The Winners, page 19
‘No, Dan. The only difference is that the police turned up and we may have lost Rapier’s trust. We don’t know if we’ll hear from him again; he might have been scared off for good. If he does get back in touch, I’ll explain what happened and do as he says.’
‘He won’t believe you, Dad.’
‘He’s right, Malcolm, and you have lost his trust, which makes him dangerous,’ DS Matthews interjected.
The doorbell interrupted the conversation. Kate answered it and returned to the lounge with Geoff behind her.
‘You meddling bastard!’ Danny flew at his brother-in-law and thumped him on the chin. Geoff fell to the floor, holding his jaw and moaning. As Danny scrambled to jump on top of him, Geoff rolled over, knocking a lamp from the nest of tables.
Danny grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back until Geoff yelled in pain. Kate shouted at the two men to stop but to no avail. Before Danny could do further harm to his brother-in-law, DS Matthews and the uniformed PC intervened and dragged the two apart.
Kate knelt beside Geoff with angry tears as she shouted at her brother. ‘This won’t solve our problems, will it?’ She helped Geoff to his feet and onto the chair. ‘I’ll get some ice.’ Heading towards the kitchen, she glared at Danny, who was still trying to get to Geoff.
‘Enough of this!’ Malcolm pushed his son down onto the sofa, his disgust with his family turning to anger. He didn’t care if the police were there as he continued. ‘Geoff, you shouldn’t have interfered – I expressly said there would be no police involvement. If they hadn’t turned up, Julie might be with us now. You had no right to interfere! And, Danny, what good will it do to beat your brother-in-law up? What’s done is done – we have to hope for another chance.’
Kate returned with a packet of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel, which she pressed to Geoff’s chin. ‘I hope it’s not broken.’ She noticed the trickle of blood running from his mouth.
‘I think a tooth’s loose,’ Geoff mumbled as Danny smirked.
‘And I think it’s time for you all to go home,’ Malcolm added. ‘We’ll achieve nothing tonight, so you may as well get some rest. I want to be alone tonight.’
‘What if Rapier rings again? Shouldn’t I stay?’ Danny asked.
‘I doubt he’ll ring. He’ll need to consider his next move just as we should. Go home, please.’
They observed Mal’s request without further protest and promised to return the following morning. DS Matthews remained while his colleagues also left.
Malcolm retreated to the kitchen, where he put the kettle on. Tim Matthews followed.
‘Rough day,’ Matthews uttered.
Malcolm shrugged. His appearance was an adequate answer. Making two cups of strong tea, he passed one to the detective and sat opposite him at the kitchen table.
‘I’m not changing my mind.’ It was a statement rather than the opening of a conversation.
Tim Matthews raised an eyebrow. ‘We don’t want to take over, Malcolm, just work with you for the best possible outcome. Will you at least listen to a few ideas we could consider?’
Mal shrugged again and sipped his tea, craving the hot liquid.
Tim nodded and proceeded to outline what the police could do. ‘We can try tracking Julie’s phone but if it’s switched off we’ll only get the location of the last place she had it on.’
‘It goes to answering service when I try to ring.’
Tim nodded. ‘It’s switched off. Rapier’s probably taken it from her, or he may even have disposed of it. You also said you thought he was behind the nuisance calls before he took Julie. We may find his phone number if you permit us to access your phone records.’
‘It was a withheld number.’
‘There are ways to get around that. We can also dig into Phillip Rapier’s past – his financials and any contacts he may have in the area. It’s possible he may not be working alone.’
‘Do you think he’ll hurt Julie?’ Malcolm bit his bottom lip.
‘The chances are good that he won’t. There’s no benefit to him in hurting her; she’s still valuable, a commodity he’d be foolish to harm.’
Malcolm nodded. ‘That’s what I’ve been hoping. But if he gets in touch again, I want to meet him alone. Can you do all this other stuff and leave me to deal with Rapier?’
Tim nodded solemnly. This was probably the best deal he would achieve. The detective stood to leave, feeling it inappropriate to continue the discussion or to wish Malcolm Grainger a good night.
After closing the front door behind DS Matthews, Malcolm turned to Trixie. ‘Just you and me now, Trix.’ He sat down, sniffing away the tears he’d been holding back, and the little dog jumped up on his knee and licked his face.
Malcolm didn’t make it to bed that night. He sat with his faithful dog keeping vigil with him. Perhaps he dozed intermittently, but his mind wouldn’t allow him to rest. Could he have done things differently? Would Rapier ring again? So many questions without a single answer. He tried to convince himself that Rapier would give him another chance out of greed if nothing else. The man had invested time and effort in his get-rich plan and surely wouldn’t give up at the first hurdle. And what about the police? Would they prove to be an obstacle – could they force Mal to cooperate? It was indisputably the longest night of Malcolm’s life.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Julie’s heart raced and she jumped at the sudden loud thud outside the bedroom door. Her mind reeled with possibilities as she moved closer to the door, holding her breath as she strained to listen. The noise from outside was muffled and indistinct, a feral groan which sent shivers down her spine. Was it an animal? It couldn’t be, yet it sounded undeniably like a living being. The noise stopped, and she momentarily relaxed until it came again, a distinct grunt or moan which could only come from something living.
Common sense told Julie the noise had to be Sean. Was he trying to scare her? He was certainly succeeding. Holding her breath again and pressing her ear to the door, she strained to hear the source of the sound. It was barely discernible, and Julie decided it must be Sean, and if so, he was either in pain or playing mind games with her. Had he suffered a heart attack? If he was incapacitated in some way, she felt very little sympathy for the man, yet panic set in as she wondered where it would leave her and what would become of her if anything happened to her captor.
After several tense minutes, the house fell silent again, the only sound being the rhythmic patter of rain against the window. Julie tried to convince herself that she was imagining things or that the relentless downpour outside was playing tricks on her senses. Every house had its unique character, complete with creaks and groans that often echoed in the stillness of the night, and this country cottage, nestled in an isolated spot, was no exception.
She took a deep breath, the weight of hunger and exhaustion tugging at her as she climbed onto the bed. The shadows in the corners of the room loomed larger than life, but Julie forced herself to block out the terrifying thoughts of what awaited her tomorrow. Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to focus on the sound of the rain, letting it drown out the unwelcome scenarios threatening to creep back into her mind.
With a heavy heart and a mind racing with worries, she turned on her side, pulling the duvet closer around her. Sleep eluded her, but she shut her eyes tightly, yearning for the sweet escape of slumber, which felt just out of reach. She told herself it was time to rest, even if the darkness seemed more fearsome than ever.
Julie fell asleep only to be woken by another noise. She was suddenly alert, unaware of the time or how long she’d slept. Another bang – as if someone was kicking the door! Then, the same feral moan as previously. With a pounding headache, probably from lack of water, pain in her knee and increasing dizziness, Julie doubted her ability to make a sound judgment. Was she hallucinating or still asleep? No, she was awake and felt compelled to investigate. Hobbling towards the door, she tapped tentatively on the wood. ‘Hello?’ After listening for a moment, the noise came again – undeniably human – it must be Sean!
The dark thoughts of earlier stung her again. There was no way out of the room and if Sean was ill and unable to move, what would happen?
Don’t go there, Julie – think – think!
Dragging herself from the door, she opened the curtains and judged it to be early morning. Birds sang in the semi-darkness, the dawn chorus and a carefree day for them. Julie was beyond anticipating anything carefree, and her thoughts strayed to the conclusion that she would never leave the cottage alive.
Sitting on the ottoman, Julie felt a slight draught on her legs. As she examined the wall where it dipped below the eaves, she was reminded of their attic at home. The walls there were similar, and Malcolm had used the space under the eaves for storage, cutting a small door into the plasterboard. Julie tapped the wall and discovered it was hollow. Moving as quickly as physically possible, she pulled the ottoman away from the wall where a wooden panel covered a small opening. A cut-out handhole invited her to explore, and she was amazed when the panel came easily from its nook, revealing a hole leading into the eaves.
Julie saw a small space, enough to crawl under the eaves. But could she do it? Even if she could, where would it lead? The thought of crawling on her knees was far from appealing, but if the space led into another bedroom, could it be a means of escape?
Standing and moving back to the door, Julie knocked on it. ‘Sean! Are you there?’ After a moment, she heard a moan and then a scuffle as if he was trying to move. ‘Are you ill? Can you tap on the door if you are?’ Another scuffle and, finally, a weak tapping answered her questions.
Julie sniffed away the tears threatening to engulf her. It was time to be strong, not dissolve into a quivering wreck. But how would she manage to crawl with the pain in her knee, and even if she got inside the eaves, would it lead to freedom? There was only one way to find out.
Whipping off the pillows from the bed, Julie removed the pillowcases and tied the first one around her knee, tucking the edges in to hold it in place. Wincing as pain shot through her leg, she gritted her teeth. Wrapping the second pillowcase over the first added extra padding, and she limped towards the crawlspace. Grateful for her slim figure, she clambered through the hole. The pain made her shout out, but she persevered – the situation required strength and determination; it was no time to be a wimp.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
At 8.30am the doorbell chimed, and Malcolm, expecting it to be one of his children, was surprised to see DS Tim Matthews standing with his hands in his pockets and his collar up against the wind and rain.
‘You still on duty?’ Malcolm asked as he stepped aside.
‘I managed a few hours of sleep. And you?’
Malcolm shook his head as he led the way into the lounge, where Trixie danced in circles on her hind legs. Tim tickled her ears and made a friend for life.
‘I haven’t changed my mind, and if Rapier calls today, I’ll go alone.’
‘I understand. We’ve set in motion some of the things we talked about last night. Officers are searching his financial records and any social media history, and his telephone provider is sending his call history ASAP. Our colleagues in Merseyside will be visiting his property this morning, and although we don’t expect him to be there, they’ll have a search warrant, which may turn up something useful.’
‘Thank you.’ Malcolm was grateful; these were avenues not open to him and Rapier wouldn’t be aware of the investigations until it was too late. ‘Do you think he’ll ring?’
‘I think it’s a strong possibility. Julie’s a valuable asset, and keeping her safe is in his best interests.’
The telephone interrupted the conversation, and Malcolm picked up the handset with trembling fingers. Could it be Rapier? Tim studied his face as he listened in silence for a few moments. Malcolm’s face reddened.
‘Where did you get your information?’ he shouted. ‘Well, you’re wrong, and if you print any of this, I’ll sue your paper for every penny you have!’ Slamming the phone down, he turned to DS Matthews. ‘That was the local paper. They’ve heard that Julie’s been abducted and wanted a story.’
‘Did they say how they heard?’
‘The girl in the Costa Coffee shop contacted them. She knew we were looking for Julie and Danny paid her for their CCTV footage. She must have recognised us, put two and two together and now wants to milk it for more money. They won’t print anything now I’ve denied it, will they?’
‘Unfortunately, a blanket denial could increase their interest. I’ll call our press office and get them to contact the paper with reporting restrictions. Despite what people think, the press is usually cooperative in sensitive cases.’ Matthews pulled out his phone to make the call, and Malcolm used the opportunity to switch the kettle on. His mouth felt like sandpaper, and he was sure DS Matthews could use a coffee, too.
While he was in the kitchen, Danny arrived and found him making coffee.
‘What’s he doing here so early?’ he frowned. Mal appeased him by quickly explaining what the police were doing to help. Taking three steaming mugs of coffee into the lounge, Danny acknowledged Tim Matthews with only a curt nod. Tim said good morning and updated him on the earlier conversation with his dad.
The atmosphere was heavy, and DS Matthews finished his coffee. He stood to leave, the mug clinking on the table as he set it down. ‘If Rapier does get in touch and you’d like our help, please ring.’
Mal answered with a tight smile before showing the detective to the door and thanking him for his efforts.
‘Are you working with the police now?’ Danny scowled as his dad returned to the room.
‘I will do whatever Rapier says and not tell the police. But they can do things we can’t and I can’t stop them investigating now they know a crime’s been committed. They’re not the enemy, Danny.’
Kate arrived carrying Daisy. Malcolm was pleased to see them, particularly Daisy, whose little face lit up as she reached for her granddad. Taking her in his arms, he talked nonsense to her, and she nodded understandingly.
Danny and Kate almost immediately began arguing.
‘Stop it!’ Mal ordered. ‘It’s going to be a long day. Can’t we spend it amicably, at least for Daisy’s sake?’
‘Sorry, Dad. I had to bring her. Geoff must go to work, and I can’t keep asking his mum to look after her.’
‘I don’t mind; it’s good to see her, but we don’t want our anxieties to pass on to her, and she shouldn’t hear you fighting.’
His children looked suitably chastised, their expressions filled with regret. Malcolm placed Daisy on the floor and went to find the bag of toys they kept for her visits. The baby provided a welcome distraction. Unaware of her family’s difficult situation, she smiled as she played, demanding attention and keeping them occupied during what would prove to be an extremely long day.
Malcolm told Danny and Kate that the press had been on the phone fishing for a story. When he explained where they got their information, Danny was furious, but Kate calmed him down before they lapsed into an uneasy silence, their focus on Daisy, not daring to verbalise their fears for what was to come.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Once inside the gloomy crawlspace, Julie paused. The stale air was heavy with dust, tickling her nose and catching in her throat. Faced with a choice of direction, she tried to recall her limited knowledge of the house’s layout. After a moment’s hesitation, she chose to go to the right. Almost instantly, the choice was validated as a faint draught cooled her skin.
Each movement was agony. She couldn’t lift her head too high as rafters loomed above, not always visible in the poor light. Inching along, Julie wondered at the sense of her actions, but the alternative was doing nothing, something not in her nature. At least attempting an escape occupied her mind. Problem-solving required concentration and left little room for panic or feeling sorry for herself.
Dragging her leg was painful, and progress was slow. Cobwebs caught in her hair and face, reminding her of one of those old ghost trains at fairgrounds that she loved as a teenager. But this was reality, and Julie knew she might not exit the dark safely this time.
It was possible the space would lead nowhere, a dead-end, and she’d have to crawl back into her chintzy prison. Her mind refused to dwell on what she might do if she didn’t find a way out. One step at a time…
Although it felt more, Julie had probably only progressed three or four yards, yet it had taken an age. As she paused for breath, a chink of light in the wall just a few more yards ahead caught her attention. It must be an exit – possibly into another bedroom. Julie heaved herself forward again until level with what appeared to be a panel similar to the one she’d come through. Pushing hard, she felt the panel give way slightly. A deep breath and another harder push and the panel fell away from the wall with a crash onto a carpeted floor. Julie wanted to cry with relief but knew her ordeal was far from over.
Struggling through the gap, Julie was in another bedroom similar to the one she’d been locked in. The bed was unmade and clothes and towels were strewn on a chair and the floor; it must be the room Sean was sleeping in. Remaining on the floor to catch her breath, Julie looked down at herself. Her clothes were covered in dirt, her hands filthy, and her knee throbbed with pain, the pillowcase padding hanging off. Nothing mattered but getting out.
With a determined effort, Julie hauled herself up using a chest of drawers for support, then limped towards the door. After turning the handle on the door and discovering it was unlocked, her chest felt as if it would burst with fear or anticipation – Julie couldn’t describe it. Before opening it fully, she listened. Only the constant thrumming of rain could be heard, so she ventured onto the landing where Sean lay sprawled on his back, eyes closed and unmoving. At first, Julie feared he was dead, but a slight rise and fall of his chest indicated he was still breathing. Bending down, with her fingers trembling, she gently shook his shoulder. The only reaction was a flicker of his eyelids. He was out, cold.
