The Girls Next Door

by Mel Sherratt

  ‘You’re wasting precious time.’

  ‘Where is she?’

  ‘Number 269 Davy Road. It’s on the Mitchell Estate. You have fifteen minutes.’

  The phone went dead.

  ‘Who was that?’ asked Sarah as she came into the room.

  ‘Someone else she’s sent a message to.’ Laura wiped at her eyes. ‘I feel so helpless here.’

  ‘Me too, but you heard Eden. They don’t want you turning up and distressing Jess, or making things worse for him. If he reacts when he sees you, things could go very wrong.’

  ‘But—’ Laura protested.

  ‘Eden can’t be worrying about you while she’s looking out for Jess.’

  ‘But she’s my daughter and I need to be—’

  ‘And she’s my sister! I’m frightened too.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Laura sat down quickly. ‘I didn’t think.’

  ‘It’s okay.’ Sarah sat down beside her. ‘I know you’ve always had enough love for two of us.’

  Laura’s heart almost broke. Sarah was trying to make her feel better, but all she felt was dishonest. She needed to get out of the house as quickly as possible. The clock was ticking. What could she do?

  She put a hand to her forehead. ‘I feel quite faint.’

  ‘You do look pale.’ Sarah moved towards her. ‘Put your head between your knees.’

  Laura did as she was told.

  ‘Would you like a glass of water?’

  ‘Yes, please.’

  ‘Stay right there.’ Sarah rushed out of the room.

  As soon as she heard the water running from the tap in the kitchen, Laura sat up. She picked up her car keys and ran outside.

  ‘Mum?’ Sarah shouted after her. ‘Mum!’

  But Laura was already in the car with the engine started. As she saw Sarah running out of the house towards her, she put her foot down. She felt so deceitful, but she had to go to Jess.

  Chapter Seventy

  Laura drove to Davy Road, all the time trying to think everything through, wondering why he wanted to see her. He hadn’t suggested she brought money, so Jess wasn’t being held for ransom. Her head said she needed to tell Eden, as she would know what to do. Her heart told her to tell no one where she was going, because she might put Jess in danger. Her sister would be mad at her, but she couldn’t think about that now. He’d told her to come alone. He’d told her not to inform the police. She didn’t care how much danger or trouble she would be in. She couldn’t leave Jess with that man a minute longer.

  As she tore down the road faster than she should, her mind went into overdrive at the possible danger she could be going into. It might be a trap. For all she knew, there could be more than one man there. Maybe this was nothing to do with Ashleigh Proctor at all. Maybe she had stumbled upon a gang who had been getting away with kidnapping young girls until they abducted one with a cop for an aunt. Maybe she was going to be beaten and attacked when she got there too.

  She gulped down a sob. It could be that none of that was true, but she still expected the worst. He must want her to come and get Jess for some reason, especially without the police knowing. If Laura was walking into danger, maybe she could persuade him to let Jess go and take her instead.

  She checked the clock. Five minutes to go.

  Laura had never visited anyone in Davy Road before, but she knew where it was. Although the Mitchell Estate had a notorious reputation, they had an enterprise centre, The Workshop, that had been set up five years ago. It provided all kinds of training courses, and she had completed an extra counselling course there the year before last. Knowing a few of the estate mums through SWAPs, and having met some of the girls from the estate, who Jess had brought home on occasion, she really didn’t think it was as bad as people made out.

  She parked across the way from number 269. The street was quiet, perhaps due to the weather. It had been blustery for near on forty-eight hours now, but the rain had died down a little. The house was semi-detached with an adjoining garage. It was a little scruffier, with overgrown hedges, but otherwise it was indistinguishable from any one of many she could see.

  She looked at the front window downstairs and swallowed. The curtains were closed. Was Jess in there? Or was she upstairs? Or even worse, was she locked up in a shed or a cellar? Her breathing escalated. She’d better not think about what she was about to do too much or else she wouldn’t go through with it.

  Instead she flicked on her phone. The screen came up with the image of Sarah and Jess. Her heart went out to her youngest daughter as she ran a finger over Jess’s face. ‘I won’t let you down,’ she whispered, swiping the phone to wake it up.

  Quickly she typed out a message. Her finger hovered over the send button. Eden was going to be so mad at her. But she wasn’t stupid. She couldn’t go into the property without letting someone know where she was.

  Without another second’s hesitation, she pressed send.

  As soon as she saw that the message had gone, she deleted it and switched the phone off. She pushed it into the pocket of her jeans, took a deep breath and opened the car door. A man and woman ahead of her were getting into a car. She waited for them to drive off before crossing the road.

  She might get a caution from the police for withholding vital information, but she had to do what Jason said. Getting Jess back was her main priority. They could lock her up later, but no one was keeping her from going after her daughter.

  Chapter Seventy-One

  Eden drove in the direction of Lewistock Lane. ‘Tell uniform to meet us there,’ she cried over Amy’s voice as she updated the control room.

  Eden’s phone rang.

  ‘It’s Sarah,’ said Amy.

  ‘Answer it and put it on loudspeaker for me.’

  ‘Eden?’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Eden could hear the panic in her voice.

  ‘It’s Mum – she’s gone. I think she’s coming after you.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘She said she felt faint so I went to fetch her some water, and when I left the room she ran out of the house and drove off in the car. I tried to stop her, but she was too quick.’

  Eden banged a palm on the steering wheel. ‘Okay, Sarah.’ Eden changed her voice to a tone of reassurance. ‘Stay where you are and wait for any calls to come in. If your mum comes home, be sure to let me know?’

  ‘O-Okay.’

  Amy disconnected the call and Eden put her foot down. They were only minutes from Lewistock Lane now. If she was first on scene, she wasn’t hanging around this time, despite the trouble she would be in.

  A minute later, her phone went again. This time it was a message.

  I’m sorry but he asked me to come alone. He’s at 269 Davy Road. He says he has Jess there and that there should be no police. I’m outside now. You must only be fifteen minutes behind me.

  ‘No, no, no!’ Eden indicated and pulled in to the kerb. She rang her sister’s phone to find it switched off. She handed hers to Amy and pulled out into the traffic again. ‘Read the message. I know where she is. Call it in.’

  ‘Shit.’ Amy was on the radio before she sped off. ‘All units – urgent assistance required. Suspect in the case of missing Jessica Mountford is at 269 Davy Road, on the Mitchell Estate. I repeat 269 Davy Road. Anyone in the vicinity please respond.’ She glanced at Eden. ‘Are you sure you believe this message? He could already have Laura there and be sending it from her phone, like he did with Jess.’

  ‘It could be another wild goose chase, but I can’t chance it. Ring Sean and put him on loudspeaker for me,’ she barked. ‘Please.’

  ‘I’m not prepared to call them off until I know she isn’t there,’ he told them. ‘We’ve already had one false lead this morning. I have to make sure this is false too. But officers are on their way to Davy Road. If you get there before they do, don’t go in.’

  ‘Try Laura again,’ Eden told Amy once he was off the line. ‘Tell her to stay away!’

  She took a corner
a little too fast and slowed down slightly. She needed to get them both there in one piece. They were on the main road that would take them to the Mitchell Estate. A row of terraced houses flashed past either side, one parked car after another, but the road was wide enough for two cars to pass. Still drivers didn’t seem to move quickly enough. She waved her hand in front of the steering wheel when a bus indicated to pull out a good way in front of her.

  ‘Get out of my way!’ Eden yelled.

  ‘There’s still no reply,’ Amy said seconds later.

  ‘I told her to stay put! I’m trained to deal with shits like him, not Laura. She doesn’t have a hard bone in her body.’

  ‘You’ll be surprised how strong she’ll be when it comes to one of her girls.’

  Eden glanced at her. Amy was right. Of course Laura would be strong. If it were Casey, Eden would be doing exactly the same as her sister.

  In the passenger seat, Amy relayed details to and from the control room. Eden felt lucky to have her. Even in a moment of stress Amy was thinking on her feet. Eden would be buying several packets of Jaffa Cakes once they were back in the office.

  But first she was bringing her niece home. She wouldn’t let that bastard win.

  It would take them about two minutes to get to the Mitchell Estate from where they were now. Proctor had played them well. Most of the team were at the other end of the city. Everyone else would be heading the other way.

  She couldn’t help thinking that he would have realised that too. Her sister could have walked into a trap. She pressed her foot to the pedal a little more. She needed to get there in time to talk him down or he could take another member of her family hostage.

  Amy’s phone rang and she took a call from Jordan. ‘It’s been confirmed, Sarge,’ she said afterwards. ‘The owner of Properties Direct has just got back with the same address for J Proctor: 269 Davy Road on the Mitchell Estate. He’s been there a few weeks now, waiting for a claim for housing benefits to go through. It doesn’t look like he’s found work again.’

  Eden banged a hand on the steering wheel. ‘If he’s hurt either of them, I’ll rip every hair from his balls, one by one. I’ll make him pay in ways he never knew existed. I’ll— What?’

  Amy had put a hand on her arm. ‘Let’s get there in one piece, Sarge.’

  Eden threw her a look, but she didn’t slow down. ‘I just want to see they’re all right.’

  ‘But you heard the DI. We need to wait for backup if we do get there before anyone else. If he’s holding them both then it’s a hostage situation and there’ll have to be a trained negotiator called.’

  ‘Stuff that.’ Eden floored the pedal this time. ‘I’ll do my own negotiating with my baton if I have to. I’m not waiting to see if my family is safe.’

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  Laura looked up and down Davy Road, houses either way for as far as her eye could see. It was 10.30 a.m. Most curtains were open but a few were still closed. Everyone would be going about their morning weekend routine, unaware of the drama unfolding nearby.

  She wondered what they’d all think when this was over and they heard the news that everything had happened on their doorstep. Whether Jess was here or not, pretty soon the place would be swarming with police and press. This was one Sunday that wasn’t going to be a quiet one for the neighbours.

  Urging one foot in front of the other, she walked down the path of 269. She pressed through the fear when she saw the door was open slightly. But Jess was in there with that – that man, and she had to stay calm, despite her rising anxiety.

  She pushed the door open and gingerly stepped inside.

  ‘Hello?’

  She heard a loud groan. Knowing it was Jess propelled her through the door. She entered a hallway, wallpaper peeling down in the nearest corner, carpet threadbare beneath her feet. She took another step forward.

  The door slammed shut behind her. She gasped as she was grabbed around the neck.

  ‘Don’t say a word.’

  It was a man’s voice. The same one she had heard on the telephone. Her hands went to his arm, but he held on to her.

  Ahead she could see a small kitchen. Adrenaline pumped through her as she grappled with him, but his grip didn’t lessen. Then she felt the tip of a knife pushed against her stomach. She gasped again and it came out as a strangled sob.

  ‘Please don’t hurt me,’ she whispered.

  He said nothing but urged her forward. They inched along the narrow hallway as if they were slow dancing. A door came up on her right and he pushed her through it. Still he kept his grip on her tight.

  A television appeared in her view first, its sound muted. Her daughter’s face was freeze-framed on the screen. She saw an armchair, then she caught a glimpse of Jess’s feet – and then her daughter.

  ‘Jess!’

  She was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, her hands behind her back. She had tape across her mouth and wound around each shin and wrist, keeping her bound to the chair.

  Jess groaned loudly when she saw her. Her eyes reflected the fright in Laura’s own, tears escaping. Laura skimmed quickly over her. Jess didn’t seem hurt, apart from a bruised face, and both eyes looked sore from crying. Thankfully, her clothes were still intact.

  Laura could see Jess’s panic building as she thrashed about in the chair. She stared at her, urging her to stay calm. Hopelessness washed over her. She wanted to help her child so much, and she couldn’t do a thing. One false move and he could thrust the knife into her stomach, and who knows what would happen to Jess then.

  ‘I know you’ll have told that sister of yours my address.’ He spoke in her ear, making her jump. His breath smelled of stale ale. ‘That’s why I sent a text message from your girl’s phone to say she was in Lewistock Lane. It gives me enough time to do what I have to before the police arrive.’

  Laura swallowed. The last thing she needed was for Jess to jerk around in the chair and fall over. Any reaction would startle him, and he might just respond rashly.

  ‘You let her down, didn’t you?’ said Jason.

  Laura tried to see him from the corner of her eye, but all she got was a glimpse of his hair. ‘Please don’t blame my daughter for something I did,’ she said.

  ‘I lost my daughter because of you!’

  He screeched so loud that she scrunched up her eyes fleetingly. She could almost feel the anger seeping out of him. Laura hoped she could keep him calm by talking to him. It was up to her until the police arrived. Maybe she could talk him down and get them both out of the situation.

  ‘What do you want with us?’ she asked, her voice croaky from the pressure of his arm around her throat.

  ‘I want to know what Ashleigh was like when you spoke to her.’

  It took Laura by surprise. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Was she happy or was she sad?’

  ‘She was happy sometimes and sad others,’ she told him truthfully. ‘She was a lovely girl to talk to when she was in a good mood. She used to talk about you and her mum, and her memories of growing up. I could tell that she loved you very much.’

  ‘I loved her too.’ Jason’s voice held a slight tremble. ‘But I couldn’t help her.’

  ‘You were always there for her,’ said Laura. ‘She told me lots of times.’ It was a white lie, but it was needed. ‘She was obviously a bright girl and was trying to cope on her own. It got too much, even with talking to an independent person.’

  ‘So why didn’t you get her any help?’

  ‘My job was to listen. I was there for Ashleigh, someone she could talk to whenever she felt low.’

  ‘But you didn’t help her, did you, because she killed herself.’

  ‘I tried to help!’ she insisted.

  ‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘You took my child away from me. She was my life, my hope, my future. That’s why I took your daughter, so that you could feel the same pain as me. After losing Vanessa—’

  There was a thud outside. It sounded like
a car door. Jason dragged her to the window and peered around the side of the curtain. There were no police cars in sight and her heart sank. But just before he dropped the curtain, she spotted a black and white chequered roof. It looked like Eden’s Mini.

  Jason pushed Laura onto the settee and pulled the duct tape out from under the cushion. ‘Put out your hands,’ he told her, holding the knife out towards her.

  She held them out and he wrapped the tape around twice, pulling sharply to rip the end with his teeth. He glared at her before moving away. ‘Now sit there and don’t move. You and I are going to talk. And you are going to listen to what I have to say.’

  Chapter Seventy-Three

  ‘Was Vanessa the name of Ashleigh’s mum?’ Laura asked as the room fell silent.

  Jason nodded curtly. ‘She died of cancer. That was when everything started to fall apart. I couldn’t cope with Ashleigh. I was working full-time – what did I know about raising a child, a girl? But we got by – we survived. Until she started to starve herself. It was a while before I read up on anorexia and tried to get her some help. Vanessa would have known what to do – but me? I was clueless.’

  ‘Ashleigh said you were very supportive.’ Laura realised a few more white lies wouldn’t go amiss.

  ‘I tried to make her eat, but she wouldn’t. She said it was the only way she had control of anything. I would make her all her favourite meals, but she would either play with the food, making it look as if she had eaten something when I hadn’t seen anything go past her lips, or she would eat it all and then I’d have to try and keep her out of the bathroom.

  ‘I loved Ashleigh very much. She was so beautiful but that – that FUCKING disease made her look like a junkie.’ He pointed at his face. ‘Her eyes were all black, her hair all lank and dirty. Her skin was too, and her clothes stank. I couldn’t allow her out of the house as she was in such a mess. I’d try to stay awake all night to stop her from bringing her food up again. I even tried locking her in her room after a meal, but it seemed too cruel. She wouldn’t go to the doctors either. She became very devious.