by A L Fraine
“Yeah, just finished,” Jon said. “It could have been worse.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s good, either.”
“No, I guess not,” Jon agreed. “So, Travis, any news?”
“No, we’ve not learned a lot, really. We informed local police to be on the lookout for him, while we had a team going through the flat. Both came back with nothing. No one saw Travis out and about last night, and his phone was off, so we couldn’t track him.”
“His phone was off?”
“We tried calling it at one point.”
“That’s odd, isn’t it? Although, if he came back and saw the police cars and press outside his flat, it wouldn’t take much for him to put two and two together.”
“We’re not exactly discreet,” Kate agreed.
“Anything interesting found at the flat?”
“Nothing incriminating. No sign of Milo so far anyway.”
“Well, that’s not terribly surprising. He was never going to keep a kidnapped boy at his flat without his mother knowing.”
“True,” Kate admitted. “But we were hoping for something.”
“Looks like it’s not going to be that easy.”
“What do you want to work on today?” Kate asked.
“I’d like to talk to Emily again, actually. I’m still convinced that she’s not telling us everything.”
“Shall we go and see her?” Kate asked.
“No, bring her in,” Jon answered. “Let’s see if a change in scenery makes her sing.”
“I’ll get someone on it,” Kate replied.
The phone on Jon’s desk rang.
“DCI Pilgrim,” Jon said as he put the phone to his ear and heard Nathan on the other end.
“We got another one. Jake Slater’s son, Sebby. He’s been reported missing.”
“Crap. Okay, thank you, Nathan.”
“I’ll bring the details over,” Nathan replied, and the line clicked off.
“He’s struck again,” Jon announced.
“Oh no, who is it this time?”
“Sebby,” Jon replied, thinking back. He’d only spoken to him a short time ago, and now he was caught up in all this as well.
“Jake’s kid? Oh jeez.”
Nathan walked in. “Here you go.” He placed a file on Jon’s desk.
“Thanks,” Jon said, and got up. “Anything new from you?”
“Actually, yeah,” Nathan said, and crossed his arms. “I went to speak to Rory Wescott yesterday. He was the older brother of Ben, the first boy the kidnapper took thirteen years ago. He ended up identifying a quote from the novel Dracula in the phone call from the suspected killer we got, which reminded him of a school friend who he bullied briefly at school before the child disappeared. He gave me a name, too. Kendel Darby. Apparently, he was always quoting Dracula, as it was his favourite book.”
“I don’t recognise the name,” Jon said.
“Neither did I, so I did some digging, and it turns out that he was right. Kendel disappeared seventeen years ago, never to be seen again. Not only that, but just a few months later, both of his parents died in a car crash.”
“Bugger,” Jon said under his breath.
“I know. Anyway, I decided to visit their graves, and found fresh flowers on them, which was off given his parents had no real family left. Then last night, I had a strange visitor claiming to be a wealthy good Samaritan who helps rehabilitate kids. She was the one placing the flowers on the graves. Apparently, she’d tried to help Kendel who she found on the street, but he was beyond help, and she had to let him go.”
“A visitor?” Jon asked. “And, who was this visitor?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never seen her before. It was a blonde woman calling herself Serena Marchand.”
“And you’ve never seen her before?” Jon wanted to be sure of this. It sounded like something Ariadne would pull, but Nathan had seen her and knew what she looked like, so would recognise her. Plus, Ariadne was not blonde.
“No, never. She just waltzed into my home and told me about Kendel and her interactions with him seventeen years ago.”
That was another strike against this being Ariadne, she’d have been a child seventeen years ago. “Okay,” Jon replied, satisfied that this wasn’t another of Ariadne’s schemes. However, having another creepy woman poking her nose into this unit’s affairs was less then good. “So, you think that this is our kidnapper, this Kendel Darby?”
“Whoever’s doing this, I think he was once called Kendel Darby. As for what his name might be today, I have no idea.”
“Travis, or Jake, maybe?” Kate suggested.
Nathan shrugged.
“Alright, good work Nathan. Work with Dion and let me know if you find anything else. Kate, with me. Let’s go and see what’s going on with Sherryl Simpson.”
Grabbing the details, they were soon on the road and making their way to the crime scene, winding their way through the morning traffic.
“You thought it was Ariadne too, didn’t you,” Kate said, obviously referencing Nathan’s visitor.
“The thought had crossed my mind.”
“Mind too,” she said, seeming to shiver. “Let’s just focus on Milo right now.”
“Right. So assuming this is the same guy who took Milo, which I think we can pretty much guarantee, what does this tell us?” Jon asked as he drove.
“Alright,” Kate replied. “We know that someone has taken Milo, and now Sebby, if the reports are correct. The link between the two boys is their father, Jake. They’re both his boys. So maybe the kidnapper hates Jake and wants to hurt him?”
“A reasonable assumption,” Jon agreed.
“But who would hate Jake? The Kay family, I guess?”
“Yeah,” Jon replied. “Any other thoughts? What about Travis?”
“Travis. Okay, so he has a reason to dislike Emily as she’d left him behind when she escaped the kidnapper when they were kids. He’s clearly dealing with some emotional baggage from that experience, which can make people unpredictable. But would he have kidnapped Sebby?”
“Jake is linked to Emily,” Jon replied. “They have a shared history, and if Travis was looking for his next victim, finding someone who’s linked to Emily, could be a logical move.”
“I’m not sure that fits unless there’s something we don’t know.”
“Hmmm,” Jon mused. “Well both Travis and Emily went through therapy,” Jon continued. “Maybe Travis saw Emily hook up with Jake, and took a disliking to him?”
“Maybe, but I’m not sure that fits,” Kate protested. “So maybe there’s someone or something else we’re not seeing here? Something we’re missing.”
“I’m sure there’s lots we’re missing,” Jon replied as they sped into Epsom and made their way to the crime scene. Pulling up, Jon realised they were not going to get anywhere near close with all the traffic, so they parked one street over and walked. There were people everywhere, surrounding a collection of police vehicles parked up outside the Slater house, entirely blocking off the street. A mix of local adults and kids surrounded the police cordon, watching events as they unfolded.
“Jesus, don’t they have jobs to go to?” Jon muttered.
“The people on this estate?” Kate replied. “Possibly not.”
“Wonderful.”
Amongst the curious locals, Jon spotted several journalists lurking, talking to residents or the police, trying to get to the story. They’d need to be told and soon. They had to follow the protocol of getting the word out quickly in the hope that the boy could be found. It was the Milo case all over again.
They stalked towards one corner of the cordon, an officer checked their ID and signed them in. Moving away from the onlookers, Jon saw the forensic team doing their jobs while other uniformed officers kept watch and maintained security.
“Looks like the brains of the outfit’s here,” a man said from nearby.
“Dyson,” Kate said brightly, as he walked up to them in a high-vis
police vest.
“O’Connell, Pilgrim,” he replied.
“So what’s the deal here?” Jon asked.
“We were called a couple of hours ago about a missing boy. Aged eight, he’d been taken during the night from his bedroom. His name’s Sebby Slater, his parents are—”
“Jake and Sherryl,” Jon cut in.
“You know them?”
“Spoke to them yesterday about their links to the other missing child case.”
“I see. Well, they’re over there and a little worse for wear.”
“Oh?” Kate asked.
“They had a party last night, and it looks like they were smashed out of their heads. We logged a few complaints about noise from neighbours, but I don’t think anyone came out. The guys found alcohol and clear signs of drug use.”
“Modern parents,” Jon remarked. “Okay, thank you, Sergeant.”
They made their way over to an ambulance just outside the front garden. Jake and Sherryl were inside being tended to by a paramedic as Sherryl held her baby. Jon paused at a distance from them, and leaned into Kate.
“Our man took Sebby, the eight-year-old, but left the baby?”
“Maybe he didn’t like the idea of taking a baby?” Kate suggested.
“Or maybe the age is significant in other ways.”
“How?” Kate asked.
“Last time the killer started his spree, Ben, the first child he took, was eight years old.”
“Could just be a coincidence. Emily was eleven, I think, and Travis was seven. It’s flimsy but worth bearing in mind,” Kate replied and then turned to a passing forensics officer. “Hey, Sheri, anything to report?”
“Not much yet,” Sheridan replied. Only her eyes were visible beneath the mask and the white forensic suit. “Looks like he used gloves from the lack of prints, and no one seems to have got a clear look at him. Also, there’s no sign of forced entry.”
“Thank you,” Jon replied, before he led Kate over to the ambulance and the waiting couple who’d spotted them approaching.
“Have you found him?”
Jon gave his head a shake. “I’m sorry, no. We have no news to report.”
“You have to. You have to find him, please,” Sherryl said.
“Do you think it’s the same person who took the Kays’ boy?” Jake asked.
“It fits the pattern,” Kate replied. It was interesting to see how their tone had changed from his previous visit. The attitude was gone, replaced by grief and pain.
“Did you see anything?” Jon asked. “Did you see the person who did this?”
Sherryl sighed. “Not really, no. I saw someone, or something, but I don’t remember much.”
“What do you remember?”
“A dark shadow. It moved fast and strangled me, and…” she trailed off, and her voice cracked. “I thought I was going to die.”
“You just saw a dark shadow? Nothing else?”
“No. Look, I was drunk. It’s all just a blur, and I don’t remember much at all.”
“So, you were partying all night?”
“We just had a few friends over,” Jake answered. “Nothing too extravagant. We’re allowed to enjoy ourselves.”
“Were you high?”
“No!” Jake protested, a little too eagerly.
“So you didn’t see anyone around? No one out on the street, acting suspiciously?”
“No, we didn’t see anyone.” Jon saw hints of that attitude coming back.
“Alright,” Jon replied, softening his voice to calm the situation. “So when did you realise there was something wrong?”
“In the morning,” Sherryl replied. “I went to get the baby and noticed that Sebby was missing. I have no idea how long he’d been gone for.”
“When was the last time you saw Sebby?”
“Around half eight, nine o-clock. Around there.”
“And you didn’t go and check on them later?” Kate asked a little incredulously.
“No, Miss Holier-than-thou, I didn’t,” Sherryl answered, almost spitting the answer at Kate.
“Tell me about this party you had,” Jon cut in. “Did you know everyone who attended?”
“I think so,” Jake answered. “We just had a few friends over, people we knew. We had a few beers, played some music, nothing we haven’t done before.”
“We haven’t done anything wrong,” Sherryl added. “Why are you asking us all these stupid bloody questions? You need to get out there and find this fucker, and I suggest you begin with the Kays.”
“And if they have an alibi?” Jon asked.
“Then they’re lying.”
“Okay, answer me this, why do you think they’d want to kidnap your son? You know their son has been taken, right?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know,” Sherryl replied. “Why did he come to ours and try to beat up Jake? You’re the ones who should have all the answers.”
“The investigation is ongoing,” Jon replied, falling back on a stock answer to deflect her accusation.
“What kind of answer is that?” Jake replied.
“A bullshit answer,” Sherryl answered, nodding. “You’re fucking clueless, as usual. You don’t know what you’re doing and you’re taking your sweet time over it. You don’t care about us, and you never have.”
“Maybe we’ll take matters into our own hands,” Jake suggested.
“I’ll tell you what,” Sherryl barked. “If I ever get my hands on that twat or his bitch wife, I’ll fuckin’ kill them.”
“I suggest you both calm down,” Jon stated.
“Why should we?” Jake replied.
“Jake! Stop being an idiot. Your son needs you now more than ever. We need to get the word out about him and find him.”
“I bet…” Sherryl replied.
“We want to find him as much as you do,” Kate cut in. “He’s just a kid. He doesn’t deserve this. No child does.”
“We will find him,” Jon added.
“You’d better,” Jake replied.
“We will. So, we’re going to need you to come down to the station and make a statement to the press.”
“You want to plaster us all over the news and make us look like terrible parents…”
“Do you want us to get Sebby back or not?” Jon snapped.
“I know your…”
“No, you listen to me,” Jon barked, having had enough of their attitude. “Do you want your son back, yes or no?”
“…yes,” Sherryl replied after biting her lip.
“Then put your pride away. Right now. And do as we ask. We’ve done this before, we know what we’re doing.”
“Okay…” Sherryl muttered, looking suitably chastised. “What about our house? We’ll need a place to sleep.”
“You’ll need to spend tonight with a family member or friend, I’m afraid,” Jon replied.
“Okay.” Sherryl sighed. “I know a few places we can try. I’ll get something sorted.”
“Sergeant Dyson will sort you out with anything you need from the house. Okay?”
Sherryl nodded.
“Fine,” Jake replied with a grunt, rudely turning his back on them.
The conversation was over, so Jon stepped away.
“Ungrateful bloody…” he muttered once he was sure they wouldn’t hear him.
“They’re just upset.” Kate’s voice was full of concern.
“I know. I just wish people like that realised that we only want to help.”
“It’s frustrating,” Kate agreed. “But people like them, they don’t see us that way. We’re the enemy.”
“I know, I know,” Jon replied and glanced back, running through their conversation in his head. “Still, I didn’t like some of what they said. I wanna watch them.”
“These two?”
“Mmm-hmm. I just have a bad feeling, like they’ll do something idiotic.”
“Fair point,” Kate agreed. “Sherryl really seems to have it in for Emily.”
“Exactly. I want Nathan and Rachel to keep an eye on them for a bit.”
“Heads up, the cleaner’s coming over.”
Jon followed Kate’s gaze as Sergeant Dyson approached.
“Was that useful?” Dyson began.
“Frustrating, annoying, and a bloody pain in my arse, but yeah, it was useful too,” Jon replied.
“What do you want me to do with them?” he asked.
“Bring them to Horsley Station. We need to have another press conference—see if we can’t find Sebby before it’s too late.”
“Alright, will do,” Dyson replied and nodded to them before retreating.
“Back to base?” Kate asked.
“Yeah, there’s not much we can do here,” Jon answered. “Besides, I want to be back to interview Emily once she comes in.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she replied as they walked back towards the police line.
“Jon,” a voice called out from the line ahead. Looking up, Jon spotted Scott Wells.
“Fuck,” Jon cursed to himself.
“Oh, how lovely, you’ve got groupies,” Kate remarked. “When do I get groupies?”
“When you’re as irresistibly sexy as I am, of course. Unfortunately, I think you’ve got a long way to go on that front.”
“If this is the calibre of groupie I’d get if I looked like you, I think I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Mr Wells,” Jon said as he approached the line. “You’re like a bad case of haemorrhoids. I just can’t shake you, can I?”
“Another kidnapping, then I take it? Second, one in the last three days. It’s beginning to look like a repeat of what happened thirteen years ago.”
“No comment,” Jon replied and ducked under the police line. “Now, if you don’t mind, we have a child to find, and you’re keeping us from doing just that.”
“Hardly. If you want to find him, maybe a statement to the press would help?”
“There’ll be a press conference at the station, shortly,” Jon answered.
“Perhaps you should be there?” Kate added. “Seems like something your employer would like coverage of.”
Scott grimaced and let them go. “I’ll see you around, Jon.”
23
“How long have you been here?” Sebby asked, blinking the last of the strange dizziness away from his head as he continued to talk to the other boy he’d found himself sharing a room with. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in this place, or where he was.
