Despite being stiff, hot and flustered, as Grazyna alighted from the ageing ramshackle bus in the main terminus of Alytus she told herself it was all worth it as she caught sight of the bustle of people all heading towards the stores.
She and Kofryna joined the throng of shoppers and found their way to the coffee shop they had previously visited. They peeked inside but there was no sign of Andrius or Henrikas so they hung around, eyeing the shoppers and chatting together. It was good ten minutes before their young men turned up.
As Andrius and Henrikas ambled towards them, hands in pockets, Grazyna couldn’t help but notice how Andrius appeared even more handsome than before. He was wearing a polo shirt and jeans and his short dark curly hair glistened. He was unshaven but the couple of day’s stubble made him look sexy. Her stomach fluttered as if a thousand butterflies were taking flight inside.
He greeted her with a big smile, displaying a mouthful of pearly white teeth, and pulled her towards him and kissed her on the mouth. Her first kiss. It wasn’t a lingering kiss, but it was longer than a peck and it felt as if a charge of electricity was running through her.
She watched as Henrikas did the same with Kofryna and as they parted she caught her friend’s gaze. Her grey eyes were sparkling and a huge grin stretched across her face. Grazyna knew from that look she was experiencing similar feelings.
“Coffee, ladies?” Andrius said, opening the café door for them.
They took up a table towards the back of the shop and Andrius ordered four coffees and two pieces of cake. In between mouthfuls they chatted and laughed; Andrius was especially funny. Grazyna couldn’t believe her luck. She had to pinch herself as she stared into his warm brown eyes.
As they finished their coffees Andrius said, “What do you fancy doing now? Doing some shopping?”
Grazyna looked across at her friend. Kofryna displayed an uncertain look.
As if picking up on her trepidation Andrius added, “Our treat.”
With that Andrius paid the bill and led them outside. Hooking an arm across Grazyna’s shoulders he hugged her close and kissed her cheek. “Let’s shop till we drop,” he said softly into her ear.
They visited several department stores, many of which she and Kofryna had only ever browsed in. But now, thanks to the young men’s generosity, they were here as shoppers.
In the ladies department they separated as couples, and Grazyna, with encouragement from Andrius, scoured the dress rails. For the best part of twenty minutes she looked at a number of different styles and then finally Andrius selected a short black figure-hugging dress with an expensive label. She was unsure at first when she saw the price, but he shrugged his shoulders and told her to try it on.
It fitted perfectly. She looked at herself in the mirror from various angles before finding the courage to leave the changing room and show Andrius.
She was so glad when she saw his face light up.
Crooking his arm he formed an “O” with his finger and thumb. “You look beautiful,” he said.“ It makes you look like a young woman.”
Hearing those words made her feel as if she was walking on air – only her parents had told her that before.
As Andrius paid for the dress Grazyna couldn’t help but notice the large bundle of money he had pulled out of his jeans pocket. She had never seen anyone with so much money.
The shopping didn’t end there. He also bought her lipstick, eye shadow and eyeliner – her first make-up. And he made her blush when he suggested she needed some new shoes. But the embarrassment hadn’t lasted long as she tried on half a dozen pairs before finally settling on a pair of black court shoes.
An hour later she and Andrius met back up with her friend and Henrikas, and laden with carrier bags they made their way back to the coffee shop, where they drank and chatted some more before Andrius and Henrikas walked them back to the bus station. Here, once again Grazyna received a gentle kiss from Andrius as they said their goodbyes.
That evening, as Grazyna and Kofryna travelled home together on the bus, showing each other glimpses of their gifts, they found themselves competing for airspace as they exalted about their new-found boyfriends.
Five
Grazyna and Kofryna spent many more shopping days with Andrius and Henrikas.
With each meeting Grazyna’s kissing with Andrius had become longer and more tender, but she hadn’t gone all the way with him. She had told him she was a virgin and he hadn’t pushed her. He had been a proper gentleman.
Three weeks ago Andrius had dropped the bombshell. He told her he had work to return to in England and didn’t know when he would be able to come back home. She had tried hard not to cry but found herself unable to hold back the tears. For the best of five minutes she had sobbed while Andrius held her gently in his arms. After she had stopped shaking Andrius had dried away her tears, and then taken her by surprise by asking if she would like to travel with him to England and work there herself. He told her that he had contacts and finding work wouldn’t be a problem. She had never even contemplated leaving her village, never mind Lithuania . She told him of her trepidation and he put her mind at ease by telling her he would speak with her parents. If they agreed then he would make all their travel plans. When she had broken her exciting news to Kofryna, she learned that Henrikas had made the same proposition to her. Within days Andrius and Henrikas had approached and spoken with their respective parents and been granted permission to escort their daughters to England on the understanding that the two girls would have regular phone contact.
Since then, talk of their new life had dominated every waking moment together and it had been the talk of the village. They had found it so difficult to concentrate on their labouring of the fields, and each day she and Kofryna had ticked it off as another last day of drudgery.
Two weeks ago she and Kofryna had spent the best part of a day travelling to and from Vilnius to arrange their passports and book their flights to England. It was her first visit to the capital and although exhausting it had been so exciting. It was a place she had only ever previously seen on TV, and she had trawled the streets looking in wonder at the architecture and how much traffic occupied the streets and how many people there were. Andrius had told her that this was nothing – London was even busier. As she jostled her way through the crowds she couldn’t imagine anything being busier than this.
She had glanced sideways at her best friend Kofryna, arm in arm with Henrikas, and meeting her gaze exchanged a happy smile.
And then yesterday the day she and Kofryna had waited so long for had finally come. They had set off mid-morning to drive the few hours to Vilnius, breaking their journey on the outskirts of the city, where they stopped off at a large old house and were introduced to Andrius’s cousin Morta. She had cooked them cepelinai, and served up the potato dumplings with pork and mushrooms, and as they ate hungrily she shared with them that she had worked many years in England, earning the money to buy the house she now lived in. During the meal Grazyna swapped looks so many times with Kofryna, seeing in her glistening eyes that she was as excited as herself about the future.
Then it had been on to the airport, and despite a two-hour delay, her time with Andrius had been magical. They had talked endlessly about what she could expect life to be like in England and he had treated her and Kofryna to their first alcoholic drink – a glass of wine each. Grazyna had boarded the plane in high spirits.
The only dampener to this wonderful experience had occurred upon their arrival at Heathrow Airport. Andrius had told her he had to make a phone call and following a short conversation ushered them through to a coffee lounge where he introduced them to a shaven-headed man called Skender, telling them he was his Albanian contact for work. He had arranged for Skender to put up her and Kofryna in his home for a short time while a job was sorted out. Andrius said that he and Henrikas had to go straight on to the hotel where they both worked to begin their shift and that they would see them again in two days. He had kissed Grazyna g
ently on the cheek, given her a reassuring hug and whispered in her ear not to worry – everything would be fine.
Being left with Skender was not what she had expected.
Under normal circumstances the shaven head, striking blue eyes and strong jaw with dimpled chin – handsome characteristics – should have made her feel at ease, but his muscular build and the disfiguring scar that travelled across the bridge of his nose onto his right cheek gave him a menacing appearance and made her nervous and uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, she had tried to come to terms with it as she and Kofryna had loaded their bags into the boot of his four-by-four and journeyed to the house where they were now staying.
Where that was, Grazyna had no idea. She only knew that it was somewhere outside of London, because she had followed the signs.
****
As Grazyna pushed herself further up the bed she spied the chair she had jammed beneath the handle of the door, provoking thoughts from last night.
They had pulled up outside this large two-storey house shortly after ten p.m. – she had noted the time on the dash of Skender’s four-by-four. Getting out of the car, she had noticed the lights were on in most of the rooms facing her, and once inside, in the brief spell she stood in the hallway, she heard lots of different voices and noises around the house. In one of the rooms above she had heard shouting and it made her nervous to the point of being scared. She had moved closer to Kofryna for support.
Skender had said nothing. With their bags in his hands he had nodded for them to follow him up the flight of stairs. Stopping on the landing of the first floor he had handed over Kofryna’s suitcase and directed her into a room, where, as soon as she had gone inside, he had closed the door behind her, preventing them from bidding one another goodnight. Then she had been guided up a further flight of stairs to the top floor of the house and been shown into this room.
Before he closed her door she had nervously told Skender she needed the bathroom. With a grumpy sigh he had shown her along to the end of the corridor. There she had swiftly locked the door, used the toilet and then cleansed and refreshed herself by washing her hands and face. When she had come out Skender was waiting for her. Not just waiting, but standing in the middle of the landing, partially blocking her way back to the room. She had approached him cautiously but he did not budge and she had been forced to brush past him. She had felt his hot breath on her neck as she squeezed by and it caused her heart to race and her stomach to churn. Upon the bedroom door being fastened she had spotted the dressing table chair and secured it beneath the door handle.
Undressing in the dark, she had climbed into bed knowing she didn’t want to stay here more than a minute longer than she had to. As soon as she saw Andrius again she would tell him she wanted to leave.
As she contemplated what the day ahead held she caught the sound of distant footfall. Someone was coming up the stairs. She hoped it wasn’t Skender.
Six
It was Skender. He shouted for her to open up after making two quick unsuccessful attempts to push open the door. The action made her jump and she braced herself back against the headboard. As she watched the chair judder for the third time her mind began to race.
“Open door now!” Skender yelled in broken English.
She could sense from the tone in his voice that he was angry and the hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle. Realising that she couldn’t go anywhere she called back shakily, “One moment.”
Throwing back the duvet, she remembered she only had on a T-shirt and knickers and she sought out where she had dumped her clothes the previous night. They were draped over the bottom of the bed.
Picking up her skirt, she slipped it on, adjusted it around her hips and fastened up the zip. “One moment,” she called out again. She couldn’t stop the nervous inflection in her voice and as she padded towards the door she could feel her heart beginning to pound faster.
Removing the chair she stepped back. “It’s open.”
Skender pushed open the door.
He seemed even bigger in daylight. Grazyna noted that there was only a few inches gap between his shaven head and the top of the door.
For a second he stared at her, then switched his gaze to the chair she was still holding.“Why you do that?”
“I–I wasn’t dressed properly. I felt scared.”
He smiled, narrowing his eyes.
“You do that no more,” he said, stepping towards her.
She released the chair and edged back, catching her legs against the bed. “What do you want? Where is Kofryna?”
“She is in her room getting ready. It is time for you to get ready. You work for me soon.”
A sudden confusion engulfed Grazyna. After a few seconds’ silence she said, “Work for you? I don’t understand. Andrius is getting me work.”
He guffawed. “Andrius is gone. Gone back home.”
Her head went into a spin. “Gone back home? I don’t understand. Andrius is at work. He has a job at a hotel. He said he was going to sort out work for me and Kofryna and then come back for us.”
Skender’s mouth curled up.“You think Andrius is your boyfriend, yes?”
“Of course Andrius is my boyfriend. He is looking after me.”
Skender fixed her gaze for several seconds then with a sneer said, “Andrius is not your boyfriend. You and your friend Kofryna belong to me now.”
His words were like a blow to her stomach. She felt her chest tighten. “What do you mean belong to you?” she gasped.
“What I say: belong to me. I pay five thousand each for you to come here. Now you have to pay me back by working for me.”
The nervousness she had felt minutes earlier disappeared and changed to anger. “You are lying. I am not working for you. I want to see Andrius and I want to go home.” She jammed her hands onto her hips. “Right now.”
Without warning Skender lashed out, back-handing Grazyna across the face. The blow knocked her onto the bed.
A split second later he was on top of her, clamping a hand around her jaw. “You work for me now, you understand? You make no more trouble. If you do I hurt you. You understand?”
Tears welled in Grazyna’s eyes. Her jaw felt as if it was going to pop out of its joints. The pain was nothing like she had felt before. She managed to nod her head and he released his grip.
“Good, we understand one another, yes?”
Fighting back further tears, she nodded again.
“Good.” He stroked her face with the back of his hand. Looking into her eyes he said, “You are virgin yes?”
Grazyna’s stomach emptied. She felt sick.
Skender’s eyes tightened. “Answer me. You are virgin?”
“Yes – yes,” she managed to stammer out. Her throat was dry.
“Good, that is what I was told. I don’t care anyway. I already tell people you are virgin.” He fixed her with a threatening stare. “If anyone asks you tell them you are virgin. Understand?”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Licking her lips she said, “Please, I want to go home.”
Skender broke into a mischievous grin. “You go home when I say you go home.” He drew up a knee and straddled it across her thighs. “Now I try the goods.”
He reached a hand beneath her skirt and Grazyna tried to squirm free but he pushed himself down more firmly and squashed her further into the bedding.
She wriggled even harder. “No, please no.”
He hooked his fingers through the waistband of her knickers and yanked. Her knickers snapped.
“No,” she cried out louder.
Skender viced her jaw again. “Scream, and you fucking die!”
Seven
“I think James Green is more calculating than we give him credit for.” Scarlett was addressing members of both syndicates who were clustered around her and Tarn’s desk. DI Taylor-Butler was among them. He had drawn up a chair and had his daily journal open across his lap. He was fiddling with his pen and
unlike the other members of the HSCU his face showed no emotion. She continued, “I thought at first his attacks were impulsive, in as much as he cycled around, especially through the university grounds, until he spotted his victim, checked it was quiet, then dumped his bike, hid among the trees or bushes and struck as they passed.” Pausing, she checked a few faces. The DI’s face still bore a dead-pan look. “As I say, that’s what I first thought. Now I believe that’s not the case.”
“What makes you say that, Serge?” Ella Bloom asked. Slightly built with short white-blonde hair and elfin-like features, she had the appearance of being a lot younger than her twenty-six years, making her a no-brainer for the undercover work.
Scarlett replied, “Since we charged him I’ve been going back through the evidence, especially the video interviews. If you recall, our first two victims were just groped by him, in as much as he ran up behind them and grabbed their breasts and then fled. But the third girl” – she glanced down at some notes she had made – “twenty-one-year-old Adelle Harrison, was also grabbed from behind, but on this occasion he put his hand over her mouth and dragged her towards some bushes. Thankfully, she managed to fight him off by back-heeling his shins – something she’d learned in self-defence classes. As he let go she screamed and he took off.” Scarlett looked back up. “Although the light was fading she managed to get a glimpse of him and she said in her interview that she thought she had seen him before, although she couldn’t place him.” Scarlett gazed down at her notes again. “And then we have the two rapes, both girls again grabbed from behind, their mouths covered and dragged into bushes. On these two occasions they both had knives put to their throats and were told to be quiet or he would kill them. The first girl, twenty-year-old Claire Ridgewell, froze completely and kept her eyes shut throughout the whole ordeal. She’s one of the girls who has been unable to carry on with her courses and gone back to her home in Maidstone. The second girl, nineteen-year-old Penny Wilkins, got a good look at him, and although he had a scarf covering his mouth she also thought she had seen him somewhere before.” Scarlett paused again, taking in the thoughtful expressions on some of the faces. “If you also remember, although Claire kept her eyes closed she thought she heard clomping sounds as he ran away afterwards. When we arrested Green, following his attack on Ella, he was wearing cycling shoes with cleats attached, which you will recall gave off a clomping noise as he walked. And finally, we have our witness, Emma Caroll, who saw a cyclist on two occasions at the main entrance, who she describes as being in the act of repairing a puncture. On the second occasion she was very suspicious, because she thought he appeared to be looking around rather than working on his bike. This is the witness who picked out Green from the video identification parade.”
Scream, You Die Page 3