by Colin Wade
76
The near miss with ‘Bradley’ had shaken them all up. After the terror of the doorbell and the fleeting moment where they thought their worlds had come crashing down, they had to regroup.
Anya and Clark had spent the rest of the day pumping Rob for information, trying to ascertain whether it really was Bradley. All he could tell them was that he was walking back to Clark’s when he noticed a fair-haired man with dark glasses moving quickly in his direction, shoving people out of the way and causing a commotion. His gut instinct had been to run. From a distance, the man looked so much like the pictures they had of Bradley and the same person that had followed him in the 4x4. In the end, Clark and Anya accepted he had done the right thing and were just relieved he had not led the man to Clark’s door.
It was 6 a.m. and they were having an early breakfast, to make sure Rob could get to his interview on time, driving the car they had hired the previous day amongst all the drama. They were still twitchy. The car was in the underground car park attached to the complex that Clark lived in but they worried that this man was still lurking around. He knew the direction Rob had gone and Clark’s flat was not that far away from the shops.
Rob put on the suit that had almost been their undoing and got ready to go. Anya wished him good luck with the kind of kiss your granny gives you. He tried to ignore the coldness and went out the door. He headed down to the underground car park, on high alert, desperately hoping not to see the man again. He got to the car without incident and set off for the Loughborough Clinic.
*
Anya and Clark cleared up breakfast without really talking, an air of impatience pervading every bit of Anya’s mood. Her patience trigger seemingly coiled up like a snake waiting to pounce on its next meal. Clark knew he had to tread carefully. He had no control over the situation if she decided to bolt.
They sat back down in the man cave to finish off the hard-copy evidence file that they had been putting together. They continued to hope that the Met commissioner was the right person to approach. They had no real idea how far the Hardacres’ influence and corruption reached.
The file was as comprehensive as they could make it. Their theory typed out like some executive summary of a board paper. The photos and backgrounds of the seven girls, their medical records, the reports on the car accidents and the links to Hassan Chandra, the clear evidence trails against Dr Normandy and George Walker, the emails, the disgusting paedo pictures, all the bank records from the Cayman Island accounts and the evidence of the clients, the illegal drug orders, the audit trail of the deliveries, the evidence from Janice and the news reports of her murder.
“Anya, thank you for helping me with this. I think this is as good as it’s going to get but you know we need the evidence from the clinic to make this stick.”
Clark had pushed the point to try and stop Anya from doing something crazy.
“I am not going to wait forever Clark. You are asking too much of me. You have to realise that my child is living with someone else. Do you have any idea how painful that is? I can’t stand to waste another day without her. They have stolen so many precious years of my life, her life. I can’t stand it.”
“I know Anya and I am really sorry, but I am sure the evidence we get from the clinic will give us what we need. We just need to do this fast.”
“Yes, Rob bloody well better get that job. If he doesn’t I am out of here and I will sort it myself.”
*
He was wandering around the Reading shops, near where he had lost Rob, hoping for a break. His rage was simmering. He needed to kill. To feel the rush again. He had been so close. His phone beeped.
‘What is going on? Why have you not given me an update?’
*
The familiar gut-tightening feeling hit James Hardacre as soon as he heard his father’s voice. He entered his private study where William was sitting. Waiting for his next favour.
“What do you want, Dad? Was China not enough?”
“We have a problem.”
“And you think I can help… why?”
“It is not politics. It is our other matter. A certain individual is proving to be a problem. I have asked your brother to sort it but he has gone radio silent.”
“I don’t have a brother.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake James. Don’t be obtuse. He’s involved. You’re involved. Whether you recognise him as your brother or not.”
“And what the hell do you expect me to do about it? Can’t you control your little psycho love child?”
“I don’t need you to do anything, you pathetic excuse for a man. You just need to know that if he doesn’t get this sorted, your little secret might just get out there.”
With that William walked out, leaving James feeling as helpless as he had ever felt.
He tried to compose himself and walked towards the conference room for the Cabinet meeting.
Annabelle Hardacre watched her father-in-law leave. A few minutes later, James came out of his private office. She had never seen James look the way he was looking right now. He was scared. Fear etched all over his face. What the hell was going on?
*
Rob arrived at the perimeter of the clinic, fifteen minutes before the scheduled start time of the interview. He parked in the same space as when they had come here before and pressed the buzzer on the intercom. The voice sounded the same. So, she was still here. He announced why he was there and was buzzed through the gate. He drove up the short gravel drive and parked in the visitors’ car park. As he got out of his car he tried to take in as much of the layout as he could, without looking suspicious. He walked through the grand entrance to the reception desk and met the voice that had sent them away all those months ago. Janet Wall. Rob had grown a beard to change how he looked, just in case she had some form of photographic memory from watching the CCTV. He didn’t need to worry. She hardly looked at him, handed him his visitor’s badge and asked him to wait.
Pretty much on time, Rob was invited into a meeting room where he was to be interviewed by the head of facilities and the domestic supervisor. Everything ran smoothly. He seamlessly slipped into his new identity and managed not to make any obvious mistakes in recalling the work history that Clark had created. They were obviously impressed with his cleaning experience and asked when he could start. Rob made up some ruse about how he was in between roles and could start tomorrow if they wanted him to. After forty-five minutes they finished the interview and asked him to wait. He thought this was a good sign. Sure enough, after waiting fifteen minutes they offered him the job on the spot. Result. Rob had played his new role to perfection. The luck was still on their side. They asked if he could do the 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. shift the next day. Rob bit their hand off. The speed with which this was going was just what they needed. He thanked them and agreed to turn up for work the next day. He texted Clark and Anya.
‘We’re in!’
77
The plan was afoot. Clark and Anya were delighted that Rob had nailed it. For the first time in a few days, Rob actually felt some warmth from both of them. Like he was actually contributing something to this mad plan.
“Right, how is this going to work?” probed Anya. Clark tried to take control.
“Well Rob. You have a seven-hour shift today which should give you enough time to sneak away and recce the secret part of the clinic. You need to find a way in. As I said before, something like a fire door down that end of the building.”
“OK, I will try but surely they will be supervising me closely on my first day.”
“Surely not for the whole seven hours. You will find a way.”
Anya pushed it. “You need to find a way Rob. I can’t wait another day. We have to get in there. Please.”
Rob looked at Anya. She was a shell of the person he thought he knew. His feelings for her had been shaken over the last few weeks but he
r desperation and whatever love he still had for her drove him on to help her.
“I will do it. Don’t worry.”
Anya put on a pained smile and hugged him. A proper loving hug. Like it used to be.
Clark pressed on with his master plan.
“I think you should both go and stay in a hotel in Warwick. It will make it easier to get to and from the clinic. I will stay here and manage the technical parts. Anya, I have sent you a link to your phone to run the app that will record the sound and images, once you get in there.”
She pushed it further. “When? When is this going to happen?”
“If Rob gets what we need today, we can do it tomorrow.”
“Good, come on Rob. Let’s book a hotel and get up there. You have work to do.”
*
They drove to the hotel and arrived just before 11 a.m. They checked in, had a quick lunch and Rob got ready for his shift. Anya decided to walk into Warwick to do some shopping. She had to take her mind off the hell she was experiencing every minute that went by without her daughter.
They were relieved that ‘Bradley’ did not appear to have found them or followed them up to Warwick. Whatever had happened yesterday had been a terrifying near-miss. They hoped their luck would hold.
Rob got to work. He was inducted into his role for the first hour and shown how and what to clean for the rest of the shift. He was doing rooms and clinic spaces towards where he needed to recce, but there was still going to be a risk if he was being closely supervised. He decided to play it by ear.
Rob was halfway through his shift and was now cleaning rooms towards the end of the building that was reasonably close to the mysterious clinic. He was on his own, although his supervisor was periodically checking up on him. He decided to wait until she checked in and then go for it once she left.
She turned up and checked Rob was getting on OK. She discussed his quality of work, gave him a few pointers, but otherwise seemed happy with what he was doing. Rob watched her leave and noticed she went back towards the main clinic. He knew this was his moment.
He quickly finished off the room he was doing and moved his cart out into the corridor. There was no one really moving around so he set off down the corridor towards the secret clinic. As he fobbed through the next security door, he met a nurse coming in the other direction. She just smiled and walked on. He went through another door and realised he must be in the corridor that Clark was talking about. He moved quickly, trying to look a bit lost, as he knew he was being picked up on CCTV. He moved towards the end of the corridor as it bent round to the left. There was the alcove Clark had mentioned. He walked past it and sure enough there was a security door, unmarked but almost certainly the door to the clinic. At the very end of the corridor was a dead end, with a fire exit door.
Bingo!
He had seen what he needed to see and quickly headed back to his work. As he walked back towards his cart, his heart sank. His supervisor was walking towards him.
“Where have you been?” she said with an accusing tone.
“Oh sorry, I was just trying to get my bearings whilst finding the loo,” replied Rob, putting on his cutest facial expression. It didn’t seem to work.
“Stick to where I have put you. No one needs to go down that end of the building. That is Dr Normandy’s private quarters and he expressly forbids anyone from compromising his privacy. I don’t want to have to sack you before you have completed your first day.”
“I am sorry. It won’t happen again.”
She walked away with a disapproving look but thankfully it looked like he had got away with a mild rebuke. If he had been sacked, the whole plan would have died. He decided to keep his head down and finish his shift. He couldn’t afford any more risks and he had what they needed anyway.
The shift finished with no major incidents and they confirmed that his next shift was 5 p.m. to 12 midnight. Rob bolted out of the clinic, relieved to get away.
*
He got back to the hotel to give Anya the good news. She was surrounded by shopping bags, including one from a local toy shop. She pulled out a cute teddy bear.
“This is for Sophie. I want her to have this as soon as I get her back.”
Rob was unnerved. She seemed completely fixated on the moment when she would get her daughter back. There seemed to be an unshakeable belief that it was going to happen. Rob noticed that there was no ‘we’ in the sentence. Once again, he wondered where he fitted into these plans.
Anya seemed to jerk herself out of her daydream.
“How did you get on?”
“I did it. I found the secret clinic and there is a fire door just along the corridor. This is our way in.”
Anya beamed.
“My God Rob. That is amazing.”
With that she stood up, quickly removed her top and skirt. Rob was dumbstruck. It had been so long. She was a thing of beauty and standing there in just her skimpy underwear, Rob could not control himself. The rest of their clothes came off quickly and they had fast, passionate sex.
As they lay there recovering from the sudden surge of lust and passion, Rob’s phone beeped. Clark.
‘How did you get on? Why haven’t you rung me? I am pacing the floors down here.’
Rob showed the text to Anya. She looked at Rob and laughed.
“Whoops! Maybe we should have phoned him before we… umm.”
“I’m sure he will survive. Let’s ring him now.”
They put some clothes on and dialled Clark, putting him on speaker so they could all hear each other.
“Hey Clark. Rob and Anya here.”
“Thank God. Where have you been? I thought you would have called me by now.”
“Sorry, we got a bit tied up.” They tried to stifle a snigger.
“Well, fine. What happened? Did you find what we needed?”
“Yes. I found the secret clinic and there is a fire door at the end of the corridor. It is a dead end so must go to the outside.”
“Result. I thought that was the most likely layout. Any problems?”
“I nearly got caught by my boss but she just warned me away from the area. Her reaction kind of confirmed what we already knew.”
“Brilliant. What time do you start tomorrow?”
“Not until 5 p.m.”
“That is perfect. We can initiate the plan just as it is getting dark, somewhere around 8 p.m.”
Anya piped up. “How am I going to get into the site?”
“Well, Rob can drive you in. You will just need to hide in the back. Put some coats on the back seat to cover you when you get near and make sure you park in a discreet part of the car park. I reckon from the plans and what Rob found, you need to park by the left-hand side of the building. It shouldn’t be too far for you to get from the car to the fire door.”
“What am I going to do for three hours?”
“Sorry Anya, but you are going to have to stay in the car until it starts getting dark. We can’t risk you getting caught.”
“Fuck me Clark. My mind doesn’t need more time to stew. This is agony.”
“I know. I am sorry, but tomorrow will be a success and we can go to the police with the last bits of evidence. Trus…”
Clark stopped himself from saying that word again. He just had to hope his optimism was not misplaced.
Anya continued to probe, clearly obsessed with every detail. If she had to wait another day, she was not going to let anything go wrong.
“Walk me through how you see this happening Clark.”
“OK. Rob, start work as normal. A little before 8 p.m., I will text you both. Rob will need to make his way to the fire door. Anya, you will need to slip out of the car and make your way towards the back corner of the building, where this fire door is. Turn the app on, so I can hear what you are doing. When Rob reaches the
fire door, he needs to text me. I will disable the CCTV and door security for a few minutes to get you inside and hopefully through the clinic door. It will alert their security team but if I can get them back on quickly, they should see it as a temporary glitch. Once you are in the clinic, record what we need and get out of there fast. I will disable the security again to get you out.”
Rob looked concerned. “Sounds risky.”
“This was never going to be without risk Rob. We just have to hope their security team are a bit lazy and don’t fly down to the secret clinic the minute stuff goes off.”
“Don’t you think Dr Normandy will have them on high alert, especially around his precious ‘private’ area?”
There was an uncomfortable silence. Clark knew this was a high-risk plan with lots of variables. He had tried to remain upbeat for Anya’s sake but they were both spotting the holes in the plan. Anya broke the silence.
“Ah fuck it. It is as good a plan as we are going to get. Those bastards are going to pay for what they did to me. I am going to find those girls and record what we need to put them in jail.”
They ended the call. Rob and Anya went to get some food and Clark sat back in his man cave, pensive and worried. He knew there was a strong chance that something could go wrong. He would have to think of a back-up plan, especially if they got caught.
78
After a restless night, which at least did not have any horrible dreams, Anya woke, wired up like the addict she used to be. A high of different sorts but no less painful and tragic.
They spent the day trying to keep their minds off the opportunity that could make or break this conspiracy and get Anya’s daughter back. They ate. They read every paper they could lay their hands on. Went for a walk. Time passed slowly, torturing Anya’s soul.
*
He was still spending each day hanging around Reading town centre, hoping for another sighting of Rob or preferably that bitch, Anya. His rage was maxed out. He now had a gun to add to his killing options and he needed to kill again. The rush of excitement. The taste of blood. The power over life and death. The power over her life and death.