by Clare Revell
“Chased them, took them away.” Tears ran unchecked down her face.
“I don’t understand,” Dane said.
“Mr. Scruffy took them,” she whispered. “Put them in a car.”
Dane looked at Nate. Vicky had no reason to lie, even if she was confusing the scarecrow with someone else. “Tell the firefighters they’re not in the house.”
DI Welsh ran over to them. “Is everyone out?”
Dane looked at her. “He’s got Jodie and Amy.”
“Who has?”
“It has to be Saunders. Her real name is Amy Childs. She hit Derek Saunders with her car, and got done for careless driving. She fled here in fear of her life. Only he found her and now he has Jodie.”
A paramedic came over, trying to take Vicky.
Dane held her tightly.
DI Welsh put a hand on his arm. “Dane, you need to let them check her over, make sure she’s OK.”
“I need to keep her safe. But I also need to find Jodie.” He looked at Vicky, torn as to what to do. Why was this so hard?
Nate nodded, pulling out his phone. “And we will, but you and Vicky need to be checked over first. I’ll get Adeline to come over and collect Vicky. She’ll be safe at ours.”
Vicky clung to him tightly. “Stay with Daddy,” she whispered.
Dane hugged her. “Honey, I know you want to and I want that more than anything, but I have to go and find Jodie and I need you to be safe. Auntie Adeline will keep you safe.”
“Mr. Scruffy took them.”
“Mr. Scruffy is a scarecrow.”
“He was in the house. We didn’t always move him. He did it himself.”
“Mr. Scruffy was in the house?” Dane shook his head, trying to understand what she was saying. “Where were you?”
“In my kitchen den. Then I hid in my room. He hurt her. He twisted Jodie’s arm and he hit Amy.”
Anger flooded him. “And I’ll hurt him when I find him.”
“Dane,” Nate warned.
“Fine.” He looked at the paramedic. “You can check her over, but she’s not moving from here.” He gazed up at the house, the study and Amy’s room well alight. So much for his safe refuge.
Vicky snuggled against him as the paramedic checked her over. He didn’t let go, thrilled by the fact she’d spoken. He just wished her first words had been something other than this. The irony hit him hard. She’d stopped talking when her mother died, and started again when her sister vanished.
Adeline arrived. “Hi. Is everyone all right?”
“No,” he said quietly.
Nate quickly filled his wife in, using a combination of speech and sign.
The paramedic looked at Dane. “She’s fine. She just needs to be kept warm.”
“Thanks.”
Vicky waved to him, and then clung to her father again.
Dane glanced over to see Vianne in the car, her face pressed against the glass, fear in her eyes. He looked at Vicky. “Sweetie, go with Auntie Adeline and Ben.”
She shook her head. “Stay with Daddy,” she whispered.
Adeline knelt next to her. “You’ll be safe with me. Daddy and Uncle Nate need to find Jodie and Amy.”
Vicky cried, holding tightly to Dane.
Tears filled his eyes. What do I do? Leave them or leave her? He kissed Vicky’s forehead. “Vicks, I promise I’ll be back. But I need you safe and you can’t stay here with the house on fire, because it’s not safe. Auntie Adeline and Vianne will look after you.”
Adeline took her hand. “We’ll go via the chip shop,” she said. “Would you like that? Or would you prefer pizza or burger?”
“Pizza,” she whispered.
At that, Dane really did choke up. The first meal she’d asked for in years and it was Jas’s favorite.
Adeline smiled. “Then we’ll go to my house and you and Vianne can look at the delivery menu and order whatever you like.”
Vicky nodded slowly. She looked at Dane. “Are you coming?”
“I will be, just as soon as I find Jodie and Amy.” He hugged her. “Be good I love you.”
Vicky hugged him tightly. “Love you, Daddy.”
He closed his eyes, tears running down his face as he held her tightly. He’d waited so long to hear those words, and he’d about given up hope.
Nate put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s time to let her go, mate. There’ll be a marked car outside my place, and an officer in the house, until we find the others.”
“OK.” He kissed Vicky and slowly let go of her.
Vicky stood and took Adeline’s hand. “Bye Daddy.”
“Bye, sweetie. See you soon.”
Adeline left, flanked by a police officer. Dane kept an eye on her as she led Vicky to the car and strapped her in. He raised a hand and waved slightly as the car pulled away, escorted by a patrol car.
Only when the car was out of sight, did he look at Nate. “Where do we start?”
DI Welsh coughed. He’d forgotten she was there. “You’re not going to start anything.”
Dane scowled. “That’s my daughter out there.”
“That’s exactly why you’re not getting involved. Let us handle it.”
Dane looked at his house. The fire seemed confined to one side. He had no idea where they’d sleep tonight, but honestly, he didn’t care. He’d sleep in the car once he knew Jodie and Amy were safe.
Jared crossed over to him. “Dane?”
“Jared. How is it?”
“Under control, but we’ll be here a while yet. I don’t need to tell you it was arson. The study and bedroom above are going to be a total loss. The rest should be OK apart from some smoke damage. We’ll get the structural engineers in once we’ve finished as you can’t go back in until it’s been declared safe.”
“Thank you.”
Dane sat in his office and pulled up every scrap of information he could find on the Saunders brothers. The drugs he already knew about. It was everything else he needed to know. And he didn’t like what was coming up on his screen.
Nate put a mug of coffee on his desk. “Anything?”
“Thanks, mate.” Dane picked up the cup. “Saunders runs Filely by the looks of it—and more than just in his capacity as mayor. The rumors were true. He took Mrs. Malone and killed her to get to Amy. But I still don’t understand how he found Amy when she’d left no trace at all. She did a perfect vanishing job. Much better than anything I’d have done. She asked to be paid in cash. I therefore didn’t need her bank details. She must have gotten fake ID from somewhere.”
“Not necessarily. You don’t need ID for a library card or a bus pass.”
“You should read this.” DI Welsh dropped a report on his desk. “How are you doing?”
“I’m just fine.” Dane flicked through the file. Dead animals, blood covering the windows on more than one occasion… How had he not known all this was going on at his own house? Was he so blinded by his feelings for Amy that nothing else mattered?
He looked up. “I don’t understand why any of this is happening. OK, Amy broke the law, but she pleaded guilty, the court punished her. That should have been the end of it. Why is this guy hounding her? Surely he must know his position as mayor is over when he gets caught.”
DI Welsh sat on the edge of his desk. “Apparently the wrong judge got the case. It should have been Judge Paul, who it turns out, is on Kevin Saunders’ pay roll, but she was sick. She’s now been arrested herself. Rather than put off the case as it was a simple sentencing, Judge Barrowman did it. Saunders thought the sentence too light.”
Dane groaned. “And Amy’s broken the conditions of her suspended sentence. I find her and I’m going to have to arrest her before she can count to three.” He sucked in a deep breath and rubbed his hand over his face, his shoulder hurting again. “Hi, Amy. We came to rescue you. By the way, now we’ve done that, I’m afraid you’re under arrest for breaking your sentencing conditions.”
Nate looked at h
im. “What?”
“She lost her license. A twelve month driving ban and I made her drive me and Vicky to the hospital.”
DI Welsh shook her head. “Don’t worry about that now. And don’t arrest her the next time you see her. I’ll deal with it once she’s back safely. But let’s just find her and Jodie, and get them home safe first, before we worry about anything else.”
“He wants her dead.” Dane pushed his hand through his hair. “Like he killed Rosalie Malone.”
“Not going to happen,” Nate said firmly.
DI Welsh agreed. She glanced around the office and, seeing it was empty, lowered her voice. “Just between us, Mrs. Malone isn’t dead.”
Nate frowned. “She’s what?”
“She’s badly injured and under heavy guard at Headley General. I had her moved here under a false name when they found her at the bottom of the cliff. She’s officially ‘dead’ until the situation in Filely is under control. Maybe permanently in the WPS; that’s dependent on what the CPS decide to do. ‘Need to know’ only, which you two do.”
“Does her husband know?”
“He and the baby are staying at the hospital, again under armed guard for now.”
“So when I spoke to him, he was up the road.”
DI Welsh nodded. “But like I said, need to know. As far as the Filely plod is concerned, she’s dead.” The door opened and another officer came in. She raised her voice to a normal level. “We’ve got the number and make of the car. The roads between here and Filely are being watched. He won’t get far.”
Nate nodded. “I mean, how many cars do you see being driven by pumpkin headed scarecrows anyway?”
DI Welsh rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry?”
“According to Vicky, Mr. Scruffy did it. He broke into the house and took Jodie and Amy away.” He stopped, grabbing the report. “Half the time the scarecrow moved without the girls being outside,” he read.
Dane froze. “He’s been out there the whole time, watching her. I just gave him the access he needed.”
Amy sat in the tiny room in the flat, her hands tied behind her back. Jodie sat next to her, similarly tied up. She looked at her. “Jodie, are you all right?”
“Peachy,” Jodie replied. “What about you? You banged your head pretty hard. It’s bleeding.”
“It hurts,” Amy admitted. “But what matters is getting out of here.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, but God will find a way.”
“Is this all part of His plan too?” Jodie scoffed. “Getting hit and kidnapped and having my sister die in a fire?”
“I’m sure Vicky got out, because the neighbors would have called the fire brigade and they’d come really, really fast. And no, this isn’t part of God’s plan for us. But it happened and He’ll help us get through it.” She paused. “It’s because we live in a sin-filled world, evil just messes things up sometimes.”
“Like when Mum died? That was an act of evil rather than God being mean to me.”
Amy nodded, despite the pain in her face. “You got it. Evil breaks in, messes things up, then God turns on the light and shows us a way through it.”
The door opened and Derek Saunders came in. “Amy, it’s so nice to bump into you again.”
“What do you want?” Amy asked.
“Revenge. See, the courts didn’t do it properly. You were meant to go down. It was arranged, and once inside, there would be a welcoming committee for you.”
Amy swallowed hard.
Jodie frowned. “I don’t understand. Go down where?”
“Didn’t she tell you what she’d done or who she really is? She’s a criminal with a record. She mowed me down like an innocent daisy in a field of long grass.”
Jodie laughed. “You’re a daisy? More like a dandelion.”
“Shut up.” Derek scowled at her. “You’re just collateral damage. Like the pastor’s wife.”
Amy gasped. “You killed Rosalie?”
“She insisted you were dead, but we knew better. It’d had taken us some time but we finally tracked you by the fake ID you ordered on the internet. Mrs. Malone was, shall we say, payback part one.”
Jodie looked at her. “Your name isn’t Amy?”
Amy shook her head. “My name is Amy, just not Amy Stabler. It’s Amy Childs. Everything else I told you is the truth. I had to run away and change my name because this man wanted me dead. I’m sorry. All this is my fault.”
“Yes, it is. All your fault.” Derek put a gun to Amy’s head. “And now I’m going to kill you the same way you almost killed me. But first…payback part two. Well, three, if you include the child we burned in the house.” He swung the gun around and aimed at Jodie.
Jodie screamed.
Amy swallowed down her terror. She knew what she had to do. It might not work, but she had to try. “Let Jodie go. And you can do what you want with me. You said she’s collateral, means nothing. So let her go and keep me. I have money. You can have that in exchange for her.”
“You’re selling me?” Jodie managed.
“Buying your freedom,” Amy told her. She looked back at Derek. “Keep me, just let her go.”
“How much?”
“I have twenty thousand. It’s in cash. Just let me or Jodie call her father. He can bring the cash wherever you want.”
“Assuming it didn’t burn.”
“It wasn’t in the house. It’s in the boot of Dane’s car. In a tin.”
Derek nodded. He handed Jodie the phone. “You tell him exactly what I write down. Don’t you go telling him nothing else. And be quick about it. I don’t want them tracing the call.”
“OK.”
He wrote quickly then held the paper out to her. “Here.”
Jodie looked at Amy.
She nodded. “It’s for the best. Just do it.”
Jodie nodded and dialed slowly. “I just hope his phone is switched on.”
“It will be,” Amy said. It has to be.
19
Dane sat at his desk, fuming. His fingers drummed on the desk over and over. “It’s my lead.”
DI Welsh looked at him. “You’re staying put.”
“But Guv…”
She shook her head firmly. “But nothing. As far as this case goes, you’re the victim, not the investigating officer.”
He turned to his partner. “Nate?”
“Nothing I can do.”
Dane shot Nate a withering look. “Thanks for the backup. Can I remind you who charged into a building filled with active gunfire to help you save Adeline? Aside from the armed MI5 officer, that is.”
Nate held up his hands. “I know. But it’s not my call.”
Dane looked back at his boss. “So you’re not going to humor me and let me go anyway.”
She narrowed her eyes. “No. Nate will follow it up. I suggest you go and find Vicky and be with her. Nate, I need to speak to you in my office.”
“Yes, Guv.” Nate shot Dane a compassionate look before following her from the room.
“Go home,” Dane muttered. “And how am I meant to do that when my home is on fire, cordoned off and she told me not to drive?” His phone rang, and he pulled it out. “Philips.”
“Daddy…”
“Jodie?” He sat bolt upright in his chair. “Where are you?”
“A man has me and Amy. He says I can come home if you bring him twenty thousand pounds. It’s in a tin in the boot of your car. Amy says the money is hers, but she insists you use it. The man says to bring all the money to the park at quarter to six tonight by the war memorial. He says to come alone and not be late, and he’ll let me go.”
Dane glanced at the clock on the wall. It was four-thirty. Hopefully his car was finished. It was at the garage across the road being resprayed. “What about Amy?”
“He said just me. If you come with anyone, he’ll kill me. I love you, Daddy.” The phone went dead.
“Jodie?” Dane buried his head in his ha
nds. God, please, I don’t often ask for a miracle, but I really need one about now.
Nate came over to him. “Dane? Who was on the phone?”
Dane stood and ignored the question. He wasn’t going to lose Jodie and Amy like he’d lost Jasmine. “Is my car ready?”
“Yes, the garage brought it back twenty minutes ago, but you can’t drive one-handed.”
“It’s a semi-automatic, so yes I can. I don’t usually use it as such, but today I will.”
“Where are you going?”
“Home,” he snapped. “See what’s left of it, then go and pick Vicky up. Find somewhere to stay.”
“You’re staying with us. That goes without saying. The Guv wants a word.”
“I have to go. I’ll speak to her tomorrow.” He strode to the door, leaving Nate standing there. He didn’t have a choice. He had to go alone.
As he ran down the hallway, a verse from Matthew echoed through his mind. “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
He wasn’t going alone. He just prayed he’d be in time and be able to save them both.
Derek snatched the phone from Jodie and turned it off. “Get over there.”
Jodie scooted back to Amy and leaned against her. “I’m scared.”
Amy nodded. “Me too, but it’ll be all right.”
“Did you really hit that man with your car?”
Amy swallowed hard. She hadn’t wanted the truth to come out like this. “Yes, but I didn’t mean to. It was an accident. I did a U-turn, because I was running late for a party, and he was in the way.”
“In the way?” Derek yelled. “I was not in the way. You mounted the pavement and you hit me. You shouldn’t have been there. People don’t treat the Saunders brothers like that and get away with it.”
“It wasn’t deliberate. I pled guilty, paid my fine. You tried to kill me. Even drove me out of town.”
“You ran. Faked your own death, like the coward you are.”
Jodie looked up. “She’s not a coward. She’s one of the bravest people I know.”
“I’m sorry,” Amy said again. She didn’t care what happened to her. So long as Jodie was safe.
