Sleep Tight

by Rachel Abbott

Sophie Duncan.

  Becky had never heard of her personally, but finding out where she lived should be a doddle as she was an army officer.

  Nic was still hanging around making himself useful – unlike some others on the team. But then, he was career hungry rather than career disillusioned, so as soon as she had tracked down Sophie’s address she called him over, keen to share her excitement at the latest development with somebody.

  ‘This woman might just be able to answer all our questions. DCI Douglas said he’d meet us there, but I don’t think we need him at the moment. We’ll see what Captain Duncan has to say about why she was pretending to be Olivia Brookes, and then decide if we need to call the boss. Okay with you?’

  Nic looked overjoyed. Poor bugger couldn’t have much else to do on a Sunday evening – a bit like Becky herself. As she grabbed her keys and walked out of the airless incident room, she realised that since leaving London she hadn’t been on a single night out, with the exception of the celebration after their success with the rapist case earlier in the week. Was that really only a couple of days ago? Anyway, that was something else she was going to sort out. She was going to move on and get herself a social life.

  ‘Ready?’ she shouted to Nic, who was gathering together his stuff.

  As they drove across Manchester, Becky ran through everything she thought they should ask Sophie Duncan.

  ‘Primarily, we want to know why she was pretending to be Olivia Brookes. But we also need to know if she has any idea where Olivia really is, and who the hell came visiting during the week. That could be totally irrelevant – it could just be Sophie’s boyfriend or something. But I want to know. I’d like you to take notes, Nic, but don’t ask any questions. If you think I’ve missed something, have a quiet word and tell me. I may well have done it on purpose, so don’t go blundering in there, okay?’

  Nic nodded his head in short sharp movements, about twenty times more than was absolutely necessary. ‘Yes, Ma’am,’ he said. Boy, this lad was eager.

  When they finally pulled up outside the house, they were disappointed to see that it was in darkness. The night hadn’t quite closed in yet so there was still a bit of light, but Becky would have expected to see some lamps on by now. Perhaps they lived at the back of the house. There were two cars in the drive, so that was a positive sign.

  Becky parked on the road, blocking the gate. She had no reason to believe Sophie was going to try to make a run for it, but they had already lost Robert and she wasn’t about to lose anybody else.

  She pulled out her warrant card so she had it at the ready, and made her way up the drive, Nic striding out behind her, glancing around him as if it were the first time he’d ever been on a suburban street.

  Three sharp raps on the door knocker had no result whatsoever. She tried the bell, and heard it ringing inside. Still nothing.

  Becky pushed up the flap on the letterbox, and had a good view into the hall. There was nobody there, but she could see a stair lift at the bottom of the stairs. That would suggest that whoever used it – and she didn’t know if Sophie’s injuries were sufficiently bad to warrant a stair lift – must be downstairs.

  ‘Nic, see if you can get a response round the back, would you? Don’t make them jump, though. Be discreet.’

  Nic disappeared into the darkness, and Becky waited, continuing to hammer on the door.

  The stillness of the night was interrupted by the sound of running feet, coming fast towards her.

  ‘We need to get in there, Ma’am – now,’ Nic said, and without waiting for her to comment he put his size-twelve foot out and booted the front door with all his strength.

  The door flew inwards, busting the housing for the Yale lock completely out of the frame. Nic started to run towards the back of the house and Becky chased after him. He kicked open the door to a sitting room, and fell to his knees next to the body of a young woman on the floor.

  Tied to a chair by her arms and legs, she had obviously tried to move and tipped the seat on its side, narrowly missing a metal hearth fender with her head. Blood was clotted on the outside of her trousers, and Becky thought she might be dead. But as Nic reached out to feel for a pulse, her dark eyes shot open.

  ‘About fucking time. Get these sodding ties off me, will you? Is my mum okay?’

  Becky glanced around, but there was nobody else there.

  ‘Upstairs – she can’t get down. If that bastard has hurt her…’

  But Becky didn’t hang about to hear what Sophie Duncan was going to do to her attacker. She ran to the bottom of the stairs and glanced upwards to where she could see a crumpled form. She raced up the stairs and fell to her knees on the top step, reaching out her hand to touch the neck of the elderly lady lying on the carpet.

  As her hands made contact, the woman flinched. ‘Get off me, you monster,’ she said through dry, cracked lips. Becky dragged her phone from her back pocket and spoke to the lady as she dialled.

  ‘It’s okay, love. My name’s Becky. I’m a police officer. You’re all right now. I’m just going to get you an ambulance.’ Becky spoke quietly into the phone as she summoned assistance.

  As she hung up, she stroked the woman’s cheek gently with the backs of her bent fingers. She didn’t want to move her in case she was hurt, and she didn’t seem to be cold. Nevertheless, there was a coat hanging over the balustrade and with the utmost care she laid it over the woman’s shoulders.

  ‘Can you tell me your name, love?’ Becky asked.

  ‘Where’s Sophie? What did that pig do to my Sophie?’

  Just at that moment there was a yell from downstairs.

  ‘Mum? Are you okay, Mum?’ Becky turned at the sound of running feet, or rather stumbling feet. Sophie was hobbling towards the stairs, limping, falling, getting up and dragging herself. Nic was trying to support her.

  ‘Bastard ropes, they cut off the circulation. Christ, that hurts. Mum – are you okay?’

  ‘She’s okay, Sophie,’ Becky answered. ‘I’ve called an ambulance. Nic, can you get some water for both of them please?’

  ‘Sophie, come here darling,’ the weak voice beside Becky murmured.

  Becky shuffled over so that Sophie could drag herself upstairs and sit next to her mum. Becky could see how much blood had congealed on the outside of Sophie’s trousers, and was amazed she had managed to move at all.

  ‘Oh, Sophie – did he hurt you?’ her mother mumbled.

  ‘Take more than that psycho to hurt me, Mum. You know that,’ Sophie spat out the words. ‘But what about you? Why didn’t you stay in bed?’

  ‘I wanted to get to you. I was going to try to slide downstairs on my bottom, but when I tried to get down on the floor, I fell over. I was so worried about you, but I couldn’t get up. I’m sorry, love.’

  Becky could see Sophie was struggling to speak.

  ‘Whoever’s fault this is, Mum, it’s definitely not yours.’ She stroked her mother’s face gently.

  ‘Can you tell me who did this to you, Sophie?’ Becky asked. ‘And why?’

  ‘Oh, I’ll tell you who, all right. It was that crazy freak Robert Brookes. He is so going to pay for this. Hurting me is one thing. Hurting Liv is another. But hurting my mother is one thing he is not going to get away with. And don’t give me that look. What would you do if it was your mother and your best friend?’

  *

  When Tom arrived at the hospital he found Becky sitting on a hard blue plastic chair with her head tilted back against the wall. She looked totally knackered, but the night was far from over. Before disturbing her, he decided to grab a couple of cans of coke from the vending machine. Not his drink of choice, but they needed the caffeine, and he was certain the coffee would be vile and would come in plastic cups that were too hot to hold.

  He put Becky’s can down on the seat beside her and sat down on the other side, opening the can with a pop. Becky sat upright, and turned towards Tom.

  ‘There’s one for you there,’ he said, pointing with his
can.

  ‘Thanks. Let’s hope it wakes me up.’ She paused. ‘You didn’t need to come, you know. I can handle this.’

  Tom shook his head slowly. ‘I’m not here because I don’t think you’re up to it. I’m here because three kids are missing, and two heads might be better than one. Okay?’

  ‘Okay,’ she answered quietly.

  ‘How are we doing with Sophie Duncan, then?’

  ‘Not great at the moment. She refuses to leave her mother until she’s been checked over, and then the doctor wants to look at her leg. It seems Robert has done quite a bit of damage to it. As far as I can gather, the original injury from when she was caught in the bomb blast hadn’t knitted together properly, so she’s had to have more surgery on her leg and the wound was still a bit raw. Our friend Brookes exploited that, although I bet she didn’t let on how much he was hurting her. She’s one hell of a tough cookie, if you ask me.’

  ‘Did you manage to get anything at all from her?’

  ‘Nope – other than the fact that this was all done by Robert Brookes, who has understandably been called the full range of expletives. I was going to ask her what the hell it was all about, but I got shooed out by the doctor. This was really vicious, Tom. He wasn’t playing games. I told you he was a murdering bastard.’

  Tom sat back and rubbed his hands over his face. What a mess. They should have taken Robert in, and it was his fault they hadn’t. But they hadn’t had anything to go on, and Robert’s solicitor would have got him out in no time. Still, Tom couldn’t help thinking that he might have been able to prevent this.

  He looked at his watch. He felt they were wasting time just sitting here. There must be other things to be done, but he needed to speak to Sophie Duncan. And now would be good.

  ‘How long is she going to be, do you think?’ he asked.

  ‘Not too long. The doctor came out just before you arrived to tell me she was just going to be stitched up.’

  Out of the corner of his eye, Tom sensed some movement – the first he’d seen in what appeared to be a fairly dead emergency room. A doctor was walking towards them. He stopped and faced Becky.

  ‘DI Robinson, you can go and talk to Captain Duncan now. She’s ready to go home, but we’ve let her stay until you’ve spoken to her and her mum’s been settled for the night. We’re keeping Mrs Duncan in because her blood pressure is through the roof, and we’re concerned that the fear of going back into the house might just tip her over the edge. I was given permission to explain that to you. Captain Duncan is in the cubicle at the end. She’s a strong-willed woman, that’s for sure.’ The doctor smiled with what looked like awed respect. ‘I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of the man who did this to her.’

  Becky and Tom stood up and made their way to the cubicle that had been pointed out to them, pulling the curtain to one side to enter.

  ‘Sophie, this is Detective Chief Inspector Douglas. He’s been involved in the case concerning Olivia Brookes from the start.’

  Sophie pulled herself slightly more upright on the bed and winced with pain from some part of her body.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Tom asked.

  ‘Hunky-dory. What do you want to know?’

  ‘Tell us what happened, from when Robert Brookes arrived at your house.’ Tom suspected that Becky knew some of this, but it would be better to hear it from scratch.

  ‘I wasn’t there when he arrived. The bastard got in through the front door. It was only on the Yale, so I bet he used a credit card or something. He went upstairs and threatened my mum with a blade on a Swiss army knife. Terrified her to death, or close enough. But it was me he wanted.’

  Sophie was quiet, but her lips were set in a narrow line and, from the set of her jaw, Tom could tell she was clenching her teeth. Her fists were gripping the edge of the blue waffle blanket that covered the bed and he could practically hear the sizzling of her anger.

  ‘Look,’ she spoke through lips that were barely open, ‘I’m feeling pretty crap – can we just get this over with as quickly as possible, please?’

  ‘Okay, Sophie,’ Tom said. ‘Just answer a couple of questions now and we’ll be on our way. We’ll catch up with you again tomorrow. Is that all right?’

  Sophie nodded, and settled back slightly against the pillows.

  ‘The most crucial thing is that you tell us where Olivia Brookes and the children are.’

  ‘Oh, shit. I knew you were going to ask me that – and I don’t know. I honestly don’t have any idea where they are. I’m worried sick about them all.’

  Tom looked into her anxious eyes, and he knew she was telling the truth.

  ‘After Robert attacked you, he disappeared. We know he’s been lying about when he last spoke to Olivia. Do you think he might have hurt her or the children?’

  Sophie looked down at her leg and grasped the top of her thigh in both hands.

  ‘You’ve seen what he’s capable of. I don’t even know why you’re asking me that question.’

  She turned her head slightly towards Tom.

  ‘There is one person who might have more of an idea than me where she is. If you can track Dan down, you could ask him if he knows anything,’ she suggested. ‘I’ve been trying to get hold of him, but he’s not answering his mobile.’

  ‘Dan?’ Tom asked, in no doubt whatsoever who she was talking about.

  ‘Danush Jahander – the guy who ran away from Liv all those years ago. Well, he’s back, and he wants her back. But she was bloody terrified of what Robert would do if he found out.’

  Tom looked at Becky. Despite Sophie’s obvious discomfort they weren’t going to be able to leave this until tomorrow. He thought back to Robert’s smug, almost amused expression when Jahander was mentioned. He knew, Tom thought. And if he did, what would that have meant for Olivia?

  His thoughts were rudely interrupted by the buzz of his telephone. He glanced at the screen as he accepted the call.

  ‘Excuse me, Sophie – this could be important.’ He stepped outside the cubicle. ‘Yes, Jumbo. Tell me you’ve got more news?’

  Jumbo’s deep voice rumbled down the phone. ‘I have – and not news you’ll be expecting, my friend. The blood at the scene? Well, as it’s for you I managed to pull in a few favours. I know a rush job is usually forty-eight hours, but I also know you’re worried about Olivia Brookes and the children. So we’ve done the analysis on the blood and it turned up an unexpected result.’

  Tom waited.

  ‘Given the height of the blood spatter, we are fairly sure this is blood from an adult, although of course we’ll check that. I know we were all expecting this to be Olivia Brookes’ blood, but we were wrong. It’s not female blood at all. The blood is from a man, as yet unidentified.’

  Tom felt a cold run of fingers down his spine. It was a feeling he’d had many times, but he never quite got used to it.

  PART THREE

  OLIVIA

  32

  Monday

  Some people believe that freedom is every person’s right, but I have had to fight for mine. And it’s been a long and difficult battle.

  It began when Robert took my children. That day, he sent me to a darker place than I had ever imagined. I thought I had experienced the worst that life could throw at a person, visited every dark dungeon of despair, but nothing compared to the fear that I had lost my children. And that is exactly what Robert wanted; it was a warning, a taste of what might be if I didn’t stay within his control. From that day forwards, I knew I would never again feel we could sleep safely in our beds, and the threat of all Robert was capable of hung over me like a black cloud.

  My only option was to leave him, but how could I do that? I had no money of my own any more, and no means of getting any. I couldn’t leave a trail; if he finds us, the consequences are too dire to contemplate.

  The years since Dan haven’t all been bad, but in the brief time I had with him I felt as if my spirit was alive – as if bubbles were effervescing inside me. I sparkled.
With Robert there were never bubbles, but I was content to settle for stillness. After Dan and then what happened with my parents, serenity and calm seemed to be just what I needed, but as the years passed I started to realise that it wasn’t enough. And that was before I understood it all – before I knew the reason I had lost Dan.

  I’d begun to feel as if there was a creeping deadness inside me, encroaching on the calm and replacing it with a black void, a vacuum where emotion should be. And the deadness was growing and penetrating every corner of my soul, reaching out its dark tentacles to smother all natural reactions.

  When Robert took my children, two things happened. I realised I had to banish the deadness and bring myself back to life. Not for my sake, but for my children. And somehow I had to use my stagnant brain to work out a solution to the terrible life in which I had found myself. I didn’t know how, though. Every idea I came up with was flawed.

  I couldn’t just leave. I knew what Robert would do if I did, and anyway he had been so clever. He had managed to bring my sanity into question. The whole of our tiny, shrinking world believed that I couldn’t cope with life without Robert’s help. To an outsider, he appeared to take care of me and provide everything I ever could have wanted.

  What I wanted was freedom.

  The schedule on the kitchen wall was supposed to be there to help me. So why did I have to write down every action that required contact with other people? Robert said that if he came home unexpectedly and I wasn’t there, he needed to know where I was.

  Why?

  I felt as if I was in a cage, being controlled, being observed. And I knew he was watching me. He couldn’t bear me to be out of his sight, and the thought of me having a friend – even just another mother of a child at school – brought out the worst in Robert. His campaign to undermine me would be stepped up a notch.

  It wasn’t me I was worried about, though. It was my children. Robert’s obsession was focused on one thing. Me. To him, the children were just another weapon in his armoury.

  From the day Robert took my children, I spent six months trying to find a way to escape – but I had no money and no ability to get us all to a safe place. That was when I found Sophie again, and from that moment I began to hope.