Watch You Burn

by KA Richardson

  The crew had been pleased to see her – telling her they’d all planned to come to the hospital en masse that night if she hadn’t been discharged. It felt good – knowing that her team was her team, not Cam’s, not anyone else’s. She knew now they’d move heaven and earth for her – as she would for them, and wondered how it had taken so long for her to realise it. As soon as the hugs and back slapping were over though, they’d been called to a shout. Leaving quickly in a wail of sirens, the station felt bereft and empty. She knew it was the tyre yard – again. The same place went up in flames every couple of months. She also knew Malcolm had been assigned to deal. She’d promised the chief she would just get her stuff then head off for the scheduled leave she’d been ordered on.

  Kev would go ballistic when she told him she’d been released and hadn’t gone straight to his. He’d probably tell her off for wanting to pick her car up from the station and for driving home when he could have picked her up. Then he’d hug her and remind her that it would all be OK. She felt her cheeks grow warm – she deserved to be yelled at. She knew she was being daft, but it had been important to her to see her team, to know that they were all OK after pulling her from the blaze.

  It took her about half an hour to finish up and get everything ready to go – she’d sent the emails, put all the reports in the right places to go where they needed to and now it was time to go home. Granted it was Kev’s home, but if she was entirely honest with herself, it felt more like home than her terrace ever had.

  Smiling, she handed the post to Jane, the chief’s secretary, on her way out.

  Making her way round to the rear of the fire station where the staff parked their cars, she kept an eagle eye out for the unmarked car. She didn’t notice it but she knew it must be there somewhere, ready to follow her home. It made her feel more secure.

  Her car was parked where she’d left it, and she frowned at the inconsiderate driver beside her – a huge blue transit van had taken up two bays next to her car instead of one. Glancing around she confirmed that there was never a traffic warden around when you wanted one.

  Ed didn’t hear a thing as the side door to the van slid open. She knew nothing of the man inside until he grabbed her from behind, jerking her backwards and into the van. His hand across her mouth muffled her scream, the force of him pulling her caused her phone and keys to slide from her grasp and come to rest on the ground beside her car. She flailed her arms wildly, trying to pull herself from his grasp, kicking her legs out in front of her as he dragged her inside the van.

  It didn’t work though.

  She looked up at the man who was dressed in black from head to foot, and just as recognition dawned, his fist slammed into the side of her face causing her to slip into unconsciousness.

  8th October, 1740 hours – Major Incident Team Office, Darlington Police Station

  ‘What the hell do you mean, you’ve lost her?’ Ali ground the words out slowly to the detective on the phone. Pissed didn’t even begin to describe how he felt right now.

  He cocked his head to one side, listening to the cop tell him how they’d had her in their sights ready to follow, but that she’d never pulled out from her parking space. They’d got out to investigate and realised her phone and keys were on the ground.

  ‘Get your arses back in here now!’ barked Ali.

  He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Like they didn’t have enough on with the suicide of one of the other kids from the uni. His team were already stretched – no way did he have the staff to deal with a kidnapping, too. Putting the call in, he requested additional officers.

  Within minutes the two detectives had scrambled up the station steps and back into the nick.

  ‘It was my fault, boss. There was this blue van in the way so I told Dwyer just to wait till she reversed out. But then the van left and she wasn’t there. We thought she might’ve gone back into the fire house for something but then Dwyer, well, he saw the phone and keys on the ground. I’m sorry, boss. I’ve already passed the description to comms – the reg has been circulated, ANPR hasn’t pinged yet.’

  ‘Get me the history on that van printed out now, as well as everything we know about Cameron Webb. Anywhere he might take her, properties he has registered to him, everything. Julia, get Kevin Lang on the phone – he needs get his arse back to the nick quick smart. Come on people, boots on the ground. I need answers, NOW!’

  Ali knew he sounded like a bastard – this whole situation brought back everything from a few years ago when his brother’s wife had been kidnapped. It was all still too raw – he’d buried it, intending to deal with it at some point. And now he had another kidnapping to deal with. From someone who’d already tried to kill Edina with a bomb, of all things.

  ‘Boss, it looks like Cameron Webb is pretty unhinged. Cops were out to his home address a couple of weeks ago when he’d initially contacted ambulance saying he’d taken an overdose but then denied it when the crew got there. Police were called by ambulance as he was acting aggressively but according to the system, he was nice as pie when cops got there and said it had been a misunderstanding. I have a direct line number for the chief station officer from Darlington, Talbot I think his name is. You wanna ring him directly to see what insight he can offer?’

  ‘He’s probably tied up at the fire over on Albert Hill – that bloody tyre place goes up in flames more time than daft Mick, but yes, give me his number.’

  ‘Boss, sorry to interrupt,’ Gary’s voice was calm, steady. ‘Comms have just been on the phone – ANPR camera near the A1 southbound over near the Evans Halshaw roundabout pinged the reg about three minutes ago. They’ve got the traffic lads travelling from Spennymoor.’

  ‘Gary, Clare, you’re both with me. You can ring Talbot while we’re en route. Come on. Gary get on the radio to comms now; make sure there’s enough cops heading there to get the bastard found. I want this over. That wee lassie has had enough crap to deal with. Let’s go find her and bring her home. Before that tosser does anything else.’

  24

  8th October, 1755 hours – Farm cottage in Blackwell, Darlington

  Cameron pulled the van into the open garage to the rear of the cottage. Jumping out, he quickly pulled the up and over door down. No one would find him – he had plenty of time to make Edina pay for turning his whole life to shit. Since the fire when he’d left her, he’d had nothing but grief. Management always watching his every move, scrutinising every little thing he did, bollocking him for nothing. If she hadn’t said what she had and tried to blame him, then none of this would have happened. It had been her fault anyway – she’d pissed him off ending it – his head had been mashed. He knew she hadn’t been right behind him when he stalked off in a huff, but how could he have known the floor would give way?

  He’d put up with it all for ages, believing it would just blow over. But it hadn’t. He knew people whispered behind his back, that the guys didn’t trust him. He’d finally decided on trying to get back into his old station as a means to get closer to Edina, to make the guys see he wasn’t the dick she’d portrayed him as. But when he was near her he just wanted to wrap his hands round her throat and squeeze.

  Admittedly, planting a pipe bomb in her locker hadn’t been one of his brightest plans. It bordered on being one of his worst decisions, to be fair. That was her fault, too – he’d just wanted it all over. If she’d been out of the picture, then he would be trusted again. He should’ve just grabbed her in the first place. The bomb was stupid – he could’ve hurt one of the guys. He actually felt relieved that it hadn’t detonated. Hell, he didn’t even know if it had been found yet. Ed hardly went to her locker, kept everything she needed in her office. He knew that because she’d always been that way – always keeping everything to hand. That, and he’d been watching her. He’d never stopped watching her.

  Sighing deeply, he made his way to the side door on the van.

  Time to get the show on the road and finish this once and for all.


  8th October, 1800 hours – Farm cottage in Blackwell, Darlington

  Edina felt the darkness pulling her back down. Her head was swimming and it was pitch black even when she opened her eyes. The whole side of her face burned and throbbed, and she could taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. The mouth she couldn’t move thanks to the strip of duct tape across it. Her hands were tied in front of her. She wriggled them slightly and decided they must be cable ties.

  She needed to stand, do that thing she’d seen on the You Tube clip that had done the rounds showing how to get out of cable ties. If she could remember how to anyway. A wave of nausea washed over her, and she tasted bile in her mouth. There was no way to spit it out though, and she grimaced as she swallowed hard. She was about to pull herself to her feet when she heard the sliding door at the side of the van open. Silently, she closed her eyes. Cam could do the work to get her out of the van – if he knew she was awake he’d only hit her again.

  She tried not to gasp as he grabbed the back of her trouser waistband and dragged her backwards towards him, her face bumping and scraping off the wood floor. Her already sore face now felt like the back of a porcupine as dozens of splinters embedded themselves into her skin from the plywood flooring.

  Ed took in slow breaths. She knew Cam intended to kill her – if she was going to get out of this she needed to focus, and be ready to move in a nanosecond.

  Cam half lifted, half dragged her from the van, grunting with the exertion. It was dark inside the garage, she’d opened her eyes just a slit to try and look around. He pulled her through the adjoining door and into a room she could only describe as a kitchen, though it was lacking in many of the amenities. It was disgusting, and Ed had to fight not to shiver. It felt colder in the building than it had been outside.

  She breathed slowly as Cam lowered her onto a chair in the middle of the room, and let herself sag forward as an unconscious person would.

  The slap came from nowhere and Ed couldn’t stop the gasp escaping.

  ‘Big… fat… faker,’ hissed Cam into her ear, before slapping her again.

  ‘Cam, please…’ cried Ed, focusing all her strength on not losing it completely. Hysteria would not help. ‘Just let me go, I swear I won’t tell anyone.’

  ‘Won’t tell anyone? Like last time you didn’t tell anyone? The only place you’re going is under the fucking ground.’

  His face was inches from hers as he spat the words at her, his eyes blazing with raw anger. Momentarily she wondered how someone could flip like this – seem almost normal on the outside then turn into the kind of person who set bombs and tried to kill. It was a fleeting thought though. She didn’t have time to think about the stuff that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter why he was like this, or how he’d ended up that way. What mattered was getting away.

  ‘Cam, listen. The cops already know you have me. There was an unmarked following my every move. If you leave now maybe you can get away, maybe they won’t find you.’

  Giving him an out was the only thing Ed could think of. There was no way she was going anywhere when he was stood right in front of her.

  Seeing the fleeting look of fear and belief, she pressed further.

  ‘Just go. Forget about all this. Start a new life.’

  ‘A new fucking life? Cos it’s that easy? You ruined my life. All this is your fault. I wish I’d never met you. I wish you’d died in that damn fall. If I could do it all again I’d make sure you didn’t survive. But I can’t. What I can do though, is make sure you and your evil scheming brain are buried so deep that no one will ever find you. That arsehole boyfriend of yours will go through his life wondering where you are, wondering if you suffered. And believe me, you will.’

  Cam took several steps back – and Ed knew it would be the only chance she’d get. She leapt to her feet, slammed her tied fists up into Cam’s face, not even flinching as blood burst from his broken nose. His hands went up instinctively to protect the area, and she kneed him in the balls as hard as she could. Not pausing as he dropped like a rock, she spun on her heels and ran towards the door in the kitchen, praying it was unlocked.

  She was in luck – it swung open after some minor fumbling, and she sped outside, looking around and trying to judge which way to go. Cam’s roar from inside the kitchen spurred her on and she ran towards the wooded area to the back of what she now realised was a farm cottage.

  Stumbling round the back of the barn that led to the woods, she groaned as she fought a wave of dizziness. Passing out was not an option. Gritting her teeth so hard it sent shooting pains through her jaw, she focused on the pain, before entering the trees. She couldn’t see how far they went, and it was starting to grow dark as the sun slowly faded. It was also cold and a shiver passed through her.

  ‘Shit,’ she muttered. Nothing seemed familiar at all. Taking a deep breath, she ploughed forward, listening hard for noise behind her. Truth be told though, all she could hear were her own footsteps sounding as loud as a drum.

  Ed paused for a minute, trying to catch her breath. Her head cocked to the left as she listened hard for any noise behind her. But the woods remained eerily silent.

  Gunna need my damn hands. How did that blonde woman on the you tube clip do it again? Hands straight out then down and towards the hips really hard? Was that it?

  Deciding to give it a go, she raised her hands and wrenched them down and outwards to her waist.

  Hearing a loud snap, she was surprised to see it actually work. Her wrists burned from the pressure and she had red welts, but she was free. Now she just needed to decide which way to go. Every way looked the same as the next – it was either trees or back the way she came. And there was no way she was willingly going back.

  Another shiver rocked through her – Cam was crazy. If he got his hands on her… well it didn’t bear thinking about.

  Suddenly she heard something behind her – not too far back either. A branch cracking, a soft expletive from Cam’s mouth.

  She held her breath for a moment, then realised she’d make more noise breathing out from holding her breath so slowly released it. Her mind started playing tricks on her, making her hear noises that she wasn’t entirely sure were there.

  Ed focused – listening intently.

  Over the screaming silence in her ears, she heard soft footfalls.

  He was close.

  Instinctively, her fingers felt behind her, desperately searching for something she could use as a weapon. She bit her lip to stop herself crying as all she felt was the rough bark of the tree she was leaning on.

  She was on the verge of giving in to her flight instinct, and running for it, when she heard Cam utter another swearword.

  Think, Ed, THINK! You are damn well not going to let yourself get caught by that twatting bastard again.

  Glancing around the base of the tree, her eyes picked out a large rock.

  Yes!

  She slid down the tree, using it to support her weight and felt around with her fingers urgently, finally closing around their prize.

  ‘There you are, you fucking bitch,’ came Cam’s voice from beside her. His face was smeared in blood, and he was pissed. He bent to grab her arm, and she swung the rock with all her might, feeling her shoulder jar as it caught the side of his head with a thud.

  He stumbled forward, his weight across her legs, pinning her in position.

  ‘You have got to be kidding me,’ she snapped, dropping the rock and pushing at him with her arms.

  It succeeded in him wobbling slightly – that was it.

  Frustrated, she took in a deep breath and pushed again. Grunting, she kept the pressure up, but it was no use. He moved a few inches up but then she couldn’t get the angle to follow through. The tree behind her grated on her back as she tried to use it to assist her. She heard her t-shirt tear slightly, felt the bark scrape her back and draw blood.

  But still Cam remained flopped across her lap.

  She didn’t even know if he was alive –
she definitely didn’t want him waking up though.

  Come on, give it more heave. You can’t lie here all night!

  Grimacing as her jaw tensed, she pushed again, as hard as she could.

  8th October, 1800 hours – unmarked police vehicle, outskirts of Darlington

  ‘Nothing else from the next ANPR camera along the road?’ Ali knew he sounded desperate as he spoke through his radio to the comms department.

  ‘No sorry, Ali, the last ping was the one as you enter Blackwell from the Evans Halshaw roundabout at 1742 hours. The reg hasn’t been picked up on any automated number plate recognitions since.’

  ‘OK thanks anyway, LV.’

  ‘Maybe he pulled into one of these farms in Blackwell?’ Gary’s voice was calm as he drove slowly down the road through Blackwell, giving both Ali and Clare time to look around.

  ‘We’ve got boots en route as we speak to do house-to-house, it’s gunna take hours though, and that girl doesn’t have hours, not when she’s with that maniac.’ Ali’s frustration got the better of him, and he punched the dashboard hard. Gary and Clare stayed silent – they had nothing to say. Ali knew he was letting his anger control him, but he couldn’t do anything else. He swallowed down the helplessness – the last thing Ed needed was him losing it and not finding her.

  Shakily, he took in a long breath – then exhaled for as long.

  Glancing around, he knew there wasn’t much to Blackwell – it was a tiny village built on the banks of the River Tees. Most of the houses had driveways and garages. So far they’d driven through it twice and not noticed anything other than the normal people out walking their dogs. A glimmer of hope burned. That was it – of course. Dog walkers knew their areas. They would know if anything was out of place.