by Anna Smith
‘I don’t think so, Rosie.’
‘What?’
‘Because, I see him going in the car with the police, and then I see another car come up the road, so I watched it for a moment. I thought I recognised the man who drove us to the orphanage, Mr Georgescu’s assistant. From the adoption agency. Then I see that it is him.’
‘Jesus! Really?’
‘Yes. So I follow the police car for little bit, and then they get out and bring the husband from the back seat and they hand him over to the guy – the guy who drove us. It was him. I am sure. And another two men.’
Rosie knew Adrian didn’t make elementary mistakes. If he had recognised him, you could be sure he had studied every feature of his face on their first meeting.
‘So then what happened?’
‘The police handed him over to this guy. They punch him in the face and bundle him into the back of the car. They are part of it, Rosie. The police are part of the corruption.’
‘Jesus Christ, Adrian! That’s unbelievable. They just walked out of the embassy two minutes before, with the interior minister summoning them and assuring us that there would be justice all round. Then the cops just walk out and hand this guy over to the bloody criminals?’
‘That is what happened. They must be in the pay of the gangsters.’
Rosie’s mind was a blur. ‘They can’t all be in the pay of the gangsters – not the government people, surely? And definitely not the British embassy officials.
‘Shit, Adrian. I feel I should go back into the embassy and tell them what happened. But I’m scared now in case it’s all some kind of cover-up. I can’t believe the Brits would be involved in that.’
‘Maybe they are not. But all I can say is that the police are.’
‘So where are you now?’
‘I am three cars behind them, but it looks to me that they are going back to the town where I picked up Eadbert and maybe they will dump him. But I don’t think so. He knows too much, now that they have been discovered. They will have to kill him.’
Rosie pressed the phone to her ear.
‘This means everyone is in danger now, Adrian. Especially Madelina, and her baby.’
‘We need to get the baby out now, Rosie. Tonight, if possible.’
Rosie looked around at the darkness falling, heard the buzz of the traffic. She didn’t know how she was going to tell Madelina what had happened. She hadn’t even broken the news to Madelina yet that her baby was ill with some possible heart condition. And now this. She knocked on the door of the window and beckoned Ariana out. She came towards her, a concerned look on her face.
‘Ariana, we have a problem.’ She explained what had happened. ‘So we need to get the baby out now. And we need to keep the wife away or they will get her, because now that we have made an official complaint she will be on the list of witnesses. Her husband will no doubt be dead before the morning.’ She shook her head as Ariana looked at her in disbelief. ‘Ariana, we need to get that baby out tonight. We cannot trust anyone else in this organisation. The police are in on it, so they may tell the gangsters to do what they have to do.’
Ariana puffed out her cheeks and ran her hand through her hair.
‘My God, Rosie. What a mess.’
‘I know. I don’t think everyone is in on it – I mean, that would be too crazy. But the police are, and it might be them who would be instructed to take the baby from the orphanage that she’s in, so we cannot wait around for this. Who knows? Maybe the manager of the orphanage is also on the payroll of the gangsters and he will do what he is told.’
‘I don’t think he is, Rosie. My friend Jaana has been there three years, and she says the bosses are all good, and there are no babies or children disappearing there. Everything takes forever, she says, for adoptions, so I don’t think this is happening here.’
‘But how can we be sure?’
‘We can’t be.’
‘Can you ask Jaana to help? Do you think it would be safe for her to tell her boss what is going on and what may happen?’
‘I don’t know. I will have to ask her.’
Rosie felt sick. What if they’d got it wrong, and the boss was also in on it? What if the criminals got there first?
‘Can you phone her now? We may not have much time.’
Ariana looked at her watch. ‘Jaana will be home now. But she lives nearby. I will ask her and see what she thinks is best. Is it okay for me to tell her everything that has happened today?’
‘Yes. Of course. You trust her, don’t you?’
‘Yes. If she can get the baby out, she will. But I must talk to her first.’
Matt and Nicu got out of the car.
‘What is going on?’ Nicu lit up a cigarette.
Rosie shook her head. ‘It’s all gone crazy, Nicu.’ She glanced at Matt. ‘Adrian saw the policeman hand Madelina’s husband over to the thug from the other day – the driver of the agency boss who took us to the orphanage. They must all be in on it.’
‘Shit,’ Nicu spat. ‘This bloody country. So much corruption. Shit! But the government ministers, they were so helpful. I’m sure they don’t know, Rosie.’
‘I agree. But the police seem to be a law unto themselves.’
‘It has always been the way. They turn the blind eye all the time. So what now?’
‘Well, everyone is in danger now. Madelina’s husband no doubt will be history by the morning, but they will be after Madelina, and maybe the baby too now. They need to remove all evidence. Even though the baby has a different name and is in an orphanage, they still have to get rid of her as evidence now that we have tracked her down. The interior minister said there would be blood tests to determine that Madelina is really the mother, so they have to get rid of the baby.’
He drew on his cigarette, his face pale.
‘All of us are in danger now, Rosie. We must do something.’
‘We need to get the baby out, and then I can talk to the embassy.’
‘You don’t think you should talk to them now?’
‘I’m not sure how much time we have. I think the priority is to get the baby and hide somewhere until I get to the embassy in the morning.’
‘What is Ariana doing?’
‘She is talking to her friend Jaana, who works in the orphanage. And the orphanage boss. We must try to get the baby tonight.’ She paused. ‘Nicu. Do you know anywhere we can go to hide until tomorrow? Not too far.’
He thought for a moment, then nodded. ‘I know a place. It’s is in the countryside. But it is dark already and the road is not good. My friend lives there in a small farm. They have not much, though, but I know he will help us.’
Ariana came off her mobile and turned to them.
‘Jaana is at the orphanage, and she has spoken to her boss. They are expecting us. I think everything will be okay.’
*
The road into the orphanage was dark and eerily quiet through the tall trees; dogs were barking somewhere in the distance. They had no idea what was on the other side of the trees on the road leading up to the orphanage. Adrian drove Rosie, Matt and Ariana up the tiny narrow track and they could see some lights in the building, but couldn’t make out how big or long it was. Nicu was following them in a separate car, and he was going to park it a little distance away from the orphanage so he could take them to his friend’s farm. That wasn’t much comfort now, though. Rosie’s heart was thumping in her chest, but at least she felt as though she was doing something rather than sitting around waiting for the morning. Jaana had been more than cooperative and had told Ariana that she would speak to her boss, assuring them that he was not the kind of man to get involved with criminals. He had children of his own and had worked all his life trying to place children with the right parents, or working to improve conditions for the children. She said it was one of the better orphanages in the region. He had been horrified when he was told the story, but insisted on meeting Rosie the reporter and Ariana as he wanted to make sure himself tha
t they were genuine. And he wanted to meet the mother too. Rosie had been reluctant to bring Madelina but she had no choice.
Adrian drove the car up to and parked outside what looked like the building’s main entrance, with a single light. Suddenly, one or two more lights came on and the door opened.
‘I see my friend, Jaana,’ Ariana said. ‘The man with her must be her boss.’
They piled out of the car quietly and he ushered them in to a small side room. Ariana introduced everyone and they shook hands. She told them they did not have much time. The orphanage boss asked to see Rosie’s credentials and Matt’s and also Ariana’s. Then he asked Madelina some questions, and seemed to ponder and consider her answers. Rosie shifted around on her feet, silently willing him to get on with his questions. Eventually he took a deep breath and spoke to Madelina. Ariana translated.
‘He is saying he is sorry this has happened to the mother and knows she must be in pain. He is worried he might be in trouble by doing what they ask. He says that the baby is not well and tests were being done on her heart. She will need to be taken care of in a hospital in the coming days. But he will give the baby over now, and tomorrow he hopes that Rosie will, as she promised, go to the authorities and they will come here to speak to him. He only wants to do the right thing.’
Madelina’s face fell when she learned her baby was ill, and Ariana touched her arm to comfort her.
Rosie told Ariana to reassure the orphanage boss that he was doing the right thing, that though she was certain that the police were in with the criminals, the other government figures she had met today were not. She hoped to Christ they weren’t, but she couldn’t admit that. He nodded to Jaana and she disappeared out of the room. They stood in a kind of edgy, sweaty silence in the half-light. There was no sound of babies crying, just a thick, hot, humid smell. Then the door opened and Jaana came back with a baby in her arms, wrapped up in a blanket. Madelina looked at everyone in disbelief. She stepped forward and stretched her arms out as the girl handed her the baby. Then she crumbled and sobbed so much she had to sit down, cradling the baby to her chest.
‘This is her things. Some food and clothes, nappies. She doesn’t have much. You should go now,’ Jaana said.
The boss shook Rosie’s hand and held it.
‘Good luck. I hope to speak to you tomorrow. I must speak to you.’ Jaana went back into the office and he showed them out.
*
Rosie ushered Madelina and her baby to the car. Ariana and Matt were standing next to it. Adrian was standing nearby, but in the shadows. Suddenly, another car pulled up, headlights blinding. Rosie pushed Madelina into the back of their car, got in to the passenger seat herself and closed the door. Two men got out of the other car, and she could see the metal of a gun in the headlights. They shouted something in Romanian, and pushed the orphanage boss inside their car at gunpoint and closed the door. Rosie could still see Adrian in the shadows, but she could do nothing. She was afraid to move.
Rosie saw Ariana and Matt, now both crouched down next to her side of the car, and she heard Ariana whispering. Ariana whispered, ‘They are saying to hand over the baby and the mother. They are taking them away, they said.’
Rosie couldn’t speak. She looked over to Matt, saw panic in his face. One of the men approached the other side of the car and pointed the gun at the rear back seat-window where Madelina sat clutching her baby. Suddenly there was a gunshot, and he dropped to the ground. Then several more gunshots, and Ariana fell to the ground too, clasping her stomach. Rosie braced herself for the next shot. But when it came, it was Adrian who came out of the bushes as the other man fell to the ground. He ushered Matt into the car, then picked up Ariana carefully and placed her in the back seat across Matt’s lap.
‘Let’s go quickly. We must go,’ Adrian said, as he got into the driving seat.
Rosie’s hands shook as she phoned Nicu. His phone was answered immediately.
‘Nicu. We are out. Where are you?’
But there was no answer, and his phone cut off.
Chapter Twenty-Three
‘Shit!’ Rosie said. ‘Someone answered Nicu’s phone but didn’t speak. Something’s happened.’
Adrian drove through the potholes past the edge of the wooded narrow road away from the orphanage.
‘We will be there in a moment. We have to get out of here.’ He didn’t glance at Rosie. ‘But it might be a trap.’
Rosie’s heart accelerated. She turned around to look at Ariana, slumped in the back seat clutching her stomach, her T-shirt soaked in blood. Next to her, Madelina sat holding her baby, who was fast asleep.
‘Ariana, how bad is it?’ Rosie asked.
‘I’m bleeding. I don’t know. I don’t feel pain though.’
‘Matt, can you take a look?’ Rosie said.
‘I can’t see a lot for the blood on her T-shirt. It’s not pumping out, Rosie, but we need to get it fixed soon.’
They drove out of the clearing and on to the main road, where a car blocked their way out. Rosie could also see Nicu’s car, and in the headlights she saw he was slumped in the driver’s seat, blood coming from his forehead.
‘Christ!’ she murmured. ‘Nicu’s been shot. Maybe they’ve been following us.’
There was an anguished groan from Ariana in the back seat. Rosie looked at Adrian.
‘We have to get him, Adrian. Maybe he’s still alive.’
Adrian gave her a bleak look that said he thought he was dead.
Rosie touched his arm. ‘We need to check. Maybe we can save him. We have to do something. If Nicu’s dead, then he died helping us.’ Guilt washed over her.
‘I will go,’ Adrian said, softly opening the door.
He crouched down and went across to Nicu’s car and crept inside. Rosie could see him lifting Nicu’s head back and placing his fingers on his neck to feel for a pulse. Then he rested Nicu’s head back on the seat, and crept back to their car.
‘I’m sorry. He is dead.’
‘Oh, Nicu.’ Ariana started to cry and Matt put his arm around her.
They sat for a moment in silence, staring into the dark, watching the car close to Nicu’s blocking the road. But there was nobody in it.
‘They are out there,’ Adrian whispered. ‘In the trees, I think.’ He reached for the door handle as he turned to Rosie, and she could see perspiration on his pale face in the moonlight. ‘I’m going to draw them out, Rosie. Lock the doors and everyone lie down as low as you can, so you are not near the windows.’
‘Jesus, Adrian! You can’t go out there and look for them. That’s what they want. We should phone the embassy.’
‘There is no time. Just do as I say. Please, Rosie.’ He turned to Matt. ‘Please.’
She saw him reach inside his jacket and bring out a gun. Then he softly opened the door and rolled on to the ground. In the darkness, Rosie slumped down in the driver’s seat, barely breathing, cold sweat trickling down her back. In the silence she could hear the shuffling sound of Adrian crawling towards the back of the car. They waited. Trapped. It seemed like an age, but after a few seconds Rosie heard something rustling in the trees. Then the sound of gunfire – one shot. She quickly popped her head up and saw Adrian get up to a crouching position and fire into the trees. She thought she saw a figure fall in the shadows. Then Adrian was on his belly again, crawling, waiting. She lost sight of him for a moment, then saw him again going towards the passenger side of the car. Then more gunshots. They hit the car that was blocking them, bouncing off the bonnet, followed by the hissing of punctured tyres, and the plinking sound of the headlamp glass shattering. Then angry, rasping voices were shouting, and people rushing from the trees. Rosie could see two burly men, shooting wildly, coming their way.
‘Christ, Rosie,’ Matt’s muffled voice, ‘what the fuck’s happening?’
‘I think Adrian shot one of them, then he’s hit the car, done the tyres. But more are after him. Christ almighty! Just keep down.’
Rosie ease
d herself up a little and watched from her wing mirror as the two men went to their car and kicked the tyres in frustration, then began to prowl around. They came towards the car they were in. She could no longer see Adrian. Shit! They were getting closer, then there was gunfire and one of them collapsed, clutching his leg. Adrian was out there somewhere. But where the hell was he? Another gunshot, then one of the men hunkered down and fired several shots under the car. Rosie could hear shuffling and groaning. Adrian had been hit. Then suddenly, more gunshots, three very rapid, and the other man keeled over. Rosie waited, terrified, watching the trees for more gunmen.
‘What’s happened?’ Matt asked.
‘Two more down, I think Adrian is under the car, and he’s been hit.’
They waited for a few more moments.
*
‘I’m going out to see.’
‘You can’t go out there, Rosie. Fuck’s sake! There might be more of them.’
‘I think Adrian’s hurt, Matt. We can’t just stay here. I have to see.’
Rosie opened the door and slipped out on to the dirt on all fours. She looked below the car and saw that Adrian was on the other side, groaning.
‘Jesus, Adrian! You got hit.’
‘Two shots, hit me. My stomach,’ he gasped. ‘Rosie,’ he struggled to speak, ‘we have to go. Now!’
Suddenly a car came racing down the road they’d just come from, headlights flashing. In the glare, Rosie could see blood spreading across Adrian’s shirt. She stuck her head above the side of the car as it came towards her, then relief flooded through her. It was Ariana’s friend, Jaana.
The car screeched to a halt and she jumped out as Rosie stood up.
‘My God! What’s happened? They were here too? My boss just arrived back in the orphanage, he said there was shooting. He said I should find you,’ Jaana said.
‘Yes, Jaana. We have to get out of here. Nicu is dead in his car. My friend Adrian is badly hurt, and Ariana too. We have to get help.’
‘We have to move this car blocking us.’
