The Winners, page 18
Glancing towards the couple in the car at the other end of the lay-by, he thought were looking at him. He hoped they didn’t think he was a Peeping Tom and wished they would leave before Rapier saw them. Should he go over and ask them to go? He’d be risking an argument, or worse, but they could ruin his chances of getting Julie back. He walked towards the car, unsure what to say but terrified their presence would scare Rapier away.
Before Mal reached the car, a man climbed out and strode towards him. Was he in for a thump?
‘Mr Grainger!’ The man knew his name – what was going on? ‘Please go back to your car. We’re here to help you get your wife back.’ He briefly waved what Mal thought was a warrant card. Malcolm was stunned. Police. How did they know where he was? The answer was clear: it had to have been Danny or Kate who were the only ones who knew the meeting place – Mal’s money was on Kate, or more likely Geoff if she’d told him.
‘Get away!’ Malcolm shouted, waving his hands frantically. ‘He said no police!’
The officer jogged closer. ‘Please return to your car and wait inside, Mr Grainger, and I’ll do the same. We’ll not move until we know your wife is safe.’ He turned and walked back to his colleague. Malcolm hurried back to his car, angry tears streaming down his face. As he closed the door, his phone rang.
‘Mr Grainger, this is the police. We’re here to help apprehend Phillip Rapier and return your wife to you. Please stay in the car. We have other officers in the area.’
‘No! Rapier said no police, you’re putting Julie in danger!’
‘Not if you stay calm and wait for Rapier to come. We’ll take it from there…’
Malcolm ended the call before the officer could finish. He then found Kate’s number and rang her. ‘What the hell have you done?’ he shouted.
‘Dad, listen – Geoff said it was better to get the police involved. They’ll follow Rapier and get the money back.’
‘No! I don’t want the damn money; I want your mum! He had no right to involve the police – they’re sitting in the lay-by for all to see! Rapier won’t be fooled by them pretending to be a courting couple!’
Kate’s response was to sob, repeating sorry to her dad.
Malcolm ended the call and allowed his thoughts to wander to dark places. All seemed lost. Was it Rapier he’d seen near the portacabin or more police? All he could do was wait and hope Rapier wouldn’t see the police and stick to the plan.
CHAPTER FIFTY
An hour crawled by, the sky darkening as rain gathered, heavy clouds promising a downpour. Malcolm remained in his car, unmoving, oblivious to the cold seeping into his bones and the tremor running through him. His mind held only one thought: he’d blown it. Rapier wouldn’t leave it this long to get his money and release Julie – unless perhaps he was waiting for the cover of darkness; that would make sense, or was Mal fooling himself?
As heavy drops of rain pounded on the car roof, Malcolm’s phone rang. It was the police. ‘Are you sure you have the right place, Mr Grainger? Could you have misunderstood Rapier’s instructions?’
‘I’m sure. And I’m sure I want you to leave – the man won’t come when he sees another car!’
‘We are about to move off now. We have colleagues hidden at the quarry. Rapier hasn’t shown up yet, but they’ll see him when he does.’
‘Don’t underestimate him. I made that mistake the first time, so I want to play it his way. Tell your colleagues to go too, please!’ Malcolm begged, close to tears.
‘Try to stay calm, sir. We’re here to help but will be leaving the lay-by now.’ The call ended. Mal watched as the car started up and drove slowly out of the other exit at the far end of the lay-by. So much for a covert operation. How could they think Rapier wouldn’t be suspicious of another car in the lay-by? Suddenly aware of the cold, Malcolm turned the engine on and nudged the heater on high. He was beginning to feel his fingers again when his phone rang.
‘I said no police!’ Rapier’s voice dripped with anger.
‘I didn’t know they would be here; my son-in-law must have told them. Please, I’ll go back and get the money and meet you somewhere else, please…’ Malcolm would have grovelled on his hands and knees if he thought it would help.
‘Too late, Grainger – it appears you don’t want your wife back, so I’ll have to decide what to do with her.’ The connection died. Malcolm almost screamed into his phone, ‘No, no, no!’ but Phillip Rapier was gone.
With his head on the steering wheel, huge sobs wracked Malcolm’s body. He banged his head several times, wanting to feel pain, deserving of feeling pain. Would he ever see Julie again?
Ten minutes later, Malcolm’s trembling hands gripped the steering wheel as he turned the car back towards the quarry. If Rapier had spotted the police and fled, the money would still be there. He had to retrieve it, hoping for another chance to save Julie. Pulling up beside the bins, he stepped out into the pouring rain. As he heaved the heavy bags of money back into the boot, a sound cut through the downpour – running footsteps. Five or six police officers, two of them with guns drawn, surrounded him.
‘You’re too late!’ Malcolm screamed, his voice raw with desperation. ‘He saw you! He’s gone! If he hurts Julie, it’s your fault!’
The armed men lowered their weapons as the officer in charge approached Malcolm. ‘He didn’t come, Mr Grainger. Why don’t you head home and we’ll meet you there to discuss what happens next?’
‘He didn’t come because he saw you! If you’d have kept away, Julie would be with me now…’ Malcolm was close to breaking point. The officer nodded to his colleagues, who dispersed as a car pulled up beside Malcolm.
‘You’re in no state to drive. This officer will take you home, and I’ll follow in your car.’
Mal hadn’t the energy to argue. His hope of a reunion with his wife was crushed, and Rapier knew the police were involved – what would that mean for Julie? Allowing himself to be ushered into the car, Malcolm felt defeated. Anger with his son-in-law bubbled inside him – had he not made it clear to Geoff that the police were not to be involved? He was going home without his wife, without Danny and Kate’s mother. What would they think? He had failed in the most important task of his life.
Malcolm leaned his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to talk, and he didn’t want to face his family, but he knew he must. Remaining silent throughout the short journey home, he only opened his eyes when the car pulled up outside.
Kate stood in the open doorway, arms wrapped around her body, her face tear-streaked. Malcolm climbed wearily from the car and walked through the rain, not caring about the cold and wet. Kate reached out to hug her father but he flinched at her closeness. ‘I’m so sorry, Dad! Geoff thought he was helping…’
Malcolm shook his head and pushed past her into the house where Danny waited, pale and anxious. ‘What the hell happened, Dad?’
As the police officer followed them inside, the family’s conversation was guarded. Mal braced himself for a barrage of questions when he only wanted to get the police out of his house to wait and hope Rapier would ring again.
The doorbell startled him. DS Tim Matthews entered the lounge and looked from Malcolm to Danny and Kate. Without preamble, he sat opposite Mal and asked, ‘Mr Grainger. Why didn’t you come to us when your wife was abducted?’ The detective didn’t wait for an answer but offered his sympathies for how things had turned out. ‘If you’d come to us sooner, we’d have had more time to prepare – to work with you.’
‘I decided to do as Rapier said, although I didn’t know it was him who’d taken her then…’
‘Perhaps you’d better tell me everything from the beginning?’ DS Matthews knitted his fingers together and leaned forward to listen as Malcolm related the last few days’ events.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Julie had lost all track of time and was unaware it was a significant day. When daylight arrived, she slept through much of it as sleep eluded her in the darkness. On waking the day after the visitor had been, she found a sandwich and a glass of water on the dressing table by the window. The temptation was to gulp the water and eat quickly, but Julie restrained herself, allowing only sips of water and small, measured bites, uncertain if more would come. Grateful for small mercies, she refused to think about Sean being in the room while she slept. At least she was no longer tied up.
In a surreal way, the room she was locked in became her solace. A warm bed brought comfort, and sleep was her escape. Her grand ideas and strategies to escape seemed no more than impossible fantasies. The reality was that she was in no state physically or emotionally to fight or take flight. Julie became resigned to her fate being in the hands of other people, mainly her family and the police.
While in a state of semi-sleep, she heard the key in the door and sat up quickly. Sean stood in the doorway, speaking on his phone. With four strides, he was close, too close and shoved the phone to her ear. Hope soared as Julie said her husband’s name.
‘Julie! Are you all right, has he hurt you?’ Mal’s voice crackled.
‘I’m okay… please come and get me…’
The phone was snatched away, and Sean hurried from the room locking the door behind him. Julie was wide awake, her heart pounding as she realised what the phone call meant. If Sean had rung Mal and allowed her to speak, they must be going to meet. Sean would release her for however much money he’d demanded.
With little time to dwell on the possible outcomes, Julie heard the key turn again and dearly hoped it would be the last time she would hear it. Sean entered the room, this time in a hooded coat. He approached his captive, grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her towards the door. Julie screamed with pain as her knee twisted, aggravating the already painful joint. When they reached the hallway, Sean threw her coat at her and as she struggled to put it on, he took the opportunity to cover her face with a chloroform-soaked cloth, which had the instant effect of rendering Julie unconscious.
Julie slowly awoke, a singing noise in her ears and a tingling in her arms and legs. Thinking it was a dream, the sensation of moving was not unpleasant until reality dawned on her. Julie opened her eyes – she was on the back seat of a moving car, underneath a rough blanket with her wrists once more tied. It didn’t take long for her to remember Sean dragging her downstairs from her room, and as she peeped from under the blanket, it was no surprise to see the back of his head in the driving seat. Julie remained quiet, not wishing to attract his attention, while she tried to think and reason what was happening. The memory of Malcolm’s voice on the phone filled her with hope – they must be on their way to meet him – on their way to freedom. A seed of hope filled Julie’s heart. Could her ordeal finally be coming to an end?
The car swerved suddenly onto a bumpy road, causing Julie to feel the pain in her knee, which was just one of her injuries. Briefly, she imagined a hot bath, a meal, and a large mug of tea, which made her stomach growl, but her daydream was interrupted as the car came to a halt. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting to see what Sean would do next – he turned in his seat to look at her but did nothing, so she pretended to be asleep.
Julie estimated their wait to be about an hour. As her body protested and her legs cramped, she bit down on her lip, struggling to maintain her silence. Just when she felt she could no longer remain still, Sean shouted an obscenity from the front seat, started the car engine, and reversed out of their parking spot.
This wasn’t what Julie expected or hoped; she’d been longing for release, either to be handed over to Malcolm or dropped by the side of the road; she didn’t care as long as she was free. Struggling to lift her head to see from the window, she broke her silence. ‘What’s happening?’ Julie asked as the car gathered speed.
‘Your idiot of a husband brought the police! Seems he doesn’t want you back, eh?’
‘No! Please, let me out!’
‘And why would I do that? He was told what the consequences would be…’
Julie wriggled around on the back seat, unable to free her wrists or sit up as the car moved quickly. Hot tears stung her eyes as she wondered what would happen to her and why Malcolm had brought in the police.
When the fearful journey finally ended, Sean exited the car, opened the back door and dragged Julie out. Falling on her knees sent an excruciating pain through her leg, causing her to scream. Sean covered her mouth with his hand and dragged her towards the door, dropping her inside like a bag of shopping. He took great pains to lock the door before turning to Julie again.
‘If your old man doesn’t want you, and I certainly don’t, whatever will become of poor little Julie?’ The cold glint in Sean’s eyes was terrifying, pure evil, and Julie turned her face away. Heaving her to her feet, he dragged her back upstairs. Taking a knife from his pocket, he sliced through the binding around her wrist and then pushed her into the room she had hoped never to see again. The door slammed closed, the key turned in the lock and Julie had never felt so alone and afraid. She gave way to huge sobs, which shook her body to the core.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Exhausted from sobbing, Julie perched on the edge of the bed and tried to think. It must have been late; it had been dark for several hours, but time was becoming her enemy rather than her friend. The hope it had previously afforded her shattered when the afternoon’s events turned sour.
Why would Malcolm involve the police when Sean explicitly said he shouldn’t? It wasn’t like him, and she was pretty sure he’d gladly hand the money over in exchange for her return – if the tables were turned and Mal was abducted, she’d do anything to get him back. It was a depressing thought, but worse was wondering what would happen next.
Perhaps she should try to sleep. It was unlikely Sean would be making decisions tonight; he’d need time to consider his position. And what about Mal? What was he going through? She could imagine Danny and Kate being with him to support him, but they would be distraught, too.
With some dark thoughts running through her mind, Julie lay down and pulled the duvet over her. Trying to ignore the pain in her body, her hunger and raging thirst, she squeezed her eyes closed and fell into an exhausted and thankfully dreamless sleep.
Phillip Rapier was furious. He’d spent a restless night with very little sleep as he attempted to work out his next move. The plan had been so simple but that fool Grainger couldn’t even do as he’d been told. Awake early and stomping about the kitchen, muttering under his breath, he vowed to make the Graingers pay – another million or two, perhaps?
He’d let them stew for a couple of days before making contact again; the only downside was that he’d have to take care of Julie. He’d need to buy more food for them both, and going out was risky. The extra time would also help the police in their search. At least they didn’t know who he was and, as Sean Henderson didn’t exist, they should be chasing their tails for a while.
Although angry, Rapier knew he should take some food and water upstairs to Julie; having her die of thirst would complicate matters. Shopping would have to wait until later, so they’d have to eat the dry sandwiches left in the fridge. He’d enjoy coffee and the one remaining doughnut while Julie would have to make do with a stale sandwich and water – a smile flickered across his lips at the triumph depriving her gave him.
As Rapier reached into the refrigerator to retrieve the milk, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him, causing him to fumble and spill the milk over his shoes. Feeling light-headed and unable to bend down to clean up the mess, a throbbing headache began to form behind his eyes – a likely result of the frustrating day. When the dizziness stopped, Sean filled a mug of water, grabbed one of the unappealing sandwiches from the kitchen counter, and turned towards the staircase. He would feed Julie and then concentrate on making decisions when he felt more like himself.
Rapier’s foot caught on the edge of a step, causing him to stumble as he made his way up the stairs. Desperately clutching the handrail, he struggled to pull himself up to the top, his breaths coming in shallow gasps. A weird sensation washed over him, leaving his face strangely numb and his mouth drooping. The headache lingering in the background intensified, the dizziness became overwhelming, and his vision blurred as if peering through a foggy window. It felt as if he had consumed too much alcohol, though he knew that wasn’t the case.
Suddenly, a crash shattered the stillness, and he looked down to see the mug he had been carrying in his left hand had bounced down the stairs and shattered on the newel post at the bottom. Panic surged through him as he attempted to move his left arm and found it unresponsive, the weakness and drooping sensation spreading down his entire left side, leaving him feeling utterly helpless. Terror gripped him as his left leg buckled beneath him, and he fell over, landing with a thud outside Julie’s bedroom door. Rapier couldn’t speak, and a series of grunts exited his mouth as he tried to shout for help. But who could help him? Only he and Julie were in the cottage, and he’d locked her in the room and hidden the key.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Malcolm remained stubborn. When asked, he refused to let the police tap his telephone line, nor would he assure them he’d liaise with them if Rapier contacted him again.
He could tell DS Matthews was frustrated at his lack of cooperation, yet he no longer cared. He’d convinced himself the police presence had led to the handover fiasco. If there was a next time, he vowed to stick to Rapier’s rules. He wondered if it was safe to confide in anyone, even his children.
Kate remained quiet throughout the police interview; Danny chipped in where he thought necessary; and Malcolm was decidedly obstructive.
Danny tried to reason with his dad. ‘Now they know about Mum’s abduction, they have to be involved. I was all for going it alone until Geoff put his nose in, but things have changed. Everything’s different.’
