by Anna Jacobs
She waited but no one else appeared. When she tiptoed across to join Winifred at the bedroom door, she heard no sounds of movement downstairs. But there was now an ominous smell of burning.
‘Oh, no. He must have set something alight before he left.’
Winifred went across to pick up Millie. ‘We have to get out of the house.’
‘No, wait. The burglar has gone now, so I’m going to switch off the alarm from up here, creep down and check what’s burning and put it out if I can. I can’t see any light from flames, so the fire can’t be spreading quickly.’
‘Don’t do it. It’s too dangerous. We should just leave the house as quickly as we can by the front door.’ Millie whimpered and Winifred cuddled her closer.
‘No, I’ll be quite safe going down because I can run back up quickly if I see anyone. You two get ready to follow me outside, if I call. Can you manage Millie on the stairs?’
‘I can do anything to save this little darling.’
‘Stay by the door, but be ready to lock yourself in the bedroom if you hear me shouting that there’s still someone here.’
‘It’s too risky.’
‘We have to find out what’s on fire. Anyway, Angus will have heard the alarm and he’ll be on his way. He’ll be here any minute.’
Janey went outside the bedroom and joined Dan on the landing, listening for sounds downstairs.
‘Have you heard anything?’ she whispered.
‘Not since the back door banged.’
There was a strong smell of something burning, or charring perhaps, but there was still no sign of flickering light under the kitchen door, which there would have been if there were flames.
‘Let me go down instead, Janey.’
‘No, Dan. I can run back up much faster than you can.’
She guessed that the man who’d broken in must have been told to set a fire, as another warning to the owner to sell.
Still, she’d take great care.
She switched off the alarm at the top of the stairs and began to creep down, ready to flee back to the bedroom at a second’s notice.
As soon as the alarm was triggered at number 5, another alarm went off at Dennings. Angus woke up and within seconds realised what it was.
‘What’s that?’ Nell asked sleepily.
‘Trouble at Miss Parfitt’s.’
‘Oh, no,’ she sat up.
He picked up the hand piece from beside his bed and studied the display. ‘Someone’s broken into her house. Only the downstairs alarm at the back has been triggered so far.’ He swung out of the bed. ‘I’d better go and investigate.’
‘Won’t the police be attending?’
‘You can never be sure whether they’re in the middle of something else or not. I bet I’m closer and quicker.’ He was pulling on his jeans as he spoke and by the time she got out of bed and grabbed her clothes, he was fully dressed.
‘Wait for me. I won’t be a minute.’
They hurried to the back entrance of the big house and he set his own alarm system before leading the way through the darkened gardens.
‘I could wish for a full moon tonight,’ he muttered as he stumbled over something and fell.
As he stood up, he glanced again at the hand piece linked to the alarm system and frowned. ‘They’ve switched off the upstairs alarm system at number 5, so I think the intruder has probably gone. But let’s hurry, just in case.’
Millie began whimpering and it took Winifred a few moments to quieten her. She stepped back a little way into the bedroom, trying to keep the noise the baby was making from echoing down the stairwell. She kept an eye on the stairs the whole time, ready to slam and lock the door.
But Millie settled down and everything remained quiet downstairs. All she could hear was the sound of the wind gusting outside.
When someone hammered on the back door, she waited for Janey to answer it or call up, but all remained quiet. This person had come openly to the house, so surely it couldn’t be a burglar?
There was the sound of the back door opening and then silence. She prayed it was Angus.
Time seemed to tick by so slowly. Where was Janey?
She jumped in shock as a man’s figure appeared at the foot of the stairs.
‘Miss Parfitt! Janey? Are you there?’
She sagged against the door frame as she recognised Angus’s voice. ‘I’m here, Angus. And so is Dan.’
He ran up the stairs. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes. Haven’t you seen Janey? She went downstairs to check what was on fire.’
‘I smelt burning but it was some rags in the sink, and it wasn’t causing any danger. But there was no sign of Janey. Let’s put the lights on and search.’
‘Shall I take the baby, Miss Parfitt?’ Nell had joined them at the top of the stairs and lifted Millie gently out of her arms. ‘Do you want to sit down?’
‘No, I want to go downstairs and find out what’s happened to that girl.’
‘She definitely didn’t come back up,’ Dan said. ‘I was standing here watching the stairs the whole time. She didn’t cry out, either. I’d have heard her.’
Winifred started down the stairs, not trying to rush it, she never did that because she didn’t want to fall.
Dan followed.
Angus was now going round the ground floor, switching on lights and calling out for Janey.
Inside the kitchen Winifred pointed. ‘This chair has been knocked over.’
Angus bent over it. ‘There’s something on the edge of it. Looks like blood. No, don’t touch it, Miss Parfitt. The police will want to examine it.’
Winifred fought back panic. ‘She’s hurt. Someone’s hurt Janey.’
She led the way into the kitchen, her heart fluttering wildly, and sank into a chair. ‘It’s my fault. They came to frighten me, I’m sure. But why would they have taken Janey away?’
‘I don’t think it’s your fault at all. Maybe it’s her father and nothing to do with you selling your house? He’s been stalking her.’
‘I still don’t understand why he’d take her away?’
‘No. Neither do I.’ It seemed a stupid, irrational act.
‘I’m going to phone Kieran and ask him to go out to the smallholding. If they’ve taken her, they’ll probably be going back there.’
After a quick conversation he ended the call.
A couple of minutes later a siren sounded outside.
‘Thank goodness! That’ll be the police. You stay here with Nell and Miss Parfitt, Dan.’
He ran to open the front door.
Angus nearly groaned aloud when he saw who had arrived.
Edwina stared at him. ‘Are you going to let us in? The alarm went and I presume Miss Parfitt needs help.’
‘Sorry. I was just surprised to see you.’
‘It was mutual.’ Then she saw her cousin standing behind him and her expression softened a little. ‘Are you all right, Nell?’
‘I’m fine, but Miss Parfitt has had intruders and they lit a fire. Janey saw someone running away, so thought it was safe to go and investigate and now she’s missing. Why don’t you come into the kitchen and we’ll tell you what we know?’
Angus let her do the talking since he could never speak to Edwina Richards without them disagreeing about something or other.
‘I’ll have a look round outside,’ the male officer said.
‘There will be CCTV recordings of whatever happened out here,’ Angus said. ‘I’ve only just fitted modifications to extend the security system. Miss Parfitt is an old friend of my family.’
Edwina nodded, as if accepting this.
‘I phoned a friend to ask him to go out to the smallholding where Dobson is staying,’ Angus said. ‘Kieran Jones. You may know him.’
‘The famous journalist? Yes, he phoned the station to say he was doing that. I thought he’d been badly injured.’
‘He’s been rehabilitating himself, but he’s not gone there alone, just in case th
ere’s trouble. We didn’t dare wait for the next police vehicle. If that brute Dobson took Janey there he could hurt her. He’s vicious.’
‘I sat in on interviews with her mother in the women’s refuge,’ Edwina said, ‘so I know quite a bit about him and vicious would be a good word to describe him. I’m sorry we’re not staffed to respond more quickly but it’s been a busy night.’
When explanations had been made, Edwina said abruptly, ‘If you can get the recordings from the CCTV cameras, Mr Denning, I’ll have them checked.’
‘They’re on thumb drives. I’ve left some spares here in case there were any problems. It’d be better if you or your colleague watched me access them and I’ll let you remove them from the system yourselves, just to prove I’m not doing any substitution.’
‘We may not have agreed about some things, but I don’t suspect you of doing anything illegal.’
‘No, but a court might not believe me if that sod gets a good lawyer. Better to be safe than sorry.’
‘You’re right. I’ll call in and ask if there’s been any sign of the girl.’
She went into the next room and spoke in a low voice to the people on night duty at district headquarters, coming back to say, ‘The police haven’t got anyone out near the smallholding so they’re contacting the nearest unit. I hope your friends get there quickly.’
‘Why don’t you put the kettle on, Nell, and make us all a cup of tea?’ Winifred suggested. ‘I’m busy holding this young lady and shall continue to do so till her mother comes back.’ She cuddled the sleeping baby and added, ‘There’s some cake in that tin next to the kettle. Dan, will you get it out, please?’
‘Miss Parfitt is well known round here for her cakes,’ Angus told Edwina. ‘And she’s very generous about sharing them.’
Nell exchanged glances with her cousin Edwina, hoping she could get the message through to humour their hostess, and received a slight nod in reply.
‘Thank you,’ Eddie said. ‘We’ll be happy to accept your offer, Miss Parfitt. We’ve been on duty for a few hours and I for one am parched.’
Nell got things ready following Winifred’s instructions. She kept an eye on the old lady, but her colour had come back and she seemed to be deriving comfort from holding the baby. Dan was also looking better now. He’d been very pale and breathless at first.
As she worked, she prayed that Janey was all right.
Janey’s head hurt so much she kept her eyes closed for a moment or two. Which she soon realised was a good thing because someone was talking.
She tried to work things out. The last thing she remembered was tiptoeing down the stairs and opening the kitchen door. She was sure she hadn’t made a sound, or heard a sound, either. She definitely hadn’t seen anyone.
Now she was in a car. How had that happened?
There must have been a second thief and he’d been waiting for her in the kitchen. But why was she now in a car? She listened intently.
‘Come on, Wayne. Surely you can drive faster than that?’
Oh, no! It was her father’s voice. Fear shivered through her. Why had he captured her? What about Millie? She hoped he hadn’t got her daughter as well. She listened but could hear no baby sounds. That was good news, surely? It must mean Millie and Auntie Winnie were safe. Dan would have had time to warn them if anyone had tried to go upstairs.
She quickly realised the other speaker was her father’s cousin Wayne, a sullen man, as big a bully as her father. His wife had left him years ago.
‘If I go any faster, Lionel, the police may stop us for speeding, then we’ll be in trouble. I don’t know why you had to bring the girl along.’
‘I told you. I want her to get them to take that stupid court order off me.’
‘Well, they won’t do it.’
‘They will if she asks them, if she says we’ve made friends again.’
Janey’s heart sank. Had her father gone mad? Of course she wasn’t going to ask to have the court order lifted. She didn’t want him coming near her. That would be bad enough. But she had a daughter to protect. She didn’t want him to touch Millie with even one fingertip. Her child wasn’t growing up being thumped and hurt.
Her father went on grumbling. He was always complaining about something. ‘Janey might have done that more willingly if you’d got hold of the baby too, like we planned. But you didn’t expect such a loud, fancy security system, did you? So you didn’t wait to see what would happen, just ran like a frightened rabbit.’
‘I ran to save myself and you’d have done the same if you had any sense, Lionel. I saw at least one CCTV camera. You’ve made a damned mess of it, as usual. You always were hasty. I don’t know why I let you talk me into this. When we get back you can pack your things and get out, yes, and take her with you. I’ll manage my farm without your help from now on, thank you very much.’
‘I’m not going anywhere and if you try to force me to leave, you’ll regret it. I know things about you and I’ll tell the police. What about those lovely green crops down the back that bring you in some nice money? They wouldn’t like it if they found out about those.’
There was absolute silence, only the sound of the car’s motor. Janey peeped through her eyelashes. They must be out of town now, because she could only see tree branches being blown about by the wind in the moonlight. No roofs or street lights. So there’d be no one round here to help her if she screamed for help. She’d better go on pretending to be unconscious.
After a few minutes, Wayne asked suddenly, ‘Shouldn’t she be waking up by now? You haven’t killed her, have you?’
‘Of course I haven’t. She’s still breathing. I know how to hit someone to knock them out.’ Lionel sniggered. ‘As my wife will be able to confirm when I get her back as well.’
‘Dorothy’s gone into a refuge. They never come out of those places. My damned wife didn’t.’
‘Dorothy will if she thinks her precious daughter is in danger.’
Silence, then Wayne said obstinately, ‘Well, I still think that girl ought to have woken up by now.’
‘Ah, shut up. She’ll be coming round all too soon. You’ll see. I’ll give her a good shaking when we get back. That’ll bring her out of it.’
What made Janey pretend to wake up sooner than she’d planned was her father’s hand lingering on her breast, tweaking it. That shocked her rigid and made her feel sick.
‘Get your hand off my breast, you filthy pervert!’ she yelled.
His answer was a smack across her face that made her head spin.
The car pulled up just then and he jerked her out of it, throwing her to the ground. She curled up, sure he was going to kick her.
Kieran answered the phone. When he realised what Angus was telling him, he put the call on speaker so that Nicole could listen in. Paul appeared in the bedroom doorway, looking worried.
‘I have his address, Angus. I’ll go after Janey straight away while you deal with the police.’
Nicole leant forward. ‘Is the baby all right? She’ll ask about that.’
Angus said simply, ‘Listen.’
The sound of a baby howling indignantly came through the phone.
‘As you can hear, Millie’s fine. Miss Parfitt and Nell are taking care of her. Dan’s OK too. Look, is there anyone you can take with you, Kieran? There are two men involved and Dobson is a big fellow, brutal with it.’
‘I’m going with him,’ Nicole said at once.
‘So am I,’ said Paul.
Kieran rang the police to tell them he was going after Janey.
‘Do not put yourself at risk, Mr Jones. We’re sending a police car out to the smallholding as soon as we can.’
There was another of those infuriating, muttered conversations, then the officer added, ‘I think you’re closer to it, though. So as these men could hurt the girl, we’d be grateful if you could go and keep an eye on things. Stop them taking her anywhere else, if you have to, but otherwise don’t intervene.’
‘
I won’t stand by if Janey is in danger.’
Kieran ended the call and swung out of bed, grimacing at his stiffness and limping slightly as he grabbed his clothes. Since the accident he usually warmed up the muscles in that leg before getting up. No time for that now.
Nicole was already nearly dressed and Paul had vanished, presumably to put his clothes on.
Kieran shook his head ruefully. Fine rescue squad this was. A man with a bad leg, a slender woman and a gangly teenage lad. But the numbers would make a difference, he was sure, and one car could box in another and stop anyone escaping. That at least he could do. It didn’t matter if his car got damaged. It was only a tin box, nothing as valuable as a human life.
They were in the car within minutes and he began programming the satnav. Then he set off, driving as fast as was safe in the windy night.
Wayne swung round and stared at his cousin. ‘Why did she just call you a filthy pervert? What did you do to her?’
‘Nothing.’
‘He touched my breast.’ Janey tried to roll away from him but he yanked her to her feet.
‘What? I’m not having any of that in my house, whatever you threaten.’
‘Aw, she’s lying again. She always was a liar.’ He kept hold of her arm and slapped her across the face again with his free hand. ‘Not another word from you, you damned troublemaker.’
Janey tried to pull away from him, but couldn’t. ‘I’m not lying, Wayne. I’m not.’ She forced a sob, hoping to soften his heart. ‘He did touch my breast. He’s sick in the head.’
Wayne didn’t move. ‘I saw enough to believe her. I’d never have thought it of you, though, Lionel. Not that. Not after what our uncle did to us.’
‘I’m not like him. I was just tormenting her a bit, making her pay for what she’s done to me.’
‘Normal men wouldn’t even think of doing that,’ Janey said, rubbing her breast with her free hand and forcing another sob.
‘Let go of her,’ Wayne ordered. ‘This has got to stop. We’ll dump her in the town centre and deny we ever saw her.’