by M A Comley
He opened the back door, grabbed her arm, and marched her over to the hole in the ground. He lifted the wooden door and prodded her in the back.
She crouched, placed her hands on either side of the hole, and eased herself into the wooden carcase. Once she was lying stretched out, there were barely two inches either side for her to move. “Please, let me be with my baby?”
He answered her by slamming the door shut then locked it with the huge metal key. He leaned down and grinned when he heard her begin to sob. Time was getting on. As much as he would have loved to stay there and listen to the woman’s pitiful crying and praying, he had a schedule to keep.
When he returned to the house, he was relieved to see that the baby was fast asleep. “Thank Christ for that.” He searched the drawer of the pine dresser in the small dining room to find the contact numbers his boss had given him. He dialled the first number — Hardy’s office. “Hardy, I have your wife and child. If you do as I say, they won’t get hurt.”
“Crap. Please don’t hurt them. I have money. How much do you need?”
“I’ll come to that in a moment. I’m calling the shots. Shut up and listen. The money side of things will be covered once I’ve told you what I want.”
“You mean this isn’t about the money?”
“Shut up and listen,” Warrior warned, his knuckles turning white as his anxiety heightened. He hated talking on the phone to strangers at the best of times. With the added task of not trying to give away any unnecessary details, his angst was in the severe overload realms already. He covered the phone, sucked in a large breath then released it. “You need to contact a certain copper. I’ll give you her details in a moment. I need to have her on-board before I can take this any further. Got that?”
“Yes. Let me get a pen and paper. Okay, I’m ready.”
Warrior read the name from the sheet of paper in his hand. “You’ve got to contact a Lorne Simpkins—or she could be going under the name of Warner, not sure which—of the Met Police.”
“What? Let me check something.”
Warrior heard rustling on the other end of the phone and tapped his foot in annoyance until the man came back on the line.
“Yes, I thought so. She was here today, in my office. What has this got to do with her?”
“Never you mind. All will become apparent soon enough. I want you to call her and work with her to try and solve the disappearance of your family.”
“I don’t understand. Why?”
“No questions. Just do as I say, or else...”
“Okay. Are my wife and son all right?”
“For the moment, yes.”
The man sighed with relief.
“They’ll remain unharmed, providing you do everything I ask. You hear me? Although, from now on, I will no longer be speaking with you direct. I’ll be contacting Simpkins. Got that?”
“Then why do you want me to place the call instead of you making contact with the detective yourself?”
“You ask a lot of dumb questions, especially when you’ve been warned not to.” Warrior moved towards the baby and kicked the bag softly. The baby woke up with a start and began crying.
“Please, don’t hurt Jackson. I’m sorry. Tell me what to say or do, and I’ll do it, to the letter.”
“I thought you’d say that. The second I hang up, I want you to call Simpkins and ask her to take on your case. Then tell her to expect a call from me within the hour. Now do it! And, Hardy, any funny business, and you have my word your child will get hurt first and then your wife. Don’t force my hand, okay?”
“I understand. I’ll ring her now. Just, please show compassion when dealing with my family.”
Warrior laughed then hung up. He paced the room for the next thirty minutes until he felt he’d given Hardy enough time to contact Simpkins and for her to be waiting apprehensively for him to ring her. Then he dialled the number and smiled when Lorne’s mobile was answered immediately. “Ah, that was prompt. Glad to see that, Simpkins. Keep up the good work during the process that lies ahead of you, and you won’t go wrong.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Warrior. That’s all you need to know. Well, that and this snippet of information. You need to follow every inch of this plan to its conclusion—one slip up and the Hardys will be killed, all three of them.”
“Okay, you’ve got my attention. First things first, I need something in return.”
“You’re not in any position to start bartering with me, lady.”
“I appreciate that. All I’m asking is that you give me proof of life at regular intervals right up to the end.”
“That’s doable. How’s this for starters?” He kicked the bag again to set the baby off. “One crying baby, okay?”
“Yes, please, don’t hurt them. I’ll do anything and everything you ask. You needn’t worry on that score.”
“You know what? I ain’t worried in the slightest. You know something else, Madame Detective? You bloody well should be worried. I’m going to be generous and give you the day off. Make sure you use your time off wisely, because starting at seven a.m. tomorrow, you’re going to be running around like your head has been chopped off, if you get my drift.”
“Oh, I get your drift all right, Warrior. Let’s hope I can achieve all that you want from me.”
“Only time will tell. Until tomorrow, Sergeant.”
“As of tomorrow, you can call me ‘Inspector.’”
Noting the hint of defiance in her tone, he laughed then hung up. “I’m going to enjoy this battle, Simpkins. Not sure you’re going to feel the same way after you see what I have in store for you.”
CHAPTER FOUR
The instant Lorne ended the call with the kidnapper, she turned to Katy. “We should go and fill Sean in. We need to take this guy seriously from the kick-off.”
“I agree.”
They raced along the corridor. Outside Sean’s office, his secretary greeted them with a puzzled look. “Inspector, Sergeant, I don’t see a meeting scheduled in the chief’s diary.”
“It’s urgent. Is he free?” Lorne asked.
“No. The super is in there with him.”
“That’s even better. We can tell them both at the same time. They’ll want to see us, I promise.”
The young woman rose from her seat and knocked on her boss’s door. “Sorry to interrupt. I have Lorne and Katy here to see you. They insist it’s urgent.”
“Send them in.”
The secretary pushed open the door for Lorne and Katy to walk into the room then closed the door behind them.
“What’s the urgency?” Sean frowned as his gaze drifted between Lorne and Katy.
“I fear we have a grave situation on our hands. A kidnapping. We followed up on an innocent call about a woman’s car being stolen this morning, and it’s kind of escalated quickly from there.”
“Take a seat and fill us in on the events,” the chief instructed.
Lorne told her superiors about visiting Mr. Hardy and the fact he was undecided about getting the police involved in his wife and child’s disappearance. “But now, the decision has been taken out of his hands because the kidnapper has made contact with us directly.”
“Whom did he ring?” Sean asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Me,” Lorne admitted.
Anne folded her arms and placed the forefinger and thumb of her right hand either side of her chin. “Why? What are you suggesting, Sean?” she asked.
“I just wondered. It seems a bit odd to contact Lorne when Katy is still the inspector on the team, until the changeover.”
Lorne contemplated his reply for a split second. “That sounds kind of ominous. You think this is someone I know, Chief?”
“Sounds that way to me. How did he address you?”
Lorne quickly replayed the conversation in her mind. “To start with, he just called me Simpkins. My God! I didn’t even think about that at the time.”
Sean pointed at her. “That�
��s what I wanted to know. So we’re dealing with someone from a few years ago. How long have you been calling yourself Warner?”
“Tony and I will be celebrating our sixth anniversary this year.”
“So, you need to go through all those you’ve had dealings with in the past and see what comes up.”
Lorne’s mouth hung open for an instant then slammed shut again. “Are you kidding me?”
“No. The sooner you get on with that, the quicker we’ll work out who we’re dealing with.”
Lorne thought his suggestion over for a second. “Okay, supposing you’re right, how does this connect to Hardy? I’ve never even met the man before today.”
“Who says there has to be a connection to him?”
“He’s right, Lorne,” Katy piped up. “If the kidnapper’s aim is to get to you, perhaps they just plucked Hardy’s name out of a hat. The fact that he’s mega rich is probably just a bonus in the kidnapper’s eyes.”
“Whoa, hold on a sec. You think this is wholly about me? Are you both insane?”
“Make that three of us, Lorne,” the super added.
Lorne’s mouth dried up, and her heart sank. “I need to tell my family immediately if that’s the case. I hope to Christ you’re all wrong about this. I can’t go through this living hell again.” Tears misted her eyes, and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat as one specific image filtered her mind. She tried her hardest to rid her mind of the vile image but failed.
Katy reached over and clasped her hand. “You know it can’t be him, love.”
Sean left his chair and sat on the desk in front of her. He reached for her other hand and squeezed it. “Katy’s right. There’s no way this could be connected to the Unicorn—you killed him, Lorne.”
She smiled through her tears and sniffed. “Knowing that bastard, he’ll do his best to make my life unbearable from his grave. Mark my words on that.”
“Tell me what you need, Lorne? Protection for your family? You’ve got it,” Sean said.
She shrugged. “How the hell do I know? We could be blowing this up out of all proportion. The fact that we’re all thinking along the same lines must mean something, right?”
“Okay, let’s back up here,” Anne intervened. “I vaguely remember hearing about the case. Would someone care to refresh my memory of what occurred?”
Sean patted Lorne’s hand, winked at her, and returned to his seat. “He was the mastermind behind a scandal that rocked London—what? About eight years ago now, Lorne?”
She nodded after doing a quick calculation in her head.
Sean continued, “If I remember rightly, it was how Lorne and Tony got together.”
She winced, and the heat in her cheeks quickly returned. “Not exactly. That happened in France, when we hunted him down. That’s beside the point anyway.”
Sean winked at her again, as if apologising for causing her to be embarrassed. “He threatened all sorts, kidnapped Lorne’s daughter, Charlie, and... well, he did a lot of things to the women he’d forced to be part of a human-trafficking ring, shall we say.”
“Ah, yes, I remember now. The case made you reconsider your career in the force as I recall, Lorne. I do hope, if we find out there is a connection to this man, that you’ll be stronger this time round. We need you. I’m not being selfish by taking Katy’s predicament into consideration when I say that, either. This team is rock solid and the best team I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, and that’s down to you, both of you. I would see all that hard work unravel if we lost you in particular, Lorne,” Anne stated with a slight smile.
Lorne thrust her shoulders back and exhaled a large breath. “No fear of that, ma’am. I’m in a totally different place personally than I was back then. My marriage to my first husband, Tom, was in tatters, for a start. I want to assure you that Tony and I have never really had a bad argument. Oops, have I just tempted fate there?” Everyone’s laughter cut through the icy atmosphere that had cast a shadow over the room. “Charlie has recovered from the ordeal and is a vibrant, self-assured person now, too. Of course, I’d prefer keeping my family out of the situation altogether, but I’ll ensure they’re vigilant in their daily duties from now on. I don’t think they’ll want any protection, Sean. I’ll certainly ask the question when I get home tonight, though, just to make sure.”
“There’s no need for reassurance on your part, Lorne. We’re all aware of your capabilities at tackling difficult cases. All I ask is, if you feel things are getting on top of you, don’t be afraid to shout out for help or advice. There’s no ‘I’ in team. Remember that going forward, okay?” Anne said.
Lorne nodded. “I will. Anyway, let’s see how this case develops first. We might be barking up the wrong tree.”
“So, what did the caller say? How did he end the call? With high expectations?” Sean asked.
“Not really. He said that the ‘fun’ will begin at seven tomorrow. I better be here when he makes the call. Although, he did contact me via my mobile so it might not really matter where I am. It makes sense to be here rather than at home. I have a feeling he has a lot of running around lined up for me.”
Sean smiled and turned his attention to Katy. “Okay, serious question to you, Katy. Are you going to be up for this? The only reason I ask is that you’re looking awfully pale.”
Katy shook her head. “Seriously, I don’t have a clue. Providing there is a loo around, I should be okay. If not, then I’ll be in the shit!”
“I think you should take a backseat, work alongside the rest of the team here at the station, while I work alongside Lorne.”
Lorne’s shoulders slumped, and a groan escaped her lips.
Everyone turned to look at her.
“Crap, really?”
Sean appeared stunned by her comment and seemed just about to open his mouth to object when she burst into laughter.
“Kidding! Just proving that I haven’t lost my sense of humour,” she added with a wink.
“Well, we did okay on the last case together. It would be good to team up again.”
“If you say so, boss.” Lorne said sarcastically, continuing to wind Sean up, until his glare bore into her. “Of course, I’m looking forward to it.”
Anne clapped her hands together in one brief slap. “That’s a deal then. I hear you two used to be a crack team when you both started out.”
“We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, that’s for sure,” Sean stated, his face expressionless.
“That we have. Hopefully, any differences we’ve had over the years have been well and truly ironed out now. A lot of our issues revolved around your predecessor, ma’am,” Lorne said.
“Well, at least you know where you stand with me, Lorne. Let’s see if we can bring this case to a swift conclusion without anyone losing their lives, shall we? That’ll be a novelty for your team, won’t it?”
Lorne winced at her words. They were harsh but true, considering people usually died before the murder squad had reason to turn up. Lorne didn’t think the super had meant for the words to come out the way they had. “We’ll certainly do our best. Won’t we, partner?” Lorne directed her question at the chief.
He nodded. “If there’s nothing else, perhaps you ladies wouldn’t mind leaving the super and me to get back to our meeting.”
Katy and Lorne walked towards the door.
Lorne couldn’t help firing another cheeky shot over her shoulder at him. “Don’t forget to set your alarm early, boss. If I have to be here at seven, then it’s imperative that my partner is here alongside me at the beginning of my shift.” She left the room before he could respond.
Katy chuckled as she and Lorne made their way back to the incident room. “You’re asking for trouble if you keep winding him up like that.”
“Yeah, but it’ll be worth it. He shouldn’t be so easy to wind up.”
“What’s next?”
Lorne pushed through the door. “I don’t want us to take this case for grante
d. I think we should spend the afternoon going through my old cases just in case we’re wrong about the Unicorn element.”
“We’ve got a couple of hours before the end of our shift. Why don’t we pick a year each, work back the eight years to the present date.”
“Great idea. The quicker we can come up with a positive ID for this Warrior chappie, the faster we can get the Hardys home safely. I’m trying to recall if I’ve ever had a case involving someone called Warrior, but nothing is coming to mind.”
During the remainder of the shift, the team worked like an express train and established five possible names they could delve into the next day. All the people were still alive but confined to prison, not that it mattered. Villains could still carry on with their illegal activities from behind bars. Lorne studied the list to refresh her memories of each of the suspects and their crimes and whether they’d had partners who might have escaped Lorne’s net. That was looking at things logically, of course. The Unicorn’s face still popped up now and again to poke fun at her.
“Okay, that’s sorted for tomorrow. Thanks for all your hard work, guys. You get off home. I have one vital call I want to make before I head off.”
Everyone shut down their computers, quickly tidied their desks, and left. Only Lorne, Katy, and AJ remained.
“Are you ringing Hardy?” Katy asked, resting her weary body on the edge of the desk closest to Lorne’s.
“Correct. He’s got to play ball with us now.” Lorne picked up the phone and dialled his office number.
“Hello,” he answered.
“Mr. Hardy, this is...” Surprised he’d answered the call himself, she glanced up at Katy and winked. “Detective Inspector Lorne Warner. We met earlier today.”
“Ah, yes. So you’re now fully aware of the situation, I presume?”
“We are. I can totally understand your hesitation not to trust us earlier, given the circumstances. I hope that won’t be the case going forward.”
“I’ll do anything that is necessary to bring my family home safely, Inspector. I’m going out of my mind with worry.”