THEN SHE RAN an absolutely gripping crime thriller with a massive twist

by Charlie Gallagher

  ‘Good stuff. Sounds like you have it covered. Do we have someone in with our young lady?’

  ‘Yes, sir. A local patrol.’

  ‘Very good. Is she just through there?’

  ‘The door on the right there, sir.’

  ‘Excellent. And have you been well looked after? Did anyone get you a tea yet?’

  ‘No, sir. They all seem rushed off their feet to be honest. I certainly didn’t like to ask.’

  ‘No. Quite. I will though.’ Whittaker chuckled and stepped to the door. George followed him. He stopped. ‘We think she’s Jenny, right?’

  ‘So you said, Major,’ George replied.

  ‘I was just checking that was what I said. Don’t get old, George. Not if you can help it.’

  Jenny lay on her side. The standard white sheets of the NHS were mostly covered with a thick-looking blue blanket that was plugged into a box that whirred. The cover on the box flexed slightly as if it was breathing. George had seen such a device once before; it was designed to keep the body temperature constant. Jenny looked to be asleep. The sheet was tucked in tight around her.

  ‘Good morning.’ Whittaker was cheery for the female officer who stopped writing in her book. ‘How has she been?’

  ‘She’s not talkative, sir. At least she hasn’t been with me. The nurses have been in and out and they seem to be very happy with her. I think it’s all observations now. The big challenge we’ve got is that she’s shattered. She talked to me earlier but every word was a fight.’

  ‘What did she say?’

  ‘She was terrified, sir. She said they killed her boyfriend, she said she saw it and she escaped by jumping off a pier. They’d tied a weight around her legs. It sounds like quite an ordeal.’

  ‘Blimey! It does at that, the poor thing. And this is just today’s episode. This young lady has had quite a time. When did she last speak to you?’

  ‘Oh, at least an hour ago. She’s not been sleeping soundly, sir. She’s very restless. The nurse said she would be while her body sorts itself out after the hypothermia. Her stress levels won’t be helping either.’

  Right on cue, Jenny murmured. She fidgeted under the thick blanket and moved onto her back. Her head rocked from side to side and it sounded like she was trying to form words. Whittaker and George leaned closer as her eyes fluttered open. Her eyes rolled in their sockets as if she wasn’t quite awake.

  ‘Hey, Jenny,’ George said, softly.

  Her eyelids flickered and then opened. He was close enough to see them focus.

  ‘You’re okay. You’re in hospital and you’re safe. I’m Detective Inspector George Elms and I’m—’

  ‘George Elms . . .’ Jenny murmured. Her eyes moved around and she grimaced as if confused.

  ‘George Elms. I’m a police officer. Take your time, okay? You’re safe here . . . we’re going to help—’

  ‘George Elms!’ she screamed. Her eyes opened wide. Her arms and legs thrashed under the cover. George took a step back and looked over at Whittaker and Emily. Jenny screamed again, it was long and more powerful. George stepped further back.

  ‘Not him! Not him!’ She fixed on him, then over at Whittaker. Emily pushed past George and placed her hand gently on Jenny’s forehead.

  ‘Hey, hey, Jenny! Shh . . . it’s okay, honey. It’s okay.’

  Jenny settled down a little though her breathing was still rushed and loud and her eyes searched the room.

  George moved further away.

  A nurse appeared at the door. ‘What the hell is going on here?’ she demanded.

  ‘It’s okay. I think Jenny woke up a little confused and surrounded is all,’ Emily said.

  ‘Not him! George Elms! He was there. He was there!’

  ‘Could you please leave?’ The nurse held the door open and she looked over at the two men. Whittaker led the way back out into the corridor.

  ‘What the hell was all that about?’ Whittaker said.

  ‘I have no idea? She can’t know what she’s saying.’

  ‘Does she know you?’

  ‘No, Major, of course not. She’s just woke up from hypothermia. She’s all over the place.’

  Whittaker sighed. ‘I suppose you’re right. I was kind of hoping she would come to and immediately regale us with her last three days. I suppose that was a little ambitious, thinking about it.’

  ‘We’ll get there. It’ll just take time. Ryker’s still in there. If anyone is capable of getting information out of someone, it’s Emily Ryker.’

  A few more minutes and both men glanced at the door. Emily Ryker appeared looking agitated. ‘Seems you’ve made quite the impression, George.’

  ‘What was that about?’

  ‘I’ll tell you what it was about, George. She saw you. At the hotel. While she was being kidnapped. I can’t get too much detail out of her — she’s repeating herself over and over. She’s very traumatised but says she was stood right opposite you. She just keeps saying that you wouldn’t even look at her.’

  ‘Jesus, Ryker. I swear I’ve never seen that woman before in my life.’

  ‘Which is what she is saying!’

  ‘At the hotel?’

  ‘The lift. She said you were in the lift with her. You were on your phone? I think that’s what she means.’

  ‘Jesus!’ George brought his hands to his face. He couldn’t look at Whittaker or Emily either. He turned away — and heard Whittaker’s voice.

  ‘Is that all she said? Can she not tell us more?’

  ‘She won’t engage. I struggled to get that much. She said she won’t talk to me.’

  ‘To us — because of me,’ George said. ‘She’s lost all faith. You can’t blame her.’

  ‘We had no idea who she was, George,’ Whittaker said. ‘Even if you were looking right at her it wouldn’t have made a blind bit of difference. You can talk to her when she’s a bit more compos mentis and explain. She’s had a traumatic time. Lord knows how she ended up in that sea.’

  ‘She must have known who I was, that I was a copper. She must have been looking right at me, knowing that I should be helping her. She would have been leaking fear from every pore. I’ve been letting people down, Major. I didn’t even realise this one.’ George was still facing away, down a long, straight corridor. He started walking. He didn’t know where he was going, but he needed to get away, to clear his mind.

  ‘You okay, George?’ Emily called out.

  ‘Yeah, Ryker. I’ll find us all a coffee or something, yeah?’

  George kept walking. He hadn’t gotten far when he saw a courtyard through the window. A bare square of concrete surrounded on all sides by corridors leading to different parts of the hospital. He stepped out through a door that clanked shut. Two wooden benches faced each other and a man stood leaning on the back of one of them. He had a drip on a wheeled holder and he was wearing pyjamas. He smiled at George. George ignored him, his back found the glass window and he slunk down to sit on the ground. The man was smoking and took a deep drag. George was aware he was still looking over in his direction.

  ‘Shit day?’ the man said. ‘Or shit news, more likely, in this place.’

  George knew he was going to have to engage. ‘Shit day,’ he said. He quickly looked back down at the floor.

  ‘Shit news,’ the man said.

  George looked up at him.

  ‘For me, I mean.’ He sucked on his cigarette for a last time. It dropped to the floor and he stood on it with his slipper. ‘You any good at telling families shit news? ’Cause I’ve been out here for three of these now and I still can’t think of how to do it.’ The man expelled some smoke in a sort of laugh. George thought he might break down. That was the last thing he needed. But he couldn’t help but feel for him. The man’s head dropped, he turned away as if he had accepted that George didn’t want to talk.

  ‘How shit?’ George said. He forced himself back to his feet and moved over to the bench that faced the man. He sat down.

  ‘There’s nothin
g they can do. That shit.’

  ‘That’s right up there with the shittiest, friend. I’m really sorry.’

  ‘Ah, don’t be. If you don’t look after your lungs they can come right back at ya! Who knew?’

  ‘The problem isn’t not knowing though, right? It’s not caring. We’ve all been young and invincible.’

  The man smiled ruefully. ‘Yeah we have. And now I get to be middle-aged and dying. I got a year, max. My kids . . .’ The man broke off.

  ‘They’ll be fine. Trust me, they will. How old?’

  ‘Adult.’ It was all he could manage.

  ‘And now you know you’ve got twelve months to make the most of them. To make sure their memories of you are what every kid should have of their dad. Most people don’t get that. I’m not saying anyone would swap with you, friend, but, actually, you get something most of us don’t. You get a timetable. You get a motivation to make the next twelve months the best time you have ever spent with them. And it will be.’

  The man’s eyes were heavy and red as he peered over at George. ‘You do this professionally? Did they send you after me?’

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘Talk to people when they walk away from a prognosis like I got? Making people feel better?’

  ‘Goodness, no!’ George couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I don’t think I have the right qualifications for that job.’

  ‘Not a job anyone would want either. Talking to the walking dead.’

  ‘We’re all walking dead, right? At least you have that timescale. When you tell your family, tell them that you have good news. That the next twelve months are gonna be the most amazing of your life — of their lives. It’s still going to hit them hard but at least then you start off on the right foot.’

  ‘I might just try that. I just want to see if I can go with no regrets, you know? That’s the dream, right?’

  ‘I think it is.’

  ‘Not going to be easy, though. Me and my ex . . . we were great together. We had the kids but it went wrong. She had her head turned by her personal trainer. I’m a walking cliché, right? I was working all day and tired all night, so I guess it was inevitable, but I took it bad. I was so angry, it put a chip on my shoulder I never managed to get rid of. She hates me now. I mean, I know what she did, but I made her life hell.’

  ‘Is that your regret?’

  ‘No. I mean, it’s part of it. It’s the kids, see? She used to get upset and the kids would see her upset and they would know I caused it and . . . well, we all fell out for a while. We didn’t talk for a few days, then a few weeks, then it was months and in the end it took years to sort it out. I never should have done that. I should never have let my pride stand between me and my kids.’

  ‘Well, you’ve got twelve months to make it right.’

  The man smiled, and this time it looked more genuine. ‘You’re right. Thanks for talking to me. I’m sorry I vented. I guess you were just the first person I saw.’

  ‘No one sent you?’ George quipped. ‘To talk to me, I mean? Seeing as you accused me of the same?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ The man stopped in the doorway on his way back into the hospital.

  ‘Doesn’t matter. Good luck with it all, yeah?’ The man left. It wasn’t long before George turned to another voice.

  Emily Ryker stepped out. ‘Well, this place is fucking grim, isn’t it?’

  ‘The hospital?’

  ‘Well, yeah, but I mean this little area. I would picture outside areas at hospitals as being like gardens, with flowers and stuff. This is like John Major’s screensaver.’

  ‘I suppose it suits it.’

  ‘Not a fan of hospitals?’

  ‘Who is?’

  ‘You okay?’

  ‘Fine. I was just thinking it out. The next step.’

  ‘And there was me thinking you were out here beating yourself up. The boss was right, George. We didn’t even know who she was then. It didn’t matter whether you were looking at her or not.’

  ‘Maybe you’re right. It just puts us back a few paces. Do you think she’ll talk to you? We need what she knows.’

  ‘I don’t think so. Not any time soon.’

  ‘Dammit! Between her and Stan I feel like we’ve got all the keys now but we can’t find the door.’

  ‘We’ll get there. Do you want me to find the coffee then?’ Emily moved back to the door.

  ‘Oh yeah, I’d forgotten about that. I’ll have a tea if you’re going.’

  ‘Are you staying here?’

  ‘Just a few more minutes. I need to make a couple of calls and then I’m going to go back in there and have a chat with our Jenny.’

  ‘I think you’re the last person she’ll talk to, George. Are you sure that’s a good idea? We don’t want to piss her off and push her further away.’

  ‘I think she’ll talk to me. I just got an idea.’

  ‘Why does that always fill me with a sort of dread?’

  ‘I’ll be five minutes behind you — in time for the tea at least. Just let me make this call.’

  Emily lingered on him for a few seconds. She looked like she had more to say, but she moved back into the hospital. George watched her disappear from sight. He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through to his wife’s number. He pressed to dial and held the phone to his ear.

  Chapter 27

  George was very uncertain when he stepped back into Jenny’s room. Jenny had fallen back to sleep; the monitoring equipment beeped a gentle rhythm around her; the blanket still breathed in and out as he approached. He had forgotten how tiny a baby could be. Isobel lay across his arm, tucked in tight to his chest. She was sleeping. She had squirmed a little when she was handed to him but her eyes stayed shut. Her breathing was rhythmic again and she looked peaceful.

  ‘Jenny!’ George said. Jenny stirred a little. ‘Jenny, I’ve got Isobel here to see you.’ Jenny’s eyes fluttered open. She took a few moments, her eyes half-open. Suddenly they opened wide.

  ‘Issy!’ She pushed herself back in the bed and held out her arms. George laid Isobel gently in her grasp. He stayed close, the nurse had told him she was weak and she might not even realise it. She pulled her child to her chest and held on tight. There was no way she was going anywhere. George backed off a little.

  ‘I’m sorry it took us so long to bring her down but we had to be sure you were okay first. How do you feel?’

  ‘Great now!’ Jenny beamed. She didn’t take her eyes off her sleeping child. Isobel took a firm grip on her outstretched finger. ‘Oh, my little Issy! I knew I would see you again!’

  ‘I’ve arranged for a cot to be brought in here. She shouldn’t have to leave your side again, Jenny. I thought you’d appreciate that.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Jenny now looked at George. ‘Are you the man I shouted at earlier?’

  ‘Yeah. I let you down, Jenny. But I wanted to exp—’

  ‘They already did. The girl. She said that you didn’t know what I looked like. You got my name from someone who heard Joseph shouting at me. It’s okay.’

  ‘It’s not okay. I can’t imagine how you felt in that lift. I must have been so close.’

  ‘Closer than you are now. I read your tag. I saw you were police.’

  ‘I am sorry.’

  ‘It’s okay. I know’

  ‘I wanted to get off to a better start, Jenny — with you, I mean. We need you, we need your help desperately.’

  ‘I thought you might. I’m not sure what I can do though. I’ll be honest with you, Inspector, I just want all of this to go away.’

  ‘Please, call me George. Unfortunately that isn’t an option right now. The man in the car with you when this all started, is that your other half? We know he was taken from that car. We need to find him and—’

  ‘He’s dead.’

  ‘He’s dead?’

  ‘I saw it. Joseph. He was with me on the pier. They shot him in the head. I was right there. Jesus!’ She broke down. George cursed himself, i
mmediately he knew he had underestimated what this girl had gone through. He looked around the room. There were two padded armchairs against the wall on the other side of the room. He pulled one over so it was next to her. She took a hold of herself a little and nuzzled into Isobel. ‘I’m sorry, George. I’ve had a hell of a few days. I thought Joseph was dead all along. I saw them shoot into the car, that’s why I ran. I didn’t even look back. Then I saw him on that pier and I was so confused. Not just because I thought he was dead, but because I knew that he was the reason I was involved in all this. I couldn’t hate him though. I saw him there — he was all tied up and helpless. He tried to act like he didn’t know me, but when they made him — when they said they knew all about me, he did what he could to save me. They shot him. It was like they were putting down an animal, George! How could someone do that?’

  George still hadn’t sat down; he simply leaned on the back of the chair. ‘I really don’t know, Jenny. No matter how long I do this job, no matter what I see or hear, I can never understand how people can be so evil. There’s something fundamentally wrong with these people, Jenny. They need to be off the streets. The only way the rest of the world is safe from them is if they’re in prison. You need to understand your situation, Jenny. You’ve witnessed a terrible crime. These people cannot let you live. They’ve proven just how far they will go to hurt you. Right now you’re safe. You’re being protected by six armed police officers at different points around this hospital — with more on standby. I can help you, Jenny. I can keep you safe. But we have to help each other. The only way to guarantee your safety is to put these people behind bars. They can’t hurt you there, Jenny. I’ll make it as easy as possible. I’ve got a video camera. We’ll set it up and forget about it. Then we just talk about what happened. No writing. No checking it back over. We just talk.’

  ‘I don’t want to talk! You can make me disappear. I’ve heard about it. I’ve seen it on TV — witness protection, right?’

  ‘That’s right, I can do exactly that. But to get witness protection, you have to be a witness. That means someone who is giving us evidence that will put these people away.’