by Carla Kovach
‘You’ve been really helpful, thank you, Elsa.’
Gina hurried out of the house and relayed those two locations to Briggs. ‘We’ll head to the Guild End house, send a team to Pickering Green where Wyre will head to now.’
Sixty-Two
‘Hey, guys, are you here?’ Naomi slipped through the opening and landed hard on the stone floor, twisting her ankle slightly. She yelped as she rubbed the area where the lightning bolt of pain had struck, just as she heard the sickening crunch. She imagined that her mum had found the dog by now as Butch had been whining non-stop as she ran away from the back of the house. The dog’s sad stare followed her as she ran around the corner, leaving him.
She checked her phone again. It was definitely switched off. The police could trace anyone to anywhere. She’d seen how they worked on the TV. She checked the other pocket of her jeans. Her SIM card was still there, far apart from her phone. Possibly paranoid but she didn’t care.
As Oscar hadn’t answered any of her messages, she had to at least eliminate that he might be at one of their hang-outs. With the police on their way to her home for yet another talk, she needed to know what to say and with Oscar taking the lead role in all this, he needed to be the one to guide them. After all, if he ended up in trouble they would be in it too. She swallowed as she carried on rubbing her ankle, listening in silence for any sign of life. She’d definitely have bruising and tenderness for a few weeks.
Outside she could hear the sound of the birds chirping from the treetops in the afternoon sun. She swallowed as she thought of all the things she was guilty of and it wasn’t a pretty thought. If the truth came out it would shock everyone, that’s why she’d do or say absolutely anything to protect their secrets. She wasn’t proud of her part in it but it was time to work through this and start again with a story that worked for all of them.
She frowned. All had been fine until Caro got involved. Why did she have to discuss everything with Anthony? The mystery messages that Oscar had ordered Naomi to send to Caro were simply meant to shut her up, just act as a warning but then she went and stabbed Oscar in the leg. All he was going to do was freak her out enough to keep her quiet. Caro had gone too far this time and she was going to pay. Stabbing Oscar was the final straw and now she was paying.
Naomi was sick of their little weird friendship. How Caro would follow Oscar around like a sad puppy, that’s why it had been easy to laugh away the night at the last party when Caro was drugged up so they could humiliate her. She should have learned her lesson to not be such a saddo, but no, that sad little puppy would always chase Oscar around.
Naomi grabbed hold of an old battered chair and stood, allowing a bit of her weight to bear down on her ankle. She wasn’t getting anywhere sitting around. It wasn’t as bad as it looked. One step after another, the pain began to ease. She pushed through the piles of junk and dusty old equipment until she reached the rusty door. Pushing it gently, she caught the sound of a squeak as someone rattled around.
They were here. Time to shut Caro up. If one of them spoke, they’d all go down. As she burst through, a ray of intense sunshine blinded her as a thick dusty old blanket came over her head before someone wrestled her to the ground. ‘Oscar, it’s me,’ she tried to blurt, but instead, she inhaled a lungful of dust and felt the suffocating weight of heavy material being pushed into her face. She rolled around, disorientated in the dark, trying to hit out and kick but to no avail. Heart battering against her chest, she couldn’t breathe as nausea began to kick in and she was hot; so hot, and gasping; hyperventilating. Kicking again, her feet met nothing but air as her attacker held an arm to her neck. Strength almost gone, she could see dots upon dots through her closed eyes, and they were getting bigger. Can’t breathe.
The last thing she heard was the manic laughter. ‘Welcome to the party.’
Sixty-Three
Gina drove the car alongside the gates of the derelict house on Guild End Road. She glanced through the barbed wire fence that was padlocked shut and rattled it to test how secure it was. ‘They didn’t get in through the front.’
Jacob waved at the police car that had just turned, then he headed along. He shook the perimeter fence as he followed it around. At the end of a row and quite a way from any other houses, this one had sat in a state for years; known as the project that ran out of money. The owner had gone to live abroad, abandoning it. It was nothing more than a blemish on a small rural road that the other residents preferred to forget. Gina knew of its presence. It had been the target for illegal raves in the past. Before it had been fenced off, the land had been occupied by travellers for a while but since then, she’d heard of no issues with anyone hanging around but this is where Elsa said that the kids met. But how did they get in? She couldn’t see any material trapped in the barbed wire. She nodded to the uniformed officers to stand guard at the front of the gate while she followed Jacob.
‘I don’t want to alarm them if they’re here, so whatever you do, don’t make any loud noises. I’d prefer the element of surprise so we can swoop in quickly and take control of the situation. We must remember that two teens have been murdered. Whoever did that is dangerous and I don’t want a hostage situation.’ Gina followed Jacob around the perimeter, pushing through an entanglement of brambles and bushes. As they emerged through a tree, Jacob flinched and almost fell back as a wasps’ nest hummed away and the pesky creatures began to angrily buzz around them. First there were a couple, then a few more and then a whole swarm came at them.
Gina and Jacob ploughed through. She felt a sting piercing her arm. ‘Bloody thing.’ She slapped the wasp away.
Both waving their hands, they eventually escaped the wasps and reached the edge of the back of the house but the fence was on the floor as if it had been trampled down. Stepping over it, Gina kept close to Jacob as they got nearer to the back. Three windows to the first floor, two to the bottom, either side of a back door. All were boarded up except for the one on the top left. The board looked as though it had been pulled away. She walked up to the downstairs boards and began to pull but they were nailed firmly in place. Gina gulped. ‘I’m going to have to climb onto the canopy to get in.’
‘It looks too dangerous, guv. This place is a death trap. We should wait for backup then we can get in through the door.’
‘That would alarm them. I don’t want them to know we’re coming in.’ She turned to him as she inhaled. ‘Keeping quiet could be a matter of life and death. I’m not risking a kid’s life.’ The cuts to her face and arms were probably going to feel like nothing by the end of this. She imagined ceilings crashing in and floors disappearing. She pushed everything out of her mind. Now wasn’t the time to overthink anything.
‘I should go in.’ Jacob stepped ahead.
She pulled him back. ‘No. I’m lighter and smaller than you. That opening is tiny. There’s also less of a chance of all this coming down if I go. You’re going to have to help me onto the canopy.’
He frowned.
‘What are you waiting for?’ She stretched her arms out a couple of times and took a few deep breaths as she stood poised underneath, hoping that the even ledge would hold her weight.
‘I want it noted that I don’t like any of this.’
‘Noted, now give me a lift up.’
He linked his hands and she stepped into them. He lifted her as high as he could. She reached the top of the canopy and gritted her teeth together as she used all her strength to pull up her own body weight. The wood cracked and crunched, threatening to come loose and fling her onto the stingers and brambles below. Muscles shaking, she wondered if she would be able to do this. Her upper body strength wasn’t what it used to be and her underarms were more bingo wings than toned, but she did it. Sweat dripping down her forehead, she slid along the canopy on her belly until her knees passed the edge. She kneeled and wiped her brow, taking a moment to catch her breath. She hadn’t even got into the house and she was already exhausted. She thought of Caro, Oscar and
Naomi and she knew she had to get to the bottom of everything. She gulped as she stood, knowing that what she might find was another body or maybe two. She shook her head.
She peered through the bottom of the window and saw that half of the roof had collapsed, allowing in shafts of sunlight. Pulling her body up once again, the canopy crashed to the ground just as she tipped her body through the window. After a struggle, she landed on a pile of dusty old blankets that coated her nostrils with a musty smell. That of mouldy dampness and possibly excrement. Standing, she glanced back, and put her thumb up to Jacob who had now been joined by another officer. Everyone would now be in place. One word from Gina and the battering rams would have the whole place opened up.
As she stepped forward, the creaky floorboard crunched beneath, setting off falling debris underneath. Pigeons flapped and flew away through the roof. She shook the woodlouse off her hand and carried on forward, testing each bit of wooden floor as she went. In the hallway, the bannister was missing and the stench of urine hit her.
Standing in silence, she listened for any movement, anything at all but she couldn’t hear a thing. She went to open the first bedroom door but it crashed into the room. A stained mattress had been pushed against the back wall and was surrounded by beer cans and a couple of used condoms. The next room was just an empty bedroom with a view of the living room below where the floor had fallen through. Then lastly, the bathroom. She pushed the door, which resisted a little and she could see that it was nothing but an empty shell, all bathroom furniture stripped. A bucket sat in the corner. She’d found the source of the urine smell.
Time to tackle the stairs. She knew the living room was clear but what about the kitchen? There had to be another reception room too. Her foot plunged through a wooden step, piercing the skin on her ankle. Blood trickled into her shoe. She either wanted to kick the step or cry. Everything hurt and the intense heat was making her feel sick.
As she reached the bottom step, she heard a scrape behind the reception room door. Placing her ear against it, she listened for voices; movement; anything. The scrape came again. She gently pressed the rusty door handle, took a deep breath and pushed as quietly as she could, then she fell back and shouted out as a dark mass charged towards her.
Sixty-Four
The battering ram followed and the ragged-looking crow fought its way out, flapping against Jacob and the three officers. ‘Move to the side, guv.’
With the protection of body armour, the officers pushed in and called out police as they entered the room. There was no point though, the house was empty of people. The only living thing had been the crow and the rat that just scurried away. ‘They’re not here,’ she said in a broken voice.
‘They’ve all been here, though.’ Jacob stepped through and gazed at the board. Photos were pinned everywhere. All the teens with drinks in hand looking like they were having a party in this very room. Items of clothing had been left and even a few cans of pop that hadn’t been opened. Nub ends of roll-up cigarettes that Gina suspected could have been marijuana.
‘Where are they?’ Gina paced back and forth to calm her banging heart down. Her fists clenched with frustration, she could feel failure running through her veins. It felt like weakness, sickness, shaking tension that was ready to explode. All that effort for nothing. There were still three missing kids. ‘Look for clues, any clues. There must be something here that might help.’ They all put gloves on and began to rummage. Gina focused on the photos. Some were taken at shopping centres, others at school. Caro had a huge smile as she duck pouted for the camera with one strap of her skinny top hanging off her shoulder. Elsa and Naomi were pecking each other’s lips, bottles of beer in hand. Oscar posed with Jordan, baseball caps on back to front. Anthony simply smiled, looking a little more reserved. Leah was in a clinch with Oscar as Jordan and Caro sat in a corner staring at her phone. The photos continued. They were either taken in public places, out in the woodland or in the house. Gina’s phone rang. ‘Wyre, what you got?’
‘Nothing, guv. The allotment is clear. We’ve also checked through the windows of all the surrounding sheds and buildings. We spoke to some of the gardeners here and none of them seem to recall seeing any kids hanging around lately. There is no sign of them.’
‘Damn. This location is clear too. They’ve been hanging out here, but they’re not here now.’
Gina’s gaze stopped on another photo. Caro was sitting on a stack of folded material, arranged into yellow, red, blue and green piles. ‘Paula, I’ll call you back.’ She ended the call. ‘Where could this be?’ She pointed.
Jacob leaned over her and scrunched his brow. ‘Stacks of material and a concrete wall. Who knows?’
She pointed to another photo. ‘Here, there’s another photo of Leah and Jordan smoking.’ Leah’s large pupils stared into the camera, a huge beaming smile on her face. ‘Is that a pile of yoga mats?’
‘I think so but bigger. Crash mats, maybe? It could be the leisure centre or a gym.’
‘Those are hockey sticks too. It’s obvious!’
Gina’s phone rang again. It was Briggs.
‘Sir.’
‘You need to get to the school now. We’ve cracked Oscar’s computer and we’ve got into his Facebook and Messenger app. The kids used to hang around in the PE equipment storage unit that is next to the main school building. I’m sending backup now.’
‘There are photos here of a room full of PE equipment and it definitely looks like they could have been taken at the school. We’re leaving now. We’ll get this house sealed off in the meantime until forensics can get here.’
‘Go now before it’s too late.’
She hung up. ‘I’ll need two uniformed officers to stay behind and seal the house off. Jacob, we need to get to Cleevesford High. It looks like this photo could well have been taken in the sports storage unit.’ As she turned to leave, Gina saw a short-sleeved yellow hoodie hanging on a picture hook. ‘Naomi’s been here today. That looks like the hoodie her mother described, the one she was wearing when she went out with the dog.’ Gina shifted the hoodie slightly and saw a note stuck to the wall.
Oscar, if you come here, find me. I’m heading to the unit. We have to end all of this once and for all.
She pointed. ‘I think that just confirmed it. We know where they are. Let’s hurry, before it’s too late.’
Sixty-Five
Gina hurried out of her car, Jacob close behind and they met with the officers and Wyre in the middle of the car park. The tall three-storey building stood quietly, like any school that was closed up for the holidays. The car park was empty except for their cars. She spotted an ambulance pulling in, all precautionary in case one of the teens was injured. ‘Quick briefing.’ She adjusted her stab vest and called them over into the shade from the building as she spoke. ‘The gym storage unit is just behind this main building, at the back of the sports hall. Hello.’ She waved at the man in shorts who was approaching.
‘I’m Stu, the caretaker. I was told to be here when you arrived.’ The man smiled.
‘Thank you. Yes, we have reason to believe that some of the kids may have broken into the gym storage unit.’
‘And you need all these officers to deal with a couple of kids. Things like this can happen now and again, we normally just call the police and they get a slap on the wrists and we re-board or glaze the broken entry point.’
‘There’s a bit more to it this time. I need you to keep away. Do you have a key for the building?’
He gulped, rubbed his stubble then passed her a huge bunch of keys. ‘It’s this one.’ He passed them to her, giving her the exact key to hold on to. The bunch jangled. ‘What’s going on?’
‘We’ll explain all to you in a while. As I said, keep back. Please wait over there by the police cars.’ As he went to turn, she called him back. ‘Hey. Have you seen anyone around today?’
‘I was tidying some of the shrubs and I thought I saw a girl on the field but that’s it. I wasn’t out h
ere the whole time.’
‘Do you have CCTV on the storage unit?’
‘Nah. We did have but it kept getting vandalised. I think the kids kept throwing things at the camera until it smashed. We only have the ones on the front, now.’
Gina gave him a half smile and he carried on towards the police car. ‘Right, team. As before, search the perimeter first. We are not going to burst in and alarm any one. If you see anyone, come to me as quietly as you can.’
Wyre and Jacob nodded.
‘Let’s go.’ She scuttled across the grass and over a wall before heading around the building. The huge field went on forever. Perfectly green and cut with a cricket pavilion up the one end and fenced off tennis courts at the other. A track was painted out in the grass. Then she saw the ugly grey unit. She waved everyone across, placing her finger over her lips as she did. They stuck close to the back of the main building where she hoped they’d all blend in a little should someone be peering out of the unit.
Gina stared at Wyre and two officers and pointed to the far side of the building, keys still in her other hand. They nodded and broke away. Gina looked at Jacob and the remaining officers and motioned for them to follow her. Slowly, she crept up to the large unit. The windows were quite high up. She stood on tiptoes to peer through the first one but all she could see was a large room, over stacked with gym equipment. Tennis rackets spilling onto the floor, large nets of balls.
She jumped as Wyre crept up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Guv, I think we have the entry point but I can’t see through the windows on the other side because of the blinds,’ she whispered. Gina followed her around the building, staying under the other window as they hurried to the back. Gina put her thumb up to Wyre.
A large crate had been placed on the floor and a wooden box had been stood on top of it. That’s when she spotted the broken window; clean out as if the glass had been missing for ages. Gina carefully stepped up onto the crate, then the box and peered through. That’s when she heard a pained cry.
