The smaller man nodded.
‘It’s a tragic waste of life. I tried my best, but the force of the sea at this time of year is just too dangerous. I called the police to help, and two officers arrived who commended my efforts to save you. Alas, there was nothing I could do.’
Meg struggled and Tom began to plead. This had gone terribly wrong. It wasn’t how it was supposed to play out. He should have heeded Bob Taylor’s warning, and now he’d involved Meg in all of this.
‘Stop, listen. I only wanted a meeting with you. It’s the only way I could get your attention. I want to make a deal.’
‘Too late!’ said Russell Black, and waved his hand towards the beach.
Simon took Tom by the arm. He tried to pull away but was stopped dead.
‘If you struggle, we’ll make it slow for your daughter. And we’ll make you watch.’
He despised Russell Black. The man was evil.
What could he do? They were going to die, there on the beach. They were marched over towards the sea. The waves were wild and the noise was deafening. Tom was freezing, and Meg’s face was white. The second thug removed the tape from Meg’s mouth and unfastened the cuffs, handing them back with the key to Tony Dodds. He put them in his pocket.
‘Send the girl in first,’ he said to Simon. Simon nodded and the bigger man picked her up and threw her into the waves. Water splashed over Meg as she tried to steady herself and stand up. The waves crashed over her and she disappeared for a moment. The sea almost reached their feet and then drew back out, pulling her deeper into the water.
‘No, stop!’ Tom cried. The sound of powerful crashing water was so great that he could barely be heard. He tried to run towards the sea to save his daughter, but Simon restrained him, getting ready to thump him across the face.
‘No violence!’ Tony Dodds shouted. ‘No bruises and no markings. This has to be an open-and-shut case of death by drowning.’
Still Tom struggled. He desperately looked out to sea to watch Meg flailing among the dark grey waves. She was struggling, fighting to stay upright. It was deathly cold. She’d been fully immersed, she had taken water into her lungs. It couldn’t be long now.
Tom was shouting wildly at the men, desperate to do anything to save his daughter.
‘We can sort this out, I’ll do anything. Please, get her out of there. Please, I’ll do anything!’
Meg looked like a scrap of rag bobbing about in the water. She couldn’t survive much longer.
Tom was beginning to resign himself now to what was going to happen. He loathed himself for thinking that they could come up with a plan to stop these men. He let out a long, agonised cry as he watched Meg drop below the waves for the third time. The tears streaming from his eyes were immediately washed away by the force of the wind and the spray from the sea. It was as if the sea didn’t care what he felt.
He thought it was over. He could feel Simon beginning to move him towards the waves. Then something happened that he could never have anticipated – something that would immediately turn the situation on its head.
‘Look, will you just give me two minutes to sort myself out here?’
I could see that Ivy was turning off the lights in the shop and getting ready to lock up. The baby had been abandoned in the pram. It was in no immediate danger, but it was a little more pressing to me than that bloody taxi fare.
I’m not proud of what I did next, but I didn’t feel that I had much choice at the time. The taxi driver would not let go of my arm. He was hanging on for dear life. It was thirty quid for Christ’s sake. How bad could it be?
I’m not a violent man, but I pushed him to get his hand off my arm. He wasn’t expecting it. He stumbled and fell into the path of a white van which screeched to a halt but hit him anyway.
In the confusion that followed, I slipped behind the gathering crowd to the pram where the baby lay asleep, tiny and wrapped up warmly in blankets. There was a little blue bunny toy resting by his head. He was beautiful. I could love that child, if he was mine or not.
I rushed over to Ivy who had just taken the key out of the door.
‘Ivy, Ivy, it’s me, Peter Bailey. Meg’s in trouble. I need you to take the baby!’
She examined my face. I think she thought she was being mugged. I could hear the crowd at the accident scene growing restless. A tide of anger and indignation was beginning to surge through them.
‘Who does he think he is anyway?’
‘If it wasn’t for scum like him, Blackpool would be a better place.’
I could sense that things were about to get even more difficult for me. My damn leg. It hurt so much.
‘Ivy, look it’s me. Take the baby. Look after the baby. And if you can, please play that taxi driver his fare. I’ll come back and put all this right, but I have to go.’
I took one more look at the baby and then ran off into the crowd.
‘He’s trying to get away. Somebody stop him!’
‘Call the police. Who got a good look at him?’
I got lucky. The town was full of shop and office workers heading home. I mixed in with the flow, doing my best to hide my limp, and soon felt safe enough to sit down on a bench.
I needed to call the police. This was an abduction. Shit. I’d given my phone to the taxi driver. I looked around for a phone box but I couldn’t see one. I had never cared about the disappearance of call boxes on our streets until I needed one. Desperately.
A police car raced past me, its lights flashing. It was followed by an ambulance, no doubt for the taxi driver that I’d just thrown into the path of a passing vehicle.
I had to think fast. What had happened to Meg? She’d been snatched off the pavement right in front of everybody. You don’t expect things like that.
Who was that man? Where had I seen him? It was recent, really recent, but I couldn’t place him. Yes … yes, it was the zoo. He’d been talking to Hannah at Blackpool Zoo. Who was he? How did Hannah know him?
I wondered if I’d been mistaken. Was Hannah in that car too? Had they been picking Meg up? No, they’d left the baby. She’d been snatched – by someone who knew Hannah, or at least had spoken to her. Had he been setting her up at the zoo? Perhaps she was in danger too.
I had no money, no phone and no bankcard, although there was no point me carrying a bankcard since the bank had stopped letting me draw out cash. I’d been sponging off Alex for the past few days and now my human cash machine was gone.
My leg hurt so badly that I didn’t know if it would take my weight anymore. And to add insult to injury, no taxi in the town would touch me with a bargepole now. They’d all get my description on their radios in a matter of moments. And the police would be after me too. Again.
My options were limited. I could walk on, away from town, and find a phone box, but I had no money. I could hand myself into the police and tell them about Meg, but it would take so long to get past the fare-dodging-taxi-driver-wounding matter that it would use up valuable time cutting through all the crap.
For a moment I felt lost. Where had they taken her? What did they want with her? She was an innocent person standing on the street – with a baby, for God’s sake. They even left the baby.
Then the penny finally dropped. This was all connected. Whoever had come for Tony Dodds, Ray Matiz and Bob Taylor had now come for Meg. Somebody was clearing up a mess that had been made at Woodlands Edge. Meg was next on that list. She’d been in the home and was involved in the big investigation that went on there at the time. These people were dying because of something that went on at that home, something which Meg had never had the courage to tell me about.
I don’t get many breaks in life, but I got one then. I wondered afterwards if it was fate, but it was probably simply the fact that I was sitting on a bench and people usually sort out pockets, handbags and change when they’re sitting down. It was a pound coin. Right underneath the bench. I thought it was a bottle top at first and was about to ignore it, but something made me pick
it up. It was covered in crap, but it was a pound coin. I felt like I’d won the lottery.
I had two choices. I could find a call box and phone Alex, or I could hop on a bus, get as close to my place as possible, and see her there. We hadn’t agreed where to meet up, but I assumed it would be back at the flat. She had the spare key; it made sense.
Tentatively I put weight on my leg. It stung with the pain, but I pushed through it. I wasn’t so far from the seafront. There would be a phone box near the tower. I’d be able to get lost in the crowds too. I had to speak to Alex before going to the police. It would take me several hours to explain what I’d seen and to convince them that we couldn’t wait twenty-four hours before reporting Meg as a missing person. I knew where they were taking her. It had to be to the home, where the others had been killed.
I found a phone box before I reached the seafront. I didn’t know Alex’s mobile number. I’d texted and called several times, but I hadn’t got a clue what it was. I rang home. Please, Alex, be back at the flat.
It rang. Twenty times I let it ring. I pushed the button down and got my pound back, terrified that it would be swallowed up. I heard the metallic sound of the coin falling down to the coin-return tray.
I pushed it straight back into the slot and dialled again. I let it ring. I counted again. Eighteen ... nineteen ... twenty ...
‘Hello? Alex Kennedy speaking.’
She sounded out of breath.
‘Alex, it’s Pete, we’ve got to be quick.’
‘Damn it, Pete. How did you sort out the taxi fare? Didn’t you see me—’
‘Alex, I don’t have time. Look, Meg has been abducted by somebody. Remember the man we saw talking to Hannah at the zoo? Him.’
‘What’s going on, Pete?’
‘I’ve got to speak fast. I don’t know how much time I get on this pay phone. We need to get to Woodlands Edge as fast as possible. Can you come in a taxi for me?’
‘Where are you, Pete? Shouldn’t you call the police?’
‘I can’t. I got into some trouble earlier on. The police are looking for me. If they find me, we’ll never get to Meg. I’m on Talbot Road, near the florist. Come as quick—’
I heard a beeping sound and the phone went dead. It was ages since I’d used a pay phone and I couldn’t believe how little time I got for my money. I heard the coin fall down into the chamber below. That was it. I was out of money. If Alex couldn’t get to me fast, who knows what would happen to Meg. And then I realised. We had an ally. DCI Summers was still in Blackpool. I wouldn’t have to explain anything to her; she’d believe me and summon the cavalry. Only I hadn’t thought of it soon enough and now my pound coin was all used up.
Alex did well. She arrived in no time at all. It felt like an eternity to me, but she said it was no more than twenty minutes.
‘Shall I ask the taxi to wait?’ she asked, getting out of the car and giving me a hug.
I didn’t reply. I was looking at the carrier bag in her hand.
‘What’s that?’
‘It’s the walking stick you bought for me when I fell through the floor at the home. Use it, even though you won’t want to.’
‘You couldn’t have brought it at a better time. My leg hurts like crazy.’
‘Are you paying, luv, or what?’ the taxi driver shouted.
‘Shall we jump in?’ Alex asked. ‘I don’t see that we have any choice, do we?’
We got into the car. I hoped that the taxi driver wouldn’t realise who I was. She was studying me in the rear-view mirror. If she did rumble me, she’d probably drive us directly to the police station.
‘What are we going to do?’ Alex asked, speaking low so that our conversation wouldn’t be heard above the car radio. It was tuned into my radio station which was playing something melodic, Cliff Richard I think.
‘Here, I bought you one of your painkillers from the flat. I haven’t got any water so you’ll have to do your best to swallow it. I figured you’d be grateful for that.’
What would I do without her? Alex was patching me up, and I needed it. If we were going to find Meg I’d have to press on and forget my pain.
‘The other bodies were found at the home. If they’re planning to do what they did to Ray Matiz and Tony Dodds, we have to go to the tree first.’
‘Woodlands Edge Children’s Home please,’ I called across to the taxi driver. ‘Drop us as close as you can, thanks.’
She was still studying me in the mirror.
‘You’re Peter Bailey off the radio, aren’t you? I recognised your voice. And your friend is Alex ... Alex ... Docherty off the telly?’
‘Alex Kennedy,’ Alex corrected. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘I heard your report with that Dodds lady on the radio. My best friend used to live at that home. It was a terrible place. All sorts of horrible things were going on there. Is that why you’re going there now? Is something up?’
Alex and I looked at each other. I chose to tell the truth – this lady seemed to be on our side.
‘I have a friend ... my wife … was abducted a short time ago. I don’t know why and who did it, but she used to live at the home too. I think it’s connected. I think she’s in danger.’
‘Jesus Christ. Why didn’t you say?’ she asked.
The car sped up and she began to drive with a greater sense of urgency.
‘By the way, don’t think I didn’t realise. You’re that runner that they’re after, aren’t you? I heard it on the radio. The other drivers put the word about. So this is the reason you’re in such a hurry.’
‘Yep, and I feel like shit for what I did. The guy who got hit in the road, that was an accident. I’ll put it right, but I have to find my wife first.’
‘Why not call the police? They’ll sort it out, won’t they? It’s their job, after all—’
‘I know, but they’re going to want to talk to me about this taxi fare incident. It’s going to take so long to cut through the crap. Meg could be hurt ... she could be dead by the time we find her. I can’t risk that.’
Ivy still had the baby. I’d completely forgotten. I turned to Alex.
‘Ivy’s looking after the baby. I just remembered. She’ll probably call the police. God knows what she’s thinking.
‘You two don’t half know how to make an impact!’ the taxi driver said, looking at us in the mirror. ‘Blackpool is a small town and the locals tend to get to know each other. I know Ivy’s, although I don’t know Ivy herself. I’m sure I can find out where she lives if you want me to get a message to her. Shall I make a call over the radio?’
‘What do you think?’ Alex asked, searching my face.
‘It can’t do any harm. Yes please see what you can do. What’s your name, by the way?’
‘Jan. Call me Jan. This makes a change from snogging couples and pissheads. We’re almost there – this is the road now.’
We were approaching Woodlands Edge. Jan had slowed the car and was looking for a place to pull over.
‘Carry on driving,’ Alex said suddenly. ‘They’ve got a car watching the home.’
Jan carried on driving, past the home and towards the end of the road where the woodland area began.
‘Shit!’ I said. ‘Though if the cops are still here that might be good news. They can’t have hurt Meg.’
‘How many were there?’ Jan asked. ‘I didn’t see a cop car.’
‘Just one,’ Alex said, ‘but he was watching. I saw him. Plain clothes.’
‘So where is Meg?’ I asked. ‘If they haven’t got her here, where is she?’
‘When we were kids there was an old den out there in the woods. I used to go there and smoke with my friend Toni. It was our private place – I don’t think any of the adults knew it was there. Some of the kids would go out there with their boyfriends or girlfriends. They might have taken her there.’
‘It’s pitch black out here now. How far back do the woods go? We could get lost in there.’
‘It’s not that bi
g,’ Jan replied. ‘It’s years since I went in there. I was a kid then and it would have seemed bigger to me. It can’t be much more than an acre or two. It’s not huge.’
‘What do you think?’ I turned to Alex. ‘If that guy at the other end of the road is really a cop, shouldn’t we tell him? He can get his mates up here. We shouldn’t do this on our own. I’m not sure if my leg can take it.’
Alex’s phone made a noise. It wasn’t a text sound or a phone call.
‘Maybe you should check that,’ I said. ‘The way things are going, that could be anybody.’
Alex’s phone lit up in the back seat as she checked her notifications.
‘That’s unusual. It’s a Skype contact request. Probably some porno site trying to send me—’
Alex stopped and hurriedly touched a few more buttons.
‘It’s from Hannah!’ she said, not looking up from her phone. ‘She says she needs to speak to me urgently – she can’t get in contact with you. It’s about Meg. She says it’s urgent.’
Chapter Sixteen
1993 ‘You’d better get that young girl out of there before she drowns.’
He had to shout to be heard, but he got their attention immediately. He had a pistol pointing in their direction. This is what it took to bring men like Tony Dodds and Russell Black back to the negotiating table.
They’d thought they were alone, that there would be no witnesses. Suddenly everything had changed. Tony Dodds was wondering if a third body might be too much to cover up.
‘And who the fuck are you?’ Dodds shouted over the crashing of the waves.
‘Get the girl. I need to see that she’s okay.’
Russell Black signalled to the thuggish man to retrieve Meg from the waves. He would probably be retrieving a body by this time anyway. They’d throw her back in the water once this situation was resolved.
Tom watched as Black’s hired help walked into the water, picked up Meg and brought her back onto the sand. Tom rushed towards her, but Simon restrained him.
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