SNATCHED BAIRN: Scottish Fiction
Page 34
‘Are they okay, do they need treatment?’
‘No, apparently they are being taken in to be checked over, poor wee mites, goodness knows what he has done to them.’
‘I would be absolutely delighted to go and tell Pam and Danny, and I will drive them down myself. Oh Jane, what a fabulous outcome. Well done!’
Once she had finished the call, she put on her coat, made her way down to the car park and ran to her car. She was panting by the time she got behind the wheel, and inhaled deeply to steady her breathing. She couldn’t believe it, they were safe, and alive.
Jenni had just finished clearing away the supper dishes and was wiping down the work surfaces. She loved her kitchen, it was so easy to look after and she took great pride in seeing it shine. Marcus was up in the lounge; he had lit the wood burner that afternoon and was feeding logs into it. They were planning to watch a video, and settle in for the night. It was blowing a gale outside and they had shut the curtains to try and block out the noise.
Jenni heard the doorbell and looked at the clock; it was nearly nine o’clock, they were not expecting anyone, so she wondered who on earth it would be. She dried her hands and shouted up the stairs to Marcus that she would get it. She opened the door and she was astonished to see Jane Lewis standing there, a broad smile on her face.
‘We’ve found Mary,’ she said, her voice bubbling over as she formed her words, ‘we’ve found her, and she is alive. She is safe. Jenni, she is okay.’
Jenni’s face went chalk white, she fell down on her knees. Marcus, having had heard the commotion, had come down the stairs to see Jenni fall to her knees. He looked at Jane, ‘What’s happened?’
‘We’ve found her Marcus. Mary, she is alive.’
‘Oh my word,’ he moved quickly and bent down and pulled Jenni to her feet. She was sobbing and laughing both at the same time, she couldn’t believe it.
‘Where is she?’ he asked, his voice husky with emotion. He looked at Jane over his shoulder, looking shocked, and he appeared to be struggling to control his emotions.
‘I will fill you in on the way, but she’s being taken to the Sick Children’s. As far as I know, she is just going to be checked over.’
‘Was she with Shona?’ Jenni asked. She was trying the control the waves of emotion that were reverberating around her body, it felt as though she had just had an electric shock.
‘Yes, she was, they were out in a house in Deeside. As I said, I will fill you in on the way, it’s all happened so quickly.’
By the time they arrived at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, the girls were already there. They were in a cubicle being checked over, neither would agree to leave each other’s side and Shona had demanded that they be placed on adjoining beds. The hospital staff were more than happy to oblige.
Jenni and Marcus were shown into the room, and when Mary caught sight of her mam, she pushed the nurse out of the way, leapt off the bed and ran and threw herself into her arms. They sank to the floor and both sobbed, crying with sheer delight at being reunited.
It wasn’t long before Tim arrived with Pam and Danny and a similar reunion took place. The doctors informed the parents that both girls seemed in good physical health, but it might be some time before the psychological scars of what they had been through would become evident. It might, he told them, be a long journey to full recovery.
Neither of the parents were overly concerned about the long-term effects at that point, they had been reunited with their daughter, and she was safe and well. In Jenni’s case, she had a child who had been returned from the dead, and she would take time later to examine her intuition, that had never allowed her to fully believe that her Mary was dead. As it turns out, she was right.
Jane and Tim sat in the waiting room. They talked about how they would have to go about the interviewing of the children, but this could wait, tonight was one of the best nights of her career. Tim reached over and took her hand into his, and smiled. ‘Yes,’ he told her and for the first time in a very long time he saw the smile that not only reached her eyes but lit up the whole of her face.
Chapter 40
One Month Later
Jane Lewis was on leave, she was due time back from all the overtime she had put in over the past few months. Tim had also taken leave, and they had decided to spend it together. He had booked a hotel in Paris for the weekend. They had spent Christmas together and it had been both relaxed and enjoyable. On Christmas night he had abandoned his bed, and shared hers, it felt right, like the two of them had a second chance in more ways than could be imagined.
She hadn’t quite realised the impact that the missing children had had on her. She had felt so guilty, and while this feeling had been lifted to an extent, there was still a part, that of Robert Laird being falsely accused, that was left with her. She often found her mind wondering whether he might still be alive if he hadn’t been charged with Mary’s abduction. Oh, Tim kept reminding her that he had still had all of the indecent photographs and videos, and that would have sent him down for some time, but, still, she would never want to accuse someone of a crime if they hadn’t committed it.
One of the other of Jane’s debates with Tim was whether they would have ever tracked down Beam, if the girls hadn’t managed to use their wiles to get to the phone. Tim cannot offer her much solace, apart from reminding her that it would seem that he didn’t physically harm the children, and had even continued to teach Mary her lessons. But it does continue to haunt her that maybe they will never know what he had done, or what he might have gone on to do.
He is a strange man. When they had looked into his past, they had uncovered that he was always a loner. He had been a primary school teacher, and he had, it seems, some sort of obsession with a child called Heather; he liked to brush and touch her hair. There had been a complaint by one of his colleagues at the school, suggesting that he was always seemed to want her to be near him, and they had thought it strange. Heather, it seems, was not bothered, but once his colleague had raised it with her parent, there had been talk, and he then decided to take early retirement. The psychologists are all interested in him, as he seemed to have developed a fetish for long blonde hair. It even had a name: Trichophilia. Apparently it is quite rare, but nevertheless it exists. There is one thing for sure, Jane will never forget it. Nothing as strange as folk, and in all her years of being a police officer, nothing was stranger. He was still on remand and waiting for a date for the High Court. His legal team have indicated he will be pleading guilty, so at least that will spare the children from giving evidence. Let’s hope that the man will realise the harm he has done, and take responsibility for his actions. He will have many years to reflect on them, locked away in prison.
I had the best Christmas ever. So much has happened since I was snatched, and so many surprises. I am not sure which one was the best, but maybe it is finding out that Uncle Marcus is my dad. It turns out that he’s always been my dad, but now he is properly my dad. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me when mam first explained, but it seems they had to keep it a secret, then after I was taken it didn’t need to stay a secret. It’s sort of strange calling him my dad, and sometimes I call him Uncle Marcus by mistake, but he says it doesn’t matter. I always wanted to have a dad, and it seems like I had one all the time.
The second big surprise was that we now live in a big house that overlooks the sea. It’s lovely and best of all is that my bedroom has been moved into the new house. All my things, just as they were in my old bedroom in the flat, are in the new room. My clothes were still there, but mam had to buy me more ‘cause I have grown.
I have a tabby kitten called Tibby. Mam says we can also get a puppy once the kitten has grown a bit. We have a big garden so the pets can have plenty of room to exercise. I had always wanted to have a pet, but mam had said that as we lived in a flat that it wouldn’t be fair.
Mam is happy to have me home. She told me that she had never given up hope, even though it was such a long time,
and I don’t think that some people thought I would be back. But everyone is happy that I am. I go and see this lady called Mona at the hospital, she is really nice, and we go into a room where there are lots of toys, and I get to play with them and tell her all about the time I spent with, that man. I don’t call him Uncle Don any longer. He was never my uncle and he lied to me, he lied about everything. Sometimes I get really angry when I am talking to Mona, but she says not to worry and she lets me do stuff to get rid of my anger. I have told her about the room, and how I had to stay in there a lot, and about the photos, and about the hair brushing. She had asked me whether he had done anything else, but I said no, I don’t think he did, not that I can remember.
I speak to Shona on the phone, the one that Uncle Marcus, I mean, Dad, got put into Shona’s house. He did it so we could speak when we want to. Shona is going to come for a sleep-over soon, and we are going to have lots of sweets, cakes and biscuits. I am really looking forward to seeing her. Shona understands what it was like to stay in the room.
I had to speak to a special police officer and tell about all I could remember of what happened. I asked about him, what would happen to him. They told me that he was in jail and was going to have to go to the court. I might have to go as well, but we’re hoping not. Dad says that they hope he will just tell the court the truth, that he is guilty, and then he will be locked up in prison for a long time. I hope he will be locked up a long time, so he can’t snatch any more children.
At Christmas, my nana came to stay as well. It was great as she cooked lots of nice food, and mam was so happy and pleased. In fact, Nana is going to go and live in our old flat; Grampie is staying where he is. Me mam’s brother, Uncle Alexander, also came for Christmas and he brought his friend Gary with him. It was strange because I hadn’t ever seen two men holding hands before, but me mam says it is fine.
It seems I have two half-brothers; they’re my dad’s sons. They are much older than me, so not brothers I can play with. I haven’t met them yet, but dad says he has been speaking to the one called Derek who lives in Australia, and we might all go and visit him sometime.
Santa brought me lots of presents; there were extra ones, because he couldn’t find me last year. So when I woke up there were two stockings filled with so many lovely things, that I still haven’t got around to playing with them all yet. We had a big Christmas tree and on Boxing Day we had a party and mam’s new friend, Beth, came with her family. They were really nice and mam helps Beth out with her charity.
I have started a new school; this one is nearer to our new house than the old one. It is okay, and I am making some new friends. The teacher thinks I am quite good, as I am the best reader and writer in the class. Maybe all those books that the man gave me and all those stories I had to write paid off after all.
The most and best thing ever is what mam and dad told me last night, and that is that I am going to have a little baby brother or sister. I don’t care which, but I know that I will make sure I watch over them. I will make sure that they will never be snatched.
THE END
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40