Stolen Children

by Michael Wood

  ‘I thought you answered Craig’s questions very well,’ Sian said quietly. ‘It couldn’t have been easy for you.’

  ‘It wasn’t. I thought he deserved the truth. I’m sure his eyes glazed over once I started waffling.’

  ‘Mat,’ she said, putting her hand on her arm. ‘Are you going to be ok leading this investigation? I mean, it’s going to bring back memories of Carl, but it’ll bring back memories of James, too.’

  ‘It already is. I like to think I’m a stronger person than I was three years ago. However, if I find myself not coping, I’ll step down. I promise you.’

  Matilda had no intention of stepping down and handing over the case to a lesser detective. In the years since Carl disappeared she’d studied kidnapping cases and read dozens of psychological reports on kidnappers and their motives. If anyone understood why someone stole a child, it was Matilda. It was time to put what she’d read to good use.

  It wasn’t a large bedroom and due to the amount of stuff Keeley had, it was cluttered, but it was clean and tidy.

  In the top drawer of the desk, Sian took out a sketch pad and began to flick through it.

  ‘Wow, she’s good,’ she said. ‘Her attention to detail is amazing for a girl so young. Look at these dresses.’

  Matilda joined her at the desk. She looked over her shoulder at the drawings which looked more like something a fashion designer would create rather than a nine-year-old girl.

  In the same drawer were packs of coloured pencils, all different shades and grades. She had all the tools needed to sketch her fashions. Matilda pictured her spending hours at this desk, looking out at the sprawling countryside from her window as Sheffield dissolved into Derbyshire, gaining inspiration for her designs.

  ‘She writes stories too. Listen to this: “Princess Keeley was locked in the tower. She spent her days sewing the gowns for her sisters to wear and plaiting their hair. She was sad and lonely and only ate what little food her nasty sisters gave to her through the small gap under the door. At night she looked out of the window. If the moon was full, it lit up the whole kingdom and she could see the big boats on the sea. She often fell asleep leaning against the windowsill as she waited for her prince to rescue her.” Oh dear,’ Sian said.

  ‘That’s very sad,’

  ‘Do you think that’s how she feels?’

  ‘It certainly sounds like it. Are there more like that?’

  Sian flicked through the pages. ‘There are a few other stories. I’ll read them back at the station. These drawings are a bit worrying, though.’

  ‘In what way?’

  ‘They’re a bit … what’s the word … mature,’ Sian said. ‘Look at this one.’ The picture was of a dress; nobody was wearing it, but it was very low cut, the breasts were full and the split up the side was very revealing.

  Matilda took the pad from her and studied the pictures. ‘A nine-year-old really shouldn’t be drawing clothes that reveal so much flesh. I mean, who is she designing these for? Is she picturing herself as having huge breasts?’

  ‘I’m not sure. Mind you, have you seen some of those Disney films? The animators certainly pay a lot of attention to putting the curves in all the right places,’ Sian said. ‘She’s probably only drawing what she’s watching on TV.’

  ‘She shouldn’t be sexualising herself at this age.’

  ‘Unless someone was telling her to.’

  They both looked at the tablet in the centre of the desk.

  ***

  Craig was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.

  ‘Craig, does only Keeley have access to this tablet?’ Matilda asked in the hallway downstairs. She held up the tablet.

  ‘Yes. Well, it’s hers. We keep an eye on her while she’s using it.’

  ‘Does she use any other device in the house?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘We’re going to take this with us to go through, analyse social media, see who she was talking to. We’re also taking her story book too. She may have written something that could be useful. Sian’s writing you out a receipt.’

  He nodded, biting his lower lip.

  ‘What do we do if the kidnapper calls before the twenty-four hours?’

  ‘He won’t, but we’re setting up a tap on your phone line. If there is anything you think of that might help in finding Keeley, please mention it to Ellen.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he said. He held out his hand for Matilda to shake.

  She looked down at the large hand and placed hers inside his. His large fingers wrapped tightly around hers.

  ‘I know you’ll find her,’ he said, looking at her with wet eyes.

  Matilda couldn’t reply. She nodded, removed her hand and headed for the hallway. She pulled open the front door and almost fell out. She inhaled deep breaths and slowly breathed out. It had been years since she’d had a panic attack. Try as she might, she couldn’t get Carl Meagan and everything she went through three years ago out of her mind. She didn’t want to return to those dark days.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Sian asked.

  ‘No.’ She shivered as a gust of wind blew around her. ‘No, I’m not.’ She headed for the car.

  ‘I’ll get Rory and Scott to search online and on social media,’ Sian said as she lowered herself in behind the wheel and put her seatbelt on. ‘We need to find out everything we can about the family. Like he said, they’re just a normal, regular, everyday kind of family. Why them?’

  Matilda didn’t reply.

  Sian started the engine. Matilda looked out of the window and back at the house. Craig was standing at the large living room window looking out at her. They made eye contact. Matilda offered a sympathetic smile, but it wasn’t returned. Craig continued to stare.

  ‘What are you thinking about?’ Sian asked when she glanced at Matilda and saw a heavy frown on her face.

  ‘It’s nearly always the father, isn’t it?’

  ‘What is?’

  ‘When a child goes missing or dies or something happens, it’s nearly always the father. What do you think of him?’

  ‘Craig? I get the feeling he’s screaming on the inside but trying to remain calm for Linda and the kids.’

  ‘You don’t suspect him?’

  Sian thought for a moment. ‘No. I don’t think I do. Do you?’

  Matilda remained silent. Until she found evidence to the contrary, she suspected everyone.

  Chapter 10

  While Matilda and Sian were at the Armitage house, DI Christian Brady was setting the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team to task. Until the kidnappers made their next move, there was very little they could do. However, in case the kidnapping was a hoax, a contingency plan was set up for the investigation into a missing child to begin. The first step was to contact everybody on the child sex offender’s register and find out their movements for the time Keeley disappeared.

  ‘Sir, I’ve been scrolling through Twitter and Jodie Armitage has been tweeting quite a bit since last night,’ DC Scott Andrews said. He stood in the doorway to Christian’s office.

  He sighed. ‘I bloody hate social media. Thanks Scott, I’ll give Ellen a ring.’

  ‘I’ve just seen Sian’s car pull up in the car park.’

  ‘Right. We’ll need to get the briefing started. I’ll be right out. Scott, keep an eye on social media. Anything that sounds a bit dodgy, let me know.’

  ‘Will do.’

  Christian stepped out of his office as Matilda and Sian entered the HMET suite.

  ‘How did it go?’ He asked.

  Matilda rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t ask. Listen, is the ACC here yet? Her car isn’t in the car park.’

  ‘Oh. I’m not sure.’

  Sian had made two strong coffees and handed one to her boss. It was greatly needed, and Matilda inhaled the caffeine before taking a sip. She could feel herself relaxing immediately.

  She looked up at the whiteboard on the wall behind her. Keeley’s school photo was already at the top, smiling at the whole ro
om.

  ‘Ok then, let’s begin …’

  DS Aaron Connolly’s mobile rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, looked at the screen and silenced it. He mouthed ‘sorry’ to Matilda.

  She continued. ‘We have a missing child to find. Keeley Armitage is nine years old. She lives in Acorn Drive, Stannington with her family. Parents are Craig and Linda and she has an older sister, Jodie, who is fourteen and younger brother Riley who is four. Keeley looks more or less as she does in the photo on the board. She’s four feet tall with shoulder-length curly blonde hair which she wears tied back in a ponytail. She is slim, has blue eyes and a fresh complexion and wears size two and a half shoe. When she went missing, she was wearing her school uniform, as seen in the photo, and a yellow lightweight coat and carrying a pink backpack with characters from the film Frozen on it.’

  Scott was stood by the board adding the details as Matilda spoke.

  ‘The last person to see Keeley was her sister who told her to wait for her outside the Co-op on Oldfield Drive while she went inside to do some shopping.’

  DC Rory Fleming, with a mouth full of Snickers, raised his hand and waved it about to get Matilda’s attention. He quickly chewed and swallowed. ‘Sorry, I missed breakfast. I’ve got the CCTV footage from the Co-op,’ DC Rory Fleming said. ‘Do you want to watch it now?’

  ‘No. Shall we wait until Keeley’s been found?’ Scott said. A ripple of laughter ran around the room.

  Matilda pulled down a white projecting screen while Scott turned off the lights. Rory hammered away at his laptop and the image from the Co-op’s CCTV camera above the entrance appeared.

  The picture was of high quality and showed shoppers entering and leaving the store. At 15:39, Jodie and Keeley walked towards the automatic doors. Keeley was licking an ice cream. Jodie knelt down, held her by the shoulders and said something to her before going into the store. A few minutes later, Keeley had finished her ice cream and walked off, disappearing out of shot.

  ‘Play it again,’ Matilda instructed.

  The officers watched the footage for a second time in silence. When finished, Scott turned the lights back on.

  ‘It’s like she had no intention of waiting for her sister,’ Sian said.

  ‘That’s what I thought,’ Rory said.

  ‘Is she heading in the direction of home?’ Matilda asked.

  ‘She is.’

  ‘But she didn’t make it.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Are there any other CCTV cameras on the route she should have taken?’

  ‘I’m afraid not.’

  ‘I didn’t think so. So, is this all we’ve got of her?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Rory, take this to the tech department. See if they can zoom in on the people, clean it up and get some decent images. We can see most of the kids are wearing school uniform. If we can show this to the teachers, they may be able to identify the kids and we can ask them what they saw.’

  ‘Will do. Can I finish off my breakfast now?’

  ‘You may.’

  Rory nodded then bit off another chunk of chocolate.

  ‘One more thing Rory.’

  He almost choked which made the room roar with laughter. Even Matilda smiled.

  Aaron’s phone rang again. ‘Sorry. I’ll turn it off.’

  ‘Someone’s popular,’ Sian said with a hint of a smile.

  ‘Scott, what did you manage to dig up on the family?’ Matilda asked.

  ‘There is a lot about the family online, especially the father, Craig Armitage.’ He went over to his laptop and projected images onto the screen showing various newspaper articles. ‘Craig does a great deal of charity work. He runs marathons, half-marathons, bike rides, abseils buildings, anything to help raise money for charity.’

  ‘Which charity?’

  ‘Well, at first it was to buy the specialist equipment they needed at home for Riley. They’ve had the doors widened downstairs to accommodate Riley’s wheelchair. The garage has been turned into a bedroom and en suite wet room for him, the garden has had to be adapted, and various other pieces of equipment he needs. None of it is cheap.’

  ‘Do we know what happened to Riley?’ Sian asked.

  ‘Yes. He developed epilepsy not long after he was born, and the seizures grew in strength. When he was one, he had one during the night while everyone was sleeping. He banged his head on the side of his cot, knocking him unconscious. His brain was starved of oxygen for too long for the damage to be repaired.’

  ‘The poor boy,’ DC Ranjeet Deshwal, who had recently become a father for the first time, said, putting his head down.

  ‘How did the family react to all this?’

  ‘According to the article I read, Craig talked about his wife and daughters rallying round and helping out. They come across as a close-knit family, but he’s going to say all that for a newspaper article, isn’t he?’

  ‘True. We need to chat to the neighbours, close friends and family; find out as much as we can about them,’ Matilda said.

  ‘I expect Linda feels guilty,’ Sian said.

  ‘How do you mean?’ Scott asked.

  ‘Well, when you’ve got young children, especially when they’re babies, you want to protect them, look after them. They’re vulnerable and rely on you,’ she said from experience as the mother of four children. ‘When they’re ill, especially with the condition Riley has, you’re even more protective. On the night his injury occurred, she’ll have been asleep and will have berated herself more than once for indulging in sleep while her child had stopped breathing. It’s natural.’

  ‘But it wasn’t her fault.’

  ‘That doesn’t stop her feeling guilty. You ask any parent of a child who injures themselves.’

  ‘So, how is Linda going to be feeling now?’ Scott asked. ‘Will she blame herself for allowing Keeley to be kidnapped?’

  ‘Judging by the state she was in yesterday and this morning, yes,’ Sian said. ‘She’s tried to protect all her kids, but most of her effort goes on Riley so she relies on Jodie to pick up the slack. Keeley’s gone missing, so Linda will be hating herself more.’

  Matilda gazed out of the window overlooking the car park. She saw the dirty Land Rover belonging to ACC Masterson arrive. Matilda watched through the slats of the vertical blinds. The diminutive Valerie jumped down from the driver’s seat, slammed the door behind her and walked, lazily, towards the building. There used to be a bounce to her step. She was the assistant chief constable of South Yorkshire Police, a role she coveted. Now, everything had changed. Matilda recognised that look, that strolling gait.

  The room had quietened. They were all waiting for Matilda.

  ‘Sorry,’ she apologised. ‘Now, as I was saying, we need to know everything about their routine, what’s going on in their lives. I know we don’t like to think this, but facts don’t lie, and the majority of the time, when a child goes missing, or is killed, it is by someone they know. Just because Craig does all this charity work and Linda is a doting mother doesn’t mean we don’t investigate them. I want everyone’s movements known for around the time Keeley went missing. Not just of the parents, but of the entire family too, that includes aunties, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great grandparents and third cousins twice removed. Until we know what happened to Keeley Armitage, everyone is a suspect. Is that clear?’

  There were nods of ascent from around the room.

  ‘Good. Now, Sian, I’d like you to pay a visit to Keeley’s school. Find out what kind of child she was there – is she different from when she’s at home, was she being bullied, the usual. While you’re at the school, get a spare uniform and get it photographed. We need to try and get a similar jacket to the one she was wearing too. I’ll try and get Craig and Linda to do a television appeal later if this ransom demand doesn’t play out like it should.’

  ‘You don’t think she’s been kidnapped for ransom, do you?’ Aaron asked.

  ‘No, I don’t,’ she said, sitting on the edg
e of a desk. ‘When you kidnap someone for ransom, you choose a family who has plenty of money, like …’ She swallowed hard. ‘Well, like the Meagans. Yes, Craig has raised over half a million pounds, but you only have to read all these stories of him in the paper to know that he hasn’t put the money in his own bank account. It’s to buy special equipment for his son, or for the Children’s Hospital. He works two jobs, Linda doesn’t work. They don’t have that kind of money.’

  ‘Why would someone pretend they’ve kidnapped her when they haven’t?’ Scott asked.

  ‘To cover up what really happened to her,’ Matilda answered.

  The room went silent while they all took in the implications of Matilda’s statement. Had Linda Armitage invented the kidnapping because she had killed her daughter?

  ‘But we’re not discounting the kidnapping completely?’ Aaron asked.

  ‘No. Nothing is being discounted until we have firm proof. I hope we’re monitoring all their calls.’

  ‘We are.’

  ‘Can I ask a very sensitive question?’ Rory asked.

  Everyone turned to look at him, and his face reddened at the attention.

  ‘Go on,’ Matilda prompted.

  ‘I’m only asking this as we’re keeping an open mind on the whole kidnap thing, but, say she was kidnapped and there is someone out there waiting for fifty grand, do you think, that … well, what I mean is … is there …?’

  ‘Is it the same people who kidnapped Carl Meagan?’ Matilda finished his question for him.

  ‘Yes. Sorry.’

  ‘Don’t apologise, you’ve every right to ask. I’ve spent most of the night thinking that myself. Kidnaps for ransom are very rare in this country. Is it possible the people who kidnapped Carl are having another go? I really don’t know.’

  ‘But Carl’s kidnappers didn’t get their ransom money,’ Scott said.

  ‘No. But we don’t know what happened to Carl. I screwed up the ransom drop, and they got away with Carl. After that, who knows what they did to him. Maybe they sold him on and made their money that way. We don’t know.’

  Matilda’s brow had wrinkled, and her face took on a look of sadness. The Carl Meagan case haunted her on a daily basis, and now it was happening again, just when she was getting her life back on track. This was a cruel twist, and Matilda knew she had to get it right. She could not allow her emotions to get the better of her, and if that meant upsetting the already fragile parents of Keeley Armitage to get some answers, then she was perfectly prepared to do so.