by Jay Gill
Chapter Seventy-Four
Outside, the rain was falling harder and the water around her was rising faster. Alice shifted her shivering body and found that she could move her limbs a little more. She got both feet beneath her and tried to squat. Pressing her hands against the walls on either side, she lifted herself until the back of her head and neck could go no further.
She poked her finger into a hole high up on one side of the container. This was where the cold water had trickled down her back. She ran her fingers up further, along the underside of the lid, and felt several more small holes that were letting in air and rainwater.
Pressing her shoulders against the lid, she placed her hands against the sides for balance and repeatedly pushed. She strained and felt the lid shift slightly. Using her hand as well, she pushed again and felt the lid lift a little more.
She felt sure the lid was thin plastic. She wondered if she could pop it off if she hit it hard enough.
She pushed and pressed and thumped the lid. Her shoulders ached, but she kept going. The lid began to flex on one side. Alice yelled and got angry as she struggled. She thumped the lid, hitting it with all her strength. Phwup! The lid flexed and the seal on one edge released. There was a small gasping sound as fresh air poured in. She breathed deeply. It smelled good and gave her hope.
With renewed energy, she pushed on the lid again, but she couldn’t make it budge any more. She slipped her fingers through the gap. Pressing her face to the opening, she breathed deep lungfuls of the fresh, clean air.
She tried to run her fingers under the rim of the lid and release it that way, but the lid got tighter and pinched her fingers the further around she moved them.
She tilted her head and shouted through the gap. “Help! Hello? Can anyone hear me? I’m in here. I need help. Please help me.” She yelled and listened and yelled again. Nothing.
She ran her fingers around the edge once more. She guessed the lid was fastened down in some way.
She peered through the gap in the lid for some time. It felt like a little bit of freedom. Occasionally, she called out, but for a long time she simply stared and listened to the noise of the rain as it fell and gathered and trickled.
A noise snapped Alice back into the moment. It sounded like a car door. Had she imagined it? Or was it thunder? She held her breath and listened. The drumming and trickling of the rain were too loud; the sound of the water swishing and splashing, added to the sound of her own heart pounding, made it hard to hear anything.
Whatever it was, she decided she’d imagined it or dreamed it.
A new noise caught her attention. Something was squeaking and rustling. She yanked her fingers in from the edge and sank down in the water.
Rats! Alice recognised the sound. She’d heard it before in the garden of their old London house. The man who had come to poison them told her they were living under the garden shed. She hated rats. They were dirty and creepy. She prayed they wouldn’t come down the pipe looking for her. If they did, they’d fall into the water and climb all over her, with their sharp teeth and claws.
Alice took off her sweater and used the sleeve to plug the pipe where the water came out. The hole was probably too small for a rat, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She should have thought of that before, she chided herself; it would not only stop the rats but the water too.
The water was up to her neck now, and the rain outside sounded heavier. She decided that was okay, at least for now. If the container filled with water, she could lift the lid and let it flow out; that would stop her drowning.
She wondered what would happen if nobody came for her. If she fell asleep, she would probably drown; she couldn’t stay awake forever. She started thinking about all the ways she might die. Would the rats get her? Would she starve to death? Would she freeze to death? She didn’t want to die here. Not like this. Daddy would come. He would find her. Yes, he would come. He had to. She hoped he would come soon. The cold was making her feel awfully tired.
Alice began to cry. The tears felt hot on her damp, icy face.
Chapter Seventy-Five
The satnav had got me to the area in which Long Meadow Farm was meant to be situated, but I was now relying on instinct to locate the farmhouse.
The foul weather hampered my progress; the rain and darkness made it difficult to see signs and entrances on the narrow country roads. After a few false turns and a lot of despairing, I saw the sign for Long Meadow Farm. I turned onto a single-track road.
Once I could see the farmhouse, I turned off the headlights and approached slowly. I pulled up at the side of the lane and sat in the car; the only sign of life was a flickering glow from a window. I turned the windscreen wipers back on to get a better view.
For what felt like the thousandth time I looked down at the envelope and card Theresa Allerton had given me. I’d memorised the card, which, beneath the address, read Come alone, James, or Alice dies. For her sake, the sooner the better.
I took out my mobile phone and thought about calling Emma. My training told me I should call for backup or at the very least notify Emma of my whereabouts. But Lyle had been one step ahead of me at every turn, and I dared not. I tucked the phone back in my inside pocket.
I turned off the car but left the keys in the ignition. I got out and ran through the mud towards the farmhouse. The front door was slightly open, and as I peered inside I could feel the warmth escaping.
I wiped the rain from my face and gently pushed the door fully open. I took a step inside and looked around. I was in a large kitchen. In the centre was a dining table and chairs, and to my right was an Aga oven. Directly across the room was another door.
I moved quickly and quietly to the second door and listened. I could hear a scraping sound, like something was being moved across the floor.
All I could think about was Alice and getting her away from Lyle. I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
A fire was blazing in a huge stone fireplace. Lyle placed a fire poker back in its stand on the hearth and turned to me. “Come in, James. You got here quickly. And perfect timing – I was just putting another log on the fire.” She was dressed from head to toe in black, and on seeing me she spread out her arms to show she was unarmed.
I didn’t care one way or another. I ran at her, grabbed her and forced her face down to the floor. I held her down with my knee and lifted her arm high up behind her. Lyle lay still and made no effort to get away. I could hear she was in pain, which gave me a surge of satisfaction. I fastened her hands with plasticuffs.
“Careful, James,” she said. “I know you must be cross with me, but don’t go hurting me. If you hurt me, I promise you little Alice will suffer.”
“Where’s Alice?” I screamed at her.
“All in good time. Now, you’re hurting me. Let me go. We have a lot to talk about.”
“You’re not going anywhere, you evil bitch. You’re under arrest. And if you don’t tell me where Alice is right now” – I pressed my knee down hard on the side her head, pushing her face into the cold stone floor – “I may decide to start breaking every bone in your body.”
I moved my knee to allow her to speak.
“That’s the spirit – you’re going to need that. Alice doesn’t have much time; I think you should let me go now. If you hurt me, she will die an agonising death. If you arrest me, she will die. If I sense or see another police officer, she will die. And if you kill me, guess what? Ditto. The only way you’re getting Alice back is by letting me go. I intend to walk out of here tonight a free woman. But before any of that, you and I need to talk about the whole point of this little game of mine. You should be excited, James. I am going to reveal why you’re really here tonight. Now help me up and untie my hands.”
I had all my weight pressing down on Lyle. It took everything I had not to grab her by the hair, repeatedly smash her face into the stone floor and make her tell me where Alice was.
Reluctantly, I got up and lifted Lyle to her feet.
I removed the plastic tie around her wrist and watched her brush herself off as she looked me up and down.
“I think you’ve put on a pound or two. Living the good life by the coast will do that to a person. Don’t get me wrong; you’re still a hunk, but—”
“Cut your shit. You have my little girl. Where is she?”
“Last time I checked, Alice was fine. Do you really think I would harm your baby? You disappoint me, James. I thought you knew me better than that. Alice is close by; hopefully, you’ll get to her in time. We do need to avoid any further delays, as I cannot vouch for her safety indefinitely. Let’s take a seat, shall we?”
Chapter Seventy-Six
I couldn’t believe my ears. From across the table, I stared at Lyle in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
She didn’t take her eyes off me for a second as she enjoyed her moment. She was calm in a way that told me she had been planning her speech for a long time and was in total control of herself and this situation. She spoke soothingly. “It’s very straightforward. I want you, James Hardy, retired detective chief inspector, a man who holds himself in such high esteem, to kill someone for me.”
I jumped to my feet, and the chair I was sitting on screeched and fell backwards with a disturbing crash.
I shouted across the table at her, “Listen to me. You’re playing games with a little girl’s life. If you don’t tell me where my daughter is right now, I’m going to—”
She remained expressionless. “No, you’re not, James. You’re not going to lay one more finger on me. If you do, your little Alice dies. Unless I tell you where she is you will never find her. No one will. Alice will die a slow, agonising death. Now sit down and listen to what else I have to say.”
I had no choice. I picked up my chair and sat back down. My mind was racing, trying to think ahead. I needed to find a way to get an advantage or some sort of leverage. I could think of none. There was nothing for me to do but to sit and listen.
“Tick-tock, tick-tock, James. I see your brain trying to find a way out. It’s time to accept your predicament and stop wasting precious time that Alice doesn’t have.”
“Who is this person that you want dead?” The words sounded like a foreign language coming out of my mouth.
Lyle rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Good. Let’s get down to business. First, I just want to say, I know you want this person dead. I can deliver the person in question right into your hands. It can be our little secret. I can mentor you. Tell me that wouldn’t be exciting.”
I felt my face go pale at the word “mentor.” Her face broke into a wide smile, and then she changed course. “Did you and dishy Detective Cotton ever figure out the clues I left you? All those who died as part of this game were stepping stones leading to this moment. I want you to take a moment to appreciate the special gift I’m giving you.”
My brain was overloaded with worry, and Lyle’s words weren’t making any sense. “Will you please get to the point.”
“Okay. All this time you thought the mother of your children, Helena, was killed by Tony Horn. The truth is he was only the man who stuck the blade into her belly. The little man who had no choice. The man I want you to kill is the man who was really behind your wife’s death. The man who gave Horn no choice. Now doesn’t that sound like a win-win situation?”
My mind was being pulled in all directions. Was this just another of Lyle’s games? Why was she saying these things? What did she have to gain from tormenting me?
“Why do I have to kill him? Why don’t I just arrest him and let him face life imprisonment?”
“James, you haven’t asked me who it is. You know, don’t you? You’ve always known or at least had your suspicions. You poor man. Carrying that burden. How do you face your children every day while knowing the truth all this time? I want to relieve you of that pain.”
I thought about the Scrabble pieces and let my mind put them in order.
R-I-C-H-T-E-R.
I felt my eyes widen.
Lyle was watching my face carefully. “That’s it, James. It was Edward Richter who really killed Helena.”
A wave of nausea hit me as all the missing pieces from the last few years finally slotted into place. Richter was behind Helena’s murder. He was the man who had destroyed my life and the lives of my children, and now Lyle was insisting I kill him to get Alice back.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Lyle looked at her watch. “I just need a yes from you. More importantly, Alice needs a yes from you. I promise this will be our little secret. You know I always keep my promises. No one will know, ever. You kill him however you want; I don’t care how. I know you’re a man of your word. Just say yes and you get Alice back, and I’ll be on my way.
“A word of warning. If I give you Alice and you fail to kill Richter, I will come after you. First, I’ll kill your dog. Then your mother, and then your children, and then I’ll make you watch while I kill Monica.”
My mind was frantically trying to navigate a way out of this. All I could think of right now was how to get Alice back. I said, “There must be another way?”
“There isn’t another way. I give a life; you take a life. It’s as simple as that. I’ll make it simpler for you. Tell me you want Alice back and let me walk out of here. Say yes, and our deal is done. You’d better hurry.”
She had left me no choice. I bowed my head. “Yes, I want Alice back.”
Lyle jumped to her feet. “Excellent. I am so excited about our future together. I’ll be in touch with more details very soon. You sit there and don’t move. I will step outside and get Alice for you. If you move, you will never see your little girl again.”
I pressed my hands flat down on top of the table. I’d done a deal with the devil, and I had to force myself to stay seated as I watched Lyle leave the room.
Everything about this felt wrong, and as I heard Lyle close the front door, I was desperate to go after her. I sat in silence, waiting to hear Alice’s voice. My eyes scanned the room, my ears taking in every sound. I prayed Alice was still alive and that Lyle would keep her word. I sat motionless for five minutes, then ten minutes. I looked at my watch; twenty minutes. Doubt crept in. She’s lied to me. Lyle’s not coming back. I let her walk out that door. I entrusted Alice’s life to a crazy woman. What was I thinking? Lyle was never going to keep to her side of the bargain. What have I done?
I got to my feet and raced through the farmhouse. I threw open the front door. The rain was lashing down. I stepped outside and looked around frantically. I called Alice’s name. I called and called but heard nothing back. I sank to my knees and begged for God’s help. I clawed at the muddy soil and cried in despair.
I felt my phone vibrate. It buzzed again. I searched through my pockets and grabbed the phone from my inside pocket. One new message.
The message was from Lyle. I clicked on it and read Alice is in the water tank xxx.
I jumped to my feet. Water tank? What water tank?
I looked around in all directions, but it was difficult to see anything in the darkness and with the rain beating down. I switched on my phone’s torch to give me some light. Pointing it ahead of me, I ran along the side of the farmhouse until I came to the corner, then sprinted along the rear side until I reached the farthest corner. Nothing. I turned again and again and kept going until I found myself back where I started. No water tank.
I opened my phone and replied to Lyle’s message with one word: WHERE?
I waited.
No reply.
I ran to my car and found my torch in the glovebox. I turned on the car headlights.
Running back to the farmhouse, I shone the torch around. The beam picked up the shape of the stable block. I ran over and shone the light inside each window. The stables were empty. I ran to the left side and shone the torch around. No water tank. I ran back to the right side of the stable block. I shone the torchlight along the wall and there, halfway along, was a bulky shape. I ran closer and could
make out a row of large barrels.
What would I find? Knowing what Lyle was capable of, I feared the worst. My legs felt leaden, as though they were reluctant to move. I had to force myself to get closer.
I called Alice’s name as I ran. The barrels, three in total, were raised off the ground on concrete blocks. I climbed up and tried to prise the lid off the first barrel. A metal bar lay across the top. At the end of the bar was a latch keeping the lid down, held in place with a metal pin. I slid out the pin, flipped up the latch and lifted the lid. I shone the torch inside and found nothing but water.
I dropped the lid and moved on to the second barrel, which had the same locking mechanism on its lid. I repeated the process, my hands numb with cold. As I peered into yet another empty barrel, I heard a faint voice calling me.
I looked over at the third barrel. “Alice? Is that you?”
I shone the torch on the third barrel and couldn’t believe my eyes. Little wriggling fingers poked through from under the lid. A weak voice called, “Daddy?” Then stronger and more fearful, “Daddy, I’m here! I’m here! Please, I’m here!”
I wrenched off the lid and took in the heartbreaking sight of my little girl, up to her neck in freezing water. Barely able to form words, I reached over the lip of the barrel towards her. “Come here, sweetheart. You’re safe now.”
Alice put up her arms and said, “You came. I knew you would. Please hurry. I feel so cold.”
Chapter Seventy-Eight
I sat beside Alice while she slept. I held her hand and couldn’t take my eyes off her. No child should have had to go through what she’d been through.
Monica, Faith and Mum were on their way. I needed them to see her. I had this inescapable feeling that once they did and our family was back together, this nightmare would be finally over.
Alice’s doctor came onto the ward and stood beside me.
