‘Talking of bets . . .’ Swiftly, Josh repeated what he had been in the process of telling Emily when Trip had arrived home and continued, ‘We went out of town in a car Pete had “borrowed”. He set fire to it on the way back and we ran the last few miles home. Anyway, that’s another story. What I wanted to tell you about is the old barn in the middle of nowhere that Mick used for the boxing match. I just wondered . . .’
‘If he might have taken her out there?’
Josh nodded, but then pulled a face. ‘Mind you, it was really Steve’s place. Him and his gang were waiting for us when we came out and warned Mick off from using it again. It nearly came to fisticuffs.’
Trip was thoughtful. ‘I don’t know if Mick would take Steve’s daughter to a place that was her dad’s stamping ground, though it’s probably the sort of twisted thing he would do. Hiding her in plain sight, so to speak. No one would think of looking for her there for that very reason.’
‘It’s worth a look, isn’t it?’
‘Of course. We’ll go at once. That’s if you can remember where the barn was.’
‘I know we set off up the Baslow Road and just seemed to keep going. Maybe I’ll recognize it as we go.’
‘I presume you came in my mother’s car. I saw it outside when I came home and thought she was here.’
Josh nodded. ‘Your mother’s very good to us, Trip, in all sorts of ways.’
Trip smiled weakly. In normal circumstances, it would have been a huge grin, but today no one felt like smiling. ‘I’ve bought a car now,’ he murmured, ‘but neither of us have had time to learn to drive it yet.’
‘Well, I can drive. Mr Kirkland taught me. Come on, then, let’s get going,’ Josh said, getting up.
‘Just hang on a minute whilst I have a quick wash,’ Emily said.
‘I don’t think you should come, darling. If Mick’s there . . .’
‘Yes, I should. Lucy doesn’t know either of you all that well. If she is there, she’ll be even more frightened than she already is, poor mite. I must come. Please, Trip.’
‘All right,’ Trip agreed reluctantly, ‘but you must promise me you’ll stay well back till we see what’s what.’
‘That’s if we can find the place.’
Ten
Ten minutes later, after Emily had splashed her face hurriedly, they were in Constance’s little car, with Emily squashed into the narrow space at the back, and heading out of the city.
‘We ought to have told someone where we’re going,’ Emily shouted above the noise of the engine. ‘We ought to have some sort of back up.’
As they chugged up the hill, they saw several men going from house to house, knocking on doors and talking to the occupants.
‘Looks as if the search is still going on round here,’ Josh remarked. ‘Do you want to stop and tell someone where we’re going?’
‘Trip – I think we should.’
‘Pull over, Josh, and I’ll speak to one of them . . . Oh, there’s Ben. He works in our grinding shop . . .’
Almost before the vehicle stopped, Trip leapt out and ran towards one of the men, who was just about to approach another house.
‘Ben – Ben, wait a minute. I need a word.’
‘Why, Mr Trippet. What is it? Has t’little lass been found?’
‘Sorry, no, but my brother-in-law, Josh, has thought of a place out in the country where Mick might have taken her.’
‘Want me to come along?’
Trip hesitated. It was a tempting offer; Ben was tall, broad shouldered and strong. ‘I wish you could, but I don’t think we can fit you in the car.’
Ben looked at it for a moment and then said, ‘I could ride on that there luggage thing at the back, if he drives steady.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘If Mick Dugdale’s there, you’re going to need a bit of brawn. Meaning no disrespect, sir.’
‘None taken, Ben. Come along, we’ll see what we can do.’
‘Wait a minute, I’ll just tell my mate what’s happening, so he can finish off this row of houses.’
When Emily and Josh heard what was proposed, Emily said at once, ‘Oh no you don’t, Ben. Trip and I can squeeze in the back and you sit beside Josh.’ She clambered out. ‘You get in, Trip, and I’ll sit on your knee. No arguing.’
And no one did. They set off again, Constance’s little car struggling up the hills with the extra weight.
‘Where are we headed?’
‘Out of town somewhere up the Baslow Road, where Mick Dugdale used to run bare-knuckle fights,’ Josh explained. ‘Trouble is, I only went there the once and I’m not sure if I can remember where it is exactly.’
Beside him, Ben chuckled. ‘But I can. I know it well, though I thought it was Steve’s hideout. But don’t you tell my missus. She’ll box my ears.’ The image of a little woman, however fiery, boxing the ears of the big man brought a smile to all of them.
‘It was Steve’s place – still is, probably,’ Josh said. ‘That’s why we thought Mick might take her there – a place no one would think of looking.’
They travelled a few miles in silence until Ben said suddenly, ‘I reckon it’s round this next corner. Turn left down a narrow lane and then . . . Aye, there it is, down the slope of that field on the left.’ The car jolted down the rough track. ‘Pull up here, Josh, on t’side of t’road. We don’t want the sound of the car to alert him if he is there.’
They left the car on the grass verge and walked into the field and down the slope.
‘You stay back, Emily.’ But Emily shook her head and walked on. ‘If Lucy is here, Trip, I need to be with you.’
Trip sighed, but said no more. Silent now, they tiptoed towards the barn door and listened. Josh tried the door, but it was locked. Quietly, he said, ‘I’m going to walk round the back. If Mick is here, he will have parked his vehicle out of sight from the road. That’s what he did before.’
Ben nodded in agreement. ‘You go with him, Trip – just in case. I’ll stay here with your missus.’
A few minutes later Trip and Josh returned, shaking their heads. ‘Nothing round there and no way in, either. I don’t think he’s here.’
‘Let’s just hope the lass is.’
Ben rattled the door. ‘Thank goodness t’isn’t a solid barn door. This won’t take much breaking down. Not for me, but a little lass’d never open it.’
Emily sniffed. ‘He’s good at locking folks in places,’ she murmured. Thank goodness he hadn’t set fire to this one, if Lucy was here.
Ben smashed a hole in the flimsy timber of the door and tore away the panels, making a hole big enough for them all to step through. Inside, the barn was dark and gloomy and it took a moment for their eyes to become accustomed to the dimness. They listened for a moment, but there was no sound.
‘Lucy, are you here? Don’t be frightened, darling. It’s Aunty Emily.’
They listened again and heard a scuffle and then whimpering.
‘Lucy – is that you? Where are you? We can’t see—’
‘Up there.’ Josh pointed. ‘In the hayloft. But there’s no ladder.’
‘Yes, there is. Over there by the wall,’ Trip said. ‘Help me carry it, Josh.’
Together the two men fetched the ladder and leaned it up against the edge of the hayloft. ‘I’ll go up,’ Trip said. ‘She knows me.’
As he stepped onto the floor of the loft and looked around him, he saw the figure of a small girl huddled in the far corner with a gag over her mouth and a rope around her wrist, tethering her to an iron ring in the wall. He hurried across and squatted down in front of her. ‘It’s all right, Lucy. We’ll take you home to your mam. Don’t cry, sweetheart. You’re safe now.’
He slid the gag from her mouth, so that it lay loosely around her neck. At once, her sobs were louder. Speaking reassuringly to her, he struggled to untie the thick rope. ‘We’ll soon have you out of here.’
Her wrists were red and raw where she’d struggled against the bonds. At
last she was free and she threw herself against Trip, clinging to him and weeping loudly.
‘There, there,’ he tried to comfort her as he picked her up and carried her to the top of the ladder. He set her down, but she was unsteady, her legs weak from being forced to sit for several hours.
‘Josh,’ Trip shouted down, ‘can you come up the ladder and help her down?’
‘S’all right, Mr Trippet,’ Ben shouted before Josh could make a move. ‘I can carry her down.’ Without waiting for a reply, he started up the ladder. Stepping onto the floor of the loft, he said, ‘Now, me little lass, you’ve got to be very brave, ’cos we’ve got to get you down from here. Can you climb onto my back, put your arms around my neck and hang on very tightly?’ He squatted down and Lucy did as he asked.
‘Now, you must hold on tight, lass. Can you do that?’
Trip watched anxiously. If the girl were to let go halfway down the ladder . . . ‘Wait a minute, Ben. Let’s use that rope to tie her on. It’ll be safer.’
He fetched the rope and looped it around her back and under her arms and then under Ben’s arms, tying it in front of the man’s chest. ‘There, that should do it.’
As Ben stepped carefully onto the top of the ladder and turned round to begin his descent, Lucy found herself dangling in mid-air. Sobbing with fear now, she almost throttled Ben, her arms clinging tightly around his neck. But the big man did not complain. He could put up with a few moments’ discomfort if it got this little girl to safety. After what seemed like an agonizingly long time, his foot touched the ground and eager hands untied the rope around his chest and Lucy was lifted from his back. She clung to Emily and sobbed against her shoulder. Emily held her tightly and tried to soothe her wails.
As soon as Trip had climbed down the ladder, he said, ‘Come on, let’s get out of here before—’
He hadn’t finished speaking before they heard a noise at the broken doorway. They turned to see Mick Dugdale climbing though the hole. He straightened up and faced them, grinning.
‘Well, well, well, four rats in my trap. Emily and even Josh. What a catch!’
Ben took a step towards him, his fists clenched, but Trip caught his arm and said quietly, ‘No, Ben. He’s got a gun.’
Eleven
Bravely, Emily stepped forward. ‘Mick, don’t be a fool. Put the gun down and let us go.’
‘I would be a fool if I did that, pretty Emily. When I have at least two of the people I want revenge on – three, if you count the girl.’ He waved his gun towards Lucy.
‘Are you still resentful on Lizzie’s behalf? Because you needn’t be. She’s back with us, working with us. Surely—?’
‘Not working with you, working for you. There’s a big difference. You’re forgetting that it was me who set you up in your first business, when you and Lizzie were partners, but he –’ Mick gestured towards Josh – ‘had to go and spoil it all by running back to his slut in the country and leaving my poor sister heartbroken. You really think I’m ever going to forgive that?’
‘She’s not heartbroken. I doubt she ever was. Besides, she’s walking out with Billy Nicholson now.’
‘Huh! That milksop! That’ll not last, ’cos I won’t let it. He’s not good enough for her.’ He glanced again at Josh. ‘I thought you were. I liked you, Josh. You were even part of my gang for a while, weren’t you?’
Emily gasped and glanced behind her at Josh, who’d turned red. She’d known he’d been involved with Mick’s gambling, but she’d not realized he’d been regarded as part of the Dugdale gang.
Noticing, Mick smirked. ‘Oh dear! Am I letting out secrets? Didn’t your big sister know?’
Josh squared his shoulders. ‘I was never really part of your gang. I got pulled in with you for a while, I admit that.’
Mick’s lip curled. ‘And then you ran away like the scaredy cat you really are. I reckon our Lizzie had a lucky escape. Your slut’s welcome to you.’ He turned back as if tired of going over old ground yet again. He fingered the jagged scar on his left cheek. His present quarrel was with Steve Henderson. Lucy’s father.
‘Hand the girl over and the rest of you can scarper.’
The four adults all spoke at once as they ranged themselves in front of the young girl.
‘Not likely.’ ‘You’ll have to get past all four of us before that.’ ‘Let us go, Mick –’ this was from Emily – ‘your only hope is if you go, and go now.’
‘Oh aye, and how long before you send the coppers after me, eh?’
Emily shrugged. ‘Do you see any coppers with us? We’ve no means of getting word to them and by the time we get back to Sheffield, you can be long gone.’
For a brief moment, Mick actually seemed to be considering her suggestion, but then his face hardened. ‘How do I know it’s not some sort of trick? For all I know, you might have told the coppers where you were coming. They might be on their way here right now.’
Trip stepped forward to stand beside Emily, saying with a forced smile, ‘You’re right there, Mick. We might easily have done.’ How I wish we had, he thought to himself.
Almost, as if by wishing it so, there was a noise outside the barn door.
‘’Ere, what’s going on?’ a deep, angry voice said. ‘Who’s wrecked my barn door?’
At the noise, Mick whirled around, his gun pointing towards the hole in the door. Beyond it, they could all see the burly figure of a man already tugging at the splintered timbers.
Trip turned towards Ben and Josh and hissed, ‘Quick, let’s rush him. Emily, you and Lucy get down on the floor.’
‘Who’s in there?’ The man on the other side of the door was shouting now and turning a key in the lock. Mick raised his gun and pointed it towards the door, waiting for it to swing open, waiting to get a good target . . .
Trip, Josh and Ben launched themselves at Mick, knocking him to the ground. Trip scrabbled to get hold of the gun, but Mick pulled the trigger and the gun discharged, echoing through the barn.
‘Bloody ’ell!’ They heard the man’s expletive and saw him disappear from view at the same moment as Ben stamped on Mick’s wrist. The gun fell from his grasp and Ben scooped it up. ‘Now t’boot’s on t’other foot, ain’t it, mate?’
Mick sat up nursing his wrist and wincing with pain. ‘I reckon you’ve broken it.’
‘Don’t worry, mate. They’ll fix it in t’prison hospital.’
Trip bent and helped Emily and Lucy up. ‘We’d better go and see what’s happened to the man outside. I hope he’s not hurt.’
Trip opened the damaged door now that it had been unlocked, but it almost fell off its hinges. He stepped outside to see the man standing close to the barn wall. He was holding a shotgun and he levelled it at Trip.
‘Stay where you are, else I’ll shoot. This is my land and I’m within my rights. You’re trespassing.’
Trip put his hands up. ‘Let me explain, but first, are you hurt?’
The farmer shook his head. ‘No, you missed me, but I’ll not miss, if you cause me any trouble now. Thank goodness I was rabbiting and had my gun with me.’
‘I need you to call the police. Thanks to your timely arrival, we have the gunman under control. We have his gun.’
The man blinked and was obviously mystified. ‘You’d better tell me exactly what’s going on.’
Swiftly, Trip explained everything. ‘But we’ve got Mick Dugdale’s gun now and—’
‘Mick Dugdale – that scoundrel! I thought he’d scarpered a while back.’ Trip must have looked surprised, for the man gave a short laugh and said, ‘Oh aye, we might live out in the middle of nowhere in your eyes, but we know what goes on in the city. I’ve a brother who lives there. We hear the gossip and we know all about t’gangs. And I’d heard about t’little lass going missing. T’lad, who fetches t’milk, telled us early this morning. That’s why I came up here. Thought I’d better take a look, just in case, like.’ He nodded towards the barn and raised his gun again. ‘You sure you’ve got him safe?�
�
Trip glanced behind him to see Josh tying Mick’s hands behind his back. Mick was yowling. ‘Me wrist’s broken, I tell you. Have a heart!’
‘Like the “heart” you had when you abducted a six-year-old lass?’ Josh gave a final yank to the knot and Mick cried out again.
‘What are we going to do with him?’ Trip asked for suggestions. ‘We can’t get us all in the car to go back to the city and we should get Lucy home to her mam as quickly as possible and get the word out she’s been found.’
‘If one of you fellers will stay with me,’ the farmer put in, ‘we can keep him locked up until the police get here.’
Mick turned white. ‘Not the coppers. Please not the coppers. I’ll hang for sure.’
Trip squatted down in front of him. ‘Just tell me, Mick, why we should have an ounce of sympathy for you after everything you’ve done?’
He shook his head and whispered, ‘Think of Lizzie – of me mam.’
‘What we ought to do,’ Trip said, as he stood up again, ‘is to tell Steve where you are. We’ll let him decide.’
Mick gave a groan and fell back, his eyes closed. ‘Then I’m a goner anyway,’ he muttered.
‘I don’t think we should do that, Trip,’ Emily said worriedly. ‘Steve will kill him and then he’d end up at the end of a rope too. This has gone on long enough. It’s time we took a stand on the side of the law. If you don’t go to the police when we get back, then I will.’
Twelve
The news that the missing child had been found safe and well spread through the city like a tidal wave, bringing relief to everyone and welcome rest for the searchers. But the feeling was soon superseded by anger; anger that anyone in their wonderful city could do such a thing. Rumour soon spread that it was the revenge of one gang leader against another.
‘They’ll have to be stopped. Someone ought to do something,’ was the general consensus of opinion. But who?
The ‘who’ stood in the small back kitchen of their terraced house with her hands on her hips and faced her husband. ‘Are you with me on this, Trip – or against me?’
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