by Clare Revell
“Who was it?”
“Austin and this guy.” He slid a photo across to Luke.
Luke studied the photo. “He looks familiar, but I can’t put a name to him. Does he have a record?”
“None we can find.”
Carole held out her hand. “Let’s see.” She took the photo. “He was at the party at Toni’s Monday night. He’s the guy Sara thought was Jamie at first. Creepy guy. He tried hitting on Sara and ran a mile when he found out she was married. He had a weird tattoo on his wrist. He’s been living there a few weeks now.”
“Phil Baines.” Scott took the photo from her. “He’s a business associate of Daniel’s.”
“Are you sure?” Dave put his cup down.
“Positive. He has a tattoo of a dragon on his left wrist. He was showing me at the party. He was also asking a lot of questions about Sara. Not that I answered them.”
“A dragon?” Luke asked sharply.
“Aye, a pretty good one. He was quite proud of it.”
Luke slumped back in the chair, his stomach threatening to eject the coffee he’d drank. “Would you be able to describe it or draw it for me?”
“I canna draw tae save my life, but I could describe it.” Scott glanced at his watch and stood. “I must get going. Ye know where I am if ye need me.”
“Sure. Thanks.”
“Rest, Luke. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.” Luke snapped off a mock salute.
Scott grinned. “Good. See ye later.”
Dave got up. “I have tae go, too. I’ll see ye out.”
****
Sara woke, drowning in a sea of pain. Her arms and legs ached, her wrists and ankles felt like they were on fire, and her head throbbed. She moaned and tried to move. Someone ripped the blindfold from her eyes. Bright light dazzled her, and it took a while to focus on the figure sitting on the bed.
Austin removed the gag. “So Sleeping Beauty finally awakes. How are you?”
Sara blinked several times as spots flashed in front of her eyes. “Stupid question. How do you think I am?”
“In a fair amount of pain, I would imagine. You shouldn’t have tried to escape. I did warn you. Phil takes his work very seriously. He never says anything he doesn’t mean. You must remember that. Would you like to sit up?”
“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
Sara glared at him. She’d rather stay like this than beg.
“Yes what?” Austin repeated.
Sara narrowed her eyes. “You killed Jamie.”
“That was, shall we say, unfortunate. It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“I saw your eyes when you shot me. You meant it.”
“Oh, shooting you was deliberate. I intended to kill you for interfering. Robert organized it all.”
“What?”
Austin stared at her, cold hatred in his eyes. “Robert, or Jamie as he started calling himself, and I worked together for years. He betrayed me, and he had to pay. When he came crawling back, I told him we could work together again, but it would cost him the thing he loved best in the world as payment. You.”
“You’re lying.”
“He was the best drug dealer I ever met. You didn’t wonder about all those trips abroad, the week he spent in Chicago before the wedding, and why you spent your honeymoon in Blackpool?”
“He was on business trips for his company.”
“He was working. We gave him three days to spend with you. The trip to the cinema was your final trip.”
“No.”
“The drugs were in your handbag. Why else would it be snatched? Robert gave chase, and he would have taken your bag back to you, minus the drugs of course, but he tried to play hero. Said he didn’t want to give you up and insisted you could be useful. He didn’t want to lose you.”
“No.”
Austin laughed a cruel hard laugh. “Ironic, isn’t it? He didn’t intend to love you at all. He married you, knowing I would kill you because you belonged to him, but he changed his mind at the last minute.”
Sara shook her head. “No, I don’t believe it.”
“It’s all true. He never loved you. Even if he told you he did. He got cold feet when it came to killing you. He never was any good at that side of the business, which is strange when you consider what he did to his parents.”
Tears trickled down her face. He’d betrayed her. She knew he’d lied to her, but this? He married her to have her killed? How could he? Was she really that gullible? How could she not have seen this?
“No,” she whispered.
Austin ran a hand across her face, wiping away her tears. He loosened the rope on her legs and pulled her into a sitting position, her hands still handcuffed and tied with rope to the headboard. “You sound like a broken record.”
She cried out in pain, her stiffened body protesting as it moved. She shot him a defiant stare. “I know about Jamie’s past, but he was clean and straight.”
“Why else wouldn’t he take you on his business trips? He was working the drug business. He never stopped.”
Sara shook her head. “You’re lying.”
Austin thumped the headboard. Sara jumped as his hand missed her head, her heart thudding within her. “What possible reason could I have for lying, Sara? You’re not going anywhere to tell anyone. All the evidence they need to prove Robert’s involvement up to his death and implicate you as well, is on your computer, encoded in emails.”
Sara gasped. “What?”
Austin laughed hollowly. “It was Robert’s idea, in case you ever found out and tried to turn him in to the cops. Who, by the way, have concocted a story about you being seriously ill and needing urgent medical attention. They couldn’t tell the truth, could they? That you were in police protection, and they lost you.” He paused. “But you’re blooming, the picture of health. I assume the child is Robert’s?”
“Yes.”
Austin smiled. “Would you like something to eat?”
Her stomach rumbled as he mentioned food. She hadn’t eaten since that pastry in the café. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
Sara took a deep breath. “Please.”
25
Luke wandered through to the dining room. A pile of printouts and disks covered the small space left on the table. “Find anything, Chaney?”
“There’s stuff on here linking both of them tae the drug business. It was encoded in the emails she’d received.”
“Both?” Luke repeated.
Chaney pointed to the printouts. “Aye, sir. Mrs. Barnes…”
“Miss Daniels,” Luke corrected.
“It’s all there. Dates, times, amounts, bank details. I’ll take the disks back tae the station.”
Luke picked up the printout and flicked the pages. I don’t believe this. “I’ll get this to my contacts in the Met and the LAPD. I’ll see what they can come up with.”
“I’ve left the folders on the desktop for the moment. I’ll be back later.”
Luke let Chaney out and went to the kitchen to grab the phone. Mary smiled at him. “It’s almost one. Want some lunch?”
“Will you take no for an answer?”
“What do you think?”
“All right, but I have some calls to make first.”
Luke took the phone into the lounge. He dialed, knowing that despite the early hour in LA, Michael Knox would be at his desk.
Sure enough, Knox answered the phone on the second ring. “Narc. Knox.”
“Mike. Didn’t I tell you to get a life?”
“Luke. Since when do I do as I’m told? I thought you were in England.”
“Scotland, actually.”
“Picky, picky. Do you know how early it is here?”
“Yes, I do, but I know I didn’t wake you, and I need a favor.”
Knox laughed. “Figures. Never calls, never writes…. What can I do?”
Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. “Frank Austin. I also need you to check out a Rob
ert Foster, Phil Baines, Jamie Barnes, and Sara Barnes.”
The sound of keys tapping on a keyboard came down the phone line. “Austin and Foster, yes. Phil Baines and the Barnes, no.”
“Can you keep digging? The Barnes’s would only have been involved for the last eighteen months or so, if at all. I’ll email you the documents I have, and I need you to verify or refute them, whichever the case may be.”
“Sure. Give me a couple of hours. I’ll call the NYPD and get them on it, too. Don’t call me. I’ll call you.”
Not allowing himself to smile at the response, Luke hung up and placed a similar call to the Met and to the local police in Sara’s hometown.
Mary came back in with a tray. She handed Luke a plate and placed a coffee on the table in front of him. “I can’t believe it’s only lunchtime. The day is lasting forever.”
Luke nodded. “If it’s forever for us, imagine how long it is for Sara.”
****
Sara grimaced as pain from her red raw wrists raged through her. She kept twisting her wrists against the cuffs, wanting to get free. Her ankles were swollen, and they stung where the ropes were too tight. At least they hadn’t gagged or blindfolded her again.
She was by the sea. She could hear it, and if she craned her neck, she could see it through the gap in the curtains.
Her thoughts turned to Luke. What was he doing? Was he missing her? Or had he already flown back to the States? He was probably glad to see the back of her, although it wouldn’t do his career much good. The case against Austin would collapse. It would all be her fault. If only she had listened.
She shifted, really needing the bathroom now. If they hit her again, so be it. She took a deep breath. “Hey!”
There was no answer. She tried again. “Hey, is there anyone there?”
Still no answer. She raised her voice. Maybe if she made enough noise, the people next door would hear her. “Help! Somebody!”
She kept yelling until finally the door opened.
Phil stormed in with a tray in his hands. “Shut up.” He put the tray down and crossed over to the bed. “What’s your problem?”
“I need the bathroom. Urgently.”
“After last time?”
Sara shifted. “You want me to wet the bed, then fine, but you’d only end up with a load of washing to do.”
“I’d leave you in it.”
Sara shrugged. “Fine.”
Phil scowled. “I’ll take you, but any nonsense like before, and you’ll be punished.”
He untied her ankles, before he unfastened the rope from the headboard. He jerked her to her feet. “Get up.”
Sara stifled a cry as the metal cuffs cut into her wrists. She struggled to stay balanced and grabbed the edge of the bed, while everything danced in circles around her. After a minute or two, she was steady enough to let go. She let Phil lead her to the bathroom, this time not caring that the door was ajar.
She had just enough rope to do what she needed and no more. When she was done, she let him lead her back to her room and retie her to the bed with her hands above her head. She longed for him to remove the cuffs, but wasn’t going to ask.
Phil picked up the cup and offered it to her. Sara turned her head away. “No, thanks.”
“The boss wants you to drink it.”
“That’s nice for him. Still don’t want it.”
He twisted her face towards him. He put the cup to her lips and tipped some into her mouth. “You said you were hungry, so drink.”
Sara took a large mouthful and swallowed it. She wrinkled her nose. It was barely warm. “I’d rather feed myself.”
“Not an option.” He offered her a sandwich.
Sara took a bite and chewed. “What time is it?”
“Lunchtime.” He held up the cup again.
“No, really?” Sara took a mouthful, and on impulse, she spat it back in his face. His face contorting in fury, Phil hurled the cup into the wall next to her. It missed her by a fraction of an inch and smashed. Sara jumped and screamed as the lukewarm liquid showered her.
Phil swore at her and raised his hand.
Unable to defend herself, Sara flinched, waiting for the blow to fall. “Please, don’t. I’m sorry.”
Austin came into the room and grabbed Phil’s hand just in time. “Phil, stop.”
Phil turned and glared at him, wiping the coffee from his face with his sleeve. “Why?”
“If she doesn’t want to eat, she can go without. It might make her more compliant. Gag her and leave her in her wet clothes.”
“It’ll be a pleasure.” Phil ripped off a piece of tape and gagged Sara with it. “You need to learn some manners. If it’s the last thing you ever do, you will learn, and I will be the one who teaches you.”
Sara’s stomach churned in terror as Phil tugged her down the bed. His hands lingered longer than necessary. He blew her a kiss as he left the room.
Sara watched him leave. How much longer would they keep her here? Were they going to kill her, or did they have something else in mind for her? Either way she wouldn’t enjoy it and had to get out of there. She twisted her wrists. She had to get free and find Luke.
****
The phone rang, and Luke grabbed it. “Nemec.”
“Hi, Luke. Sorry it took so long.”
“Mike. What have you got?”
“I’ve emailed it to you and faxed it to the local station. Sara Barnes is clean. Yes, there are records implicating her, but they’re false.”
“You sure?”
“One-hundred percent. I’d stake my house and car on it. We can’t verify them anywhere. I’ve had ten people on it for the last four hours. Someone did a lousy job of trying to frame her. It didn’t take much digging to uncover the truth. She might have been convinced, but no lawyer worth his salt would buy it.”
Luke exhaled, not realizing he had been holding his breath. Relief flooded him. Thank you, Lord. “What about the others?”
“Austin and Foster you know about. All records on Foster stop abruptly eighteen months ago. It’s as if he fell off the face of the planet, and Barnes took his place. There’s no record at all for Barnes until eighteen months ago anywhere, no banks, credit cards, nothing. Why didn’t you tell me he was the same guy?”
Luke tapped his fingers on the table, not taking any pleasure in being right. “I wanted an impartial analysis. We found stuff on the computer here, and a few records, but I wanted it verified by an outside source. Too many leaks here for my liking. Apparently, that’s why I was brought here in the first instance, but I hit nothing but brick walls as far as the investigation is concerned. Files have disappeared.” He took a deep breath. “Sara is in witness protection, and she got snatched by Austin. I screwed up. I got sick and didn’t do my job properly. She went out to get my meds.”
“If you were incapacitated, it’s not your fault. So you like her, then?”
“A lot…” Luke stopped. Had he said that out loud? He backtracked fast. “Wait a minute. I never said anything about that.”
Knox laughed. “You didn’t have to. It’s obvious the way you talk about her. Does she feel the same way?”
“I think so, but these are hardly ideal circumstances.”
“True.”
“That’s enough about me. What about Phil Baines?”
“He gave us quite the runaround. He changed his name eighteen months ago, about the same time Foster did. His parents died in a fire when he was twelve. He went into a variety of group homes before ending up, via petty theft, in the drug business. He currently works for a firm called Stafford.”
Goose bumps rose on Luke’s arms, and the uncomfortable ‘someone walking over your grave’ sensation settled in the pit of his stomach. That sounded all too familiar. “So how come the Met didn’t know?”
“They do know. I got most of this from them and corroborated it myself.”
Luke shook his head. “They told me nothing.”
“Then I know something
else you don’t. Phil Baines was born Philip Joseph Foster.”
“Foster?” Luke repeated.
“He’s the fraternal twin brother of Robert James Foster. Otherwise known as Jamie Barnes.”
Luke finished the call, and rang Dave. “Dave, it’s Luke. Mike Knox got back to me. He sent a fax to the station, but I thought you’d like to know what he said. Sara’s clean. That info in the emails is false.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, it’s wonderful. However…It turns out Phil Baines also changed his name eighteen months ago. He was born Philip Joseph Foster, Jamie’s fraternal twin.”
Dave whistled. “That explains why Sara thought he was Jamie at first, and we dinna recognize him straight off from the photos. Close, but not identical.”
“Want to know something else? Knox got his info from the Met.”
Dave’s tone changed. “I’m sorry—did ye say the Met?”
“Yes, I did. I want to help with the search.”
“Ye are helping. More than yer meant tae.”
Luke’s voice rose as his temper mounted. “Sara is my responsibility. I am supposed to be guarding her. I should be out there helping you find her, not sitting here twiddling my thumbs.”
“Was, Luke. Sara was yer responsibility. Shepherds doesnae want ye on the case anymore.”
“Yeah, well, that’s no surprise, is it? The guy doesn’t like me.”
“Shepherds feels ye are tae personally involved. Ye told me how ye feel about Sara. Now, in a normal kidnap case, do ye let the relatives of the victim help?”
“No.”
“Even if that husband, or boyfriend, or father is a cop?”
“No.” Luke knew where Dave was heading.
“Right, nor do we.”
Luke pushed his hand through his hair. “All right. Keep digging. I’ll see you later.” He hung up and stood, stretching to ease his shoulders. The phone rang again. Luke snatched it up. “Nemec.”