by M A Comley
“Mighty suspicious reactions to me. You think she knows where she is?”
Sara peered over her shoulder at the open door. “Something is amiss.”
“Would it be worth putting her under surveillance?” Craig asked.
“You know what, I wouldn’t ordinarily, but there’s just something really off about the way she reacted to some of my questions that is twisting my gut. Let’s get back to the station and get things organised.”
“I don’t mind volunteering. It seems like she’ll be indisposed for a few hours around here.”
“I agree. Come on, let’s go.”
Sara led the way back through the stockroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Sasha ripping open one of the boxes with force, spilling the contents on the floor and kicking out at the box, which only added to Sara’s suspicions. Back in the shop, she thanked the woman who she’d first spoken to, and they made their way out to the car.
“I take it you noticed her reaction in the stockroom,” Craig said.
“I did. A tad over the top. The more I think about it, the more sceptical I’m becoming. We have Amber’s laptop, let’s hope that gives us an indication of what’s going on in her life, because let’s face it, none of her family, her boyfriend or best friend appear to know. Or should I say, are unwilling to tell us, in some cases.”
“That seems strange to me.”
“Yep, none of it adds up at all. Either Amber has got in with the wrong crowd or… to be honest, I can’t think of another scenario, especially after what we’ve just witnessed with Sasha.”
“I’m inclined to agree with you.”
Sara slipped into first gear and pulled out of the car park.
“Just thinking,” Craig began moments later.
“Go on, it’s good to bounce ideas around. What’s on your mind?”
“We should be trying to trace her phone. See what activity there was before she went missing.”
Sara pointed at him. “Excellent idea. I would have got around to suggesting the same thing soon enough. Make that your priority when we get back.”
“Will do. Hopefully that will give us a direction to go in at least.”
“The boyfriend and parents said they’d rung the number and it had gone into voicemail so it must still be active, yes?”
“Definitely. It’s all too weird, isn’t it?”
“Yep, taxing my wee brain cells, that’s for sure. Hopefully things will start to make sense for us soon.”
They reached the station and joined the rest of the team. After checking how Carla was and being told not to cluck like a mother hen by her partner, Sara brought the team up to date with what they’d discovered in the few hours out in the field.
“Are you telling me you think the best friend knows what’s going on?” Carla tapped her pen on her cheek.
“It would seem that way. Craig suggested putting Sasha under surveillance, which I agree is the way to go. If only to satisfy our curiosity about her reaction to the news.”
“I’ll get on with obtaining Amber’s phone records, see what that highlights, if anything,” Craig announced.
“You do that. I’m going to get a press conference organised. Since speaking with Sasha, I have a bad feeling about this case. We need to get on top of it soon before it’s too late for Amber and something bad happens to her.”
“What do you want the rest of us to do?” Carla asked.
“We’ve already got a recent bank statement, courtesy of her parents, so there’s no need to look at her financial background. Organising the surveillance team and possibly another team to go to her place of work, Boots, to interview her colleagues. Yes, I think we should do that ASAP. I’ll leave you to deal with that, Carla. In the meantime, I’ll get on to the press officer.”
She dashed into her office and called Jane Donaldson. “Jane, sorry to trouble you, it’s Sara Ramsey.”
“Don’t tell me, you need me to gather the press for an urgent conference. How urgent?”
“You know me too well. Any chance we can get it sorted for today? How are you fixed?”
“I have one already actioned for today, what I’ll try to do is combine the two, if that’s all right with you?”
“That would be brilliant. I can’t thank you enough for this. We’ve got a missing teenager and the quicker we can get the word out, the better.”
“Consider it done. Let me dot the i’s and cross the t’s and get back to you with a time.”
“Amazeballs. Thanks, Jane, I knew I could rely on you.”
“Pleasure as always. I’ll be in touch soon, give me twenty minutes.”
Sara ended the call and tried to break the back of her post while she waited.
A little while later, Jane confirmed the details as promised and told her she’d managed to slot her in after the other conference, which was scheduled to take place at three, with a five-minute interval in between. Sara was relieved to hear that. The sooner the word got out, the more likely they were to trace Amber.
She completed her morning chore, jotted down a few notes she wanted to use for the conference, then rejoined the team.
Her colleagues were all busy, heads down, doing her proud. She stopped by Carla’s desk and asked the obligatory question.
Carla rolled her eyes. “Ask me if I’m all right one more time and I’ll…”
Sara raised an eyebrow. “You’ll do what? Bearing in mind I’m your superior officer.”
“I know, but I also told you I didn’t want you to make a fuss.”
Sara held her hands up and backed away. “Can I buy you a coffee or would that be deemed as ‘making a fuss’?”
Carla nodded. “A coffee would be a welcome distraction, thank you. You need a hand?”
“I’m buying them for everyone, so yes, thanks.”
Sara bought the drinks while Carla distributed them.
Collecting her cup from Carla’s desk, she announced that the press conference had been confirmed. “Okay, we need to organise a surveillance team to follow Sasha, any volunteers?”
Carla’s hand was the first to shoot up in the air. “I’m going stir crazy around here already. I’d love the chance to do it.”
“I’ll tag along with Carla,” Will volunteered.
Carla smiled at her partner and nodded. “Sounds a good idea to me.”
“Hmm… are you sure you’re up to it?”
“Definitely. Go on, boss. We’ll only be following her, not getting into any altercations.”
“All right then, if you’re sure. Why don’t you set off now?”
“Umm… one major question,” Will started, “how are we going to know what she looks like?”
“Leave that to me. It’s Sasha Minnow, right?” Carla tapped at her phone and showed an image of the young woman to Will. “Say hello to Sasha Minnow, courtesy of social media.”
“Smartarse,” Will mumbled.
Carla grinned.
Sara observed her partner, pleased that she appeared to be feeling much better after her ordeal.
“Come on then, time’s getting on, Will.” Carla got to her feet and hitched on her jacket. They left the incident room a few seconds later.
“She seems back to normal already,” Craig observed.
“You can’t keep a good woman down for long, Craig, many a man has tried in the past but failed.” Sara chuckled. “Let’s get back to it. I’m really not counting on you finding much this early in the investigation, that’s why I took the decision to call the conference today instead of later on in the week. The sooner we get the word out there, the more chance we have of finding this young woman alive.”
The team agreed and immersed themselves in their work. Sara did the rounds to check on their progress, which was minimal, until she reached Craig. He was buzzing with excitement. “What have you got, Craig?”
“I’ve managed to locate Amber’s phone number, and her records have just come through.”
Sara pulled up a chair next
to him and studied the list with him. “Interesting, we’ve got a few consistent numbers here. I’m thinking they either belong to Greg or Sasha, possibly another close friend.”
“I agree, I’ll need to get their numbers to cross-check them. There’s a number here, a one-off which she rang on Friday of last week.”
Sara reached for the phone on the desk and dialled it. The number was dead. “Strange, nothing, no voicemail or anything, it just went dead. Let me try ringing Amber’s number, or did you already ring it?”
“No, I didn’t get the chance.”
Sara dialled Amber’s number, and it went into voicemail after several rings. “Well, that gives me hope the phone is still active.”
“Maybe she has it hidden, if someone has abducted her. We could possibly set up a trace on it, just in case she comes back online.”
“Good idea, I’ll leave that in your capable hands. I’ll be in my office, chasing up Forensics about the laptop. Give me a shout if you stumble across anything else.”
“Yikes, good luck on that one.”
“I know, I’m taking a risk ringing them early, but while there’s a chance this girl is alive, I’ll push them to the limit.”
She slipped back into her office and called the lab. She mentally kicked herself for not getting the technician’s name when they met earlier.
A male answered her call. She explained the situation, and he passed her over to another department.
“Ah, Inspector. This is James, we met a few hours ago.”
“Hello, James. Sorry to bug you so soon, any news for me?”
“As it happens, I was just about to ring you.”
“Sounds promising.”
“I hope so. Looking at the emails on Miss Rowse’s computer, it would appear that she applied for a job and was due to meet someone regarding an interview on Monday.”
“Whoa! Okay, that’s good news. Hang on, her parents never mentioned anything to me about this.”
“Maybe they didn’t know.”
“Yep, that’s a possibility. Perhaps she wanted to surprise them. Can you send me the email?”
“I can certainly do that, then you can judge for yourself.”
“I appreciate it.” She gave James her email address and hung up. Then, she booted up her computer and tapped her fingers until it pinged. Sara opened the email. It was from a Barrows Associates and signed by Henry Barrows. She quickly searched the internet for any business based in the Hereford area and came up blank. Sara decided to cast her net farther afield for the name of the business. Again, the result remained a negative one. She then input the name Henry Barrows but shook her head in disappointment at the zero return on that as well. “Damn and blast. I thought we were onto something there.”
She left the office to inform the rest of the team and ask if they had any further suggestions. Jill nodded. “I could ring Companies House, see if the business is registered with them.”
“Do that, thanks, Jill. I’m getting an ever-sinking feeling about this investigation.”
3
“Have you fed her yet?” Harvey asked his twin brother.
“She’s refusing to eat. Says she’d rather die than eat anything we have on offer.”
Harvey shrugged. “Makes no odds to me. Let her starve. We’ll have some fun with her in the meantime, though.”
Daniel tutted. “Remind me why we are doing this again?”
“Are you for real?”
“It was a serious question. You think we’re going to get away with it?”
“With my brains behind the operation, why not?”
“You’re a sick shit. No idea why I decided to get dragged into this.”
“Because you were bored, just like me. You better buck your ideas up, bro, because this is just the beginning.”
“And what if I’ve changed my mind?”
Harvey inclined his head and glared at him. “Tough. You change your mind now, well… let’s just say I have something on you that will persuade you every time. You’d be wise to remember that.”
“Shit! You’re always flinging that one at me. All that happened years ago, it’s the biggest regret of my life. No, let me rephrase that. My biggest regret is confiding in you, because since then, you’ve had a fucking hold over me.”
“Now, brother dearest, you know that’s not true. We’ve always shared our darkest secrets. We’re partners, always have been. Linked by our time together in Mum’s womb and rarely parted since we were born.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me.”
Harvey playfully punched his brother in the arm. “Come on, it’s time we had some fun with her.”
“I can’t do it.”
“Do I have to force you?”
“You can try.”
Harvey narrowed his eyes at his twin. “I’m warning you, don’t go soft on me.”
“And what if I said I wanted to forget this deal and walk away?”
Harvey shrugged. “I’ve already told you. I’m not in the habit of repeating myself. I’ll see you later, I’m going to grab myself some free pussy.”
He left his brother and went into the colder part of the house. This area was carved into the hillside, bare rock lining the walls instead of insulated plasterboard. On the single bed in the corner of the room sat his prey. She was pressed up against the stone wall, her arms clasped around her legs. She had bindings around her arms and one leg chained to the bedframe.
“Hello, Amber. I hear you’re refusing to eat. Is that wise?” he asked in a sinister sing-song voice.
She shrank farther back into the wall, her face tear-stained, traces of mascara trailing down her cheeks. “Please, let me go. What do you want with me?” she whispered, her voice faltering and laden with terror.
Harvey approached the bed and sat on the end. He ran a finger up one of her shins. She flinched and recoiled from his touch. “Now, now, there’s no need to be scared. If you do as I say, you won’t get hurt. Are you going to do that?”
She shook her head and then nodded, the confusion evident in her watery eyes. “I don’t want to be here, like this. I want to go home.”
“I want to go home,” he mimicked, his eyes boring into hers before lowering to take in her skinny body. “Why don’t you try to persuade me to let you go?”
“I don’t understand… how?”
He bared his stark white teeth in an expansive grin and placed a finger on his cheek. Tapping it, he said, “Let me think. Ah yes, I’ve got the answer. By spreading your legs for me.”
“Never. I won’t do it. You can’t make me.”
He swiped her across the face. “Hush, now. Don’t you go telling me what I can and can’t do. This is why you’re going to need sustenance, to keep your strength up. I have a vigorous appetite that needs satisfying, if you get what I mean?”
She shook her head, he predicted more out of disbelief than misunderstanding his intentions. “I have a boyfriend. Please, I love him. I don’t want anyone else.”
“While it’s admirable that you love him, can the same be said for him? We have your phone, do you think he’s tried to contact you? No, he hasn’t, so what does that tell you?”
“I don’t believe you. Greg would never abandon me, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
“What, in your hour of need?” His head tipped back, and he laughed long and hard.
“Leave her alone, Harvey.” Daniel appeared in the doorway.
He leapt off the bed and stormed over to his twin. Grabbing him around the throat, he pinned him up against the rock face. “Just because you’ve turned yellow all of a sudden doesn’t give you the right to come in here, shouting the odds at me. I’m my own person. I do what I want, when I want to do it. Got that, dickhead?”
His brother gripped Harvey’s hand, tried to remove it from his throat but Harvey squeezed tighter, cutting off Daniel’s air supply. “Stop! Harvey, stop.”
As if realising he’d possibly gone too far, Harvey relinquished his hold
and backed up a couple of paces. “I refuse to apologise. You pushed me. You need to accept the situation for what it is, bro, or fuck off.”
Daniel walked out of the room, and Harvey slammed the door shut behind him. He marched back over to where Amber was now trembling on the bed. He leaned down into her face and sneered. “See what you’ve made me do. I’m going to teach you a lesson you’re not likely to forget now. I’ve had it with your whimpering pleas for help. They’re pitiful and falling on deaf ears from now on. I’m warning you, fight me at your peril, bitch. Take what’s coming to you, and I’ll consider letting you go within a few days. If not… well, I’m sure you can figure that one out for yourself.”
Amber gasped and sobbed. The fear intensified in her eyes, and her mouth fell open once he started removing his clothes. He stood in front of her, naked, his erection prominent with his intent. Shocked, her sobs echoed in the almost empty room, her gaze fixed to the wall beside her. He yanked her arm, forcing her to look at him.
Her bound hands shot up and covered her face. “No! I won’t do it!”
“That’s what you think.” He slapped her again.
She let out a pitiful shriek as her head crashed against the wall.
He pulled her around to face him again. Blood trickled from a gash in her forehead. He traced the skin next to the trail of blood. “Why do it? Why fight the inevitable? You really want to do that? Give it up, you won’t defeat me in my purpose. I will take what I want from you.”
“No… no…”
He tore at her clothes, pulling the layers aside to gain access. The fabric pooled at her bound hands and feet.
She bucked like a determined mule and tried to kick out at him. Bored with her antics now, he did the only thing open to him. He punched her. Her head snapped to the side and settled against the wall. She was out cold.
He went to work, eager to satisfy the craving that had driven him to this extreme. She shouldn’t have fought. She’s spoilt my fun, the fun of the chase and the jubilation of the capture. She’s mine!
Harvey rejoined his brother in the small kitchen around ten minutes later. Daniel was sitting at the table, his head in his hands.
