by D. S. Butler
Janice put a hand to her belly and took a deep breath, trying to fight back the nausea.
She’d been worried that the sickness was due to inhaling some of the contents from the container, but the doctor had said it was shock. Her body was quite literally rejecting the fact this was happening to her.
She reached for some toilet tissue and wiped her mouth.
No doubt, she would be charged eventually for what she had done, but right now, they were treating her with kid gloves. Of course, that didn’t mean she would get away with it. She had maimed a man for life. You didn’t just walk away after doing something like that.
Janice gingerly pulled herself to her feet and flushed the toilet.
She washed her hands and face and then looked at herself in the mirror, barely recognising the woman looking back at her.
Her eyes were wide, her hair mussed up, her cheeks red, and she looked like a crazy woman.
On the street where Janice had grown up, there used to be a woman who shared her house with sixteen cats and spent her days muttering to herself. The locals called her Mad Mary, and that was who the face reflected in the mirror reminded Janice of. She’d lost touch with reality. Nothing in the real world mattered anymore. She only cared about getting her daughter back. She had promised the police she would show them any new text messages, and she wouldn’t do anything the kidnappers asked, but that was a lie. She knew, deep down, she would do absolutely anything they asked to get Lila back.
The police had asked her to trust them, but that was a joke. They were useless, especially that poxy family liaison officer, Glenn Calvert. He just sat around drinking tea and chatting inanely about pointless things.
She’d had enough.
Even if she did listen to the police, and kept her promise to refuse to participate in any more games, who could say the mother of the other abducted girl wouldn’t take part in the game…
Janice would never forgive herself if Lila died because of something she refused to do.
The fact of the matter was, the abductors had said only one girl would live.
Ruby or Lila.
Janice was determined to make sure it was her daughter who survived.
* * *
Almost an hour had passed since Rob had run off and left Marlo at the Kings Arms. He’d said he needed a little time to think about things, but Marlo hadn’t realised he was going to be such a tart about this whole operation. He was acting like an amateur.
At the end of the day, Rob had promised to take this job on. Marlo was prepared to fulfil his side of the bargain and give Rob more money than he’d ever clapped eyes on in his life. But if he didn’t start pulling his weight, Rob wouldn’t see a penny.
Benny had stopped banging, and it was finally quiet. But instead of enjoying the peace and quiet, Marlo was feeling anxious and tense.
Why should he be the one waiting around for Rob? He was the brains behind the outfit and had things to do. He was fed up of pandering to Rob and his stupid brother.
Marlo stood up and pushed back his sleeves. He didn’t care about Rob. Sod him. He had a job to do whether Rob was going to help him or not.
It was almost time to trigger the next stage of the game. He needed to check on a couple of things to make sure everything was going according to plan.
As usual, Marlo had been meticulous in his research, but he knew he could never be too careful.
He walked out of the sitting room and into the hallway, pausing by the bedroom door and listening. There was no sound from inside. Good. He glanced at the front door. It was time to go.
He left the basement flat without his jacket, although the sun was setting, the early evening was still muggy and warm.
He set off at a brisk pace, and it only took him ten minutes to reach the primary school.
Bryant Lane Church of England school was a red-brick, single story building attended by less than three hundred pupils, aged between five and eleven.
A man hanging around the school gates during school hours would be noticed and probably reported quickly, but in the evening, there was nobody around to notice Marlo.
His eyes took in all the little details as his mind finalised the plan. Everything relied on timing, but schools, by their nature, demanded things happened on schedule, and that played into his hands.
After a few minutes, he left the school and walked to Barnes Street, which was only a couple of minutes’ walk away.
Three-storey houses lined the pavement, most of them with a basement. Their grilled windows and stairs to the lower level meant it was easy to peer down and look into people’s homes.
He walked until he reached number thirty-three. The lights were on in the house, illuminating a homely scene of a family having dinner.
He watched them as they smiled, chatted and passed each other the serving dishes. The mother stood up and piled pasta on her two daughters’ plates.
She said something to her husband, who frowned and finally put down his mobile phone.
The two little girls started to eat straightaway.
How nice to see a family sitting at a dining table, enjoying dinner together.
“Enjoy it while you can,” Marlo muttered, grinning.
One of the little girls looked up and seemed to look directly at Marlo.
He gave her a little wave. “See you tomorrow,” he whispered.
Noticing the child was gazing at something through the window, her mother looked up sharply, but Marlo stepped back into the shadows, and she couldn’t see him. She frowned and shivered and then stepped forward to pull the curtains shut.
Marlo smirked. That wouldn’t help her. Not with what he had planned.
Chapter 30
Benny hugged his knees to his chest and rocked backwards and forwards.
It would be okay. Rob would be back soon and would take him home. As soon as Rob got back, he would find out Marlo had locked him in the dark room and rescue him.
Benny felt something touch his shoulder and shrieked.
“Relax, Benny. It’s me, Lila.”
She was so close he could feel her breath on his cheek. Lila. Lila was nice. Lila wouldn’t hurt him.
“You have to tell me who they are, Benny. What are they going to do to us?”
Benny shook his head and tried to explain. “It’s okay. They’re not going to hurt you. Rob’s my brother, and he wouldn’t hurt anybody.”
“They did hurt me!”
Lila raised her voice, and Benny flinched. She grabbed his hand and pulled it up to her face.
It was too dark in the room to make out more than shadows, but under his fingers, he could feel her swollen flesh and the dried blood on her lip from when Marlo had hit her.
“I’m sorry. So sorry. I didn’t know. Rob said I could have an Xbox. He said it was just a game –”
Lila let out her breath in a hiss and dropped Benny’s hand. “A game? A sodding game!”
“Shhh, Lila.”
That was Ruby’s voice, coming from a little further away.
He could just see the outline of her body as she shuffled towards them. “Listen to me, Benny,” Ruby said. “You did a bad thing.”
Benny shook his head frantically. “No, no, I didn’t.”
“Yes, Benny, you did, but you can put it right.”
Benny shook his head. He didn’t understand what she meant. “I don’t like the dark. I’m scared.”
“So am I, but we need you to break down the door so we can get out of here. Are they still in the flat?”
Benny shook his head. He couldn’t do that. “My brother will be angry.”
“I don’t give a toss about your brother, Benny. He’s an evil bastard. He must be otherwise he wouldn’t have done this to us.” Lila said.
“Lila!” Ruby’s voice was harsh. “You’re not helping. Listen to me, Benny. The other man who hurt Lila… The man who wore the baseball cap –”
“Marlo?”
“Yes, Marlo. He is forcing your br
other to do this, so you have to break down the door and save Rob and us.”
“I can’t.”
“You can, Benny. We are not strong enough to break it down, but you are. Please try.”
Benny couldn’t answer. He was trembling too hard.
“Have they gone out, Benny? Have they locked us up and left us alone in here?” Ruby asked. “Do you know where we are? Are we still in London?”
Benny put his hands over his ears. There were too many questions. They made his head spin.
“Please, Benny. We need your help. Once we get out of here, I’ll get you that Xbox straightaway.”
Benny began to cry. “I don’t want the Xbox anymore. I just want to go home.”
Lila reached for his hand and squeezed it. “That’s what we want, too, Benny. Let’s go home together. Come on get up.”
Lila tugged on his hand until Benny did as he was told and got to his feet.
She felt her way across the padded wall and pulled Benny with her until she found the door.
“Okay, Benny. I think it’s better if you kick the door right by the lock… that’s here.”
She took his hand and pushed against the door. He could feel the handle poking out beneath the soft foam covering.
“If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to use your shoulder,” Ruby added.
Benny was so scared he couldn’t speak.
“It’s going to be okay, Benny,” Ruby said. “You just need to break the door down like in the films. You’ll be just like a movie star.”
Benny smiled. “I saw someone do it on EastEnders once.”
“See, it won’t be that difficult,” Lila said. “Ready when you are, Benny.”
Benny took a deep breath. It was so quiet in the room.
He didn’t know if Marlo was still out there or if he’d gone out. What if Rob came back and got angry with Benny for breaking the door?
He moved forward, almost scared to touch the door, and gave it a little shove followed by a kick.
The door didn’t budge.
“You need to do it harder than that, Benny,” Lila said. “Give it some welly. Like they do on the TV.”
This time, Benny kicked it hard and heard the sound of wood splintering beneath his shoe. But still, the door remained closed.
“That’s more like it Benny, now try and push it with your shoulder,” Ruby said. “Take a run up.”
Benny did as he was told. He couldn’t wait to get out of this dark room. He took two steps backwards and then ran at the door, flinging his whole body at it.
It gave way easily this time, and Benny tripped and went sprawling into the hallway, landing on top of the fallen door.
He heard the girls’ anxious whispers behind him and blinked happily in the bright light of the hallway.
“Good work, Benny. Now, get up, quick,” Ruby ordered. “We need to get out of here. Is the front door locked?”
Without waiting for an answer, she ran to the front door and rattled the handle.
She spun around. “It’s locked, Benny. Where is the key?”
Benny pushed himself up to a sitting position. “The spare key is in the kitchen.”
He opened his mouth to say something else, but he saw a shadow at the door behind Ruby, and his eyes opened wide.
“What is it, Benny?” Ruby asked. “What’s wrong?”
But Benny didn’t need to answer. Lila did that for him, “They’ve come back. They’re at the door. Quick!”
But before Ruby could get away, the front door opened.
Marlo stood in the doorway.
The initial shock on his face when he saw Benny on the floor and the girls roaming free in the hallway, soon gave way to anger.
He stepped inside, shut the front door behind him and raised an eyebrow. “Well, you have been busy while I’ve been gone, haven’t you?”
Chapter 31
Mackinnon ran a hand through his hair and muttered a curse. He’d forgotten to call Chloe and let her know he would be working late tonight. They had been together long enough now that she would probably have guessed it was going to be an all-nighter, but she still deserved the courtesy of a phone call. He also felt guilty after leaving her to deal with Sarah’s money problems alone, though Mackinnon wouldn’t dream of interfering, he could still offer support just by acting as a sounding board.
He reached for his mobile phone, drained the last mouthful of coffee from his mug and headed outside.
He could have called Chloe from the incident room, but he wanted to get some fresh air. It felt like they were due for a thunderstorm. The air was thick, humid and heavy as Mackinnon stepped outside Wood Street Station.
Chloe answered after the second ring.
“Don’t tell me, it’s going to be a late one, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so. It doesn’t even look like I’ll be getting back to Derek’s tonight.”
Mackinnon had sent Derek a text earlier, letting him know he might be crashing at his place later that night, but it was looking more and more unlikely.
Detectives working a case like this put in long hours because the time it took to get somebody else up to speed on all the information coming in was a huge time suck they couldn’t afford, especially during the first twenty-four hours the girls were missing.
“Did you speak to Sarah? She turned up right before I had to leave for work.”
Chloe paused for a beat and then said, “Yes, I did, but she didn’t stay long.”
Chloe didn’t volunteer any further information, and Mackinnon wondered if Sarah had even mentioned the fact that she needed cash.
“She asked me for money,” Mackinnon said. “I couldn’t help thinking she was in some kind of trouble. What did she tell you?”
He heard Chloe sigh heavily on the other end of the phone. “She didn’t tell me much to be honest. I gave her five hundred pounds, and when she left it was not on the best of terms.”
“Did she say why she needed the money?”
“No, she didn’t say much other than she’d borrowed some money from a friend and needed to pay it back.”
“A friend?”
Mackinnon had been worried Sarah had borrowed money from a less than salubrious outfit. He’d heard reports of loan sharks targeting university students. It wasn’t the customer demographic one might expect. Moneylenders usually operated on housing estates, focusing on the poorest populations, but just recently, a number of lenders had moved onto the student population. They preyed on youngsters who were away from home for the first time and not managing their money well.
From their point of view, it seemed to be a good option. They were broke, and then all of a sudden a nice chap offered to lend them some money. It was only later they learned of the extortionate interest rates and the penalty for not paying on time.
It was a win-win for the moneylenders because most of the students had parents behind them who would bail them out.
“That’s what she said,” Chloe said. “I tried to get more out of her, but you know what she can be like.”
Mackinnon did know. He was well aware that Sarah didn’t often tell them the whole story.
“So she didn’t stay long?”
“Only long enough for me to transfer the money into her bank account. When I tried to discuss the matter with her afterwards, she suddenly had a burning need to get back to Kingston. She said she had to work tonight.” Chloe gave another sigh. “But I had a lovely day with Katy. It was nice to spend some time with her. She’s growing up so fast.”
“Did she enjoy the show?”
“She loved it. So do you have any idea when you might be back?” Chloe asked.
“Not yet. It’s quite a big case and could go on for a while. I’ll probably be staying in London for the next few days. I’ll give you a ring later, though.”
After Mackinnon hung up the call, he stood outside Wood Street Station and looked up at the clouds gathering in the sky. He had a feeling that this situation Sarah h
ad got herself into was going to get worse before it got better.
As he stepped back inside the reception area, he saw Charlotte saying goodbye to an ex-boyfriend of Lila George’s she had just finished questioning.
After she watched him leave, she turned to Mackinnon. “I don’t think he is involved. He was in Manchester until lunchtime.” She sighed. “Are you staying at Derek’s tonight?”
Mackinnon nodded. “Probably. How is Tyler bearing up?” Mackinnon asked. He knew Tyler had been conducting interviews with Charlotte.
They headed around the duty sergeant’s desk towards the secure door at the back of the reception area. Charlotte swiped her card, and they both entered.
“He’s under a lot of stress.” She shook her head. “I used to think it would be nice to get to detective inspector level, but now I’m not so sure.”
“There are definitely easier jobs,” Mackinnon said.
“Did Tyler rip into Glenn Calvert after Janice George went missing?” Charlotte asked.
Mackinnon shook his head. “No, he was very supportive, and I think Glenn will keep a close eye on Janice from now on. To be honest, it’s not easy keeping tabs on the parents. Claire Watson managed to get out on Kelly Johnson’s watch, and she’s a very experienced FLO. Save locking them up, I’m not sure what we can do to make sure they stay at home.”
* * *
The first thing Marlo did when he returned was raise his fist and give Lila George a backhander.
It sent her slamming into the wall, and she slumped down onto the carpet, stunned.
Ruby had screamed for Benny to help them.
“Stop him, Benny. Don’t let him hurt us!” she’d screamed with wide terror-filled eyes as Marlo advanced on her.
If Benny had either brains or balls, Marlo would be in trouble. Big trouble. But the pathetic lump of quivering flesh sat down on the broken door with his back against the wall, trembling and not even daring to look up at Marlo.
It was easy enough to subdue the girls and put them in the other bedroom. Luckily that also had a lock, but unfortunately, no soundproofing. It was a pain in the arse because that meant he would have to keep the girls quiet. He’d used duct tape to cover their mouths.
