There was to be no solace from his visit to the bank either. The bank manager, Mr Hopps, hadn’t been forthcoming at all. He was a man of pinched features, set in a thin face with an unfortunate look of a Dickensian character. He raised a suspicious eyebrow when Richard asked to surrender his ISA accounts and withdraw the balance of their joint current account, all in cash. Richard also asked to borrow a hundred and fifty thousand pounds, again in cash. When set against his salary of nearly ninety thousand pounds a year and Martha’s income from the agency, Richard thought this was not an impossible figure. He even offered to use their house as collateral.
Although stressing the gravity of their personal situation, Richard refrained from telling the bank manager about the kidnapping. With hindsight, maybe he should have done — it might have gained the man’s empathy — but it seemed to him that the fewer people who knew about it, the easier it would be for them as a family to recover from the trauma afterwards.
Richard now regretted taking such large sums of money out of the bank previously. He knew it was a risk at the time but he couldn’t possibly have foreseen that Danny would be kidnapped. Mr Hopps prevaricated, saying that he would need time to consult head office, particularly as Richard wanted all the money in cash, even the loan, which was a very unusual request. He would have to return the following day, when the manager would have received advice from the powers that be.
On the drive home, Richard’s phone rang; it was Jamie, his clerk from chambers.
‘Richard, where are you? You have meetings scheduled for this afternoon and the police have been here, asking what time you left yesterday. What on earth’s going on — are you in some kind of trouble?’
‘It’s Danny, he’s been kidnapped.’ Speaking the words brought tears to Richard’s eyes and he pulled off the road to continue the call.
‘But that’s terrible! When did this happen?’
‘Yesterday. He didn’t come home from school and this morning we’ve had a letter demanding money. I can’t come in today, Jamie — can you cancel my meetings and anything I’ve got in the diary for tomorrow?’
‘Yes, of course, we’ll cover for you as long as it takes. Can we do anything else?’
Richard was tempted to ask if they could loan him the money — it wouldn’t be a problem for chambers as over fifty barristers worked there. But that would prove difficult and Martha would find out and the police would get to know. No, it was best to see what he could do himself. He thanked Jamie, pulled the car into the traffic again and headed for home.
Martha, pale and tired, was waiting for him. She flashed him an angry look as he entered the lounge and sat beside her. Suni was on her phone. Finishing the call she sat down and Richard and Martha both looked expectantly at her.
‘The boy who delivers your paper is at the station now. He was approached by a man as he began his round this morning and asked if he delivered to you. The man then offered him ten pounds to deliver the letter with your paper. The paperboy didn’t ask any questions, just took the money and put the letter inside your paper. He’s with one of our artists now, trying to put together a picture of the man, although his initial description seemed rather vague. But it’s still another avenue to pursue, something positive to go on.’
Richard nodded then went upstairs to his study, followed almost immediately by his wife.
‘How did you get on at the bank?’ Martha got straight to the point.
‘Not so good, I’m afraid. We can access some of our funds but Mr Hopps will have to get the okay from head office to give us it in cash. I asked about a loan, against the house and he’s looking into that too.’
‘A loan? The full amount should be in the bank, but it isn’t, is it, or at the building society?’
‘I told you, I made a few investments.’ Richard turned away.
‘So you took money from our joint account, as well as most of the building society account and never thought to tell me? What are these investments, Richard?’ Hot tears were running down Martha’s face.
‘Have you been going through my desk?’ Richard asked, accusingly.
‘Don’t try to turn this round on me! Of course I’ve been through your desk. If you couldn’t work out how to raise the money, I was going to do it. It’s our money, not yours and I didn’t realise we had secrets from each other!’ Her voice was getting louder and Richard closed the study door to prevent Suni from hearing their raised voices. Martha continued, ‘So why is there no paperwork in your desk about these investments?’
‘The paperwork’s at chambers. Look, Martha, just leave it with me, I’ll get the money somehow!’ Richard couldn’t look his wife in the eyes as he spoke; he wished she would just go away and leave him alone.
‘I can’t believe you would do this!’ She was almost screaming. ‘You’d better get down to chambers and get this sorted. If we don’t have the money our son might be killed — can’t you see that, don’t you care?’
‘Of course I care and I’m doing everything possible to get the money together!’ Richard grabbed his coat, walked out of the study, ran down the stairs and slammed the front door.
Chapter 5
It was the middle of the afternoon and there were no new developments, at least none that the police were telling Martha and Richard about. Richard had returned home and there was an uneasy silence between him and Martha; a necessary truce if only because they both knew Suni was observing everything they did. Although Suni was ostensibly there to support and update them, Martha knew that she would also be reporting on the atmosphere in the house and while tension was to be expected, a major argument between the couple would cause the police to look more closely at them, which would be precious time wasted as far as she was concerned.
Radford and Best returned to the house shortly after Richard arrived home and wanted to ask more questions.
‘Why, what’s happened — haven’t you found him yet?’ Martha replied anxiously.
‘No, Martha, we haven’t, but we have every available officer working on the case and believe me, when a child is missing, they all give a hundred and ten percent. For now though, the paperboy has provided an e-fit picture of the man who approached him and I want you both to look at it to see if you recognise him.’ He handed them an artist’s impression of what could be anyone; regular features, mousey hair and grey eyes.
‘I’ve never seen him before,’ Richard declared.
‘No, neither have I,’ Martha agreed.
‘I’ll leave this copy with you. Have a good look at it, it might be a casual acquaintance, or someone you’ve seen hanging around perhaps?’ Radford looked hopefully at them but they both shook their heads. ‘Richard, I wonder if you could tell me a little more about the work you do. I know you’re a barrister but what kind of law do you practise?’
‘How on earth will talking about my work help to find Danny?’ Richard couldn’t keep the anger out of his voice.
‘We’re looking at this from several different angles. With the kind of work you do, it’s just possible that someone you’ve had dealings with has taken Danny as a way of getting at you, punishing you perhaps for what they perceive as an injustice?’
‘But I specialise in intellectual property, patents, infringements of copyright and registered trademarks, that kind of thing. I don’t see how that would fit in with kidnapping.’
‘I would imagine that you’ve come up against people who haven’t been too happy about verdicts going against them?’ Radford asked.
‘Well, yes, I suppose so.’
‘Could it be that someone who lost out to one of your clients and found themselves out of pocket might be resentful towards you, as well as your client?’
‘Yes, I see what you’re saying, but it’s not very likely that they would turn to kidnapping, is it?’
‘You’d be surprised at what some people might do. Resentment builds up and if it’s coupled with a heavy financial loss ... well, it can drive
people to all sorts of things.’
Richard was thoughtful for a few moments. ‘So are you asking for the names of people I’ve won cases against?’
‘I’m asking if you’ll think about it — whether anyone was particularly angry at a judgement going against them, or if there was anyone who made a threat, even if it was only in the heat of the moment? Please, just consider it and let us know if anyone comes to mind.’
Martha remained silent while listening to the exchange between her husband and DI Radford. She rarely thought about the work Richard did, being too busy with her own working life, but she understood what the detective was getting at. It was no surprise when he turned to her and asked virtually the same question.
‘Is there anyone you can think of from your working life, Martha, who may resent you enough to try to extort money in this way?’
‘I very much doubt it. I run a recruitment agency which tries to match employers with employees who are on our books. We help people on both sides and rarely have any issues.’
‘So you’ve not fired a member of staff for any reason recently, or had any disgruntled clients?’ Radford asked.
‘No, none that I can think of and I only employ about ten staff, most of whom have been with me for a good few years now and are more like friends than employees.’ Martha couldn’t believe that anyone she knew would be so cruel as to take her son.
‘Well, if anyone does spring to mind please say so.’
‘Yes, of course.’
Chapter 6
Lewis appeared in the doorway for the second time, the noise of his entry startling a rather sleepy Danny.
‘Want some food?’ he asked.
It took a few moments for Danny to remember exactly where he was and when he did, a deep sense of fear again flooded his mind and his body shuddered involuntarily. He was cold and hungry and so he nodded at his visitor.
‘Wanna come downstairs to get it?’ Lewis seemed to be almost taunting him; the thought of food and getting out of the room was appealing, but did he mean it?
‘Yer can go to the bathroom if you like and get rid of that stinking bucket!’
Danny did need to pee and the bucket in the corner smelt disgusting. He moved to pick it up, half expecting Lewis to slam the door in his face and laugh at him from the other side.
‘Who’s downstairs?’ Danny whispered.
‘Just me mum, but she’s still asleep.’
Hope surged through Danny’s mind; if she was sleeping and he could go downstairs, perhaps he could get out. He was sure that he could fight Lewis off if necessary; the boy looked as if a strong wind would blow him over. He moved towards the door and it wasn’t slammed in his face.
‘Bathroom’s down the hall.’ Lewis pointed and Danny went towards it. Once inside he checked out the window but only the small top pane opened and there was no way out from there. He emptied the bucket and used the toilet, then splashed his face with cold water before going back onto the landing.
‘Come on, we’ll get something to eat.’ Lewis made for the stairs and Danny dutifully followed. The boy’s attitude towards him was puzzling. Last night he seemed to be very much one of the kidnappers, but this morning he was acting more like a friend, offering these little concessions. It was weird.
The two boys went downstairs and Danny looked all around him, mentally taking note of which would be the best way to get out. If there was only this boy and his mother in the house, he felt sure he could outrun them — he was team captain at school for cross country running — but he’d need to act swiftly before the men came back. The front door was the obvious choice. It was an old, solid looking door and would almost certainly be locked. A light shone from the opposite end of the hallway, possibly another door, or a window?
As they entered the living room, Danny noticed that it was almost as sparse as the room upstairs — just an ancient sofa, a chair and a small television on top of a coffee table. An open fireplace dominated the room but no fire was lit and it was just as cold as the bedroom. There was a strong musty smell too and the walls were stained with damp patches, like the ones upstairs.
A woman was asleep on the sofa with her face turned inwards so that only her back was visible. She was a similar build to her son, although obviously taller, but not by much. Her dirty blonde hair was tied up in some kind of knot and it looked as if it hadn’t been washed, or even brushed, for days.
Lewis made his way through the living room to the kitchen where a small table with four rickety chairs stood opposite an old, cracked sink and a tiny, grubby looking fridge hummed in the corner.
‘Bread or cereal?’ he asked.
Danny wanted to say both, but settled on the bread, unsure if there would be fresh milk for the cereal. A couple of thick slices were soon pushed in front of him as he took a seat at the table, but no butter.
‘Shouldn’t you wake your mother?’ Danny asked.
‘Nah, she’s out of it. She’ll probably sleep most of the day. She drinks and she snorts stuff as well.’
Danny knew that if he was going to act it should be sooner rather than later, so when Lewis sat down opposite him, he decided to make his move. He lifted and pushed the table in one motion, knocking both the boy and the table to the floor. He ran back through to the hall and tried the front door. As expected, it was locked, so he quickly spun around to run in the opposite direction where he’d seen light, hoping there would be another door. There was and a more flimsy door than the front one, with a pane of frosted glass in the top half. Unsurprisingly this was also locked and Danny looked around for something to smash the glass. There was nothing and Lewis was standing a few feet away from him, laughing.
‘I knew you’d try, but it’s no good. There’s wire mesh on all the windows, including that door. Even if you smashed the glass, you’d never get through the wire.’
To his shame, Danny began to cry. Not huge sobs, but silent tears rolled down his cheeks.
Lewis turned to go back to the kitchen. ‘Might as well have some breakfast, or it’ll be a long day.’
Danny followed, sniffing and drying his eyes on his sleeve. This boy was strange. He wasn’t unkind, but by his own admission he was part of the gang who’d kidnapped him. He was earning money by helping to keep Danny a prisoner.
They picked up the kitchen table and chairs then sat down to eat their bread. Lewis set a mug of water down for each of them and Danny gulped his down greedily — he couldn’t remember ever being so thirsty before. Lewis automatically filled the mug up for him again.
‘Why are you helping the kidnappers?’ Danny decided to be direct.
‘Told yer last night — for the money.’
‘But my parents aren’t really rich. What if they can’t pay?’
‘Oh they’ll pay, you’ll see.’
‘So how long are you going to keep me here?’
‘Until they come up with the money.’ Lewis shrugged.
‘How much are they asking?’
‘Ha! You want to know how much you’re worth, don’t you? Well, I’m not supposed to know, but I did hear them talking about three hundred grand. So now we’ll see just how rich your parents are!’
Danny was scared. He had no idea if his parents could raise that amount of money, but if they could, he hoped it would be soon.
‘You know, the front door’s bolted from the outside, so you’ll never get out,’ Lewis told him.
‘But ... that means you and your mother are locked in too. Why did they do that? Who are these men, Lewis? Is one of them your dad?’
‘Nah, don’t be daft. My mum knows them. Pete’s her current boyfriend but it won’t last long, it never does.’
‘And who’s the other one?’
‘He’s called Dave but I’d never seen him until yesterday. Anyway, I shouldn’t be telling you their names — don’t let on that you know, will you?’ Lewis’s eyes narrowed.
‘I won’t, promise. So where do
you live? With this Pete?’
‘No way! He’s beats us sometimes and he doesn’t want us living with him, which suits me fine. We have a flat where Mum and I stay and Pete comes round when he wants Mum for sex.’
Danny felt his face flush at the mention of sex. He knew all about that kind of stuff — they’d covered it in biology at school — but it wasn’t something you talked about and particularly not concerning your mother.
‘Where do you go to school then?’ Danny was keen to change the subject.
‘Don’t go to school much if I can help it. We’ve moved around a lot and I usually start at a school then find out they’re a bunch of idiots, so I don’t go no more.’
‘What if Pete and Dave don’t come back? If we can’t get out ... we’ll die.’
Lewis laughed. ‘Don’t be such a wimp! They’ll come back for you once they’ve got the money and then we can all go home.’
‘But if they don’t get the money — what then?’ Danny was trembling, with fear or cold, he couldn’t tell.
‘They’ll probably just let you go. You’ve not seen them so you can’t tell the police what they look like, can you?’ Lewis didn’t sound too convinced by his own statement and Danny didn’t believe it either.
‘Have you ever done this sort of thing before?’ he asked.
‘No. But I’ve earned money from Pete before, doing little jobs, you know?’
‘No, I don’t know. Do you mean illegal jobs?’
‘Look, I don’t ask questions. The smart thing is to just do what I’m told. Perhaps you should do the same. If he’s in a good mood he’ll give me some cash, if not, well, I keep out of his way! Don’t tell me you’ve never nicked anything before?’
‘No, never.’
‘S’pose you can afford to buy whatever you want then, being rich an’ all.’
Danny was trying to think rationally. He was a prisoner in this cold, dirty house, supposedly guarded by Lewis and his mother. But surely they were no more than prisoners too, especially if they were locked in as Lewis said? Or maybe he was lying and he or his mother had a key.
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