Fear Has Long Fingers

by Jeanette Taylor Ford

  George regretted all over again the part he’d played in Harry’s canoeing disaster, if it had brought his abominable step-brother’s attentions upon them. Why couldn’t he just go back to his plush London casino and leave them alone? He wished his mother had never married this terrible man’s father. He never had been able to see the attraction. He wished his own dad hadn’t died. He only had vague memories of him and sometimes he wasn’t sure whether he was remembering right or if it was wishful thinking. He did have a faded photograph of him and was almost the image of him. He thought he remembered playing with him and riding on his shoulders.

  When George’s mum, Elsie, had married George Avery, little George had only been five. Lucian Avery was seventeen, already self-assured, already a bully, but a bully who got others to do his dirty work. George Avery already had his ‘empire’, the casino and all sorts of other things that he had his fingers in, many of them illegal. Lucian had simply stepped into his father’s shoes when George senior had an aneurism and died. George’s mother had slipped into dementia and had died six years after her husband. George missed his gentle mother more than he would ever admit to anyone, least of all Lucian, who looked down on any weakness of character, as he would see it. Young George had his mother’s gentle nature.

  George had not liked George Avery and was happy to be called Jimmy instead of having the same name as his hated stepfather. Lucian was exactly like his father. There was a sister too, called Hannah, who had married a rich American and gone to live in California. Jimmy had fallen into working for Lucian but had eventually broken away because he was sickened at the way Lucian dealt with people who crossed him. He decided he would rather be poor but free from being one of The Boss’s gang of heavies. He hadn’t done badly either, until he’d been made redundant. Frankly, he was surprised that Lucian had let him go – and unharmed at that, which was something he never did.

  George was broken out of his reverie by his brother getting up and walking leisurely round the room, stopping to look at an ornament here, a picture there. George’s scalp prickled; he expected something to happen, although he had no idea what. Eventually, Lucian picked up a framed photograph off a shelf. He examined it closely as his younger brother looked on nervously, aware of exactly which picture it was. It had been taken by Cessy and it was of himself, Netta, Rowena and Harry smiling happily beside one of the Christmas trees at Sutton Court. It depicted one of the happiest times in the family’s life. George couldn’t help wondering if the happiness was coming to an end…

  “Nice picture, Jimmy. Is that your lad who had the accident? Nice looking boy. Not yours though, is he?”

  George shook his head.

  “Looks a lot like his mum, doesn’t he? What’s he really like?”

  “He’s a nice lad. Clever, also like his mum.”

  “Uh-ha. He’s what – sixteen?”

  “Almost, yes.”

  “And this is Netta. Nice piece. You did well there, lad.”

  “I did.”

  “This your daughter? What’s her name?”

  “Rowena.”

  “Pretty name. Pretty girl. Love her blonde curls. Can’t think how you managed to sire such a pretty one.” Again, the sardonic laugh. George only allowed his lips to twitch slightly in a nervous half-smile.

  Lucian sat down again, still holding the photograph. He drew a clean, white handkerchief from his pocket and, slowly and deliberately, wiped the frame all over, very thoroughly. The effect his movements had on George were indescribable. The room, suddenly felt hot.

  “So, what are you doing here?”

  “Tell me about your work, Jimmy-boy. You like working for the country bumpkin?”

  “He’s not a country bumpkin at all! He’s very knowledgeable and a great boss. He and his wife have been very kind to us.”

  “Ah, yes. The lovely Lucy! I’ve been watching her. Let you live in a place she owns, didn’t she?”

  George’s heart gave a leap – surely he couldn’t be after Lucy, could he? What could he possibly want with her?

  “Relax, lad! I’m not after your precious Lucy. But I am interested in one of her friends.”

  George stood up abruptly and turned his back on Lucian as if he was going to the kitchen. He didn’t want his brother to see the distress on his face – Sally!

  “One of Lucy’s friends? How’s that then? Why would you be interested in one of her friends?” he said, as he walked towards the kitchen. Getting a cup out of the cupboard, he poured cold water into it.

  “I think you know, Jimmy. In fact, I know that you know. You’ve been holding out on me, haven’t you, little brother? You should know that’s a dangerous thing to do, a very dangerous thing.”

  George knocked back the water, appreciating the coldness slipping down his throat. He wiped his wet forehead on the kitchen towel, before going back towards the living room, where Lucian was still calmly sitting.

  “I don’t know what you mean. I was offered the job at the nurseries to help us through a problem while Harry was in hospital. I don’t know any of Lucy’s friends.”

  “Au contraire, Jimmy-boy. I think you know one friend very well. A friend of hers who used to belong to me, Jimmy. One that made a terrible mistake. I don’t know how she did it but you have led me into finding her.”

  “How’s that then? We came upon the village by accident – literally. So how could I have led you to someone, whoever it is?”

  At that remark, Lucian’s previously calm face turned dark. “Don’t pretend with me! We’ve been watching you ever since you went to live in the village and we know Sally is there. We know you’ve had contact with her and met her one night. You should have notified me, Jimmy! Why didn’t you?”

  George shrugged. “She’s changed her life. She’s happily married and is a businesswoman. Why would I want to spoil that for her?”

  “Hmm. Well, you’re going to spoil it. I want to talk with her. I want her back, Jimmy. She was the best thing I ever had and I will have her back. What’s more, you’re going to get her for me.”

  “No!”

  “Oh yes.”

  “I won’t do it. You can’t make me do it.”

  “Oh, can’t I?” The voice was icy calm now and the man in black picked up the picture again, with the handkerchief.

  “Lovely wife you have. Bet she doesn’t know about your past, does she?”

  “And Harry. It would be such a pity if he were to meet with another accident, wouldn’t it? Hmm? He might not survive another one, do you think?”

  “No!” George was on his feet now, his fists clenched.

  “Good to see you’re attached to the lad, George. My father wasn’t very attached to you, was he? Don’t worry, nothing is going to happen to Harry.”

  George relaxed a little, then tensed again as he watched Lucian look at the photo again and stroke the image of Rowena.

  “Beautiful girl. Lovely blonde hair, gorgeous big blue eyes, little breasts budding. A real rose, just ripe for the picking. I’d like to add her to my bower; I’ve quite a collection of pretty little Herefordians now.”

  George gasped. “That’s you?”

  Lucian smiled enigmatically.

  “How could you do that in this day and age?”

  “Don’t forget, this is a business I’ve been in for a long time. I know exactly what to do with those youngsters. Especially now I’ve completed the set. I have seven, just the right number.”

  “Seven?”

  Lucian stroked the photograph again. “Mmm, yes. I have the prize now, the one I’ve been waiting for.”

  George’s veins turned to ice. “Rowena? You have my Rowena? I don’t believe you, she’s at school.”

  “Is she? Are you sure?”

  George tapped the buttons on his phone with shaking hands. He had the school’s phone number already in it.

  “Hello. This is Mr Thompson. My daughter, Rowena Thompson is in 8b. Can you send someone to bring her to the phone, please? It’s ver
y urgent.”

  There was a momentary silence.

  “Mr. Thompson, I received a phone-call from yourself saying that Rowena was sick. Don’t you remember?”

  “Oh! Yes of course. I clean forgot. I called this morning, yes, yes.”

  “Are you alright, sir?”

  “Yes, yes I’m fine. Thank you.” He rang off and looked wild-eyed at his brother, who smiled back at him calmly. George, who was a very peaceable person, longed to smash his fist into that face. For a split second, he imagined those perfect teeth knocked out and that face bloody and bruised.

  “Don’t worry. No harm will come to her – if you do what I say. In fact, I give you the chance to set them all free, all seven of them. All you have to do is give me Sally.”

  George put his face in his hands. How could he betray Sally? And yet, there were those children, imprisoned somewhere – and now they had his daughter. How distressed would Netta be when she found out their girl had been snatched and how terrified his little girl would be right now. He could hardly bear the thought of his beautiful Sally once more in the hands of this monster, his own step-brother. He saw what had been done to her before at Lucian’s cruel hands; he’d not borne to see her pain and humiliation. Did Lucian know he’d helped her escape? Was that why he’d always kept an eye on George?

  His question was answered a moment later. That calm voice came again.

  “You should know that no-one is allowed to cross me, Jimmy, you made a bad mistake fifteen years ago, along with Sally. I suspected you helped her, that’s why I’ve always kept track of you. I’ve been very patient. You two almost got away with it, you know. I thought she was dead for a long time – until this last year, in fact. That’s when I realised, put two and two together and actually made four. When I really thought about it, I knew it could only have been you, Jimmy that helped her. No one else would have dared. But you had the hots for her, didn’t you?”

  George looked up then, startled. Lucian laughed that small, self-satisfied chuckle.

  “Oh yes. You thought I didn’t know, didn’t you? But it was plastered all over your face, every time you were in the same room. I couldn’t fail to notice, you never were an actor. But you’re going to do some acting for me shortly. Oh yes, you are. If you don’t, your lovely little girl will be taken in Sally’s place and the others will go with her. I know several rich men who will pay real good money for them. Think about that, Jimmy. Think of Rowena taking over Sally’s role and there will be no-one around like you to save her as you saved Sally.”

  The quiet laugh that rankled George so much came again.

  “How fortuitous that you should end up, literally by accident, in the very place where Sally now lives! What’s the odds on that happening, I wonder? Lady Luck certainly smiled upon me, didn’t she? And I’ve had such fun setting the scene!”

  Knowing he was entirely defeated, George bowed his head.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “That’s more like it, Jimmy-boy! The first thing you have to do is introduce me to your lovely wife when she gets home.”

  Chapter 26

  Rowena was frightened. When she woke up from her drugged sleep, she was lying on a bed that she knew wasn’t her own. Her head felt heavy, as did her limbs. Opening one eye, she squinted to see a wooden chair and a small table. A small shelf above the table held some books. She opened the other eye and looked around the room. It wasn’t very big, about the size of her bedroom at the bungalow but where that had been cosy and homely, this wasn’t. The walls were bricks that had been painted over in a dirty white. The single small window was high up and bare, the bed was old-fashioned, rather like a hospital bed without any moving parts and the mattress was fairly unforgiving. However, someone had made an effort and the two pillows were soft and comfortable and the white sheets and green blankets were clean. She stretched tentatively and sat up. Resting her head against the tubular steel bed head, she tried to recall what had happened.

  Rowena always left the house at the same time every school morning. Her parents had both already gone to work. It being Tuesday, her mum started work at the supermarket at eight. Harry was still in his room, waiting to get up after everyone had left because he still took him a while to do things. He would have his breakfast and then catch the bus to the hospital. She always left via the back door, for the garden led to a shortcut between the houses and came out opposite the school.

  Shouting cheerio to Harry, who always shouted back, Rowena had slammed the back door and run down the garden path, slinging her bag onto her back as she went. No sooner had she passed through the gate when someone had wrapped their hand around her mouth. She’d struggled for a few moments, kicking out, and remembered no more until she’d come to in this room.

  As she sat there, her mind running around, trying to figure out what had happened, the door opened and a woman came in with a tray. Her heart missed a beat. Why was the woman wearing a mask with a woman’s face?

  “Who are you? Where am I?” Rowena’s voice came out as a croak, her throat felt stiff and dry.

  The woman shook her head and proceeded to put a jug of water and a plastic cup on the table and a plate of something with cling-film over it. She indicated with her hand that Rowena could come over to the table and eat. Then she backed away towards the door.

  “No, no, please don’t go!” pleaded Rowena, to no avail because the woman disappeared through the door and a moment later, she heard the sound of a key being turned in the lock.

  She sighed and carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed and gingerly stood up. She felt wobbly but the need for a drink spurred her on to move the couple of steps to the chair. The water was cool and welcome; it slid down her parched throat, healing the rawness. She looked at the plate of food. It was sandwiches and a cake. She realised she was hungry and so immediately started to eat. The bread was fresh and lovely, the ham inside tasty and the cake was homemade. Feeling better after the food, she stood on tiptoe at the window but it was too high and all she could see was sky and part of a branch of a tree. She wondered if her bag was here somewhere. She looked under the bed and there it was. Excitedly, she pulled it out and hunted through her things. After searching thoroughly, she sat back disappointed. All her school things were there but not her phone. Darn it! That was one good idea gone. Oh well, she wasn’t surprised. She checked out the books on the shelf and found one she might like. However, instead of reading, she sat and thought.

  Recalling the news, she wondered if she was the latest victim of the kidnap gang. She was of similar age to those others and she wondered where they were. Was she in the same place or had they been taken somewhere else? If they were in the same house, where were they? Were they all in little cells alone like her? How they were coping? She was scared enough and some of them had been taken two or three weeks ago.

  What was going to happen to her? The room was furnished and she was warm in bed with books to read. The food was good. Did that mean there were people there all the time, making meals and looking after them all? Or was it just her? They didn’t seem to want to harm her and that was a slight relief but she did worry about where she might end up and what they might ultimately do with her. Would she ever see her mum, dad and Harry again?

  **********

  That day was one of the slowest and most difficult of George’s life. Harry returned home from the hospital a couple of hours later and was surprised to see his dad at home with a stranger.

  “I’ve been given a day off because of this surprise visit, Harry. This is your Uncle Luke.” Lucian had told George exactly what to say. “He’s been living abroad and we haven’t seen each other in, oh, years, long before I met your mother.”

  “Hello there, Harry,” said Lucian, shaking hands with the lad. “It’s good to meet you. I’ve been hearing all about you. How are you getting on after your accident?”

  “As you can see, I’m doing good. I only need one stick now and can pretty much manage to do
everything. Still can’t run though.” He pulled a face. “I didn’t know I had an uncle. You never talk about him, Dad.”

  “No, well, we lost touch, you see? I just never thought, I suppose.”

  “And I was too busy living a great life and never thought to get in touch, to my shame. I’ve been looking at that photograph of you all and you look great. I can’t wait to meet your mum and sister too.”

  “Well, Rowena gets home around four and Mum just after five. I’m starving! Have you eaten, Dad, Uncle Luke?”

  “No, not yet. We were waiting for you. You know I’m not very domesticated, Harry, can you see if you can find anything?”

  “Erm, of course. Won’t be long.” His walk was slow and deliberate as he went towards the kitchen.

  “He’s a good boy,” remarked George.

  “Do you like pizza?” shouted Harry from the kitchen.

  “Love it,” called Lucian back, smiling at George, who didn’t smile back.

  “Loosen up,” said Lucian quietly, “Or he’ll suspect something.”

  Soon, the smell of cooked pizza reached them.

  “Dad, can you help me please? I can’t carry all this stuff and my stick.”

  Both men jumped up and put the food and plates on the table and sat down to eat. George could hardly swallow his slice of pizza but he valiantly chewed on. He must not appear to be nervous in front of Lucian. He’d already given Harry a subtle hint that all was not well by saying he wasn’t domesticated and Harry had got the message by the puzzled frown on his face.

  Things were easier with Harry there as the lad asked his uncle questions about his travels, which Lucian answered easily. George suspected there weren’t many places Lucian hadn’t been, after all, he had the money to go anywhere he wanted. It made it easy to give the impression he’d lived abroad. And Harry was a great listener, asking questions and paying eager attention to the answers.

  “You and Dad are not very alike, seeing as you’re brothers,” Harry suddenly remarked.

  “We’re step-brothers,” Lucian replied, cool as ever. “My father married your dad’s mother when your dad was little. I had almost left home then as I’m a lot older than your father. We were never that close really, because I’m much older than your father. I guess that’s the reason why we let our contact slip.”