The Vanishing Child: A gripping crime thriller with a climax you won't see coming (Detective Arla Baker Series Book 9)

by ML Rose

  The hull of the eighteen feet long rigid inflatable boat or RIB of the Kent Coast Guard lifted clean above the blue waves. The four six hundred brake horsepower engines at the rear churned noisily, propelling the RIB forward.

  Like the rest of the crew, Arla was hunkered down low, holding down her hair as the wind whistled overhead. She could only glance sideways.

  Inspector Hargreaves was to her right, along with one of his detective sergeants. Three other members of the Coast Guard were on the boat, one of them being the pilot. The choppy waves of the English Channel heaved, and the RIB despite dropped and fell at a sickening pace as it navigated the waters.

  Apparently, they didn't have far to travel. They were cutting an arc from Dover port across to the wild beach at the tunnel entrance. The beach would be submerged now, and Arla was hoping like mad Charlie hadn't made his escape. However, her main worry concerned Harry. She tried not to imagine the nightmare visions that clouded her mind.

  Did he get to the end of the tunnel?

  Was he outside now?

  Was he alive?

  For her own sanity, she had to imagine that he had made his escape, and was alive. She couldn't ignore the sickening, empty feeling inside her. She clenched her fists together and locked her jaws tight. Harry was a good swimmer. He was tall, so had big lungs. And he had given up smoking…Please let him be ok.

  The RIB started to decelerate. Then she sensed it changing direction. Jacob, the maintenance man, stood next to the pilot, directing him.

  Despite the rush of wind, she raised her head. It almost knocked her back, and she had to grab onto Inspector Hargreaves to stop falling over. Jacob was pointing to the left, and the boat turned that way. Soon, the sheltered cove came into view, surrounded by the craggy white cliffs. Any other time, it would be a beautiful sight. The waves had picked up, the sun was shining, and seagulls circled overhead. Arla kept an eye on the seagulls. They were scavengers, and gathered where they found food. Like a dead, floating human body.

  As the RIB ploughed through the waves, the ring of cliffs around the cove came fully into view. Arla's heart skipped a beat as she saw a giant cave, its mouth half submerged. That had to be the tunnel. Jacob was gesticulating wildly in that direction.

  The RIB slowed down even more, and the men in the boat now stood and made their way aft.

  One of them helped Arla go up to the pilot. The RIB was still moving, but the windscreen sheltered her from the onslaught of wind and surf. Jacob said something to her, but the noise was too great to hear anything.

  Arla's breath caught in her chest when she saw the sailboat. It was blue and white, and its sail had already been let loose. She caught movement on the main deck.

  She saw two figures, then they were gone. They came into view again, and she realised they were fighting, rolling around on the deck. One of them stood up, and she recognised him instantly.

  "Harry!" She shouted. Another male figure appeared next to Harry, and they tumbled down again. The pilot had clearly seen them as well, because the RIB picked up speed. The pilot held up a fist as the sailboat became bigger, and they got close to the cave. They decelerated suddenly. Arla fell against Jacob, who had to lean against the pilot. The RIB lurched up and down, and the pilot cursed. One of the Coast Guard’s grabbed hold of Arla, and made her sit down.

  "Don't stand next to the pilot when the boat is moving," the guard shouted. Arla nodded, and lifted herself just a little too peer over the windscreen.

  The pilot was now easing up on the throttle, and the boat was moving forward by momentum, and the sea current.

  Arla could see Harry and Charlie wrestling each other. As she watched, Harry stood and punched Charlie on the face. Charlie hit the deck railings, then scrambled away. He disappeared behind a sail, and then appeared at the other end of the boat. But he wasn't alone this time.

  He held Emanuel in his arms. The boy struggled, but Charlie held him tight. Harry advanced, but Charlie shouted at him, clearly holding Emmanuel hostage. Charlie held something in his hands, which he pressed on Emanuel's head.

  He swung round as he heard the RIB approaching.

  CHAPTER 62

  Harry pointed an arm towards the RIB and shouted something to Charlie. Charlie's shoulders slumped. Arla saw his knees hit the deck, and he knelt forward. But he still didn't let go of Emmanuel, who squirmed in his hands.

  The RIB was now next to the sailboat. The Coast Guards reached out with boat hooks, and Inspector Hargreaves stepped out, helping Arla climb onto the sailboat.

  Harry was half turned, and his eyes lit up when he saw Arla. She couldn't stop her tears. She was ugly crying, big drops spilling out of our eyes as she grabbed Harry, holding him tighter than she ever had. Harry was saying something in her ears, his arm around her shoulders, but she wasn't listening, and she didn't care. He was alive, that's all that mattered.

  Harry raised his voice, addressing Charlie. "You're surrounded. Let go of the boy, and this will end easily for you."

  Arla let go of Harry. She wiped her eyes and nose. Together, they advanced on Charlie, who remained on his knees, holding Emmanuel close to him. From the corner of her eye, Arla saw Inspector Hargreaves walking down the other side, bent low. They were trying to encircle Charlie.

  When they were within six feet of Charlie, Harry stopped. Charlie looked up at them, his eyes wild. His head jerked from side to side. He saw Inspector Hargreaves, and his lips twisted in a snarl.

  "If you come any closer, I'll throw the boy overboard," he shouted.

  Arla shouted back. "No, you won't."

  Charlie didn't have a weapon. He held the boy close, and was inching closer to the edge of the deck. He frowned when he heard Arla's words.

  Arla said, "If you wanted to harm the boy, you would have done so by now. Am I correct?"

  Harry and Arla were closing the distance between them. So was Inspector Hargreaves. Charlie's only option was to jump into the sea, or fight back. He glanced at the water, then back at them. He locked eyes with Arla.

  "Inspector Arla Baker. I've seen your photos. You think you've got me all figured out, don't you?"

  "No," she said. "But I know you want the boy alive."

  Charlie's face began to change. He lost the snarl, and his lips drooped. His eyes narrowed, then his face quivered in an expression of sudden, unbearable sadness. It was the haunted look of a man who had bet everything on one last gamble, and watched it fail spectacularly. He held Emanuel by the shoulders, and made the boy look at him. Arla shuffled closer. She knew Harry was ready to fling himself forward at any moment. Charlie seemed oblivious to how close they were now. Almost within touching distance.

  Charlie looked deep into Emanuel's eyes. The boy had stopped squirming, and was staring back at Charlie.

  Charlie said, "Will you say something for me?"

  Emmanuel said, "What?"

  Charlie's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He whispered, "Just say daddy, once."

  Emmanuel didn't say anything. Arla and Harry had come to a standstill, watching spellbound.

  Charlie said, "Please." Regret crumpled his face. Tears budded in his eyes, then rolled down his cheeks. "Please," his voice broke.

  Emmanuel said, "Daddy."

  "Say it again," Charlie said.

  "Daddy."

  Charlie clasped the boy to his chest, and wept.

  CHAPTER 63

  Dover police headquarters had never been so busy. Dover was a quiet town in fact, its sole claim to fame being the port and castle.

  A crowd of reporters had gathered outside the purpose-built, two-storey block building. The police had cordoned off sections of the road to prevent more media vultures from descending on their gates. A crowd of interesting onlookers had gathered at the edges of the police cordon. A helicopter flew overhead, its rotors thundering as they desiccated the air.

  Inside, the custody Chambers were in the basement. Arla and Harry sat in silence in the main interview room, facing Charlie and his lawye
r. A clock ticked on the wall above Charlie's head, the sound loud in the silence.

  Arla could hear her own breathing. Several seconds poured into the moment like sand into an hour glass. Harry was the first to clear his throat.

  "Say that once again, Charles."

  Charlie was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans. His eyes were fixed on the table and he refused to lift them. He spoke in a dull, dead voice.

  "Emmanuel is my son. Born to my Irene and me." At the mention of her name, a flicker of emotion passed across his face. His eyebrows lowered, and the tip of his nose slowly turned red. "Irene," he repeated, almost to himself.

  "What happened after the birth?"

  Charlie said, "I don't know. Irene was in trouble. She had lost a lot of blood and Dr Vaughan had left the room with our baby. He said the baby needed to see the neonatal doctors. Baby wasn't breathing, apparently."

  "And while he was gone, Irene carried on bleeding?"

  Charlie nodded. "Yes. A different doctor came in, Dr Vaughan’s junior. He said Irene had to be taken back into theatre. She had internal bleeding which they hadn't diagnosed before."

  For once, Arla was too shocked to speak. She was glad Harry continued with the questions. "What happened after that?"

  "It was all a blur. But I accompanied Irene to the theatre doors. Then I had to stay outside. Dr Vaughan came and took me to see the baby. He said the baby was dying."

  "Did he explain what he meant by that?"

  Charlie’s voice was a whisper. His eyes remained downcast.

  "Baby was born with something called sepsis, which is infection spreading in the blood. His organs weren’t coping, and one by one, they were shutting down. He was also breathing very fast.” Charlie shook his head. “Funny, how I remember it so well.”

  Harry’s Adam apple bobbed up and down. Arla flicked her eyes to him, and under the table, touched his leg. She knew this was difficult for him as well.

  Harry said, "Tell us what happened after that."

  "The baby was on the ventilator. Irene was alive, but she couldn’t get up to see the baby. I watched Irene get worse till she couldn’t speak. By the next day the baby was dead. We hadn't even named him. A day after, Irene died."

  Charlie's face was blank. He showed no emotion, he was drained to the point where he had nothing left.

  A glassy, weightless gaze rested in his eyes, and they remain fixed on the table. Charlie had been pushed beyond the bend. There was no coming back for him.

  Harry said, "I'm sorry." There was nothing else to say. The clock ticked into the void again. A few drops of time, poured and absorbed into a desert that weighed upon all four of them.

  Arla pushed the glass of water close to Charlie. The movement caught his eyes, and he stared at the water for a few seconds. Then his eyes flicked up to lock with Arla's. Shivers skittered down Arla's spine. Charlie's eyes were dead, emotionless. He stared at her like he was looking right through her. Barely a muscle moved in his face. He broke eye contact with Arla, then lifted the glass and took a sip.

  Arla said, "When did you find out about this?"

  "Three months ago. A midwife called Natalie Chapman got in touch with me. We actually met through a dating app. We had a brief relationship. She told me she had been looking for me. She got my name from the hospital records."

  Arla felt the ground slip beneath her feet. Her jaws were on the floor, and she made no attempt to pick it up. "By Natalie Chapman, you mean Dr Vaughan’s ex-wife?"

  "Yes." A sudden animation rippled across Charlie's expression. The skin around his eyes contracted, then relaxed. "Natalie told me everything. I owe her."

  Arla frowned. "What exactly did she tell you?"

  "I didn't know at the time, but Natalie was one of the midwives. She saw the baby switch happen."

  "Tell us about it."

  Charlie shrugged. "Quite simply, Dr Vaughan took Rochelle Pitt’s dying baby and replaced him with my son."

  He stared at Arla for the first time. An unflinching, honest stare. "Before Irene died, she kept asking me how the baby was. The last words on her lips were, find my baby. Then she stopped breathing."

  Charlie's jaws clamped down. The redness appeared on his nose again, and he struggled visibly with his emotions. He had gone from dead calm to deep sorrow in the twinkling of an eye.

  Arla breathed out, and her head sank to her chest. In her job, she had seen the worst of humanity. But this was a different dimension.

  Harry said, "How did you know Natalie was telling you the truth?"

  "She had no reason to lie. But to be sure, I got DNA samples from Emmanuel. That's why I broke into the Pitt household, and also became friends with Shirley, the nanny."

  He took another sip of water, then continued.

  "At Shirley's house I found children’s cutlery and plates that Emmanuel had used. I swabbed them for DNA and sent them to a paternity testing company. There was 100% match with my DNA. Emmanuel is my biological son."

  “Once I had the proof, I had to get him back,” Charlie said.

  His forehead creased with sudden, overwhelming sorrow, a grief that would never be relieved.

  “I promised Irene I would.”

  CHAPTER 64

  Arla ran her tongue over her lower lip. Her black notebook was open, and she was jotting down her thoughts with a black ink pen.

  "It stands to reason that you hated Dr Vaughan. Is that correct?”

  Charlie stared at her for a few seconds. His voice had returned to a monotone. "He took my life away. Took my son from me. His negligence meant my wife died."

  "Obviously, that made you angry."

  Charlie remained silent so Arla continued.

  "Angry enough for you to start following his movements. Breaking into the parking lot at the rear of his chambers, and getting into his car."

  Charlie didn't say anything. His lawyer leaned towards him and whispered a few words. Charlie nodded.

  Arla said, "We have this on CCTV. We have your boot prints on the site as well. Those prints match the prints we found of you in Shirley's house, and the Pitt residence."

  "It was you who abducted Dr Vaughan that night.

  Charlie nodded. "Yes."

  "Then you made him drive back to his house. Natalie Chapman arrived shortly after. The two of you made Dr Vaughan confess to what he did. Then you forced Dr Vaughan to eat the aconite poison. You put it into his food, and he didn't know it. By this time, you had already assaulted him. You tried to strangle him, but Natalie stopped you. You took him upstairs, and left him in the bathroom floor. Then the poison did its job. Isn't that what happened?"

  Charlie was frowning, a look of consternation on his face. His spine was erect, and he was sitting back in his chair. He shook his head vigorously. "No, that didn't happen."

  "Why are you lying to us, Charlie? If you've told us the truth so far, then tell us the rest. We know what happened. We have proof."

  "That's not what happened," Charlie whispered. His lawyer shared a few words of advice to him again.

  Arla said, "Natalie was the only one who knew your secret, after Dr Vaughan died. She was also the only person who knew that you killed Dr Vaughan. That's why you asked her to meet you at the barn in Woodham. You sat in her car, and gave her the carrot juice drink. That also had aconite poison. You dragged her into the barn, and left her there. You set the barn on fire to destroy her body.”

  Charlie’s jaws were clenched tight and he breathed rapidly. “No. No.”

  “Don’t lie to us Charlie. You’re going to prison. If you cooperate with us, we can help you.”

  Harry said, “Tell us the truth Charlie. You killed Steven Vaughan and Natalie Chapman. Right?”

  “No, I did not,” Charlie shouted, his nostrils flaring. His Adams apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed hard.

  “I abducted Steven. I took him to his house. Yes, I beat him up, but I didn’t kill him. I left him there.”

  “And what about Natalie?”

&
nbsp; “I liked Natalie! If it wasn’t for her, I would never have known about Emmanuel. Why would I want to kill her?”

  “Because she was the only one who knew about your secret. If she’s gone, no one could come after you.”

  Charlie’s face was turning red. He panted, and pointed a finger to Arla. “That’s not true. I never wanted Natalie to die.”

  “You didn’t want to but it happened.”

  Arla kept her voice soft. "You've been through a lot Charlie. I understand that. There's a couple of things you need to consider."

  Charlie breathed hard, glaring at her.

  Arla said, "Caroline just lost both her parents, in the space of a few days. Your mother passed away seven years ago. I'm sure you can imagine how Caroline feels today."

  Charlie blinked a few times. Arla continued. "Emmanuel might be your son, and we can prove that after our own checks. But Rochelle has raised Emmanuel as her son all these years. Can you imagine the nightmare she's been through since yesterday? I don't think she slept the whole night."

  A ghostlike, wry grin flickered across Charlie's lips, then disappeared. "Only since last night? I haven't slept well for six years. Not since Irene died. How do you think I felt?"

  "That's why I think it's time to lay things down to rest. What's done is done. I'm sorry for your loss. But think of the others you have hurt in the process. You wouldn't like to be in their shoes, would you?"

  Charlie stared at Arla in silence, then looked away.

  Harry said, "Where did you get the aconite from?"

  Charlie frowned, turning to glance at Harry. "You keep mentioning that. What's aconite?"

  "That's what Stephen Vaughan and Natalie Chapman were poisoned with."

  Charlie shook his head slowly. "Never heard of it in my life. Look, I know I did some bad things. Yes, I roughed up Stephen. I think he deserved that after what he did to me. And then I took Emmanuel. But I didn't mean for Stephen to die, and especially not Natalie."

  He cradled his head on his palms, leaning forward with elbows on his knees. " I didn't kill them. I really didn't."