by Rebecca King
Justin removed his gun and tried the handle to the door. It opened easily and without making a sound. To his surprise, beyond it was a narrow stone staircase which led down into an open maw of darkness which could only be described as disturbing.
Motioning everyone to use signals from now on, he slowly crept down the stairs. His brows rose when he reached the bottom and found a series of small rooms which together formed a large and aged crypt. It quickly became evident that the rooms were occupied by affluent families who had once inhabited the area. The names of the relations were scattered on plaques around the door but which of the skeletons within was which was anybody’s guess.
Slowly, carefully, the men began to walk through the rooms.
Justin prayed he wouldn’t find the bodies of the missing in one of those tiny spaces, especially Vanessa. She was around here, though. He could feel her nearby. It was just a matter of time now before he knew one way or the other whether she was still alive.
Walking through the crypt was one of the most horrifying moments of his life. He knew that at any given moment, his life could be tipped on its head, and he could be slammed with the news that he had lost the love of his life. He knew now that Vanessa was, indeed, his soul mate. It was why he felt constantly drawn to her, was reluctant to leave her, and wanted to know everything about her. His life, indeed he, would never be the same again if he lost her.
Please, God, please let her still be alive, he prayed.
Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement in the room at the far end of the narrow corridor. Justin froze, and pointed to it when Niall looked at him. Silently, they crept forward only to stop again when someone – a man – passed the doorway again. He appeared to be dragging something.
Justin hoped to God it wasn’t Vanessa.
Once his colleagues had joined him, Justin peered into the room. His heart lurched when he saw that several of the crypts had been disturbed. Inside one was a body; the head of which was clearly visible. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the skeletal head of a corpse. This person, hopefully, was very much still alive. To the right of her was Reuben, standing over someone who was kicking out at him.
“Stop right there, Reuben,” Justin growled as he stormed into the room swiftly followed by his colleagues. They all trained their guns on the kidnapper.
Reuben whirled around and let out a terrified squeak, his eyes wide with horror. Having seemingly forgotten about the bound woman on the floor behind him, he tried to step back, away from the men who had just arrived only to stumble and painfully slam his head into the stone wall behind him.
“I hope that hurt,” Niall grunted.
Justin took advantage of Reuben’s temporary distraction to launch himself across the room and take the man down in a flying tackle. Unfortunately, Reuben was far stronger than he appeared, and began to throw punches that struck heavily. The kidnapper’s panic fuelled his wildly flinging fists, which rained down on anybody who ventured near, especially Justin, who tried desperately to subdue the man. Until Niall pointed his gun to Reuben’s head, and cocked it. The loud click made Reuben freeze.
“Move one more time, throw one more punch, and I swear to God I will cut you down where you stand,” Niall growled.
Justin pushed out from beneath him. He stood, but rather than put some distance between them, he lifted his hand and slammed a heavy fist into the side of Reuben’s head. Everyone watched Reuben slide to the floor without a murmur.
Justin glared at his colleagues. “Tie the bastard up,” he growled.
He turned around when Oliver and Callum ran across the room and knelt on the floor to help the woman now crying noisily.
“Are you Geraldine?” Justin gasped when his gaze fell on the dazed woman Reuben had just dragged across the room.
The woman nodded. She winced when Oliver slowly removed the tight cloth that cut into her mouth. Once she was free, she swallowed several times before she tried to speak.
“Over there,” she whispered with a nod toward the farthest corner of the room. “There is some water. Please? I am thirsty.”
Oliver quickly poured some of the water Reuben had brought with him and knelt beside her. He held the cup to her lips while she drank thirstily and helped her remain upright so she could focus on Justin. It was clear to them all she was weak and had been traumatised by what had happened to her.
“Jemima is here,” she whispered.
“Where?” Niall asked.
“Here,” Angus growled in answer.
Together with Aaron, he eased the terrified woman out of the narrow crypt which had been furrowed deep into the wall. The rattle of old bones hitting the floor as Jemima was slid free of the confined space sounded horrifyingly loud and emphasised the shocking nature of the women’s ordeal.
“Good God,” Justin whispered, more appalled than he had ever been.
He knew his colleagues were equally stunned as they worked quickly and quietly to do whatever they could to help the victims. Nobody paid Reuben any attention whatsoever.
“Where is Vanessa?” Justin demanded, more disturbed than ever when it became evident she wasn’t in any of the disturbed crypts.
Geraldine looked at her with wide, horrified eyes. She shook her head as though she had no idea. “I didn’t realise he had her,” she whispered.
Justin cursed.
“She is over there,” Jemima piped up having taken a healthy drink from the goblet Niall held to her lips. Justin followed the direction of her shaking finger and hurried into the room next door.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
It didn’t take him long to find her. His heart was pounding by the time he placed his hands on her shoulders. He gave one almighty yank and hauled her bodily out of the crypt in one swift motion that swung her into his arms.
His hands shook as, together with Phillip, he slid her onto the ground so he could take a closer look at her.
“Thank God,” he whispered when he saw her beloved face.
Hauling her into his arms, he held her tightly while Phillip removed her gag and released her wrists.
Once she was free, Vanessa slid her arms around Justin and held on tight.
“Are you hurt anywhere?” Phillip demanded, his face stern.
Vanessa shook her head. “Just bruised here and there,” she assured him.
“God, I am so glad you are alive,” Justin hissed.
“I didn’t think I would see you again,” she whispered tearfully.
Justin, fuelled by the heady realisation she was safe, wasted no time assuring himself she was alright. Resting his head against hers, he savoured her faint breath as it brushed over his cheeks. He was truly lost for words. Rather than try to speak, he decided to show her, and poured every ounce of the love he felt for her into the kiss he gave her, and hoped she understood.
“I am sorry,” she whispered when he eventually lifted his head and began to pepper kisses down her cheek. “I should have listened to you.”
“You should have, but you are here now, so let us not go over that,” Justin whispered. “I don’t know about you, but I will be glad to be able to put this whole mess behind me.”
Vanessa couldn’t help it. She began to cry.
“I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight,” he whispered. “I am sorry. This was my fault.”
“You are here to do your job,” she whispered. “I understand.”
Her heart broke because she knew that the men from the Star Elite would move on just as soon as they had found the rest of the missing people. What that meant for her and Justin, Vanessa had no idea. She was scared of losing him, but couldn’t offer him anything except for herself, and that didn’t seem enough. Vanessa knew she couldn’t compete with the enormity of his job. He saved people like her, people who were drawn into the sick workings of other’s minds through no fault of their own, and often died because of it. It was not for her to expect Justin to stop ridding the streets of such heinous individuals, just so she could have happiness, and a
life with the man she suspected she loved.
“I have some news for you,” Justin whispered suddenly. When Vanessa looked up at him, and temptation began to draw him back to her lips, he smiled at her. “We have found Geraldine.”
“Geraldine?” she whispered suddenly, her eyes alight with hope.
Justin’s smile widened. Slowly, he edged to one side. Once on his feet, he lifted Vanessa into his arms and carried her into the room next door to see her sister who was still being held upright by Oliver.
“Geraldine,” Vanessa cried.
Geraldine jerked when she heard Vanessa’s voice and began to cry. She didn’t have much strength but what she did have she used to hold her arms out. Vanessa wriggled free of Justin’s arms, and flew across the room to embrace her sister with all her might. It took several long minutes before she was able to speak.
“I didn’t think I would ever see daylight again,” Geraldine whispered eventually. “I didn’t think anybody would ever find me down here.”
“I think that is what he must have been hoping,” Justin murmured as he crossed the room to join them.
It wasn’t as disturbing to Justin as it once would have been to discover he couldn’t bear even a few feet of distance between him and Vanessa. After the fright he had just had she would be lucky if he didn’t dog her every footstep for the rest of their lives. As far as he was concerned, now he had found her again there was no earthly possibility he was going to let her go.
“Have you been here all the time?” Vanessa was quietly horrified when Geraldine nodded. She knew from the haunted look in Geraldine’s eyes that it would be a long time before she would be able to look at the church again, much less be in any confined space. The look her sister had now was not dissimilar to the look her father had when he was experiencing his darkest moments.
“I have to get out of here,” Geraldine whispered.
“I will carry you out. We need to get a doctor,” Oliver suggested gently.
When he tried to pick her up, though, she leaned around him to scowl at Reuben, who was now sitting upright, rubbing his sore head.
“Why?” she demanded. “Why would you do this to us?”
Reuben looked at his feet, as though confused.
“Don’t you dare play that stupid game with me,” Geraldine bit out. “You have played a very good game pretending you are less intelligent than you are. You are conniving, aren’t you? Is everything about you a pretence?”
Vanessa leaned against Justin when he moved to stand beside her and slid an arm around her waist. It wasn’t that she needed any physical support, she just wanted to be as close to him as it was possible to get.
“Why?” Geraldine thundered in a husky voice when Reuben didn’t answer. “You are not stupid at all, are you?”
“Of course he is not,” Niall replied when Reuben didn’t speak. “This can only have been done by a manipulator. He is cunning because he chose the one place in the village people wouldn’t dare search. It is a sacred space, isn’t it? Nobody would ever think someone would be cruel or warped enough to store a kidnap victim in a crypt. He genuinely believed that nobody would ever suspect him. I mean, he is simple, right? He hobbles around as though struggling, but only so he can garner people’s sympathy. He certainly had no problem dragging you ladies around, did he?”
Justin looked at all three women in turn. “He didn’t have to take you far, did he?”
“I was snatched on my way to the orphanage. He appeared beside me as silently as a ghost. I tried to talk to him, but he ignored me. The next thing I know I am being hauled off-balance and the world goes black.” Vanessa touched the tell-tale lump on the back of her head.
“He would have then dragged you through the gravestones, out of sight and into the church. Nobody would think anything about seeing him shuffling around the gravestones, would they? I mean, Reuben helps out here,” Justin explained.
“Why us, though? What have we done to you?” Jemima cried.
“It isn’t personal,” Justin murmured before Reuben could speak. “He chose you purely because you help at the orphanage, didn’t you, Reuben? You hate them because they help Magda. You couldn’t kidnap her because she hardly leaves the place now. You couldn’t kidnap the cook because she goes everywhere with her husband. Nor could you kidnap Sophia because she lives at the orphanage. You kidnapped Jemima on her way home because she was vulnerable. You kidnapped Vanessa because she was walking alone and was also vulnerable. You kidnapped Geraldine because she was alone, and often helped at the orphanage. It isn’t the women you hate, it is the fact they help the orphanage.”
In that moment, Reuben seemed to change persona. Gone was the shy, awkward man who struggled to find words. In his place was someone who was cold, calculating and cynical. His lip curved in a sneer, and he looked about him almost scornfully.
“Why? The orphanage gave you a home when nobody else did. It has fed you, clothed you, looked after you until you were old enough to take your own place in the world. What could you have against it?” Vanessa cried. “You would be dead if it wasn’t for the orphanage.”
“He is an ungrateful wretch,” Geraldine snapped. “He deserves to swing for this.”
“He has to face the magistrate, that is for certain,” Phillip assured her. “He snatched women because they would be easy for him to carry and would not fight with him like a man would.”
“Magda tried to help you, and this is how you repay her? By accosting the people who help look after innocent children?” Vanessa stared at him in disbelief. “How did we get it so wrong about you?”
“He fooled us all,” Geraldine added, confident about her ability to speak in the presence of several powerful men, one of whom her sister appeared to know very well.
Now that shock and fear had started to wear off, Vanessa was furious. “How can you stand there and not speak? How could you play on people’s sympathy by pretending you needed help when it is quite clear you don’t?”
“Magda made her go away,” Reuben snapped suddenly. “She made her go away. She was my friend, the only one who cared, and she went.”
“Carlotta,” Geraldine and Vanessa murmured together.
“All of this is because Carlotta married Charles and left the area to be closer to his family?” Geraldine asked in shock. “What does that have to do with us?”
“We are all similar ages to Carlotta, and have the same hair colour, don’t we?” Vanessa replied.
“What about the others?” Justin demanded, interrupting them.
“I ain’t done no others,” Reuben replied flatly.
“There are more, and you know it,” Phillip snapped. “You will tell us what we want to know.”
“I don’t understand what you were thinking when you snatched us. What did you expect to do with us? Keep us here forever? Kill us? What? Did you not think someone would piece it all together and look to you eventually?” Vanessa cried.
“He clearly didn’t,” Geraldine moaned. “I have been here for a long time. I gave up hope.”
Geraldine fell silent when her tears began to fall again. Vanessa hurried over to her and tried to soothe her but there were no platitudes she could offer her. Nothing could make what had happened to her right. Geraldine had lost her home, her marriage, and had been confined for several weeks in a crypt below a church, and there hadn’t been a thing she could do to make her presence felt.
“I weren’t going to kill them. I just wanted them away from the orphanage. If Magda hadn’t made her go away, she would have stayed with me, but she left,” Reuben warned. “So I made her pay.”
“What about Felicity?” Justin asked. “Did you decide to make her pay as well? What happened there?”
“I didn’t do anything to Felicity,” Reuben replied sharply. “She is nothing to do with me. I didn’t touch her. I have not been anywhere near her.”
“Well someone killed her. Seeing as you like to help yourself to women’s lives, I think we have to cons
ider that you killed Felicity. You will therefore be arrested for her murder, and will be confined until you can prove your innocence,” Phillip replied.
“But I didn’t kill her,” Reuben protested loudly.
“Carlotta fell in love and moved away when she married, Reuben,” Vanessa shouted. “There is nothing wrong with that. You haven’t made Magda pay, you have made us pay. You have made Felicity pay. How fair is that? How could you steal someone’s life? How could you steal our lives?”
“Has he touched any of you, besides dragging you around that is?” Niall asked.
All three women shook their heads.
“Well, that’s something to be thankful for,” Justin sighed, hauling Vanessa back into his arms when Geraldine had stopped crying and offered her sister a shaky smile.
“Its about control, isn’t it, Reuben?” Oliver suggested. “I don’t think this has anything to do with Carlotta at all. I think all of it has been done because you felt that you had no control over anything in your life, so you decided to take control of women who you felt you could control. These women are nice, gentle women, aren’t they? Easy for a thug like you to snatch off the streets and control.”
Again, Reuben’s eyes narrowed. When he looked at Oliver, there was a very direct and credible threat evident in the man’s face that thickened the tension in the small room.
“I don’t know if you are very cunning, or insane. Either way, you are under arrest for the kidnap of these three women, and the others who are yet to be found. You are also under arrest for keeping people confined against their will and will be kept behind bars until trial. You will tell us what you have done with the others, Reuben, whether you like it or not, especially if you ever expect to see daylight again. I hope you like spaces like this, because you are going to be spending a very long time in a cell not much bigger than this, and you won’t have several dead bodies to keep you company.”
“I haven’t done anybody else. That ain’t me,” Reuben growled. “I ain’t done nothing else.”