This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
NO ESCAPE
First edition. December 20, 2020.
Copyright © 2020 D. A. Longman.
Written by D. A. Longman.
Table of Contents
No Escape
1
2 | Six months later
3 | Now
4 | Six Months Before
...
5
... | Earlier that day
6
... | Earlier
7 | Six Months Later
8 | Six Months Before
...
...
9 | The following day
...
...
...
10 | Six Months Later
11 | Six months before
...
...
...
12
13 | Six months later
...
14 | Six Months Before
15
...
16 | Six days later
...
17
...
18 | A few days before
19 | A few days later
20 | Six months later
21 | Four months before
22 | Four months later
...
23
...
24
...
25
...
26
27
28
29
...
30
31
...
...
32
33 | The following morning
34
35
36
37
38
39
...
40
...
...
41
42
...
43
44
45 | One week later
...
...
46 | The following day
47 | A few days later
Epilogue | Six months later
...
The End
Chapter One
Authors note
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No Escape
1
Nadia typed the message into the messenger app on Facebook:
Yes, Auntie. Thank you so much for helping me.
I have my passport, I’ll meet you at the station at 9.30 tomorrow.
I can’t wait to see my Dad.
Lots of love, Nadia xx
She closed the lid of her laptop and grabbed the backpack she had placed under her bed. She put her laptop in the backpack, squeezing it in around the items of clothing she needed. Auntie Fatima had told her that she didn’t need to pack much. It was warm in Morocco. She checked the front pocket of her backpack for about the twentieth time that day. Her passport was still there. It was almost as if she had expected her Mum to find it and take it away. She counted the money in her purse that she had emptied from her savings account the day before. £120. Not much, but enough that she could buy a few souvenirs. She knew she would have to buy something for her Mum as an apology.
Her Mum was going to be furious. She hadn’t seen her Dad for 12 years; she was only three years old then. Her Mum had told her that he’d moved back to Morocco after the divorce and she had made sure that he had nothing more to do with her.
Her Mum had married Martin when Nadia was five, and since then she had been expected to play happy families. However, Toby was born when she was seven, and it had seemed that Martin had lost some interest in her. He had his own kid now; he didn’t need his temporary kid. The kid whose darker skin made her feel out of place in her own family.
She could hardly contain her excitement at the thought of seeing her Dad. She was disappointed that he hadn’t messaged her himself, but she understood that. Auntie Fatima had told her that he was a fisherman, that he spent a lot of time at sea and didn’t have the internet. But he’d asked Auntie Fatima to get in touch. He was as desperate to see his daughter as she was to see her Dad.
She didn’t even know she had an Auntie Fatima. However, Mum never spoke about Dad or his family. When Auntie Fatima had first got in touch via Facebook she had asked Mum how many brothers and sisters her Dad had. Her Mum had dismissed the question. She ranted that although Dad may have been the sperm donor who had created her, Martin was her real dad. He was the one who had been there for her, who had provided for her and had raised her.
Nadia hadn’t asked again. She had kept Auntie Fatima a secret. She kept speaking to her, not letting on to her Mum that she had a new family now.
When Auntie Fatima had asked if she wanted to go and visit her Dad, she had been delighted. She was going to meet Auntie Fatima at Cardiff Central station, then they would be getting the train to London and flying to Marrakech from Gatwick. Dad had a week of shore leave; they were going to spend it together and then Auntie Fatima would bring her back to Cardiff.
She pushed her backpack back under the bed, and sat down at her desk. She opened the drawer and took some note paper out. She knew she had to leave her Mum a note. She would put it on the kitchen table when she left. Mum always left the house for work before she left for school. Mum would drop Toby off at breakfast club and then head to the office. Martin always left the house early too. He’d be in the gym before Nadia had even got out of bed. Nadia knew that neither of them would be home until about 5.30pm, Mum once she had collected Toby from the childminder and Martin after he finished work. By 5.30pm, when her Mum would read the note, she would be in the air, she would be on her way to Morocco. She was going to see her Dad.
2
Six months later
“Six fucking years!” Jen was livid as she stormed out of the sentencing hearing.
“I can’t believe they only gave the bastard six fucking years! He’ll be out in two and a half with the time he has served on remand. Where’s the justice in that?” she yelled.
She ran down the steps of Cardiff Crown Court and screamed at the top of her lungs.
A woman jogging past turned and gave her a look, seemingly disgusted at the sight of a woman screaming in the street.
Gemma caught up with her friend. She was also shocked by the sentence. After all, Oliver had stabbed Jen and nearly murdered her, killing their unborn child in the process. This, after Jen had suffered years of abuse at his hands.
“I can’t believe what the judge was saying. Making it a Category 2 offence. Suggesting that Oliver had been provoked. The misogynistic bastard! The judge should be locked up too. It was bad enough when the CPS agreed to the lesser charge of GBH when he agreed to plead guilty. But six years. That’s taking the piss!” Gemma ranted, the anger clear in her voice.
“What was the point of my victim personal statement? All they did was focus on the fact that Oliver was a successful local business man with no previous record!” Jen screamed again, then fell to the ground. She sat on the bottom step, defeated.
“You did all you could, Jen,” Gemma reassured her. “At least he’s going to stay behind bars whilst the divorce is being sorted out.”
“Don’t even get me started on the divorce!” Jen said.
“At least now he has had his GBH sentence against you, you can prove unreasonable behaviour,” Gemma replied.
“His solicitor is a knob!” Jen exclaimed. “He’s still withholding all the money from Oliver’s bank accounts as you know! I’d have ended up on the streets if it wasn
’t for you and Marcus. There was no way I could have returned to the house to live.”
“That’s what friends are for,” Gemma replied.
“Yeah, but Gem, you have both gone over and above. I need to get my independence back. I’m going to start looking for a job. I feel I’m well enough now,” Jen said.
“Well, you aren’t doing anything for the next week, as I have a surprise for you,” Gemma said. “I knew today would be hard, whatever the sentence, so tomorrow you and I are flying to Lanzarote! We are going to have a girlie holiday, a chance to relax, recharge and get a bit of sun.”
“Are you serious?” Jen squealed. “That is amazing, Gem.”
Jen paused for a moment.
“When the divorce money comes through, I will pay you and Marcus back every single penny.”
Gemma laughed. “If you’ve told us that once, you’ve told us that a thousand times. Honestly, Jen, it’s no problem. You’d have done the same for me.”
3
Now
Marcus unloaded the suitcases at the drop off point at Cardiff airport, and quickly gave his wife a hug and a kiss.
“Be safe, both of you! But most importantly, have fun!” he said.
“You make sure you don’t forget to feed Mavis,” Gemma said.
Marcus laughed, “Can see where your priorities lie! With the cat as always.”
“You are big enough to look after yourself,” Gemma laughed. “But Mavis is my baby.”
“Go on,” he replied. “You’d better check in. Text me when you get there.”
“I will,” Gemma replied.
“Bye, Marcus. Don’t miss us too much!” Jen said.
The ladies grabbed their cases and headed into the airport. They joined the long queue for the check in for Arrecife.
“I can’t believe we are going on holiday!” Jen exclaimed. “I haven’t been on a plane for years.”
“We both need this holiday,” Gemma replied. “A bit of sun will do us the world of good.”
Jen’s phone started to vibrate in her pocket.
“Who’s calling at this time?” she mumbled out loud as she pulled the phone out of her pocket.
It was 5am, their early morning flight was scheduled to leave at 7.
“It’s Troy,” she blushed as she answered.
“Hi, Troy,” she started. She listened to what her boyfriend had to say.
“Gosh, you don’t need to apologise!” she said.
“I will, I’ll ring you when we land, OK?”
Gemma waited to find out what the handsome scientist had to say.
“He was phoning to say sorry that he hadn’t come to the house to see us off this morning. He slept through his alarm,” Jen explained to her friend. “He said he hopes we both have a brilliant time.”
Gemma smiled, “He’s been perfect for you. The last few months you have been so happy. Troy is such a caring and kind man.”
Jen nodded, “He is!” she beamed. “I keep waiting to see a nasty side to him. But he’s so loving, so gentle. And he is so understanding about me wanting to take things slowly.”
“Well, that is hardly surprising,” Gemma replied. “He knows exactly what you went through with Oliver.”
The couple in front started moving up the queue, but it was clear that they were listening in to the conversation.
Gemma nudged Jen, motioned her head indicating that the people in front were listening.
“Anyway, we have a holiday to plan,” she said, as she pushed her suitcase slightly further forward. “Did you pack your wetsuit?”
“Of course!” Jen replied. “But I’m not sure that I’ll need it.”
4
Six Months Before
“Look how beautiful you are in real life!” Auntie Fatima said, as she hugged the young girl.
“I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you!” Nadia replied.
“We need to get to the platform,” Auntie Fatima said, as she pulled Nadia towards the ticket gates.
She handed Nadia her ticket.
“Let’s go!” she said.
Nadia pushed her ticket into the slot in the barrier gate. The gate opened and she walked through. She felt the butterflies in her stomach. This was it, she was leaving Cardiff and heading to Morocco to meet her Dad.
“I can’t wait to see him again,” Nadia said. “I wonder if he’ll recognise me?”
“Of course he will,” Auntie Fatima replied. “Now, move quickly, our train is due in on platform one. We have two trains and a flight to catch.”
Nadia adjusted the backpack that she had flung over one shoulder and followed Auntie Fatima to the platform.
As they reached the platform, the train was pulling into the station. Nadia stayed closed to Auntie Fatima as the crowds of people began closing in on the train, all eager to be close to the doors and get a seat.
As Nadia stepped onto the train she thought of her mum, stepdad and brother. The last time she had been on a train bound for London was when they had gone for a weekend trip to go to the museums in the school holidays. She thought about how Toby had got scared in the natural history museum at the replica of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Nadia smiled as she thought about it. She hoped her mum wouldn’t be too angry with her.
...
Roberta Jenkins hurried as she tried to get her chatty son from the car to the house. There was a light drizzle that was forcing its way through, despite the sunshine earlier in the day. However, all Roberta was thinking about was the day she had in work. She wanted to get inside, make a cup of tea and have five minutes peace in the kitchen before she started to make their evening meal.
“Come on, Toby, we’re getting wet,” she urged her son.
She opened the front door, and shouted up the stairs.
“Nadia, we’re home!”
There was no answer. This wasn’t unusual, fifteen-year-old daughters had a habit of not replying. However, the house felt quiet. Usually Nadia would have come home from school, switched the television on and had a snack whilst watching a daytime quiz show in the living room. She would also leave the TV blaring when she went to her bedroom to do her homework or spend too much time on social media. Today, the house was in silence.
“I’m putting the kettle on if you want a cuppa?” she called up the stairs again.
Still nothing.
She helped Toby out of his coat and put his schoolbag on the coat stand. Nadia’s school coat wasn’t there. Had Nadia said that she had plans after school? Roberta couldn’t remember.
She walked out the kitchen and saw the note on the kitchen table. A simple envelope with “Mum” written on the outside. Roberta found this odd, usually if she was going to be late home, she would send a text. She hadn’t had any texts from Nadia today.
She sat down on a kitchen chair and opened the envelope.
Mum, don’t worry, but I’ve gone away for the week. I‘ve got back in touch with Dad and I’m going to Morocco to visit him. Auntie Fatima’s taking me. I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d be angry. By the time you read this I’ll be on the flight from Gatwick, I’ll text you when I get there. Please don’t be cross with me. I promise I’ll catch up on school when I get back. Love you, Nadia xxx
Roberta felt a swell of panic rush over her. Ali, Nadia’s Dad, didn’t have a sister called Fatima. OK, it was common in Morocco to call lots of female family friends “Auntie”, but even then, Roberta couldn’t think of anyone called Fatima in the family circle. She couldn’t think straight. Where was her daughter? She struggled to cope with the thought that Nadia had gone somewhere without telling her. Nadia was the epitome of a sensible child, always phoned or sent a text message when she was going to be late or if she wanted to go somewhere. Yet, she was reading a note saying her daughter had gone away, to a different country, to meet a man she barely knew, with a woman she had never heard of.
She heard loud footsteps on the stairs shortly followed by Toby running into the kitchen, “Mummy, Nadia isn’t ther
e.”
“Go and put the TV on, Tobes,” she said, gently. “I need to phone Daddy.”
She waited until she could hear the TV and she dialled Martin.
“Martin, are you nearly home? Nadia has gone missing. I don’t know what to do!” The panic was clear as she spoke.
“Rob, love, she’s probably just gone to a friend’s house after school and lost track of time,” Martin replied.
“She’s left a note, she says she’s gone to Morocco to see Ali.” Roberta said.
There was silence as Martin processed the information.
“Morocco? What the hell! Roberta, I think you should call the police.” Martin said, before adding, “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
5
Detective Inspector Liam Matthews and a uniformed police officer named Donna sat at the dining table in the Jenkins household.
Liam was speaking on the telephone. “OK, I understand. Thank you.”
He turned to the worried parents.
“I’m sorry, but Nadia’s passport hasn’t been used on a flight from Gatwick. We are continuing a search at other UK airports,” Liam said.
“You have to find our daughter!” Roberta cried.
“We’ll do everything we can,” Liam answered. Although, he had enough experience of missing people that he had a very uneasy feeling.
“Donna, can I speak to you outside for a moment?” Liam gestured to Donna for her to follow him into the garden.
When they closed the patio doors, he walked down the garden and made sure he was facing away from the house as he spoke to his colleague.
“Donna, I don’t like this one bit,” Liam began. “I’m going to arrange for some forensic guys to check up on Nadia’s online presence, we need to move quickly on this one. I need you to stay close to the family. Their lives are going to be dragged upside down. Nadia’s passport has not been used at Gatwick, we’ll see what the search brings up elsewhere. If it comes back that her passport hasn’t been used at all then this will be a much more worrying case.”
No Escape (Sinister Minds Quick Reads Book 2) Page 1