“You said you wanted to see Clara, but first I want to know: Where’s the Italian?” It was the man who had first spoken. She tried to place the voice, but she realised it was unfamiliar.
Ellie didn’t know whether to be glad or sorry that it wasn’t a random kidnapping. “We’re still looking for him,” she said.
“You’re looking, my arse. You can’t find him, you can’t find Clara. What can you do?”
“We’re on his trail. We believe we’ll find Mr Allegretti in the next day or two.”
“That’s too late. You’re wasting our time.”
She heard whispering and then the bag was removed from her head.
She blinked. Only one dim light bulb burned in a corner of the room and it took a while to take in the scene. Against the far wall she saw a bundle lying on a mattress.
“Sit up so your tjom can see you’re alive,” the man next to Ellie ordered. The figure on the mattress pushed itself up. Ellie drew a quick breath. Clara was barely recognisable. Her dirty hair stuck to her face, and her left eye was swollen shut. Her cheekbone and the area around the eye were a purplish blue. Her lip was split and a scab had formed.
The man didn’t stop Ellie when she got to her feet. She sank down on the mattress next to Clara and the girl rested her head on Ellie’s shoulder and began to sob.
When the door closed Ellie tried to get more comfortable. It was difficult with her hands tied behind her back. She desperately wanted to put her arms around Clara.
“Clara …” Though Ellie had a hundred questions, each one seemed as inappropriate as the next. She wanted to ask whether Clara was okay, whether she knew who the people were, how they had got hold of her – but she let it go.
After a while the girl’s sobs subsided. “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Ellie managed to say. When the words were out, she realised how meaningless they sounded. She wanted to comfort the girl and tell her everything would be all right, but she had to convince herself before she could make promises to the girl.
“There are people looking for you. Don’t give up hope.”
“I don’t even know if Enzio will pay the money. You said on the phone that he’s missing.”
“He’s missing because he’s looking for the money.”
Tears began to flow again, but she was no longer sobbing.
“Who beat you?”
“I don’t know.” She lifted her long-sleeved top and Ellie saw the bruises on her ribs.
“Clara, were you and Enzio still seeing each other?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Someone helped us.”
“Elroy?”
Clara raised her head. “How do you know?”
“I presumed if you were seeing each other someone had to be helping you and I knew it would be someone you could trust. Do you think he’s involved?”
“No, not in a million years. Elroy is a sweetie.” Clara struggled to say the words.
“Why would someone think Enzio will pay a ransom if you’re not seeing each other any more?”
Clara gave a slight shrug.
“Who do you think it is?”
“I don’t know.”
“Take a wild guess.”
“Maybe Enzio’s brother-in-law. He’s a lowlife.”
“We talked to him. He’s also looking for Enzio. Do you think it could be Reggie?”
“I thought so at first, but Reggie wouldn’t want me to be hurt.”
“Maybe he wants to teach you a lesson. Show you what will happen if you go back to Enzio. Maybe he wants to show you he can find you anywhere.”
Clara curled up into a ball again. “I don’t know, Ellie. I’m too tired to think.”
Before Ellie could ask anything else, the door opened. Two masked figures entered and stood on either side of the door. Ellie could see they were both armed. A third one walked in, also masked. Average height, considerably thinner than the other two. They all wore padded jackets, which made it hard to guess at their true size.
The two at the door approached and hoisted Ellie onto a chair. The thinner one came up to her.
“I’ll ask you one more time: Where is Allegretti?” It was the tallest of the three who spoke.
“We’re looking for him,” she replied.
“You think this is a game. Maybe we should play along. Let’s see what happens if we keep you here as well. I don’t know who you’re working for, but someone will probably start looking for you. And maybe they’ll be prepared to exchange you for Allegretti.”
Ellie expected Clara to start crying again, but she lay quietly curled up on the mattress.
The thin man lifted Ellie’s face and before she realised what was coming, a fist struck her cheek. Her head jerked back. It felt as if her cheekbone had splintered. Her skin burned like fire.
He went over to the mattress. One of the others helped him lift Clara up. The thin one turned Clara’s face so that the light fell on it. Ellie sent up a silent prayer that he wouldn’t hit the girl again. But he drew his finger across Clara’s cheek and then across her neck.
The thin one walked past Ellie, pushed her off the chair and left the room. The key crunched in the lock.
“They’re never going to let me go,” said Clara.
“It’s no use giving up now.” Ellie sounded harsher than she had meant to. She wished she could touch her cheek. It was burning like hell and her jaw ached when she opened her mouth. For someone who wasn’t very big, the man was strong. Her shoulder ached where it had hit the floor.
She shuffled on her knees and sat down on the mattress next to Clara.
“Clara, please rub my hands and arms. I can’t feel them any more.”
She wasn’t really worried about her hands and arms. She just wanted the girl to do something.
Clara lay motionless for a while, then sat up and began to rub Ellie’s hands and arms.
“How many people have you seen?”
“I don’t know. They come and go, but I think there are always at least three or four.”
“Could you recognise any of their voices? Or has anyone said something that sounded familiar?”
“No. Only one of them talks to me but I don’t know their voices. The one who hit you never speaks.”
“Is he the one who hit you as well?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
“The first few days I was very cranky. I said I’d make sure Uncle took them out one by one. Then he hit me.”
“Did any of the others hit you?”
Ellie was starting a whiteboard in her head. Everything Clara said was being written down. It was the only way she could feel in control. She had no idea what the relevance of her questions was.
“No.”
“Did the thin one hit you again after the first time?”
“He kicked me.”
“Do you think he’s the leader?”
“I don’t know, maybe. What does it matter who’s what?”
“I’m trying to work out what to expect from each of them.”
“How will that help us?”
“I like being able to anticipate people’s moves.”
Clara snorted. “Good luck with that. People surprise the hell out of me.”
“When do they bring your food?”
“I don’t know. I’ve lost track of time. I don’t think they follow a fixed routine.”
“What do they give you to eat?”
“Kentucky or burgers, sometimes a pizza.”
“Did they tell you why they kidnapped you?”
“They said Enzio has a lot of money and he owes them. He can share some of it with them if I’m important to him.”
“Who knew that you and Enzio were still in touch?”
“Only Elroy.”
“Are you sure he’s not involved?”
“I said earlier that Reggie wouldn’t have me beaten up, but Elroy wouldn’t do it at all. He has a soft heart.”
; “Where did you and Enzio meet, and how did you arrange it?”
“At an apartment that belongs to a friend of his in the city.” When Clara spoke about the messages on Facebook, Ellie gave an involuntary smile. She had to remember to tell Jansen. That is, if she … She cut the thought short.
“And if he couldn’t make it?”
“Then he phoned Elroy.”
“Do you think he told anyone?”
Clara moved away when Ellie said her hands felt better.
“No. Remember, the secrecy wasn’t only because Uncle didn’t want me to see him any more or because I was afraid of what Reggie might do. Enzio has a lot of shit to sort out at the moment. He didn’t want anyone to know we were seeing each other. Come to think of it, I sometimes got the idea he was afraid someone would do something to me.”
“Did he say so?”
“No, a few times I said I felt like telling Uncle, but then he made me promise not to do it. Once he said some mean guys were after his blood, and he didn’t want to drag me into it.”
“How did you and Enzio start seeing each other again?”
“In the beginning I tried to phone him a few times, but he never answered. Then one day I called him from my cousin’s phone and asked if I could see him just one more time. We met at the apartment I mentioned and talked for a long time. He didn’t want any more trouble with Uncle. As I’ve said, he has a lot of problems. But you know what it’s like – we ended up in bed and then we made a plan.”
“And was Elroy willing to help you? Was he okay with misleading your uncle and Reggie?”
“Poor Elroy has a hard time under Reg. I think it may have made him feel he’s his own man for a change. You know what I mean. Reg likes stepping on a guy’s balls. I don’t know what’s going to happen between Uncle and him. He’s getting more and more difficult and Uncle is getting older.”
“Clara, I want you to tell me everything from the beginning. Where you were that evening, whether anything was strange. Did you notice any strangers during the day or the evening? Or maybe the previous days or week? And since you’ve been here, who has done what? Is there one specific person who brings your food, or do they take turns?”
Clara found a new position on the mattress. She spoke in a dull tone. “We began with an early-morning shoot in Clifton.”
Ellie did not interrupt. Clara told her they had all been tired and didn’t want to stay out late.
“I can’t remember the exact time, but when I walked out of the restaurant a car crashed into another one across the street. I realised it was my bodyguards’ car. I was just about to run over to see if they were okay when someone grabbed me from behind. Then it went black. They held something to my nose and when I woke up, we were here.”
“Did you see any suspicious-looking people during the day? Were there strangers at the shoot?”
“There are always strangers at a shoot, but no one seemed to be watching me.”
“Who knew where you would be?”
“I don’t remember. The usual people.”
“Did you decide beforehand to go to Paranga, or was it a last-minute thing?”
“We usually go there when we work in the neighbourhood. Why do you ask?”
“Someone knew all about your movements that day, and also where to find you in the evening.”
“You know our generation. Someone probably said something on Facebook or Twitter.”
Ellie nodded. “It’s possible, but the person must have mentioned it early that morning or even the previous day. Your kidnapping was planned.”
Clara rubbed her hands again. “If Uncle had let me live with Enzio, this would never have happened. You and Nick looked after me.”
Ellie’s mind raced in a thousand directions. Who were these people? How had they known about the connection between Clara and Allegretti? The only common denominator was Elroy, and Clara was adamant he wasn’t involved.
Who was the thin man who never spoke, but who clearly gave the orders and doled out punishment? Punishment that was unnecessarily harsh. Surely they knew it was in their own interests to keep Clara as unharmed as possible?
Ellie looked at the girl who was lying with her head in her lap. She had to get Clara out of here somehow. She understood kidnapping and she understood violence but something about this scenario didn’t make sense. Victims of kidnapping were usually tortured if it could be to the kidnappers’ advantage. A severed finger or ear sent to the loved ones to show what could happen. It also served to intimidate the victim, but looking at Clara, she saw no signs of rebellion. She had accepted that her fate was in her captors’ hands. And as far as Ellie knew, no photos had been sent to anyone.
“Clara, where does that door lead to?”
“The toilet.”
“Does the toilet have a window?”
“I don’t know.”
“Help me up.”
Once Ellie was standing up, she marched in place for a while to restore the circulation in her feet and legs. The pins and needles hurt.
Nick looked at the man pacing in front of the window. He could see Allegretti was dying for a fix but he couldn’t allow him to take anything now. Every policeman knows that limits are sometimes pushed. You don’t always stick to correct procedures. Sometimes you do things in the heat of the moment and hope and pray you won’t be caught out. But with this case he couldn’t afford any mistakes.
“Do you know who took her?”
“Kidnappers don’t usually send IDs.”
“What did you tell them?”
“To give me time. I can’t get that kind of money overnight.” Allegretti began to pace again. Nick was boundlessly irritated. He’d had a massive headache since he and Clive Barnard had left Riana’s place. He couldn’t forget the scene in his flat and was struggling to focus.
“Is that why you shot Patrice and disappeared?”
Allegretti threw his hands in the air. “What was I supposed to do?”
“You didn’t have to shoot him. You deserve to go to jail.”
“Fuck you! It’s your fault. You made him the babysitter. He locked up all the car keys and refused to let me go out.”
“Enzio, don’t waste my time with excuses.”
“What about Clara? They said they’d kill her if I didn’t come up with the money.”
“Why didn’t you call the cops when you heard she’d been kidnapped?”
“And have them crawl all over my house and have her family in my face? You must be joking.”
“Why did they ask you for money if the two of you had nothing to do with each other any more?”
There was a moment’s hesitation. “We were still seeing each other.”
When Nick raised his eyebrows, Enzio told him about the role Elroy played. They had the use of an apartment in the city centre belonging to a friend of Enzio’s who lived in London. It was easy for him. He told his driver he had to attend a meeting.
“You didn’t even know what was going on under your nose.”
Nick wanted to tell him he had more important things to do than keep track of Allegretti’s bedfellows, but he refused to swallow the bait.
“You have to find Clara.”
“I don’t have to do anything” Nick replied. “I warned you she was trouble, but you refused to listen.”
Nick began to get up from the chair. The next moment Allegretti’s shoulder struck his chest and he fell backwards in the chair. Immediately Allegretti was on top of him and punched Nick on the side of his head.
His skull felt as if it had split open. Exactly where the headache was.
He put both arms around the Italian and used his superior weight to turn them both over. Allegretti aimed a head butt at him but moments later he lay pinned under Nick with both arms at his side. He tried a kick, but it glanced off Nick’s leg. Nick was dying to hit the man. Preferably hit him in such a way that an ambulance would have to come and get him. He controlled himself with great effort. He got up, yanking Allegretti
to his feet as well.
Without another word, he marched him out of the study and down the stairs. He pushed him into the bedroom and locked the door. He heard Allegretti scream after him.
Nick went outside with Gaba and waited until he had left before he dropped in on the night-shift guards in the booth. He had hired extra men. He walked around the house, made sure all the doors and gates were secured. Then he made a sandwich and took it to Allegretti, who was asleep on the bed. Nick wondered when last he’d slept. He didn’t even know about his parents’ deaths yet.
Nick had a shower and settled on the couch in the living room of the flat below. He wondered whether he would have taken the job had he known most of his time would be spent playing nanny to a rich, spoilt child.
He poured himself a shot of Allegretti’s best whisky. He dialled Paul’s number.
“It’s late. What do you want?”
“I want to give you the good news,” said Nick, “but not if you’re in such a crappy mood.”
“What good news? Did you find another piece of your unsolved puzzle?”
“Not just any piece, the last piece.” Nick told him that he had found Allegretti.
There was a long silence, then Paul sighed. “At fucking last.”
“Is that all you’re going to say?”
“Surely you’re not expecting a pat on the back? Hell, man, I’ve been sweating blood for you. Without me, you’d still be running around in circles – like moles.”
“I’ll make sure you get a medal,” Nick said.
“Please don’t.”
Nick smiled.
“Does that mean I don’t have to go back to work tomorrow?” asked Paul.
“Not so fast. It’s a complicated operation that must be executed with military precision if we want to catch them all at the same time.”
Paul sighed. “There’s always one more thing …”
“The death of the Allegrettis complicates matters. We’ll have to allow Enzio to attend the funeral.”
“Only for someone to get their hands on him there.”
“We’ll take the necessary security measures.”
Endgame Page 33