by Susan Lewis
Thinking of how no one, no matter who they were, escaped mistakes, or pain, or betrayal, even tragedy, Angie said softly, ‘Are they married now?’
He shook his head. ‘They live together, in the garden district, and they’re kind of in business together as well. He used to be an antique dealer until his partner took over that side of things; now he’s a full-time property developer. She does most of the interior design for his projects, and now and again, usually when the project is something big like the marina, or the retirement village, Stone Construction is his go-to builder.’
‘So you have a good relationship with him?’
‘Sure. I like him and I’ve got a lot of time for his ideas as well as his business sense. Besides, in a town as small as this it would make for very uncomfortable living if we didn’t get along, and I wouldn’t want to inflict that on Andee, or my kids, or their grandmothers.’
Wishing there was a way to erase the sadness from his eyes, Angie dared to say, ‘And all would be fine if you didn’t still love her?’
There was a moment of stillness before he replied, and she was afraid she’d gone too far. Then he raised his glass and saluted her, as though congratulating her on her insight.
‘What about you?’ she asked after a while. ‘Have you met someone else since?’
He cocked a lazy eyebrow. ‘I did when I was travelling,’ he said, ‘but since I’ve been back, or I should say since Andee and I broke up …’ His eyes rolled self-mockingly. ‘I won’t say there’s never been anyone, because that wouldn’t be true, but …’
When he let the sentence hang, Angie prompted him, ‘But they’re not Andee?’
He didn’t deny it. ‘Actually what I was going to say is that I don’t think I’m much of a catch when I’m clearly still carrying a torch for my ex, which I suppose is the same thing.’
She thought it probably was, and deciding to go further, she said, ‘I saw you with someone earlier, in your car?’
He frowned as he thought, then laughed. ‘Oh, you mean Bel. Apart from being married to a good friend of mine, she’s making a name for herself converting old farm buildings into desirable residences. We get together every now and again so she can run ideas past me. Today was one of those days.’ He nodded towards her plate. ‘Are you going to finish that?’ he asked.
She looked down and smiled. There wasn’t even a single crumb of crust left.
‘Hello, I’m sorry if I’m interrupting.’
Angie looked up to see an elegant older woman with well-styled salt and pepper hair standing by them, smiling.
‘I’m Maureen, Andee’s mother,’ she introduced herself. ‘And you’re Angie Watts?’
‘That’s right,’ Angie replied, almost toppling the table as she tried to stand. ‘It’s lovely to meet you.’
‘Oh no, don’t get up. I hope you don’t mind but Andee told me about your meeting, so I wanted to come and tell you that I hope you find your son.’
Touched and surprised, since this woman must surely know the circumstances of Liam’s disappearance, Angie said, ‘Thank you. That’s really kind of you.’
Maureen patted her arm, and blowing a kiss Martin’s way she went to put on the coat Luca was holding out for her.
Martin said, ‘Her daughter, Andee’s sister, disappeared when she was fourteen, so Maureen knows how it feels to lose a child that way.’
Angie’s heart immediately went out to Maureen Lawrence. ‘Did they ever find her?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘It’s a long story, probably for another time, but yes, they found her.’
‘Not …?’
‘No, not dead, far from it, but … Well, let’s just say she was a very different person. Now please tell me you’re going to eat a lovely big dessert, so I won’t feel guilty if I do.’
It wasn’t until they were outside the restaurant, walking back towards the Promenade, that Martin turned his phone on again to call a taxi to take him home. As he ordered it Angie switched her own on, not expecting any messages, but when she saw all the missed calls from Emma she came to a dead stop. ‘Something’s happened,’ she said shakily, and quickly swiped to ring Emma back. ‘Oh hell, my battery’s gone.’
‘What’s her number?’ Martin asked, opening up the numerical screen on his phone.
Angie told him and took his mobile as the call connected. ‘It’s me,’ she told Emma. ‘What’s happened?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Emma replied, but the tone of her voice sent Angie’s nerves spiralling. ‘Just tell me, have you heard from Grace this evening?’
‘No. I mean, yes, earlier, but … She’s with Lois tonight.’
‘Lois doesn’t know where she is. She came over when Grace didn’t answer her phone.’
‘What do you mean? What the hell’s going on?’
‘That’s what we’re trying to find out. Things have been happening that we didn’t know about, but right now we need to know if she’s at the flat. Are you there?’
‘No, but I’m only a few minutes away.’
‘Go and check. If she is, great, if she isn’t, you need to come here.’
Angie was running even before she rang off.
‘What is it?’ Martin asked, keeping pace.
‘They don’t know where Grace is,’ she told him, her heart fracturing around the words. ‘She’s supposed to be with her friend … Oh God, there are no lights on. I don’t think she’s there.’
‘Go up and check,’ he instructed. ‘I’ll wait here for the taxi. We’ve both had too much to drink to drive.’
Angie raced up to the front door, dropped the keys, fumbled them into the lock and was already yelling for Grace as she stepped inside. Every room was in darkness, and turning on all the lights didn’t make a difference.
She wasn’t there.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Angie was in the taxi beside Martin and somehow made herself let go of his phone as he put it on to speaker to take over the call to Emma.
‘So when did anyone last see her?’ he asked, his firm tone helping Angie to feel a little calmer.
‘Apparently she went to Lois’s after school,’ Emma replied, ‘but then she left, telling Lois she was sleeping here tonight.’
‘Did she come to yours?’ Angie asked, as if it could make a difference now.
‘If she did I wasn’t here. The first I knew of anything being wrong was when Lois called me about eight o’clock to say she was worried that Grace wasn’t answering her phone. When I couldn’t get an answer either I rang Lois back and …’
‘Is Lois there?’ Martin interrupted. ‘Can you put her on?’
‘Melvin’s taken her and her mother to the police station so she can tell them what she knows.’
Angie’s head spun. They were talking to the police? This was a nightmare that had to end now. ‘And what does she know?’ she cried, feeling Martin’s hand steadying hers.
Before Emma could answer Martin, mindful of the driver, said, ‘We’re less than two minutes away. Let’s talk when we get there.’
As he ended the call, Angie said, ‘Maybe we should be going to the police station. If Lois is there …’
‘Let’s see Emma first,’ he advised. ‘We need as clear a picture on this as we can get to be able to make the right decisions.’
Moments later Angie was running up to Emma’s house, leaving Martin to pay for the taxi as she unlocked the front door. ‘I’m here,’ she called going into the sitting room.
Emma came out of the kitchen, white-faced and starey-eyed. ‘Ssh,’ she cautioned, folding Angie into an embrace. ‘The boys are asleep. We don’t want to wake them. Is Martin coming in?’
Angie looked over her shoulder and saw the taxi turning around to drive away. A moment later Martin came through the door, and Angie quickly introduced them.
‘I’ve made some tea,’ Emma told them. ‘Let’s go into the kitchen.’
Doing her best to stay sane, Angie said, ‘Have you heard from Lois or Melvin? Why have
they gone to the police?’
‘They had to,’ Emma replied wretchedly. ‘Things have been happening … Oh God, there’s no easy way to say this … Grace has been contacted by someone online and that’s where they think she’s gone.’
Angie reeled. This was even worse than she’d thought, so much worse that she could feel her control slipping. Shalik had got to Grace. ‘Who is it?’ she demanded. ‘If that evil man has …’
Emma said, ‘Apparently it’s someone called Anya.’ Angie stiffened. Hadn’t Grace asked her about someone called Anya? ‘She told Grace she could earn some money by acting,’ Emma continued, ‘and Grace went along with it, because this woman said she was a friend of Steve’s.’
Angie’s anguish twisted the very core of her. She hadn’t been paying attention. This was her fault. ‘Is she connected to Shalik?’ she made herself ask again.
‘All I can tell you,’ Emma replied, ‘is that she, whoever she is, set up an audition for Grace saying she could earn lots of money if she got the part … They took over her phone contract, even paid fifty quid into her account.’
Angie stared at her in disbelief.
‘So she’s gone for the audition?’ Martin prompted.
Emma said shakily, ‘She went the night she and Lois stayed late at some party, except there wasn’t a party. Apparently there was a studio, but Lois didn’t see it because she was locked in some kind of waiting room. She couldn’t go anywhere or ring anyone until they eventually let Grace out.’
Angie was so tense, so terrified she could hardly speak. ‘What did they do to her?’ she asked hoarsely.
‘All the girls knew at the time was that Grace had been given some sort of drug, we’re guessing Rohypnol, but they were certain she hadn’t been molested. Later, Grace received photos that she and Lois had taken, they thought for a portfolio, but they’d been mocked up with some other woman’s naked body to make it look like it was hers. This Anya said it would be posted online if she didn’t show up tonight.’
Angie was so appalled, so afraid that she couldn’t make herself think.
‘Does Lois know where Grace was supposed to go?’ Martin asked.
Emma shook her head. ‘She only knows where they went the last time, which is why we called the police. It’s the old WCA studios on Hereford Road, but that place went out of business over a year ago.’
‘We need to go there,’ Angie cried, spinning round to Martin.
Holding her with one hand, he took out his phone with the other and made a call. After explaining who he was to the person at the other end, he asked to be put through to the officers dealing with Lois … ‘What’s Lois’s surname?’ he asked Angie.
‘Holbrook,’ she told him.
He repeated it, and was quickly put through to someone else. ‘Barry? Yes, it’s Martin. I’m with Grace Watts’s mother. Can you give me an update?’ He listened, eyes on Angie, until he said, ‘OK, thanks. Call me as soon as there’s any news.’ After ringing off he said, ‘Units have already been despatched to the WCA centre and Lois and her mother are still talking to detectives.’
‘So we don’t know yet,’ Angie said raggedly, ‘if that’s where she went tonight?’
He shook his head. ‘Barry, who I just spoke to, is an old school-friend. He’ll keep us up to date with everything and let us know what we should do. For the moment he’s recommending we stay put here in case she comes back or tries to call … You need to charge your phone,’ he reminded Angie.
Scrabbling for it, she plugged it into Emma’s charger on the worktop and prayed with all her heart there would be a message from Grace when it fired up.
There wasn’t, and her heart clenched in horror as her imagination took hold. ‘I can’t just sit here doing nothing,’ she pleaded with Martin. ‘What if they’ve taken her somewhere else?’ She’d heard about how young girls were trafficked between gangs, plied with drugs to make them compliant … The very thought of her baby at the mercy of such evil, being abused by sadists until they’d ruined her for ever …
‘I know this is Shalik,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘We have to find him,’ she told Martin, shaking with the need to act.
Emma snatched up her mobile as it rang and put it on speaker. ‘Melvin, what’s happening?’ she demanded.
‘I’m bringing Lois and her mother back with me,’ he replied. ‘She’s told them everything she can for tonight.’
For tonight? They thought this was going to go on …
‘What about Grace?’ Emma asked.
‘No news yet.’
Angie’s fist was pressed so tight to her mouth her teeth were puncturing her lips. She jumped as Martin’s phone rang and watched as he quickly clicked on.
‘Barry,’ he said shortly. As he listened the intensity of his eyes deepened and his free hand tightened into a fist.
‘What is it?’ Angie cried.
‘The Centre is deserted,’ he replied. ‘No sign of her.’
‘They need to find Shalik,’ she shouted. ‘Please tell them …’
Martin’s hand went up as he registered what else was being said. ‘They heard you,’ he told her as he rang off. ‘Apparently someone’s already been to his house, but no one’s at home.’
Grabbing her phone, Angie scrolled to Shalik’s number. ‘I know you have her,’ she yelled at the voicemail. ‘You won’t get away with it, you vile, sick bastard. Bring her back right now or I swear on her life I will find you and kill you.’ Ringing off, she quickly connected to Craig.
‘Who are you calling?’ Emma asked.
‘I have to speak to Sasha,’ Angie explained. To Martin, she said, ‘She’s a girl I think might have worked for Shalik.’ She listened to the ringtone pulsing its way towards voicemail. Before it got there, Craig’s voice came down the line.
‘Craig, it’s Angie. I need to speak to Sasha. Is she with you?’
He didn’t answer, but a moment later she heard Sasha’s sleepy voice. ‘Angie? Is everything all right?’
‘No, it isn’t. My daughter Grace has disappeared and we think … I need you to tell me where we can find the people who held you. Do you have an address, or any kind of location?’
Sounding more awake now, Sasha said, ‘All I can tell you is where I left last time. Is old bingo hall. I not know exact address, but is looking deserted from outside with boards on windows and there is small church next door.’
‘Thank you,’ Angie gasped. ‘I’ll pass this to the police. Can they call you?’
‘No, no, please. I not want anyone to know where I am.’
Now wasn’t the time to argue, so Angie thanked her again and rang off.
Martin was already connecting to his contact at the station, ready to hand the phone to Angie. Before she could take it, a small voice came from the doorway.
‘Mum?’
Angie spun round, and seeing Zac she quickly went to scoop him up. ‘What are you doing out of bed?’ she asked, doing her best to sound calm.
‘I heard lots of noise,’ he said sleepily. He rubbed his eyes and pressed his hands to her cheeks. ‘Why are you looking for Grace?’ he asked.
Angie struggled for an answer.
‘I know where she is,’ he told her.
Her heart skipped a beat. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I can take you there if you like.’
Afraid he thought this was a game, she said, ‘Just tell me where she is, sweetheart.’
Straightening his legs, he slid down to the floor and ran along the hall to get his coat. ‘I’ll take you,’ he insisted, and digging bare feet into the nearest boots he opened the front door. ‘Come on,’ he urged.
Obediently, and wildly hoping that he really did know, Angie went after him, grabbing her own coat and aware of Martin and Emma following. Outside the door Zac caught hold of her hand and half led, half dragged her down the garden path. At the end he turned towards the footbridge. ‘It’s cold,’ he said, starting to shiver.
‘Zac, where are we going
?’ she almost shouted as they reached the green.
‘To find Grace,’ he reminded her.
At their old house he tugged her round to the side gate, opened it as if it had never been locked, and ran on ahead into the back garden. He began jumping up and down, waving his arms, until the motion sensors responded and flooded the area with light.
Angie watched, dumbfounded, as he ran over to the chill-out shed and wrenched open the door. ‘Here she is,’ he called from inside.
Staggering with disbelief, Angie raced across the grass and into the shed.
‘I told you,’ Zac said. He was standing beside his sister who was huddled under an old blanket, clutching her head.
‘Oh my God, my God,’ Angie sobbed, sinking down beside her daughter and pulling her in tight.
Grace shoved her away. ‘I told you to get lost,’ she snapped at Zac. ‘You weren’t supposed to say anything …’
Looking up at him, Angie said, ‘Go back with Auntie Em. I’ll bring Grace home in a minute.’
‘No you won’t,’ Grace raged, ‘because we don’t have a home.’
‘Go on,’ Angie whispered to Zac.
When he’d gone she turned back to Grace.
‘Don’t,’ Grace cried savagely as Angie tried to hold her again. ‘I want to be with Daddy, not with you.’
‘Oh Grace, don’t say that. Please …’
‘Why not, it’s true? I’d rather be dead with him …’
‘Listen, I know I’ve messed up badly and I’m really sorry, sorrier than you’ll ever know, but we’ve got the flat for now, you like it there, and soon we’ll have somewhere else …’