Hush Little Baby (DC Beth Chamberlain)

by Jane Isaac

  The rumble of an engine overhead. The force helicopter, deployed to conduct an area search of the surrounding fields, its heat sensors seeking out a presence. Or a body. Back at the office, they’d be drawing up a list of convicted paedophiles nearby, in case this was a sexually motivated attack, covering all the bases.

  And then there was Yates. The idea that he might be involved made her dizzy.

  Beth gripped the door handle, the cold metal cooling her sweaty palms. No. Not Lily. Please, don’t let this happen to Lily.

  She wasn’t the type of girl to go astray, but Beth desperately hoped she was wrong. That she had taken herself off somewhere. That any minute she’d turn up at the door, ready for her holiday, wondering what all the fuss was about. Because she’d been missing for over five hours now and there’d been no ransom call, no indication of who had taken her and why.

  Beth scrolled through her phone, selected DS Osborne and pressed call. At least that was one area she could chase.

  56

  ‘Why isn’t there any news?’ Eden placed her head in her hands.

  Beth was thinking the same. They were sitting on the sofa in her sister’s front room. It was almost 3 p.m. Warren hadn’t returned from the briefing, instead phoning to say he was joining the search. Either there wasn’t any news, or the police were being tight-lipped. Beth knew that feeling of compromise only too well. Only disclosing to the family what was necessary. Keeping things back, watching those close to the victim in case a piece of information inadvertently slipped out in conversation and inferred guilt. Once again, Marie Russell’s pallid face flashed up in her mind. She forced it away.

  ‘You should eat something,’ Beth said, stroking her sister’s hair.

  ‘I can’t face anything.’

  ‘A drink then? You need to keep your energy levels up for when she comes back.’

  Eden waved her hand in the air despondently. Beth ignored her and made her way into the kitchen.

  Frustration gnawed at her. She searched the cupboards, bypassing the boxes of breakfast cereal, the tins of beans. The bread bin was empty too, and the fridge apart from half a carton of milk. Eden had clearly run down their food rations, ready for her holiday. Eventually she settled on some cup-a-soups and set about boiling the kettle. Later, she’d order a takeaway to be delivered.

  Nick hadn’t been in touch all afternoon. She was just thinking about calling him for an update when she remembered the camera charging upstairs.

  The kettle was still coughing and spluttering. She slid out of the kitchen, past the front room door which was pulled to, and quietly navigated the stairs. She didn’t want to alarm Eden, or alert the rest of the police team to the camera’s presence until she’d taken a look herself.

  Rainclouds had thickened outside, making Lily’s bedroom appear darker, gloomier. Beth crossed to her bedside table and checked the camera. A band on the rear screen indicated it was fully charged. She unplugged it and sat back on the bed. Eden was right. Only days had passed since her birthday, yet Lily had already racked up over a hundred photos.

  She started scrolling through them. Lily and her friends at her party. Head shots. Side shots. Usually with half a face missing. The table set for tea. A lopsided one of her birthday cake. A child learning to work her new toy. Beth’s mobile vibrated in her pocket. She cast the camera aside and pulled it out. It was Nick.

  ‘Hey,’ she said. ‘Any news?’

  ‘Not much, I’m afraid. I’ve spent the last hour questioning Kyle Thompson.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Chris seems to think Lily’s disappearance is down to him. He contacted Freeman himself.’

  Beth recalled Chris’s earlier words. Why was he so convinced Kyle was involved? Was it because of his connections or was there another reason he hadn’t shared?

  ‘He stated categorically that Lily’s disappearance had nothing to do with him,’ Nick continued. ‘Was quite indignant.’

  ‘And you believe him?’

  ‘He was cagey about his associations. Wouldn’t give anything away. But there’s no doubt he loves that child. If he had any reason to believe her disappearance was linked to him, I think he’d have a job to hide it. And he was at work, at the casino, when she disappeared. There are witnesses. I’ve no reason to suspect him personally.’

  ‘Okay.’ When she’d spoken with DS Osborne earlier, he’d assured her they were close to an arrest. He’d promised to put every resource on the case to work through Kyle’s recent bank statements. Under the circumstances, Kyle’s presence around Eden was one stress they didn’t need.

  ‘Anything else?’

  Nick was quiet a minute. ‘A neighbour claims she saw Lily get in to a silver Audi, minutes after she left home. She gave us a partial on the plates and we picked it up on the A508 on one of the police cameras.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘The plates are cloned from another Audi, registered in Birmingham. We checked and the owner was at work this morning, his car still parked in the company car park. Someone has copied the plates, put them on a similar model.’

  A sense of disquiet gripped Beth. So, Lily had been taken. And the person that had taken her had gone to great lengths to cover their tracks.

  ‘Any description of the abductor?’

  ‘No. They didn’t get much of a look at them. We’re appealing on all the major news sites and Freeman’s live on the radio this evening. We’ll share the details there.’

  It was awful sitting on the side-line, unable to do anything constructive to assist the case. Beth rolled the camera through her hands and flicked across a few more photos when…

  Beth sat forward, breathless. ‘No!’

  ‘What is it?’ Nick asked.

  She scrolled to the next photo. It was clearer, less fuzzy. The next was even better, taken on centre. Beth gasped. ‘I’ve found Lily’s camera. She has photos of Dale Yates on there.’ Beth’s mouth dried. In the background she could see Eden’s front room window. He’d been to their house.

  *

  Eden was beside the window when Beth re-entered the front room with two steaming mugs. Outside rain had started to fall, large droplets showering the road out front from a heavy sky. She could see a little girl with an umbrella walking back from school with her mother. Another child running behind. Lily should have been one of them, skipping through the front door, bubbling with excitement about their upcoming holiday.

  ‘Come and have your soup,’ Beth said gently.

  It was a while before Eden answered, and when she did her voice tremored. ‘Do you think she’s warm enough?’ She turned to face her sister; her eyes wet. ‘She hasn’t got her big red coat on, she insisted on wearing that silly denim jacket. I’m worried she’s going to be cold.’

  Lily being cold was the least of Beth’s worries right now. She took a breath, placed the mugs down and guided Eden to the chair.

  ‘What is it?’ Eden said.

  ‘There’s something I need to tell you.’

  Eden doubled over and clutched her stomach when she told her about Lily climbing into a car. Her child had been lured away by a stranger. It was every mother’s worse nightmare. She started to shake.

  ‘Breathe,’ Beth said. She’d dealt with numerous distressed people over the years, but to see her sister like this… It was too raw. Too close. Tears pricked her eyes. She explained how she’d found Lily’s camera in her bedroom. Eden barely listened, too wrapped up in her own agony.

  Beth retrieved the camera and flicked to the photo of Yates. ‘I’m just working through to make sure there’s no one of interest on there. Do you know this man?’ she asked gently.

  Her sister glanced across. ‘He came round the other day, gave me a quote for cleaning the windows. Seemed nice. Laughed when Lily asked if she could take his photo.’

  57

  Beth sat at the kitchen table cradling her empty coffee mug. It was almost 7.40 a.m. Dawn was starting to break outside, creating a murky half-light in the room.
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br />   Eden had been a mess after she’d delivered the news to her yesterday about Lily climbing into a strange car. A car they couldn’t trace. She’d played down Yates’ photo on Lily’s camera to Eden – there was no point in causing further anguish until they knew what they were dealing with – and called in a doctor to sedate her sister, then reported Yates’ presence in the vicinity to the office.

  Masquerading as a window cleaner. She was reminded of the conversation she’d had with her neighbour about a window cleaner knocking on doors in the village. On the same night her gate was left open. The car that tailgated her the other evening, also with cloned plates…

  When she’d spoken with Nick, late last night, he’d said the enquiry was now focused on Yates.

  All night Beth had laid beside her sister, listening to her heavy breaths, her mind whirring at the possibilities of what Lily was going through. Was she hurt? Frightened? There’d been no more sightings of the car. Once again, Yates had disappeared into thin air. Had her niece been taken to get back at her? If so, why?

  Please, God, let her be okay.

  Another glance at the clock. The team would be preparing for morning briefing. She imagined Freeman standing at the front of the conference room, a map of Mawsley Village behind him; Lily’s address and her route to school highlighted. Almost twenty-four hours had passed.

  She took a sip of her coffee, re-working all the information they had so far, desperately searching for something out of kilter, a hole, a gap, a clue, when a movement flashed in her peripheral vision. She looked at the window. It was a misty, grey day outside; the garden was empty. A scratching followed. Then a shadow through the misted glass of the back door. The handle rattled, but stayed firm.

  The shadow disappeared.

  ‘Who’s there?’ Beth called out. It was too early for Warren and, in any case, he’d use the front door.

  Beth grabbed her phone, fingers working the keys as she approached the door. The garden was still clear. She was about to call Nick, within touching distance of the window, when a face appeared on the other side of the glass.

  Beth jumped back. Pressing a hand to her chest.

  It was Kyle Thompson.

  She unlocked the door. ‘What the hell are you doing creeping around?’ she hissed. ‘You scared the life out of me.’

  ‘Sorry. I tried the back door. It was locked.’

  ‘You didn’t think to knock? It’s not even 8 a.m.’ Beth stared at him aghast. Only close friends and family used Eden’s back door. Eden and Kyle were clearly still a lot closer than she’d hoped.

  ‘I wanted to catch you on your own, before your colleague gets here.’ He looked past her towards the kitchen door. ‘Where’s Eden?’

  ‘Asleep. I had to get in a doctor to sedate her last night.’

  ‘Good.’

  Beth narrowed her eyes at his response. Good that she’d been sedated, or good that she was out of the way? ‘What’s going on, Kyle?’ He seemed edgy.

  ‘I think I know where Lily is.’

  The hairs on the back of Beth’s neck prickled. ‘Is she okay?’

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘What do mean, you think so? How do you know?’

  ‘I can’t say.’

  ‘Kyle, this is Eden’s kid we’re talking about! Where is she?’

  ‘We need to be careful.’

  Chris’s comments, less than twenty-four hours earlier, flew into Beth’s mind. He’d been convinced Lily’s disappearance was connected to Kyle, yet after the photographs she’d found, she’d fixated on Yates. ‘Tell me where she is.’ Squeezing the words through teeth tight.

  ‘I can’t do that.’ Another glance behind him. His eyes were red-rimmed, weary. ‘I’ve got to be careful. I shouldn’t even be here.’

  ‘What do you mean? What have you done?’

  His face slackened slightly. ‘Oh, that’s what you think. It’s got to be something to do with me, right? That’s why you had your colleague interview me yesterday.’ He cussed under his breath. ‘You’ve no idea.’

  ‘Then. Tell. Me.’

  ‘I put the word out among associates, that’s all. Made it clear I wanted to locate the missing child. People know about me and Eden. Know how fond I am of her child.’

  ‘Who’s got her?’

  ‘I don’t know him. Not personally. But he’s dangerous.’

  Beth’s chest tightened. He was talking in riddles. ‘How did you hear?’

  ‘The boss received a tip-off.’

  ‘The boss?’ Beth arched an eyebrow.

  ‘I’m not giving out names.’

  She held his gaze. ‘A tip-off from who, Kyle?’

  ‘An anonymous text.’

  ‘Oh, come on—’

  ‘No, this is serious. It was sent from someone who saw a man carry a child from a car. A young girl.’

  Carry from a car. Was she still alive? Her pulse quickened. ‘Where?’

  ‘I can’t tell you.’

  ‘Oh, for Christ’s sake.’ Beth rubbed her forehead. ‘I want a name.’

  He viewed her a second, still unsure. ‘Dave Salmons.’

  Beth baulked. She was so sure he was going to say Dale Yates. Dave Salmons wasn’t a name she was familiar with. ‘Why has he taken her?’

  ‘That I don’t know.’

  ‘Take me to her. Now.’

  ‘I can’t be seen to be assisting the police.’

  ‘Then tell me where she is, Kyle, and I’ll deal with it.’

  ‘I can’t! Listen, I’m told he goes out every morning at 10 a.m. for a run. Even went yesterday when…’ He cut off. ‘It’s some kind of routine. Do you know Moreton Bridge on Bunkers Hill?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It’s off the Laughton Road, near Lutterworth. Meet me there in two hours. I’ll take you to her. No police.’

  Beth surveyed him cautiously.

  ‘Look, you want Lily back, don’t you?’ The question didn’t warrant an answer. ‘Then we do this my way. It’s one thing us finding her, bringing her back. Quite another for me to be seen informing a police operation.’

  Beth scoffed. ‘This isn’t about you.’

  ‘Maybe not. But any whiff of assisting cops in my game threatens me and those close to me. And we’re not talking a P45. We do this my way.’ He shifted his feet. ‘It’s our best chance of getting her back.’

  Beth folded her arms against her chest. She didn’t like what she was hearing but there was something else bothering her. Kyle had lost his usual cockiness. He appeared jumpy. ‘I don’t understand. You said, no police. You know where she is, know their routine. Surely, it’s easier for you to rescue Lily, bring her home yourself and earn some Brownie points with Eden.’

  ‘This isn’t just about Lily.’

  ‘What then?’

  He raised his eyes. ‘Eden won’t see me. Because you’re police. Because you disapprove. Always the same answers. If she sees us work on this together, bring her daughter back…’

  Beth felt a ball of anger swirl inside. ‘You’re playing games? At a time like this. I don’t believe it.’

  Kyle’s face hardened. ‘I’m going out on a limb here. Putting myself on the line. You know what happens to informants in my world.’

  Beth did know. Only two years earlier, when organised crime had been tracking the crime boss, Nigel Sherwood, one of their sources had been found floating in the River Nene. He’d been shot in the eye, his tongue cut out.

  Her internal antennae twitched. Everything about this felt wrong, but this was about getting Lily back and if Kyle knew anything, if his information was sound, this might be her only chance. She thought about Marie Russell and how much she’d have welcomed a chance to save her baby. ‘How do I know this isn’t a trap?’ she said.

  ‘Because I’m coming with you. If anything happens to you or Lily, Eden’ll never forgive me.’

  Beth’s phone rang. She checked the screen. It was Nick. About to give her the post-briefing update she’d insisted upon.


  ‘I’ve got to go,’ Kyle said. ‘Meet me at ten at Moreton Bridge. On your own.’ He opened the back door.

  ‘Kyle!’ Beth made to catch his arm, to stop him. Too late. He slipped her grasp, dashed past the window. And was gone.

  Her phone was still ringing in her hand. She stared at it, unsure of what to do. Nick rang off. Seconds later it beeped with a text message.

  You okay? Call me as soon as you get this.

  Beth drew a long breath, then scrolled through her phone to Nick. Her finger hovered over the call button. She should phone this through to the incident room, have it dealt with properly with a tactical support team present.

  But Kyle hadn’t told her exactly where Lily was, only that she was to meet him at a specific location. She Googled Bunkers Hill. It was almost twenty miles away, half an hour’s drive. She enlarged the map; it was remote, rural. What if this was simply a meeting point and Lily wasn’t nearby? He’d said no police. If he noticed their presence, he could refuse to help.

  Lily had been gone almost twenty-four hours. Who was Dave Salmons? An associate of Yates? Kyle said he was dangerous. Why? Every fibre of her body wanted to call it in, check the name on the police computer. But if she called it in, she might be risking Lily’s life.

  The objective in a kidnapping was always the same: preserve life. Pay the ransom, do whatever was reasonably required to get the victim back alive. And, at the moment, as much as she hated to admit it, Kyle was her key to bringing Lily home. Her only key. She had to play this his way. For now.

  58

  Two hours later, Beth pulled off Laughton Road onto Bunker’s Hill. She spotted the small bridge almost immediately, taking the single-track road over Moreton Bridge that ran over the top of the Grand Union Canal. She parked up on the grass verge and checked back and forth. No sign of Kyle’s Range Rover. In fact, no sign of anything. It was a sleepy Tuesday morning on a winding country road, surrounded by farmer’s fields on both sides. She locked the car, walked up to the bridge and peered over the wall, down into the canal. Two barges were moored upstream, one behind the other. The grass had grown up around the guy ropes. It was a strange location. Unless of course, Lily was on one of those boats.