by Anita Waller
Liz’s brain went into overdrive. She tried to remember what was urgent, and wondered if she should ring Tom or Oliver immediately, rather than waiting for the morning.
Finally, she took the decision to leave it; one or other of them would shoot across the city to come and support her, and she didn’t want that. She needed to be able to sit and wait for news of her baby.
Dan arrived with the toast, and she ate a slice without tasting it. She pushed the other slice to one side, and once more moved across to the window. There was a lot of police activity, but she guessed that would taper off in a couple of hours. She prayed they would have garnered some clues from the door-to-door checks, and she leaned her head against the pane to cancel the reflection that was stopping her seeing outside. Nothing helped.
The technician called her into the hall and showed her what to do if she had a call from a number she didn’t recognise, and how to switch the landline number through to her mobile. He explained carefully, and he explained it twice. ‘If it is the kidnapper,’ he said gently, ‘you press this switch, and someone will be listening in. If it is simply a friend, then we don’t intrude. Good luck with getting your little one home safe, Mrs Chambers.’ He squeezed her hand as he left.
Her eyes filled with tears, and she offered up a small prayer for her baby. He was so little, so cute, such a good little boy – ‘please God, keep him safe for me,’ she whispered, almost to herself.
Dan came and stood by her side and put his arm around her shoulders. ‘Amen,’ he said, ‘amen.’
---
She didn’t sleep. The sofa was comfortable, she was warm, but she couldn’t switch off her mind. She went to the kitchen three times during that long night, making drinks that she hoped would make her eyes close. Nothing worked.
Tanya was downstairs before six. ‘No news.’ The regretful tone in her voice was obvious. ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’
Liz sighed. ‘Thanks, but I don’t think so. I’ll ring work after nine and explain what’s happened, and I’ll ring Dan’s school. I’m reluctant to keep him off, because he’s in his GCSE year, but he’ll want to be with me.’
‘DI Brent will probably want to speak with both of you, anyway, so really Dan has to stay home today. And I can’t imagine for one minute he’s going to go back to school in the short term; I’ve seen how close you two are, and he’ll consider he has to support you at home. Don’t knock it, Liz. He’s a bright young man, he’ll be fine in his exams. And he needs to grieve for his father. These are horrendous circumstances surrounding your husband’s death, and eventually that reality is going to hit Daniel really hard. And you. At the moment, you need to be together.’
Half an hour later, Will Brent arrived. Liz gave her statement, confirming everything she had already told him. He spoke platitudes; they were re-doubling their efforts with the advance of daylight, and he would prefer it if she stayed in the house and had her phone with her at all times.
Dan also confirmed his whereabouts for the afternoon of the previous day; he looked dreadful, dark circles under his eyes and a set to his lips that Liz had never seen before. He had clearly had a bad night, and she ached for him.
Just after nine, Liz rang Karen and asked if either Mr Banton or Mr Hardwick had arrived. Karen confirmed she had seen Mr Hardwick, and she connected Liz with Oliver.
‘Good morning, Liz,’ he said.
‘Morning, Oliver. I’m sorry, I won’t be in today.’
‘Are you ill?’ There was concern in his voice.
‘No. I have a problem.’ She could feel her voice wobbling. ‘Something happened yesterday. Gareth and my childminder, Sadie, were murdered. And Jake was taken.’
There was silence for a moment.
‘What?’
She repeated what she’d said, and he let out a long breath. ‘I’ll be with you in half an hour. I’ll give Tom a ring, although he may turn up there as well.’
‘Thank you,’ she said softly, and disconnected the call.
23
Jake was standing in his cot, staring at his father, when Phil stirred; his head felt strange, fuzzy, and he blinked, then remembered the events of the previous day. Or was it the previous hour?
He smiled at the little boy. ‘Good morning, son. Is it morning?’
Jake simply stared at him.
Phil sat up and pulled a blanket around his shoulders. It was cold, so cold. He lifted the little boy out of his cot, sat him on his knee and enfolded him in the blanket.
‘You hungry?’ he asked, and kissed the top of his head. Jake laid his head against Phil’s shoulder, and didn’t move.
‘Okay, what shall we have? Full English? I might have to rummage through all that baby food for yours though. In fact, Jake, today we’re going to go through all these boxes, find out what we’ve got.’
His heart ached for his son. He must be missing his mummy, and wondering what had happened. Phil cuddled him for a few more minutes, then sat him back in the travel cot.
‘Breakfast,’ he said. ‘Give me two minutes.’
He found a pouch that said it was ready-to-eat porridge, so he handed it to Jake and watched to make sure he ate it. Phil then looked much more carefully through the boxes and discovered cartons of long life milk. He hoped it was okay for Jake – he couldn’t for the life of him remember the whole baby milk / cow’s milk cut off with Melissa – and he poured some into a bottle, then out of the bottle and into his little pan. He quickly warmed it, and as Jake finished his porridge, Phil handed him a bottle of milk.
‘Cracked it,’ Phil said, as he watched Jake drain the bottle, before struggling and pulling himself into an upright position. He launched the bottle across the floor.
Phil chuckled at his son, then picked it up and placed it in the small sink. As with the milk issue, he really couldn’t remember much about sterilising either, and hoped that washing thoroughly would be enough.
He changed Jake’s nappy – still only a wet one – then re-dressed him in the clothes from the previous day.
His search through the boxes had thrown up a few toys and some baby books, so Phil and Jake sat on the camp bed, and Phil read to him. Jake kept trying to put his fingers in his daddy’s mouth as he spoke the words, and Phil felt such a pang of longing for Liz, it almost overwhelmed him. This was their child. This wonderful human being had been created by them, and was being held captive presumably because of them.
He prayed Liz was safe; Phil had no way of knowing, and he made a silent vow to her that he would keep their son safe for as long as he could.
The dumb waiter rattled, and he quickly put Jake back into his cot. Phil opened the door and removed his rations for the day, glancing into the carrier bag and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, except for three tea bags. It seemed the flasks were off the menu, he was expected to make his own drinks.
‘I like coffee as well, moron,’ he growled. He decided to have his drinks without milk – he wasn’t sure if they would ever get any more of the long-life stuff, and Jake would need it.
Jake finally dropped off to sleep, so Phil tucked him up in the cot, then moved across to sort out the boxes. Everything in them related to Jake: baby food, clothing, nappies, toys – all there for him, so Phil organised it all, re-stacking the boxes to try and get them off the floor. He placed a layer of carrier bags beneath the bottom ones, and hoped it was enough to protect the contents from the damp.
He then moved up the stairs. His head was finally feeling clearer, and it was slowly dawning on him that the flasks hadn’t contained only tea, there had been some additive that had made him sleep. It seemed that wasn’t necessary, hence the cooking stove and the tea bags.
He reached the top of the stairs, but the door was in shadow. He felt around it but there was nothing. No handle, no lock, no screws, a metal door that he couldn’t exit from his side.
He sat down on the stairs, and his head dropped. He didn’t know what the hell to do, couldn’t see any way out of the situat
ion. And it had become so much more complicated, with the addition of Jake.
‘I’ll keep him safe for you, Liz, I promise,’ he whispered softly. ‘I promise.’
Captor watched the activity in the basement and smiled. Phil Latimer really knew what he was up against – a door that couldn’t be opened, with no other exit from the room, and he had the added problem of the boy to care for, a child he had never met before.
Just how much was Liz Chambers suffering? Her lover had disappeared from the face of the earth, her adulterous husband was dead, and her son had been taken.
Karma.
24
Oliver arrived, followed a minute later by a dishevelled-looking Tom, dressed in joggers and hoodie. Liz couldn’t take her eyes off him; she had never seen him in anything but a suit.
‘Sorry,’ he said as he bent to kiss her cheek. ‘I came out as soon as Chloe told me what had happened. I was running…’ he finished lamely, indicating the state of his attire.
‘I’ll make drinks,’ Tanya said. ‘Coffee, tea?’
They placed their orders, and Liz led them through to the lounge. Dan stood and looked at the two visitors. His eyes showed he had been crying, and Oliver held out his hand. Dan shook it, then turned and shook Tom’s hand.
‘I’m so sorry, Dan,’ Oliver said. ‘If you need anything, you and your mum, we’re here.’
Tom nodded his agreement. He turned to Liz. ‘Is there anything you need, Liz?’
‘I need the police to walk through that door and tell me they have Jake. Everything else I can handle.’
Tom put his arms around her and pulled her to him. ‘No news, then?’ he asked, his voice muffled as he spoke into the top of her head. He felt the sob that seemed to encompass her whole body.
‘Nothing. CCTV has caught nothing that’s of any help, nobody saw anything. My baby simply disappeared.’
He held her for a moment longer, and then steered her to the sofa. ‘Sit down, Liz, and let’s talk.’
Tanya brought the drinks through, and for a moment no one spoke. Then everybody seemed to speak at once.
‘How…?’
‘What…?’
‘I…’
Oliver held up his hand. ‘Whoa. Let’s start again. Is there anything that you need right now? Do you need anything legal?’
‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t think there is. I won’t be in work for some time, obviously, but–’
Tom interrupted. ‘You take whatever time you need. That shouldn’t even have come into the discussion. Can you tell us what happened? Will you be comfortable with that?’
Liz nodded. ‘I can tell you everything I know, but it’s not a lot.’ She talked, covering everything from her leaving work to arriving back home with Tanya. The two men listened in silence, waiting until she had finished.
‘Did you know Gareth had been seeing Sadie?’ Oliver asked.
‘No, I didn’t. And apparently, I’m not to jump to conclusions about that – DI Brent said, until the forensics come back on the bedding from the bedroom, and the cot bedding, there is no proof they had been in there. He seemed to infer that maybe the murderer took his clothes, possibly because something of him, or her, had transferred to Gareth’s clothes. But Sadie was all but naked, except for her dressing gown, and he didn’t take her clothes, then put a dressing gown on her. And I’m sorry I keep saying he, because I’m by no means convinced the murderer is a man. It could as easily be a woman – possibly more so, as my baby has been taken.’
‘You think maybe Jake was the target? That Sadie and Gareth were in the wrong place at the wrong time?’ Tom spoke quietly, mulling over the possibility.
‘I do, and I think that’s what was in DI Brent’s head when he told me not to assume.’
Oliver joined in the conversation. ‘Did they find Gareth’s clothes?’
Liz looked startled. ‘I don’t know. Would they have told me if I’d asked? They seemed pretty keen to get me out of that house, so they could carry on with processing the crime scene.’
‘I don’t think they’ll tell you much until they’re convinced you didn’t murder your husband and his bit on the side in a fit of jealous rage. When they have time of death, that will clear you. You didn’t leave work until five, did you?’
‘A little bit after. And I rang the police around 5.40, so it didn’t leave me much time to stab them and spirit away my son, did it?’ They could both hear the bitterness and anger in her tone.
‘I can’t listen to this, Mum.’ Dan stood, and walked towards the lounge door, his shoulders hunched. ‘If you need me, give me a shout. I’ll be in my room.’
‘Dan!’ Liz moved to go to him, and Oliver held her arm.
‘Leave him be,’ he said. ‘He’s struggling. He’ll turn to you, eventually.’
‘This is so hard, Oliver. So hard. Nothing can prepare you for a situation like this. And I haven’t a clue what to do.’
‘Don’t blank your FLO, for a start,’ Tom said. ‘She’s here to support you and your family, so if there’s anything you need to know, or you need to speak to Brent, tell her. Hang on in there, Liz. You’re one of the strongest people I know. Be brave. And I shouldn’t imagine for one minute that you feature in any murder scenario, they have to work through things one step at a time. I’ve come up against Brent before, and he’s thorough. A careful man, doesn’t risk losing a guilty verdict with sloppy work. Trust him. And if there are issues, we’ve got your back. I hope that’s understood. Whatever happens, we’re both here for you.’
She gave a weak and tentative smile. ‘I know. I’m struggling to believe that the woman who got up for work yesterday morning is the woman here, now. I don’t feel like the same person. I almost feel like…’ She hesitated. ‘I feel as if Gareth dying isn’t real. I haven’t cried for him, and yet we’ve been together for ever. The only concern is Jake. And as for Sadie… what am I supposed to feel about her? And at some point, I’m going to have to face her son. I’m going to have to tell someone I’ve never met before, his mother was having an affair with my husband. What a bloody mess.’
‘You’re jumping to conclusions, again,’ Oliver said gently. ‘Wait for DNA results, Liz. Until they come through, we can know nothing with any certainty.’
‘I know. I know in here.’ Liz touched her left breast.
She stood. ‘Thank you both for coming, and don’t feel offended, but I want you to go. You’re forgetting I know your diaries – please go back to work, you’re both needed there. I will be back, I don’t know when. Is that okay?’
Tom stood and hugged her. ‘No time limit,’ he said softly. ‘We can make our own coffee.’ He smiled down at her. ‘Take care, Liz. And if there’s anything, legal or otherwise, get on the phone.’
‘And I echo that,’ Oliver said. ‘Anytime. Day or night. Remember that.’
‘I will. And thank you for galloping to my rescue. I’ll keep you informed, obviously, as soon as I have something to tell you.’
She stood at the window and watched as their cars pulled into the traffic, in convoy. She couldn’t have had better employers if she’d tried. But she needed space, time out to think.
‘Tanya, I’m going for a lie down. If anything happens…’
‘Go, Liz. I imagine you didn’t sleep at all last night. I’ll wake you if you’re needed, and any information will be passed straight on. And I won’t wake you unless anything is urgent.’ She tapped her laptop, open on the kitchen table. ‘I have some reports to file, I can be doing them while it’s quiet.’
Liz placed the tray of cups on the side and climbed the stairs. The last time she had climbed some stairs… She closed her mind down. These were different stairs, no dead bodies here. No Gareth. No Sadie. And no Jake.
She glanced into Dan’s room, and he was reading.
‘You okay?’
‘No.’
‘Need a hug?’
‘No.’
‘Need to talk?’
‘Mum,’ he said, exasper
ation in his tone. ‘Leave me alone. This is all my fault. If I had told you about the car being up there a lot…’
‘What difference would that have made?’
‘Can’t you see?’ he snapped. ‘It would have made all the difference. Dad would have stopped seeing her – he loved you, she really was a fling, I’m sure. You would have stopped Jake going there, and none of this would have happened. Different circumstances.’
‘Oh, God, Dan.’ She moved across to his bed, and pulled him into her arms. ‘You can’t think like that! Take it a step further back – if I hadn’t gone back to work after maternity leave…’
Dan clung on to her and cried, deep gulping sobs. ‘I loved Dad,’ he mumbled. ‘Why? Why did he do this?’
‘He only had an affair,’ she explained gently. ‘He had no part in anything else. He would have died for Jake, possibly did. We may one day get to know the full story, but don’t ever stop loving him, Dan. I won’t. He was a good man. And even if they prove he was with Sadie, that love may take a knock, but it won’t go away. That’s what love means.’
Mother and son laid back on the bed, arms wrapped around each other, and slowly drifted into sleep, both thinking about a man; just not the same man.
---
‘Liz? You in the bathroom?’
Liz could hear Tanya’s voice through her sleep-induced fog brain. ‘I’m in Dan’s room,’ she whispered, reluctant to wake him.
She slid out from his draped arm, and opened the door.
‘Sorry. We cried together, had a talk and dozed off. He’s still asleep. Let’s go downstairs. Has something happened?’
‘Yes. Will Dan be okay if we go down to Moss Way station?’
‘Sure. I’ll leave him a note. He’ll ring me when he wakes. What’s happened?’
‘We’ve managed to get some CCTV. I understand it’s a bit grainy, but DI Brent wants you to look at it. Apparently, somebody a few doors down from the crime scene works nights; he wasn’t in when we did our first sweep for CCTV cameras. We’ve been back today and there’s something on it. It’s all we’ve managed to pick up. Fingers crossed it means something to you.’