Saving Sophie

by Sam Carrington

  This couldn’t end well.

  CHAPTER NINETY-SIX

  DI Wade

  Michael Finch’s Land Rover blocked the driveway, as if he’d driven madly and abandoned it in a rush. Lindsay shifted past it, Mack following close behind.

  ‘Mr Finch, Detective Inspector Wade, Detective Sergeant Mack.’ She flashed her badge as he answered the door. ‘Can we come in?’ She didn’t wait for a response either way, stepping inside the porch as he stumbled back.

  Michael Finch didn’t look well. His bloodshot eyes were puffy, as though he’d been crying. His face was blotchy.

  ‘Have we caught you at a bad time?’

  ‘Not the best, it would seem.’ He ushered them into the lounge. His manner was cold, off. He was cagey.

  ‘We need to speak to you about Sophie, Mr Finch.’

  He finally lifted his eyes to meet hers. ‘Oh. Why?’

  ‘Where’s your wife?’ Lindsay carried on, ignoring his question, and cast her eyes around the lounge, craning her neck to take in the dining area.

  ‘I don’t know. She wasn’t here when I got home.’ He slumped down on a sofa. ‘It’s not like her. She’s agoraphobic, it takes a lot to make her leave this house. And I mean a lot.’ His worry was evident.

  ‘Can you think of a reason why Karen would head to the moors?’ Lindsay wanted to test the waters, see how much he knew. His face, a blank, indicated that he knew little.

  ‘Karen? No, and – I don’t understand. What’s happened?’

  ‘Michael, your wife had contact with an Andrew Watkins, supervised him when she worked as a probation officer.’

  ‘Right … and?’

  ‘We’ve come from his residence. He’s deceased, but his son, Jason Watkins, still resides there. Is that a name you recognise?’

  ‘No. Doesn’t mean anything to me.’

  Lindsay observed his expression; he didn’t appear to be lying. She carried on.

  ‘He’s a freelance web developer. Could you have used his services in the past, for the Dartmoor website perhaps?’

  ‘Not that I’m aware, but I don’t really have much to do with that side of the Trust.’

  ‘On the premises, we seized a computer and photographs, all methodically placed and categorised, a bit OCD in fact.’ She watched for any kind of reaction. He gave nothing. ‘Photographs of Sophie. And Karen. It seems he’s been watching them both for some time.’ Now a look of shock.

  ‘What kind of photos?’ His face reddened as he shot up from the sofa. ‘Why? How did he have them, from where?’

  ‘Calm down, Michael,’ Mack cut in, taking a step back. ‘They’re questions we want answers to as well. Currently though, we need to concentrate on finding Sophie and Karen. As you work on the moors, we were hoping you might be able to help.’

  ‘Of course.’ He turned abruptly, grabbed his ranger’s jacket, and made for the door. He stopped. ‘How do you know Sophie was going on to the moor?’

  ‘CCTV picked her car up travelling along Bovey Straights,’ Mack informed him, ‘There’s a team at a disused quarry along from there. They found a young man, Daniel Pearce, Sophie’s friend, tied and gagged.’

  ‘What the … are you serious?’

  Mack looked to Lindsay, widening his eyes. He obviously wanted her to tell Michael the next part. Perhaps he felt she’d sound calmer, more sensitive.

  ‘Daniel heard Jason bringing Sophie into the building.’ She paused, allowing this to sink in. ‘And then he heard a conversation take place. Between Jason and a female. We believe it to have been Karen. She agreed to meet Jason, told him to meet her on the moor. Daniel couldn’t hear the exact location. Now, we’ve got teams out searching, and a helicopter, but no sightings as yet.’ She stopped, Michael’s pacing was too distracting. ‘Mr Finch. Michael?’

  ‘Yes, sorry, can’t believe this, it’s not happening.’

  ‘We thought you might be able to give us a clearer picture of the moors, a starting point.’

  ‘It’s three hundred and sixty-eight square miles, Detective Inspector Wade.’ His eyes – intense, frightened – bore into hers.

  ‘Quite. It’s vast. We could do with your help.’

  Lindsay didn’t need to say any more. Michael Finch was already out the door, heading for his Land Rover.

  ‘You should come with us, Michael.’ Mack called after him.

  ‘No. My vehicle has everything I might need,’ he shouted as he slammed the car door and started the engine.

  Before either Lindsay or Mack could protest any further, the Land Rover screeched away from the driveway and sped off.

  ‘Let’s get a move on then, eh, Mack?’ Lindsay ran to their car and jumped in the driver’s side, Mack trailing.

  ‘Guess you’re driving then.’ Mack said as he climbed in and clicked his seatbelt.

  ‘I’m faster. We’re going to need to keep up. I don’t want to lose him on the moors too.’

  CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN

  Karen

  Karen stood by the car, hunched, both hands on the bonnet, her fingers tingling from the cold.

  What am I doing, what am I doing?

  The cover of trees should ensure no one could spot the car easily, and they’d driven as far off the track as possible. The branches cast a shadow on the windscreen; she couldn’t make out Amy’s face. Probably as well, her fear wouldn’t be helpful.

  Her legs refused to move, every muscle paralysed.

  He’d be there. Waiting. She had to go.

  All the things she should’ve done, the things she shouldn’t – all swirled and mixed in her head. No room for regret now.

  One foot in front of the other.

  She hoped, having been here before, that the familiarity would offer some reduction in her anxiety level, bring it down to something possible to manage. It’d been such a long time, though; Mike had brought her here about four years ago, their anniversary. An attempt on both sides to inject some interest, try to remember the people they’d each fallen in love with.

  Now, as she moved forwards, the guilt oozed from every pore of her body. She may have stopped the online contact with Jay in an effort to make things better with Mike, but she hadn’t tried hard enough. Had given up. It was difficult, keeping their relationship alive, when all she did all day was cocoon herself. She had nothing to say to him. Their only topic of conversation was Sophie.

  Karen stopped and lifted the mobile phone to her face. It was 17.30. There wasn’t even a single bar of signal showing.

  Mike might be home now. A pain gripped her, making her stop. Bailey. Mike returning home to find him dead, her missing. He’d be frantic. She hadn’t considered leaving a note. He’d have no clue to her whereabouts. Her plan rested on her having the strength, the ability to kill Jay, get Sophie back to the car and Amy, and get home. The only people who knew their location were her and Amy. No one else would come and save them if it all went horribly wrong.

  Suddenly she felt appallingly rash. Alone … small … and very stupid.

  Too late to back out. She saw the bridge. Two figures to the side.

  She pulled her coat tighter around her. The chill still found a way to penetrate it, finding some skin to bite. Her teeth clattered – because of the cold, or fear, she didn’t know. Her legs continued to move her onwards, closer to her goal. All she wanted was for Sophie to be safe.

  As she approached them, Karen could see Sophie more clearly. He was holding on to her, but she didn’t look to be tied, as she’d expected. That was good. She was pale; a scared young girl, tiny against the backdrop of tall trees. Her little girl. A cramping pain gripped Karen’s abdomen. She managed to give Sophie what she hoped was a confident smile. As for the man standing next to her, she felt nothing. After the months of closeness, intimate conversation, apparently exploring each other’s souls, the desire and longing, she’d expected to feel something. But the figure in front of her was almost the opposite of the man she knew – slight, different colouring. He’d been a lie
. This man was not the one she’d fallen in love with.

  He was the man who had her daughter, who had threatened her.

  The man she’d kill to make things right.

  But was she any better than him? Wasn’t that what he thought he was doing too?

  ‘I knew you’d come, my Karen.’ His smile, wide, smug.

  His voice cut through her; she sucked in cold air between her teeth. ‘You need to let Sophie go.’

  The laugh burst from his mouth; it got trapped in the high branches, filtered through the trees, a malevolent echo. Her eyes shut tight.

  Don’t look at him. Keep breathing. Block out the sounds.

  ‘No. Karen. I don’t need to let her go. You do.’ He had hold of Sophie’s arm. As she squirmed, Karen made out bruised flesh. He was hurting her. She had to get closer.

  ‘That’s far enough. Stay there.’ He pointed with his spare hand, indicating she should sit on the boulder.

  She tried to keep her voice steady. ‘Look, Jay. I know you hold me responsible for your dad’s death, but you can’t justify taking another’s life because you blame me.’

  ‘Oh, but I can …’ He fiddled inside his jacket. ‘See?’

  Karen squinted; the light was fading rapidly, but the razor was unmistakable. A sliver of light snaked through the trees, reflecting off the tiny weapon – small, yet capable of taking Sophie’s life with one smooth movement.

  ‘Stay still!’ he shouted.

  Karen saw Sophie flinch as Jay tightened his grip around her middle. Her face ashen, her make-up ruined by tears. He stood behind her now, still a fair distance from Karen’s reach.

  ‘Don’t fight it, it’ll be quicker for you if you don’t fight, Sophie.’ He moved his hand around and held the razor to her throat. ‘You need to go the same way as my dad, with the razor slicing through your windpipe, you gurgling and drowning in your own blood. Like he did.’

  The sudden realisation hit her. She wasn’t going to be able to stop him.

  ‘Jay. No.’ She jumped up, flinging herself forward. ‘You want me, don’t you? You want us to have a future? It won’t happen if you hurt Sophie. I don’t want you if you kill her. I’ll hate you forever.’ All the words flew out. She wasn’t sure if they’d made any sense, but she was grasping desperately at any hope she might stall him.

  Stall him, why? No one is coming.

  ‘Stay back.’ He took the razor away from Sophie and slashed it in the air towards Karen. ‘Don’t come any closer, Karen. Come on, don’t ruin my moment.’ He replaced his hand on her throat. ‘It’s me and you, Karen. All the way. You will want me, you may not think that now, but you will in time. I’ll be all you have in the world, you’ll need me as much as I need you.’

  Her patience disappeared. ‘You’re delusional, Jay. I am not going to want you, or need you. Ever. You’re wasting your time.’

  ‘We’ll see.’

  Sophie’s face darkened, like a veil had been pulled down over her. Her body shook, her eyes were pleading. Did she think Karen was going to screw up, get her killed?

  Karen had to do something. Now.

  She kept her eyes on him as she slid the knife from her bag.

  He laughed. ‘You can’t use that on me.’

  ‘No, you’re right. I’ll never be quick enough; you’ll slit her throat before I’ve even taken a step.’ Her voice lost its power. She wasn’t getting Sophie out of this situation by killing Jay. She’d been full of bravado, thought she could take him on. Naïve, again.

  There was only one way to save Sophie, to give her a chance to run, get away. He wanted to kill Sophie in a vain attempt to even the score, ensure they had a lasting bond because of the death of their loved ones. He wanted her.

  She had to take herself out of the equation.

  ‘Sophie.’ She looked at her beautiful daughter and smiled. Hot tears fell. ‘You know I love you. I want you to be safe …’ Karen turned the knife on herself; put the tip to her stomach. ‘RUN!’

  Jay dropped the razor. ‘No! What are you doing?’ He left Sophie’s side and ran, arms outstretched, towards Karen. She pushed the knife in, feeling a stinging pain as her skin popped and punctured. A deep, snagging agony followed as the blade slid through her gut. ‘Nononono … Karen! What have you done, you stupid woman?’

  He stood in front of her, his eyes wide, his hands grabbing at his hair.

  Karen sank to her knees, searing pain taking her breath away as she pulled the knife back out. She looked up to Jay. His face was contorted, his mouth open wide in a scream.

  ‘It could never have ended the way you wanted it to, Jay.’ A warm flow of blood pulsated from her stomach. Karen dropped the knife and pressed her hands against the wound.

  ‘You’ve ruined everything,’ he shouted, and lunged for Karen.

  An explosion. Blood splattered over her face.

  Jay flew backwards, fell. A thud. A crunching of leaves.

  Someone was screaming.

  The treetops lowered, coming closer to her. Were they falling?

  No, they weren’t lowering to her, she was raising towards them. Weightless, floating.

  A noise above her. Voices, disembodied, floated with her.

  Mike.

  Her body lifted. Pain burned. A warm, sticky mess covered her stomach.

  ‘I’ve got you. I’ve got you.’

  ‘Mike?’ Her vision clouded. Her mouth, so dry. ‘Sophie …’

  ‘She’s fine, Karen. So is Amy.’

  ‘How did you … know where we were?’

  ‘I didn’t at first. But it’s where we came together, it was as good a place to start as any.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ The two words stretched out, distorted, like she was speaking in slow motion.

  ‘I know. So am I.’ He bent over her, kissed her forehead. Whispered in her ear. ‘I know everything, Karen.’

  The words seeped in. All this was for nothing. He knew anyway.

  ‘How?’ Her voice had lost its power; it was nothing more than a gentle sigh.

  ‘Oh, Karen. I know you don’t think I notice things. But I knew it wasn’t right between us and I saw the change in you.’ He brushed a tear from her cheek. ‘I guessed your password, saw the messages from him.’

  The disclosure made its way inside her dazed mind. So all the time he’d had his nose stuck in his iPad he was probably accessing her emails. None of that mattered now. Karen tried to lift her head. Too heavy.

  ‘He’s going …’ breathing difficult, ‘to tell the police … Sophie, and Amy, they’re in trouble …’ Can’t take a deep breath.

  ‘He’s not telling anyone anything. Don’t worry.’

  ‘The noise … a shot? Police … killed him?’ Pain, can’t breathe.

  ‘Not the police, no. They’re just getting here now. I broke away from them at the last tor and got here first … I did it.’

  ‘Oh, Mike … No.’

  ‘I’m sorry for leaving you last night. I should’ve been with you.’

  ‘Why … did you go?’ Are his arms around me? Can’t feel him.

  ‘It all got too much, I thought I couldn’t bear it. Knowing about you and him, that you would’ve left me if it hadn’t been for your agoraphobia. I wanted out. I took my gun, was going to end it up here, on the moor. But I realised I could never leave Sophie. And no matter what, Karen, I wouldn’t leave you.’

  ‘My Mike. I’m so sorry. Now you will …’ Eyes heavy.

  ‘Karen, keep your eyes open.’

  ‘… You will go … to prison.’ Head is so woozy.

  ‘Don’t worry about me. Just you hold on, do you hear me?’

  ‘Will the girls … Sophie, be okay?’

  ‘I hope so. I wasn’t allowing that scum to take my girls down with him. The secrets – everything – die with him.’

  He’s crying. Why’s he crying?

  ‘I don’t … deserve you.’ Tired, need to sleep.

  ‘Stay with me, Karen. Open your eyes.’

  �
�It’s so cold.’ Toes so cold, numb, body is numb.

  Voices, many voices, rushing, shouting.

  Oh, they’re leaving now.

  Silence.

  I’m free …

  CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT

  DI Wade

  ‘You really couldn’t have foreseen him having the gun. You can’t beat yourself up over it.’ Mack handed Lindsay a mug of steaming coffee.

  ‘You reckon?’ She took it, holding it in both hands, grateful for the warmth. Her body still hadn’t recovered from the chill of the forest. ‘It’s not how this was meant to have ended, Mack. None of it.’

  ‘No. Although we did catch the bad guy – the murdering bastard … well, technically Michael Finch did, but …’

  ‘What a mess.’ She rubbed a hand over her forehead. ‘The bad guy might be dead, Mack, but at what cost to the Finches? I should have let you move in on Sophie Finch earlier – she should never have been taken like that. And I should’ve had an officer in Michael’s vehicle with him. Him giving us the slip like that … He’s going to go down for this.’ Her mouth burned as she took too big a sip of coffee.

  ‘I’m thinking he would’ve done it even if we’d been there, Boss. Really. You know what it’s like, if someone is determined enough, they’ll find a way.’

  ‘I don’t understand, though. Why?’

  ‘I guess we’ll find out, when he starts speaking.’

  ‘If he does. Poor bloke is in shock …’ Lindsay’s voice trailed, her eyes drifting to look out the window. Not that she could see anything outside; her thoughts were the pictures against the blackness of the evening sky.

  ‘Weird how it all came out at the last moment. All that running around we did, the suspicion, almost all of it misplaced.’ Lindsay’s attention returned to the room.

  ‘I wouldn’t say that. We followed the leads, that’s all. And if certain people hadn’t been holding information back, we might have saved some time. Maria Nickson was just afraid of ruining her new relationship as she’d recently escaped her abusive partner. We didn’t have that information, or that she’d changed her name. Her behaviour fitted with someone with something to hide, and that’s what we picked up on. If she’d told us the truth, we could’ve crossed her off our list.’