by Emma Tallon
‘Mistreatment?’ Sarah sneered.
‘Yes, mistreatment, Miss Riley. I’m a very delicate soul, me.’ He nodded soberly.
Sarah stared at Freddie hatefully, her arms folded across her chest. Suddenly she smiled, broadly and relaxed, sitting down at the table. Freddie blinked, not expecting the change. She crossed her legs and reached for the glass bottle of water standing next to two clean tumblers.
‘Well, I wouldn’t worry about that, flower. You aren’t here for anything above board. Should suit you to the ground actually. Oh’ – she looked at the water and then back at Freddie – ‘did you want some? You must be very thirty after your ordeal.’
‘Yeah, that would be good,’ Freddie answered carefully, not knowing where she was going with all of this. He waited as she poured a glassful and drank deeply from it. His mouth felt dryer than ever. There was a strange, bitter taste too. He suspected they might have used something on him, laudanum or some other drug, to keep him knocked out while they moved him.
She looked over and he raised an eyebrow, still waiting.
‘Oh, I asked if you wanted some. I didn’t say you could actually have it.’ Her smile spread across her whole face as his eyes narrowed. He closed his mouth and looked away, nodding. He wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of rising to it. He shut his eyes briefly as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He felt totally drained.
‘What time is it?’
‘Just coming up for ten.’
‘What?’ Freddie frowned at the window. It was still bright daylight outside. ‘It can’t be, it’s still… Jesus! Do you mean in the morning? Have I been here all night?’ Freddie strained against the binds holding him. ‘Get me out of here, Sarah, now. This isn’t funny.’
She had begun to laugh at him as he jolted the chair back and forth, trying to loosen the rope around his legs.
‘Untie me now!’ he roared in frustration as she totally ignored his pleas. He couldn’t get out himself; he was tied too well. He took some deep breaths, trying to calm down. His anger just seemed to be fuelling her amusement. It wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He pushed down the urge to lose it again with difficulty. ‘Fuck,’ he breathed.
It was Anna’s birthday today. She would have woken up alone. Hopefully she would forgive him for that. She was pretty good about that sort of thing, understanding that his work kept him away some nights. But he needed to get back to her today of all days. On top of that, he had his work cut out for him. He had missed a whole night and most of the morning. There were things that needed doing. How dare that jumped-up bitch take him like this?
‘Why have you even taken me? What do you want? Bit over the top, don’t you think?’
Sarah smirked, enjoying his discomfort. ‘I told you that you wouldn’t get away with it, that shit you pulled down the docks. I told you I’d get you back.’
‘What and risk me making a formal complaint? You realise you’ve given me the ammo I need to make sure you’re never allowed near me again?’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Freddie demanded.
‘It means that you won’t be telling anyone about this little encounter, however badly you want to use it against me.’ Her expression was confident.
‘Why?’
‘You can’t touch me, not with who I work for. There are some people even you can’t mess with. You’ll be meeting him this evening.’
‘What do you mean “this evening”?’ Freddie began to raise his voice again in alarm. ‘Sarah, I need to be somewhere. This little game, whatever it is, needs to stop. Now. Tell me what he wants and be done with it.’
‘You aren’t going anywhere today, Freddie. He wants to speak to you himself. I have my orders and that’s that. Maybe if you hadn’t been such a dick I could have asked a little bit nicer. But you were. So I decided to make sure you were here early.’ She smiled at him sweetly, her eyes full of glee at the sight of Freddie Tyler so helpless.
‘You bitch,’ Freddie spat, anger and frustration boiling through his veins. He tried to focus on the situation rather than her. ‘What could he possibly want with me, behind closed doors? And who was that snivelling no-mark in here earlier? What’s he got to do with anything?’
‘Like I said, you’ll see later tonight. Your appointment is after work hours. Some of us actually put hard graft in each day, you know. Not like you.’
‘You have no idea what I do every day and the work I had to put in to get where I am today, DCI Riley.’ Freddie spoke her name as though there was a bad taste in his mouth. ‘You also have no idea the advantages I have and what I can do to people who cross me.’ He looked her in the eyes – hard. ‘But you will. When whatever this is is over, you will.’
‘Wrong. Like I said, you can’t touch me. I have protection. You’ll get over it eventually,’ she replied smugly. ‘Now I suggest we don’t speak anymore, otherwise I might just replace that tape. You’ve got a long day ahead of you. Don’t worry, I’ll have some food bought in.’
She picked up the remote and switched on the TV. ‘There you go. I’ve even thrown in some entertainment.’
She walked across the room and made herself comfortable on the bed, turning her attention to her phone. She kicked off her low-heeled black court shoes and let them fall to the floor.
Freddie stared out of the window. There was no point asking more questions – she clearly wasn’t going to answer him. She would just take pleasure in his frustration, and he didn’t fancy giving her an excuse to tape his mouth shut again. This was the worst possible timing. He squeezed his eyes shut and silently balled his hands into fists. Breathing deeply, he began thinking up ways of destroying Riley later, when he was back in the game. This, Freddie thought darkly, was the final nail in DCI Riley’s professional coffin.
12
Anna checked her phone for the hundredth time that day as the taxi pulled up outside Mollie’s house. Just like all the other times, there were no messages and no missed calls. Sighing disappointedly, she put it back into her small clutch bag. Next to her, Tanya paid the driver and opened the door.
‘Come on, love. I’m sure there’s a very good reason for him not contacting you. There best be anyway. If there ain’t, I’ll lynch the bugger!’
Anna forced a smile. She knew Tanya was right. It just wasn’t like Freddie to disappear like this, especially not on her birthday. She was starting to get really worried about him. Maybe something bad had happened.
‘Maybe I should call the hospitals again.’
‘You already did that. He ain’t there. Come on, just come and enjoy your birthday, yeah? Whatever he’s doing and whatever the reason, he’s arranged all this, and you know he wants you to go in there and enjoy yourself with all your family and friends.’ Tanya put her arm round her and guided her up the path.
‘Yes, OK,’ Anna replied. She would go in there and smile. She knew Tanya was trying to help. Tanya just didn’t understand that the most important family member and friend in her life was Freddie himself. How could she fully enjoy a birthday with friends and family if he wasn’t there?
She took a deep breath and walked through the door into the party, which sounded as though it was already in full swing.
There was a loud cheer throughout the room as Anna walked in, and streamers were set off each side of her, raining ribbons and sparkles down over her head. In spite of herself, Anna laughed. Thea was right at the front, taking photos of her grand entrance. Anna covered her face.
‘Thea, you know I hate my photo being taken!’ she said with a laugh.
‘Sorry, Freddie’s orders! Where is he anyway?’
‘I don’t actually—’
‘Anna! Anna, over here! Happy birthday!’ It was Amy, a good friend of hers and wife to Bill Hanlon, one of Freddie’s associates. She waved excitedly across the room and Bill smiled a warm greeting. She grinned and waved back before being caught in a hug by her mother.
‘Darling! Here you are! We wondered when you were going to get here. Happy birthday! Have you had a nice day?’
‘Er, yes, thanks, Mum.’ Anna untangled herself from her mother’s arms and planted a kiss on her father’s cheek. ‘Hi, Dad. When did you guys get here? Are you—’
‘Happy birthday, love! Come on in. Let’s get you inside away from the door, that’s it.’ Mollie guided her forward into the crowd of people all waiting to wish her a happy birthday. ‘Here she is, everyone! Anna, what do you want to drink? Come outside and have a look. There’s a cocktail man who can make you whatever you fancy.’
‘What?’ Anna asked, feeling overwhelmed by how many people there were and how much detail had gone into the decorations that seemed to completely cover the house.
‘Ooh, he’s very good. I’ve had four already. And I feel absolutely fine. I don’t think there’s any alcohol in them meself. Four.’ Mollie held up three fingers in Anna’s face and nodded, her slightly glazed eyes wide.
‘Right. Well. That’s good then.’ Anna watched Mollie bustle off and made her way out to the garden, saying hello to everyone on the way. By the time she had politely greeted everyone that she passed and reached the garden doors, Tanya had already skipped ahead and was back with a brightly coloured cocktail in each hand. She passed a fluorescent orange one to Anna and sipped at her own blue concoction.
‘Cor, she’s right, you know. These are bloody good. Mm.’
Anna looked outside. Her eyebrows shot up and she looked at Tanya.
‘Did you know about all of this?’
‘Some of it. It’s pretty alright, ain’t it?’
Anna shook her head in disbelief. The whole garden was lit up professionally, and ornate tables and chairs littered the edges. In the middle there was a black-and-white-chequered dance floor with a DJ behind, currently mixing chilled beats. The cocktail bar was off to one side and on the other was a hog roast, the pig crackling and spitting away as it turned on the spike. Around that were tables laden with enough food to feed a small army. At the back of the garden was a cordoned-off area and a man Anna didn’t know, who seemed to be guarding it.
‘What’s that?’ She pointed.
‘I think that’s fireworks. For later. Mm, I’m going to have to get another one of these. They’re bloody good.’ Tanya walked off, and Anna took a deep drink from her own glass. Not bad, she thought. Looking around she smiled at everything Freddie had arranged. He had gone overboard as usual, but it did look amazing.
The chilled house music washed over her and mixed with the sounds of easy conversation and laughter. She felt a sharp pang of longing for Freddie. She wished he was here to enjoy the party by her side. If he’d gone to all of this trouble, why would he miss it himself? Anna was seriously worried.
Inside the house, Michael paced the room, biting his lip. He still hadn’t heard from Freddie, and now he was beginning to panic. He had finally reached Paul an hour before. Paul had sounded irritated for some reason and had just told him to wait until he got there. Michael had been watching the door ever since. Finally it opened and Paul stepped in. At once he flew towards the door, and before Paul had a chance to close it, Michael had dragged him back out the front so that they could talk alone.
‘Paul, where have you been?’ he asked, desperation in his voice.
‘What’s up with you?’ Paul frowned, annoyed. ‘I’ve been busy today. I told Freddie I wouldn’t be around, that I had personal things to do. What’s wrong?’
‘So you haven’t seen Freddie?’ Michael questioned.
‘No, I told you I hadn’t.’ Paul shifted his weight awkwardly and looked back towards the front door. ‘I had some things to do.’
‘What things?’ Michael asked.
‘Fuck sake, Michael, what is this, twenty questions?’ Paul snapped. ‘That’s my own business, thank you – go mind yours. Does a man not have a right to his own life anymore? Jesus!’
‘Alright, only asking!’ Michael put his hands up in defence. ‘It’s just that Freddie’s been on the missing list too; thought you might have been together.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, he didn’t turn up to meet me this morning, and I haven’t been able to get hold of him since. Neither has Anna by the looks of things. He ain’t even here and it’s his big party for her.’ Michael pulled the packet of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and lit one. He took a deep drag and blew out the smoke, agitated, before smoothing down the front of his jacket. He hated appearing even slightly rumpled, at any time.
‘Well… I don’t know what to say to that. Where is he then?’ Paul scratched his head and looked up the road as if Freddie might just appear there.
‘I don’t know – that’s my point.’ Michael internally rolled his eyes, waiting for his older brother to catch up. He didn’t know what to do or where to go at this point. ‘Sammy’s in there, so is Bill and neither of them has heard from him either; I already checked.’
‘Have you called through to CoCo?’
‘No, but I figured if he was there he would have replied to one of my messages.’
Paul took out his phone and clicked one of the speed-dial numbers. He took the cigarette from Michael with his one free hand and took a deep drag on it as he began to pace up and down the pavement. Michael lit himself a new cigarette and waited.
‘Aisha, it’s Paul. Is Freddie in…? Has he been in today? No… OK, if he does turn up can you tell him we’re looking for him. Thanks, love.’ He clicked off and the brothers looked at each other in grave silence for a long minute.
‘We can’t all go or Mum will know something’s up,’ Paul said eventually. ‘You know how Freddie feels about that. I’ll go. No one really saw me arrive yet anyway. I’ll take Sammy with me. Do me a favour and send him out. I’ll be in my car. Stay here’ – he took one last long drag and threw the butt into the bushes – ‘keep everything under control and make excuses. I’ll let you know when I find out what’s going on.’
Paul sighed heavily and made his way back to his car. Michael walked back to the house with purpose. He wished he could go too, but what Paul said made sense. They had to keep things under wraps until they knew what was going on.
13
Freddie stretched and worked each muscle again, as much as he could. The straight, hard-backed chair was incredibly uncomfortable, and his muscles ached from the strain of the position he was in. Every so often he worked them. It was to keep them ready, more than anything. There still might be an opportunity for escape – he just had to stay alert and hope they had a moment of slipped concentration.
Sarah Riley had come and gone throughout the day, leaving him with two burly minders. He had tried to engage with them, but they ignored him. He could tell they were in the force, most likely under Riley’s command. He focused in on one of the plod’s watches until he could make out the time. It was just after seven. People would be arriving now, ready for Anna to arrive at eight. He was glad that he’d roped Tanya into the plans. At least Anna would actually make it to her party, if nothing else. He always had a back-up plan in place, just in case. They came in handy at times like these.
‘Oi, you – fatty,’ he called out to one of them again, hoping maybe continuous annoyance would rile them into giving something away. ‘What’s the dinner plans then, eh? Do I get my hands this time or are you going to feed me another sandwich? Not very manly, is it, mate, feeding another man while he’s tied up like a twat? That what you signed up to the force for, is it?’
The bulky man huffed slightly and turned the page of the paper he was reading. Other than that, there was no response.
‘Nah, you signed up for the adventure, didn’t you? Thought you’d be out there catching criminals, keeping the streets clean… modern-day hero, right? Yeah, you’re the type. How’s that working out for ya?’
The next page was turned again, not a flicker crossing his face. ‘How is it that two big strong men like you are too pussy to even undo my han
ds? Are you that unsure of yourselves?’
The one he was addressing started to colour slightly. It was working – he was getting pissed off. Freddie’s tone turned cold. ‘Or is it just that you know exactly who I am and know that I’d fucking crush you, given the chance?’
Finally the man looked over, anger burning in his narrowed eyes. Bingo, thought Freddie.
‘Charles,’ the second man murmured from across the room. He shook his head at his companion. Charles gave Freddie one last hard look, then turned his attention back to the paper. He shifted his weight in the chair so that his body was turned away. Freddie rolled his eyes.
The sound of the door being opened caught his attention and Freddie waited with bated breath. Sarah Riley came in first, followed by three men. Two bodyguards by the looks of them and the man who had orchestrated this whole thing.
Tall, slim and attractive for his fifty-odd years, Ben Hargreaves walked across the room and sat down on one of the comfortable chairs around the coffee table. His dark hair was speckled with grey, and deep lines were etched into his forehead. He undid the button on his grey suit jacket and took off his tie, then ran his hands through his hair and over his face. He looked exhausted. His eyes were sunken into his face as though he hadn’t slept in a month. His expression was haunted. None of these details surprised Freddie, knowing what he knew.
The two men in black suits stood behind Ben, one either side, and Ben frowned when he finally focused on Freddie, trussed up like a chicken in the chair.
‘Untie him now.’ Ben gave Freddie a cold, unapologetic stare.
Sarah stepped forward and took off his restraints. She was purposefully rough, making sure to drag the binds across the raw skin on his ankles. Freddie didn’t give her the satisfaction of a reaction.
Standing stiffly, Freddie stretched his legs and back and rubbed at his wrists. He cracked his neck to each side and then sat on the small sofa opposite Ben Hargreaves, leaning back and placing his arms nonchalantly along the top of the sofa’s low back.
