by Tee Smith
All that time she had walked down that road and worried about that van. She had tried to tell herself she was just paranoid for weeks, months even. She had nightmares about that van. In her nightmares, she had seen different faces. Sometimes Frank, sometimes Mr Hall from next door. Once it had been Mr Arnold and even Xavier had featured in her nightmares about that damned van. Mostly it had been creepy old Frank. Was it Frank who took her? There was something familiar about him, but in her panic and confusion, she could hardly be sure. All she was sure about was that she wanted out of this dingy little room, she wanted to go home. She was hurt, tired and cold. She wanted Xavier. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was, to take back every hurtful thing she had said.
Laying down on the edge of the bed, she pulled the small blanket over herself, her body quivered as she struggled to keep her tears at bay. Maybe if she slept time would pass faster. The faster time passed the sooner someone would come for her. Try as she might, sleep wouldn't come, only tears. The light above screamed at her. It had to be late into the night, maybe early morning. There really was no way of knowing, she had no idea what had happened to her phone and her purse. Obviously, he was not going to let her have those. She was going to lose her mind.
Chapter 22
DARKNESS DESCENDED ONCE MORE. ASHA knew this meant her captor was coming back into the room. Within seconds, he heard the deadbolt unlatch and the sounds of heavy footsteps walking toward where she lay on the bed. As he approached her in the darkness she pulled herself as far away from him as she could.
Slowly her eyes adjusted to the dark. This was the first chance she had to see her kidnapper. He was average height for a man, a few inches taller than her five foot seven, she guessed around five foot nine or ten, and he was broad and muscular. Dressed in dark clothing, there was little more she could make out. Over his head, he wore a dark coloured mask, which obscured his face and eyes, it appeared there was some dark mesh covering his eyes, as he appeared to see her. He said nothing as moved closer to her. Was he trying to scare her? It was working. He seemed to sniff her, then pulled back and left the room again. What was going on?
The light came back on as soon as he left the room. She had no idea if it was day or night. The only time the lights went off was when mystery man came into the room. Mostly he would open the door and slip food in. Often it was just buttered toast and a bottle of water. She marked the days by the frequency of the buckets of warm water. He had said she could have one a day, this was the third. What did that make it Monday? Surely Monday, someone would know she was missing now wouldn't they? It couldn't be long before she was rescued.
***
According to her calculations, several long days had passed and still no one had come for her. She felt disgusting, still in the clothes she had dressed in for work on Friday morning. At least he took her toilet bucket away and changed it. What she wouldn't give to use a real toilet. Using a bucket was gross. She remembered camping when she was young, with her dad and Patrick and the boys teasing her about not wanting to go behind a tree. It was okay for them, they did not have to squat.
Trying to squat over a bucket, then being stuck in the same room with her own stench for hours was inhumane. Even after he took the bucket away, it still smelt, as there was zero ventilation in this room. She was terribly dehydrated, which didn’t help. She was only getting one small bottle of water each day.
If no one came soon, what would become of her? Another day, she decided, one more day and she would make an attempt to escape. She had tried the door several times and banged on the walls. She had tried screaming at the top of her lungs to alert someone’s attention. Nothing. She knew she could be anywhere, she did not even know if she was still in the city. At least he hadn't raped her, in fact, other than the creepy camera thing, he had done nothing to make her think he might sexually assault her in any way.
No one came for her, there was no food that day either. She was positive the day and night had passed, but how could she know for sure? The minutes felt like hours and hours felt like months.
Asha thought she would surely go mad if she stayed much longer. She paced around the tiny room, thinking, there had to be a way out. Time to put on her big girl panties and quit waiting on her knight in shining armour. She had ever been 'that girl' in her life, so why was she expecting it now? It seemed clear to her now, that no one was coming for her, it was time to save herself.
That night, she lay awake, devising a plan. She would wait for him to come to her. When she heard him unlocking the door, she would wait right next to it, she always got plenty of warning, that he was coming as he always put the lights out first. As he stepped through the door, she would put an inverted bucket over his head, kick him in the balls and make for the door. Hopefully, she could slam it shut, while he was still in shock.
What if she got out of that room and was still locked in? What if there was someone else standing guard? What if......No, she would have to work that out when she got there. What ifs, would keep her trapped, waiting for rescue forever. She had to do this, it might not be the smartest escape plan, but it was the best one she had.
***
It was not long until the chance to put her plan into action came to fruition. She decided to wait until the lights went out to empty yesterday’s bucket of water onto the floor, then hopefully he might slip and injure himself as he walked in.
The locks jiggled and Asha's heart beat so loud, she was sure he could hear it from the other side of the door. A heavy thud, it sounded as if he needed to give the door a shove with his shoulder to open it, she hoped like hell it would not be too difficult to shut behind her. At any rate, if it opened into an open area, she would run for her life.
“Please let this work,” she sent up a quick prayer to whoever might hear her.
Suddenly the door swung in. Asha swung into action, she tipped the water at the monsters feet, then threw the bucket over his masked head. A moment of confusion and yelling ensued as she brought her foot up to connect with his manly parts.
Before she knew what had happened she was laying flat on her back and the monster lay on top of her, with all his weight, the bucket was gone, but the mask was still in place. Unfortunately, it did not help disguise his breath. It had all happened so fast she was unsure how she had ended up here. Looking over, she could see the door was still ajar and she yelled with all her might.
“Help, somebody, help,” hoping someone might hear her, a passer-by maybe. “Anyone.”
Whack! Her ears rang as she felt the sting of his hand. He had hit her across the face again. He seemed to enjoy doing that. Asha was not ready to give in, she knew this may be her only chance. She struggled to worm her way from under him. He was heavier than she would have thought. One foot gained traction with the floor and she managed to squeeze a leg free, so she kicked down hard, with the heel of her foot into the back of his calf, eliciting a cry of pain. Good. It distracted him for a moment and he loosened his grip on her so she tried to roll out from under him. The man in the mask lifted some of his weight from her chest and Asha thought he would free her body, but she was wrong. Before she had a chance to move he had both her shoulders in his grip. He lifted them from the floor, then without warning he slammed her back into the floor.
A thudding pain radiated through her head and into her neck but she could feel him lifting her from the floor again. She knew what was going to happen, but was powerless to stop him. A scream slipped past her lips and again he smashed her head into the concrete floor. Everything went black.
Chapter 23
Xavier
MONDAYS WERE ALWAYS QUIET IN the club. Xavier wandered in and out from the cellar, restocking the bar for the week ahead. His bartender Sally was serving a couple of older men who came in each Monday after their bowls game. They always ordered a pint of mid-strength beer and spent an hour or so drinking it, while telling the same old stories.
Xavier was mulling over the fact he had not seen or heard anythin
g from Asha since Wednesday night. Polly had been in to see him on Friday morning, blowing him up. Telling him what an idiot he was to let her get away. It wasn't his doing, what was he meant to do? She wouldn't speak to him. He had called her phone, many times and it had gone to message bank. How long could she stay angry with him?
Admittedly he had been angry at first too. But once his temper had simmered down, he realised if it had of been Maddie, he would have stuck up for her too. It was kind of cute really, even if he did think her brother was a pompous, self-entitled ass. Patrick was her little brother and he knew Asha wanted to protect him.
He felt the silent treatment from Asha had gone on long enough, he would have to accept that Patrick was part of her life. If he wanted to be a part of it, and he did, he would have to learn to deal with Patrick. No one is perfect after all. Everyone came with baggage, isn't that what they say? She was worth it. From the moment she had walked up to the bar that first night with Joanie and Clare, he had known she was something special. He could not even say exactly what it was that grabbed his attention initially. Her long dark hair, her gorgeous full smile or was it the depths of her dark brown eyes. He loved her laugh, he loved the sound of her voice. He loved when she got all nervous and started with her “umming and ahhing,” it was all just so damned cute.
She would come around. He would intercept her on her walk home from work as he had done several times before. Whisk her away to that little cafe he took her to that first time when he picked her up on the side of the road. Asha had loved it there with the waves crashing on the beach. He would tell her how sorry he was for being and ass, and he would apologise again. Hell, he would apologise all night if it meant she would stop being angry with him.
Maybe she would finally relent and open up a little more to him. He was in love with her, he knew he was and he was sure she felt the same, but she was scared and he understood that. “Loving someone means you will eventually have to endure their loss and I can't face losing you,” those were her exact words. Asha faced loss every day. He could never understand the depth of her compassion. He knew he could never do the job she did.
He heard a throat clear and looked up over the bar. Patrick. He had not shaved for a few days and a beard had started to grow. Xavier wondered if that was to disguise the bruising he had inflicted. He felt a small twinge of guilt. But only for the hurt, he had caused Asha, not Patrick. He would do the same thing again in a heartbeat if he heard anyone speak to his woman that way.
“The fuck you doing here?” he huffed out.
“I want to know if you've seen Ash.”
“Not since last week why?” he inquired.
Patrick’s expression changed to one of surprise.
“Why, where is she? What’s going on Patrick?”
“Um ahh,” Patrick seemed lost for words. “I thought she had been with you all weekend. She hasn't answered her phone.” Patrick's face paled as if all the blood had rushed to his feet.
“What are you saying? When was the last time you've seen her?”
Patrick stood shaking his head.
“Tell me, Patrick, what’s going on?” Xavier knew his voice was sounding frantic, vulnerable even. But he could not help it. Patrick was just staring down at his hands, wringing his fingers.
“Shit man,” he finally managed. “I don't know what to do.”
It took all the strength Xavier could muster not to jump over the bar and shirt-front Patrick. Why was he being so mysterious? Xavier barely liked the man already and this was not winning him any further points.
“Tell me,” he managed to grind out through gritted teeth. “When was the last time you saw Asha?”
“Well,” Patrick let out a long exhale. “We had dinner together on Thursday night. Pizza, her favourite with the pumpkin and feta topping.” Why that was relevant Xavier was not sure. “Then we finished off Mrs D's banana loaf.”
“Okay get to the point.”
“I am,” Patrick moaned. “So as I was saying, we ate pizza and banana loaf and she was talking about her day. She said she felt really bad that you guys had argued the night before and she was going to come and see you on Friday night. I never saw her on Friday morning, when I woke up she had already gone to work.”
“She never came to see me...last time I saw her was on Wednesday, when she called me a cave-man and kicked me out of her office, told me she didn't want to see me anymore.”
“Neanderthal,” Patrick stated.
“Pardon?”
“Neanderthal...she called you a Neanderthal, not a cave-man.”
“Same thing,” he mumbled.
“Well technically...”
“Whatever Patrick, where the hell is Asha, have you called her work?”
Patrick stood up straighter, regaining his composure. “That’s why I came here. Gemma came to the house during her lunch break looking for Asha. She said she had called her mobile several times with no answer so she came to see if she was ok, knowing it was not like Ash to just not turn up to work.”
Xavier felt a wave of nausea swirl around the pit of his stomach.
“So she was at work on Friday, yes?”
“Yes and as far as any of us can tell, that’s the last time anyone has seen her. I just figured she was with you all weekend, as she said she was coming to see you. I thought you guys were...well y'know, making up,” Patrick's face pinched in disgust. “I don't really like to think too much about what my sister might be getting up to with her boyfriend.”
“Okay, okay, we have to deal with this.” his head was spinning but he knew what he had to do. Management was what he knew best. “Sally I have to go. Close up for me tonight will you? Just chuck the whole till in the safe and close the door, I'll deal with it tomorrow.”
“Sure thing boss,” Sally called after him. His keys were in his hand and he was already charging for the door.
“Come on Patrick, we have to go to the police, we have to report her missing.”
***
At the police station, Xavier and Patrick filed a report. Patrick gave the police a recent photo he had taken on his phone of Asha the last night they had gone out together. They were both questioned at length as to where and when she was last seen.
Xavier explained over and over to the police about Asha's experiences with the black van. He could not give too many details, he had not thought of it as being a real problem when Asha had told him. Obviously, it had scared her, but he didn't think for even one minute that something like this could possibly happen. Maybe it was his fault. Should he have paid more attention to her concerns? Could he have stopped this from happening?
They were several hours with the police, answering their questions. Patrick was distraught and Xavier actually felt a little sorry for the younger man. It was like watching himself going through the exact same experience all over again.
When they left, they exchanged phone numbers with the promise to let each other know if either of them heard anything. Patrick was listed as next-of-kin, so if the police had any information they would, of course, contact him first. Xavier climbed on his bike and knew where he had to go.
It was only a little while later that he knocked on the front door of his parent’s home. Although he had grown up in this house, he did not live here anymore and did not feel right just walking in. His mother answered, wearing a nightgown and looking like she had just woken.
“Oh sorry mum, did I get you up?”
“No don't be silly son,” she huffed pulling him into the house and into her arms. It was just what he needed, he hugged her tighter than he had for many years. He had not told his parents what had happened yet, but as mothers do, she had sensed something was not right and just hugged him back. Gently running her hand up and down his back, soothing him.
“What’s wrong with you? Someone scratch your motorbike or something?” his dad grouched from the doorway.
Typical, his dad chose right now to be an asshole. “It's Asha,” he said, feeling a
sob catching in the back of his throat as he pulled away from the warmth of his mother's embrace. “She's gone missing. No one has seen her since Friday night.”
The colour drained from his mother's face, he knew how much she adored Asha, both as a nurse and more recently as his love interest.
His dad huffed and raised his brows. “Just like Maddie, bet that bloody Frank has something to do with it.”
“For goodness sake, Dad, are you ever going to let the thing with Frank go? They never did find any evidence to prove he had anything to do with Maddie's disappearance.”
His mother flinched beside him. They rarely spoke of the daughter who had vanished all those years ago. Xavier felt terrible, knowing full well that whatever had happened to Asha and god-forbid it was anything like what had happened to Maddie, it was bound to bring all those old demons to the surface. He was sure his parents still thought of his beautiful sister, even if they refused to speak about her. He knew he did, every day.
He wished she could have met Asha, he just knew they would have got along like sisters. He understood his parents found it easier if they did not talk about her. In the early days of her disappearance, they had talked about her a lot. The investigation had gone on for some eighteen months and his father was positive Frank was in some way involved.
Frank and his father had worked together as detectives. Xavier had long suspected his father had left his job as he felt he had failed by not finding Maddie and bringing her home to her family. It had destroyed him. It had destroyed all of them. His mum had been diagnosed with breast cancer the following year and he was convinced it was related to the stress of losing Maddie. His mum's cancer diagnosis had been his dad's excuse for giving up work, to care for his wife. But he didn't believe that was the main reason at all.
