Locked Away (DI Sara Ramsey Book 13)

by M A Comley

  Libby took a hard stance, prepared for a battle of wills. “Come on, give it all you’ve got. But if I were in your shoes, I’d reconsider my situation pretty damn quickly. I have all the cards at my disposal this time, not you. As well as the odd weapon or two. I could do you a lot of damage, if I wanted to.”

  Ashleigh’s shoulders slumped in defeat, and she murmured, “I just want to go home.”

  “You might, eventually. For now, we need to share more time together.”

  “What do you mean, might?”

  “You’ll see. Now get up and come with me.”

  Ashleigh placed her hand on the wall and pulled herself upright and onto her feet. “Where are we going?”

  “Shut up!”

  The pair stared at each other once they were out in the hallway.

  “Over there.” Libby pointed at the part of the wall that had two metal rings hanging from it.

  Confused, Ashleigh stared at her. “What are they for?”

  “Questions, questions… just do as you’re told.”

  Ashleigh moved closer to the wall. Libby didn’t trust her and stayed alert until she’d secured Ashleigh’s hands to the two rings. “Good. It’s about time you cooperated and stopped playing the big I am.”

  “Screw you!” Ashleigh kicked out with a leg and caught Libby on the shin.

  Libby extracted a metal bar from the waistband of her jeans and hit the woman in the lower back.

  “Bitch. I’ll get you for that.”

  “Yeah, maybe you will, one day. But not now, I have the upper hand, and you’d be wise not to forget that—if you want to live, that is.”

  “Meaning what? Your intention is to kill me, kill us? Is that what all this is about?”

  “Hush now. You’ll find out when the time presents itself.”

  “Screw you, bitch.”

  “That’s it, let all your aggression out. You must have been suppressing the real you for years. It must be such a relief to drop the mask and reveal the genuine personality beneath that fake exterior. Mind you, you’re not alone. All the others will do the same, eventually. That should make life interesting around here. A real battle of wills… to survive.”

  “Survive what?”

  “All will become clear soon, once I’ve stoked the fires. Yesterday’s entertainment was just a taster of what lies ahead of you all. You’ve seen nothing yet, as they say.” Libby laughed and took a step back, out of reach.

  She watched Ashleigh wriggle and do her best to pull her arms out of her bindings, failing every attempt, to her dismay.

  Libby crossed the hallway and opened another cell door. This time she beckoned Amanda to join her.

  “Please, I can’t do this any more. I don’t want to hurt other people,” Amanda pleaded.

  “It didn’t stop you when you were at school. You were always an active and eager participant from what I can recall. What’s it like to be defenceless and open to attack? Not pleasant, is it?”

  “No. I’m sorry for what we did to you. It was unjust and uncalled for. You’ve taught us a lesson now by keeping us away from our families. Isn’t that punishment enough?”

  “You think because you let me go home at night that it didn’t affect me, is that what you’re saying?”

  “No, I didn’t mean that. You’re twisting my words.”

  “I’ll be twisting a lot more by the time I’ve finished with you.”

  Tears emerged and dripped onto Amanda’s cheeks. “Please, have mercy on us. We were callous fuckers back in the day. I’d like to think that we’ve changed a bit since then. Can’t you move on with your life, you know, forgive and forget?”

  “Would you be able to?”

  Amanda stared blankly at her and shook her head. “I’m not sure. I think I would, but then, I wasn’t in the position you were in, caring for your mother. That must have been so hard on you at that age.”

  “You truly have no idea. Don’t try and talk your way out of this with your phony compassion and kind words.”

  “It’s not phony. I mean what I’m saying. My situation has altered significantly lately, so much so that I’m finding myself looking at things differently now.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t want to say. You’re going to have to take my word for it.”

  “I’ve researched you all thoroughly, and nothing has shown up, not from what I can remember. Anyway, enough of this chitchat, we have work to do. Come with me.”

  “What work?” Amanda gingerly got to her feet and walked towards the door.

  “You’ll see.”

  As soon as Amanda left her cell and saw Ashleigh tied to the rings, she retreated a couple of steps.

  Libby latched on to her arm and pulled her forward. “Don’t piss me off, you’ll be the loser,” she hissed.

  “No. What are you going to do with her? Oh God, please let this end. I feel sick.” Amanda turned to the side and vomited.

  Libby managed to leap back, avoiding the disgusting spray.

  Libby laughed, goading the woman who seemed crushed by her actions. “It’s not what I’m going to do with her that counts.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You always were a dense bitch,” Ashleigh yelled. “Think about it. I’m tied up, you’re not… you don’t have to be frigging Einstein to figure it out, judging by what’s gone on around here the last few days. She’s going to make you do something to me.”

  “Is that true?”

  Libby nodded, her head gaining momentum as horror filled Amanda’s features.

  “No, I can’t. I refuse to do it.”

  “All right. That’s entirely up to you. I’ll swap you over, and Ashleigh can be the aggressor for this round.”

  Amanda’s hand immediately went to her stomach.

  “Feeling sick again, are you?” Libby was quick to ask.

  “No… I…”

  “Just fucking get this over with, for shit’s sake, Amanda,” Ashleigh shouted, irate.

  “I can’t. No, I won’t.”

  Libby shrugged. “Okay, stand back while I release Ashleigh and tie you to the rings instead.”

  Amanda placed a hand on Libby’s. “No, don’t. All right, I’ll do it. What is it you want me to do?”

  “Wait there. Don’t try to run, there’s no escape, and if you try it and fail, your punishment will be so much worse.”

  “I won’t run. I promise.”

  “I promise,” Ashleigh mimicked sarcastically.

  Amanda glowered at the other woman. Libby suppressed a chuckle and rushed to remove a whip from the cupboard in the corner. She lashed the floor with it. Ashleigh’s head snapped around to see what the noise was.

  “You must be bloody joking,” Ashleigh screeched, her eyes protruding in fear.

  Libby lashed the floor again, to ensure her captive got the message, loud and clear. “Take this.” She ordered Amanda to hold the handle made of bone.

  “What am I supposed to do with it?”

  “Hold it for now,” Libby reiterated. She approached Ashleigh who started bucking like a wild bull.

  “Get your frigging hands off me, you twisted fucking bitch.”

  Libby jabbed her hand in the woman’s kidneys. “Hush. Let’s have some quiet around here, shall we? It’ll all be over in a minute if you remain strong and compliant.”

  “Compliant my arse. Let me go!”

  Libby took her faithful knife from inside her jeans and slashed at Ashleigh’s top, not caring a jot if she damaged the woman’s flesh in the process. It was about to get the thrashing of its life anyway. Libby glanced over her shoulder at the shocked Amanda who was staring at Ashleigh’s exposed skin and shaking her head.

  “No, I can’t. Don’t ask me to do this,” Amanda muttered.

  “You have to. One more refusal and you swap places,” Libby warned.

  “Go on, refuse, because I won’t hold back,” Ashleigh admitted.

  Amanda’s head rolled, her neck clicked, and s
he took a step forward. “All right. What do I have to do?”

  “Strike her, over and over. Shall we say forty lashes?”

  “What the fuck? Don’t tell her that,” Ashleigh roared.

  The thrill searing Libby’s veins was palpable. Yes, it was about to get gruesome but, well, whoever said revenge is sweet, obviously knew from experience what they were talking about.

  Amanda took a few steps forward and raised the whip.

  Libby watched her intently, fully alert, just in case Amanda decided to aim the weapon at her. “Go on, we haven’t got all day. Do it!”

  Reluctantly, Amanda drew back her arm and swiped the leather against Ashleigh’s naked back. The effort was lacklustre at best.

  Libby folded her arms and tapped her foot on the concrete floor. “That was a practice run, now put some effort behind it. If not, you know what will happen.”

  “I’m doing my best. It’s heavier than I thought it was going to be.”

  Libby cocked an eyebrow. “Bullshit! Get on with it. Three, two, one…”

  Amanda raised the whip again and grunted, this time putting her full weight behind the strike. Ashleigh arched her back and screamed.

  “No more, I can’t stand it,” Ashleigh cried out.

  Libby examined Ashleigh’s skin. The welts instantly rose, and her back was red raw. “Again, I love it. Again!”

  Amanda paused and glanced at Libby who tilted her head. “I can’t,” Amanda cried out. She dropped the whip and stepped back.

  Libby marched towards her and stuck the knife into Amanda’s gut. Shocked, Amanda clutched her stomach, and she dropped to her knees. Blood quickly pooled around her. “My baby. You’ve killed my baby!”

  For one mind-numbing moment, Libby had forgotten their previous conversation. Shit! The baby. Why did I do it? “I… I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you or the baby, you pushed me too hard.” She had to think fast. Libby untied Ashleigh from the rings, pushed the wriggling woman back into her cell and closed the door. Then she helped the distraught Amanda to her feet. After taking a swift look around, ensuring all the cells were locked, she marched the doubled-over Amanda out to the car.

  “Are you taking me to hospital?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “You have to, there’s a chance they could save the baby, please, you have to try.”

  Libby’s mind was spinning as if caught up in a tornado. If she turned up at the hospital, they’d ask questions she wasn’t prepared to answer. I could dump her outside and drive off, they’d be none the wiser then. Yes, yes, that’s what I’ll do. There again, I could always finish off the job, kill her and dump her body. Decisions, decisions. What an absolute bummer of a dilemma. My carelessness has spoilt my plans.

  She stopped at the boot, removed a rug she kept in there for emergencies and placed it on the passenger seat before she lowered Amanda into the car. “Any funny business and you won’t make it to the hospital. Have I made myself clear?”

  “Perfectly clear. All I want is to get help for myself and my baby. I know you wouldn’t really want us to come to any harm. You’re one of life’s carers.”

  The kindness in Amanda’s voice and her words made Libby pause for a split second. She’s right. What the hell am I doing? This isn’t me. Not really. I’ve spent most of my life caring, seeing to others’ needs, and look at me now. But they deserve it. They were in the wrong all those years ago. All I’m doing is giving back. But do two wrongs make a right? Yes, I have to continue with my plan. It’s the only way I’m going to be able to deal with…

  11

  Sara received the call at around eight that evening. “I’m sorry, love, I’m going to have to shoot.”

  Mark hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “You do what you’ve got to do, but most of all, take care of yourself. Ring me when you can, to let me know you’re all right.”

  “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

  She kissed him, hitched on a jacket and flew out of the house and into the car. Mark waved her off from the doorstep. En route, Sara rang the surveillance team. “Craig, it’s me. How are things there?”

  “No sign of either her or the car, boss.”

  “Okay, I’ve had a call from the station. Looks like we’ve got another victim gone missing. I’m on the way to speak to a witness now. Keep your eyes and ears open. If she doesn’t show up, then it’s likely our assumption was correct, she’s definitely keeping the women elsewhere.”

  “Is there any doubt about that, boss?”

  “Maybe not, but we need to keep our options open. I’ll give you a ring later.” She ended the call and engaged the siren. It wasn’t long before she turned up outside Mrs Synch’s house. Sara left the car and rang the bell to the woman’s neatly presented home.

  The woman opened the door a few inches and stuck her head around it. “Hello, who are you?”

  “Hello, Mrs Synch.” Sara flashed her warrant card. “I’m DI Sara Ramsey. You called the station a few hours ago.”

  “Goodness, you took your time getting here.”

  “Sorry, I only received the message less than twenty minutes ago. I’m here now. Would it be all right if I came in to speak with you?”

  “Okay, I’m not dressed, though. I’ve just had my nightly soak in the bath. The one luxury I allow myself every day.” She eased the door open to reveal that she was wearing a lilac dressing gown, her pink pyjamas showing at the collar and the bottom.

  “No problem. I don’t blame you either.”

  “Come through to the lounge.”

  Sara followed her into the second door off the fairly wide hallway, much wider than her new build. Mrs Synch sat in the easy chair close to the bay window and motioned for Sara to take a seat on the sofa.

  “Why the delay?” Mrs Synch asked.

  Sara blew out her cheeks. “I can’t go into details, I can only apologise and assure you that the matter will be dealt with ASAP and that it will never happen again.”

  “Shoddy, that’s what I call it. That woman’s life could be in danger, and it’s taken someone over two hours to get here to speak to me.”

  Sara acknowledged the woman’s assessment of the situation was spot on. Control had passed the message on to the front desk, and the wrong person had dealt with the issue, or rather, they had set it to one side when a fight had kicked off in the reception area and had involved all the uniformed police on duty at the time. Two families warring and wielding several weapons was bound to take precedence over a phone call.

  “It’s shameful. Is it any wonder people don’t get involved these days, you know, don’t bother to call the police?”

  “I hear you, and again, I can only apologise. Can I ask you what you saw?”

  Mrs Synch sighed a few times and finally relented. “Nicole has been my dog walker for a few years now. I trust her implicitly with Trixie and Barnie—they’re in the kitchen, having dinner, in case you’re wondering. Good as gold, they are, a little yappy at times, when they’re not eating, that is. Anyway, Nicole had dropped Trixie and Barnie off. I waved her off and took the dogs’ leads off, made a fuss of them, gave them a treat and then went into the kitchen. I happened to glance out of the window and that’s when I saw a woman approach Nicole. They appeared to have a short conversation and then, I couldn’t believe my eyes, this woman hit her. Poor Nicole tumbled to the ground. This woman picked her up and bundled her into another car. Nicole’s estate is still sitting out there. Well, I went to the door, shouted out, but the woman got in her car and sped off. I admit, it took me a few minutes to register what had happened to poor Nicole before something sparked in my mind—the newscaster earlier mentioned that women were going missing in the area, and my heart sank. Wait, I thought I recognised you, aren’t you the detective who spoke on the TV?”

  “That’s right. I am. We’ve had reports of four other women going missing this week. Nicole is the fifth, to our knowledge. I don’t suppose you can tell me what car the assailant wa
s driving, can you?”

  “Yes, it was a white one. A squat, sporty type, I suppose. Sorry, I’m not too clever when it comes to makes and models. To me a car has one benefit, to be driven, not paraded as some sort of badge as to how wealthy you are.”

  Sara nodded. “I totally agree with you. Could it have been a Golf, do you think?”

  “Hmm… possibly.” She shrugged and added, “Who knows? The point is, this woman hit her and kidnapped her before my very eyes. You can call it what you like, but to me, she was kidnapped. I told you lot that when I rang up as well. They assured me someone would be out within half an hour, and here you are, two and a bit hours later.” She shook her head in disgust.

  “I know, I can only apologise. I don’t suppose you caught any of the number plate?”

  “No. I was too far away. I’m so worried about her. She’s such a sweetheart with the dogs. I judge people by how they treat animals and, to me, she’s one in a million. I wouldn’t let just anyone care for my dogs.”

  “I can understand that. Okay, if you’ve got nothing else for me, I’m going to get an alert actioned on the car. Would it be all right if I send a uniformed officer around tomorrow to take down a statement?”

  “Yes, yes, you go. Please, do your very best for Nicole. Do you know what’s happened to the other women?”

  “Not yet. The investigation is still ongoing.”

  “Oh my. Whatever has it come to that a woman would want to hurt other women, or do you think a man is behind this? Maybe it’s a man disguised as a woman? The way she effortlessly picked up Nicole, I mean, I suppose it could be a man. Or maybe I’m talking out of my backside.”

  “I’ll make a note of that. Can you give us a description of the woman? Height? What she was wearing, perhaps?”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, I’m not good at that sort of thing. I was too shocked to take note really.”