by M A Comley
“Get out,” he said, his voice bearing the signs of his frustration.
She held up her bound arms and waited for him to hoist her out of her prison dwelling, as usual. Without much effort, he deposited her beside him, her brow furrowed by unasked questions. “Come. The kid needs you. You have ten minutes to shut it up, or you’ll both get hurt... and this time, I’m not messing about.”
Her hands touched her face. “Babies don’t work like that. He’s used to me being around him twenty-four hours a day. Please, we need to be together. My husband will pay the money; have mercy on us. I promise I won’t try to escape again or do anything foolish. You can keep me restrained. Just please, let me be with my child.”
Her constant whining made his blood boil. He struck her with his fist, grabbed the rope around her wrists, and yanked her back into the house. “Cut the shit, lady, and deal with it. You’ve got exactly ten minutes, got that?”
The woman sobbed but tried to keep the noise to a minimum for her child’s sake as she lifted him from his makeshift bed and rocked him back and forth to soothe his crying. Then she undid the button on her blouse and exposed her breast for the child to suckle, all under Warrior’s close observation. He felt his crotch spring to life and began playing with his aching member. The woman quickly averted her eyes, much to his amusement.
“Have you ever been with a real man?” He laughed when he heard her swallow noisily. “Well?”
“My husband is a real man. He fathered my son. Isn’t that what real men do? Not kidnap innocent women and children in the hope of getting money out of folks.”
His laughter ceased. “I promise you, before you go back to him, I’ll let you see what a real man can do for you, sweetheart.”
The woman shuddered and held her baby tighter.
He looked at his watch and tapped the face. “Five minutes—actually, make it four. I’ve got things to do, and I need you shut away so I can do them without your constant pleading ringing in my ears.”
She shot him a look laced with hatred. He grinned at her, revelling in the power he had asserted. When the time was up, she kissed the baby on the forehead and replaced him in the bag, speaking softly, urging him to go to sleep. He watched the touching scene with bile rising in his throat.
“Right, get going.” He shoved her ahead of him, back outside to her cell, semi-admiring her compliance to do as instructed for a change. Maybe the suggestion about him showing her what a real man could do would serve to keep her in line. He watched her jump back into the hole then secured the doors again, before he made the call to Soho, and got on with his chores, while he awaited the new arrivals.
CHAPTER TEN
The girls had stripped down to their underwear and were in the process of lavishing intimate attention on each other and inching their way closer to Lorne. Breathe! I mustn’t let them see how scared I am.
The thug eagerly watching the display unfolded his arms and withdrew his mobile from his pocket. He turned his back and answered it. Lorne strained her ear to hear the muffled conversation and, at the same time, tried to summon up the courage to bolt from the room. However, the man’s call ended quickly. He clicked his fingers, and the girls instantly looked up at him.
“Enough,” he ordered. “Playtime is over. This one has a mission to conclude.”
The girls gathered their clothes and ran out of the room, leaving a bemused Lorne wondering what was about to happen to her next.
“Get up and come with me.”
Lorne hesitantly followed the man out of the room and back into the shop, where the smiling assistant eyed her with curiosity.
“You enjoy, yes?” she asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
Lorne shrugged a response. “Just give me the next clue and my new instructions.”
“Give it to her,” the unamused goon hissed.
The assistant gave her a wooden box. Lorne grabbed the rest of the clues and her pepper spray then rushed out of the shop, warily casting a watchful eye over her shoulder, in case her early release proved to be some kind of perverted trick. Outside, she let out the air she seemed to have been holding in for the past twenty minutes or so escape through her lips.
The box held instructions for her next destination, the London Eye, pod number fourteen, with a deadline of twelve noon. Lorne searched her immediate area, looking for a shop where something other than sex was on offer, like a food store of sorts, so she could grab something to eat whilst on the run. Finally, when she’d found her way back to the car, she spotted a small supermarket. She dipped into the shop, and her weary legs led her to the cold snacks area of a nearby fridge. She bought a tuna and mayo sandwich and a bottle of water then continued on her journey back to her car.
She pulled away from the taxi rank, opened the sandwich, took a bite, and searched for Sean’s mobile phone. The phone in her office rang and rang until eventually, a breathless Katy answered it. “Jesus, I was just about to hang up. What took you so long?”
“We’ve got an emergency here, Lorne. Sorry.”
She filtered into the main line of traffic. “What kind of emergency? Are you all right, Katy, is it the baby?”
“No. I’m fine. Another family has been kidnapped, Lorne. We have no way of knowing as yet if the crimes are connected, but that’s what we’re thinking right now.”
“Shit. What the hell is going on? What’s their intention, Katy?”
“We’re at a loss to know that at this moment, Lorne. Leave us to deal with things at this end. What’s going on there?”
“I’m on my way to the London Eye. Jesus, I don’t really want to revisit the ordeal that they’ve just forced upon me. I’m shuddering just thinking about it.”
“Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”
“Not physically, no. Mentally, though, I think I’ll be scarred for life. I’m fine; ignore me. Any news on Tony? Did Sean contact him?”
“Of course. He’s en route, picking Joe up on the way, awaiting further instructions from us.”
“That’s great. I feel safer already knowing that he’ll be watching over me, even if it is from a distance. Things are quite tepid right now, but I fear they’ll be intensifying as the day goes on. I’ll check in later.”
“Take care, Lorne. We’ve got you covered on this one. Be safe.”
***
Katy ended the call and rushed back into the incident room. She marched over to the whiteboard and noted down Lorne’s next destination before she re-joined the rest of the team.
“Everything all right? I take it that was Lorne,” Sean asked, his forehead wrinkled with concern.
“Yeah, she’s on her way to the London Eye. I’m going to ring Tony now, make him aware.”
“No, I’ll act as a go-between there. You concentrate on this case, Katy. I want to know how a family was abducted in broad daylight again.”
“Okay, leave it with me.”
Sean found a quiet corner amongst the hustle and bustle being generated by the rest of the team and contacted Tony. He returned and nodded at Katy. “It’s done. He’s not far from there now. It’s a big relief to know that he and Joe have her within their sight, or they will have soon. What have we learnt so far on this new family?”
Katy shook her head. “To tell you the truth, not much. We have a female witness who has reported that she heard a woman scream. She turned to see what the commotion was about and saw a woman and a child, presumably the woman’s daughter, being shoved into the back of a car in Chelsea.”
“Where in Chelsea?”
“In an underground car park of a shopping centre,” Katy replied.
“We need to get someone over there sharpish to question the woman and get as much information about the family abducted as possible.”
“Do you want me to go?” Katy suggested.
“Might be a good idea. There’s bound to be CCTV cameras in situ. Look through the footage, see what car she was either leaving or getting into or arrived in, and then we can se
e who we’re dealing with and what impact that entails.”
“Will do.”
“As soon as we get that information, we can pay the relatives a visit. See if there’s been any communication with the kidnappers.”
“Yep, I’ll leave Karen in charge of dealing with the conference, shall I?”
“Good idea. She can make the arrangements, but I’ll be the one going in front of the camera. She’s not experienced enough for that,” Sean stated thoughtfully.
“She’d appreciate that. I’ll get her to organise it right away. I don’t think we should mention anything about this new case during the conference, agreed?”
“I agree. We need to keep quiet about it until all the facts are clear that we’re dealing with the same kidnappers. How was Lorne? Did you tell her what was going on here?”
“Yeah, she seemed okay. Pleased that Tony will be within striking distance if she needs help. Perhaps she’ll be able to get the info we need out of this Warrior chap, save us trying to link the dots between the two cases.”
“If she can find a way of doing that, Lorne will do it. Her brain never shuts off,” Sean said.
“Okay, I’ll shoot off to the crime scene. Is it all right if AJ comes with me?”
“Of course. The rest of the team and I will get all the preliminary stuff started on the new case. Check in when you can.”
Katy and AJ arrived at the multi-storey car park around fifteen minutes later. After assessing the scene for herself, Katy asked the attendant who was observing what was going on where she could view the CCTV footage. He showed her to a small room that acted as the eyes and ears of the car park. An elderly man was pressing buttons, working his way through the car park’s many camera angles. Excellent, this should be just what we need.
She flashed her warrant card and introduced herself and AJ to the man. “Have you had a chance to search through the footage of the incident yet?”
“I have. I put it aside for you guys. Do you want me to set it up so you can see what happened?”
Katy smiled. “That would be brilliant.”
The man pulled out a couple of collapsible stools from under the desk for Katy and AJ to sit on while their escort returned to the crime scene.
“I’m Ted, by the way. I used to be a copper years ago. So, what I did first was locate the crime on the tape, then I worked my way backwards. I hope my findings prove to be useful.”
Katy glanced at AJ and raised an eyebrow then smiled at the man. “You’re a star. Let’s see what we have then, Ted.”
He hit a button, and the incident played out on the monitor in front of them. “Here, the woman and her daughter were just about to get in her car when this black four-by-four screeched to a halt beside her. You can see how terrified she and her daughter were. It’s as if they had an inkling what was about to take place.”
“It must have been awful. Any chance you can get a close up on the number plates of both vehicles?”
“Let’s see if we can get a clear picture for you; although, the woman’s car is still at the crime scene. You can get the plate number from there.”
“Great news. Do your best with the kidnapper’s car, if you will.”
The three of them sat in silence as the man fiddled with the camera angle and zoomed in and out until the image became clear. AJ gasped and cussed under his breath.
Katy sharply turned to look at him. “What? Do you recognise that plate, AJ?”
He swallowed and nodded. “Lorne was right. UNI 123 was associated with her arch enemy, the Unicorn.”
“Jesus, really? It’s his car? How can that be?” Katy asked, staring at the number on the screen.
“Okay, it’s a few years ago now, but from what I can remember, the car actually belonged to Abromovski. I need to look back on the case file for clarification on that. He was up to his neck with Baldwin, aka the Unicorn. A lot of good it did him in the end. His demise came courtesy of Baldwin’s own hands.”
“Crap! What the hell is going on in that case? If Baldwin is dead and this Abromovski is dead, then how can this be happening? Ted, is it possible for you to give us a copy of the disc?”
The man picked up a CD case from the desk and handed it to Katy. “All ready for you. Listening to what you’ve just said, could this be one of the Unicorn’s enemies, using the man’s reputation to try and distract you?”
“Maybe, but then that doesn’t really take into consideration the car, does it? Would one of his enemies be able to get his hands on it?”
AJ elbowed Katy gently. “I’m with Ted on this one, in a roundabout way. Number plates are easily copied. Slap it on a four-by-four, and you’ve got the police thinking they’re dealing with an old enemy. I bet it’s all a cover-up. Someone’s toying with us. I’m willing to bet my pension on that.”
Ted grunted. “I hope your pension is better than mine, lad. Why do you think I’m stuck in this tight office all day long?”
AJ smiled sympathetically at the man and squeezed his shoulder. “Hey, without your input, the case would be at a stalemate, Ted. We appreciate your help.”
Katy shook the man’s hand, and together, she and AJ walked back to the crime scene, where they noted down the number plate of the abducted woman’s car. Then Katy spotted a young distraught-looking lady standing with a group of shoppers. She approached the woman and showed her ID. “Are you the person who reported the incident?”
“Yes. It was awful. I’d just parked my car, was sorting out the baby in the car seat when I heard this vehicle pull up, and the woman and child started screaming. I’m afraid I jumped back in my car. I feel guilty for not trying to help them...”
“Nonsense. No one would have expected you to have intervened. Your own baby’s safety is paramount,” Katy added, resisting the temptation to run a hand over her own little one growing inside.
Tears trickled down the woman’s face. “Who would do such a thing? The woman was clinging to her teenage daughter, begging the men to let them go, but to no avail. The men dragged them by the hair and threw them into the back of their car.”
“It must have been a terrifying ordeal. We’re doing all we can to find these men. Can I ask if you heard any names mentioned perhaps?”
The woman thought the question over for a few seconds then shook her head. “I’m sorry, no. If they did use any, then I didn’t catch it. I was in my car with the window wound up, though.”
“Did anyone else see the incident?” Katy asked the rest of the crowd.
Everyone shook their heads, then a man offered, “We all appeared after the incident occurred. Most of us finished doing our shopping and found this young lady standing here, not knowing what to do. We just stuck around until you guys showed up to offer her some support.”
“Thanks, that was kind of you,” Katy told the man. Turning to speak to the woman again, she asked, “Would you mind giving us a statement?”
The idea appeared to panic the poor woman. “What? Now?”
“No. If it’s easier, I can send a uniformed officer to take down the statement at your home later. I don’t want to inconvenience you any more than necessary.”
“Yes, that would be better. When my husband is home this evening, perhaps?”
“I can arrange that.” AJ noted down the woman’s address while Katy rang the station.
“Hi, boss. I have the woman’s number plate. Can you get Karen or one of the lads to run it through the PNC for me?”
She heard Sean click his fingers to gain someone’s attention. “Okay, shoot.”
Katy gave the woman’s details to Sean then sighed heavily.
“Everything all right, Katy?” Sean asked.
“Something else has cropped up. The attendant gave us the CCTV footage of the incident, and when I asked him to highlight the kidnapper’s vehicle, the number plate UNI 123 came up.”
“Is that significant, Sergeant?”
“AJ seems to think it has grave implications, yes. He wants to check through the
previous case involving Baldwin, just to make sure. He recognised it as being connected to the Unicorn.”
“Jesus, of course. It never dawned on me. I’ll put out an alert on the vehicle at once. I’ll also pull the file, see if he’s right. Hang on. I’ve got a name and address for the latest victim. Maria Perkins, 24 Hilltop Rise, Fulham.”
“Okay, we’ll drop by the address now. Any news if she’s married? If she is, where her hubby works? The likelihood is that we’re dealing with another wealthy family. Could we be looking at another mega sum on their lives?”
“You head over there while we do some more digging here. I’ll contact you with further information.”
“Speak soon. Heading off now. By the way, can you get a PC to drop by Mrs. Caldecott’s house this evening?”
“The lady who called in the incident? Sure.”
Katy gave him the lady’s address and hung up. She and AJ hopped back in the car and drove to the latest victim’s address.
AJ let out a long whistle. “Looks like the kind of place where my folks would live.”
“You mean a holiday home for your folks. I had to stifle a giggle back there when Ted was talking about his sucky pension. You won’t be in the same boat of course.”
He chuckled. “If I hadn’t met you, I don’t think it would have been long before Dad disinherited me.”
Katy’s eyes widened in shock. “Really? He would have gone to that extreme?”
AJ shrugged. “Who knows with my old man? When it comes to the crunch, all he really thinks about is his reputation.”
“That’s a bit harsh, love. He’s always seemed nice to me.”
Katy’s mobile rang, interrupting their conversation. “Hello.”
“Katy, it’s Sean. I’ve got the info you need. The husband is another high-flyer in London, a Frank Perkins. His office is in central London. He’s a technology bod.”
“Okay, we’re at the home address now, just pulled up, in fact. The place is all locked up. Electric security gates the lot. We’ll head over to Mr. Perkins’s office and be in touch soon.”