by Oliver Tidy
The display was filled with a long line of digits. The rain that he seemed to have conjured up with the reading drummed heavily on the umbrella. He frowned and pressed accept just to get it over with quicker.
‘Hello?’
He couldn’t place the woman’s voice. He said, ‘Who is this?’
‘Is that Mr Sansom?’
A distant bell tinkled in his memory, like a summons for staff below stairs heard from the floor above. He still couldn’t put a name or a face to the caller.
‘It is. Who are you?’
There was a short delay. He wondered whether the call had been terminated.
‘My name is Botha. I think you will remember me. From Bodrum.’
He had kidnapped the woman at gunpoint from the family cruiser. He’d detained her against her will, fought with her and then subdued her overnight while he waited for sunrise and the opportunity to exchange her for his friends, who were being held by her husband.
‘How did you get this number?’
‘A man called Crouch.’
He was incredulous that Crouch would simply hand his personal mobile number over to anyone who asked for it, particularly the widow of an international under-the-counter arms dealer, a woman whose husband he had blown to smithereens when he’d deliberately rammed his boat with another off the coast of Turkey.
As if reading his thoughts, she said, ‘Because I asked him, and I explained why. I need your help.’
His incredulity was strung tighter. He was made temporarily speechless by the surreal nature of the conversation.
Mrs Botha broke the silence. ‘One of my children has been abducted. I need help to get her back.’
‘And you would ask me for that? Knowing that your husband took my daughter from me, murdered my wife? Are you mad?’
Mrs Botha said, ‘Mr Sansom, I said my daughter. I should have said our daughter.’
The End
Hello,
Firstly, thank you for taking a chance on downloading this book. I hope you found something in it to enjoy.
Secondly, I invite you to visit me at olivertidy.com where you can find out more about other books I’ve written. You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter .
Thirdly, if you enjoyed the read, please leave a comment to that effect with the retailer you obtained it from. That sort of thing is really important for an indie author/publisher. Readers’ comments are all we’ve got to go by. Alternatively, I would be genuinely pleased to receive any comments, corrections or suggestions regarding any aspect of this book and my writing at the web address above where I have made a page available for feedback.
Best wishes
Oliver Tidy
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