by M A Comley
“I suppose so. Yes. Please, if you can take him alive, it’ll make my life easier.”
“We’re not like our American counterparts, we always do our best to take suspects alive. Leave it to us.” He walked away and gathered his troops for a final meeting before they set off up the lane.
“I wish I could be there,” Sara muttered.
“Yeah, me too,” Ray admitted. “If there’s a sense of imminent danger from this guy, then maybe it’s just as well that we remain here.”
Sara inhaled a large breath, her gaze fixed on the entrance to the dark country lane.
A few minutes later, shouting filled the cold night air. A shot was fired, then nothing. Sara couldn’t hold back any longer. She bolted up the lane, despite Ray and Craig trying their best to hold her back.
She detested Harvey on sight. To look at him, he seemed a trustworthy businessman, but knowing that he was a serial kidnapper and had killed a woman caused Sara to shudder slightly. She brushed her emotions aside and said, “Thank God. Where are the girls?” she asked the commanding officer.
“We’re searching the rest of the property now. He was asleep in the kitchen. We managed to jump him before he had a chance to move.”
“What about the shot that was fired?”
“A warning shot, he tried to run.”
Sara glared at Harvey and grinned. “Silly boy!”
“Screw you!” Came back his vicious retort. The armed officers took him back to the cars.
Sara rushed into the cottage in search of the girls. “Hello, anyone here?”
Another armed officer appeared in the doorway. “We’ve found them. They appear to be shaken up, but okay nevertheless.”
“Can I see them?”
He stepped aside and gestured for her to join him. “Down here on the right. How they survived the bloody cold is beyond me.”
Sara shivered as the intensive chill seeped into her bones. “Shit! It’s freezing.”
“It’s worse in the room they were kept in. There’s a bare wall at the back, the house is dug into the hillside.”
Sara frowned, finding it hard to imagine how a room described like that would be until she walked in and saw it for herself. “Bloody hell. We need to get some blankets round these girls, pronto!”
“I’ll see what we’ve got in the van. Want me to ring for an ambulance?”
“Yes. Top priority. Now they’re safe, they need to be checked over.” The officer left. Sara took a few paces closer to the bed. “Are you all okay? Any injuries we should be concerned about?”
“No, we’re okay in that respect. We’re so glad you found us. What will happen now?”
Sara smiled at the girl she knew as Amber. “We’ll get you assessed at the hospital and then reunite you with your families.”
The girls’ resilient façades crumbled before her eyes. They gripped each other’s hands, hugged and sobbed.
A large lump lodged itself in Sara’s throat, and she had to turn away from them to hide the tears of relief trickling down her cheeks. After a few moments, she ran her cuff over her eyes, fixed a smile in place and motioned for the girls to join her. Two of them pointed out they were chained at the ankle. “Damn, okay. Let me get that sorted now. I’ll be right back.”
She met the armed officer she had spoken to before in the damp hallway. He had a pile of metallic blankets in his arms. “Two of the girls are chained to the bed, can you help with that?”
“Yep. You take these. I’ll go back to the van and see what I can find to resolve the problem.”
“Or you could get the key off Burrows.” Sara grinned.
“Now there’s a thought. I’ll be right back either way.”
She wrapped the blankets around each of the girls’ shoulders. Their gratitude was clear to see. “We’ll have you out of here soon.”
The officer reappeared with the key to unlock the chains and released two of the girls from their ghastly restraints. Once they heard the sirens approaching, Sara and the officer escorted the girls out of the cottage and into the ambulance.
Craig was close by. Sara stepped back and joined him. “We need to contact the station, let them know.”
Craig smiled. “I’ve done it already. Carla’s awaiting a call from you before she rings the families.”
“Excellent. I’ll get in touch in a second. I just need to have a word with the paramedics first.” One of the paramedics spotted them and came towards them.
“They appear to be okay, we’ll take them in and get them checked over, just in case.”
“We need to get them back to their families in Hereford.”
“We’ll be taking them to the local hospital in Church Stretton. I don’t think we can offer any assistance in sending them home, sorry.”
“That’s not your concern, I can arrange transportation. Thanks for your help.”
“All in a day’s work.” He returned to the ambulance.
Sara surveyed the frantic activity ahead of her during her call to Carla. “Hi, it’s me. We’ve got them all. They’re on their way to be checked out at the hospital.”
“Thank God. Do you want me to call the families now?”
“Yes. We also need to arrange some form of transport to get the girls back to Hereford, can you do that as well?”
“I’m on it. What about Harvey Burrows?”
“He’s been arrested. We’ll be bringing him back ourselves. We’ll be setting off soon.”
“Drive carefully. Congratulations on another case well solved, Sara.”
“Teamwork, Carla. All down to the fantastic team I have around me.” And I’ve got to let someone go after all this dies down!
She pushed the thought aside and smiled at Craig. “Let’s get back to base.”
Epilogue
The journey back to Hereford was a quiet one. Being in the confined space with the perpetrator made Sara’s skin crawl. Although she attempted to ask Harvey several questions en route, he just stared at her and refused to answer. Finally, she said, “I don’t think the bank of mummy and daddy will be able to get you out of this shit, Mr Burrows.”
He harrumphed a retort, mumbled something under his breath and leaned his head back against his seat.
Once they arrived at the station, Sara and Craig escorted Harvey down the corridor to Interview Room One. They were joined by his own solicitor soon after. It proved to be a waste of time as Harvey continually spouted only two words throughout the interview, ‘no comment’.
In the end, Sara gave up and threw him in a cell. She willed her tired legs to carry her up the stairs to the incident room. “We did it, team. Come on, I say we call it a night. He can stew in a cell, and I’ll try to question him again on Monday.”
Carla grinned. “I don’t blame you. I agree, let’s go home.”
The following day Sara was served breakfast in bed by her ever-thoughtful husband. He fussed over her most of the day, insisting that she should chill out in front of the TV all day after such a hectic week. He spoiled her rotten, cooked her a full roast dinner, insisting she should stay out of the kitchen until he’d finished. It was one of the best cuts of beef she’d ever eaten.
They spent the next few hours cuddled up on the sofa, munching on a box of salted caramel Lindor chocolates that had mysteriously jumped into Sara’s shopping trolley the week before.
At around three, their chill-out time together had to be sacrificed when Mark received an emergency call to attend a puppy who had been run over.
Rather than twiddle her thumbs until Mark returned home, and with her body and mind still pumping with excess adrenaline, Sara decided to go for a drive. Something niggling her mind led her to Gary’s home. She pulled up and wondered if she had done the right thing, coming here.
He arrived home shortly after. She spotted him swaggering up the road, carrying his gym bag. She reached for the handle to get out, but paused when she saw a man jump out in front of him. Sara ducked down in her seat and observed the angry exchange between th
em for several minutes. The stranger jabbed Gary in the stomach, and he doubled over. The man stood firm and continued to shout at him. Finally, with Gary still bent over, the man stormed off.
With an ever-enquiring mind, Sara leapt out of the car and crossed the road to speak to Gary. His eyes widened when he spotted Sara. He tried to straighten up and winced.
“What was that all about?” she demanded.
“Nothing!”
“Nothing? Don’t give me that bullshit.”
“Just leave it. This has nothing to do with you.”
“But everything to do with Carla, I’m guessing.”
A sheepish expression descended. He brushed past her towards his house.
Seething, she shouted, “If I find out you either attacked her or paid for someone to attack her, I promise you, I won’t rest until you’re behind bars.”
He trotted up to his front door, looked over his shoulder and sneered, “You know nothing!” He slammed the front door behind him. Leaving Sara wondering what he’d meant.
She’d find out soon enough – she was determined to get to the bottom of this particular mystery.
THE END
Perhaps you’d also consider reading another of my most popular series? Grab the first book in the Justice series here, CRUEL JUSTICE
DI Sara Ramsey will return with a brand new case, early in 2021.
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