Glimpse

by Stephen B King

  He turned to Pat, would you mind staying with Jules for a bit, I’d really appreciate it.”

  “Of course I will, I’d be happy too, but can I have a very quick word with you before we go?”

  He nodded, then beckoned uniformed officers over and explained what he wanted them to do. One gently guided Juliet to the patrol car, another would take Juliet’s car. Rick turned to Pat, “what is it Pat?”

  She took a deep breath, then gripped his lower arms in her hands. “Rick, I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re feeling right now, but please listen to me. You know who has done this, don’t you?”

  He stared back, blankly, then shook his head. “You can’t think this is PPP?”

  “Rick, in life, there is no such thing as these sort of coincidences, you know that, don’t you? He would have been planning this move for a long time. Don’t lose sight of that, and don’t play into his hands by panicking and doing exactly what he wants you to do. He will see this panning out a certain way, don’t allow it.”

  “Pat, you’re wrong, there’s no way he would know where Amy went to school, there has to be another explanation.”

  She stared back, solemnly. “It’s him Rick. That news conference has tipped him over the edge, and my involvement has made him retaliate. He wants to punish you even more than he did before. Planning is his hallmark; this is how he rolls. He would have been watching you, long before his first note to you, once he saw you on TV. Please believe me, stay vigilant, I know this is tough, but you need to stay focused, out think him.”

  She turned away and hurried to the patrol car.

  Rick watched her go, slowly shaking his head from side to side. Could it be? Surely not, she’s wrong; she has to be.

  ****

  The next two hours passed with Rick in a daze. He was conscious of the investigation, and took part, but he felt, and acted as if he were on automatic pilot. His brain churned over, repeatedly asking himself the question: could it be PPP?

  The thought was too horrific to contemplate. Every time his mind wandered to the possibility he dragged it straight back, he simply could not bear the thought of his angel in the company of such an evil man.

  TV crews showed up and held interviews with Colin Harris and Assistant Commissioner Monkton. When Rick was asked for a comment all he could say was: “Please, whoever has got my little girl, Amy, give her back, I’m begging you.”

  Numerous officers had been dispatched to the parents’ homes that had left the school earlier, having picked up their children before the alarm had been raised. The school color photocopier had been utilized to make duplicate pictures of Amy, but each radio report in did not bring any useful information. It seemed the children in Amy’s class had been intent on getting to their parents for reasons varying from arranging play dates, or having something to eat as quickly as possible, to have noticed where Amy had disappeared to.

  They acknowledged she had been in class, as per normal, and all had left at the same time, clutching their bags and books. But what had occurred after was a mystery. The first glimmer of hope came from a radio call from Constable Patrick McSweeney. Rick was talking to the DCI, when the radio squawked to life with an announcement of the police car’s call sign.

  “Go ahead Oscar Romeo one seven,” Colin Harris answered.

  “Sir, I’m at the home of Mrs. Ravensthorpe, her daughter Colette is in Amy’s class, and she thinks she saw Amy talking to a woman near the administration building as they were on their way to the front gate. She thinks she heard the woman call out to Amy.”

  “Did she think it was another parent or teacher?”

  “Sir, I asked if she had ever seen the woman before, and she said she wasn’t sure. She was in a hurry to get to a birthday party, which was why they were not home when we called earlier.”

  “Tell them I am on my way,” Rick said.

  Colin Harris grabbed his arm. “No, you’re not, Rick. I will send Tyler, you cannot possibly be involved, and you know that.”

  “It’s my little girl, please, I have to be. I’m going mad, here.”

  “Rick, go home be with your wife, she needs you with her, there is nothing you can do here. I will get Tyler there with a sketch artist. Let us handle things, and I will call you the moment anything develops, I promise. We’ve got something like sixty officers searching for her, we will find her. Go home, your wife, needs your support.”

  Rick hung his head. Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked away, as Colin spoke back into the microphone. “Stay there, keep them company, I’m sending a detective and a sketch artist.”

  Back in the car, Rick gripped the steering wheel and rested his head on his hands. He wanted to scream with frustration. He had never felt so helpless, or so inadequate. Eventually he shook himself from his malaise and started the engine, and within minutes pulled into his driveway. A lone patrol car was parked on the street.

  He was almost at the front door when it was flung open and Juliet ran out with a female officer, and Patricia close behind. “Any news Rick, have they found her?”

  He reached for her, when he knew she could tell by his face there was no new information. He hugged her to him as she broke down with fresh tears. “Babe, do you know Colette Ravensthorpe or her parents?”

  She leaned away from him, searching his face, “Vaguely, why?”

  She says she thinks she saw Amy talking to a woman near the admin building. Maybe it was another mother who took her to play with her daughter. She could have parked in the staff car park, and that’s why you didn’t see her leave.”

  “But that doesn’t sound right, Rick. There are signs all over the gate no entry to parents, it’s for staff only.”

  “Sweetheart, I don’t know any more than that. I’ve been ordered off the case; I can’t be involved; they think I will be too emotional to be able to make the right judgement calls, and they are probably right. Maybe it wasn’t a woman, maybe she was mistaken, but they are sending Tyler and an artist over now to get what they can. I’ve come home to be with you and wait for developments.”

  Her shoulders dropped, and she turned away. “Pat, thanks for staying, I’m sorry to burden you with this, I will get you taken home. I will phone you as soon as there is any news.” He turned to the officer who had stood quietly waiting. “Please run Mrs. Holmes home.”

  Pat watched Juliet enter the house before turning back to him. “Rick, I’m so sorry this has happened. I feel responsible. If I hadn’t got involved and that damned reporter opening her mouth, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. I know in my heart this is something to do with PPP, but who this woman is, baffles me.”

  “I can’t see how this can be anything to do with him. It sounds like a woman took Amy for a play date. PPP has nothing to do with Amy’s disappearance.”

  She shook her head, biting her lip, clearly wanting to say more. “What, Pat, what are you not saying?”

  She sighed, loudly. “I don’t know anything, and it’s so damned frustrating, but I can tell you what I think. Firstly, I can’t remember the last time a woman abducted a child this age from a school ground, can you? I’m not saying it’s impossible, but if it was a woman, you would think she would be emotionally unstable, but this does not look like the work of an unstable female, does it? It suggests planning, and guts, if not sheer audacity, not luck. Amy was spirited away with almost no one having seen anything out of place. Who else do we know comes up with this sort of strategy? Secondly, if I am right, it can only mean one thing: June Daniels is dead, and he has moved his schedule forward, because she is of no more use to him. I believe the news story about me being brought in, and your insult at the press conference has tipped him over the brink into out and out revenge. Possibly this woman is innocent, maybe it’s a teacher, or a parent who stopped to ask her something, or maybe it wasn’t Amy this other child saw. But everything about this abduction reeks of PPP’s work. I’m sorry Rick, it’s your daughter, and I’m very worried for her, but
we must think clearly and not ignore the obvious.”

  “You know you can be quite heartless, can’t you?”

  She reacted as if he had slapped her. “Oh, Rick, is that what you think: I’m saying these things because I have no heart? Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m saying them because I do care.”

  “So, what exactly do you suggest I do?”

  “There isn’t anything that can be done until he gets in touch, but, he will contact you. This is only the first step; I’m sure of that. You need to be ready for him. This is just one rung on the ladder he has created for you to climb.

  “Well, he can do anything he likes to me, I just want Amy safe.” He turned away. “Constable, can you run Mrs. Holmes home.”

  ****

  The first phone call came from Tyler just around seven o’clock. “Boss, it’s me. I’ve questioned the girl, and I’m sorry to say it’s a dead end. It may or may not have been Amy, and it may or may not have been a woman she was talking to. When I pressed her, she wasn’t sure, it was more something she saw peripherally, and an impression that it was a woman.”

  “I see, thanks for letting me know,” he replied, his heart sinking as Patricia Holmes’ words echoed in his head.

  “Boss, I’m not giving up, neither is anyone else, hang in there. Is there anything else I can do for you and Juliet?”

  “Just find our little girl, Tyler, please just do that.”

  “I’m sorry, Jules,” Rick said to his wife who was standing by his side, “It looks like a dead end with Collette Ravensthorpe.”

  She looked more depressed than anyone he had ever seen before as she turned to go back to the couch where she had been sitting, staring silently into space. “We will get her back, Jules, I promise you, don’t give up hope.”

  The second call came after eight. It was Colin Harris. “Rick, I’m sorry to report we have nothing for you. All parents have now been interviewed, and other than the report of Amy talking to someone who was possibly a woman, we have nothing. We’ve searched the school grounds and buildings, door knocked the houses closest to the school and we are coming up empty. We have also searched the local parks, same result. I’ve got patrol cars sweeping the streets in the area and they will be doing that all night. I’m so sorry we don’t have any better news for you. Hopefully by the morning there will be calls through to the Crime-stoppers phone appeal, someone, somewhere must have seen something.”

  Rick now felt as depressed as Juliet looked. “Thank you, sir, I appreciate all you’ve done.”

  “How’s Juliet holding up?”

  “We’re just holding onto hope that she is safe.”

  “I’m going to send a female officer from victim support, she will be there in the morning and will stay with you both. Then, if you need to leave Juliet won’t be on her own. Is that okay, Rick?”

  “Yeah, that’s, umm, a good idea sir, thanks.”

  For the first time in his career, he hung up the phone on a superior officer.

  The next phone call arrived fifteen minutes later. “McCoy.”

  “Sergeant McCoy, it’s Loretta Starling, you gave me your card with your mobile number the other day when we spoke. I just wondered if you had any comment that I could circulate for you to help find your daughter?”

  His blood turned to ice in his veins and a rage took over him. He walked out of the lounge room so Juliet didn’t hear his response.

  “How much did you get paid for that story? Was it enough for you? Was it worth antagonizing the killer so he kidnapped my daughter?”

  “Do, you know that it was the same man, Sergeant?”

  He bit his lip, suddenly realizing she was just trying to make him say something she could put in print. The more sensational the better. “You’re a piece of work, aren’t you? Do you even care that your actions may well have caused the kidnapping of a child? How would you feel if it was your daughter? But then, I’m guessing that you are such a cold-hearted bitch, no man would want to have children with you.” He hung up the phone.

  He thought she would call back, to argue, but the phone didn’t ring again until later. By then, he was ready to climb the walls, as Juliet sat morosely staring into space.

  “McCoy.”

  “Hi, Rick, it’s PPP. I’ve got your daughter, Amy, isn’t it?”

  He was speechless, for a moment, a mass of conflicting emotions ran through him, with rage, and fear being uppermost. Suddenly, he found his voice, “You? You took my daughter? I will kill you. Listen to me; if my girl is not returned safe and sound I swear to you I will hunt you down and kill you if it’s the last thing I do.”

  “Rick, Rick, Rick, you disappoint me. But then you’ve disappointed me before, haven’t you? I can hang up if you like, and you can try to hunt me down to kill me; I don’t care either way. But, you haven’t had a lot of success so, far have you? Let’s be honest here, you would never get to me in time to save her. Is that what you want? Your girl is fine, playing with some toys, for now. How long she stays safe is in your hands, not mine. She’s quite a peach, isn’t she? A credit to you both. Now, I have not touched her, yet, but as I said, whether she stays safe is up to you, and of course your wife, Juliet, isn’t it?”

  Juliet stood by his side, her hand on his shoulder, trying to listen in to the call. “Please, let her come home. You can have me, do whatever you like to me; just let Amy come home.” His tone sounded frantic, begging, even to him.

  “Oh, that’s very good Rick, personalize her, use her name, you’ve obviously been to hostage negotiation school. You see? You can do so much better when you try. Now, how badly do you both want to see your daughter alive again? Oh, I know, silly question, let me re-phrase that. How far are you both prepared to go to see her alive again?”

  “I will do anything you want.”

  “Now, Rick, clearly you weren’t listening, so I’m going to try one more time, and if you ignore me again, like you did once before, I will hang up, and Amy dies. I said, how far are you both prepared to go to see her safe? Now hold the phone so that Juliet can hear me as well, I want to talk to both of you.”

  “Please, please, please let our daughter go, she hasn’t done any harm, she is just a child,” Juliet pleaded when Rick tilted the phone so she could join in to the conversation.

  “Juliet, can you hear me now, I can hear you okay, but it’s important I speak to you both. Listen carefully now; you have a choice to make.”

  “Yes, we can both hear you, tell us what you want.” She gripped the phone around Rick’s fingers.

  “Okay. See? Now that’s good, now you get the picture. First up, I’m sorry but I cannot in all clear conscience keep calling you Juliet, that’s what Rick calls you and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So, I’m going to call you Julie, is that all right? Of course, it is. Next, I did a drive by of your house, and didn’t see any cop cars out the front other than your blue one in the driveway, Rick. So, we must agree to keep it that way, this is between the three of us, agreed? If I get even the merest whiff of another cop being involved I will break off contact, and Amy dies, are we clear on that?”

  “Yes, there won’t be anyone else involved, you have my word,” Rick said for both.

  “Yes, well, your word doesn’t count for much, so this time on the merry-go-round I will be watching you. You won’t know where, or when, but I will be there, somewhere. If you let me down again, I will know, and Amy dies a horrible death.”

  “I don’t know you, tell me when we met before, and what I did to deserve this.”

  “All in good time, Rick, but honestly, I’m not an idiot, so please don’t treat me like one. Didn’t you have an affair and Julie kicked you out? You have history of deceit. Don’t bother arguing or trying to justify things that cannot be justified. I’ve had my eye on you for a long time. The fact is: your word isn’t worth much in my opinion.”

  “He made a mistake, yes, but he regretted it and has been the perfect husband ever since. Everyone is entitled to
a mistake,” Juliet shouted, the edge of hysteria in her brittle voice.

  “Julie, love, you’re sure you don’t mind if I call you Julie, do you? I’m doing this in part for you. Don’t you suspect he is up to his old tricks again with that rather dishy psychologist? Didn’t you see the rather cozy picture of them in the paper, the way his arm was around her?”

  Rick turned red. “I swear to you Jules, on everything I hold dear, I haven’t done anything with Pat. And, that picture was taken as we were walking across the car park and she stumbled and would have fallen if I hadn’t grabbed her.”

  The mocking sound of laughter came echoing down the phone.

  She stared at him, slowly nodding. “Really? Nothing happened? But you’ve at least thought about it, haven’t you?”

  Rick felt snookered, with PPP on one hand taunting him, and Juliet on the other looking for someone to blame. “How can I even answer that? Have I thought about sex with other people I’ve met or seen? Probably, and I bet you’ve seen guys you have fancied too, that’s natural, if you ask me. But it doesn’t mean you act on those thoughts. I promised I would never stray again, and I haven’t, and won’t. You and Amy are everything to me.”

  “Oh Bravo, Rick, very slippery, a bit like an eel. As fascinating as this is, let’s move on, I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about after this call is over. But one piece of advice, Julie: I’ve been watching Rick, and don’t believe a word of what he says about Mrs. Holmes, they’re at it like rabbits. Now, moving on, it’s all well and good you saying, Amy is just a child, but I was a child once, and I hadn’t done anyone any harm either, but it didn’t stop people hurting me. In the case of your husband, he could have helped me, but he chose not to.”

  “Tell me your name, I don’t remember ever refusing to help anyone, especially a child. I think you have me mixed up with someone else.”

  “You see, Rick, right there is your problem. You didn’t care then, you just pretended to, and you cared so little since you don’t even remember me. Well I remember fine, and there is no mistaken identity. Anyway, now is not the time to talk about that. But, it’s a nice lead in to what I want from you both to free your daughter You see Rick, because of you I suffered, and now it’s your turn to feel pain, so here’s the deal, are you both listening?”