Taken, page 14
part #6 of DI Kayli Bright Series
There was no answer. She checked her mobile to see if he’d left a message. He hadn’t. Where was he? She was used to him being at home in the evening when she got in, especially at this time of night.
She shrugged and went through to the kitchen. She felt the kettle—it was cold to the touch. Was he likely to be working overtime? He’d never mentioned that would be expected of him from time to time. She made herself a coffee, rummaged through the contents of the fridge and then tried calling his mobile. It diverted to voicemail straight away.
How strange. Now her worry gene was on full alert. The same unnerving feeling that she’d experienced a few months before, during his kidnap ordeal, rifled through her once more. “Bloody hell, Mark, where are you?”
She poured herself a coffee and paced the lounge, her gaze glued to the front window and the road outside, waiting for his car to arrive. She expelled a large relieved breath ten minutes later after spotting him trotting up the front path.
“Hey, you.” He breezed into the lounge as if nothing had happened. Maybe in his eyes, it hadn’t.
“Jesus, Mark, where were you?” she snapped.
His eyes widened, and he raised his hands. “Now wait just a minute. Are you giving me the damn third degree here?”
“No. It was a simple question. Where were you?”
“At work. Now let’s get one thing straight, Kayli. Just because we’re married, you have no right to question my whereabouts twenty-four hours a day, you got that?”
“I hear you loud and clear. Shame on me for bloody caring what happens to you. Screw you, Mark Wren, if that’s your attitude.” She turned on her two-inch heels that she hadn’t yet removed and flounced into the kitchen, although why she’d done that and not gone upstairs, she didn’t know.
He followed her into the room and scanned the cooker. “Oh right, you come home before me and can’t be bothered to get dinner started, is that it? You’re in a mood with me because you got home first and your dinner wasn’t on the table like it usually is, right?”
She scowled at him. “No, you’re wrong, that’s not what this is about at all. You think I’m incapable of knocking up a meal at a moment’s notice?”
“Obviously,” he said, pointing at the empty cooker top.
“Well, I’m not. I’m angry because I didn’t know where you were. I tried to call your mobile; it went to voicemail.”
He hooked his phone out of his jacket pocket. “Fuck! I’m sorry. I had a late class. I always switch my phone off at work, you know that. Why didn’t you leave me a message?”
“What would have been the point in doing that? You wouldn’t have answered it anyway. I was scared about you. Concerned for your well-being…after what happened.” Tears formed and threatened to fall. She swiped at her eyes out of frustration.
He rushed forward and hugged her, one hand soothing the top of her head as he nestled her face against his broad chest. “I’m sorry, love. I never thought. Hey…” He leaned back and tilted her chin up. “Nothing is going to happen to me, not in this country. Shit! Okay, ignore that.”
She sniffled. “See, how easy you forget? The nightclub incident?”
“Yep, that was a one-off, love.”
“Was it? Trouble seems to follow you around.”
He laughed. “Hardly. Are we friends again? Because I’m starving and need some food.”
She punched him lightly on the arm. “I have a partner like you, always thinking of his belly.”
“Must be a man thing.” He swooped her up into his arms, surprising her.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Sod the food. I have another desire that needs satisfying first.”
Kayli laughed all the way up the stairs to the bedroom.
12
K ayli had a spring in her size fives when she went into work the next morning. There was a lot for her to be happy about, after all. Abigail Bunt was now safe and out of danger, and Kayli’s home life was back on an even keel again, despite her initial concerns. One look at the desk sergeant’s face signified the end of her good mood, though.
“Okay, let’s have it, Ray?”
“Only just heard about this, ma’am, otherwise I would’ve rung you about it sooner.”
Kayli motioned for him to get on with it.
“It would appear the ones you’re after have swapped cars again.”
She bashed her fist against her thigh. “I suppose it was inevitable, especially if they thought Abigail would talk. Damn, okay. Do we know anything else?”
“Apparently, it wasn’t until late last night the incident occurred. The witness who spotted it was a little worse for wear, shall we say, and thought he was seeing things. He woke up this morning and realised he should do something about it and rang us.”
“Bloody hell! Why do people do that? Drunk or not, you know when something doesn’t feel right, don’t you? What did he actually say?”
“He said a male and a female got out of a car and pounced on a man getting in a smaller car. They bundled the man into the boot and then took off.”
“What? And he didn’t think there was anything wrong in that? What the bloody hell is wrong with him? Jesus, tell me he got the details of the car?”
“Only that it was a white Fiat, he thinks.”
She growled in annoyance. “Shitting hell. And we’re supposed to conduct an enquiry with that snippet of information? Give me sodding strength. Sorry, Ray, I’m so angry right now. You’d better give me this guy’s contact details. I might need to chase him up later, not that he’ll be able to add to his damn story, I’m guessing.”
Ray handed her a sheet of paper. “There you go. Sorry it’s not better news, ma’am.”
“It’s not your fault, it seems to go with the territory on this case.” She turned and raced up the stairs to the incident room where she found the rest of her team already working at their desks. “Morning, all. I’m not late, I promise. Ray waylaid me with some bad news. They’ve got another victim and taken the man’s car.”
“A man? That’s a step in a different direction,” Dave said, his pen resting against his cheek.
“Yep. Is this them sticking two fingers up at us, or are they upping the ante, building towards their end game, whatever that might be? Either way, I’m pissed off by the news. Graeme, here’s the address where the incident took place. I need you to see if there are any CCTV cameras in that area.”
Graeme glanced down at the details and chewed on his bottom lip. “I can tell you right now, I’ll be wasting my time, boss.”
She slammed her fist on the desk beside her, venting her anger. “How did I know you would say that? Jesus, I think we’ve been guilty of underestimating these two. They’re far craftier than we’ve given them credit for. They’ve hidden the cars at each address they’ve used and now they’ve kidnapped someone else, and we haven’t got a scooby doo where they’re heading, plus we’re still trying to figure out what their motive is in all this. Shit! I need a coffee.”
She hurried over to the vending machine and returned with two cups while Donna fetched the other two.
Dave nodded as she placed the cup on his desk. “Don’t beat yourself up. They’ve also made some considerable slip-ups along the way, too. And this time is no exception.”
“I hear you. They’ve left a witness for us to collaborate with, I suppose. However, I’m thinking he’s going to be as much use as a chocolate fireguard. I’ll give him a call now, see if he can add anything else other than what he’s told Ray already. I’m not holding out much hope, though. Graeme, I know you’ve already told us what the likelihood of CCTV footage is going to be, but can you expand the area for me? Try to locate the car, at least.”
“I’ll do my best. Can’t promise anything, boss.”
“That’s all I can ask for. Right, I’ll share what this guy has to say once I’ve spoken to him in my office.”
She left the team, the spring in her step a distant memory, her buoyant mood replaced by one filled with irritation. She rang the number Ray gave her for the witness. His voice was croaky as if he was still dehydrated from his night out.
“Mr Lockyer? This is DI Kayli Bright. You rang the station earlier.”
“That’s right. What do you want?”
“I was wondering if you’d care to run through the events of yesterday evening again for me.”
“Not particularly. There’s no point in you having a pop at me either. All I’m guilty of is having a few over the limit, and no, I wasn’t driving, therefore, I didn’t break the law.”
“I appreciate that. I was hoping to go over the facts of what you saw, actually. What you get up to in your spare time isn’t of interest to me, sir.”
“Okay, go on then.”
“Can you tell me exactly what went on last night?”
He relayed everything just as he had to the desk sergeant. She was hoping he might have remembered more.
Kayli was disappointed. “And you didn’t see any of the number plate?”
“Nope. That’s not quite true, I probably saw it, but it was out of focus, if you get my drift. It was a good night.”
“For some,” she muttered. “Okay, would it be all right if I send a constable around to get a statement from you?”
“I won’t be home until around six, will that do?”
“That’s fine. Thanks for your help.”
“I know it’s not much; it wasn’t until I woke up this morning that things didn’t sit well with me. I kicked myself, I should’ve rung the cop shop last night. The truth is, I flopped into bed and was out for the count until the alarm went off.”
“Don’t worry, at least you contacted us at your earliest convenience. I’m grateful to you for that. Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr Lockyer. You have my number in case anything else about the incident comes to mind.”
“I’ll get in touch, I promise.”
“Thanks.” She ended the call and sipped at her coffee while she pondered what to do next. They were up shit street, unless they could find another witness who could fill in the sketchy details for them, regarding the car and the man Daz and Billie had abducted. She finished off her drink and returned to the incident room.
The team seemed as dejected as she was.
“Come on, guys. We need to remain positive about this. I refuse to let these bastards get the better of me.”
“Want to take a drive over there?” Dave suggested.
“Why not, it’s not as if we’ve got anything better to do, is it?”
T hirty minutes later, they pulled up on the edge of the industrial estate. In this area, there were only a few residential homes within spitting distance of them.
“Does the area look familiar to you?” Dave asked.
They got out of the car.
“No. Should it?”
“Not the actual area…umm…I mean a similar type of area.”
“What? Spit it out, Dave. As it is, you’re talking bloody double Dutch to me.”
Dave raised his clenched fists and screwed his mouth up. “Sorry. It came out wrong. When Abigail went missing it was in an area similar to this. Not many houses around.”
“Ah, I’m with you now. Yep, it goes back to what I said at the station—they’re smarter than we’re giving them credit for. What’s bugging me is why they keep abducting people. There must be a reason behind that. We just need to figure out why.”
Dave scanned the area around them. “True enough. Could it be a slight insecurity on this Daz’s part?”
“Go on.”
“Maybe he’s aiming for something, what, we don’t know, and he’s unsure whether he can pull it off. Maybe he thinks that abducting someone will help him achieve his ambition.”
“By using that person as a bargaining tool if the net closes in on him or them?”
“Exactly.”
Kayli scratched the side of her face, contemplating her partner’s idea. “Feasible. Let’s face it, we’ve got nothing else to go on.”
“Let’s split up and knock on the few doors we can see around here and try to keep our spirits up that someone else can come through with the goods.”
They each took a different direction. During the next hour they covered all the houses in the vicinity and drew a big fat zero. Which only ticked Kayli off more. They returned to the car, and she drove to a nearby café.
“I could do with a bacon sandwich.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Really? Well, I’m not one to pass up an opportunity to add an extra inch to my waistline, especially if you’re footing the bill.”
“Cheeky sod. Did I mention I was paying? Maybe I’ve gone off the idea after you mentioning the possible weight gain.”
“Bullshit,” he replied. “Anyway, there’s no way you’d do that, not once the idea of tasty crispy bacon has been injected into your brain.”
She chuckled. “You do talk a load of codswallop at times. Come on, I’ll shout you this one.”
Daz paced the floor of the warehouse, not far from where they had abducted the man. Between them, they had run out of places where they could stay which involved any form of comfort.
“We can’t stay here indefinitely, Daz. What are your plans?”
“I know that. What have I told you about asking me bloody questions?”
Billie shrank away from him. It was imperative to keep her onside, even though she was driving him round the twist, constantly questioning his motives. He knew what he had to do. His plan would take time to formulate—he was waiting for the right moment to present itself, that’s all. Everything else paled into insignificance in his book. He stared at the whimpering young man, who was lying on his side, his arms secured behind his back. Daz had no intention of letting Billie help this one get away. He was watching them both like a hawk.
When Abigail had escaped, he’d had no option other than to run her down. The last thing he needed was to leave any witnesses who were capable of filling in the gaps for the police. Once they’d left the scene, he’d aimed for a country lane he knew, found the car park used by dog walkers, pulled up there and thrashed the crap out of Billie. Her punishment for going against him. He stared over at her bloodied face, a twinge of guilt tugging at his stomach. He shook the feeling off. Sentiments like that weren’t going to help achieve the results he was after.
Times were getting tough. The more Billie rebelled against him, the more his plans appeared to disintegrate. How could he leave her alone, guarding the bloke? He couldn’t, it was as simple as that. They had no supplies here, nothing to drink or eat, and yet he couldn’t do anything about it. He was between a rock and a hard place, all because he’d trusted Billie. Maybe he should get rid of her next? The thought had crossed his mind numerous times during the course of the night when he’d lain awake, his mind active and on full alert. He had everything planned out, and now she’d put the kibosh on that with her interfering ‘goody two-shoes’ act of defiance.
He stood and approached the man. “Why don’t you shut the fuck up? You’ve been crying non-stop for fucking hours.”
The man gasped. “Please, tell me what you want from me.”
“That’s just it. I’ve got what I wanted from you, gobshite, your car.”
The man gulped.
“Tell me one good reason why I should keep you alive now that I’ve achieved my ambition.”
“I don’t know.”
“Uh-oh! Wrong answer. I want you to plead with me. Don’t you value your miserable life?”
“Yes, of course I do. I’m scared I’ll say the wrong thing.” His gaze travelled over to where Billie was sitting on a large piece of steel.
Daz laughed. “Ah right. You think if you open your mouth and I hear the shite that spills from it that you’ll end up looking like that.” Daz pointed at Billie.
“Yes. I don’t understand why you would hurt someone who was in cahoots with you.”
He leaned down into the man’s face. “Because I can. Tell me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you.”
“Because…because I have my whole life ahead of me. I’m only twenty-five.”
“So what? As if I care what age you are. Try again. Tell me something magnificent you’ve achieved in your miserable life so far. I’m warning you, it’d better knock me out, otherwise…” He placed a hand to his throat and slid it across his neck from one side to the other.
The young man swallowed noisily. “Umm…I won an award for my photography once.”
Daz folded his arms and tilted his head. “Go on, I’m waiting for the big reveal.”
“It was for a woodland scene. The light shone through the dappled shade and highlighted a piece of tree trunk. Upon that trunk was an image.”
Daz’s intrigue was spiking. “What was it?”
“A picture of Christ, with a crown of thorns on his head.”
“Really? And you expect me to believe such tripe?”
“I don’t care if you believe me or not, and it’s not tripe. I have the image on my phone.”
“Where is it?”
“In my trouser pocket.”
Daz yanked him upright and instantly saw the bulge. “I’m hoping that’s it and you’re not just pleased to see me.” He laughed at his own warped sense of humour. He withdrew the phone from the man’s pocket. “What’s your password?”
“Nine-eight-seven-six.”
“Ah, yes, I see it,” Daz said, studying the photo intently. So intently that he neglected to hear the movement behind him until something whacked him over the head.
“O h my! Please, are you going to help me?”
Billie was aware she was putting her life in mortal danger by trying to free the man, but something had taken over her and was driving her to do it. She stared down at the unconscious Daz, lying prostrate on the concrete floor at her feet. A sudden twinge of guilt purged through her. She hadn’t meant to hit him so hard with the metal pole, but necessity won her over in the end. She had to move quickly. If Daz woke up and found them both here, well, there was no telling what he would do to them, although she had a pretty good idea.
“We have to hurry. He might wake up,” the man said, trying to sit upright.
