At Your Door

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At Your Door Page 30

by J. P. Carter


  ‘But what if you’re wrong?’ Sophie said. ‘He won’t hesitate to kill her. I know him.’

  ‘It’s a chance we have to take. He’s made it clear that he wants to hurt her to punish you. So God only knows what he’s already done. We need to move now and we need to move fast.’

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

  Anna began with a call to Walker to enlist his help. He was still at MIT headquarters and so had immediate access to all the Met’s systems and databases. She quickly put him in the picture and he was stunned. He started to ask her questions but she told him there was no time to answer them.

  ‘Just get the team working on it,’ she said. ‘And alert DCS Nash. The bloke who has Chloe sounds like a right nut job. We have to assume that he’s prepared to carry out his threat. His name is Bruno Perez and it’s believed he lives somewhere in South London. Run a PNC check. He’s served seven years in a Spanish prison and was released three years ago. So I’m willing to bet he has a record here. I’ve never heard of him or his family but they’re apparently involved in some wholesale rackets so check with the organised crime unit. I want to know his current address, phone number and whereabouts. Plus the names of his closest associates, especially a man named Michael Taylor who works for him.

  ‘I also want an armed response unit put on standby. And get someone to trawl CCTV in and around Bridport Place, which runs alongside Shoreditch Park. We’re looking for a man in a black hooded sweatshirt who was there just before lunchtime today.’

  Anna hung up and looked across the kitchen to Sophie, who was still on the phone asking her friend Lisa if she could get a number for Michael Taylor. As she watched her, questions spun around inside Anna’s head. She wanted to know all about Chloe. What were her likes and dislikes? Had she suffered any illnesses? Did she ever ask about her real mother? Was she told that her father was murdered? Was the age progression image a true likeness of what she looked like now?

  ‘Lisa doesn’t know Taylor’s phone number or where he lives,’ Sophie said, coming off her mobile. ‘But she says she’ll make some calls.’

  ‘Can she be trusted?’

  Sophie nodded. ‘She’s the only person I do trust.’

  Anna tried to focus on what else needed to be done. But it was difficult. She had to force herself to ignore the lead weight in her chest, and give up trying to process everything she’d been told. There was just so much, and it had shaken her to the core. The pictures, revelations, the fact that the woman who stood before her had raised Chloe from the age of two. It was overwhelming, surreal.

  ‘I can tell that your mind has gone into overdrive,’ Sophie said. ‘I realise this must be a terrible shock for you.’

  Anna tried to smile, but managed only a twitch.

  ‘I’d convinced myself that one day I would find Chloe and that ten years of endless days and sleepless nights would come to an end,’ she said. ‘But I imagined that it would be very different to this.’

  Sophie moved to the table and sat down. It looked to Anna as though she was at breaking point. Her breath was coming in short, shallow gasps and she was visibly shaking. Anna fought the impulse to feel sympathy for her.

  ‘Are you being honest with me when you say that you didn’t know that Matthew had abducted Chloe and that I was alive?’ she asked.

  ‘I swear it’s true,’ Sophie answered. ‘He was convincing and at first I felt sorry for him. Perhaps later I should have guessed that something wasn’t right because he never wanted to talk about you, and he had so few photos of his life before moving to Spain. I took him at his word and as it turns out that was a big mistake. But all I ever seem to do is make mistakes. I should never have married Bruno and I shouldn’t have allowed Alice to go out by herself this morning.’

  ‘Will you please start calling her Chloe?’ Anna said, her voice sharp. ‘That’s her real name.’

  Sophie nodded. ‘I know. It won’t be easy, though.’

  ‘I don’t care. It hurts every time you say it and makes me want to wring your neck.’

  Sophie inhaled sharply. ‘Look, we need to put the issues between us to one side for now. I can understand how you feel towards me, but saving the child we both love is all that counts.’

  It struck Anna then just how much the other woman cared about Chloe. She was sure it wasn’t an act, and that Sophie hadn’t been lying to her. But that did not make it any easier to accept.

  ‘I’m not able to have children and I desperately wanted to,’ Sophie said. ‘So when your daughter came into my life she made a big impact. I felt complete, and I want you to know that I devoted myself to her. I’ve done my best to nurture and protect her.’

  ‘Does she call you Mum?’ The question came out before Anna could stop it.

  Sophie nodded. ‘She does. But I didn’t tell her to and neither did her father. She fell into the habit.’

  Anna swallowed. The more she heard the harder it was to take in. She felt desperation crashing over her like waves.

  ‘What’s she like?’ she asked.

  Sophie mustered a smile. ‘She’s a joy to be with. She’s kind and considerate. She’s also highly intelligent and she’s got a mind of her own.’

  Anna’s heart flipped and she felt tears threaten.

  ‘How do you think she’ll react when she knows the truth?’ she asked.

  Sophie blew out a breath and shook her head.

  ‘It will knock her for six. She’ll need to be told the whole story and that will be a lot for a twelve-year-old to cope with.’

  Anna was about to ask another question when Sophie’s phone, which was lying on the table between them, pinged with an incoming message.

  ‘It could be from your friend Lisa,’ Anna said.

  But from the look on Sophie’s face when she opened it up, it clearly wasn’t. Her eyes bulged and her mouth hung open.

  ‘Oh fuck,’ she said.

  Anna snatched the phone from her. On the screen was a photo of a young girl with short blonde hair. She was sitting on a wooden floor with her back to a wall and her knees pulled up to her chest. And she looked terrified.

  ‘It’s Alice,’ Sophie gasped.

  Anna didn’t need to be told that. She recognised the face from the pictures in the album and the age recognition image.

  Below the photo was a message that read, ‘Thought you’d like to know the fun is about to begin.’

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

  The photo and message sent to Sophie had come from Chloe’s phone. But when Anna tried calling the number it wouldn’t connect.

  She shook her head at Sophie as a twist of panic wrenched through her gut.

  ‘It’s turned off again,’ she said.

  Sophie covered her mouth with her hands, which muted the anguished cry that rose up from her throat.

  Anna gripped her fear and reached for her own phone. She called Walker and told him about the photo and message.

  ‘Please tell me you’ve got something, Max,’ she said.

  ‘I was just about to ring you,’ he replied. ‘Bruno Perez does indeed have a criminal record. He did a stint inside for GBH when he was in his teens. Then he got fines and community service orders for a range of offences before he buggered off to Spain, where he was banged up for a seven stretch.

  ‘Since then he’s kept a clean slate. But the organised crime team know the family. They’re minor league and stick to one part of South London where they run an import-export business and own a wholesale firm and a couple of warehouses, one of which has been converted into flats. But behind the scenes they peddle drugs and stolen property.’

  ‘So have you got an address for the guy?’

  ‘We have. He’s got a house in Peckham. Most of his family and associates live within a four-mile radius, including one Michael Taylor, who’s got form for drug possession and theft. We don’t have mobile numbers for them, which probably means they use burner phones. But I’ve got photos of Perez and Taylor and I’ll send them to you. And for your inform
ation Taylor owns a transit van and it was picked up on a plate recognition camera in Shoreditch today.’

  ‘Then there’s a good chance that was the vehicle used in the abduction. Have you talked to Nash?’

  ‘I have. He’s still at the Yard and is keen for you to call him.’

  ‘OK. Meanwhile I want you to mobilise as many units as possible and go in hard on the homes of Bruno Perez, Michael Taylor and everyone else whose names have come up,’ she said. ‘And send teams to their wholesale premises and warehouses. But move fast so Perez doesn’t get wind of what’s going down.’

  Anna then sent the picture of Chloe on the floor to Walker with instructions to circulate it to all units. In response she received two photos from him of Bruno and Taylor.

  Bruno looked a rough diamond with short, dark hair and slits for eyes. Taylor had softer features, glasses and a double chin.

  She showed them to Sophie, who said, ‘Bruno hasn’t changed much. He’s thinner now and his hair is cropped. Taylor looks about the same as I remember him all those years ago.’

  Sophie had recovered some of her composure but she was still shaking all over.

  ‘I’m not convinced this is a good idea,’ she said. ‘What happens if she’s not at any of those addresses? Bruno could be holding her in a place that nobody knows about. And once he’s tipped off he’s sure to kill her.’

  ‘I’m aware of the risks but our options are limited,’ Anna said. ‘Besides, there’s a good chance he believes he’s scared you into not going to the police, so his guard is likely to be down.’

  ‘So what do we do? We can’t just sit here.’

  ‘I don’t intend to. I’m going back to MIT headquarters in Wandsworth and I’d like you to come with me. From there we’ll be across everything that happens and we’ll be close to where all the raids are taking place.’

  They travelled to Wandsworth in Anna’s car and on the way she fired off another text to Tom. She gave him a brief explanation of what was going on and warned him she wouldn’t be coming home this evening.

  She then phoned DCS Nash, who was still at New Scotland Yard. He had spent the last couple of hours dealing with the fallout from the Holly Blake case. But he told her that he was now fully focused on the hunt for Chloe and would soon be joining her at HQ.

  ‘I’ve briefed the Commissioner and he’s happy for us to deploy as many people and resources as necessary,’ he said. ‘Meanwhile, try to stay strong, Anna. I can only imagine what you’re going through right now. This development is shocking beyond belief but rest assured that the whole of the Met is involved in this operation.’

  A knot of dread was growing in Anna’s stomach and she was gripping the wheel so hard her knuckles hurt. The photo of her terrified daughter on the floor kept leaping into her mind along with a rush of disturbing questions.

  What was the bastard doing to Chloe?

  Had he already caused her physical harm?

  Would he really kill her if he discovered that Sophie had triggered a huge manhunt?

  During the rest of the journey Anna pumped Sophie for more information about Bruno. And what she was told sent the blood rushing to her head. He was clearly a man on a mission to cause Sophie as much pain as possible. The guy bore a grudge that had festered for so long it had turned him into a killer.

  Anna had come across other such men – and women – during her career on the force. And they all had one thing in common – they would rather die than fail to achieve their objective.

  It should have been quiet in the office as the team started to wind down the Holly Blake investigation. But instead it was buzzing when Anna and Sophie got there. Some detectives were liaising with units involved in the raids, while others were busy digging up information on the Perez family and their associates.

  Anna escorted Sophie into her office and got DC Sweeny to get her a cup of coffee and take a statement from her.

  She then moved restlessly around the open plan office, monitoring the incoming feeds and radio chatter. She learned that Bruno Perez’s home had been raided but he wasn’t there. Police had stormed two warehouses but the only people in them were security guards.

  Five other homes belonging to Bruno’s family and associates had also been raided but there was still no sign of the man himself or Chloe.

  Anna had to wait for over an hour before the news came through that Michael Taylor had been arrested as he arrived back at his flat. He’d been questioned on the spot and caved in when he realised the game was up.

  He told officers that his boss Bruno had taken the girl to a warehouse in Deptford. It wasn’t on the list of premises because the family had only just acquired it. Even as this news was coming through an armed response team was arriving at the scene.

  Anna and Walker were just about to set off to join them when Sophie and DC Sweeny came rushing out of Anna’s office.

  ‘Bruno just called me,’ Sophie yelled, holding up her phone. ‘He’s at a warehouse in Deptford and the police have just turned up. He said he’s going to kill Alice unless I go there.’

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

  Bruno’s phone call to Sophie offered a glimmer of hope. Or so Anna thought until she arrived at the warehouse in Deptford. The scene that greeted them sent a fierce panic rushing through her veins.

  It was a five-storey Victorian building, of the kind that were being turned into flats all across London. The forecourt and approach road were throbbing with the flashing blue lights of police cars, armed response vehicles and a fire appliance. The front of the building would have been in darkness but for the spotlights that were trained on it.

  The focus of everyone’s attention was the roof and the two figures standing on the edge of it. Bruno was behind Chloe with one arm around her neck, and Sophie screamed as soon as she got out of the car and saw them.

  Anna’s stomach turned over and she felt a surge of warm blood into her face.

  The armed response team leader emerged from the crowd of uniformed officers to brief Anna and Walker.

  ‘The guy saw us arrive,’ he said. ‘He was on the ground floor, where it seems he’d been planning to leave the girl locked up for the night. As we entered the building we noticed the lift ascending to the top floor. By the time we’d got there he’d gained access to the roof and taken her with him. Two officers followed him up and when they got there he was standing where he is now and threatening to jump off with the girl.

  ‘He said he’d spoken by phone to Miss Cameron and had told her to come here. He’s still demanding to speak to her, and, just so you know, he claims he hasn’t touched the girl. He just wanted Miss Cameron to think that he was going to.’

  ‘Then take me up to him,’ Sophie said, her voice high and hysterical. ‘It’s me he wants. I’ll try to talk him into letting her go.’

  It was the only play they had and they all knew it. This was a classic hostage situation and no one could predict how it would turn out. There was no time to discuss it or to bring in a trained hostage negotiator.

  So Anna took Sophie by the arm and said, ‘I’m coming with you.’

  A message was relayed to the officers on the roof, informing them that Sophie was on her way up.

  The warehouse interior looked as though it hadn’t been occupied for several years. There was a ‘for lease’ sign next to the entrance, and overhead strip lights revealed dust-covered floors and bare walls.

  Anna, Sophie, Walker and the armed response leader bundled into the lift, which took them swiftly to the top floor. From there it was through a door and up a short flight of stairs to the roof.

  There was an outside wall light and beneath it stood two armed officers. They were standing a mere seven yards or so back from Bruno and Chloe, who were now facing away from the edge but were still just as close to it.

  The blood seemed to clot in Anna’s veins when she laid eyes on her daughter for the first time in ten years. Chloe cried out for her mum, but it was Sophie she was looking at and not Anna.
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  Bruno’s reaction was to smile as he shook his head.

  ‘I warned you what would happen if you involved the cops,’ he said to Sophie. ‘I told you that you would regret it.’

  ‘Please listen to me,’ Anna said. ‘Step away from the edge and—’

  ‘No, you listen to me, copper,’ he snarled. ‘I’m not interested in anything you’ve got to say. I will only speak to my bitch of a wife. So don’t open your fucking mouth again.’

  His face clenched in murderous fury and he tightened his grip on Chloe’s neck, which stopped her making another sound.

  ‘You don’t have to do this, Bruno,’ Sophie said, taking a step forward. ‘You’ve got your revenge. I’ve suffered big time for what happened all those years ago. Please, please let her go.’

  ‘I’ll be happy to,’ he said. ‘So long as you come over here and take her place. There’s no way I’m going back to prison. I’m bowing out today and taking either you or her with me.’

  ‘Let’s talk this through, Mr Perez,’ Anna said, but even as she spoke Sophie was rushing towards him.

  Bruno held up his free hand, palm out, and told Sophie to slow down. Then he turned his cold, shark-like eyes on Anna.

  ‘If any of you take another step I’ll jump and take the kid with me,’ he said. ‘This way she gets to live and you can tell the world that you saved her. And for your information I’ve not touched her. I’m many things, but I’m not a pervert.’

  Anna and the other officers were forced to watch as the horrific scene unfolded.

  Bruno beckoned Sophie forward with his hand. When she was close enough he reached out and grabbed her left arm. At the same time he loosened his hold on Chloe and thrust her forward with such force that she fell face down on the roof.

  Anna hurried to her side and dropped to her knees beside her. She put her arms around Chloe and just touching her daughter sent a bolt of electricity through her body.

  Chloe screamed for her mum and tried to break free, but Anna held her tight. She only stopped struggling when she heard Sophie’s raised voice.

 

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