by Karen Abbott
Her heart felt deeply sad and heavy … but it was impossible to fall out of love as quickly as that! Maybe, over time, she would bring herself to forget him … but, right now, she still loved him with an intensity that stabbed like a knife deep within her.
But, could she bear to continue to live in his house? To take care of his son? Another wrench of pain twisted inside her. She loved Christian. He was such a lovable boy. It wasn’t his fault his father was a hardened criminal!
Oh, he’d said he was thinking of dropping out of the gang … but that was probably only talk! When a person was used to living off the proceeds of crime, it would be nigh on impossible to turn his back on it. Indeed, if the other members of the gang would allow it!
No wonder he had spoken of danger to himself … and to her and Christian! They would be in very deep danger if there were any fear of the likelihood of Alex turning informer!
Without the complication of having to take care of Christian until Alex’s return, she might have decided to pack her things and walk out of Alex’s life right there and then … but she couldn’t do that! Christian needed her!
And what if Alex were among the injured ones? Who would take care of Christian then?
With despair in her heart, she knew she couldn’t do the sensible thing and leave there and then. Neither could she plan to leave until Alex was home again. She had to face him and tell him of her discovery … and then take her leave of him, however painful it might be.
Still stunned, she sat immobile for a few more minutes, until she recalled that she was in the process of making Christian’s meal. She tidied the clothes she had rummaged through in Alex’s cupboards and returned to the kitchen, moving purely on automatic pilot.
She did her best to act normally when she called Christian to the kitchen to eat his meal, unable to face having any of it herself. Her throat felt constricted and she knew she would be unable to swallow.
Fortunately, Christian was full of the excitement of his video and beyond asking her why she wasn’t eating and receiving her answer with childhood acceptance, he seemed unaware that anything was amiss.
“Can I watch some more before my bath time?” he asked. “I’ll be very quick getting ready for bed.”
She was thankful to let him. It postponed the time when she would be on her own with nothing to dispel the sense of hopelessness that filled her heart.
She heard the doorbell ring and called out to Christian, “I’ll get it, Christian!”
Maybe it was Lys?
Should she tell her friend of her growing fears about Alex’s so-called job? A problem shared was a problem halved, wasn’t it?
She undid the door … and leapt back as it was thrust inwards towards her, pressing her against the cottage wall.
Two figures rushed inside. She assumed they were men by their strength and build but it was impossible to be sure as they were dressed as clowns.
“Grab hold of her!” the leading one snapped, rushing past into the lounge. “I’ll get the kid!”
“No! No! You mustn’t!” Dani shouted, trying to follow after him.
Her arms were cruelly twisted behind her back and she was held in a grip of steel.
“Shut up!” her captor hissed in her ear.
She heard a shout and a cry from Christian and tried to wriggle free but it was no use.
The other clown appeared in the doorway of the lounge, half-dragging, half-carrying Christian, who was screaming and wriggling in his powerful grasp.
“Dani! Dani!” Christian screamed. “Where’s my Papa?”
“I don’t know, love. Why are you doing this?” she shouted at the men. “Who are you? What do you want?”
“Never you mind!” the one holding Christian snarled at her. “Just tell his ‘Papa’,” said in sneering tones, “that if he doesn’t get his men off the job, he won’t see his son ever again!”
He pushed past her and her captor, dragging Christian with him, a hand over his mouth in an attempt to stifle his screams. The man holding her thrust her away from him and made to follow his accomplice.
They were getting away … and taking Christian with them!
The child was terrified.
Dani regained her balance and dashed after the men. Their progress was hindered by Christian’s struggles and she caught up with them at the gate.
“You can’t do this to a child!” she begged. “Take me instead. Alex will want to get me back!”
She still couldn’t sort out in her mind what was happening and what part Alex played in it. Was this a tiff among gangs? Had they discovered that he wanted to get out?
She clung on to the man’s arm, dodging the blows he aimed at her head.
“We need the boy!” the man in front snarled, giving Christian a vicious shake.
“Then take me, too!” Dani begged. “Let me come with him. He’ll be so frightened on his own!”
They were through the gate and Christian was already being thrust headfirst into the car. Dani screamed, hoping Madame Toussaint would hear and phone for help. Heaven help them if she came outside to see what was happening!
The leading clown seemed to be aware of the likelihood of attention being drawn to their kidnap attempt.
“Shove her in … and get in after her!” he snapped. “And be quick!”
Dani was hustled onto the back seat of the car, almost on top of Christian and, as the second clown fell in on top of her, the car surged forward in reckless motion.
Chapter 11
Alex froze when his extra-alert senses told him that someone was approaching his position. He was lying at full-length on the ground, his eyes never wavering from the gun-sights of his high-powered rifle. He knew his back was covered and, when someone tapped him on the shoulder, he half-turned his head.
“What is it, Hervé?”
Hervé, like himself, was flat on the ground and had approached him by wriggling forwards on his bent elbows and splayed-out knees.
“I’ve been told to relieve you. Something’s come up.”
Alex’s attention was back on his quarry.
“What sort of ‘something’?”
“I’d rather not say.”
Alex grunted in annoyance. “It had better be good!”
He’d been in the game too long to ignore a peremptory order ... he left that to impetuous hotheads and over-confident firebrands ... and usually found that they didn’t last long.
It was his ability to keep cool under fire that had taken him along the ‘fast-track’ as far as it had … and had been the reason that he hadn’t pulled out before now, even though Trudi had begged him to do so after Christian was born. After Trudi’s untimely death, he no longer wanted to pull out and, for a couple of months, had almost become as reckless as those he scorned. However, this was going to be his final operation and he didn’t want to leave it only half-done!
He wriggled backwards until he knew he was through the bushes and out of sight of enemy-fire. Then, in a fluid movement, he drew up his knees, twisted his body and sprang to his feet into a semi-crouched position.
A similarly crouched figure a few metres away beckoned him to follow and, at a crouched half-run, the two men swiftly covered a few more metres. It was Alex who called a halt to the retreat.
“This is far enough! What’s happened?”
“Bad news, I’m afraid. There’s been some sort of a raid on your house … and there’s no sign of your son and whoever you had left with him.”
Alex’s heart momentarily stopped beating and a cold shaft struck his middle. “Any sign of violence?”
“A bit of disturbance in the living-room … and the door left wide open. And deep tyre marks in the gravel outside by the gate suggesting a quick get-away.”
“Any blood?”
“No.”
“That’s something, I suppose. There’s no chance they’ve just gone out?”
“Very unlikely! Your elderly neighbour heard noises … a few shouts and screams … but t
he car had gone before she could get out there. She’s in quite a state.”
“Right! Who’s in charge of the incident?”
“The local gendarmerie. They’ve searched the house and set up a watch … but I don’t think they expect anyone to return there. They’ve got what they went for.”
“And no word yet from the perpetrators? No bargaining plea?”
“No. They’ll be covering their tracks before they do that. They’ll be somewhere on the mainland by now. No knowing where.”
Alex was silent, his mind working overtime. It was something he had dreaded happening but hadn’t really thought ever would. Too melodramatic, he’d thought. He’d thought a non-descript house on Ile D’Oleron a safe-enough place. He’d underestimated his foes!
“Right! Let me know the minute anything comes in!”
He felt helpless. There was nothing he could do … except get back to his post and do the job he was trained to do.
Dani held Christian tightly to her chest. His hysterical sobs had quietened now and his body just convulsed every so often as he choked back on a sob. It might have been considered a reckless thing to do, to offer herself as a kidnap victim, but she knew it was the only thing she could have done. Christian would have been petrified without her … and heavens knew how the kidnappers might have reacted!
The car had darkened windows and, although she had tried to see something of the outside world, she could only glimpse a faded scenario. They were off the island, she knew that … there had been no mistaking the structure of the viaduct as they passed over it.
Now, they were passing through flat countryside with trees bordering the roadside but with very little else to distinguish one area from another … and she didn’t know the Charente Maritime area well enough to hazard a guess. It was the first time she had been off the island since her arrival and, surprisingly, she felt its loss.
She burrowed her face into Christian’s hair and swallowed hard. What was going to happen to them? Did Alex know yet? And what could he do, if he did?
Christian seemed to sense her disquiet.
“Dani,” he whispered, lifting his face slightly. “I’m scared.”
Dani nuzzled her lips against his hair and forehead.
“It’ll be all right, Christian. Papa will get us free.”
“He’d better!” growled the clown at her side.
“Quit talking!” snapped the driver. “This is no game we’re playing.”
No, Dani reflected, hugging Christian closely … but she had to stay positive, for Christian’s sake.
Eventually, judging by the speed the vehicle was travelling, Dani guesed they were on the autoroute and, at some point, she realised the driver was talking into his mobile phone. His words chilled her and she was glad that Christian had fallen asleep.
She tried to move her position slightly.
“Don’t move!” the man beside her snapped.
“My arm’s hurting,” she protested quietly.
“Be glad you can feel it! You’ll feel nothing when you’re dead!”
Dani tried to relax to ease the pain. She had to keep her wits about her. These men were jumpy and unpredictable. She didn’t want to spook them into more violence. They had at least one gun on them and didn’t want to have it proved to her that it was loaded!
At some time later, their speed lessened and she knew they were on the ordinary roads. After a sharp turn, they were travelling over rough ground and about a kilometre or so further on, the car drew to a halt in a wooded area. It was very dark and, when the car’s headlights were switched off, they were left in pitch darkness.
The driver got out. She heard what she thought to be the safety catch of a gun being released. The door at her side was wrenched open.
“Get out!”
Dani’s heart thudded. Christian’s weight lay heavy on her and she knew she couldn’t lift him.
“Christian’s asleep,” she objected.
“So what? My heart bleeds for him! Get him out!”
Dani shook him gently and, somehow, the half-awake child managed to stumble along at her side the short distance to the dark shape of a single-storey dwelling that loomed out in front of them. The man in front kicked open the door and the other man hustled them inside.
Dani lost her footing and fell forward, taking Christian down with her. Christian began to cry and Dani hugged him to her.
“It’s all right! It’s all right!” she urged him to believe, although she didn’t believe it herself. She tried to scramble to her feet but one of the men thrust her back again onto the hard, cold ground.
“Stay where you are!” he commanded. “And don’t move! You’ll be all right if you do as you’re told! And if his father does as he’s told!”
Dani sank back.
Oh, Alex, where are you? We need you! And, although she didn’t know what part Alex was playing in all this, she knew definitely now that she loved him and that nothing would be right until she had told him so!
It was a long night for those on watch outside the château. Arc lights had been set up the previous evening before daylight had completely faded and a constant watch had been maintained.
The first direct contact from the kidnappers had come just before the end of Alex’s first watch and the message had been passed on immediately. It merely confirmed his and everyone else’s expectations. Christian’s release was dependent on their immediate and complete withdrawal.
“Did they get a fix on their position?” Alex wanted to know.
“Not quite. They were using a mobile phone, probably on the autoroute. We lost contact, so they probably switched off. We’ll be ready for their next call and, once we get a definite fix on a vehicle, we’ll get the helicopter on their trail.”
“D’you think they’re heading this way?”
“Could be.”
“Keep me informed.”
By morning, Lys was in a state of anxiety.
Throughout the previous evening she had attempted to get in touch with both Xavier and Dani. Xavier’s mobile phone was listed as being unavailable … he must have switched it off and forgotten to switch it back on… and Dani’s phone simply rang on and on. Wherever she was, she hadn’t taken her phone with her.
They had had a busy day at the windmill and tidying up had taken longer than usual. Lys tried to push her anxieties out of her mind. What was there to worry about? Nothing!
However, when the same thing happened at her repeated attempts the next day, she left her grandfather in charge of affairs at the windmill and drove the short distance to Vertbois.
She wasn’t entirely sure which house Alex had rented for the summer but her memory of Dani’s words made her think it was on a road on the left as you approached the village just before the first crossroad and that was where she turned.
The sight of a guard of gendarmes outside one of the houses added to her apprehension. She drove past. After all, there were a number of pretty side roads where the residence could but, as soon as she saw a place to turn around, she did so … and retraced her way.
She hesitated as she got out of her car. She was probably about to make a fool of herself … but she had to risk it.
Her fears were well founded. When she asked if that were the house rented by m. Gallepe, the gendarme on duty didn’t deny it. He was careful not to betray any information but suggested that she went to the local gendarmerie and asked her questions there.
Now extremely anxious, she did as she was bidden.
Her reasons for enquiry were asked for and given and, eventually, when she had answered all of their questions, she was given the information that mademoiselle Cachart and Christian Gallepe were being regarded as missing persons but that nothing more could be said.
“But where’s Alex? M. Gallepe? Doesn’t he know where they are? I’d like to see him, if you don’t mind! Tell him it’s Lys, Dani’s friend. He knows who I am.”
“I’m afraid m. Gallepe is also unavailable, mademoi
selle. We have your contact address and phone number. That is all we can say at the moment.”
Lys tried Xavier’s mobile phone number once more but it was still unavailable. She clenched her fists in frustration. What else could she do?
With faint hope of any success, she went into the newsagents shop and picked up a daily newspaper. The headline shocked her almost insensible. Holding her breath, she read on, reading more or less what Dani had heard on the previous night’s early news programme. What leaped out and hit Lys in the eye was the added fact that one of the hostages at the siege of the château was believed to be Xavier Monsigny, the brilliant young artist, son of Count de Monsigny, whose home was near Paris.
She bought the paper, staggered outside and sat on a seat in the Square where she read the whole article again, unable to take it all in. Xavier had gone to Poitiers to identify one of his stolen paintings. How had he come to be caught up in the foiled robbery?
It was quite a while later that she remembered that Dani was missing also … but couldn’t see any possible connection between her disappearance and Xavier’s risky position.
How could she find out more? They didn’t have television at the windmill cottage. The Tabac! That was the place! The television was on all day non-stop in there. With local news like this, the bar’s customers wouldn’t object to watching the News programme as they drank and smoked away the morning.
She almost wished she hadn’t gone there when the late-morning news came on with its live bulletin of the current stage of the siege. Diversionary tactics were being employed and a great deal of smoke was pouring out from the rear of the château and some gunfire could be heard from some unidentified quarters.
When there was a sudden rush into the chateau through the front entrance, Lys found that she was holding her breath. It was all very well for the impersonal voice of the reporter to talk about the extreme bravery of the armed forces involved and that they had been highly trained to shoot to kill, but he didn’t have someone he loved on the inside … and the bullets didn’t know the difference between the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’, did they!