Hunted on the Fens

by Joy Ellis

  ‘He said he’d been up half the night working on his computer, then apparently he stormed out without saying a word. He hasn’t been heard from since, and his phone is switched off.’

  Joseph thanked the woman and closed his phone. ‘I think we should circulate Stuart’s photo, don’t you, ma’am?’ His voice was solemn.

  ‘And his vehicle registration.’ Nikki felt physically sick. Stuart Broad had been an integral part of their work-force for years. He was bright, intelligent and generally well-liked. Could all that be a facade? Had he been hiding in plain sight? Nurturing his hatred of them behind a show of friendly comradeship? She swallowed. Much as she hated to think it, it was possible.

  Nikki felt a cold numbness creep through her body. Disappointment and shock were replaced by anger, and with outrage at someone who played games with human lives, those of her friends and colleagues. ‘Right, Joseph. Ring Sheila back and tell her to get those fliers of Stuart’s face printed off and out here to us as fast as she can. And as I get the feeling that our nurse Todd will have already done a runner, there’s nothing more we can do here. It’s time we joined the others and helped to tear this hospital apart. We have three colleagues in terrible danger. We have to find them.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  An agonising forty-five minutes passed before Nikki took the call that they had all been praying for.

  ‘We think they are in a disused block at the back of the hospital, one of the old dental surgeries, ma’am. It was being renovated but work was aborted because they discovered asbestos insulating boards.’ The security officer’s radio crackled. ‘An off-duty nurse saw two patients in wheelchairs being taken along a covered way close to that area.’

  ‘Two?’

  ‘A man and a woman, both wrapped in blankets. They were with a porter and a male nurse. She thought the nurse must be agency from the kind of uniform he was wearing.’

  ‘And Snipe was the porter,’ murmured Nikki. ‘Are they aware of your presence?’

  ‘No, ma’am. We are well out of the way and awaiting instructions.’

  ‘Then keep it that way until we get there.’ Nikki called to a hospital security guard, ‘Take us to the old dental surgery, now!’

  As they ran through the corridors and down stone stairways, Nikki rang Superintendent Rick Bainbridge and brought him up to speed. ‘We need an armed unit, sir, to meet us there. Have you got layout plans of that part of the hospital?’

  ‘I have, and I’ve secured a heat-seeking camera from the fire service. All entrances and exits will have a firearms officer posted. Just go very carefully, Nikki. Stuart Broad’s car has been spotted in the main car park, so there’s little doubt that he is Snipe, but we have no idea how he’ll react when cornered.’

  ‘I just want Cat and the others safe, sir. She’s been through too much already.’

  ‘So do I, but as I said, be careful. Remember his last message: “What will it take?” Don’t underestimate him.’ After a second he added, ‘And he’s not alone either. As Todd Ramsey cannot be tracked down, we have to assume that he is the other man seen pushing a wheelchair.’

  ‘Whatever Snipe has planned in his sick little head will be catastrophic, sir. But believe me . . .’ Nikki panted as she ran. ‘I will not underestimate him. I just have to stop him.’

  * * *

  ‘They are in there.’ The guard pointed to a deserted building on the other side of a grassy area. It was in the early stages of renovation, the front covered with Keep Out tape and No Access warning stickers. The windows were boarded up and thick, heavy-duty plastic was draped across the front double doors. ‘There are two ways in. Through that protective plastic sheeting,’ he indicated forward, ‘and from the back. There is a service door, a fire escape that opens into a small disused operating theatre that then connects to one of the dental suites.’ He frowned. ‘I have to tell you it’s a labyrinth in there. The place is a death trap, stuff everywhere. Work had started, so walls are half down and there’s debris all over. When they discovered the asbestos, health and safety had them down tools and that was that. It hasn’t been touched since.’

  Nikki did not like the sound of such a large area to hide in. ‘Have you any idea where they are?’

  ‘Sorry, ma’am. We followed up the sighting and checked the CCTV that showed them entering the building, but the rest of the place is not covered by cameras. They were all dismantled when the building work started.’

  ‘Perfect. Just perfect.’ She turned to Joseph. He and Vinnie stood close behind her. ‘We can’t have the armed unit storm the place. We’ll lose Cat for sure. And I’ll bet a pound to a penny that there would be no negotiating with Snipe.’

  ‘He might. After all, he did ask for compensation,’ Joseph said dubiously.

  ‘I wouldn’t bank on it, not at this stage of the game,’ Vinnie said darkly. ‘But I do have a suggestion.’ He glanced at Joseph. ‘That’s as long as Bunny here hasn’t lost some of his old skills.’

  A strange light came into Joseph’s eyes, and Nikki decided that if anyone could rescue Cat and the others alive, she was looking at him.

  ‘The old skills never die.’ Joseph’s gaze locked on Vinnie. ‘But, as I recall, the last time I used them I was holding an M-16 assault rifle.’

  ‘So borrow the two best shooters that your armed response unit has to offer. Do you have any names?’

  ‘Andy White and Liz Braden.’ Joseph’s reply was immediate. ‘They’ve both done the training for Specialist Firearm Command with the Met and, believe me, they can do a lot more than just shoot straight.’

  ‘Ah, experts, that’s good. And have they knowledge of distraction devices?’

  ‘And pyrotechnics, plus they can abseil. What are you thinking of?’

  ‘No heroics. You just need good solid back-up from someone who won’t pull the trigger if some bugger sneezes. Oh, and you need ground plans.’

  Nikki turned to Niall. ‘Contact the super to request White and Braden to come here immediately, with ground plans for the old dental block. We could be running out of time. Well, Cat could be.’ She turned back to Vinnie. ‘You do realise I cannot involve you directly. I know you have all the skills, but you are still a civilian and this is a police matter. Just tell us what to do and how to do it, okay?’

  Vinnie looked at her as though summing up her capabilities. ‘If you agree to my plan, you will be the central character in this little drama.’

  Nikki breathed in. At last, some action. ‘Just hurry up and tell me what to do.’

  ‘We mustn’t rush this,’ Vinnie warned. ‘Getting it right before you go in will keep you all safe. Nothing will happen to your girl yet. Snipe will have a plan, and it won’t be bumping her off and doing a runner. He’s waiting for his audience to witness his finest moment.’

  ‘You are the white flag, Nikki.’ Joseph looked far from happy, but he obviously knew exactly what Vinnie had in mind. ‘We locate them using the heat-seeking camera, ascertain who is in there and their exact positions. Then you tell him that you are coming in alone, and you want to talk. Stuart Broad is a psychopath, so that will be precisely what he wants you to do. Get him to talk, and keep him talking. You know him, Nikki. He’ll want to point out all your failings, and boast about how clever he is.’ Joseph looked at her earnestly. ‘Remember, it doesn’t matter what he says, you are just buying us time. Okay?’

  Nikki nodded, although she privately wondered if she’d be able to keep her hands off him.

  ‘Another officer and I will split up, each with armed support, and use a pincer movement, one at the back and one at the front. We’ll assess the situation and act accordingly.’

  Vinnie smiled appreciatively at Joseph’s immediate understanding of his thoughts. He nodded silently.

  ‘How can you “act accordingly” if you have no radio contact?’ asked Nikki.

  Vinnie answered, ‘Because I’m going to shadow the other officer. Joseph and I don’t need contact. We are trained to eval
uate and proceed as a single unit.’ He drew in a breath. ‘Only one thing bothers me.’

  ‘Booby traps?’ asked Joseph.

  ‘Mm. We know he’s unbalanced, extremely dangerous and has a sidekick, but have they had the time to set something up?’

  Nikki turned to the security guard. ‘How often is this area checked?’

  ‘No one is allowed in until the asbestos has been removed, and we have no idea when or if that will happen.’ He bit his lip. ‘I’d suggest it hasn’t been entered for weeks.’

  ‘There’s your answer, Vinnie. They’ve had time.’

  Vinnie’s face hardened. ‘Then perhaps we shouldn’t ask you to be the one to go in.’

  Nikki gave him a glare that could freeze hell.

  ‘And then again, you could be ideal.’

  ‘Glad you realised your mistake. Now, as soon as the two SCO19 officers get here, we’ll go in, okay?’ She looked around at Dave and a small band of other uniforms that had just arrived. ‘Now I know that Cat is one of our team, but we also have PC Geoff Barry and Travis Taylor to worry about. The witness only saw two people in wheelchairs, and I’m assuming they were Cat and Travis. We can only hope that they took PC Barry in earlier because he was the first to go missing. He hasn’t been discovered anywhere else and I would expect Snipe to keep them all together.’ Nikki hoped that she sounded confident. ‘I want you to cover the two entrances, in case anything goes wrong and he or the nurse Todd Ramsey make a run for it. If Snipe runs, don’t tackle him. Keep the field commander aware of every step and let the armed officers do what they need to.’ She stared directly at Dave. ‘I want no more officers injured or killed, understand?’

  ‘Why don’t you let me go in?’ Dave’s voice was hoarse. ‘I wouldn’t let Cat down.’

  Nikki felt a surge of warmth for the older detective. ‘I know that, Dave. And thank you, but this is not one for me to delegate.’

  ‘Then good luck, ma’am. But can I volunteer to go in with Joseph? ‘

  Dave would not have been her first choice, but he had sense and he would not panic. ‘Yes, just follow Vinnie’s advice to the letter.’

  ‘I’ll do that, never fear. Thank you, ma’am.’

  As he spoke she heard footsteps and saw Niall, closely followed by the welcome presence of two black-helmeted figures. The two officers quickly introduced themselves and asked the present status of the incident. Nikki briefed them and decided that they were well up for the job. They wore specialised protective vests, kitted out with an assortment of equipment. They carried Heckler and Koch semi-automatic carbines and had Glock pistols in leg harnesses. Best of all they had a grim determination set firmly on their partially obscured faces.

  ‘Joseph? Here are the floor plans and the camera. You and Vinnie instruct officers White and Braden, then I think we’ve waited long enough.’

  Nikki drew in a long breath and held it. In her head she asked Hannah and her dad to keep watch over her. She repeated this over and over, like a mantra, until everything else was wiped from her mind. Suddenly she felt the nerves calm and the fear dissipate, as if they had been washed over by gentle waves on a sandy beach.

  ‘Ready?’ Her voice was steady.

  ‘Ready. We cross the road two hundred yards down, then approach unnoticed, keeping close to the walls of the building.’ Joseph touched her arm and held it for a moment. He seemed to have reached a similar place, for although she knew that the men were hyped up for close-quarter battle, his expression was almost serene. She smiled at him and felt his strength flow back to her, heightening her resolve.

  ‘Then let’s put an end to this, take our sniper out, and bring Cat and the others home.’

  He smiled back. ‘Let’s do it.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Yvonne was on the last sheet of Cat’s document, and was beginning to feel sick. Nothing had stood out as being of the slightest interest, certainly nothing to upset Snipe and bring him out into the open. Snipe. Or should she say Stuart Broad?

  Since Sheila Robins had told her the news, she had felt stunned, although the more she thought about it, the more she realised that he had so much access to them. It would have been very easy to target them and their weaknesses. Even so, it went against the grain for a so-called friend and colleague to have brutally killed one officer and maimed another.

  She drew the last sheet closer to her and began to read. It was a series of cuttings from old newspapers. Yvonne began to lose heart. She was wasting time here, she should be out looking for her friend. With a great effort she dragged herself back and began to read the headings out loud. ‘Teenagers help child with life-threatening illness.’ William French and a small group of other young men and women had raised enough money to take a sick little girl to Disneyland in Paris. She read again, ‘Local teenager, William French, Nominated for Award.’ She looked closer. What had Saint William done this time? She scanned down and realised that as a youth leader on an outward bound course in Cornwall, he had saved a boy from drowning.

  Something made her stiffen. She had no idea what it was, but something made her read the whole thing again. The young canoeist had been attempting an Eskimo roll, but he had been too far out in the river and got dragged along upside down. His cagoule had got snagged on a submerged tree branch and it held him fast. William swam out, dived down, released him and dragged him to the bank, where he found the boy had stopped breathing. William managed to revive him and keep him alive until the emergency services took over, and the already popular young man was suddenly a hero.

  Yvonne realised that she had stopped breathing herself.

  If you were an impressionable youngster, how would you feel about a good-looking teenager who everyone agreed was the perfect role model, saving your life? No, more than that, bringing you back from the dead? She gulped in air. Hero-worship? Adoration? Well, it would depend on what kind of child it was, but if the kid was insecure, impressionable or sensitive, it could become exaggerated out of all proportion. Yvonne went back to the article, but there was no name for the boy who drowned.

  Exhaling loudly, Yvonne skipped out of the emails and into Google, putting in the date and location of the rescue, and waited for the hits. Pages sprung up. Even after years had passed, William French’s bravery was still remembered. She double-clicked on one after the other, but each time it came up as an “unnamed boy.”

  ‘Shit!’ Yvonne continued to open link after link, but could find nothing. ‘There must be something somewhere about that kid!’

  Sheila Robins left her desk, hurried across the office, and hung over her shoulder staring at the stream of words flashing down the screen. ‘Would it be worth trying the local police force? Where was it, Cornwall?’

  ‘It was such a long while ago.’ Yvonne sighed. ‘It would take too long.’

  ‘Let me make a few calls. Where did this rescue happen exactly?’

  Yvonne sat up. ‘Bude, I think.’ She rummaged through the papers. ‘Yes, that’s right.’

  Sheila hurried back to her desk and accessed her computer. In moments she had the numbers she wanted and was talking to the Devon and Cornwall Police.

  Yvonne heard the words: long shot, incident involving a young man named William French, and outward bound. She held her breath and prayed.

  ‘Really? Would you? Thank you so much.’ Sheila rattled off a phone number, replaced the handset and exhaled. ‘Sometimes talking to the right person beats technology hands down.’

  ‘And?’ Yvonne was almost beside herself.

  ‘And someone will be ringing you on your direct line. And it’s someone who might recall the boy’s name.’

  Yvonne stared at her phone, willing it to ring. When it did she grabbed it, almost dropping it in her haste.

  Three minutes later she hung up, then logged in to her emails, her heart racing. ‘They are sending a copy of a report. The boy’s name was never released because he was considered vulnerable. Childhood abuse was mentioned.’ She paused, ‘and the b
oy had been so affected by what had happened that he had almost turned stalker. Apparently his idolisation had made French’s life a misery for years. The boy had followed him around him like a lovelorn puppy.’

  ‘But who was he?’ asked Sheila.

  And then the email came through and Yvonne saw it, the name of the boy brought back from the dead.

  For a moment nothing made sense. Her mind was a maelstrom of jumbled thoughts, then everything crashed into place. ‘Oh no!’ She rubbed at her temples, then turned to her colleague. ‘Sheila! They’re going after the wrong man!’

  Yvonne grabbed her phone and rang the DI. ‘Shit!’ Her phone was switched off and Yvonne knew that they must be preparing to take Snipe. ‘Oh, dear Lord! Hurry up!’ She was now ringing the superintendent at the field command post, and praying that she was in time.

  * * *

  Heart beating like a jack hammer, Nikki eased her way along the rough red-brick wall of the old dental block. Ahead of her, and moving fast, but with a light-footed, almost delicate precision, were Joseph, Dave, Vinnie and the two marksmen.

  Nikki knew that her solo performance was not only hazardous, it was critical to saving Snipe’s hostages. Even so, she’d never felt so well protected. If anyone could defuse the situation safely, she believed that it was Joseph.

  As she watched, they disappeared beneath the heavy plastic. She saw in her mind’s eye the turning of the key that they had obtained from security, and the big doors opening.

  Nikki waited as they had instructed her, not taking her eyes from the door. She knew that there was a small army of officers behind her, but to all intents and purposes, Nikki was alone. She went over in her head what she would say to Snipe, if he allowed her to get that close to him, but after a while she decided she was wasting her time preparing. She would simply have to react to the things that he said to her. As Joseph said, she was simply buying them time.

  Her eyes snapped up as she detected movement close to the door. Then, to her surprise, she was not beckoned forward, but directed by one of the sharp-shooters to hold back.