STOLEN BAIRNS: Scottish Fiction

by Anne Bone

  The young couple both nodded and thanked Des and Jane for their support, wishing that the two officers were able accompany them on their travels.

  The preparations and arrangements continued at great speed. Beth spoke with Daphne who turned out to be a great source of information about Spain. Daphne had been to Spain on many occasions; her parents had taken a villa near Marbella during summer holidays for many years. Daphne also became caught up in their excitement, which Molly referred to as a “frenzy of activity”. Not only was Daphne able to give Beth very useful information about ‘not drinking the water’ to advice as to what should be avoided in terms of local customs, but perhaps even more helpful was that she had made contact with a friend in the Malaga area who was going to meet Beth and Marty at the airport, and who was going to provide them with accommodation and help them find their feet.

  Daphne would have loved to just be there to meet the couple and join them on their search. However, her editor made it perfectly clear that while he sympathised with the couple’s predicament, and acknowledged that the story had sold papers, he was not prepared to allow one of his top reporters to gallivant around the Spanish mountainsides on full expenses. So the answer was most definitely a NO.

  Daphne had to accept that she would keep in touch with the couple through her friends. She was also prepared though that if she could she would try and take a long weekend leave and visit them. She would do this especially if they were going to be out there for some time. She had to secretly agree with that lovely good looking Scottish detective that they had an almighty task ahead of them. Daphne also promised herself that if that certain Scottish detective were planning to visit Spain at any time, that she would most definitely find the time and ensure that her visit coincided with his. He had made an impression on her in more than one area.

  The arrangements were agreed and made. Beth and Marty would fly from Aberdeen to London on Sunday, where they would board another plane which would take them to Malaga airport. Victoria and Richard would then meet them, Daphne’s friends, who would take them back to their villa just on the outskirts of Malaga.

  Molly tried her best to remain calm. She suggested to them that she would make them a packed lunch to eat on the plane. Beth thanked her and told her that that would be lovely and could she also put in some of her delicious cake too.

  Marty decided to hold his tongue. He whispered to Beth that they would not need a packed lunch, as they would be fed on the plane. Beth looked amazed, how on earth could they cook food that high up, she wondered. Anyway, she whispered back to Marty that they could always eat the sandwiches and cake later, and what if she did not like the food? She gave him one of her “don’t say anything else” looks. Whatever, she was not going to mention anything to Molly, realising that the woman was struggling with the whole notion of how they would be going off and leaving her.

  The sandwiches and cake were duly packed in neat parcels and secreted in the small green holdall which Marty would carry onto the plane. The other two suitcases were also packed to the gunnels with items which Beth thought might come in useful. Amongst the clothes and shoes were the maps, phrase books and two very special items, a blue cuddly rabbit and a pink teddy bear. These were the two special items she hoped would be clutched by the children when they returned to Aberdeen. If Beth had been aware of how easily baggage went missing she would have ensured that these items would be in the green holdall. These two small cuddly toys had been sent to Beth after the publicity she had received from a mother who had been reunited with her child after her ex-husband had abducted her. She sent this gift with a message to hold on and not give up. The rabbit and teddy had been sent to this woman as a comfort when her ex-husband had taken their child to Ireland. It had taken many months to find them and regain custody. When the woman had read about Beth she sent them as a symbol of hope. Since she received the gift they had sat side by side on her dressing table. The first thing she saw in the morning when she opened her eyes. Yes, they did give her hope.

  Sunday morning arrived and Beth was certainly in bit of a flap. She had hardly slept; even Marty’s patience had been severely stretched when she nudged him for the umpteenth time to ask him if he was asleep. He was, he told her grumpily, until she woke him up yet again. At 6 o’clock they gave in and got up. Once bathed and fed it was still two hours before they would be collected to go to the airport. This allowed Beth to work herself up even more. Molly almost had to lie across the suitcases to prevent her from reopening and repacking everything.

  Jane Lewis was off duty on that Sunday morning, but she had telephoned Marty a few days ago to tell him that she would like to take them to the airport. When she arrived she at least was prepared for the journey, being ever so slightly tense. Molly was to accompany them to Dyce and wave them off. Beth and Marty was not sure whether this would be sensible, but in the scheme of things, given what they were about to do, nothing made any sense, so they gave in and agreed that Molly should come too.

  Jane was very calm and talked to Marty who sat in the passenger seat about their plan. In the back of the car Molly clutched Beth’s hand trying to compose herself, and not add to the girl’s anxiety.

  The journey took less than thirty minutes. It was all very overwhelming when they arrived at the check-in. Beth, for one, was pleased that Jane was able to guide them to the right desk.

  Before she could believe it they had been hugged by a tearful Jane and Molly and propelled through the departure door. Turning and waving before they disappeared from view, their last glimpse of Molly was that she was in Jane’s arms sobbing. She had tried and failed to hold it all together, but the emotion of the separation had overtaken her. Marty clutched Beth’s hand tightly and smiled to reassure her that she had him by her side.

  A few minutes later Beth was sitting looking across the tarmac at the aircraft she would shortly board. Who would have ever thought that she, Beth Menzie, would be contemplating travelling to another country, and flying in an aircraft? She did not think that any of her family or ancestors had ever been further than Aberdeen and certainly she could never remember anyone even talking about going on a train, let alone an aircraft. Marty had at least flown before, when he went on a school trip to France. He told her that there was nothing to worry about and she would be fine. She decided that she would not think too much about it, she would not allow her thoughts to wander on how on earth the massive aircraft could stay up in the air, and certainly she would not allow her mind to think of all the things which could go wrong. No, she would just think that the large metal bird-like contraption would be taking her towards finding her children. She could not believe that in just a few short hours she could travel such a distance. She wondered how long it had taken the couple and the children to travel the distance. She did not even allow herself to think further than the information that Des and Daphne had received that they were planning to go to Spain. Not allowing herself to think of the possibility that they could have decided to change their plans, or perhaps that the information they had given to that Wayne had been another lie. Maybe they were in France, Germany, or anywhere. In terms of her mind they were in a small white mountain village waiting for her to find them.

  Chapter 30

  Beth was holding tightly on to Marty’s arm as the aircraft descended out of the clouds and seemed to hurtle its way towards the tarmac. What an adventure! She had been overwhelmed and fascinated by Heathrow. Thank goodness Marty had sense and knew how to follow the signs, which directed them to the gate where their flight to Malaga was embarking.

  Molly’s sandwiches and cake were still ensconced in the green flight bag. There had been no need to eat them as they had been provided with an ample meal, which was all wrapped up neatly in a foil container. Beth had been impressed with how the air hostesses had managed to move around, prepare, cook and deliver a hot meal in such a small space. Marty had whispered to her that the meal had been cooked prior to the flight and was just being warmed up in the small k
itchen space. He whispered the words as he did not want to embarrass his lovely young wife, whose ignorance might have provided amusement for the other passengers.

  The flight was smooth and she could not believe that it was travelling so fast and that she could be sitting so far above the land. Marty had pointed out the snowcapped peaks of the Pyrenees and, as she had glanced down, the thought never left her mind as to whether the children were somewhere hidden amongst the treacherous terrain.

  As they disembarked down the stairs of the airplane the first thing Beth noticed was the heat. She had looked up at the clear blue sky which held the huge golden sun that was glaring down at them. This was very different from the cold wet drizzle which they had left behind in Aberdeen and was at this moment penetrating throughout the British Isle.

  A small bus took the passengers across what seemed a very large airport. It dodged its way around the planes, which stood waiting to collect their lists of passengers and then scoop them up and carry them across the sky to other countries. How wonderful, Beth thought. She clutched Marty’s hand tightly. He glanced down towards her, his smiling eyes penetrating deeply into her rather cautious and wide violet ones.

  ‘Love you.’ He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, while he balanced his other arm around her to keep her upright as the airport bus lurched to a halt outside a rather grey building.

  They followed the other passengers through doors and along a corridor to join a queue, which they eventually worked out was passport control. The olive-skinned uniformed man took the passports and looked them both up and down before he nodded and gestured to them with a slight movement of his head, to proceed along another corridor towards a door which opened to reveal a couple of conveyor belts. As they sprung to life passengers stared hopefully waiting to see their luggage trundle along.

  Marty was secretly sending up a thanks to whoever was watching over them as he dragged both of their heavy cases off the conveyor belt and onto a metal trolley. He was not sure how they would have coped if they had started off their Spanish journey without their luggage.

  After successfully manoeuvering their way through customs and through the La Salida signs they entered the main arrivals hall. There seemed to be hundreds of people milling around, their voices uttering loud fast Spanish words. Marty and Beth glanced around until they saw a blonde-haired plump woman waving at them.

  ‘Beth… Marty,’ a strong English voice belted out. They made their way across the hall towards her.

  ‘Darlings, welcome to Malaga,’ she screeched. ‘Oh, look at you both, just as Daphne described, two babes.’ With this she lunged towards Beth and grabbed her almost sucking the life from her as she found her face pushed into massive breasts which appeared as though they would pop out of the rather low cut top she was wearing. All Marty could think of at that moment was thank God she went for Beth and not for him. He felt his face reddening just by the thought of him being grabbed in the same way.

  Once Beth had managed to disentangle herself and took a step away, she looked into the rather kind and wrinkled face of a woman who had clearly spent many years in the sun. Her brown eyes were crinkled as though they had spent days half open while peering through sunlight. Marty recognised that the blonde hair was most definitely out of a bottle and almost found himself wondering what number and shade it was.

  ‘Now darlings, just call me Vicky, everyone does. I’ve organised our driver Jorge to wait outside in order that we don’t have far to walk. I am just so hoping that the over-bureaucratic Spanish el Policia have not harassed him, or else we will have a very hair-raising journey along the autopista.’ Vicky led the way like a galleon in full sale towards the Salida sign.

  ‘Woe betide anyone who gets in her way,’ Beth whispered to Marty.

  They were thankful that el Policia had not harassed Jorge as, in their opinion, his driving was already hair-raising and verging on manic as they swerved the rather large Bentley out of the car park and towards the newly-built autopista which clung to the coastline. Beth and Marty were beginning to realise that Daphne had failed to mention that Vicky and Richard seemed to be terribly rich. The driver, Jorge, was decked out in a uniform and was actually a chauffeur, and the silver Bentley screamed money at them. Vicky gave them a running commentary as she sat regally beside them in the back seat.

  Marty could not help muttering that he wondered whether he would ever understand the road signs. Vicky, hearing this, pointed out signs and translated them into English for them. She seemed to think that this was all that was needed and told them it was very easy to learn Spanish. They silently doubted that Vicky would ever be in a position where she would be travelling on her own and need to ask for directions.

  A short fifteen-minute drive brought them to a small but rather beautiful harbour. The Bentley slowly and silently weaved its way through the narrow streets of the small coastal sleepy town. Vicky explained that it was siesta time and later in the evening the town would come to life and seem very different.

  ‘Not far now,’ she announced, ‘just up the hill and around the bend.’ True to her word the car graduated up the small hill and once round the bend in the road, two large imposing black ornate metal gates met them. Jorge leant out of the window and pressed a couple of buttons at the side of the gate and the two gates swung open to reveal a tree-lined driveway. The car gently moved along the driveway, and a few yards along it a very large white imposing villa was immediately in front of them. The car drew to a halt before wide marbled stairs from which a young woman dressed in a pale blue cotton uniform descended to meet them.

  Vicky barked instructions in Spanish and the young girl and Jorge heaved the suitcases from the boot of the car. ‘Now my darlings, just follow me, Rosa and Jorge will bring your luggage up.’ She turned to bark further instructions and then sailed up the stairway towards a solid oak door which was fully open to allow them to enter.

  Marty and Beth were awestruck. As they entered the building it was as though they were entering some gothic mansion. The walls were decked with colourful paintings and hangings. The marbled floors gave a sense of coolness and splendour. In the middle of the very large entrance hall another wide stairway was positioned in the centre. Vicky beckoned the two young people.

  ‘The ground floor is the kitchen and servants’ quarter, my dears. We live on the first floor. You see, my darlings, it can get exceptionally hot in the summer that at least we can get a sea breeze higher up.’

  Once at the top of the stairs they were greeted with a wide hallway and balcony, which overlooked the entrance hall. All the rooms led off the balcony. Vicky chatted as she marched her way towards a door at the end of the balcony. She flung the door open. ‘Now my darlings, Rosa has made this room ready for you.’

  Beth’s intake of breath was audible. ‘Wow!’

  The room was almost as large as the whole top floor of the house back in Torry. The king size bed stood in splendour in the middle of the room. The white linen embroidered covers shone against the terracotta wall hanging above the bed. Long tall windows ran down the length of the room. French doors opened onto yet another balcony. Marty’s ‘wow’ could then be heard. ‘What a view!’

  ‘Yes, it is rather lovely, isn’t it? Never really get bored with it.’ Vicky went to the doorway to look over Marty’s shoulder.

  Beth had to ease her way past Vicky to see what the fuss was about. She then stood quietly letting her eyes drink in the sight of the blue Mediterranean Sea which glistened with the sun’s rays dancing on it, making it seem as though there was a million diamonds scattered.

  Lying at the bottom of their view was a white sandy beach, which petered out at the end of the bay to reveal a small harbour and marina. Tall masts could be seen swaying gently to and fro. Yes, it was a view which was only ever seen on postcards sent from some exotic holiday destination. And now, here stood wee Beth Paton née Menzie who never in her wildest dreams could have imagined she would stand before such a view.

  �
�Now then darlings, let me show you your bathroom.’ Beth followed her back into the room; Vicky was crossing to open another door. ‘I hope everything is here for you.’ Vicky entered what could only be described as a bathroom straight out of the movies. Vicky ran her finger along the side of the oversized bath. ‘Just checking to see if Rosa did actually clean this,’ she sniffed. ‘You know darlings, it’s a full time job just checking that the staff do their jobs properly.’

  Beth did not have a reply for this. She would not have the slightest idea of how to respond to this. She could not imagine how anyone could have a full time job checking up on someone else’s. It did not make any kind of sense in this very strange surreal world she seemed to have entered.

  ‘Now, follow me and I’ll show you around the rest of the house and the lounge where we spend most of our time. Richard will be hovering around there I am sure. He will be watching the clock, I forbid him to go anywhere near the gin bottle until at least four thirty, and it’s nearly that time now.’

  The guided tour was undertaken in stunned silence. Each door opened to reveal yet another stunning room. Eventually, the last door was opened to reveal a huge living space. A long sweeping room, which had tall ceiling to floor windows that ran the whole length of the room, out of which Marty glimpsed a terrace and a swimming pool.