by M A Comley
“No problem. Thanks so much for contacting us, it truly is appreciated. We’ll do our best to bring Nicole home safely.” Sara’s mobile rang. “Excuse me, I need to take this. I’ll be in touch soon.” Sara ran out of the house and answered her phone in the front garden, knowing that indoors her reception was touch and go at times. “DI Sara Ramsey.”
“Ma’am, we’ve had reports of a woman having been dumped outside the Accident and Emergency Department. She has a knife wound to the stomach.”
“I see, and while that’s a tragedy, what does it have to do with me?”
“Sorry, I didn’t make myself clear, ma’am,” the young man admitted. “The woman gave her name as Amanda Smith. She’s down on our records as having been abducted.”
“Jesus, all right. I’m on my way over there now. Thanks.” Sara bolted back to the car and engaged her siren again. She rang Craig and switched off the siren once she was on the main road into Hereford. “Craig, anything?”
“Nothing here, boss. You sound stressed, everything all right?”
“I’m on my way to the hospital. I’ve just received a call about a woman with knife wounds. She gave her name as Amanda Smith. Not sure how serious it is, I’ll let you know when I get there. She might be able to tell us where she and the other women were being held.”
“Shit! Okay, let us know when you can.”
“On another note, a witness saw her dog walker being struck and bundled into a white car, possibly a Golf.”
“Double shit! What the heck is going on?”
“Pass. Hopefully Amanda will be in a position to give us some indication as to what this is about. I’ll get back to you soon. Keep vigilant, in case Johnson shows up there.”
“If she does, we’ll ring you right away.”
“Speak later.” She ended the call and slammed her foot down hard on the accelerator, bashing her head on the headrest in the process.
Sara parked in the hospital car park and tore into the A&E department. She flashed her ID at the brunette sitting behind the desk. “DI Ramsey. I’ve been notified a woman has come in with knife wounds.”
“Ah, yes. Wait here, I’ll get someone to come and speak with you.” She dialled a number and told the person on the other end that Sara was waiting and then hung up. “The doctor will be with you shortly. Do you want to take a seat?”
“I’ll grab a coffee from the machine. Thanks.” Sara topped up her caffeine levels while she waited. A male doctor, in his forties, came to see her after around ten minutes, although it seemed so much longer.
“Hello there. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“How is she, Doc?”
“Miss Smith has been taken down for emergency surgery to repair the wound.”
“Damn, I was hoping to have a word with her. What’s her condition?”
“Not possible, I’m afraid. The wound is to her stomach. Sadly, we believe she has lost the child she was carrying, but the knife missed most of her major organs, so that’s good news.”
“Not for her, losing the baby in such horrendous circumstances. When will I be able to speak to her?”
“It depends on her recovery time. The surgery should be over within an hour.”
“Great. I’ll hang around here in the hope she’ll be able to speak with me tonight.”
“If that’s what you want. I need to get back now.”
“Of course. Thanks for bringing me up to date.”
The doctor marched back to triage.
Sara settled into a chair and rang Mark. “Hey, love, just to let you know I probably won’t be home for hours yet.”
“Poor you. Sorry to hear that, Sara. What’s going on? Do you have the suspect in your grasp?”
“I wish. No, there’s been a significant development, though. I have to stick with it. I sense we’re getting close.”
“You do that. Don’t worry about me. Misty is sitting on my lap, having a cuddle.”
“I’m envious of Misty. No sign of Carla, I take it?”
“Not yet. They’re probably having too much fun. You’re not going to ring her, are you?”
“No. And if she shows up anytime soon, don’t tell her what’s going on. She’ll more than likely have had a drink or two during the night, she’ll be useless at work in that state.”
He sniggered. “Yeah, I won’t tell her you said that, though.”
“No, don’t you dare. Hopefully, I’ll see you later. Bye, darling.”
“Take care. Miss you.”
Sara ended the call and then rang the station. She was put through to the night desk sergeant. “Hi, it’s DI Ramsey. I need you to put out an alert on a white Golf belonging to an Elizabeth Johnson. I’m at the hospital, sorry, you’re going to need to look up the registration number for me.”
“Not a problem, ma’am, I can do that. How are things there?”
“The woman, Amanda Smith, who was abducted by Johnson, is currently having emergency surgery. She’s lost the baby she was carrying. Not sure how long I’m going to need to be here, but I’ll hang around in the hope that she’ll be able to tell me something about where she was kept. If she can tell us that then our job is done, sort of.”
“Good luck. Let me know if I can assist with anything else. I’ve actioned the alert. If the car is out there, my guys will find it.”
“Let’s hope you’re right. She still has four women she’s holding captive, as far as we know.” She ended the call and placed the phone in her pocket. Her eyelids drooped a little, and she shook her head to prevent herself from succumbing to sleep.
A few hours later, she was woken by someone shaking her shoulder. “What? Oh, gosh, I must have dropped off, sorry about that.”
The same doctor who spoke to her earlier smiled down at her. “No problem. Amanda is out of surgery and in recovery. She’s awake. I told her you were here, and she’s eager to speak to you.”
Sara shot out of her seat. “That’s fantastic. Can you take me to her?”
“Of course. This way.”
They walked the length of the corridor, hopped in the lift and arrived on the third floor.
“You will take it easy with her, won’t you?” the doctor asked during their journey.
“I promise. All I need to know is where she was kept. I have four other women in immediate danger.”
“I understand. Here we are. I’ll be at the nurses’ station if you need me.” He pointed down the hallway.
Sara nodded and entered the room. Lying in the bed was a dazed-looking brunette. She turned her head to face Sara.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Amanda. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve gone ten rounds with a heavyweight boxer, but I’m alive, that’s the main thing, right? She stole my baby from me.” Tears flowed onto her cheek.
Sara tore a few tissues from the box sitting on the nightstand beside the bed and handed them to the distraught woman. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“It’s going to be hard for me to get through this, knowing that she deliberately killed my baby.”
“She knew you were pregnant?” Sara asked, horrified.
“Yes. Do you know who she is?”
“We think so. Elizabeth Johnson, is that correct?”
“That’s right.”
Sara noted that Amanda’s gaze dropped to her hands which were twisting the thermal blanket. “How do you and the other women know this woman?”
Sara watched Amanda suck in several breaths and release them before she answered, “From our schooldays.”
“Did something happen back then? Something major?”
“Oh God, why on earth did we do it? I’m so ashamed of the way we treated her. To think it’s come to this. To her taking my baby from me.”
Sara touched Amanda’s arm. “Try to remain calm. What went on when you were at school? If you can tell me that it might give me an insight into what’s going on in her mind.”
“We bullied her.” Another long sig
h escaped her lips. “It wasn’t just once, it was virtually every day for around three or four years. We were unbelievably nasty to her. All this is about revenge.” She shuddered as fresh tears emerged.
“Revenge? Did she say that?”
“Yes, she made me and the others do awful things to each other. I refused to do it. She threatened she would hurt me more if I didn’t whip one of the other girls. In the end, she stabbed me and killed my baby. She’s sick in the head.”
“I’m sorry you and the others had to endure such torment. I have to ask, do you know where the others are?”
“She has them locked up individually in cells. A thin mattress, two buckets, one for peeing in, the other for washing. The water is cold. You have to help them. I don’t think what she did to me will stop her from hurting the others.”
“We’re doing our best to locate them, however, it’s not easy. Can you give us anything? Is it a house? A barn? What type of building is it?”
“There were concrete floors. Inside looked like some kind of bunker. I don’t know. Things are a little fuzzy.” She closed her eyes.
Come on, think. You can do it. If you really try, we can save the others.
“She helped me into the car. I’m trying to visualise what was around us. It was still light so I should be able to tell you, but my mind is playing tricks on me. She hasn’t fed us very well. Maybe that has something to do with my brain not functioning properly.”
“We can get some food for you. I’m not sure if the anaesthetic will affect your stomach, though. I can ask the doc, if you like.”
Amanda waved the suggestion away. “I’ll eat later. Let me try and imagine myself back there. Hang on.” She closed her eyes once again. “We came out of a metal door. I looked back at the building, and it had a curved roof.”
“That’s excellent. Anything else? What about the surrounding area? Any other properties around?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Trees? Roads? Was it up a dirt track or situated on a normal road?”
Her eyes remained closed. “Wait, I think it was a dirt track. I remember we hit a few bumps which jarred my stomach and made the blood spurt out more.”
“Oh heck, sorry. It’s great news that you can remember. How long was the journey, any idea?”
She opened her eyes and shook her head. “I couldn’t tell you. When you’re in as much pain as I was in, every second feels like it’s an hour. I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t, I’m sorry. I’m getting tired now. Please do your best to find them. I know we were evil at school but we’ve all changed so much since then. Libby has also changed. She used to be chubby at school. That’s why we mainly bullied her, plus the fact that she cared for her mother.”
“Excuse me? Was her mother ill?”
Amanda chewed on her bottom lip. “She was disabled. Before you say it, I know, we should have been more compassionate, but we were kids, we didn’t know any better in those days. I’ve had nightmares about the evil things we subjected her to. I have had major regrets for most of them as well.”
“So, you’re telling me she rounded you and your friends up for what? To torture you all?”
“Yes, ripping fingernails out, whipping bare backs, cutting off Brittany’s treasured long hair. You name it. I think that’s just the beginning as well. She has a bunch of tools laid out which she intends to use.” She paused to catch her breath. “Except she’s not the one using the tools, she’s forcing the girls to do it to each other.”
“Oh dear, it sounds as though she’s in desperate need of psychiatric help.”
“You’re not wrong there. Please, you should be out there trying to find them. I have a feeling that her letting me go… well, it could only mean bad news for the others.”
“I get that. Is there anything else you can think of that I should know? Perhaps you noticed a landmark on the road on your journey here, anything for us to go on at all? No matter how insignificant you think it might be.”
Amanda contemplated her question for a few moments. “No, I wish there was something, but I can’t remember. Maybe I’ll be able to tell you more in the morning, once I’ve had a rest and the anaesthetic has worn off.”
“Let’s hope so. I’ll leave you a card, call me if you do.”
“I will. I could do with some rest now. I’m sorry I’ve been so useless.” Her eyelids drooped.
“You haven’t. You mustn’t think that way. Hopefully, we’ll find the building you described and rescue the girls before any serious harm comes to them.”
Amanda pointed at her midriff. “What do you call this?”
“Ah, yes, sorry. I’ll be in touch soon. Sleep well.”
“I’ll try. Do your best for them.”
“I promise.” Sara smiled and left the room. She trotted along the hallway to the nurses’ station and gave the nurse on duty at the desk one of her cards. “Can you ring me if there’s any change in her condition?”
“I will. Any luck getting any useful information out of her?”
“No, not really. I’ll be off. I might pop in tomorrow, if I’m still around. I’ll be working through the night by the look of things, on top of working the day shift. Needs must when there are lives at risk. Goodnight.”
“Take care, Inspector. I hope you find the person responsible.”
“Me, too, before it’s too late and someone either ends up here or worse still, gets killed.” Sara turned and walked back towards the lift, her mind mulling over different directions she could take now. Once she was outside, she called Craig and Will again. “Any news?”
“Nothing, boss. All quiet, maybe too quiet here. Feels ominous somehow.”
“Hmm… okay. Well, I’ve been at the hospital all this time. I had to wait for Amanda Smith to regain consciousness from the emergency surgery she needed. She told me what she could about the building where the women are being kept. It’s not much, but it might help. According to her, there are several rooms inside, she classed them as cells. The women have a bed each with a thin mattress and two buckets, one filled with water for washing and you can guess what the other one is used for.”
“I can imagine. Did she give you anything else about the building? Like where it is situated?”
“Patience man, I was coming to that.”
“I apologise.”
Sara sniggered. “Eager beaver. When I asked her if she’d seen the outside of the structure, she told me she’d only seen the outside tonight. There’s something major we need to bear in mind. She was in a lot of pain, I’m not sure how much clout we should put behind what she says.”
“Use it as guidance only, is that what you’re suggesting?”
“Yes, possibly. She said the roof was curved. Does anything come to mind with either of you two as to what she might mean?”
“A barn of sorts, maybe?” Craig replied after he and Will discussed it.
“I was thinking along the same lines, but the cells made me reconsider. She seemed to think it was out in the country. I asked what the road was like, and she said bumpy in parts.”
“Could mean it’s a country lane or a dirt track even. I’m trying to think of anything around here, where we are now.”
“Yeah, I was trying to do the same and came up blank.”
“Did she give you any indication how long the journey to the hospital was?”
“No, I asked. She said, due to the amount of pain she was in, every second seemed like an hour to her.”
“Reasonable answer, I suppose. I’ll see what I can find on Google Maps, if you like?”
“You do that. I’m going back to the station now to do the same. Ring me if you find anything.”
“Aren’t you going home, boss?”
“Nope. If you guys are out here, then I’ll join you. Keep in touch.” Sara hit the End Call button and jumped in her car. She drove back to the station and entered the building. There was a group of uniformed officers larking around in the reception area. Sara st
ood there listening to them with her arms folded for several minutes until the desk sergeant came through the door behind his reception desk and coughed to gain their attention.
“What are you lot still doing here? You’ve had your instructions. Don’t come back until you’ve found that Golf, you hear me?” the desk sergeant barked.
The men had the decency to look embarrassed when they turned to see how annoyed Sara was.
“The women in Hereford are out there getting abducted and turning up at the hospital injured, and you lot are in here, wasting time. Tell me how the hell that works,” Sara added, emphasising the point.
The men filtered past her and mumbled an apology.
She faced the desk sergeant and raised a hand above her head. “I’ve had it up to here with people not taking these crimes seriously.”
“Sorry, ma’am, you’re right. I’m guilty of taking my eye off the ball, it won’t happen again. May I ask how the victim is?”
“Make sure it doesn’t. She’s out of surgery but mourning the loss of her baby. That probably accounts for my foul mood. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. Ignore me. I’ll be upstairs if you hear anything regarding the Golf. I’d really like this woman caught tonight, if at all possible. I fear what she’s likely to do with the other women if she remains free. She knew Amanda was pregnant and, by all accounts deliberately killed her baby.”
“Holy shit! Excuse my language, ma’am. That’s just bloody awful.”
“Tell me about it. I’ll be upstairs.”
“Working alone, or are your team coming in?”
“I have two men on surveillance at the suspect’s house. We’ll see how that works out before I consider calling the rest of my team in.”
“If you need a hand, let me know. I should be able to spare a couple of people, if you get stuck.”
“Thanks. See you later. I’m in dire need of a coffee right now.”
Sara punched her security code into the pad next to the door and headed up the stairs. She noted the time on the clock as she flicked on the light switch. Three o’clock in the morning. I haven’t seen this hour, not fully-clothed anyway, since my early twenties. Those were the days!
After booting up the computer on her partner’s desk, she bought a coffee and settled down. Her first stop was to bring up Google Maps to begin her search. She hadn’t been searching long when the phone interrupted her. “Hello, Inspector Ramsey.”