by M A Comley
“Not sure... maybe.”
“Okay, nothing this girl has done really makes sense to date, so maybe we shouldn’t discount it. You know what I’m going to say next, right?”
“You want me to track down the CCTV footage, see if I can spot the van.”
“You’ve got it. If we can get a licence plate, we can put uniform on alert at least.”
“On it now.”
“Anything else of interest in amongst that lot, Donna?”
“Nothing noteworthy. I’ll get back to you soon, I hope.”
Kayli turned to address the rest of the team. “I have a few calls to make. Kelvin told me that he believes Michele Granger was enrolled in a childcare course at uni. She might not be at home now, but she could still be attending class. It’s worth a shot. I’d rather look in to it than regret it later on. When I asked him about how he made contact with Michele in the first place, he said it was through an advert for babysitting duties that she placed in a newsagent’s window.”
“Is it still there? Didn’t Sophie’s dad say the same thing?” Dave asked.
“He did. Kelvin said he looked at the ads in the newsagent’s a few days ago, but couldn’t see the card. Here’s the address. Give them a ring, Dave. Can you also ring all the newsagents in the area, see if they’re running the advert or remember displaying the advert a few weeks ago?”
“And what if they do?”
“I don’t know. See if they know the girl, if she lives close by, that type of thing. Don’t forget we’re looking for another address where they could be holding the children. If we don’t ask the questions we’re unlikely to locate that address, right?”
“Gotcha. Sorry for being so dense.”
“You’re not being dense. This is a tough one to call, and sometimes we’re going to have to think outside the box. One more snippet of information you need to know is that Kelvin said he had a fling with Michele.”
“What? You’ve got to be joking? I thought he was a nailed-on family man. Just goes to prove you can’t judge a book.”
“Yeah, it came as a shock to me. He’s guilt-ridden. Not only because he was the one who spotted the advert, but also because he cheated on his wife.”
“You reckon that’s what this is about? Revenge?”
“I think so, don’t you? Sophie’s parents said pretty much the same thing. The father went berserk because she’d brought the boyfriend into their home. Maybe she hates being in the wrong in certain people’s eyes, or hates any form of criticism or moral shaming. That would be my guess. What we need to do is try and locate her parents. She’s in her late teens, granted she might not be from the area. Just because she’s attending university here, it doesn’t mean that her family live in the area.”
“Want me to look into that?” Dave asked.
“No. I want you to concentrate on the newsagents. I think going to visit the university will give us the contact details for her parents. Also, we have her phone number. As much as I’m tempted to ring it, I think we should see if we can get a trace on the phone.”
“Good thinking. I can have a word with my mate in the tech department, see what he can come up with if you like?”
“Great, do that, Dave.” Kayli walked towards the office and called over her shoulder, “Good luck, guys. I sense we’re closing in on them. I hope they’re not thinking along the same lines.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Blackbird drove to the cottage during his lunchbreak. He’d been anxious at work all morning. He hated dealing with inept people, and the youngsters were proving they were at the top of the list in that department. After parking the car next to the van, he snuck around the back of the building, straining to listen to what was going on inside. It was unusually quiet. That made him wary. Were they about to ambush him? Don’t be so foolish... why would they do that? They’d be lost without me pulling their strings.
He turned the handle on the back door, but the door didn’t open like it usually did. He rapped his knuckles on the flaking paint.
Swift’s face appeared at the kitchen window above the sink before he opened the door.
“What’s going on?” Blackbird demanded.
Swift prodded him in the chest before he even had a chance to close the door. “This is your fault.”
“What is?”
“She refuses to go out now after that image appeared on the TV last night.”
Confused, Blackbird shook his head. “How is that my fault?”
“If you’d kept your mouth shut about it, she’d be none the wiser, but no, you had to stick your nose in and blab about it. Now she’s too petrified to even venture out.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Firstly, it’s not my fault her face is all over the news. It’s her fault for letting that witness see her, and secondly, you two need to frigging up your game. Haven’t you ever heard of wearing a bloody disguise?” He flung his arms up in the air. “Why the hell do I have to do your thinking for you as well as everything else around here? Where is she?”
“Downstairs, feeding the girls.”
“Hallelujah! At least that’s a first.”
“Cut the sarcasm. We’re doing our best around here. It’s hard being forced to live here day and night. This place is a shithole.”
“It wasn’t until you arrived. Try cleaning the place up now and again.”
“I didn’t realise you had OCD, as well,” Swift replied sarcastically.
“I haven’t, but even I know how much rats and other creepy crawlies are attracted to smells such as this. It stinks in here.”
The door to the cellar opened, and Magpie glared at him before she closed the door. “Nice of you to finally turn up.”
“What? You weren’t expecting me until this evening. Not sure why I bothered wasting my lunch hour to come here when all I get in return is verbal abuse.”
“You coming here once a day is enough for me, man,” Magpie shouted.
He raised his hands in front of him. “Whoa! Either you back off, bitch, or I walk away for good and take my list of contacts with me.”
Magpie flung herself into the chair, and a look of defeat draped itself around her shoulders. “I’m sorry. Ignore me. I hate being holed up here. I might as well be in a cage like them downstairs.”
“Now you’re being stupid,” Swift chastised her.
It could be arranged, bitch. You keep getting on my nerves the way you are. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It ain’t gonna wash with me.” Blackbird sat at the table, and clearing his throat, motioned for Swift to join them. “I’ve had a long think about the situation, and here’s my conclusion. I didn’t sign up to snatching three-year-olds, so here’s what’s going to happen.”
Swift opened his mouth to speak, but Blackbird raised a hand to silence him.
“Let me finish. I’m here for the next three quarters of an hour. In that time, we need to come up with a strategy to get that child back to her mother. If you start quibbling about it, I’m going to walk away from here and never come back.”
Swift laughed so hard, his head tipped back. “You really ain’t thought that pathetic statement through, have you? You’re forgetting you own this fuckin’ gaff.”
Blackbird glared at him, and a twitch began at the corner of his eye. Shit! He’s right! “What I meant to say is that I’ll show you the door, and we’ll part ways. You’ve overstepped the mark, and I want out. You’re becoming unpredictable. I never know what I’m going to come back here and find next.”
“That’s tough shit, man! At the end of the day, we’re our own people. If we want to change the route we take, then that’s up to us,” Swift replied angrily.
“Then that’s why we need to go our separate ways. It’s obvious that we want different things from this situation. I’m under strict instructions not to obtain girls younger than seven.” The pair sitting opposite him fell silent. He had them by the short and curlies. It was time to issue his ultimate blow. “Therefore, I’m giving you until sev
en this evening to get rid of the kid. Preferably by returning her to her mother, not by killing her.”
“Aw, man. You realise how difficult that is going to be?”
“You should have thought about that when you veered away from the plan. It’s up to you two to rectify the situation before we can move on and finalise the delivery of the other girls.”
Magpie placed her head in her hands and screamed. “Stop it! I know we screwed up. We’ll deal with it this afternoon. We’ll take the girl back and leave her in the park where we stole her from.”
Swift dug her in the ribs. “We can’t do that. The police will be watching the area like hawks. I’ve got no intention of being caught this late in the game.”
Blackbird rose from his chair. “Then there’s nothing more to say. I have to get back to work. Either that girl is gone by the time I get back, or I’m ending this relationship, and no money will be coming your way, because you two broke the contract.”
“You think you’re so smart, don’t ya? There was no friggin’ contract, man.”
“The agreement we put in place then. So, what’s it to be?”
“We’ll do it this afternoon. The trouble is we don’t have the girl’s address.”
Blackbird’s arms spread out to the side. “You could always ask her. It’s one of the first things parents generally instil into their children at a very young age.”
Magpie tore open the door to the cellar and ran down the stairs. Blackbird and Swift listened to her trying to coax the address out of the child before she began shouting at her. Furious, Blackbird rushed down the stairs after her and yanked her away from the cage. “Leave her to me. Get out of here.” Magpie stomped her way back upstairs again, leaving him to deal with the sea of frightened faces.
Tears glistened on Belinda’s cheeks. He beckoned her with his finger. “Come here, Belinda.” Two of the girls tried to hold her back, protecting her, but Blackbird sneered at them. “Let her go.”
They instantly dropped their hands. He beckoned Belinda again with his finger. Her head turned to either side as if to check with the other girls to see if it was okay to continue. They both nodded. Belinda shuffled forward on the floor.
Blackbird whispered, “Belinda, if you tell me where you live, I promise you’ll go home today.”
The others gasped. One of them asked, “What about us? Can we go home too?”
Blackbird smiled. “Eventually, girls. Come on, Belinda, tell me.”
Belinda mumbled her address then scooted back to sit with the other girls. Feeling smug, as another piece of his plan slotted into place, Blackbird left the room and closed the door behind him. After giving the youngsters Belinda’s address, he asked, “When? When will you be dropping her off?”
Swift glared at him. “When we choose.”
“Right, I’ll leave it with you then. I’ll be back later, as promised. She better not still be there, or there’ll be trouble.”
Magpie sighed heavily. “But I don’t want to leave here. What if I’m seen?”
“Get a disguise. You have to deliver the girl this afternoon. Got that?” He refused to listen to any more of their excuses and left the house. He heard the key move in the lock behind him. Once he was out of sight of the cottage, he placed the call to the police from a phone box by the side of the road. Two kids killed already, it’s the unpredictability I can’t stand. You guys have really overstepped the mark this time and are now going to pay for your stupidity.
“DI Bright, now!”
“Who’s calling?”
“Just put her on the line,” he snapped, covering the mouthpiece of the phone with a hanky to muffle his voice.
“DI Kayli Bright. How can I help?”
“The girl will be delivered to her parents today.”
“What girl? Who are you?”
“Less of the questions. You know what girl I’m referring to. Don’t piss me off.”
“Delivered to her address by whom?”
“The idiots who took her. That’s all you need to know.” He hung up, ran back to his car, and put his foot on the accelerator in case the police managed to trace the call.
~ ~ ~
“Crap!” Kayli ran out of her office, breathless with excitement. “I’ve just had a tip-off to say the girl—I’m assuming they meant Belinda—is going to be delivered back to her mother today.”
“That’s excellent news. Are you going to lay a trap, boss?” Dave asked.
“Wouldn’t that be dicey?” Donna replied.
Kayli nodded. “I agree with Donna. Ideally, we want the kidnappers to lead us back to where they’re keeping the other girls. Graeme is already out there. I’ll make him aware of the situation, tell him to shoot over to Rachel’s house, it’s not far, plus get some unmarked cars in the area to help him follow the kidnappers once the drop has been made. I really don’t want to alert the mother about this in case it was someone playing a warped practical joke on us.”
“I wonder how the person who contacted you knows what’s going on. Unless they’re involved,” Donna said, asking and answering her own question.
“That’s my take on it, Donna. Maybe displaying Michele’s picture on TV had the desired effect and a member of the team is on the turn. We won’t know until we capture Michele and, hopefully, her boyfriend,” Kayli said, heading for the vending machine to buy everyone a coffee.
Dave tapped the side of his face with a pencil. “Maybe it’s the boyfriend who made the call. Pissed off with her and wanting out. Maybe he found out that Kelvin slept with her.”
“You could be right, Dave. Any luck with tracing the girl’s phone or with the newsagents?”
“I’ve called all the newsagents in the area. Some of them remembered a girl placing an advert in their shop windows, but they withdrew the ad when she didn’t renew it. None of them recognised her.”
“Which leads me to think she’s not local and why I need to visit the university. Dave, I think you should stay here. I’ll shoot over there by myself.”
“If that’s what you want, boss.”
“I’ll drink this and call Graeme then make a move. I have a good feeling about this, guys. Let’s keep the momentum going. I have a feeling the case will be coming to an end soon.” She rushed back into the office and picked up the phone. “Graeme, it’s me. There’s been a development.” Kayli made him aware of the call she’d received and told him to go to Rachel’s house to keep a vigilant eye open for the next few hours. Graeme seemed as buoyant about the information as she was. He promised to call her as soon as anything happened at his end.
Looking at the overcast weather through the window, she hitched on her coat then hurried from the station with Donna and Dave’s best wishes ringing in her ears as she descended the stairs and jumped in the car. Twenty minutes later, she pulled up outside the university and parked in the first available space she could find in the nearby road.
The receptionist greeted her with a warm smile. Producing her warrant card, Kayli asked to see the person in charge.
A man standing at the filing cabinet a few feet away from the receptionist glanced at Kayli. “I’m the Dean. Will I do?”
Kayli nodded. “You will, indeed. Is there somewhere private where we can go to have a brief chat regarding one of your pupils? I’d ask my questions here, but there’s no telling who might overhear our conversation.”
“Of course.” He opened a panel in the counter to let her through. “My office is just back here.” The room was what she’d expected in such surroundings. Bookshelves lined one of the walls, and a desk made from a dark wood she didn’t recognise was positioned in front of the window. “Please take a seat. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name. My name is Terry O’Donnell.”
“I’m DI Kayli Bright of the Avon and Somerset Constabulary.”
“Pleased to meet you, Inspector. Now, what was it you wanted to speak to me about, or should I say who?”
“A Michele Granger. I’ve been reliably informed th
at she’s enrolled in a childcare course here at the university.”
“Obviously, I’ll have to check. Just a moment.” He picked up the phone and asked the receptionist to bring in the girl’s attendance file.
The door opened after a light tap. “The file you requested, sir. Can I get you both a drink?”
Kayli shook her head. “That’s very kind. Not for me, thank you.”
“I’ll leave it, as well. Thank you, Jill.”
The receptionist left, and Terry flipped open the file. “Ah yes, what is it you’d like to know about this young lady?”
“First of all, I need to know what her attendance has been like recently.” Kayli withdrew her notebook and pen.
“By the looks of things, very patchy.” He seemed annoyed by the revelation. “May I ask what your interest is in this student?”
Kayli chewed on the inside of her mouth for a second. “We’re investigating several serious crimes in the area and believe she is linked to those crimes. In what capacity, we’re not totally sure as yet.”
“Really? Can you tell me what type of crimes, Inspector?”
She cringed, hoping that he wouldn’t press her further to reveal the truth. “I’d rather not say at this point. I’d hate to tarnish her name with you if it turns out the information I’ve been given is wrong.”
He fidgeted in his chair. “Do you need anything else?”
“Her parents’ or next of kin’s address, if you would. That’d be a great help.”
Terry flicked through several pages and tapped one page in particular with his finger. “She’s actually from Newcastle.”
“Wow, is it common for students to live that far away from home?”
He laughed. “Some would say the farther, the better. Here it is, if you need to copy down the address.”
Kayli took the paper and wrote out the address. “All right if I take the phone number too?”
“Of course. Do you think the parents will be able to help you?”
“I’m hoping so. Only time will tell. Do you know if Michele has a boyfriend?”
“I’m not sure. I could contact her lecturer and ask the question.”
