by Clare Revell
He opened the window to allow the sound and smell of the sea to come into the room. A bitter wind stole inside, taking his breath away with its chill. A light flashed across the sky from the lighthouse at Tannoch Point.
A tap at the door made him turn. “Hey.”
“I brought you that cocoa.” Mary came in and handed him a cup. “Lots of lights over there.”
“House lights most likely. This isn’t my room, but I guess those lights on the shoreline are normally on this time of night.”
“It’s pretty. I imagine the view is lovely in the daytime.”
“It is.” He picked up the card and held it out. “I found this in here.”
Mary read the card. “I’ve known for a while how she felt. I told her to tell you, like I told you to tell her.”
“I didn’t know how. I kissed her, and she kissed me back, but we got interrupted, and the moment went.” He paused. “You know, she doesn’t take my ring off.”
Mary smiled. “Does she not?”
Luke shook his head. “No. That should have given me a clue.”
“It’s called hindsight. You can look back and see things you were too blinded by circumstances to see at the time.”
He stifled a yawn and rubbed his temples, the headache starting to flare up again.
“You really should try to get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Luke sipped the cocoa. “All right. Goodnight.”
Mary left, and Luke stood by the window, drinking the cocoa. The migraine was flaring again and he closed his eyes, fighting the pain and nausea. Anger over his incapacity flooded. He couldn’t do anything to find Sara. Setting the empty cup on the window sill, he crossed the room unsteadily, and removed his pants and shirt. He lay on Sara’s bed and pulled up the duvet. He held her bear close, his mind full of images of what could be happening to her. She was out there somewhere, and there was nothing he could do to help her.
****
Sara woke with a start. Her body ached, and she tried rolling over, but she couldn’t move. She realized with a shock there was a cloth over her eyes and something sticky over her mouth. Fear surged though her, and her breath came hard and fast.
She tried to move again. Horror flooded her as she discovered she was tied down. Her wrists were handcuffed, her arms yanked above her head and tied to the headboard with rope. More rope bound her ankles together and then to the end of the bed. She fought the bonds, screaming as loud as she could, but hardly a sound escaped the tape across her mouth.
Her heart pounded in her chest, the sound filling her senses. The last thing she remembered was the war memorial. Someone grabbed her, and a dragon peeked out from beneath his sleeve. Austin found her. Had he followed her? Had he been waiting for her? Where was DC Collins? Was he here, too?
She fought against the bonds again for a minute, and then she gave up. She remembered Luke saying something about a leak in the department, but surely that was Norfolk, not here.
All those weeks Luke had kept her safe, despite her best efforts to the contrary. How could she have been so stupid? Why had she gone at all? Why hadn’t she asked Dave to get the prescription? Why did she have to be so jolly independent and fight Luke’s instructions all the time?
Her other senses heightened, she tensed as footsteps moved up the stairs. She struggled again, whimpering, her breath jagged. The door creaked, and the light switch clicked. Footsteps crossed the room. Rough fingers pulled off the blindfold. Blinking at the rude onslaught of bright light, Sara gave out a muffled shriek as she saw the faces of the two men standing over her.
Austin reached down and ripped the tape off her mouth. “Hi, doll.”
Sara pushed down the panic as she stared at Austin and Phil. She tugged on the restraints. “How did you find me?”
Austin frowned. “Don’t you remember? Those long emails? The IM chats? The fun chatting for months before you married? I’m hurt.”
She’d been chatting with the guy who wanted her dead? What kind of an idiot was she? She had to get out of here. “You’re Oscar?”
“Well, not me personally, but you were chatting to him. You see, you were chosen, such a long time ago. It must be three years by now.”
“Chosen?”
“And you performed brilliantly. You’ll meet Oscar soon. He’s looking forward to it. You spoke last night and he arranged for me to be waiting at the war memorial for you today.”
“Where am I?”
A slow, cruel smile spread across Austin’s face. “Where no one will find you.”
Sara shivered. She’d been targeted? She’d fallen into the very trap Luke had warned her about, but ...years ago?
His voice oozed pure evil.
“I need the bathroom.”
Austin moved to the foot of the bed and untied her feet. As he untied her ankles, Sara kicked out at him, catching him on the nose. He cried out and stepped backwards, clutching his face.
There was a loud click. Phil was holding a gun on her.
She froze.
“You do that again, or try to escape, and you will pay for it.” Austin’s voice was muffled, blood pouring from his nose.
“Take me to a bank, and I’ll pay. Right after I’ve been to the bathroom.”
Phil moved over to her and untied her hands, leaving the handcuffs on. He yanked her to her feet, not giving her time to get her balance. “Get up. Enough of the back chat.”
He led her to a room at the other end of the landing. Pushing the door open, he flicked on the light. Sara went in and started to shut the door.
Phil put his foot in the way. “The door stays open.”
She glared at him. “I’m sorry?”
“You want to use the bathroom, there it is. The door remains open.”
“Fine.” The twins were, as usual, lying on her bladder, not giving her a choice in the matter. Ignoring the man waiting on the other side of the door, she wondered what would happen if she tried to escape. She washed her hands. It was worth a try. She might not get very far, but she wasn’t going to let them intimidate her.
“Hurry up.”
“I’m coming.”
Pulling the door open, Sara bolted from the room, heading towards the stairs. She had the banister at arm’s reach when someone caught hold of her, swinging her around. She cried out. Pain exploded in her head, cutting off her scream.
Phil let his hand containing the gun drop as Sara crumpled to the floor.
Sara lay there, longing for unconsciousness, but it wouldn’t come. Three voices echoed above her, one Scottish lilt hauntingly familiar, but she couldn’t put a name to it.
Please…let Luke find me. I don’t want to die before I tell him I love him.
Someone picked her up carried her back to the bedroom and retied her hands to the bed. The darkness grew, and she knew no more.
24
Luke dozed on and off all night, beside himself with worry. Just after six thirty, he got up and showered. He stood under the hot water, letting it pour down on him. His stomach twisted as if he was going to throw up, yet he knew he’d not eaten enough for that. For the first time in his life he understood the term, heartsick. A huge hole, no, make that chasm, had opened up within him and he had no way of fixing it.
He’d failed. He’d never failed at anything before. Not a case, a race, or even a tennis match. But now he’d lost the single most important thing he’d been given. He dressed and headed downstairs. He went into the kitchen and filled the kettle. Footsteps made him turn. “Morning, Mary. How did you sleep?”
“Not very well. You?”
Luke shook his head. “Dozed, but that’s it. The same thought has gone around my mind all night. I failed in my duty, and as a direct result, my charge, the woman I love, is probably dead, either at the hands of Austin or her own body.”
Mary moved over to him. “You can’t think like that. Sara is a fighter. She’s stubborn. You said so yourself. She’s not going to let something like this kill her
.”
“I ought to be assigned traffic duty for the rest of my career for this. And be demoted. How can I be the lead officer for anything now?” His hands curled into fists in frustration. “It’s my fault.”
“You can’t blame yourself for being sick when no one else does. It happens.”
“I do. I deserve every harsh comment…even the entire book thrown at me.”
“Snap out of it.” Mary’s tone was sharp and he looked up in surprise. “She needs you to be strong, not berate yourself over something you had no control over. It’s not as if she wandered off on her own.”
“I’m sorry?”
“She had the cop from outside the house with her, Luke. She took your phone, left you a note. Even rang Carole to say she was going out. She listened to you and took what you said to heart.” She dropped the cup on the table in front of him. “Now pull yourself together, drink your coffee, and we’ll get through this.”
“Don’t want it.”
“Luke Nemec, you need to take care of yourself. When she comes home, she’ll need you strong and here to look after her. Now drink up while I fix you some toast. My goodness, you’re worse than a ten-year-old at times.”
He suddenly felt like a child, remembering being berated by his own mother in just that fashion. He took a deep breath. “Yes, Aunt Mary.”
“That’s better.” She smiled, softening her voice. “It’s hard being on the other side of the desk, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
Four coffees later, the doorbell rang. Luke went to answer the door. DCI Shepherds and Dave stood there.
“Ye look dreadful,” Dave told him bluntly. “Did ye sleep any?”
“Did you?” Luke retorted.
“Aye, I did, when I eventually got home at three, but I asked ye first.”
“Not much.” Luke took their coats and hung them up. He turned at Shepherds, knowing he was going to be reprimanded and wanting to get it out of the way. “I’m sorry, sir. It’s my fault.”
“Ye were ill. I’ve spoken tae Dr. Scott, and he filled me in. Even so, ye should have rung and asked for backup. Better yet, Sara should have rung me or Dave.”
Dave intervened. “She rang Carole, but she was already at the doctor’s. Sara doesnae have any other numbers. And Carole was in the dark about this whole thing. Otherwise she’d have rung me immediately when she got home and found the message. As it was she dinna think twice about it.”
“It’s my fault.” Luke led the way into the kitchen where Aunt Mary cleaned the counter. “I programmed all the numbers into my cell phone, but Sara doesn’t know that. I hadn’t told her as I didn’t think she needed to know. You know Sara’s aunt, Mary Daniels. Do you want some coffee, sir?”
“I’ll do it,” Dave said. “Yer answer phone’s flashing.”
“Answer phone…Ohhh.” Luke tutted, annoyed with himself. “I meant to play you a message yesterday. I just hope this machine hasn’t recorded over it already.”
He pressed play, and the tape rewound. “I’ll play the messages back.”
The phone’s voice intoned. “You have five messages. Message one.”
That was hopeful as last time there’d only been three messages. First it played Carole’s messages from the night before. Then there was silence for a moment then the same muffled sounds he’d heard before. The cry this time resonated with in him. Chills ran down his spine and he knew without a doubt whose voice it was.
The tape continued with then two new ones.
“Message four.”
“Hi, Luke, it’s Dad. Is everything all right? It’s pretty late there, so I guess you’re asleep. I’ll call you tomorrow. Bye.”
“Message five.”
“Hi, it’s Carole. Just tae say I got home all right. I’ll come back in the morning, probably about ten. Bye.”
“What was that third one? Play it back.” Shepherds voice was sharp.
Luke rewound the tape and replayed the message. “Sara took my cell yesterday. She must have tried calling.”
Shepherds shot him a hard stare. “Are ye sure?”
Luke jerked his head in response. Like he wouldn’t know the sound of the voice of the woman he loved. “Positive. She wakes two or three nights a week, screaming with nightmares. It’s her.”
Luke turned to Dave. “Did you ping my cell?”
Dave blinked. “If ye mean yer phone, then aye. The last time it registers is eleven-thirty-two roughly in the center of town—which we’ve narrowed down to the war memorial. Then nothing. We can pin point it to the minute as the phone was in use when it cut off.”
Luke swallowed hard. “That was the call…the instant she was taken.”
Shepherds held out a hand. “I need the tape. I’ll get it analyzed.”
Luke handed him the tape, and Shepherds put it in his jacket pocket. The doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.” Dave said.
Luke nodded and pushed a hand though his hair. How many other ways could he screw up here? Dave came back into the room with Dr. Scott and Carole.
Scott put his bag on the table. “How are ye feeling, Luke?”
“How am I supposed to feel? Sara’s still missing.”
“That was nae what I meant. How’s the headache?”
“Still there.”
Scott frowned. “As bad as it was?”
“Not quite, but pretty bad.”
“Where can I check you over?”
Luke was about to refuse, but he saw the glare Mary gave him. ”Come through to the lounge.”
Luke sat on the couch and winced as Scott shone the penlight in his eyes.
“When did the headache start?”
“Two days ago.”
“Roll yer sleeve up for me.” Scott took his blood pressure. “Have ye ever had migraines before?”
“I get the occasional headache, but nothing this bad.”
“I want ye tae rest. If the headache does nae go by tomorrow, I want tae know.”
“It’s Sara we need to be concerned about. I’m fine. Tell me the truth, Doc. How long has Sara got?”
“She could be fine for a week or seriously ill this afternoon. We need tae locate her and get her tae a hospital quickly. What ye have tae remember is, aye, pre-eclampsia is dangerous, but no’ necessarily fatal.”
As long as it’s treated in time. Luke took a deep breath. “Doc, let me have a word with Dave before you leave. Do you have time for coffee?”
Scott checked his watch. “Sure, thanks.”
Luke beckoned to Dave and waited in the hall. As Dave came out, Luke shut the kitchen door. “I want Scott to see the CCTV pictures. He might recognize someone we don’t.”
Dave raised an eyebrow.
Luke held his gaze. “One, he’s the police surgeon and he knows what’s going on. Two, it’s not like I’ve not screwed up enough by bringing Mary here. We ought to tell Carole, too.”
“Fine, but we dinna tell the Guv. He left a few minutes ago and took the tape tae get it analyzed.”
“I meant to give him the one from upstairs, too. For some reason, it records the same messages.”
“I’ll take it in with me. Let me do the talking. Ye can sit in, but ye dinna say a word.”
“OK.”
Dave smiled at him. “By the way…Carole’s pregnant. Tha’s why she could nae go with Sara yesterday.”
Luke smiled. “Congrats…that’s really good news. Why didn’t you say earlier?”
“It was nae the right time, still isnae, but had to tell someone.”
Luke hugged him. One ray of hope in an otherwise black sea of despair. “I’m so pleased for you both.”
****
Luke sat in the kitchen with a mug of coffee. Dave, Carole and Scott sat drinking theirs, whilst Mary stood at the sink, cleaning every pan she could find.
Dave drummed his fingers on the table, and then raised his eyes. “What I’m about tae say goes no further than this room. As Sara’s aunt, Mary already kens, as does the Doc. Luke
and I both want Carole to ken. Yer going tae have tae forgive us all here, love, as we’ve all lied tae ye over the past few weeks.”
Carole stiffened. “Oh?”
“Sara is nay Luke’s wife. They only met in November. Luke isn’t an author. He’s a cop, my partner for the duration of his stay here. Sara is in protective custody. She’s the only witness tae a murder.”
Carole took a deep breath. “So I was right all along about ye being a cop. Yer talking about Jamie’s murder, right?”
Luke spoke up. “How do you know that?”
“When we were talking about old boyfriends, she said she’d been out with a bloke called Jamie. At the party, she said he’d been killed on a date. It only came up because she thought she saw him there. It was nae him in the end.”
“Jamie died three days into their honeymoon. That’s why she’s so sure of her dates. The twins were conceived before she was shot and Jamie killed.”
“She was shot?” Carole asked. “I thought she just broke her leg.”
“Yeah.” Luke glanced at Dave. “Sorry, I’ll shut up now.”
Dave smiled. “As far as we ken, the blokes we were protecting her from have her. We’ll get her back. It’s just a question of when.”
“I should have gone with her.” Carole ran her finger around the rim of her cup. “She rang me. If I hadn’t insisted on going tae the doctors so early and taken the four thirty appointment instead of the morning one, I could have gone with her.”
“Then he might have you, too,” Luke told her. “And congrats…Dave told me about the baby.”
“Thanks, but she went alone.”
“It’s not yer fault, love. Like I told Luke, this bloke could have snatched her on the way tae church or hospital.” Dave put his arms around his wife and held her. “She did nae go alone, she took the officer on duty with her.”
Luke finished his coffee. “What did the CCTV show?”
Dave pulled the pictures from his pocket and laid them on the table. “Collins was definitely with her, but so far he’s no’ turned up, either. They stopped for coffee in the café we ate in the other day. There are images of her at the war memorial. Someone grabbed her. She struggled briefly, and then she stopped resisting and let them put her in the car.”