She traced the perimeter of the tower, looking for an alternative entrance but couldn’t find an opening. She returned to the front door, and barged it with her shoulder, but it remained firm.
If Julia had come here last night, it was possible she’d been taken somewhere else. A slew of sinister possibilities raced through Becky’s mind. She was grateful when the tip-tapping of rain against the polyester sheeting distracted her. She examined the wooden door closer. There was no splintered wood by the lock, so the door hadn’t been jimmied open recently. There was an old-fashioned lock just beneath the handle. She tried to peep through the keyhole, but it was too dark inside to see anything. Judging by the size of the keyhole, the key to gain entry would be large, which ruled out the possibility of a spare being left under a nearby plant pot.
What had the receptionist translated? She hadn’t said to bring the money inside the lighthouse. Maybe the note meant to bring it to the car park, or maybe they’d met across the road. She couldn’t be sure she was even in the right place. Was there another lighthouse in Dunkirk?
She was about to return to the car, when a noise caught her attention. She pushed her ear closer to the door. It had sounded like something metallic clattering across a floor. Had she imagined it? She strained to hear any other noise from inside, but was greeted with silence.
She was straightening up when she heard an unmistakeable shriek. Julia was still inside!
Becky ducked back under the polythene sheeting, and began to walk around the edge of the scaffolding. She was certain she’d seen something in her peripheral vision when she’d completed the circuit inside the sheeting.
Yes.
There it was.
An open window in the side of the lighthouse, presumably on the first floor. It was the only visible source of light, save for the panes of glass at the top of the tower.
If she could get onto the scaffolding, she could crawl through. But the scaffolding was at least three feet over her head. Even if she managed to jump and grab the frame, she was in no condition to pull herself up.
She completed another circuit of the lighthouse, until she spotted a rickety old ladder, lying flat on some rubble.
She had little choice, but to pick it up and precariously balance it against the scaffolding. The rain was falling heavier now, and she had to wipe water from her brow, as she gripped the sides of the ladder and tentatively placed her foot on the first rung. The wooden ladder was as weathered as the main door, and she suspected it would buckle beneath her weight. It creaked as she stepped onto the second rung. A flash of bright light overhead was followed a moment later by the rumbling of thunder.
The storm was nearby, and she was climbing into the tallest landmark in the area. What was she thinking?
She hurried up the remaining rungs, each squealing as if trying to warn those inside of her arrival. She ducked under the polythene as a second bright flash lit up the charcoal clouds overhead. She began to count silently.
The booming thunder rolled from above, as if a malevolent spirit was warning her to go no further.
Becky crawled along the wooden planks, until she came to the window, just wide enough for her to squeeze through. She dangled her feet through the opening and dropped to the stone floor below. Her trainers barely registered a sound. She ducked down, while she tried to get her bearings. The room was open plan with kitchen worktops off to the left and a curling staircase to the right. The stairs went up and down, and she listened for any sound that would indicate where Julia was being held.
There was a low murmuring coming from above, so she crept forward to try and work out who and how many people were upstairs. She raced away at the sound of footsteps ascending. She ducked behind a stack of boxes near the kitchen counter. A tall man in army fatigues, carrying an assault rifle, came into view. Becky was certain her rapidly beating heart would alert him to her hiding place. She held her breath, and kept her chin pressed against her chest.
He must have heard her on the ladder and had come to see who was there. He gazed around the room, before continuing up to the second floor. She slowly released the breath, and wiped a sheen of sweat from her neck. She was angry at herself for not phoning the police.
There was no time for recrimination. Even if she tried to get back out, they were bound to hear her.
She thought about Julia and, knowing that her friend wouldn’t give up if their roles were reversed, she found a new resolve. She took several short breaths and headed back towards the staircase.
FIFTY-NINE
Becky tiptoed down the stairs, craning her neck around the wall to try and pre-empt the threat of another armed guard. It was much darker down here than on the first floor, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the lack of natural light. She selected the torch app on her phone and carefully shone the beam around the room. She nearly dropped the phone when she saw the figure huddled next to the radiator.
Becky didn’t wait to see if a guard was standing watch, rushing across the floor to where Julia was bound to a radiator. ‘Jules,’ she whispered. ‘My God, I’m pleased to see you.’
Julia mumbled something. Becky raised the light and pulled the gag from Julia’s mouth.
‘Bex, you found me,’ Julia whispered, her eyes welling with relief.
‘What happened? How did you wind up down here?’
‘Help me get these ropes off and I’ll tell you.’
Julia’s wrists were bound to the radiator by nylon cord. It would be easy to cut with the right tool, but impossible to snap through brute strength alone. Becky shone the light around the room again, careful to keep the beam away from the staircase so it would not be spotted from above.
‘I can’t see anything I can use.’
‘Try over by the door. That’s where they put the excess cord. Maybe they left a knife or something.’
Becky clambered to her feet, and made her way towards the door. Sure enough, to the right of the doorframe was a shelf cut into the wall. Becky pushed the reel of cord aside, and reached for the pair of nail scissors. They weren’t ideal, but they would do. She returned to Julia and began to hack away at the cord.
As soon as Julia’s wrists were free, she wrapped her arms around Becky’s neck. ‘I have never been so glad to see you, Bex. I take it you found the note under your pillow?’
‘I did.’
‘How come it took you so long to get here? When they tied me up, I was sure you wouldn’t be far behind me.’
‘I didn’t find it until this morning. It was lucky you scrawled the message on the mirror, or I may not have found it until tonight.’
Julia furrowed her brow. ‘Where did you sleep last night then? Wait, is that…?’
Becky quickly hid her left hand behind her back.
‘Becky Townsend! Is that an engagement ring on your finger?’
Becky smiled sheepishly, before nervously displaying her hand. ‘It’s a long story.’
‘And I look forward to hearing every detail of the proposal once we’re out of here.’
Becky paused. ‘I don’t understand what happened yesterday. Where did you go after the press conference?’
‘I could ask you the same question. I didn’t see you in the crowd, and when I asked Durand if he’d seen you, he just gave me a confused look.’
‘So how did you get back to the hotel?’
‘My phone battery was dead, so I couldn’t phone you to see where you were, so I ended up hailing a taxi. Thankfully the driver spoke English and knew where the hotel was. I expected to find you in our room asleep, but when you weren’t, I started to worry. I phoned Durand who lectured me about wasting his time. It was then that I found the note. It was pushed under our door, but when I looked out into the corridor, there was nobody around.’
‘How did you know what the note said?’
‘With my phone plugged into the wall, I used an app to translate the message. I was going to phone Durand back, but I didn’t think he would give it the att
ention it deserved, so I phoned Hussein and asked him for the money. He was only too happy to bring it to the hotel in a bag. I didn’t tell him why I needed it, I just asked him to trust me and keep it quiet.’
‘But what about Durand? You said he couldn’t be trusted. Why not?’
‘It was something Hussein said. He reckoned Durand had been really weird with him when he’d offered the reward money, and he’d then been tipped off by a friend who said the French police had been asking awkward questions about him. Hussein felt Durand was corrupt and that the delay in finding Noah could only be down to Durand. I had no idea where you were or when you’d be back, so I asked Hussein to drive me to Dunkirk. I told him I was meeting you there and that you’d be able to drive us home afterwards. I had planned to phone you again when I got here, but I’d stupidly left my phone charging in the room.’
‘I saw Hussein earlier, and he didn’t mention any of this.’
‘I swore him to secrecy. He said we couldn’t trust any of Durand’s men in case they were as corrupt as their boss. Where did you see him?’
‘He was at the police station. Durand has arrested him.’
Julia gasped. ‘What for?’
Becky glanced back towards the staircase to check their hushed conversation hadn’t been overheard. ‘Apparently he faked the ransom note sent to Durand earlier in the week. They found his DNA all over it.’
‘And that’s why Durand has been asking awkward questions.’
‘I guess so. Hussein has admitted sending the letter.’
‘Jesus!’
‘It doesn’t mean Durand isn’t bent though. I’ve had the feeling that something isn’t right with this whole situation for ages.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I don’t know…I can’t quite figure out why, but I just feel like Noah’s disappearance was too convenient.’
‘I don’t follow.’
‘When we first met Durand, he told us that the Alerte-Enlèvement had never failed to locate a child within forty-eight hours. Well, it’s been more than a week since Noah was abducted, and there’s not been a single sighting of him. Don’t you think that’s odd? Surely, someone somewhere would have noticed him.’
‘So you think Durand could be behind this whole thing?’
‘I don’t know. It sounds ridiculous when you say it like that, but something is iffy here.’
‘You can say that again. When I got here last night, I waited for ages, before this car pulled up. I thought it was you in the Twingo at first, but as it drew nearer I knew it had to be whoever had left the note.’
‘Who did you see? Can you describe him?’
‘No. There were three of them, but they were wearing these goofy-looking masks. If you were to ask me who tied me up here, I’d have to tell you it was the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Harry. Prince William seems to be the brains of the group, as he was the one barking out orders in some dialect I didn’t recognise.’
Owen must be wearing the Prince William mask.
‘They took the money, but when I asked to see Noah, they laughed and told me they wouldn’t release him until they had what they wanted. I asked them what they meant, but all they would say is I would know soon enough. That’s when they bound and gagged me in here. I must have fallen asleep a little after one, and I’ve been awake since seven when they brought me some bread and water. One of them was down here just before you, checking I hadn’t tried to escape.’
‘Do you have any idea what they are waiting for?’
‘None. They have the reward money Hussein offered, so I don’t understand.’
‘Is Noah here? Have you seen him?’
‘I don’t think he’s here. He certainly wasn’t in the car they arrived in yesterday. He can’t be too far away though. One of them keeps disappearing out of the door, about every two hours or so, and then coming back again after half an hour.’
‘Are you certain they have Noah, and they’re not some opportunistic gang praying on your vulnerability?’
‘I begged them to take me to Noah. Eventually the one in the Prince William mask showed me an image of Noah on his phone. It matched what we saw in that DVD on Wednesday. I’m certain they have him.’
Becky looked away, unsure how to find the words. ‘Jules, there’s something I need to tell you. I know who took Noah, and I know why.’
‘What are you talking about?’
Becky was about to speak again, when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the staircase.
SIXTY
Becky looked from the staircase to Julia. ‘We need to get out of here.’
‘I was wondering when you’d say that.’
‘There’s no way we can get back up to the ladder without them seeing us. I need to hide, and you can pretend you’re still tied up. Once he’s gone, we can make our escape.’
‘Or we can just unlock the front door and bolt.’
Becky remained frozen, as Julia raced across the room and turned the key in the lock of the old wooden door.
Julia grabbed Becky’s hand and pulled her through the open door, and under the polythene sheeting. ‘Where’s your car?’
‘Round to the right, behind those bushes.’
Julia led the way as the two friends ran for their lives. It wasn’t until just after Julia had raced around the edge of the bush that Becky remembered what she’d meant to say inside. The world seemed to suddenly slow, as Becky reached out for her friend, screaming for her to stop and wait, but Julia was too far ahead to be reached. As the Twingo came into view, the adrenaline in her system kept Julia heading towards the parked car. But her pace began to slow, as her mind recognised the figure sitting behind the driver’s wheel.
Julia’s eyes widened, and she collapsed to the ground twenty yards short of the car, refusing to believe he was there. ‘No, no, no, no, no!’
Becky skidded to the ground beside her, and wrapped both arms tightly around her. ‘It’s okay, Jules, it’s okay. I’m here. It’s okay.’
Every muscle in Julia’s body felt like it was twitching in rebellion, refusing to accept what her eyes were seeing.
‘He’s not an apparition, Jules, he’s real. Adie is alive, and he’s waiting for you. But, now is not the time for a mental breakdown. There are three men with very big guns coming for us. If we stay here, we’re dead. I need you to get up and get in the back of the car.’
Becky had never seen her friend looking so petrified; her eyes looked like they were ready to pop out, and her skin was deathly pale. Becky wanted to comfort her friend, to tell her it would all be okay, but there wasn’t the time.
She slapped Julia hard across the face. ‘I need you on your feet. Now!’
Julia’s hand shot up to protect her face, and her eyes questioned why her friend would be so cruel.
‘Please, Jules. I can hear them coming. We need to get out of here.’
Adie had been silently watching the scene unfold, desperately wanting to comfort his wife, but aware of the pain and anger his return would elicit. He wanted to scoop her up and kiss her and hug her, and reassure her, but Becky’s body language suggested they wouldn’t be alone for long. He threw open the door, and raced over to the two women. Julia recoiled closer to Becky.
‘Take her arm, Adie, and I’ll take the other. We need to get her in the car now.’
He nodded his understanding and gripped Julia’s wrist, and placed it around his shoulder. She struggled, not wanting to touch the vision of the man she’d lost, but he held her wrist in place. Becky pulled Julia’s other wrist around her own shoulder, and the two of them lifted Julia back to her feet, and charged towards the Twingo. Adie opened the rear door, and they pushed Julia in, slamming the door shut.
Adie returned to the driver’s side, and Becky climbed in to the passenger side. ‘Get us out of here, Adie.’
He started the engine, and reversed it until they were once more facing the road. He engaged first gear. The wheels span on the gravel beneath them, and slo
wly the car lurched forward. They’d barely moved five yards when two men in army fatigues appeared before them, their assault rifles aimed at the windscreen.
Adie instinctively slammed his foot against the brake, and the wheels skidded slightly on the uneven ground. ‘Shit. What do you want me to do? Should I try and run them over?’
Becky couldn’t think straight over the sound of her heart racing in her chest. ‘Maybe they’ll step aside if we keep going.’
Adie’s knuckles were white from gripping the wheel. ‘Are you serious? You think they won’t shoot?’
‘Ram them then. Just do it!’
‘How low can you get? Does your chair recline?’
Becky felt around the edge of the seat. ‘I don’t feel anything…wait, what’s this do?’ She twisted the plastic knob anti-clockwise. The back of her seat tilted.
‘It’s working. Keep going. Jules, I need you to lie as flat as you can across the seats. Whatever you do, keep your head down.’
Becky’s seat had stopped moving, but her face was still above the dashboard. ‘What now?’
Adie desperately looked for anything they could use as a shield. ‘You’re going to have to slide down as much as you can. Turn and face the door as well.’ He checked the gear, and began to count backwards from five. ‘Are we all ready?’ The car staggered forward. ‘Here we go.’
The armed men glanced at each other, before aiming their weapons and each fired a single shot. The front tyres burst with a bang, and the Twingo juddered to a stop. Adie pressed harder on the accelerator, but the wheels span with no effect.
Becky couldn’t disguise the panic in her voice. ‘What do we do now?’
A third camouflaged man appeared in the rear-view mirror, and walked slowly towards them. He lowered his weapon as he reached Adie’s window and looked in. Becky recognised his white teeth, as Owen grinned back at them.
Then He Was Gone Page 24