Innocent Girls

by Terence Mitford

  ‘I realise that. Which is why we will pay you two-hundred-thousand pounds for your help.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Angela, but I cannot accept your offer. You need to speak to the police. They can keep it away from the press if necessary.’

  ‘You should know better than anyone that not all police can be trusted.’

  ‘I am not an expert in this field. I just did what I had to do to find my daughter.’

  ‘There are no experts at what I’m asking you to do. Just those who are capable of succeeding and those who are not.’

  Angela looked over Mason’s shoulder then pointed behind him to the square entrance lobby off the sitting room where a smartly dressed man was standing holding a briefcase. ‘This is Derek, Derek Chambers, my husband.’

  Mason got to his feet and held out his hand. ‘I’m Mason Cooper.’

  Derek walked in and shook Mason’s hand, then walked around to kiss Angela’s cheek. ‘I thought we’d agreed to wait for their next move.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Derek, I couldn’t just sit around waiting.’

  Derek turned back to Mason. ‘How much has my wife told you?’

  ‘Just that your daughter has been abducted by some organisation.’

  Derek raised his eyebrows. ‘It’s not just some organisation, it’s the most dangerous, cruel, and ruthless organisation in Europe.’ There was a genuine fear in Derek’s voice.

  ‘Why have they targeted your daughter?’

  ‘Because I refused to represent one of their business associates, though I use that term loosely.’

  Mason waited for him to explain more.

  ‘I’m a defence barrister, and…’

  ‘He is being modest,’ Angela interrupted. ‘He’s one of the most successful defence lawyers on the circuit.’

  ‘So why did you refuse to represent someone?’

  ‘Because he’s accused of trafficking underage girls, some as young as nine. My daughter is just ten. I couldn’t represent him and then come home and look my daughter in the eye.’

  Mason nodded. ‘I can understand that.’

  ‘But when you say no to the Kestrati there are consequences.’

  ‘I understand that too, but I was explaining to your wife before you came home that unfortunately I cannot help. You need to deal with the police.’

  ‘I have managed to get some pretty unsavoury people acquitted over the years. I’m not so confident I’ll get the help I need from the police.’

  ‘The victim here is your ten-year-old daughter. It won’t matter what the police think of you.’

  ‘But you’re an ex-cop and from what I heard you still had to go it alone.’

  Mason took a moment and nodded. ‘You’re right, but that’s because of a massive terrorist operation underway at the time.’

  Derek pulled out a note from the inside pocket of his grey suit jacket and handed it to Mason. ‘This was pushed through our letterbox last night.’

  The note was hand written in red ink:

  Rules:

  Call the Police - she dies

  Refuse the case - she dies

  Lose the case - she dies

  Do not waste time trying to find her. She has been taken out of the country.

  Mason stared at the note before folding it and handing it back. ‘You need to show this to the Police.’

  ‘Against rule number one?’

  ‘It’s your best chance of finding her.’

  Derek pushed the note back into his pocket. ‘Has my wife explained that we can pay you very well?’

  ‘Yes, Derek, but it’s not about the money. I have a marriage to save and a daughter to consider.’

  Derek appeared to think for a moment, then nodded, picked up his briefcase and placed it on the low table. He took out a business card and handed it to Mason. ‘Thank you for your time, Mr Cooper. I’m sorry we tried to involve you in something that’s nothing to do with you. As I said before, the people I’m talking about are dangerous. I don’t want to put you or your family at risk.’ He hesitated before continuing. ‘You can ignore this next statement and I wouldn’t blame you if you do. But I owe it to my daughter to say it. Please consider our offer and call me if you change your mind.’

  Mason offered a sympathetic smile as he took the card then headed for the lift.

  Angela followed. ‘I’ll get Andrew to drive you back.’

  ‘That wont be necessary, Angela, I can run from here.’

  ‘Very well, but at least let me show you out.’

  They rode the lift to the ground floor and Angela opened a door to the street, then placed her hand on his arm. ‘I will be so grateful if you do change your mind.’

  Her whispering tone and lingering eye contact made him suspect there was more on offer than just money.

  ‘I’m sorry, Angela. Please take my advice and contact the police. Your daughter needs their intervention.’

  As he ran home Mason remembered Derek’s comments about the Kestrati being dangerous, and about how Derek did not want to put him or his family at risk, and about how he owed it to his daughter to give him his card and ask him to contact them if he changed his mind about helping.

  Derek had, intentionally or not, made him feel bad and even guilty for not agreeing to help. But as Derek was a top notch lawyer he would know exactly which psychological buttons to press. It was one of a lawyer’s greatest skills. Then again, Mason could hardly blame him under the circumstances. He was just trying to rescue his daughter, and Mason knew better than most there was very little a father wouldn’t do to save his daughter.

  So as he ran, Mason couldn’t get the thought of their ten-year-old daughter, in the clutches of such an evil organisation, out of his mind. He hadn’t seen her photo and didn’t even know her name, but she was just a child, and that’s all he needed to know to feel as bad as he did.

  17

  KATERINA

  The van jolted Katerina awake. She had managed to sleep for most of the journey but as the road became more uneven she felt every bump.

  She brought her hand up to her face. It was wet and so was her dress. There was no air movement inside the wooden box, just enough seeping through the small holes to keep her alive. And it was hot, too hot. The box was becoming her torture chamber.

  She wondered how long it had been since Hugo last stopped and let her out to drink and pee at the side of the van, but it seemed a long time. She pushed up on the lid not expecting any movement, but to her surprise, it moved up at one side. She searched for the flashlight and fumbled for the switch. Two of the nails through the lid on her right had missed the wooden side.

  She put down the torch, placed both hands on the underside of the lid and pushed as hard as she could. The lid creaked as the two remaining nails further along lost their grip and it opened, hinging on the nails on the left side. Finally, she was free from her coffin-sized prison. She knelt up allowing the air to cool her skin. She had never before been so hot.

  The only light source was her small flashlight which she shone on the back doors. They were lined with wooden panels but there were no handles. She climbed out of the box, lowered the lid and sat down on it. There was nowhere for her to go. She had just exchanged one tight confined space for a slightly larger one.

  But even this limited freedom was short lived. The van slowed to a halt and her heart missed a beat at the sound of Hugo’s door opening. She jumped up, raised the lid, and got back inside.

  The rear door opened and when Hugo levered up the lid she could tell from his puzzled expression that he knew something was wrong. He stared at the nails and nodded to himself.

  She breathed a sigh of relief. He had spotted his mistake but hadn’t realised she had taken advantage of it.

  ‘Out you get,’ he said.

  She followed him to an industrial building where they were met at the door by a man with a seriously unfriendly face. No words were spoken as he showed them into the oblong lobby with doors on each side and one opposite which was
wedged open giving a view into a large, shadowy, empty space. The building appeared to be an old warehouse, disused for any legal purpose.

  She was taken to an office with a couple of desks, a scattering of cheap chairs, filing cabinets, and empty shelving. Hugo greeted two more men with handshakes. They appeared to know each other. Then she remembered that Hugo had said he used to run the trafficking routes until recently.

  One of the men stood out as the boss of the three. It was something about his steely manner and the way he stood centre stage and had been the first to greet Hugo. She studied a scar down his left cheek and wondered if he got it at the hands of a rival gang or one of his own jostling for supremacy. She guessed, that like Anton, these men were not the most loyal of colleagues.

  The third man was perched on the edge of a desk in the background. He was staring at her with an intensity that sent shivers down her back.

  As she glanced at Hugo she felt the man’s eyes still locked onto her. But she wasn’t the only one to notice his attention. Hugo was watching.

  After a few seconds, Hugo walked over to him, pointed at her, and shook his head. ‘Whatever you are thinking right now it better not have anything to do with my girl.’

  Katerina relaxed. Hugo was protecting her again and had called her his girl. But it was not a term of affection, just a declaration of ownership. He was making it plain, that for now at least, she was his property.

  The man broke his focus and looked up at the big man in front of him. ‘No, Hugo, I was just looking, that’s all.’

  ‘Good, because she’s not available to you or any one else here.’

  The man nodded, clearly not wanting to get on Hugo’s wrong side.

  Hugo turned back to scarface. ‘We’ll be leaving early in the morning.’

  Scarface handed Hugo a key. ‘Take her down to the storage room and join us for a drink.’

  Her heart sank. She was about to be locked away again.

  Hugo guided her through the warehouse and down a steel staircase to a long narrow basement around five metres wide and twice as long. One unshaded lamp hung above them. The other end of the room was in shadow.

  But darkness was not the only partition. Across the width of the room was a metal cage, no doubt used to safeguard stock when the warehouse was operational, but now it made the perfect holding cell for human cargo. On this side of the cage there was a square table in the centre of the space. It seemed odd there were no chairs.

  Hugo unlocked the gate in the middle of the cage and ushered her inside. She didn’t resist. She was becoming accustomed to being locked away and at least this would be better than the box. More space, more air, less heat.

  She walked to the right and sat on the concrete floor by the wall and watched Hugo leave. Then she rested her face in her hands, closed her eyes, and hoped to sleep. It would help pass the time.

  A noise from the other side of the cage jolted her eyes open. She held her breath as she peered into the shadows at the shape of someone sat on a long bench against the opposite wall, but it was too dark to see any detail. ‘Who is it, who’s there?’

  ‘Come over here, it’s better than sitting on the floor.’ It was a girl’s voice, soft and shaky.

  Katerina breathed easier as she walked over and sat on the bench next to the girl. ‘I’m Katerina.’

  The girl stared back at her, open mouthed. ‘How old are you?’

  ‘I’m twelve.’

  ‘Twelve?’

  ‘Yes.’

  The girl glanced through the bars towards the stairs at the other end of the basement and muttered under her breath, ‘Bastards.’

  Katerina nodded.

  The girl reached out and held Katerina’s hand. ‘I’m Sabrina.’

  Katerina looked up at the older girl and could see from her flowing waves of auburn hair, full lips, and pale porcelain skin why she would be of value to men looking to profit from her. Her femininity reminded her of her older sister, Natasha. ‘What happened to you, Sabrina, why are you here?’

  ‘My boyfriend sold me to these men.’

  Katerina’s voice rose sharply in pitch. ‘Your boyfriend?’

  ‘Well, I thought he was. He was so nice when we met. Took me out, bought me clothes, said all the right things. He seemed perfect. After a few days he said he wanted me to meet his parents. But he lied. He brought me here and sold me to those men. Then he left me here.’

  ‘Oh, Sabrina, that’s terrible.’

  ‘What about you?’

  Katerina told her how Hugo had snatched her from the lake and that he knew her name and age.

  ‘Do you know who sold you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It’s probably someone you know.’

  ‘I don’t know anyone who would do that.’

  ‘Haven’t you asked the man who brought you here?’

  Katerina shook her head, then thought about what Sabrina had said and wondered why she hadn’t thought of it herself. Why hadn’t it occurred to her to ask Hugo?

  Their conversation was interrupted when two of the men from the office came down to the basement.

  One of them opened the cage door and pointed to Sabrina. ‘Come here.’

  Katerina wrapped her arms around her new friend. ‘Where are you taking her?’

  ‘Nowhere, we’re just going to have some fun.’

  Sabrina took hold of Katerina’s arms and gently moved them away. Then with her head bowed she walked out of the cage. The second man closed the cage door and secured it again with the padlock.

  Katerina watched as the first man gripped the girl’s arm and led her to the centre of the room where he turned her back around to face the table and the cage. Then from behind he grabbed her vest top, pulled it up over her head, and threw it on the floor.

  Katerina’s stomach clenched as she realised what was about to happen to this girl right there in front of her. She jumped up and ran to the cage door. ‘Leave her alone or I’ll tell Hugo.’

  The man standing behind Sabrina laughed at her. ‘Hugo doesn’t care what we do to this slut, she doesn’t belong to him, she is ours.’

  Katerina gripped the bars. ‘She doesn’t belong to you. What you’re doing is wrong.’

  The man glared at Katerina, then stepped back, removed his belt, and held it by the buckle in his right hand. ‘I will make you regret opening your mouth.’ He whipped the belt hard across Sabrina’s back. The crack of leather on bare skin echoed off the brick walls and the girl shrieked with pain. He raised the belt up and sneered at Katerina. ‘If you talk again I will beat her again.’

  Katerina sighed. There was nothing she could do to help, and she couldn’t bear to be responsible for causing Sabrina more pain, so she held up a hand and nodded. She dared not speak.

  The man stepped up behind Sabrina and ripped off her bra causing her to gasp. He unzipped her jeans, yanked them down, then he ripped off her underwear and pushed her forward over the table. He kicked her feet apart as much as the jeans around her knees would allow, then unzipped his own trousers.

  Katerina looked into Sabrina’s eyes. Her face twisted as the man thrust himself into her and began ramming his hips back and forward. She seemed to be trying to stifle her screams as she gripped the edges of the table with both hands.

  As Katerina watched the cruel abuse of this defenceless girl, tears streamed down her face and she prayed it would end soon. But she was horrified when the first man withdrew and made way for his accomplice. She couldn't watch any longer. She turned and slid down to the floor and covered her ears trying to block out the sounds of rape.

  When the second man had finished he pushed the sobbing girl back into the cage with her jeans still down her thighs. Her top was thrown through the bars before both men left the basement, laughing and congratulating themselves with slaps on the back.

  As Sabrina pulled up her jeans Katerina picked up the top and handed it to her. Then the two girls just hugged each other in silence before Katerina led her back to
the bench.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Sabrina.’

  The girl looked at her. ‘What for?’

  ‘For causing him to hit you.’

  ‘That wasn’t your fault. You were just trying to help.’

  ‘How is your back?’

  ‘Stinging, but that’s not the only place that hurts.’

  Katerina winced. ‘He was so rough with you. I didn’t think sex would be like that.’

  ‘That wasn’t normal sex. They are sick. They just want to control and dominate.’

  ‘I don’t understand how any man could treat a girl like that.’

  ‘They are not men, they are animals.’ Sabrina turned to Katerina, her brow furrowed. ‘When were you taken?’

  ‘Yesterday.’

  ‘Has that not happened to you yet?’

  ‘No.’

  Sabrina relaxed her expression. ‘You’re lucky, I thought they rape every girl they take.’

  ‘I’m being preserved. In fact, Hugo beat up one of the gang who tried to assault me. He said they get more money for… you know… innocent girls.’

  ‘You mean virgins?’

  Katerina nodded.

  ‘Then those idiots just cost themselves a lot of money… because I was a virgin until a few minutes ago.’

  18

  NATASHA

  Natasha got back into the hire car and dropped the pistol onto the seat next to her. With the gun shots still echoing in her head, and the bloody scenes vivid in her mind, her hands trembled due to an emotional cocktail of fear, rage, and anxiety. She was trapped in a real-life horror story that seemed to have no end in sight. How many more would she have to kill before she got to take her sister home? That’s if she succeeds in her bloody quest to find and free Katerina.

  She leant forward and rested her forehead on the steering wheel, waiting for her head to stop spinning and the knot in her stomach to unravel. A minute or so later she lifted her head, snapped her eyes open, and grabbed the maps. She was back.

  Using her finger, she traced the route across Hungary, through Austria, to Munich just inside Germany and to the third little red cross. The address was written on the back with warehouse in brackets next to it. Maybe a nine hour journey ahead of her and probably a couple of hours behind the traffickers.