A Tangled Web

by A L Fraine

  “I was told there was a bathroom I could use, but I think I’ve got a little lost.”

  “I should say so, there is a loo in there,” Jon said, pointing to the nearby door to the ladies changing rooms beside the gym.

  “Oh, of course, how silly of me,” she replied with a smile. “I’m not sure I need it now. It’s good to see you again though, Jon.”

  “Detective Pilgrim, Miss.”

  “Of course. Do you like taking charge, Mr Pilgrim?”

  Jon narrowed his eyes at her, his internal alarm bells ringing loud and clear. “Are you going to use the facilities or not?”

  “How’s the hunt for the girl, going?”

  “I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Jon replied, finding her word games perplexing and wondering what she was getting at. Her eyes were locked on his, watching him keenly like a predator studies its prey. Kate was right, this was a dangerous woman, and if his suspicions were correct, she was much more dangerous than Russell would ever be, but in a much more insidious way. She looked away from him briefly as she got a little closer. “What do you want?”

  Her eyes snapped back to him, and she took a sudden few steps towards him, backing him up against the wall. “You, Detective Pilgrim. I’d quite like you,” she said, placing one hand against the wall, beside his head.

  Attempting an answer, Jon found his voice had chosen that moment to piss off on holiday, and leave him mouthing nonsense in reply. Clamping his mouth shut for a moment, Jon blinked a couple of times in shock. What had just happened?

  “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue, Detective?”

  Jon’s voice returned with its tail between its legs and he pushed away from the wall, and forced her to take a step back. “I’m flattered, Miss Willow, I am. But I’m afraid I’m spoken for.”

  “Oh really? And here I was about to offer you the chance of a lifetime. It’s not that ginger detective is it? Detective O’Connell? I doubt she could offer you what I can.”

  “And what’s that, herpes?”

  Sydney narrowed her eyes. “Careful, Detective. I don’t scare easily.”

  “Neither do I,” Jon replied, his voice serious and laced with a note of threat. “And I don’t react kindly to being cornered.”

  “All I have to do is squeal,” she replied casually. “I wonder how my millionaire boyfriend and the assistant chief constable would react to some serious allegations.”

  All humour drained from his face as he stared at her. “Try it, we’re on camera.”

  “I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s required. I have what I came here for, and for that, I thank you.”

  “What you came here for?”

  “A-hem,” came a cough from further up the corridor.

  Jon turned to see Kate wandering towards them, and felt his cheeks begin to burn.

  “Not interrupting anything, am I?”

  “Not really,” Sydney replied.

  “No, nothing,” Jon added. “Sydney was just asking me about Russell and the case,” he replied, wondering what Kate might think of the mildly compromising situation she’d found him in.

  “Was she?” Kate replied, a clear note of suspicion in her voice. “I think you should re-join your partner. He’s just upstairs.”

  “An excellent idea,” Sydney replied and stepped away, before looking back at Jon. “It’s been magical, Jon.”

  “Hmmm,” Jon muttered in reply. What was it about her that had managed to fluster him so much? He was the detective, the one with the power, he should be leading these conversations and holding her to account, but she seemed to be able to reverse that dynamic in an instant.

  He watched her go, swanning up the hallway and then up the stairs, glancing back once with a smile on her face, before she rose out of sight.

  “I told you she’s trouble,” Kate remarked.

  “No shit, Sherlock.”

  “They both are. I can see what they’re doing.”

  “You can?” Jon asked, intrigued.

  “Russell was flirting with me the whole time upstairs. Touching my arm and hand, reciting all these little innuendos all the time. He even offered me a ride in his Lamborghini.”

  Jon laughed. “And you didn’t take it?”

  She smirked. “I was tempted, sure. It’s a Lambo, so…”

  “Heh.”

  “I bet she was doing the same to you, wasn’t she? Trying to seduce you. I saw how close she was to you.”

  “Yeah,” Jon nodded. “Too close.”

  “They’re doing it on purpose. They know we’re close to something and they’re trying to intimidate us. Showing how they can get to us, even here, in the station.”

  That was not a bad theory, Jon thought. “So, you think they’re working together?”

  “I think they’re trying to protect their interests.”

  Kate might be onto something, and he was sure Russell would do whatever it took to protect himself and his lifestyle. It was possible that he’d even roped Sydney into it too. But he had a feeling that Sydney was working her own angle on things.

  Jon’s phone buzzed in his pocket. “Yeah?” he said, answering it, wondering what twist was about to rear its ugly face.

  21

  “Jeez, this case,” Jon remarked as they strode along the hospital corridor, dodging between patients, nurses, and consultants, following the signs and directions they’d been given. “It’s starting to really mess with my head. But we need to remain focused on Olivia. It’s important we don’t lose sight of what we’re trying to do.”

  “I know,” Kate replied. “Russell Hodges’ involvement has really put a new spin on it. His connections to the police and the power he wields… This one’s getting complicated. I never thought I’d see the day when a superior officer would give a suspect a guided tour.”

  “I’m still trying to process that one myself,” Jon replied, and couldn’t help but laugh. “The more things that happen, the more I think that Nathan’s on to something with his theories.”

  “Hah, yeah, maybe. So, I forgot to ask, did you find him?”

  “He was in the records room. He thinks he remembers an old missing girl case that was linked to Russell.”

  “Oh, so he might have done this before? Interesting.”

  “If it’s him,” Jon countered.

  “True. We don’t know that yet.”

  “It would certainly be a damning bit of extra evidence, that’s for sure. If Fox can find it.”

  Kate nodded. “He’s like a dog with a bone when he gets a whiff of something. If it’s there, he’ll find it.”

  “Hopefully sooner rather than later,” Jon remarked, checking the signs. “Is it this way?”

  “I think so, yeah, through there,” Kate urged, and they walked in into the ward and up to the reception desk. The duty nurse showed them through into a room with six beds and Jon spotted Olivia’s mum right away, sitting beside a bed. In it, a man whose face was bandaged was laid up and wearing a hospital gown. Only his eyes and a few bits of skin were visible, but Jon could see the purple bruises and the black eyes he had.

  Sylvie stood to greet them. “Oh, you came. Thank you.”

  “Of course,” Jon replied. “Are you okay?”

  “Bearing up, I suppose. I’m not the one who was nearly killed, though.”

  “How is he?” Kate asked.

  Sylvie sighed. “He’ll survive, but they really hurt him. I just…” Sylvie’s voice cracked, and she buried her head in her hands, fighting back tears. Kate went straight in and gave her a hug. Behind her, Geoff looked up, and reached for her. She felt his touch and took hold of his hand.

  “It’s okay. You’re safe here,” Kate reassured her, giving Jon a look.

  “I just don’t know how anyone can do that, it’s monstrous,” Sylvie said. “And in our own home. I don’t know how I can go back there.”

  “Do you have anywhere you can stay for a few days?”

  “I think so, yes,” Sylvi
e replied, sniffing and getting her emotions under control again.

  “Can you tell us what happened?” Jon asked. Geoff was looking over at them, and gave a hesitant wave with his hand. Jon nodded back.

  “Geoff, lay back. Let me do the talking. You need to rest.”

  Geoff sighed, relenting. There wasn’t much fight in him.

  “We woke up to the sound of someone in the house,” Sylvie said. “We had no idea who it was, but they came upstairs and went into Olivia’s room. We thought it might be…” Her voice caught again from the emotion.

  “Olivia,” Kate said.

  Sylvie nodded. “So Geoff went to have a look, but it wasn’t, and they beat him up. They attacked him, and then they ran.”

  “Do you know who they were?”

  “No, sorry, I didn’t see them. I stayed in our bedroom and called the police.”

  “Okay. What about Geoff, can he talk?”

  “He can, but it hurts him after a while.”

  Looking over, Geoff tried to lift his head. “I… I can talk…ugh.” He hissed in pain.

  Raising his hands, Jon waved him back down. “No, stop. You lie there. Just raise your hand for yes, do nothing for no. Okay?”

  Geoff raised his hand.

  “Okay, good. Did you see their faces?”

  No movement.

  “Okay, so do you know who they were?” Jon asked.

  Again, no movement.

  “Was there more than one?”

  Geoff’s hand rose.

  “Okay, good. How many?”

  “At least two,” Sylvie cut in. I think maybe I heard three, but I can’t be sure.”

  “You saw two?” Jon asked. Geoff raised his hand. “Okay. I think we have a forensic team going over your place,” he said, looking over at Kate.

  “That’s right, Sheridan’s there now.”

  “Excellent. Which means if there’s any evidence, we’ll find it.”

  “Did they take anything?” Kate asked.

  “No, they took nothing. I checked,” Sylvie answered.

  “Okay, so they came in, and went to Olivia’s room, and ran once they’d been disturbed, but not before taking the time to beat up your husband. Is that about right?”

  “I think so,” Sylvie replied.

  “And they never came to find you? They didn’t go into your room?”

  “I was hiding in the corner, so they might have looked in our room, but they didn’t try to find me,” Sylvie answered.

  “Interesting,” Jon replied, and looked over at Kate, who sported a similar frown to Jon’s as she processed this information. They asked a few more questions, but were soon on their way out, leaving Geoff to get some much-earned rest.

  “My guess,” Jon said as they walked back out through the hospital, “is that they were either looking for Olivia, or they wanted something from her room, but were disturbed.”

  “What would they want from her room?” Kate asked.

  “I’ve got no idea,” Jon remarked.

  “No, I think it was the first option.”

  “Okay, so who was it?”

  “Jacob? Vassili, maybe?”

  “If you’re right, that means they didn’t kidnap her,” Jon replied. “Which means someone else did.”

  “Russell?”

  Jon shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Hmm. I think we’re missing a piece of the puzzle here.”

  “You and me both,” he replied and pulled out his phone which had started to ring. It was the station again. “It never rains, but it pours,” he said, answering. “Yes?”

  22

  Walking back into the SIU office, Jon spotted Rachel walking over.

  “Aaah, you’re back,” she said.

  “Well spotted, Detective, you’ll go far,” Jon answered. “So what’s all this about Lily and her parents?”

  “They’ve come in, they want to speak to you. Sounds like they’ve had a visitor.”

  “A visitor? To their house? Huh, curious. Like Geoff and Sylvie did.”

  “Could just be a coincidence,” Kate suggested.

  “I don’t believe in coincidences where my cases are concerned.”

  “You sound like Nathan.”

  “What? Oh, crap, no. Well, I might allow one or two coincidences, you know? Nothing major, though.”

  “Nice save.”

  “I know, right? Nothing gets past me. You’ve got to get up pretty early to pull the wool over my eyes.”

  “They’re downstairs, in the same room they were in last time,” Rachel said.

  “I’m boasting here, DS Arthur. Never interrupt me when I’m boasting.”

  “Noted, sir,” Rachel replied with a roll of her eyes, much to Jon’s amusement.

  “Good, never let it happen again.”

  “When you’ve quite finished, shall we go and see what’s up with Lily?” Kate asked, her hands on her hips as she raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Jeez, you’re no fun. Right then, let’s go and see what’s up.”

  “I’m fun,” Kate protested as they set off down to the meeting room. “Just, appropriately fun.”

  “Clearly that’s the best kind of fun.”

  “I think so. You’re in rare form at the moment.”

  Jon sighed. “Just finding moments of levity where I can. I’ll go crazy if I don’t.”

  “I hear yeh,” Kate agreed, as they headed downstairs and walked into the room where Lily and her parents waited for them.

  “Hi, how are you doing?” Kate asked, Lily.

  She sat on the sofa, wringing her hands, while her leg bounced with nervous energy. She looked up and smiled briefly. “Yeah, okay I guess.”

  “Are we alright to ask some questions?” Jon asked.

  “I…err, I wanted to talk to you, actually,” Lily replied.

  “We had a visitor,” Myles added.

  “Myles, let her tell it,” Nina scolded him.

  “Okay, okay. Sorry.”

  Nina shook her head in despair. “Sorry, Detective.”

  “That’s okay. In your own time, Lily.”

  She nodded, her leg still bouncing as she looked to her floor for a moment. “Yana came to the house.”

  “When did this happen?” He needed to know the timeline.

  “This morning. She just knocked on the door. Mum answered it, and she said she was a school friend who’d heard I was home. So I came to the door. I don’t know why I did that really. I should have known something was up right then. I don’t really have any school friends. Not anymore, anyway.” Lily paused and seemed to clam up for a moment.

  “It’s okay, take your time,” Kate reassured her. “So what did she say to you?”

  Lily sniffed and blinked some tears away. “She warned me. She told me to keep my mouth shut about Vassili, and the house. She said if I said anything, they’d find me and hurt me and my parents.”

  “She threatened you?”

  “She’d do it, too. I know she would,” Lily replied. “I know what they’re like. I’ve seen it. I’m scared.”

  “Look, we’ll do what we can to help. We can post an officer at your house or put you up somewhere for a bit.”

  “Can you?” Nina asked. “That would be amazing.”

  “I didn’t really want to admit this, but I am a little worried about being in the house,” Myles added. “Is that silly?”

  “No,” Jon said. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about when it comes to things like this. These are hardened criminals, who will do whatever they need to, to hold onto their power, so you have every right to be worried.”

  “Okay, thank you. I really appreciate it.”

  “That’s okay. We’ll sort something out for you.”

  “So, how did this visit by Yana end?” Kate asked Lily.

  “When she threatened me, I told her to… pee off, you know? I slammed the door in her face.”

  “I understand,” Kate replied. “That was really brave of you.”

  L
ily gave a nervous laugh. “Heh, thanks. I just… I know what they’re capable of and it worries me.”

  “You’re okay now. And thank you for telling us.”

  “But that’s not all. I want to tell you everything,” Lily said. “I don’t care what Yana wants. I want to stop them, and I think I can help you. Is that okay?”

  “You can tell us whatever you like,” Kate answered.

  “Okay, well… I’m sorry I didn’t say this when I was last here, but I was scared. I thought it was best, so I kept quiet. But then last night, I just couldn’t sleep. My mind was racing, thinking about the others. I came to the conclusion that I either needed to help, and tell you what I knew, or live with that guilt for the rest of my life. But I can’t do that. I’m a mess as it is without more guilt added in. After Yana visited, that was the final straw. I needed to end this.”

  “And we’re glad you chose to come and talk to us,” Kate replied. “We’ll protect you as best we can, okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Take your time, we’re listening.”

  “We were brainwashed. I know that sounds silly, and it took me a long time to realise it. I think Olivia came to the same conclusion before I did, I just didn’t want to admit it to myself. I couldn’t, because that would mean I had been wrong, that I’d made a mistake. That’s not something that’s easy to admit. But Olivia helped me with that, so I have her to thank. When she left, something changed for me over the next day. I suddenly knew the truth. Coming here and seeing my mum and dad again. It all seemed so obvious.

  “They lured us in. It took a while, and it happened over the months when we kept running away from home. Jacob and his friends, Tyler and Zack, they had money and looked after us. They kept buying us stuff—clothes and jewellery, all sorts. Whatever we wanted, it was ours. They just had so much money. And I know, it’s stupid and so shallow, but that mixed with what I thought was a genuine friendliness and understanding, was appealing.

  “They lured us away from our friends. They kept telling us how they were jealous, how my mum and dad didn’t care about me as much as they did. And I believed it. When I was with them, they seemed to understand us. I just felt a connection. They were there for us, helped us. Treated us like adults. I didn’t want to go to school, I hated it. So Jacob made the most of that too, and we stopped going. It felt rebellious, freeing. I loved it. It was kind of intoxicating. I got quite close to Olivia. She’d been with Jacob for a while then, and I think she believed it all. She was as bad as the boys were in trying to get me to move out and in with her. But I don’t blame her. She was just caught in that web already. A true believer.