The Girl in the Rug

by K Leitch

  ‘Carla…long time no see, how are you?’ she asked.

  ‘Oh up to my eyes as always,’ Carla said with a smile.

  ‘Yes I heard about Tracy going missing…any news on that?’

  ‘Well we are making a sort of progress Ma’am…in fact I wondered if I might have a word with you in private,’ Carla said giving her a look.

  ‘Of course…but don’t you want DCI Riley in on the conversation?’ she asked with raised eyebrows.

  Carla shook her head and lowered her voice, ‘No Ma’am…definitely not, you’ll see why if you will just give me a moment of your time.’

  Rebecca Drew simply nodded and followed Carla into an empty office where, once she had made sure the door was locked, Carla showed her all the photos and explained the evidence that they had collected and what she would like to do about it.

  ‘We feel that all the events are linked in some way Ma’am,’ she said. ‘The Robinson’s certainly seem involved, just the fact that Elliot Dentch is working as some sort of gofer for Freddy Robinson makes them shady in my book. And it seems all too coincidental that he was in the vicinity when Tracy went missing…and now of course Linda is missing as well and we know that she was at the house taking these pictures. And then there’s the DCI…I need your help Ma’am, I’m a bit out of my depth here…’

  Superintendant Drew sat down and looked at the photograph again, a worried frown on her face.

  ‘Bloody hell Carla you’ve opened a can of worms here haven’t you…you do realise that we can’t prosecute any of these men just with these picture don’t you. Their lawyers would tear you apart in court…’

  ‘Yes I realise that Ma’am, but I am hoping that when confronted by the photographic evidence, we might be able to get some of them to break and give us the evidence that we need to proceed.’

  Rebecca Drew went over to the window saying nothing, Carla waited.

  ‘Right, well you leave DCI Riley to me,’ she said at last, ‘and we’ll bring in the rest of them in, in a co-ordinated operation; it seems to me that it’s vital that we get them all at the same time. Firstly to stop them warning each other, but also if you think there may be a chance that Tracy and Linda could be somewhere in that house then we need to have Freddy and Gordon Robinson in a police cell being questioned, that will make it possible to get CSI in to search the house if we have reason to believe a crime might have been committed there. Make sure you impress upon your team the importance of discretion on this one Carla…no one must know what’s going on until it’s too late, DCI Riley particularly…’ Carla’s mobile rang.

  Coincidentally it was Helen ringing to tell her all that Andy had told her the day before.

  ‘Oh my god Helen…that poor little boy, will he talk to us do you think?’ she asked after hearing Helen out.

  ‘I think he will Carla…he seems terrified though, of someone called Nellie would you believe. This man seems to be the most evil character…Andy say’s this Nellie was the one that killed his sister and he has threatened to cut his mother’s eyes out if Andy says anything. I told him you would make sure his mum was safe…I hope that was alright, I don’t think he would have talked if I hadn’t promised that.’

  ‘Well I’ll do what I can Helen, but between you and me I think Nellie has got bigger things to worry about than Andy’s mum. You’re right he is the most awful man, and Andy has every right to be scared of him. We will definitely warn Kathy Hunt that Andy will be talking to us, if we can find her that is, she seems to have legged it. Anyway Hun, thank you so much for letting me know about Andy, you couldn’t have phoned at a better time, his statement will give us the evidence we need nail a few nasty bastards. I’ll arrange a time to speak to him and to you and Maya if that’s ok…but I must go now Hun…thanks again.’

  Carla looked at Rebecca Drew with a smile on her face. ‘Looks like we may have some concrete evidence after all Ma’am,’ she said and told her all about Andy and what he had told Helen and Maya.

  ‘Will he be a reliable witness do you think Carla?’

  ‘Well he may need careful handling Ma’am, but if we can get him to tell us what he knows and maybe to identify some of these men than it strengthens our case surely…and maybe he might be able to persuade some of the other kids involved to come forward. We are looking for Daniel Rushton who went missing after the caretaker was stabbed a couple of days ago, but with no luck so far…it would be bloody useful if we could find him.’ Carla finished collecting up all the photos, Rebecca Drew took one of the photos relevant to DCI Riley before she could put it away, tucking it in her briefcase.

  ‘Let’s get this done then Carla…like I said I will deal with the DCI, how long will it take for you to organise the other arrests?’

  ‘Give me a little time to ring round and drum up some man power Ma’am, shall we say three thirty this afternoon?’

  Rebecca Drew nodded, ‘Let me know if that changes…now I’d better go and deal with this press conference and try and pretend that I haven’t just seen one of my senior officers with his hands all over a baby girl,’ she finished in disgust as she held the door open for Carla.

  CHAPTER 53 - TRACY

  Linda lay her head back against the cold brick wall and gave way to a moment of misery, tears streaked her grimy face, she wiped her running nose on her sleeve. Everything seemed hopeless, she was stuck in this foul smelling cellar with only a corner on the packed earth for a toilet, her clothes were encrusted with filth and she knew that she stank to high heaven. Not that any of that mattered anymore because she wouldn’t be seeing anyone again.

  ‘Shut the fuck up you stupid cow,’ she wailed in disgust, shaking her head as if to dispel those defeatist thoughts. ‘What would Dad think if he saw you giving up…I will survive this…I will.’

  Wiping her face again with a grimy hand, her attention was drawn to a rasping whisper coming from her cell mate. Tracy was calling for water again, Linda held the bottle up to the shard of light that had scythed its way through the edge of the door, they had about a third of a bottle left, about another day’s worth…after that.

  Crawling over to her, Linda put the bottle to Tracy’s cracked lips and tried to help her to drink. Tracy was running a high fever and despite the cold she was burning up, Linda knew that she had to get as much liquid into her as they could spare.

  ‘Come on love…move your mouth this way that’s it…good girl…no don’t gulp Tracy, just take little sips…that’s it…good.’ Linda lay Tracy back down, wrapped an old smelly throw around her shaking shoulders and huddled up next to her, sharing her warmth. Tears threatened again pricking the back of her eyes; she was in fact almost ready to give up. Apart from once when the door had been cracked open and two bottles of water thrown in, they had seen no one and she reckoned that had been about two days ago. They were both freezing, Linda had found an old woollen throw that had been screwed up in a corner of the tiny cell, it smelt as if something had died in it but it had helped a bit. After two days in this place however, the cold had seeped into their bones making it hard for Linda to imagine ever being warm again. That and the hunger was sapping at her strength, she was finding it hard to think let alone plan an escape. But that was what she knew she had to do…Tracy was in a bad way and if she didn’t find a way out of here soon she wasn’t sure if she would make it.

  Tracy had seemed to rally a bit when Linda had first arrived; they had talked and tried to think of ways of escaping. They had pooled their resources, Tracy had the lighter and Linda had half a tube of mint Polos in her pocket…they had rationed those until the last one had been eaten yesterday. Then Tracy had started to get sick, she was burning up and delirious and kept going on and on about some dead body that was in the cellar with them…somebody called Louisa apparently. Linda told her over and over that there was no body, she must have dreamt it, but Tracy was adamant so Linda stopped arguing with her.

  Now she wished Tracy would argue with her, she seemed to be drifting in and out of con
sciousness and Linda knew that somehow she had to get her out of here before it was too late. She had a plan but it all depended on her captor coming down to check on them. In amongst the discarded cardboard boxes she had found a rusty old can of spray paint. Now if she remembered her science classes correctly, the can, despite being almost empty still contained a gas…a flammable gas. Which meant that with Tracy’s lighter, she had one chance to make a sort of flame thrower with which to disable anyone that came through the door. She had also found a half full can of emulsion paint which was quite heavy…she could hit somebody with that she thought, hopefully giving them time to make their escape.

  Ok, ok it was a pretty flimsy plan, full of flaws not the least being that she had no idea how she was going to get Tracy out, she could barely stand let alone run…but it was the only plan that she had come up with and if she was given the chance she was going to go for it. So she had moved Tracy over near to the door and explained what she was going to try and do. She had no idea if anything she said had registered with Tracy, but she could only hope that it had and when the time came Tracy would be able to move on her signal. She kept the lighter and the spray can at hand at all times, so that she could put the plan into action if she got the chance, and then she waited...and waited, until she was close to giving up altogether.

  As it happened she very nearly missed her chance, she had slipped into an uncomfortable doze when she was jolted awake by noises from outside the door ...someone was fiddling with the key.

  With her heart pounding Linda rushed to get herself into position directly in front of the door, spray can and lighter in hand, praying with all that she had in her that she would have the strength to do what she must do.

  The key turned in the lock…the door swung open.

  CHAPTER 54

  Nellie was furious; this was the last thing he needed today.

  ‘Just fucking leave them where they are,’ he had told him, ‘they’ll not survive long down there and then we can shift ‘em later.’

  But no, apparently Freddy was getting his knickers in a twist because the police had widened their search for Tracy.

  ‘Look just fucking deal with it…I don’t want them on my property,’ Freddy had said furiously. ‘I don’t know what you were thinking of dumping them down there in the first place. Why the fuck didn’t you get rid of them properly like I told you to…this is on you Nell, now you go and finish it, and you make sure you do it right this time. I don’t want any more of your cock ups.’

  So now he was here in the fucking rain, freezing his bollocks off, all because those two stuck up twats didn’t want to get their hands dirty, well it was the last time. After he’d dealt with this he was going to get his share of the money from that bastard Tutt and he was getting out. He figured that he just needed to get over to Ireland, he had friends there that would, for a price, get him a passport and a car and then he was off to warmer climates. He fancied Portugal, he’d never been but he’d seen it on a holiday program and it had looked like somewhere he could get lost.

  He looked out of the van window at the rain sheeting down. ‘Anywhere’s better that this shit hole,’ he mumbled to himself as he reversed the van into the drive and up near the side entrance of the house.

  He sat and waited for a break in the weather, he didn’t anticipate any problems getting this job done. They were probably dead already or close to it…it had been particularly cold over the last couple of nights, he would probably just have to dump them. He had a spot in mind…a disused quarry on the way to Dartford, there were a couple of old mine shafts there that he had used before…the perfect dumping ground.

  The rain had eased a bit so grabbing his knife and a couple of black plastic bags he made his way round to the back of the house and down the steps.

  It was hard to find the key to the door in the rain and he dropped it on the floor before finally turning it in the lock and opening the door.

  A screaming banshee holding a flame thrower flew at him. The white heat from the flame blinding him…he smelt burning flesh and felt the searing pain. Roaring like an animal and clutching at his face he stumbled around trying to put out the flames as his hair started to burn. Tripping over the old boxes he sank to his knees, then a hefty blow to the back of his head sent him to the floor and he lay there dazed and barely conscious.

  CHAPTER 55 - TRACY

  Almost hyperventilating with panic at what she had done, Linda grabbed Tracy under the arms and dragged her stumbling and grumbling out of the cellar and up the steps. She didn’t know how long she would have before that monster came to and she was hampered by the dead weight of Tracy, who, although attempting to stumble along, was leaning heavily on Linda and slowing her down.

  ‘Come on Tracy…come on please…please …please…move Tracy, keep moving…no don’t you dare give up…come on come on,’ she screamed as she half ran half dragged the disorientated Tracy.

  She was trying to get round to the front of the house where they might be seen by a passing car but Tracy kept losing her footing and she had to keep stopping to pick her up.

  ‘TRACY…TRACY…PLEASE KEEP MOVING… NO NO NO…COME ON…COME ON…WE HAVE TO MOVE!’

  Linda’s voice was getting more and more desperate the nearer they got to the front gates.

  ‘PLEASE…PLEASE GOD…PLEASE GOD…’ she prayed running and dragging Tracy without looking back until she threw herself at the gates. They didn’t budge…she shook them frantically… they were locked. Linda wailed and shouted as she shook the gates.

  ‘PLEASE…SOMEONE HELP US…PLEASE.’ The little lane was deserted, no help there.

  In desperation she remembered the broken fence panel in the back garden…she would have to get out that way. So once again, dragging the almost comatose Tracy behind her, she stumbled and ran her way round to the back of the house once more. It was harder to make any progress in the overgrown back garden but soon she had the fence panel in sight. Her heart was pounding and her lungs bursting as she desperately hauled Tracy through the weeds and brambles towards the fence.

  ‘NEARLY THERE…NEARLY THERE,’ was her breathless mantra. Every muscle and sinew in her body was screaming out for relief, her arms were cut and bleeding…she was nearly there…nearly there.

  Tracy screamed and Linda turned just as something hard and heavy smashed into the back of her legs bringing her down, she landed in a heap at the feet of their hideous pursuer, whose blackened and burnt face was looking down at her with a fierce hatred.

  ‘Come ‘ere cunt…you fucking bitch,’ he growled reaching out for her. He grabbed her by one arm nearly pulling it out of its socket and started to drag her back towards the house. He was dragging Tracy by the other hand, uncaring that they were being bumped and scraped over the ground. Linda could see Tracy’s head bouncing up and down like a rag dolls as she was pulled along, she began to scream and fight for her life…she was not going back into that cellar…she was not!

  But no matter how much she fought, she made little impression on the man who just kept walking, ignoring all her twisting and kicking. She was relieved slightly when he dragged them passed the steps that led down to the cellar but soon her relief turned to fear when she realised that they were being bundled into the back of a van. Worryingly Linda noticed that Tracy was completely unconscious and bleeding from her head as she was thrown like a piece of rubbish into the back of the van. Then with a look of hatred on his burnt and disfigured face, the man turned his attention to her…

  ‘Oh you ain’t got no idea the pain you are going to suffer bitch,’ he snarled at her, ‘I am going to slice you up.’ He held up a wickedly sharp looking knife, just letting it drag along the side of her cheek. Linda could feel a trickle of blood running down her face.

  Whimpering, desperate and out of her mind with fear, she began again screaming, kicking, scratching and biting, anything to fight against the inevitable. With dead eyes he watched her struggling with a malicious smile on his burnt and disfigured
face. Then, to Linda it seemed almost as if it was in slow motion, he pulled back his fist and punched her with all his strength round the side of her head…everything went black.

  CHAPTER 56 - CARLA

  The order had been given at three thirty precisely, and all the teams had jumped into action, pouncing on all the men in the photographs. Carla imagined with a wry smile the number of… “do you know who I ams” and “you will regret this once my solicitor gets heres” that would be heard around Kenley and Redbank that day, as some of those upstanding members of the community were taken to the station for questioning. At the same time Superintendant Drew had arrested DCI Riley and he had been put kicking and shouting into an interview room to cool his heels.

  Freddy Robinson had been picked up at his office, but his brother was out of the country it seemed, which was frustrating, but at least they had one of them to question.

  Carla and Frank were just pulling up to the Robinson’s house on Smithem Lane with a CSI team behind them, when the gates opened and a white van screeched out of the drive and hurtled past them at top speed.

  ‘That was him Frank,’ yelled Carla urgently, ‘that was Nellie in that van.’

  Frank didn’t need telling twice he did an impressive handbrake turn in the road and raced after the van.

  Carla switched on the blue lights and radioed in to the station the number plate of the van and the direction that it was travelling.

  ‘He’s heading for the main Godstone road as far as I can tell…we have got him in our sights but we’ll need some backup.’

  Frank had made good progress and they could see the van driving at a terrific speed up ahead. Carla was terrified, the roads that they were racing along were small country roads, with many a blind corner, the torrential rain was hampering visibility and Nellie was driving like a maniac…if he met anyone coming the other way they wouldn’t stand a chance. Luckily the road they were on turned into a dual carriageway up ahead…just as long as they didn’t run into anybody before that.