In Harm's Way

by Owen Mullen

Her abductor didn’t reply. Before he climbed the stairs he bent to turn up the gas heater, leaving Mackenzie afraid and confused. The food and the toiletries meant he didn’t intend to let her go. He’d come back. And when he did, what then?

  * * *

  Derek was lying on the couch in the lounge listening to the rain batter against the window when the telephone rang; he let it. An hour later, it rang again. This time he reached over to answer it and heard his sister-in-law’s voice on the other end of the line.

  ‘Derek. I called earlier. You must’ve been out. Can I speak to Mackenzie, please?’

  She would know sooner or later. There was no easy way of breaking the news.

  ‘Afraid not, Adele. She isn’t here.’

  ‘Oh, when will she be back?’

  ‘I’ve no idea.’

  ‘Gavin’s right. I need to talk to her, get her to call me as soon as she gets home.’

  He sounded resigned. ‘Too late for that, she’s gone off with him. Threatened she would, and now she has.’

  ‘Derek, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?’

  Derek answered quietly, without emotion. ‘I’m fine. I’m fine.’

  ‘You can’t be fine.’

  ‘But I am. It’s like a weight’s been lifted. The last couple of years…I’ve been living a nightmare. Now she’s finally out of my life I feel free.’

  ‘But you love her. You love Mackenzie.’

  He laughed a grim laugh. ‘Once maybe, not anymore. To tell the truth I’m glad. So much wasted time. Wish she’d done it sooner.’

  ‘When was this?’

  ‘Last night. I had to go out to get something to eat. Can you believe it? The latest fuck-off fridge, yet it only has milk and butter in it. Came home. The house was empty.’

  ‘Has she contacted you?’

  ‘Not a word. Don’t expect she will. And even if she did, what is there to say that hasn’t been said a hundred times?’

  ‘Do you want me to come round?’

  He rejected the offer out of hand: Adele was all right, but only in small doses. Having her fuss and fawn would irritate him. ‘It isn’t necessary and in this weather it would be madness. I really am okay. Actually, I’m surprised just how okay.’

  She wasn’t listening. ‘It hasn’t sunk in yet. When it does you shouldn’t be alone. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.’

  The conversation ended abruptly and Derek was left staring at the telephone.

  Half an hour later the doorbell announced Adele’s arrival. When he opened the door she threw her arms round him and gushed regret. Derek put his hands on her shoulders and forced a smile. ‘Did you expect my hair to have fallen out? Be a gibbering idiot? Believe me, I’m okay.’

  A brave try, but the bleary bloodshot eyes and the whisky on his breath gave away the pain he was in. Over his wife’s shoulder a solemn Blair held a red umbrella. Blair nodded to him and they made their way into the lounge. The TV was on with the sound turned down. A bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label with no more than a couple of shots left in it sat on the coffee table beside a glass and a can of some foreign beer. Others lay on the carpet.

  Adele fired an anxious glance at her husband – it was just as she’d feared. Since the first night when Mackenzie introduced the older man as her boyfriend, Adele had never known Derek Crawford be anything other than moderate. He didn’t smoke, didn’t gamble; she’d never seen him affected by alcohol. Now he was drinking by himself. And who could blame him? Her sister had done this.

  ‘You shouldn’t have driven in this weather. There’s a big storm coming. It’s already started.’

  Thunder rumbled in the sky to prove him right. He waved at the room. ‘Sorry about the mess. Wasn’t expecting company. Haven’t so much as dried a cup in the last twenty-four hours. Can’t face it.’

  Adele eyed the almost empty whisky bottle and the beer cans; cups hadn’t been needed. ‘You have a cleaner, don’t you?’

  Derek drew a finger over his unshaven chin. ‘Cancelled her for a few days. You know how it is. Not much point. Can I get you something? Tea? Coffee? What would you like?’

  ‘We’re fine.’

  He disappeared into the kitchen. Blair shouted after him. ‘Take a beer if you have one.’ Adele glared at him. ‘For God’s sake Blair, couldn’t you have asked for coffee? The last thing he needs right now is a boozing buddy.’

  ‘You can drive, can’t you? I’m trying not to overreact. He’s in a bad place.’

  ‘Of course he is. How could he be anything else? Mackenzie’s a selfish bitch.’

  Blair whispered an irritated reply. ‘You don’t know that. All you’ve got to go on is Derek’s version.’ He stared hard at his wife. ‘Said it before, it takes two, Adele. To make it or to break it.’

  Derek brought Blair a beer and another for himself before she could reply. For the first time she noticed how crushed her brother-in-law’s clothes were and guessed he hadn’t been to bed. ‘So what happened?’

  He rested his arms on his knees and shook his head. ‘Like I told you on the phone. I came home, she wasn’t here.’

  ‘Did she leave a note?’

  ‘Didn’t need to. The message was loud and clear.’

  ‘Was she still drinking?’

  ‘That’s the strange thing. As far as I could tell she hasn’t had a drink since the night of your party. Made no difference, she was still determined to leave. She hates me.’

  Adele was reluctant to ask specifics. Most marriages went through the odd rocky patch, like the one her and Blair were having. If it could be worked through, it was worth fighting for.

  ‘Are you sure she’s gone off with this guy? She’s not just trying to scare you, being a drama queen as usual?’

  Blair said, ‘Doesn’t it strike you as odd she just left like that?’

  ‘Everything Mackenzie does these days is odd. She’s been threatening me with it for months, heard her yourself. I should have told her to go. Instead I put up with it. What kind of man would stand for that nonsense? What does that say about me?’

  Adele defended him. ‘Only that you’re a loving husband trying to save his marriage.’

  He lifted the bottle and sloshed the last of the whisky into the glass. ‘Well, I’ve failed spectacularly, haven’t I?’

  Blair said, ‘I keep thinking about the guy from Buchanan Street. I mean, are you sure he wasn’t stalking her?’

  Derek lost his temper. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake. There isn’t a stalker. There never was a stalker.’ He turned to his sister-in-law. ‘You don’t believe all that rubbish, do you?’

  ‘No, but it’s not impossible. There are a lot of crazy people in the world.’

  Derek cracked. ‘And your sister’s one of them! Nobody understands that better than me. I told you, I followed her. She got into a car. Same again the other night. Should’ve challenged them, of course I should. Dragged the bastard out and beat him to a pulp. Not a minute passes when I don’t curse myself for being a bloody coward. I didn’t have the guts, didn’t want to know who was taking her away from me. Can you understand that?’

  ‘I can.’

  Blair pushed the point. ‘But was it the guy from Buchanan Street?’

  Adele’s expression said ‘leave it.’

  ‘Couldn’t tell for sure. It was a blue Vectra.’ He eyed Blair accusingly. ‘Same as yours.’

  He shifted uncomfortably and avoided looking at his wife.

  ‘Three hours later she came home and went straight to bed. So don’t talk to me about stalkers. The word we’re bending over backwards to avoid here is lover. Mackenzie’s left me for her lover.’

  He put his head in his hands and sobbed. Adele wanted to go to him before a look from her husband stopped her. ‘Let him get it out. In the long run, it’ll be better for him.’

  They watched his shoulders heave silently. When Derek was cried-out, Blair sat down beside him. ‘When was the last time you slept?’ Derek didn’t answer. Blair saw he was exhausted a
nd lifted the empties. ‘Let me get rid of these dead-men for you.’

  He threw them in the bin under the sink. Nobody could fault Derek’s taste, though alcohol wasn’t the solution to anything. He’d read somewhere that seventy percent of prisoners in Barlinnie were there on drink-related offences. For many it was a pleasure, for others – like his sister-in-law – it was an addiction, one he believed that with the right care and enough love, could be overcome. Derek had problems, no doubt about that. His wife had left him. He was depressed and hammering the whisky. But for him it wasn’t a problem, it was a crutch. Useful in the moment, nothing more.

  Back in the lounge, conversation had ground to a halt. Everything had been said. Derek slumped on the couch, tired and dejected. Further discussion would keep for another time. Blair took hold of his brother-in-law’s arm. ‘Come on,’ he said, as gently as he knew how, ‘Let’s get you to bed, old son.’

  * * *

  Adele sat in the passenger seat, gazing straight ahead, thinking of her brother-in-law, fingers toying with a button on her coat. Derek was distraught, almost destroyed, and Blair realised his own wife wasn’t far behind. Mackenzie was her young sister, after all. He could only imagine what they were feeling – anger, guilt and every emotion in between. Perversely, a part of him was pleased. When she was so obviously crying out for help they’d preferred to criticise.

  The first words Adele spoke told him he was wrong. ‘I’m not sure he’ll survive. To see him so low and know my bloody sister is responsible. She has a sin to answer for. When she comes back after she’s had her fun I won’t miss her and hit the wall.’ She turned to face him. ‘You shouldn’t be driving.’

  ‘I only took it to keep him company. And I didn’t drink it in case you didn’t notice.’

  She ignored him and went on. ‘How could she? How could she hurt him like this?’

  Blair kept his eyes on the road, navigating a path through the flooded streets.

  ‘How many times? There are two sides to every story. We should wait for Mackenzie to tell us hers. Show a bit of loyalty and don’t be so quick to judge her.’

  The suggestion didn’t go down well. ‘Oh, change the record. There isn’t another side. She’s drinking – bad enough, in case you’ve forgotten – because she can’t handle the pressure of cheating on her husband. Poor Derek’s been getting the worst of both worlds. Living with an unfaithful drunk. No wonder he’s on the floor. I could strangle her.’

  He disagreed. ‘We aren’t sure what’s happened. We don’t know why she left. We can’t until we speak to her.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Adele was skeptical, ‘and how long will that be?’

  Her husband ignored her. ‘He says she hasn’t been drinking.’

  ‘Look, Mackenzie’s crazy. You saw her at my party. She was drunk and vicious. Remember how she spoke to Monica.’

  ‘Monica was being a bitch and you know it. Picked the wrong time and got what she deserved.’

  She shot him a suspicious look. ‘I’m beginning to wonder about you.’

  ‘What’re you talking about?’

  ‘You’ve got a soft spot for her. Strange considering nobody else has. Whatever she does, it’s always down to somebody else: Monica’s a bitch…’

  ‘Monica was being a bitch, said it yourself.’

  ‘…I’m not being fair to her. One excuse after another. Admit it, you’ve always fancied her.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve known her since she was a gawky kid with acne. Some people struggle to find their place in the world. Mackenzie’s one of them.’

  ‘Not sure I believe you.’

  ‘Doesn’t matter what you believe. She made a stupid mistake and has never got over it. Her own family won’t let her. Of course I’m going to pitch-in on her side. Who else is there?’

  ‘You’re forgetting she’s a married woman with a husband who’s on her side. And this is how she treats him. Doesn’t Derek merit some sympathy? Or is it only Mackenzie?’

  A flash of lightning, then another, lit up affluent suburban Giffnock and Blair answered, his voice steady and calm. ‘Your sister has had a rougher time than any of you are prepared to acknowledge. Her drinking’s a symptom. What’s at the root of it is more complicated.’

  ‘Dr Blair is it now?’

  ‘I’m serious. You can see she isn’t happy. Hasn’t been for a while.’

  ‘And you’re blaming Derek?’

  ‘I’m not blaming anybody. All I’m saying is she isn’t happy.’

  Adele scoffed and mimicked him. ‘‘“She isn’t happy”. Mackenzie isn’t happy? For Christ’s sake who is? I’m not, that’s for sure. But I don’t get pissed and run off with another man, do I?’

  Not the worst suggestion Blair had ever heard; he kept his opinion to himself.

  ‘All I’m saying is the girl’s in trouble. She needs help. Criticising her only drives her further away. She’s had enough of that to last a lifetime. As far as I’m concerned if she’s found a man who makes her happy, then good luck to her.’

  His speech hadn’t impressed his wife. She stared through the rain-spattered window, nursing her resentment. ‘What if she doesn’t come back? What’re we supposed to do then?’

  ‘I have no idea.’

  ‘As for this stalker nonsense – don’t know where to even begin with it.’

  A drain unable to cope had overflowed, forcing Blair to slow to a crawl. He edged the car through inches of water before he replied. ‘If Mackenzie says somebody was following her then somebody was.’

  Adele sneered. ‘She’s really got you fooled, hasn’t she?’

  ‘Stranger things happen, said so yourself.’

  ‘They do. But not because some pitiful attention-seeking woman says so. Derek doesn’t believe it even though it might be easier than thinking his wife has left him for another man.’

  ‘You’re too quick to dismiss it. Right now she could be dead in a ditch somewhere.’

  His wife pressed her lips together; here it was again. ‘If my sister’s in harm’s way, nobody put her there except herself. Seems to me you’re prepared to go with any explanation other than the obvious one: that she’s a wild irresponsible person who selfishly hurts her family with her behaviour and always has. Dead in a ditch is too dramatic. More likely she’s in a cheap hotel shagging her brains out with a man she hardly knows. And it sounds like you wouldn’t mind trading places with him. Maybe you already have. You leave the house without telling me where you’re going and don’t get back to all hours.’

  He reacted angrily. ‘That’s uncalled for.’

  ‘Is it? You haven’t shown a moment’s concern for Derek. Or me for that matter. Instead it’s poor misunderstood Mackenzie. What about the rest of us?’

  He pulled the car into the kerb and turned the ignition off. ‘You can look after yourselves and you do. I feel sorry for Derek, of course but, if you want the truth, I think marrying him was a mistake.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes, really. He’s too old for her. It’s a husband she needs, not a father.’

  ‘Are you volunteering for the job?’

  ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake, Adele, give it a rest.’

  She wouldn’t let it go. ‘Except in your case you wish I’d do you a favour and run away with somebody.’

  Blair pushed the car door open and got out without bothering with the umbrella: it was only rain. ‘Right now we need to keep our minds on Mackenzie. Though now you mention it, it’s not the worst idea you’ve had tonight. If there’s anything I can do to make it happen, just say the word.’

  Day Six

  The Baxter House

  Lowther Hills

  It had been the longest night of her life. Or was it day? She lay awake, afraid to close her eyes in case the rats got bold enough to show themselves. Sometimes, the scratching behind the walls seemed like it would never end. Stamping her feet and clapping her hands had worked for a while. The scratching stopped. When it started again Mackenzie rea
lised there were too many of the filthy creatures and put her hands over her ears to block out the hellish sound. She’d never seen a rat but just thinking about them made her skin crawl.

  And all the time her tortured mind demanded answers to two questions: who had kidnapped her and why? She was sure it was the man who’d followed her. But the balaclava was strange because she’d already seen his face.

  The why was simple: Crawford Cars was well-known in Scotland. Abducting her was about money: Derek’s money.

  The victims of kidnapping were usually famous – Frank Sinatra Jnr or John Paul Getty III, not ordinary people like her. Both those crimes happened before her time but Mackenzie had read about Getty – just sixteen years old when he was abducted in Rome. The kidnappers asked for seventeen million dollars which his grandfather refused to pay, arguing his fourteen other children and grandchildren might be kidnapped. An envelope delivered to a newspaper containing a lock of hair and an ear changed his mind.

  Not the best thoughts to be thinking right now. She turned her mind back to her own situation. Kidnap seemed too outrageous to be true, but it had to be. If she was right, Derek may have already received a demand for money and Mackenzie was certain about how he’d react: he’d pay whatever was asked, she was sure of it. A new terror seized her. She’d told him she was leaving. What if he’d refused to pay? The stalker would abandon her. Nobody would come and she’d die in this place.

  Mackenzie jumped to her feet, pacing as far as the chain would allow, talking to herself, on the edge of madness, her fingers tearing at the tracksuit. She fought to get a hold on her fear. Pins and needles shot through her hands. She clenched and unclenched her fists to keep the cramps starting in them at bay, wanting a drink. Wanting alcohol.

  ‘Stop it! Stop it! Don’t think like that. Derek loves me. He loves me.’

  The marriage was over – in time he’d accept it – yet, in spite of everything, she didn’t doubt he’d do whatever she needed him to do.

  That thought banished the unnamed demons in her darkest imaginings and gave her hope. Nothing terrible was going to happen. She wasn’t going to be tortured, wasn’t going to be raped. The stalker wasn’t some crazed monster. He’d treated her roughly to shut her up. It was about money, only money. Derek was a persistent man who wouldn’t give up until she was home again, safe and well. Adele’s face rose up in front of her eyes, her apology already on her lips. ‘I’m sorry for not believing you. Can you ever forgive me?’