Taken

by Lisa Stone

  ‘No, of course I didn’t love him!’ she said, with a sneer. ‘I couldn’t love any man after what our stepfather did. And neither were there any plans to live abroad. That was just what I led him to believe. The final stage of my plan was for me to make an anonymous call to the police and tell them there was a child matching your description living at Heath Cottage. But you ran away before that happened. As it turned out the result was the same. You’re here with me and Colin has been charged.’ She stopped, triumphant.

  ‘I’ll tell Peter Harris what you did,’ Leila said, and took a step towards the door.

  ‘And you think he’ll believe you!’ Sharon laughed.

  ‘I’ll tell him about the phone you’ve got hidden and all the lies you’ve told.’ She took another step towards the door and then went to grab the handle, but not in time. Sharon caught hold of her by her jumper and pulled her back.

  ‘Let go!’ Leila shouted, trying to break free.

  Suddenly a loud knock sounded downstairs, together with the doorbell ringing and a male voice shouting, ‘Police! Miss Kern, open the door, please.’

  Sharon froze.

  ‘I told my mum what you’ve done,’ Leila said. ‘They’ve come to rescue me.’

  The police banged on the door again. ‘Police! Open the door now!’

  ‘You won’t say a word if you know what’s good for you and your mother,’ Sharon hissed. ‘I can bluff this out. Just stay quiet.’

  Grabbing Leila’s hand, Sharon opened the bathroom door and began downstairs.

  ‘I’m coming!’ she shouted, dragging Leila behind her.

  ‘Police. Open the door!’

  Still tightly holding Leila’s hand, Sharon unlocked the front door. Suddenly the hall was full of police, but not the ones who were here before, Leila noted. She looked at them expectantly and waited.

  ‘Sharon Kern?’ the lead officer asked.

  ‘Yes, that’s me, and this is my niece, Leila.’ Sharon smiled sweetly. ‘Is there a problem?’

  Leila saw the officers taking in her aunt’s clean, tidy, nicely decorated hall.

  ‘Are you Leila Smith?’ a female officer asked her.

  Sharon squeezed her hand hard, warning her to be careful what she said. ‘Yes,’ Leila replied.

  ‘There’s nothing to be afraid of,’ the officer said gently. ‘My name is Petra and I’d like to talk to you and your aunt to make sure you’re OK.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Sharon said, before Leila could answer. ‘Shall we go into the living room?’

  It seemed to Leila that even now, with the police here, her aunt was still in charge. Gripping Leila’s hand, Sharon led the way into the living room. Petra and a male officer came in while two other police officers waited in the hall.

  ‘Do sit down,’ Sharon said politely, finally releasing Leila’s hand so she could sit on the pouffe. ‘You gave us quite a shock with all that noise. We were in the bathroom. I was just about to give Leila a bath.’

  ‘Isn’t she old enough to give herself a bath?’ Petra asked, as if she might suspect something, Leila thought.

  Sharon smiled. ‘Yes, but I like to run the water to make sure it’s not too hot.’

  Petra seemed to accept this and turned to Leila. ‘How are you? We hear you’ve been through a lot recently.’

  She saw her aunt’s gaze, mean and threatening. ‘I’m OK,’ Leila replied, her voice unsteady. Surely they would see through Sharon’s act and know what was really going on here?

  ‘Your mummy telephoned us,’ Petra said. ‘She’s worried about you and thinks you may be unhappy.’

  Leila saw the look in her aunt’s eyes and knew she had to be very careful. She needed to give Petra some clues but not say so much that it would be bad for her if they didn’t see through Sharon’s lies and went away, leaving her here.

  ‘I’d rather be with my mummy,’ Leila said.

  ‘Her social worker said that’s normal and only to be expected,’ Sharon put in quickly, smiling at Leila. ‘He was here this afternoon, making sure she was being well looked after. He was satisfied, of course.’

  ‘I believe two officers from Coleshaw Police Station were here too,’ Petra said.

  Leila’s heart leapt. Perhaps they would help her.

  ‘Yes, that’s correct,’ Sharon replied, unfazed. ‘I’m afraid it appears my sister, Kelsey, has been making trouble again. I can understand why. She wants Leila back, but that’s not possible. If you speak to the officers – DC Beth Mayes and Matt Davis – you’ll see I was able to reassure them. Also, Peter Harris is aware of what Kelsey is like.’

  Leila saw the way Petra and the other officer standing by the door were looking at her aunt – nodding, sympathetic, clearly believing her. Just as Peter had. This was her only chance. If she didn’t act now, there may never be another opportunity. ‘Can I say something?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Petra replied.

  Sharon glared at her.

  ‘I haven’t been able to tell anyone what happened to me when Colin Weaver took me,’ Leila said. ‘But I feel ready now. I want to tell you what happened. Can we go in another room, please?’

  ‘That’s not necessary,’ Sharon said, touching her arm. ‘You’re fine in here. There’s nothing you can’t share with me, love.’

  Leila’s heart sank. She looked at Petra and then at the other officer. Even if she could tell them the truth, it would be her word against her aunt’s. They were sure to believe Sharon and, once they’d gone, she’d be in even more trouble, and so would her mother. It wasn’t worth the risk, was it? How stupid of her to think she could get the better of her cunning, devious aunt. She’d fooled Colin, her mother, Peter Harris, and now she was fooling the police. She’d have to say she’d changed her mind.

  Leila was about to speak when a phone began ringing from the pocket of Sharon’s cardigan. Leila realized it was the phone she’d used to call her mother. Sharon had stuffed it into her pocket when she’d discovered it in the bathroom cabinet. She saw Sharon stiffen as she tried to ignore the call.

  ‘Do you want to answer that?’ Petra asked.

  ‘It’s OK. Whoever it is can leave a message. I’ll deal with it later. Now, where were we?’ She looked at Leila.

  Another ring and the phone stopped, going through to voicemail. But almost immediately it began to ring again, the caller having redialled. Leila’s heart missed a beat.

  ‘I think you’d better take that,’ Petra said. ‘It might be important.’

  To refuse would have made her look guilty, Leila thought. She watched as Sharon reluctantly slid the phone from her pocket and looked at the caller display. Leila saw a second’s panic cross her face and then she recovered.

  ‘I don’t recognize the number. It must be a nuisance call,’ she said and powered off the phone, returning it to her pocket. Leila saw the red flushes on her cheeks and wondered if the police had seen them too. She looked from Petra to the other officer, but it was impossible to tell what they were thinking.

  ‘You were going to tell us what happened to you,’ Petra reminded Leila.

  Leila shook her head.

  ‘If you’ve remembered something, you need to share it,’ Sharon said, again touching Leila’s arm. She moved away.

  Surely Petra or the other officer would see through her aunt, even if Peter Harris hadn’t? The police were trained to spot lies and catch criminals, unlike her social worker. He had taken her to another room to talk in private, unaware that Sharon was listening at the door.

  Leila remained silent and saw her only chance of being saved slipping away.

  ‘It’s late and the police officers are very busy,’ Sharon prompted her.

  Leila looked at Petra, willing her to see the truth.

  ‘Would you like to go into another room to talk?’ Petra asked.

  Leila gave a small nod and stood.

  ‘I’ll make us a tea while you talk,’ Sharon said, standing. But Leila knew that from the kitchen Sharon woul
d hear every word of their conversation, just as she had when Peter Harris had been here. It was hopeless. Sharon had outwitted the police, just as she had everyone else.

  Leila heard the front door open and close, then one of the officers who had been waiting outside came into the living room.

  ‘Did a mobile phone ring in here just now?’ he asked, looking at Sharon. Leila held her breath. Sharon could hardly deny it. They’d all seen and heard it. ‘Can I have that phone, please?’ the officer asked.

  A moment’s hesitation, then Sharon took the phone from her pocket and passed it to him. There was silence as he switched it on and studied the caller display.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Petra asked.

  ‘They’re all lying,’ Sharon said.

  Leila swallowed hard and hoped.

  The officer with the phone looked up. ‘DC Beth Mayes just called this phone. They’ve managed to trace it to this address, and they called to check. It’s a burner and it was used in the abduction of Leila.’

  Leila watched as the officer quickly took the few strides across the room to where Sharon sat. Slipping a hand under her elbow, he drew her to her feet. As he snapped handcuffs around her wrists, he said, ‘You are under arrest on suspicion of the abduction of Leila Smith …’

  Leila remained where she was, unable to believe what was happening, as the officer completed the caution and then led Sharon away. A tear escaped and ran down Leila’s cheek. For the first time since she could remember, her mother had acted to protect her. Now, surely, she would be allowed to go home to live with her?

  FORTY-SEVEN

  Kelsey walked up the neat front garden path she was now familiar with, pressed the doorbell and waited. A planter of brightly coloured spring flowers stood to the right of the doorstep, and the sound of children’s laugher floated from the house. Not just Leila’s laughter, but that of Tyler, another foster child, and the carer’s own child, Ellie. The three of them were close in age and got along well.

  Leila had been living here for two months now and Kelsey was pleased she’d settled in and was being well looked after. Leila had arrived very late on the night of 2 January, after being removed from Sharon’s house and brought here by the police. She had been distraught when she’d first arrived, so Sandie, the foster carer, had sat up with her all night, holding her hand and reassuring her until she’d finally fallen asleep around 3 a.m. Kelsey admired Sandie’s dedication as a parent and carer and wished she could have been more like her when she’d had the chance of bringing up her children. But there was no point in yearning for what might have been. It was the present and future that were important, not the past.

  Sandie opened her front door, smiling and welcoming as usual. ‘Hi, love. Come on in. How are you?’

  Leila ran down the hall behind her and fell into Kelsey’s arms.

  ‘Mum, I’m so pleased to see you. I love you!’

  ‘I love you too,’ Kelsey replied.

  Sandie smiled.

  ‘Come and see what I’ve made,’ Leila said excitedly. Taking her mother’s hand, she led her down the hall and into the kitchen-diner. The children were often involved in an activity when she arrived: cooking, arts and crafts or playing games around the table. When the weather was nice, they played in the garden, which had swings, a climbing frame, a see-saw and a sandpit.

  ‘Wow!’ Kelsey said, admiring the pizzas the children had made, which were about to go into the oven.

  ‘You will stay for tea, won’t you?’ Sandie asked as she often did.

  ‘Yes, please,’ Kelsey replied.

  ‘You’ll love the pizza I made!’ Leila exclaimed.

  ‘We all made them,’ Tyler, Sandie’s other foster child, corrected.

  ‘We all made them and we’ll all eat them,’ Sandie said, smiling indulgently.

  Kelsey laughed. Sandie had a way with children and Kelsey couldn’t help but like her, despite her having Leila.

  ‘Do you want to take your mother into the living room and show her your schoolwork?’ Sandie suggested to Leila.

  ‘Yes, come on, Mum.’

  Sandie always gave her and Leila some time alone, popping in every so often to check they were all right. Because Kelsey was cooperating with the social services and wasn’t considered a threat to Leila’s safety, Peter Harris had allowed contact to take place in Sandie’s home rather than in the more formal Family Centre. Kelsey wasn’t allowed to take Leila out without Sandie, but hopefully that would change in time, once she’d proved herself. Kelsey saw Leila every Monday, Wednesday and Friday after school from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sandie’s home was a twenty-minute bus ride away from Hawthorn Estate and Leila had continued to go to the same school. Kelsey was satisfied with these arrangements and felt included – even part of Sandie’s extended family – cherished and valued in a way she hadn’t done since before her father had died.

  Seated beside Leila on the sofa in the living room, she smiled as her daughter proudly showed her the maths and English folders she’d brought home from school so she could do her homework. ‘You can help me,’ Leila said.

  Kelsey laughed, embarrassed. ‘I’m no good at schoolwork. Sandie will be able to help you much better than I can.’

  ‘You’re doing very well, Mum,’ Leila said in her old-fashioned way, and kissed her cheek.

  ‘So are you, love.’

  ‘When do you think Peter will let me come home to live with you?’ It was a question Leila had asked many times before. ‘I like it here, but you’re my proper mummy.’

  ‘I don’t know. But it won’t be for at least a year – probably longer. I’ve got to stay clean for twelve months. I also have to attend counselling and parenting classes and then I’ll be assessed.’

  ‘Peter was here yesterday,’ Leila said, resting her hand on her open maths book.

  ‘Yes, he told me. He has to visit you every four weeks. How did it go?’

  ‘He said the trial for Sharon and Colin starts on Monday. He wanted me to know in case I saw it on television or one of the kids at school said something.’

  ‘That’s right. But there’s nothing for you to worry about. You don’t have to go to court. You gave your evidence in that interview you had with Beth.’

  ‘Do you think Colin and Aunty Sharon will go to prison?’

  ‘Yes, I do. They’re both pleading guilty, although your aunt’s lawyer is saying she needs psychiatric care rather than prison.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because she has mental health problems and only acted as she did because of what our stepfather did when we were growing up.’

  ‘But he did that to you, not her,’ Leila said.

  ‘I think we both suffered in our own way and she needs help just as much as I do.’

  ‘I’m getting help too,’ Leila said brightly. ‘I’m going to start play therapy because of what happened to me. Sandie said it’ll be fun.’

  ‘Yes. Peter told me.’ Kelsey paused, reluctant to ask the question that had been on her mind since Leila had made her statement to the police. It was niggling her and she really needed to know for her own peace of mind. ‘Leila, when you told Beth what happened, you didn’t ever mention Doris Goodman, did you?’

  Leila looked at her mother carefully and shook her head. ‘No.’

  ‘Sharon hasn’t mentioned her either, but Colin is claiming she was involved in your abduction. Why would he say that?’

  Leila paused then said quietly, ‘Because it’s true.’

  ‘What!’ Kelsey exclaimed, astonished. Then she lowered her voice. ‘What on earth do you mean?’

  ‘If I tell you, you must promise never to tell anyone,’ Leila whispered.

  ‘Yes, but what is it? You’re scaring me.’

  Leila moved closer to her mother so she couldn’t be overheard. ‘Granny Goodman came to see me while I was at Colin Weaver’s flat. She talked to me and knew I was going to her cottage. She was really nice and said everything would be all right. She said I was in danger because y
ou weren’t looking after me and now I was being taken care of. I don’t think she knew what Colin was really like – mean and bad tempered. I haven’t seen her since that night, but when I was at Sharon’s she said Doris was a good woman and that I must never say anything bad about her, so I haven’t.’

  Kelsey stared at her daughter, utterly astonished. ‘She caused me a lot of heartache. I was worried sick when you were missing. I thought you were dead. She could have said something to me, at least.’

  ‘But what could Granny Goodman have said to you, Mum?’ Leila asked, her voice rising. ‘She kept telling you to look after me, but you wouldn’t listen to her. Back then you were always off your head on drugs or drink. She was nice to me, and she was right to tell you off, but you hated her for it. You’re a different person now. I don’t want her getting into trouble and neither does Aunty Sharon. Perhaps you could be friends with her?’

  ‘That’s asking a lot,’ Kelsey said. ‘I’m really shocked by what you’ve told me.’

  ‘Please?’

  The door opened and Sandie came in. ‘Everything OK in here?’

  ‘Yes,’ Leila said.

  ‘Fine, thank you,’ Kelsey replied.

  ‘Dinner won’t be long.’

  Once Sandie had left the room again Leila whispered, ‘You won’t ever tell on Granny Goodman, will you? She was kind to me and the other kids. Promise me you won’t.’

  ‘All right.’

  ‘Good. Now you can help me with my maths homework.’

  The two hours’ contact flew by, and once they’d had dinner it was time for Kelsey to say goodbye to Leila and return to her flat. Parting was always difficult, but more so today – Friday – as she wouldn’t see Leila again until Monday. She was allowed to phone on Saturday and Sunday, though.

  ‘Speak to you tomorrow,’ Kelsey said at the door, hugging Leila goodbye one last time. ‘Be good for Sandie.’

  ‘I’m always good,’ Leila said, with a cheeky grin.

  Kelsey kissed her daughter and then went down the front garden path. As she turned, she waved goodbye and Leila and Sandie waved back.