Followed

by Cara Alexander

  Grabbing hold of a branch, I haul myself up. Mum's black dress is caught on a branch. I tug it loose, there's a ripping sound, I groan and grip onto another branch. The flash comes again, it's above me. I reach up to push the branch away, then stop. Fitted to the tree is a camera.

  The tractor's coming closer. I climb down the tree, slide into Mum's car and quickly drive home.

  Later that day

  A tap on the front door makes me jump, maybe it's Nick. From the hall window I can see the young police officer from the front garden looking at me.

  ‘Sorry to bother you,’ he says when I open the door. ‘I was told to let you know...’

  ‘Nick!’ Oh my God, he’s had an accident, that’s why he didn’t show up.

  ‘Are you alright?’ he asks, frowning.

  ‘Has he… has he had an accident?’

  He looks surprised. ‘No, it's nothing like that. They fitted CCTV along the street - they said to let you know and to say sorry it's late.’

  I let out a sigh of relief. ‘So, my phone calls worked. Does Nick know?’

  ‘I haven't seen him, but he probably knows.’ He gives me a smile then turns and walks down the path.

  Strange, but it makes me feel just a little bit safer, knowing CCTV is there. I feel like a drink but want to keep my wits about me. Then I spot Jane's bag of clothes on the kitchen table. Mum's wardrobe is probably the safest place to hide them until Nick takes them to the station.

  Back in the kitchen I sit flicking through my phone. I'll give Mum a call - it goes to voicemail. Where is everyone today? Still no news from Nick and now Mum's not answering.

  There's a tap on the door, I smile and walk to the door expecting to see Nick, but it's not Nick, it's a delivery man with a large white box on wheels. I haven't ordered anything so it must be for Mum.

  ‘Shall I bring it inside?’

  The box is addressed to Mum she must have forgotten to tell me about it. I wonder what's inside, maybe a new lamp for the living room, Mum knows her vintage lamp was smashed.

  ‘Yes, can you bring it inside please?’

  He nods and follows me into the hall. The front door slams shut, and as I turn, something's pressed over my mouth. I stumble and fall, I feel dizzy then everything goes black.

  20

  I feel groggy, it's dark. I hear doors slamming, where am I?

  I stretch out my hand but it feels so heavy. I feel myself rolling from side to side. Then I remember the delivery man. The box for Mum. But it wasn’t for her, it was a trap to get me and it worked. My head hurts, I can’t breathe, I must get out of here. My hand travels to the sides of the box, there’s nothing to pull. I wriggle my toes, I can feel my ankle boots, my skirt, my top, where is my phone?

  A tearing sound above me, a shaft of light, then I’m being hauled out of the box. A terrible smelly thing is quickly placed over my eyes. I try to resist but it’s no use. My arms are too heavy. Focus, I must focus, I must get out of here, fast. I try to kick. Someone slaps me hard across the face, I stumble and fall.

  ‘Move.’

  The voice sounds distorted like a Micky Mouse voice. I’m pushed, then dragged along, my hand touches something soft, it feels like carpet. Next minute I’m thrown onto something soft, I bounce.

  Someone laughs. ‘What shall I do with her, boss?’

  Their voices sound weird. They must be disguising them.

  ‘You know the procedure, strip her, tie her to the bed - face down to begin with.’

  I feel sick, I try to pull away, but it's useless, my legs have no strength, I’ve been drugged but what with?

  I must do something. My head hurts, I start shaking, I can’t stop.

  My clothes.

  I try to shout ‘No’ but a sound like a croak comes out of me.

  Someone laughs and and pulls my top off.

  My bra, he’s undoing my bra. I push his hand away. He laughs, slaps me, then my bra is off.

  I try one of my Krav Maga moves but it's no use. I’m slapped again, harder this time.

  I’m forced to lie face down. My wrists are tied with something.

  It's so quiet.

  My skirt is pulled down.

  Someone’s on the bed next to me.

  Suddenly I hear a door crash open.

  ‘Stop, take your hands off her!’

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Just shut up and get off her.’

  Nick? It's Nick. I'm shaking so hard I can hardly hear what they're saying, there's a lot of mumbling then someone unties me and picks me up.

  A door closes then it’s locked. I’m sat in a chair and that awful smelly thing is taken off my eyes. I cover my breasts with my hands and open my eyes. It’s Nick, but he’s looking at me strangely. His eyes are cold, his face looks like a mask.

  ‘I kept telling you to go,’ he keeps mumbling to himself. What’s wrong with him? ‘Why didn’t you listen to me?’ he suddenly shouts. ‘You could have gone to Athens, but no, you had to stay here. Now what can I do?’

  ‘Get me out of here of course.’ What’s wrong with him? The police must be here but I can’t hear them. He's staring at me, he looks different. My legs feel weak, my mouth's dry. ‘I need a drink Nick.’ He doesn’t move. I look around the room. ‘Where are the rest of the police?’

  ‘Oh Beth, you think you're so clever, but you've got it all wrong.’ He laughs, a nasty sarcastic laugh, his brown eyes are cold and empty, devoid of any feeling. ‘You still don't get it, do you? You always thought I was the nerd.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ What’s wrong with him? I feel so confused and start shouting. ‘Do something. Get the police.’

  He's staring at me. ‘What am I going to do with you?’ He moves closer, his eyes move down to my body. I’m naked except for my pants and boots.

  ‘Get me out of here,’ I gasp. My hands are clasped tightly over my breasts, he leans forward, grabs me and throws me on a large sofa.

  I feel stunned. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

  He leans forward, pushes my arms away and grabs my breasts. His face is distorted, his eyes are wild like an animal. In desperation I raise my knee and kick him in the shin. He falls off of me then grabs me. I kick him again, this time in the face. Blood spurts all over me. He stares at me. He looks crazy. Then he’s on top of me.

  Someone shouts.

  He freezes for a second, then gets off me, runs to the door, opens it and is gone.

  There’s the sound of a car; it must be him. I go to the door, turn the handle, it’s locked. He locked it. In desperation I search for a door or a window, anything to escape from.

  Then there's a loud bang, like an explosion, followed by screams and shouting.

  I need something to cover me, there's a long red runner on a nearby table. I tug it off and wrap it around me.

  Behind one of the curtains is a small door, I peak out nobody's there. Gathering the red runner tightly around me I make a dash for it.

  Someone shouts. I try to run faster. I’m nearly out of the house when a side door opens. It's the police, guns at the ready.

  Someone runs over and wraps a jacket around me. ‘Come on, my car’s outside, let’s get you out of here.’ The young police officer takes me outside and into her car. As her car pulls away, I can see police running all over the place.

  Then I freeze. I know where I am.

  She suddenly breaks to let a police van through. The doors of the van open and a few seconds later a man is hauled over to the van. He looks up and sees me watching him, his eyes narrow, then he’s pushed inside.

  21

  Evesly Police Station

  DCI Thomas comes into the room, sits down and peers at me over his glasses.

  ‘I've had all the tests so can I please go home?’ I ask.

  ‘It's best not to be alone at a time like this, Beth. Is there someone you can call, someone who can stay with you?’

  I try to speak but nothing comes out, all I can think of is
Nick.

  ‘Are you okay?’ the young policewoman asks, a worried look on her face.

  I look at her and nod, if she knew what I was thinking she'd be even more worried. ‘I'm okay I just want to go home.’

  DCI Thomas looks at me for a few seconds then turns to PC Jameson.

  ‘Take Beth home, and make sure you go inside with her, there's a constable outside the house and one at the back so she should be safe for tonight.’ Then turning to me he says, ‘I’ll talk to you later Beth.’

  ‘Are you sure there isn't someone I can call for you?’ asks PC Jameson following me inside.

  ‘No,’ I mutter, ‘I’m fine.’

  Then I realize I don’t have my mobile. ‘Do you know where my phone is?’ I ask walking over to the kitchen table. ‘I’m sure I had it on me when...’ I stop and start thinking of the past few hours. An icy cold rush of rage washes over me, I want to kill the bastards.

  The PC gives me a startled look.

  Was I talking aloud?

  ‘I don't know,’ she murmurs, raising an eyebrow and looking at me thoughtfully. ‘I’ll check when I get back to the station, but for now you can use mine.’

  She holds out her phone, I shake my head. ‘Can you let my Mum know what’s happened? I suddenly feel very tired.’

  She nods.

  I scribble down her number on one of Jamie’s new Pukka Pads that’s lying on the kitchen worktop and hand it to her. ‘She's in Spain, can you tell her what happened?’

  She walks over and picks up the phone that’s attached to the kitchen wall and dials the number.

  I sit watching her talk to Mum. I want to talk, but I can't, not now.

  She talks quietly to Mum, telling her not to get upset, that I’m alright – then she quickly tells her what happened. There’s a long silence then I hear Mum’s voice – ‘Tell her not to worry, I’ll be there soon, I’ll tell Jamie she has the flu.’

  PC Jameson turns to me, I nod. ‘Thanks.’

  She smiles. ‘No problem. Let's make you a cup of tea and get you comfortable, you’ve had a terrible time.’ She picks up the kettle and goes to the sink to fill it.

  ‘No.’

  She stops with the kettle mid-air.

  I can see she's worried, but I want her to go, I want to be alone. ‘Sorry, but I'm alright, I just want to be alone.’

  She sighs, puts the kettle down and hands me a card. ‘Okay, but if you need anything, give me a call.’

  I take the card - she walks over to the door, then turns around.

  ‘Don't worry, the police are outside, they're both armed, we're on high alert. I'll be back soon.’

  I watch her from the living room window talking to the young police officer, then she gets in her car and drives away. I feel so tired; I just want to sleep - I flop down on the sofa.

  The next thing I know I'm wide awake and screaming. Sweat's pouring down my face, my top's soaking wet. Nick...

  There's a tap at the door. ‘Are you alright? It's PC Nuttall.’

  I try to talk but my voice sounds croaky, I run into the kitchen, splash my face with water.

  He taps on the door again, this time louder.

  ‘I'm coming.’ I dry my face with a piece of kitchen paper then open the door. ‘I had a bad dream,’ I mutter. ‘Can you tell me what time it is?’

  ‘It's 3.40 in the morning, do you need any help?’

  ‘No, I'm okay, thanks.’

  I close the door and after a few minutes, I hear him walk down the path. My chest feels tight, I can hardly breathe. All I can see is Nick's face.

  I go into the kitchen. My laptop’s on the kitchen table where I left it. I sit staring at it seeing nothing but Nick’s face. A large knife on the draining board catches my eye. Slowly I reach out for it.

  I wake up with the knife in my hand. I can hear a door opening.

  ‘Beth, it's only me,’ Mum calls from the hallway, she's talking quietly to Jamie, I don't want him to see me like this.

  Mum's in the kitchen. ‘Don't worry,’ she whispers. ‘I told him you're not feeling well; he's gone to watch TV in my room.’

  Relief floods through me as I hear him go upstairs. She takes the knife from my hand and places it in the drawer.

  I don't know how long I've been laying here but I can hear Mum and Jamie in the kitchen. Then it all comes back to me, Nick and the Major. I must phone Jane. Mum has an extension by her bed so I haul myself off the sofa and run as quietly as I can upstairs to her room.

  My call goes to voicemail so I leave a message saying it's urgent, she must call me. As soon as I put the phone down, the phone starts ringing in the kitchen.

  ‘Beth,’ Mum calls from downstairs. ‘It's DCI Thomas. Can you give him a call?’

  ‘Yes,’ I mumble.

  His number's in my phone, but I don't have my phone. Then I remember writing his number on one of the printouts I made, they should be in the drawer where I left them.

  Just then Mum calls up to say he's on the phone and to pick it up in her room.

  ‘Good morning Beth, sorry to disturb you.’ He hesitates for a minute then carries on. ‘I just remembered you don't have your phone, is it alright if I come round to see you, we need to have a chat, say in an hour?’

  ‘Do we have to? Can't it wait?’

  ‘No Beth, it can't wait, I need to talk to you right now.’

  I agree, what else can I do? After having a shower, I peak out of the back-bedroom window and see Jamie and Mum in the garden having breakfast.

  I quickly get dressed and run downstairs.

  ‘Mum!’ Jamie shrieks, getting up and running over to me. He wraps his little arms around my waist. ‘I've missed you Mum, are you alright?’

  ‘Yes, I'm fine.’ I give him a big kiss and hug him tight. ‘I've missed you heaps.’ I look over at Mum, she smiles.

  ‘We've made Spanish tortilla and salad,’ she says, as if nothing has happened. ‘Sit down I’ll cut you a slice.’

  They tell me about their holiday in Spain, Jamie thinks I've come down with a heavy dose of the flu, so finds nothing wrong with the way I look. Mum goes into the kitchen to make coffee, I sit chatting to Jamie about Spain.

  Suddenly there's a light tap at the front door.

  ‘It's alright, it’s DCI Thomas, I'll get it.’

  I run to open the door. DCI Thomas peers over his glasses, clears his throat and follows me inside.

  ‘I'm sorry, but I need to take down a statement, it won't take long.’

  ‘Yes, I know, let's go into the living room.’

  ‘You know, I've been on the force for twenty or more years,’ he murmurs, following me into the living room. ‘And I’ve never seen anything like this before.’ He sits on one of the new chairs, pulls out his notepad and looks at me.

  ‘Have they got him?’ I ask.

  He peers at me over the top of his glasses. ‘Sorry, what did you say?’

  ‘Nick, where is he?’

  He looks puzzled for a minute, then smiles. ‘Don't worry about him, we saw him leave, he had a call from his brother-in-law in Italy, something urgent.’

  I can't believe he just said that. I sit staring at him. Doesn't he know what he did? He carries on talking as if nothing's wrong.

  ‘His sister was in a head-on collision, she's in a terrible state. He's gone to see her, said it looks bad, they don't think she'll make it.’

  He leans forward. ‘Are you alright Beth? You don't look well. Shall I get you some water?’

  I try to speak but nothing comes out then I mumble. ‘Don't you know what happened?’

  He looks startled and sits staring at me.

  Tears stream down my face; I brush them away.

  He grabs a tissue from a box on the sofa and hands it to me.

  He doesn't know - he hasn't a clue what happened. He thinks it was just the Major and the other creeps.

  I walk over to the window, the young police officer's there as usual, but everything's changed, nothing's the same anymor
e. I open my mouth, but the words won't come.

  ‘What is it Beth? Tell me?’

  ‘Nick – he was there, at the Major's house, he's one of them.’

  ‘Are you sure, you're not confused, you've been through a terrible ordeal.’

  ‘I kicked him, I had to, he was going to…’

  I can’t say it, for some reason I can’t say it.

  ‘What Beth?’

  ‘He’s just like the Major. If you don't believe me check with forensics, I had his blood all over me.’

  He stares at me in horror then pulls out his phone and talks to forensics, asks them to check the blood samples.

  ‘It’s not that I don’t believe you Beth, but I have to be sure.’

  He gets up and stands looking out of the window, then after a few seconds he comes back, frowns and sits down again.

  ‘You must tell me what happened, everything, alright?’

  ‘I'm still trying to understand it myself. I trusted him with my life. How could he do this to me?’

  ‘Take your time.’

  Eventually, he has it all written down, I should feel better now, but I don't. I still can't believe Nick would do this.

  DCI Thomas gets up to go, I feel I've forgotten to ask him something then I remember.

  ‘Wait, how did the police know I was at the Major's house?’

  He turns and looks surprised. ‘I thought you knew.’ He nods towards the garden gate, where the young officer is standing. ‘He had a funny feeling about the delivery man. After he left, he came and knocked on your door, he was suspicious when you didn't answer, so he climbed through your back-bedroom window and that's when he knew something was wrong.’

  ‘So, it's because of him they found me?’

  ‘Well, yes, it was his quick thinking and you going on about the CCTV, if they hadn't installed it, they'd never have been able to trace the van.’

  He stops talking, runs his hand through his grey speckled hair and shakes his head. ‘What a terrible case this has turned out to be.’