‘If you know where they’ve gone, you tell me, young lady,’ her mother said in a voice that brooked no argument.
Lucy looked mulish and said nothing.
‘Lucy, it’s important. If you don’t know where they are, at least tell me which way they went.’
‘I promised not to tell,’ she said, turning pink under the scrutiny of so many interested persons.
‘Well, I can promise you that if you don’t tell, you’ll be grounded for the rest of the holidays!’ her mother warned.
Lucy appeared to consider this and come to the conclusion that loyalty had a price after all.
‘They were going to see if they could get an autograph off that footballer they’re so mad about,’ she muttered after a moment. ‘I told them you wouldn’t like it, but they wouldn’t listen.’
‘They already knew I wouldn’t like it,’ Jenny said grimly. ‘Or they’d have asked first.’
‘What footballer?’ McCreesh asked.
‘Liam Sellyoak. He owns the house next door,’ Jenny told him. ‘Great Ditton Manor.’
‘Well, surely the worst he’ll do is send them away with a flea in their ear,’ he said.
‘I suppose so, but I don’t like the man.’
‘Did Taylor ever speak of him?’ Daniel asked Dek, who frowned.
‘I don’t think so. Not more than in passing, anyway.’
‘And yet he knew him well enough to have his number on a hotkey on his mobile phone,’ Daniel mused.
‘How do you know that?’
Daniel picked the recently acquired phone up off the table and explained how he’d come by it. ‘I tried to get Fletcher to talk a couple of weeks ago but he more or less slammed the door in my face, so I posted him my number in the hope he’d change his mind. Looks like he has.’
Danvers looked interested. ‘And are you sure the phone is Taylor Boyd’s?’
‘Pretty much. It’s got all the members of his family on there, including one that says “Dad”. Even if the phone’s not registered, it’ll be easy enough to check if that’s Norman Boyd’s number.’
‘Excellent!’ Dek said.
‘What I’m interested in right now is the way Liam Sellyoak’s name keeps cropping up through all this,’ Daniel said. ‘You’re looking for someone with money who may be bankrolling the Butcher Boys, and here we have a millionaire footballer who lives just round the corner and whose number is on Taylor’s old mobile. That seems quite a coincidence, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t like coincidences.’
‘You think they might have taken the dogs there?’ William asked. He had picked up the phone and was pressing buttons.
Daniel looked at him. ‘I hadn’t got that far, but it’s possible, isn’t it?’
‘Worth checking out,’ Danvers agreed, taking his own phone from his pocket. ‘I’ll give the DS a ring and run it by him.’
‘Talking of checking out, check this out,’ William exclaimed on a note of triumph, and passed the phone to Daniel.
William had accessed the phone’s photo gallery, and on the miniature screen was a shot clearly taken at a dog fight. What was equally clear was that the photo had been taken not to record the action but to highlight one particular member of the watching crowd. Standing close to the ring, and clearly urging the participants on, was Liam Sellyoak in clear, sharp detail.
‘Got him!’ Daniel breathed, passing the phone to Dek. ‘And I’m guessing this explains why Sellyoak is bankrolling the Boyds, if he is. Think what a picture like this would do to his career if it found its way into the papers. He has near-hero status with half the young boys of Britain. It would ruin him. I’d say the Boyds have him eating out of their hands.’
‘The Boyds were released just over half an hour ago,’ Danvers reported. ‘So it’s a fair bet, if the dogs are being hidden at Sellyoak’s place, they won’t waste too much time getting over there.’
‘And Harry and Drew are on their way to see him.’ Jenny looked stricken. ‘Oh my God, Daniel – we’ve got to stop them!’
TWENTY
‘Which way did they go?’ Daniel asked, pushing his chair back and getting to his feet. ‘By road? Or is there a shorter way?’
‘There’s a shortcut,’ Jenny told him. ‘Through the woods behind us. They could be there in twenty minutes if they went on their bikes. Did they?’ She fired the question at Lucy who still stood nearby, eyes round as she listened. Now she nodded, looking scared.
‘I’ll go after them,’ Daniel said. ‘Can you show me the path?’
‘Yes, it’s pretty easy to follow,’ Jenny said, heading for the door.
‘I’ll get things moving,’ Danvers said, keying numbers into his mobile.
Outside, Jenny had paused and Daniel almost ran into her.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘You could take Piper,’ she said, and Daniel saw the quarter horse patiently standing tied to the garden gate where Lucy had left him. He was wearing a bridle but no saddle, and Daniel knew from what Drew had told him that Sue was very keen on improving grip and balance by teaching the kids to ride bareback.
Hoping that his own grip and balance were up to the challenge, Daniel untied Piper and vaulted on to his glossy chestnut back. Gathering up the reins in one hand and a hunk of mane in the other, he urged the horse to follow Jenny who was already moving towards the side of the house.
Passing the office, she showed him where a rather overgrown path ran alongside the field behind the house, heading for the dark line of the copse, some fifty yards away.
‘Just stay on the path. It’s signposted as a bridleway. It comes out in Well Bottom Field and crosses the river. Watch Piper with the bridge. When you go up the track on the other side, you’ll see the house on your right. Please find them, Daniel!’
‘I will.’
Guiding Piper through the narrow opening to the bridleway, he applied his heels firmly and was rewarded by a surge of power that almost caught him napping. Glad of his handful of mane, he regained his balance and leaned forward as the horse thundered along the path, the straggling hedges on either side whipping Daniel’s lower legs as they passed.
In the copse, which had once been a working hazel coppice, he had to lean even lower to avoid being scooped off the animal’s back by low branches. He could feel Piper’s muscles rippling under him as he gripped the smooth satiny coat with his knees, and was grateful that the path was, for the most part, straight.
Bursting out of the cool dimness of the wood a minute or two later, Daniel and Piper were suddenly faced with a narrow picket gate leading into a meadow. Moving fast and with only a stride or two’s warning, Daniel took the only option available and urged the horse on, twisting both hands into his thick mane and sending a prayer skywards.
Piper took the gate in his stride, bunching his quarters and leaping neatly over to land with hardly a jolt on the soft turf beyond. Daniel landed a little less gracefully, with his face buried in the animal’s mane. Finding himself rudderless, Piper veered left for a stride or two but Daniel soon regained his balance and straightened him up, heading downhill towards a gap in the far hedge.
This time, he pulled the horse up in time to avoid the necessity of jumping the five-bar gate, a feat he didn’t feel confident of attempting. Luckily, the gate was easily opened, and they were soon cantering down a grassy track towards the bottom of the valley.
Rounding a bend, the river came into sight, crossed by the bridge that Jenny had warned him about. It was narrow; not much more than a footbridge, with a handrail on one side. Daniel slowed the horse to a walk and steered him towards it, but as soon as his hooves touched the wooden planking, Piper baulked, swinging round and away from the structure.
Daniel turned him back again, with the same result. He could feel the horse’s coat growing warm with sweat as he became agitated. Slipping off his back, on to legs that had become strangely jelly-like, Daniel attempted to lead the horse forward, but Piper was having none of it. He dug in his toes
and threw his head high, looking at Daniel through white-rimmed eyes. He clearly had issues.
‘OK, fella. I guess we’ll just have to go round it, then,’ Daniel said soothingly, looking to the side of the bridge where vegetation grew tall on the river bank, masking the transition from solid ground to water. To his eyes, the prospect looked far more daunting than twelve feet or so of wooden planks, but then he wasn’t a horse.
Vaulting on to Piper’s back once more, he rode him towards the river’s edge, quite prepared for him to dig his toes in again but the horse breasted the vegetation without hesitating, sliding a little as the ground gave way beneath his hooves and plunging knee-deep into the water where Taz was already cooling off.
Feeling that he would never completely understand horses, Daniel patted Piper’s neck and urged him forward across the stony riverbed. Piper stumbled as his feet met the rising ground unseen beneath the reeds, then lurched upwards, almost losing Daniel out the back door.
They rejoined the path, and he sent Piper on into a gallop, seeing the trees flitting by on the edge of his vision. After a few hundred yards, the path left the wood and split into two, the left fork, which was signposted as the bridleway, hugging the lee of the trees, and the right one leading to a gate. From there, across the open parkland beyond, Daniel could see the impressive Georgian facade of Great Ditton Manor. His hope that he would see the two boys pedalling across the last stretch of grass was dashed. They were nowhere to be seen.
The main gate was padlocked, but beside it a smaller one swung in the breeze. Making a mental note to reprimand the boys for leaving it unlatched, Daniel pushed it wide and rode through, doing the same thing himself as he tightened his legs on Piper’s sides and sent him into a gallop once more. Out to one side, Taz stretched into a run.
This time they went like the wind, thundering across the open grassland with the wind whipping through the horse’s mane and rippling Daniel’s shirt. There was no chance of approaching unseen, so speed was the best option, and within a very short time they had reached the low hedge that bordered the gravel drive, jumped it and pulled up in a spray of shingle.
Daniel caught sight of movement through an archway to the side of the house and turned the horse that way. It led through to a large quadrangle formed by the wall behind him, covered stables and a coachhouse to the right and ahead, and the house on the left. It appeared there were no horses in residence as the yard was bare of the usual signs of occupancy, but he could hear dogs barking somewhere.
A familiar blue van was parked alongside several other vehicles, including Liam Sellyoak’s black Porsche, and the sound of Piper’s hooves crunching on the gravel brought the footballer hurrying from an open doorway, followed closely by Taylor Boyd.
Boyd initially glanced past Daniel, but then, apparently satisfied that he had come alone, said with a sneer, ‘Well, if it isn’t the lone fuckin’ ranger!’
Daniel ignored the taunt, his eyes searching, without success, for any sign of the boys. What he did see, in the open back of the van, was a number of wire-mesh crates, such as are commonly used for transporting dogs. One of the cages was already occupied. It seemed their guess had been right.
‘Looking for the kids?’ Boyd asked.
‘What have you done with them?’
‘Well, see – we caught them trespassing …’
‘Don’t be bloody stupid! They’re only kids – football mad. They came to try and get Liam’s autograph. They don’t know anything about – all this.’
‘Ah, but they saw too much, and kids chatter, don’t they? And we couldn’t have them chattering – at least not until we’d finished our business here.’
‘Where are they?’ Daniel demanded. ‘The police are on their way. You don’t want to add kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment to the list of charges.’
‘If the police are on their way, why the heroic charge across country? I don’t think so, Mr interfering busybody. They’ve got nothing on us, or why did they let us go, eh?’ Boyd stepped towards Daniel. ‘Now, get off the little pony and hand over your mobile, and we might let you see your precious kids.’
From beside Daniel there came a rush of black and tan, and suddenly Taz was between the horse and the approaching man, hackles up and teeth bared. Boyd recoiled instinctively.
‘Call off the fuckin’ dog!’ he ordered, fear in his eyes.
‘I don’t think so,’ Daniel replied. Even though the man was used to handling fighting dogs, they were quite often soft with their owners. Taz was a different matter altogether, and Boyd was understandably less comfortable when the aggression was targeted at him.
Taylor hesitated, then, turning his head, he bellowed, ‘Dad! Bring the kids out.’
For a moment nothing happened, and then Daniel tensed as Norman Boyd appeared in the doorway of one of the stables holding Harry Summers on one side and Drew on the other. Drew was pale and stony-faced – his usual reaction to anxiety. Harry was sniffling as he manfully tried to repress sobs.
‘Dad!’ Drew cried out. ‘I knew you’d come.’
Being there was one thing, Daniel reflected ruefully. Being able to effect a rescue was quite another. The sight of Boyd senior with his grubby hands on the boys made his blood boil.
‘It’s OK,’ he reassured them quietly. ‘I’ll sort this out.’
‘They took our phones,’ Drew said, greatly aggrieved. ‘We didn’t do anything wrong. We only wanted an autograph …’
‘Shut up!’ Norman Boyd said roughly, shaking the boy’s arm.
‘It’s not your fault. I’ll sort it,’ Daniel told him.
‘No,’ Taylor cut in. ‘I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. You’re going to call off the dog, get off the pony and hand over your phone. If you try anything fancy, the kids’ll suffer, got it?’
Daniel hesitated, but only for a moment. He had had first-hand experience of what Norman Boyd was capable of, and he had no reason to suppose he would have any more scruples just because his captives were children.
Calling Taz to heel, he slid off Piper’s sweaty back, trailed the reins and took his mobile from his pocket. It was vibrating silently. No doubt Dek or Danvers wanting an update. Too bad. He hoped his silence would hurry them on their way.
Taz was reluctant to come to his side. He had just caught sight of Drew being restrained by the enemy, and his doggy brain knew it was a situation he should do something about. Drew was family and therefore his responsibility. He stood his ground and continued to growl menacingly.
‘Taz! Heel! Now!’ Daniel reiterated sharply, and glancing from one to the other in agitation, the dog did as he was told.
‘Throw the phone over,’ Taylor instructed. ‘And don’t even think about trying anything!’
Daniel had been toying with the idea of lobbing the phone hard towards Taylor’s face and making a play for the two boys, but Norman Boyd was just too far away, and although the footballer was standing slightly apart, looking miserably unsure, Daniel couldn’t rely on him not to enter the fray if Daniel went on the offensive. Sighing inwardly, he tossed the phone in an underarm action to Taylor, who caught it deftly. Taz took a step forward, watching like a hawk, but a word from Daniel stopped him in his tracks.
‘So, what now?’ Daniel asked.
‘Now we load up the van and be on our way.’
‘What about the boys?’
‘Oh, I think we’ve got a spare crate. They can come along as insurance.’
Daniel turned cold with fear. ‘You can’t do that.’
‘Watch me.’
Daniel looked at Liam. ‘And are you OK with this? You’re a hero to these kids.’
The footballer shrugged unhappily, and Daniel grew impatient.
‘Think what you’re doing, man! There’s a world of difference between owning fighting dogs and kidnapping children. You’ll be behind bars for a long time. You can kiss goodbye to your career, that’s for sure.’
‘Shut up!’ Taylor said sharply, but Daniel�
��s words had clearly hit home with Liam.
‘Look, couldn’t we just leave the kids?’ he asked. ‘They haven’t done nothing.’
‘Bit late for a conscience now,’ Taylor replied with a sneer. ‘You’re in this as deep as we are. Shut up and go get one of the dogs. You,’ he added to Daniel. ‘Into the stables.’
Daniel assumed a resigned expression and, leaving Piper standing obediently with his reins trailed, began to follow the footballer towards the nearest open door with Taz at his heels and Taylor a step or two behind.
His path took him closer to Norman Boyd and the two boys, and as he came level with them, Drew said desperately, ‘Dad?’
It was now or never. Swivelling on his toes, Daniel pointed at Taylor, and shouted, ‘Taz, get him!’ In the next instant, he’d launched himself at Boyd senior with his head down and tucked into his shoulder like a prop forward with his eye on the try line.
Faced with a human battering ram, Norman Boyd’s survival instincts took over and he released his two captives in favour of protecting himself. Even so, Daniel’s shoulder hit him squarely in the midriff, sending him staggering back to land sprawling on the gravel with Daniel on top.
‘Run!’ Daniel shouted at the boys, shifting his weight to pin Norman Boyd down as the bulky, salvage yard owner tried to throw him off. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Drew take Harry’s arm and drag him away. Somewhere behind him, Taylor was shouting obscenities as Taz silently and efficiently took care of that particular business.
Gritting his teeth with the effort of restraining his captive, Daniel glanced round and saw Liam Sellyoak standing irresolute in the stable doorway. He was looking at the two boys.
‘Stay out of it!’ Daniel warned. ‘Don’t make things worse for yourself.’
‘I never wanted any of this,’ the footballer complained weakly, advancing a step or two. ‘Not the kids …’
‘So do something about it. Give me a hand.’
‘I can’t. You don’t understand …’
Norman Boyd unleashed a stream of expletives in Sellyoak’s direction. Daniel bounced on him.
No Holds Barred Page 25
