17 Church Row

by James Carol

  ‘Goodbye, Sarah.’

  I disengaged the safety brakes.

  Through the telephone her scream sounded as tinny and distant as a short-wave radio broadcast, but I could imagine what it must have sounded like to her. The floors were flashing by in a blur of red.

  25, 24, 23 . . .

  Faster, faster.

  14, 13, 12 . . .

  Believe me when I tell you that this was the greatest moment of my life.

  7, 6, 5 . . .

  Sarah was on the elevator floor now, crouched in one corner, her body wrapped around itself in the foetal position. The telephone dangled uselessly on its coiled cord, banging against the side of the elevator, a rhythmic counterpoint to the symphony of death it relayed.

  2, 1 . . .

  The moment of death was an anti-climax. White noise and static. I should have expected this, but it did nothing to change the outcome.

  Sarah was still dead.

  Now Father could be happy again.

  Chapter 45

  Watching the Rhodes’ had become Catriona Fisher’s new obsession. She had watched them until Nikki went to bed last night, had eaten her breakfast this morning, watching them while Nikki and Bella had theirs. At various points during the day she had logged on to see what Nikki was up to. She was watching them now, but nothing much was happening. Nikki was in the kitchen on her laptop; Bella was lying on her bed playing a game on her tablet; and Ethan still hadn’t got back from doing his show.

  She closed the lid of her computer then walked over to the large floor-to-ceiling window and stared out across the river. The sun was shining off the water, casting sparks of orange and gold. She was going to miss this. The tumbler in her hand contained a couple of inches of Jack Daniel’s. It was early to be drinking, but today had definitely been one of those days.

  The challenge was the same as it had always been: getting people to understand her vision. The only way to do that was through example. The house on Church Row was a good start in that it had enabled them to try out their ideas. Unfortunately, that house wasn’t grand enough. Their next project had to be much more ambitious. Basically, they needed to create the sort of house that the poor dreamed of and the rich fought amongst themselves to own – and that was going to cost big money.

  Catriona turned away from the view and walked across the lounge. She sat down heavily on the sofa and sipped her drink. After calling the estate agent from the bridge she had actually shed a couple of tears. No doubt about it, selling this penthouse was going to break her heart, but she couldn’t see any other way to raise the money. Even then, she was probably still going to come up short. The stakes were huge, but it was a risk she would be stupid not to take. Worst-case scenario, she would end up broke, living on the streets. Best case, she would be set for life. Her mobile rang, shaking her out of her thoughts. She checked the screen, saw Alex’s name, and connected the call.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘It might be nothing.’

  ‘Then again it might be something,’ Catriona said with a sigh. ‘If there’s a problem, Alex, I need to know.’

  ‘And if you calm down I’ll tell you.

  Alex stared out of the screen at her; Catriona stared back.

  ‘Okay now that you’re sitting comfortably, I will begin. Because Laura Santos has become a regular visitor at the house I wanted to know more about her, so I asked Google. On the surface, everything looked fine. Her website is professional, she has a Facebook account, there’s even a Wikipedia entry. However, a few of the pages that came up had HTTP 404 errors, more than I would normally expect. That was the first thing that made me suspicious. Then there’s the fact that there were only two pages of results. Santos is supposed to be an expert in her field. On that basis alone there should have been more than two pages. The other weird thing I noticed was that, after those first two pages, there’s nothing. Google doesn’t work that way. It’s all done on percentages. The results at the top of the list are the ones that most closely match the search. As you go down the list, those percentages drop and you get results for other things mixed in with the thing you’re searching for. What doesn’t happen is that you go from something to nothing, as seems to be the case here.’

  ‘What exactly are you saying? That Santos doesn’t exist?’

  Alex sighed. When he finally spoke it was as though he was trying to explain the obvious to a particularly stupid child. ‘Yes, Catriona, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Basically, she’s a ghost. A figment of someone’s imagination.’

  ‘And you’re basing this on the fact that her Google results are inconsistent. That sounds like a bit of a leap, Alex. Maybe it’s a glitch.’

  ‘It’s not a glitch.

  ‘How can you be so sure?’

  ‘Because when I dug deeper I found other inconsistencies, like the fact that she doesn’t have Twitter or Instagram accounts.’

  ‘I don’t have an Instagram account either, so I’m not sure that proves anything.’

  ‘On its own it doesn’t, but when you put everything together it starts to look more suspicious. Another thing: I couldn’t find a website for the practice she had when she was living in the States.’

  ‘She probably had it taken down.’

  ‘Duh, of course she did. However, I should still have found some evidence of it. Once something gets out there on the net, it takes on a life of its own. It’s impossible to erase every last trace.’

  ‘Okay, if Laura Santos isn’t who she says she is, then who the hell is she?’

  ‘That’s the million-dollar question. I’ve asked my brother to look into this. Maybe he’ll be able to provide some answers.’

  ‘Your brother?’

  ‘Don’t ask.’

  ‘Okay I won’t. So when will he get back to you?’

  ‘By the end of the day. I told him it was urgent.’

  Catriona went quiet while she processed this. ‘If she is an imposter, then I guess the next question is: why is she doing this?’

  ‘At this stage I have no idea. I’m hoping we’ll be able to start working that one out once we know who she actually is.’

  ‘Is there anything else I need to know about?’

  ‘No, that’s it for now.’

  ‘Okay, call me as soon as you hear from your brother. Straightaway.’

  Catriona hung up and dropped the phone onto the sofa. She picked up her drink and took a sip, then reached for her laptop and switched it on. This new development was a concern. Laura Santos had just become a rogue variable, and that was the last thing they needed. Once they had established who she was and what she wanted, then they could work out the best way to deal with her. Until then all she could do was wait and worry.

  The computer finished booting up and she accessed the house cameras again. Nikki was still in the kitchen on her laptop and Ethan still hadn’t got back from doing his show. Bella had moved from her bed and was sitting at her desk using the tablet’s graphic program to draw a picture. Catriona took another sip of whiskey then switched to Nikki’s camera and settled back on the sofa to watch.

  Chapter 46

  Nikki was sitting in the kitchen staring at the wall screen when Ethan got back. The Picasso had been replaced with a photograph of Bella that Alice had imported from her laptop. This had been taken last September. The weather had been amazing, warm and sunny. If the leaves hadn’t been turning she could have tricked herself into thinking that it was still summer. It was the sort of day where you could believe that winter was never going to happen. On the spur of the moment they had gone to Thorpe Park and, for a short while, they had been a happy family. That had been a good day. Nikki felt the tears threatening and tried to squash them back down.

  Ethan sat down on the next stool and laid Bella’s tablet beside the Nokia without a word. There was nothing to say. He was supposed to have come back with Bella. Instead, Bella was out there somewhere, lost and alone and scared out of her mind. Ethan appeared to have aged a
decade in the time he’d been gone. They both had. The adrenaline that had kept them going while they thought they’d found her had worn off. The Nokia lay there, as silent as ever. This was their only link to Bella and right now it was as good as broken. Nikki picked up the tablet. The pink cover was so familiar; she knew every red heart and silver star. She turned it over in her hands, examining it closely, studying it as though it might somehow hold the key for getting Bella back.

  She heard sobbing and looked up to see Ethan crying. She could count on one hand the times she had seen him cry. The day the girls were born; the moment Grace took her final breath; the funeral; and now this. Nikki put the tablet down then slid off her stool and went to him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, and now she was crying too. In that moment she was convinced she would never see Bella again. These were secret thoughts. Dangerous thoughts. She needed to hold them in because if they got out then they might turn true and she couldn’t allow that to happen.

  ‘What do we do now, Nik?’

  Nikki said nothing. If she had an answer then she would be out there doing it, instead of sitting here waiting for the phone to ring. Nor was she going to tell him it was going to be all right, because at that moment it felt as though nothing would ever be all right again.

  ‘Did we do something to make this happen to us?’ Ethan asked. ‘Is that it?’

  Nikki shook her head. ‘No, we didn’t.’

  ‘So why us?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  Ethan wiped his eyes and straightened up. ‘We’ve got to call the police.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘We can’t do this on our own.’

  ‘Laura said no police. So far that’s the only demand she’s made. We can’t call them.’

  ‘We have to.’

  ‘No, what we have to do – the only thing we have to do – is everything Laura tells us.’

  Ethan sighed and shook his head. ‘When I was driving to Highgate you asked me what I was going to do when I got there. I didn’t know the answer then – and if I was put in that situation again I still wouldn’t have a clue.’

  Nikki went to say something and Ethan put his hand up, stopping her.

  ‘What if I had found Bella? What would I have done then?’

  Ethan left the question hanging there.

  ‘Laura said no police,’ Nikki said quietly, breaking the growing silence.

  ‘I know that, but we need to face facts here: we’re out of our depth. Way out.’

  Nikki met his gaze. The devastation was still there in his eyes but there was a newfound determination too. He’d looked into the future and seen a way out. The problem was that whenever she looked all she saw was disaster. Even if they did everything that Laura asked there was still no guarantee that they would get Bella back safely. Maybe Ethan was right. Maybe they should go to the police. The Nokia suddenly rang and they both turned to look at it. Ethan moved quickest. Before Nikki could do anything he had snatched it up and connected the call.

  ‘What will it take to get Bella back?’

  He was trying to sound calm but there was no disguising the anger behind the words. Laura’s reply was lost on Nikki. All she could hear was Ethan’s side of the conversation.

  ‘What will it take to get her back?’ he asked again.

  A pause, then more desperately, ‘We’ve got money, if that’s what this is about. Just let me know how much and where you want it sent to.’

  A longer pause. When Ethan finally spoke he was hurrying to get the words out and doing nothing to hide his desperation. ‘Look, just name your price. All we care about is getting Bella back.’

  There was another pause, then Ethan seemed to shrink before her eyes. The fire had gone from his eyes and he seemed somehow smaller than he had been a few moments ago. He held the phone out to Nikki and waited for her to take it. ‘She wants to talk to you.’

  Nikki put the phone up to her ear. ‘I’m here.’

  ‘Maybe I didn’t make myself clear when we last spoke, Nikki. If that’s the case then let me clarify things. I speak to you and you alone. Do you understand?’

  ‘I understand. It won’t happen again.’

  ‘Your husband seems on edge. If he loses it, that could complicate things.’

  ‘He’s not going to lose it, he’s just worried about Bella, that’s all. We both are. We just want to get her back.’

  ‘It’s understandable to be worried; however, he needs to be made aware that if he doesn’t get his shit together then that will have consequences for Bella. Severe consequences.’

  ‘You don’t have to worry about Ethan. You don’t have to worry about either of us. We’re going to do exactly what you say.’ Nikki hesitated. Her heart was in her mouth, her palms sweaty. It was taking everything she had to keep her own shit together. The panic was out there, just waiting to strike. ‘We need to know Bella’s all right.’

  ‘She’s fine.

  ‘Then please let me talk to her,’ she said, the words getting stuck in her throat.

  Silence on the other end of the line, then, ‘If you cooperate you’ll be able to talk to her all you want.’

  ‘If we can’t talk to her then at least send a picture. We just need to know she’s okay. Please.’

  ‘I guess a picture is more doable than talking. Especially since she doesn’t have her tablet.’

  Nikki felt the breath lodge in her throat.

  ‘Did you really think that I wouldn’t find out that Ethan has been running all over London looking for Bella?’

  Still Nikki said nothing.

  ‘Did it not occur to you that maybe I wanted you running around like headless chickens?’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because you needed to get that out of your system. The sooner you realise that the only way this works is by doing exactly what I say, the better it’s going to be for everyone. You, me, and especially poor little Bella.’

  ‘Please don’t hurt her. We shouldn’t have gone looking for her. It won’t happen again.’

  ‘I know it won’t, because you now know that I am watching your every move. Whatever you do, whatever you might think about doing, I’m going to be one step ahead of you.’

  Nikki said nothing. She tried to swallow but her mouth was bone dry, her saliva like sand.

  ‘Take this as your one and only warning, Nikki. Pull a stunt like that again and it will be Bella who suffers. So, have you called the police?’

  The question came out of left field, unsettling Nikki even more than she already was. ‘You told us not to.’

  ‘That’s not an answer. What I’m looking for here is a simple yes or no.’

  ‘No,’ Nikki said quickly. ‘We haven’t called them.’

  ‘Good, just remember that it would be very bad for Bella if you do.’

  ‘You can’t hurt her.’

  ‘I don’t want to hurt her Nikki, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.’

  ‘What do you want from us?’ Nikki almost yelled this into the phone. She took a deep breath. ‘Just tell us what you want.’

  ‘I want you to collect something for me,’ Laura replied calmly.

  For a second, Nikki wasn’t sure she had heard right. She had been convinced that this was about money.

  ‘What?’

  ‘That’s not for you to worry about.’

  ‘And once I do this, then we’ll get Bella back?’

  ‘Yes, you’ll get her back.’

  Nikki took a deep breath. It was taking everything she had to keep the panic at bay. Laura might be lying but she couldn’t allow herself to think that.

  ‘Okay,’ Laura went on, ‘here’s how this works. I’m going to text through an address and you’re going to drive there in your little Beetle. On your own. When you get there, I’ll contact you with further instructions. One other thing: I want you to leave your mobile in the house. You can take this phone, but before you start getting any ideas abou
t calling for help, I will be monitoring it. Now tell me that you understand.’

  ‘I understand, and I’ll do everything you want, but first I need to know that Bella is all right. Send us a picture, then I’ll go and get whatever it is that you want me to get.’

  The line went dead, leaving Nikki staring at the handset, her stomach tying itself in knots. She shouldn’t have pushed like that. What the hell was she thinking? She was in no position to issue ultimatums. But she hadn’t been thinking, had she? The truth was that she hadn’t been thinking straight since she realised that Bella had been kidnapped.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  Ethan’s voice seemed to be coming from far away. She tried to answer but her voice wouldn’t work.

  ‘What just happened Nik? Talk to me.’

  ‘Laura hung up. I shouldn’t have asked for a picture. She’s going to hurt Bella.’ Nikki looked at him and all the anger that she’d been holding in suddenly came spewing out. ‘Laura could be doing anything to her right now and there’s nothing we can do to stop her.’

  ‘Bella’s going to be okay.’

  ‘But she’s not okay now! She should be safe here with us. Instead she’s with that crazy bitch who’s doing God knows what to her. She’s going to be scared and alone. She’ll be terrified. She shouldn’t have to—’

  ‘Stop it!’ Ethan yelled, halting her in her tracks. Nikki recoiled as if she’d been slapped.

  ‘Losing it now is not going to help things,’ he went on. ‘It’s not going to help Bella. So what exactly did she say before she hung up?’

  ‘She said she was going to text me an address. She wants me to go there.’

  ‘In that case it’s going to be okay. She wants something.’

  ‘So why hang up?’

  ‘Because she wants to scare you. She wants you to know who’s in charge.’

  Before Nikki could respond, the phone buzzed in her hand. She navigated to her texts. The one that had just come in had no message but there was a photograph attached. She opened it quickly. Bella’s face had been caught in close-up. She looked dazed and lost, and so alone. This was the complete opposite of the picture of Bella on the roller coaster at Thorpe Park, the one smiling down at them from the kitchen monitor. It was hard to believe that this was the same child. Looking at it made Nikki feel sick. But at least she’s alive, she told herself. That was all that mattered here. Bella was alive. Ethan had got up from his stool and was peering over her shoulder. She heard him take a sharp intake of breath and turned to face him. Neither of them said anything. Bella might be alive but she was going through hell, and it was all their fault. They were her parents goddamn it. Their job was to keep her safe and they had failed spectacularly.