Becky was already turning for the door. ‘I’ll grab the car keys from the room. You wait here and we’ll head out together. We’re going to have to fight past that scrum of reporters. You need to keep your head down and say nothing. We don’t know anything until we speak to Durand.’
They were tearing out of the car park five minutes later. Julia couldn’t sit still in the car, and Becky was gagging for a cigarette, but she tried to focus on the road instead. She hadn’t paid much attention to the route Antoine had taken them on, on Sunday, but Gravelines was well sign-posted from the A16, and they soon found themselves back at the public car park in the centre of the town. Space was at a premium, and it took three tours of the car park before they found a vacant slot.
Becky removed her belt. ‘What are we doing? She was taken from a park near Gravelines. He didn’t say she was taken from within the town itself.’
‘Oh, I don’t know…I didn’t think about that. When he said Gravelines, I just thought about this place. I thought we would see a police notice or something.’
‘The manager also said they had set up road blocks, but there was nothing stopping us coming in here. I think we should keep driving, Jules. We don’t even know for sure that Durand is running the investigation.’
Julia nodded, and they refastened their belts, before pulling out of the car park and driving towards the port. From there, they headed east, until they had completed a circuit of the town, but there was still no obvious police presence. As signs for the A16 became more prominent again, Becky signalled for Dunkirk. Almost immediately they saw the road block. It looked similar to the blockade they had witnessed near Cité Europe on Sunday. Two cars blocked one side of the road, while four agents spoke to drivers and directed traffic through the open lane.
Becky lowered the window as the agent approached. ‘Hi, do you speak English?’ The agent nodded. ‘Good, we need to speak to Louis Durand. Is he nearby?’
‘Monsieur Durand is occupied at the moment. A child has been taken, and we are not allowing any cars to enter this road at the moment.’
‘I know all that. Monsieur Durand asked us to come. My friend here is Mrs Saidi. Her son was taken on Saturday.’
The agent looked in through the car at Julia, who did her best to look solemn. He spoke to his colleague who shrugged, before the agent signalled for them to pass through.
‘Becky Townsend,’ Julia jokingly admonished, ‘did you just lie to an officer of the law? You bad girl, you!’
She shrugged. ‘I didn’t think he’d let us through otherwise. The good news is that Durand is here. That must mean it’s linked to Noah.’
They proceeded along the road, until the overgrown bushes bordering the road opened out into modern-looking properties. It almost felt like they were driving along a British street, rather than a rural area in France. As they drew closer, the police presence grew. To the left they saw a line of agents in blue walking across an open field.
Becky parked behind a police car. ‘I guess we’re here.’
They abandoned the car and moved slowly along the road. Agents buzzed around, knocking on doors, searching under bushes, and looking over walls.
Becky spotted the playground ahead. It was swarming with men and women in protective white suits, dusting for fingerprints, photographing the apparatus, and huddled in small circles exchanging notes.
Durand noticed them before they saw him, and he moved across. ‘Madame Saidi, what are you doing here? This is an official crime scene. You should not be here.’
‘Excuse me! We have every right to be here. You should have called us about this. We shouldn’t have found out on the news.’
‘With respect, Madame Saidi, this situation is nothing to do with you -’
‘How is it nothing to do with us? A second child has been abducted. The man who snatched Noah has struck again.’
‘We do not know who took Noah. This situation is different to -’
‘Is a child missing?’
‘Yes, but -’
‘But nothing. If Noah is being held nearby, you’ll find him.’
He raised his voice, determined not to be interrupted again. ‘Madame Saidi, a four year-old is missing, not a boy on this occasion. We believe we know who has taken Mathilda, and it is absolutely nothing to do with what happened to your son.’
‘But how can you be so certain? Why would they have asked you to lead this investigation, if it is nothing to do with Noah?’
‘I am only in temporary charge of this case. Le juge d’instruction for Dunkirk is away on holiday, but will return tomorrow. Then I will step away.’
‘But -’
He dismissed her with a wave of his hand, and walked away.
Becky raised her eyebrows. ‘I guess we should head back to the hotel.’
‘Like hell we are! He’s keeping something from us. I’m not going anywhere until I work out what it is.’
THIRTY-SIX
Becky rolled her eyes. ‘And how exactly are you planning on doing that? It’s not like you can just walk up to one of the gendarmes and ask them what’s going on.’
Julia smiled coquettishly. ‘Isn’t it?’
‘Um, no? You don’t speak French, and as far as Durand and his men are concerned, you’re just an interfering tourist. This isn’t Murder She Wrote, you know. The police don’t just reveal secrets to the public.’
‘That all depends on which police officer you speak to.’ Julia was staring straight ahead as she quickened her pace.
Becky was almost out of breath as they reached the end of the road. ‘Now what?’
Julia slowed to a stop, and pointed at a house to their right. ‘It’s that one. It’s got to be.’
Becky squinted at the house. It was semi-detached, with a small garden and picket fence border. The driveway was empty. ‘How can you be so certain?’
‘Well, it’s the only house not swarming with agents. There is one agent standing at the front door, but otherwise it’s untouched. It’s also walking distance from the playground. I’ll bet you ten Euros that’s the house where the little girl lived.’
‘You mean lives.’
Julia frowned at the faux-pas. ‘Yes, I mean lives. Oh God, I can’t believe I just did that. How can I believe that Noah is still alive, if my primal instinct is that the girl won’t make it back here alive? God, Bex, what kind of horrible person does that make me?’
Becky put an arm around her shoulder. ‘We don’t have time to analyse every Freudian slip. Now that you think you’ve found the house, how are you going to learn more?’
‘I’m going to ask the man in blue outside the front door. Don’t you recognise him?’
Becky studied the man’s face. ‘Oh my God, it’s Antoine’s brother Étienne.’
‘Exactly! He knows us, and what we’re going through. He’ll tell us what’s going on.’
‘Uh, he doesn’t know us, he only met us once. What makes you think he’ll help us?’
‘After what his murdering brother did, he owes us. Come on.’ Without another word, Julia crossed the road, and nonchalantly walked up the small pathway to the front door. ‘Bonjour, Agent Lemaire. Do you remember us?’
His face remained unmoved. ‘Oui.’
‘Parlez-vous anglais?’
‘Yes…a little. Why are you here?’
‘We heard about the girl being abducted. I want to know if the man who snatched the girl is the same one who snatched my boy.’
‘I…am not to talk to you…about this. We…do not talk about…live events.’
Becky leaned closer to Julia. ‘He means he can’t talk about an active investigation.’ She fixed him with a stare. ‘Agent Lemaire, how is Antoine? Have you seen him since…since his arrest?’
‘He is…full of, what is your word…uh, regret?’
‘Remorse. He’s full of remorse. You know, he came to see me on Sunday. He said he felt guilty that he didn’t stop the man leaving with Noah. Do you know how bad he felt about that?
He was prepared to risk everything to help us get her son back. Everything. Finding Noah was important to him, and now that he’s in prison, he can’t help us. You need to help us for him.’
‘Non, c’est impossible. Durand would…it is out of the question.’
‘Please, Agent Lemaire. We won’t tell Durand or anyone else. We just need to know if the same man is involved. Please?’
He looked between them. ‘I am sorry, but I cannot -’
He was cut off by the sound of the front door opening behind him. A puffy-faced woman appeared from behind the door. Her long platinum hair hung lifelessly behind her ears. ‘You’re English?’
Becky looked at the Canadian woman. ‘Yes, we’re English. You must be…oh, I’m sorry I don’t know your name.’
‘I’m Sarah Hodgson. And you are?’
‘My name’s Becky Townsend and this is my friend -’
‘Oh goodness me! You’re Julia Saidi. I’ve seen your picture in the newspaper.’ She grabbed Julia’s hand and pulled her into a tight embrace. ‘You must come in.’ She dragged Julia past Lemaire and into the house.
Becky waited for the agent to step aside, before following them in, and closing the door behind her. She followed Sarah and Julia into a small room with an old wooden table at its centre. The table dominated the room, and there was barely enough room to pull out the six tall-backed chairs to squeeze onto, let alone room to walk around the table.
‘It was my mother-in-law’s,’ Sarah noted, when she saw Becky staring at the table. ‘She insisted we take it, even though it’s too darn big.’
Becky smiled politely, before squashing herself onto one of the chairs.
‘I’ll fetch us some tea,’ Sarah offered, leaving the room.
Julia winked. ‘I told you we’d get in.’
‘Durand will go mental when he realises we are in here.’
‘Screw Durand! I don’t trust him. If you ask me, he hasn’t taken this investigation seriously since day one. In fact, I think we should request someone else take over. It’s been four days since Noah went missing, and he’s still no closer to making an arrest, or bringing Noah back.’
‘Just be careful, okay? I’m sure Durand knows what he’s doing. If he doesn’t think this case is linked to ours, then there must be a reason. Just don’t go pinning all your hopes on this okay? It could be two totally different men who…’ She quietened as Sarah returned to the room.
‘I’ve put the kettle on. It shouldn’t be too long. I can’t believe you’re here. It’s almost like having a celebrity in my home.’
‘I felt compelled to come,’ Julia said. ‘As soon as I heard that someone had taken your little girl, I raced over. Can you tell us what happened?’
‘You haven’t heard?’
‘Neither of us speak much French, so…’
Sarah wiped her nose. ‘Say no more. Well, my daughter went over to the playground around ten o’clock. She wasn’t very well this morning, so I agreed to keep her off La Maternelle, sorry that’s like nursery school to you. I thought a breath of fresh air would do her some good, so I told her to go to the playground. I can see the apparatus from my kitchen window, so I thought she’d be safe. I finished the washing up and looked out of the window. She was on the climbing frame having a great time. I turned away for a moment…’ She wiped her eyes. ‘To make a hot drink, and when I looked back I couldn’t see her. My first thought was she’d fallen off the frame. I stretched to get a better view, but it didn’t help. I suppose your news was still fresh in my mind, so I raced to the front door, and down the drive, but still couldn’t see her, so I ran into the playground. There was nobody else around. And then I saw her, across the field. I recognised her red coat, you see. There was a van at the side of the road, and the man was putting her inside.’
‘The man, what did he look like?’
‘They were quite far away, but he was thin with a beard, and thick dark hair. I called out to them, and he turned and looked at me, before hurrying to the driver’s side and pulling away. I wanted to run after them, but I’m in no shape to do that.’
‘What sort of van was it?’
‘It was big, like the one they found in Dunkirk, but it wasn’t grey, it was brown I think. I didn’t have my glasses on.’
‘Then what happened?’
‘I ran back to my house and called the police.’
Julia turned to Becky. ‘See! I told you it was the same guy.’
‘Jules, we don’t know for cert-’
‘I’m telling you: it’s him! Similar build, similar van. Sarah, what did Durand say when you told him what had happened?’
‘He hasn’t said very much to be honest. He introduced himself, and said they would set up one of those Alerte-Enlèvement things, like they did for you. I asked him if the man who snatched your boy could be the same person, but he didn’t seem interested in that idea.’
‘What else can you remember? Did you see anyone else near the van? A second person, or another child?’
‘I’m sorry, I only saw that man and my Mathilda.’
‘What direction were they heading in?’
‘This is Gravelines, all roads lead back to the A16 or to the river.’
‘The river?’
‘Yes. The area is surrounded by a river which leads out to the English Channel.’
‘Wait, wait, wait, the Channel? You can sail from here into the English Channel?’
‘That’s right. Is that significant?’
Julia’s eyes widened with excitement. ‘It could be. We know that the man who snatched Noah stopped somewhere between Calais and Dunkirk to drop him off. It’s possible that he left him at a boat here. Maybe that’s where your daughter is now. Maybe they’re together. We need to speak to Durand. Now!’
THIRTY-SEVEN
Becky tried to catch Julia’s attention as they waited for Sarah Hodgson to put on her shoes, but either Julia didn’t notice or was choosing not to. She didn’t want her friend to have her hopes dashed again.
After the false start they’d experienced the last time they were in Gravelines, she wasn’t sure Julia’s emotional state could take another setback. As Sarah opened the front door, they were surprised to discover Agent Lemaire had abandoned his post. Julia surged out first, and was already down the drive as Becky pulled the door closed. She called out for her friend to wait.
Lemaire was standing at the entrance to the playground, and it looked like Durand was giving him a good dressing down. Becky hurried to catch up with Julia.
Durand gasped in frustration as he saw the three of them approaching. ‘Madame Saidi, I told you already to go back to your hotel in Calais. This is a criminal investigation, and you should not be here!’
‘I have just as much right to be here as anyone else,’ Julia spat back. ‘Maybe if you’d done more to find the bastard who abducted my son on Saturday, this woman wouldn’t be fearing for her daughter’s life.’
Durand was struggling to keep his temper in check. ‘Madame Saidi, you are in the way. Please, go back to your hotel. I will come and see you this evening and provide you with an update.’
He turned his back to move away, but that only incensed Julia further. ‘Wait, no, I’m not going to accept that. Have you even listened to Sarah? The man who took her daughter is the same man who took Noah. You need to get down to the river. That’s where he takes them. Durand, listen to me!’
Durand muttered something to Lemaire, and kept walking. Julia tried to push past Lemaire, but he stood firm, blocking their route to the judge. ‘Hey,’ Julia complained. ‘I need to speak to him.’
Lemaire shook his head, and then waved his hand in the direction of their car. ‘Madame Saidi, you are to return to your hotel. Madame, I am to escort you back to your house. Monsieur Durand will come and see you soon.’
Julia tried in vain to stop him leading Sarah back to her house, before turning to Becky, her eyes pleading for support. Becky couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact; it wa
s time to let the police do their job.
‘Bex, the man who took Noah is here, somewhere. I know it. The only way he could get past the roadblocks is if he was on a boat. You know I’m right.’
Becky relented. ‘Come on, we can drive via the water and look for boats, if that will make you feel better. If we find something, we can call Durand with proof.’
She had no other choice. She couldn’t tell Jules to stop searching. She promised herself a cigarette as a reward, and had just sparked it when she heard a commotion behind her. Julia turned too, as Durand started barking orders at the dozen men and women within earshot.
‘What’s he saying?’ Julia asked.
‘I can’t make it out. Whatever it is, it must be important.’
Six agents raced to their cars, and sped away. Becky spotted Étienne driving past and flagged him down. ‘What’s going on? Where are you all going?’
‘There’s been a sighting of Mathilda at the airport in Lille. Do as Durand says and go to your hotel.’ He sped off.
‘What are you waiting for Bex? Get us to the airport.’
‘But he said -’
‘Screw what he said. If Mathilda is at the airport, then so is the man who took her. He’s the only one who knows where Noah is. Please, Bex? We’ve got to go.’
Becky sighed loudly, before jumping behind the wheel, performing a U-turn and speeding off after the line of police cars.
THIRTY-EIGHT
He drops three sugar cubes into the cup of black coffee and stirs it until the lumps have dissolved. He sips it and grimaces at the bitterness. He drops another cube in and stirs again.
Why do the French like their coffee so bitter?
The overnight suitcase stares back at him from the chair across the small table. He is suited and booted again, as he finds those at passport control are less suspicious of corporate types. Every corner of the airport departures lounge is covered by security cameras, but he isn’t worried: nobody knows who he is or why he is here. So long as he remains calm, there is no reason for alarm to be raised.
Then He Was Gone Page 15