently to let her see her friend.
He nodded, and Elvie pushed open the door.
Nita lay on the bed; in the same position she’d been before. Her dress had been disturbed, but otherwise she looked like she was sleeping. Elvie knelt beside her and saw the prick of blood on her arm, next to the few dots that were dried and crusting. She frowned as she realised her friend had been injected several times. Gently, Elvie placed a hand on her friend’s face. Nita didn’t stir, she was deep asleep.
‘Come on, time to go,’ said Danny, pulling her to her feet.
Elvie knew she couldn’t fight, not right now. She would plan her escape then come back for her friend. She allowed Danny to lead her out to the van.
Chapter Seven
Sunderland City Police HQ – 4 November
A li glared at the computer screen in front of him. Sometimes days just sucked, and this was one of those days. It had started when he arrived at work to a note on his desk from the chief superintendent requesting his attendance at a meeting at 10 a.m. – a meeting he had just got out of and was still reeling from.
He’d been brought into the force as a secondment almost a year ago and had initially been based out of Newcastle. Then changes had been brought forth due to budget cuts and what not, and he had been transferred to Sunderland to provide cover. The chief super had disclosed that morning that the force may not be able to justify him being in position and were considering terminating his secondment and sending him back to Police Scotland.
To say he was fuming was an understatement. He’d uprooted his whole life to move down to the north-east of England, on the proviso that the secondment would be two years in length and may lead to permanent employment. It had been somewhat easier because his brother Alex was living in Sunderland, but it had still been a hell of a decision to make, leaving his home in Edinburgh and relocating, renting out his flat, leaving his family behind. Ali was the second oldest of eight siblings, Alex being the oldest. It had been hard to walk away, even knowing they were only a few hours over the border.
He’d really only just started settling in, had decorated the flat he rented and was just becoming comfortable with the people he worked with. To be told ‘thanks for your service but you’re not needed’ was a kick in the teeth. He wondered if it had to do with the prisoner that had escaped. Deep down he knew it hadn’t been his fault. The offender hadn’t even been in police custody at the time, but he knew people blamed him. If he was honest with himself, even knowing he couldn’t have stopped what happened, he still blamed himself. Setting his chin in determination, he resolved to speak with the Federation rep later.
After the meeting he’d returned to his desk to find the system offline, meaning he couldn’t update HOLMES on the latest spate running through Sunderland. People were doing those stupid NekNomination contests: drinking a lot of alcohol in one go then tagging a friend via social media to continue the trend. So far he’d dealt with one death from the contest and a couple of very near misses where the persons concerned had been assaulted and robbed in the street without being able to remember a thing. It was a ridiculous trend; one he hoped would peter out soon.
With a sigh, he pushed the file to one side and reached for the next on the pile to his left. Opening it, he realised it was the Grant Cooper case. There wasn’t much to do on that one: the post-mortem had ruled accidental death by drowning. The family already had the body back and were arranging the funeral. He was lucky really as the Coroner’s Office had dealt with pretty much everything and was speedy on providing him with updates. It all just needed finishing off on the system, then the file could be archived.
Ali felt grit in his eyes and tried to remember when he’d last had a good night’s sleep. It felt like it had been ages. He was well overdue some annual leave. With everything going on, it could be the perfect time to head home for some relaxation. The thought of a week of being pampered by his mum was appealing. She loved it when he or Alex went home: the house became filled with smells of baking, and the cups of coffee were endless. He knew if he went home now, the family would all rally round for tea and his mum would cook a huge roast. His mouth salivated at the thought of a full dinner with all the trimmings.
‘Hey, bro,’ greeted Alex suddenly, pulling Ali from his daydream.
‘Hey,’ he replied. ‘Sorry, I was away with the fairies.’
‘No problem. You OK? You look tired?’
‘Not been sleeping great. It’ll ease off. Just been hauled in by the boss. Apparently, there’s a chance my secondment will end shortly as the force are running low on the funds with which to pay me.’
‘You’re kidding? They can’t do that, can they? You signed a two-year contract, right?’
‘Yeah. I’m gunna speak to the Fed later and see what they advise, just in case. You up for a drink tonight?’
‘I can’t, bro, I’m on backs tonight down in Durham. They’re short in the south, so the super asked if I wouldn’t mind working. Another time though. Anyway, that’s kinda what am here for, bro. Would you mind covering my shifts over the weekend? Thought Cass, Izzy and I might nip up and see Mum and co. We’ve not been up in months.’
Ali resisted sighing out loud or pointing out that he hadn’t been home in ages either. ‘No problem. It’s just the two back shifts you mean?’
Alex nodded. ‘Thanks, bro, right I’m gunna head off. Gym now then kip before my shift tonight with any luck. I’ll give Mum a hug from you.’
Ali watched as Alex walked out of the office. His stride was always confident. Ali compared it unfavourably to his own gait. His mum always said he walked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. And he wouldn’t lie; sometimes it felt that way, too.
He reached for the coffee at his side and took a slurp, then grimaced as the lukewarm liquid coated his mouth. Definitely need a caffeine hit today. He stood up, made his way to the kitchen and poured another. The files would still be there in five minutes.
Outskirts of Hetton-le-Hole – 4 November
Elvie felt tears prick
her eyes. The woman who had been in her room the day before was screaming at Danny. She cringed as the woman’s palm had hit his face with a loud slap, and now she cowered as the woman turned towards her.
Yolanda Bamba was not a nice lady. She had been in the human trafficking trade for many years, learning her craft and becoming one of the most trusted in the organisation she worked for. Elvie didn’t know, but Yolanda herself had been trafficked in when she was a young girl. From the start, she’d had the forethought and gumption to be nice to the right people and had managed to manipulate her way up the chain of command. Her actions had afforded her luxuries such as the large, detached house and the brand-new BMW that sat on the driveway; and her temper ensured she didn’t lose any of it.
Elvie put her hand up to block Yolanda’s slap and knew instantly that this was a mistake. Danny had already been ordered out of the room, the other driver dragging him by the arm as Yolanda had approached Elvie. The young girl stared into the eyes of the older woman, and knew whatever happened next, it was going to hurt.
She pulled herself tighter into a ball on the bed, hoping that the smaller she was, the less area Yolanda would hurt.
It didn’t work.
Elvie cried out as Yolanda grabbed her hair and pulled her from the bed with a jolt. She felt her knees buckle and collapse slightly, causing the woman’s hold to pull at her hair even harder. Her scalp felt as though it was burning, and she felt tears in her eyes. When the pressure released suddenly, Elvie glanced up, unwittingly giving the woman the perfect opportunity from which to strike. The impact of the fist to her cheek was enough to knock Elvie sideways, sending her crashing side-first into the bedside cabinet. Pain burst into life across her chest and she gasped, trying to inhale, but it felt like she’d been stabbed to her core. The impact had broken at least one of her ribs.
The woman grabbed her hair again and pulled Elvie’s face closer to her own. ‘You lost me big money. I will send you back to house. You will work this debt off by laying on your back. You good enough for driver man then you good enough for other men. Especially those who like to hurt, yes?’
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