by Jacqui Rose
Walking up to the side of the open driver’s window, Fat Man leant on the side of the car, speaking to Del who sat motionless, his head resting on the steering wheel.
‘How’s it going, mate?’ Through the window, Fat Man patted Del on the back. Without raising his head, Del spoke, sounding exhausted.
‘Not good, mate. Not good at all. We’re chasing fresh air.’
‘I know, pal. I know it’s tough.’
There was a gentle silence before Del responded. ‘It’s killing me, Burkey.’
The kindness in Fat Man’s voice made Del squeeze his eyes tightly. ‘I know, Del. I know, but I’m here for you, mate.’
Another silence passed before Burkey, trying to conjure up some enthusiasm, spoke.
‘Let’s hope that these flyers will help.’
‘What flyers, Burkey?’
‘Don’t worry. I lent him Edith’s Range Rover, so he’s on his way now. He only left five minutes ago but hopefully, he’ll have them up in the next few hours.’
Del sat up, staring straight ahead. His hands holding onto the top of the steering wheel.
‘Burkey, what flyers?’
Burkey swallowed. ‘The flyers you asked the dago-looking guy, Alfonso, to do.’
‘Burkey.’
Fat Man’s voice began to become smaller. ‘We found her passport.’
Del’s breathing started to get heavier. ‘Passport?’
Burkey’s forehead was beginning to break out with sweat. He wiped it away, almost speaking in a whisper now. ‘Yeah, you asked him to take Star’s passport.’
For the first time, Del turned to look at Fat Man. A statement rather than a question. ‘What have you done?’
A second later, Del span into reverse, causing Fat Man to jump out of the way. He held his fist on the horn, bringing attention to himself.
Everyone milling around in the courtyard looked up, their faces a picture of concern.
Milo and the others ran up to the car. ‘What’s going on?’
Speaking hurriedly, Del looked at Milo. ‘I think we’ve got a lead. I need everyone in their cars. We’ll probably need your helicopter as well Milo. The guy we’re looking for only left five minutes ago. Suntanned-looking, oily cunt. White Range Rover, gold roof.’
‘Gold roof?’
Del rolled his eyes ‘It’s Edith’s.’
The men all looked at each other, nodding in understanding.
‘Everyone keep in contact. He can’t have got that far. So let’s move it.’
Putting down his foot, Del drove off and almost immediately skidded to a halt. He leant his head out of the window as Bunny stood a few inches from the front of the car.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Christ, woman, I could’ve killed you. I think we’ve got a lead. He’s in Edith’s Range Rover.’
Bunny ran round. ‘What? Who?’
Urgency was in Del’s voice. ‘I’ll explain later. Bunny, I have to go.’
‘I want to come with you.’
‘No. No way. You need to rest.’
‘But …’
Del didn’t wait to hear the end of the sentence as he put the car in drive, hurtling out of the gates, followed by the others.
Bunny stood for a moment, hearing the sound of engines disappear down the hill. The sense of powerlessness and desperation hit her. She had to do something. She couldn’t just stand here doing nothing. She looked around the courtyard. It was empty apart from a van Del’s men used for grocery shopping. She suddenly had a thought.
54
Hiding underneath a hot furry blanket, Teddy Davies wondered what was happening. He was being thrown side to side. There was nothing to hold onto. He felt the driver go over a bump before he was thrown in the air, banging down hard on something sharp. Trying desperately to cling on, he was involuntarily rolled to one side as whoever was driving sped round a tight corner.
He’d been planning to see if he could scale the side wall. Anything to get away from the villa and what he saw as his impending doom, but then he’d heard Fat Man come into the courtyard shouting after someone, followed shortly by Del’s procession of cars. Panicking, he’d jumped into the back of one of the parked vehicles and before he knew it, Teddy Davies was being flung without dignity amongst boxes and bottles in a van stinking of what smelt like rotten meat.
As a box fell on top of him, spilling out cabbages and cauliflower all over his head, it suddenly struck Teddy that maybe he needed to re-evaluate his life.
Del Williams sped across the tiny roads of the Sierra Blanca hills, dust billowing out behind him as his tyres churned up the sandy tracks. He sped past lemon trees and olive groves, through small villages, beeping his horn in desperation as he became stuck behind herds of goats. He tore along tight bends, ignoring the hundred-foot drops on one side of him. Ignoring his electronic speedometer hitting one hundred and twenty miles an hour. And all the time, frantic in his search for a white Range Rover with a gold roof.
Looking in his driver’s mirror, he saw one of his men still behind him. The others, along with Milo’s men, had dispersed along the way, spreading out in different directions, desperate to spot Edith’s car. He looked up, hearing the loud sound of a helicopter hovering above him.
Del’s phone rang. He answered it straight away. ‘Yep.’
‘It’s Milo. I haven’t spotted anything yet but I’ve got my helicopter out as well.’
‘Yeah, I can see it. It’s just flown over me. Is everyone still in contact?’
‘I’ve been speaking to my men all the time. Don’t worry, between us all there’s no way we won’t spot him soon.’
‘I hope so, Milo. I really do.’ Cutting the call off, Del pressed his foot down as he cut off the road, towards the top of the hill.
At ninety miles an hour, the van bounced over the uneven sandy dust track, the engine struggling with the back wheels spinning in the dirt. Bunny Barker crunched it into fifth gear, certain she’d just seen Edith’s white Range Rover. She’d been turning right at one of the many tiny whitewashed villages dotted outside Marbella and from the corner of her eye she’d seen the dazzle of reflected speckled gold as the sun bounced off the roof of the car, emitting a beam of light. She’d lost sight of the car but she could still see the dust clouds.
There was no signal on her phone but hopefully once she was at the top of the hill that would change. Pushing the van to its limit, Bunny tried to ignore the pain that was beginning to start in her stomach.
* * *
Bunny turned off the engine. Down the cart track, just in front of her, Bunny saw the white Range Rover. It was definitely Edith’s. And it was parked outside a small run-down villa.
She could feel the adrenaline rushing round in her body. Something told her she was so close to finding Star. She looked at her phone again; still no signal. Looking around her, she saw there was nothing but lemon and olive trees. No other house or car in sight. Rubbing her stomach, Bunny breathed out as a sharp pain shot through her body.
Stepping out of the van, Bunny rushed over to the trees, her eye focused on the villa. As she watched, she crept forward, scratching her legs on the brambles. She squatted down, trying to stay unseen, but also from the pain, which was getting stronger.
A sound behind her made her jump. She heard a noise and stared in horror as she realised it was the sound of her van being driven away. She struggled to get up, holding onto the tree for support, trying to see who was driving it, but it was going too fast.
As Bunny watched the tail lights head down the track, she froze as she saw two men come running out of the dilapidated villa.
She couldn’t breathe; bile was rising up in her throat. She began to grapple for the tree she was leaning on, needing support. Her hand gave way, bringing her down to her knees as it scraped down the jagged tree trunk. She could see tiny cuts on her hand as she held her stomach, memories and visions coming into her mind. She tried to get up again but the searing pain in her abdomen was merciless.
‘What have we got here then?’
Bunny looked up. And then she saw him. Finally she saw him. Older, but still his face. The face of one of the men who had killed her sister. As Bunny knelt on the rough ground, she didn’t see Julian through her adult eyes, but through the child she once was.
Terror gripped her body. She was back in the woods. Back to that night. There was her sister. Still, cold … dead. She saw the blood oozing amongst the autumn leaves. She felt the cold of the night. And felt the fear of being alone, wondering if the men would come back for her.
‘What’s going on?’
Alfonso’s voice came from behind Julian, flicking open his knife. He bent down and Bunny felt the flat edge of a steel blade on her cheek, then on her neck. Slowly and bluntly, it glided over her skin. Her eyes flickered as she stared at the other man.
Alfonso answered the unspoken question for Julian. ‘It’s Del’s missus. Where did she come from?’
‘Beats me, but we better get the fuck out of here. What do you want me to do with her?’
Bunny continued to stare, unable to say anything as the agony in her stomach as she began to haemorrhage made her almost black out. He didn’t know who she was. He didn’t know who she was. She wanted to scream and tell him. Tell him it was her. Tell him it was her sister he had taken a knife to, cutting her throat with one vicious stroke. And with that cut, he had killed part of her as well. Yet he couldn’t see it in her eyes who she was. He couldn’t see her pain. For Star. Her agony for her sister. The child she’d been when she’d given evidence against him. He was blind to it. Blind to the suffering of it all.
Alfonso stared at Bunny but spoke to Julian as he put his knife away. ‘Leave her, she’s not worth it. We’ll be long gone, and she doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere fast. Come on.’
Leaving Bunny on the ground, Alfonso and Julian hurried back to the villa. She watched in horror when a moment later, she saw Star being dragged out of the house. Her daughter was only a few feet away. There was Star – and she was unable to help her.
Bleeding heavily, Bunny began to lose consciousness as she tried calling out the words, ‘Run, Star, run.’
Teddy Davies drove the van at high speed down the road. He wanted to put distance behind him before he decided what to do. When the van had stopped, he’d let himself out of the back. He’d actually been going to head off on foot, but seeing the van abandoned with the keys in the ignition had been too tempting. He hadn’t known who was driving it and he hadn’t bothered to wait around to find out.
Slowing down a little bit, Teddy looked across to the horizon. Holy shit. Rising up in the distance, like a vision from hell, were a dozen large black Escalades. The Russians. Looking in his rear mirror, Teddy saw three black Range Rovers heading over the hill. With a quick turn of the wheel, he swerved to the side of the road. Getting out of the van, he began to run.
The cars were getting nearer but there was no hiding cover, so he headed towards the side of the hill, looking at the drop below. As he contemplated what to do, he heard the approaching sound of a helicopter and as he looked up into the sky, Teddy began to lose his balance. He stumbled backwards, slipping as he desperately tried to hold onto the grass, which came away in his hands. With a scream of terror, he tumbled down to the beach below.
‘We’ve got a sighting!’ The words which Del had needed to hear but didn’t think he would were growled down the phone in a heavy Russian accent.
‘Where?’
‘The helicopter’s just seen it. He’s hovering above it now. Apparently the car’s driving erratically, he’s probably got a blow-out from the off-road terrain. It’s up on the hills, roughly three miles outside La Virginia. Head towards there and I’ll keep you updated.’
He could see it, sparkling in the sunlight as they drove off-road across the hills. The white distinctive Range Rover which had cost him a fortune.
Behind him were the rest of his men in Range Rovers; to the side of him, the Russian Escalades, and above him, the hovering helicopter. He pulled out his gun, aiming to shoot at the car tyres. With one hand on the steering wheel Del leaned out of the window, still keeping up his speed. He fired, hearing the shot but missing the target. Again he fired, hitting up the dirt track. He tried again. This time, the bullet hit. There was a squeal of the tyres, followed by a bang as the rubber exploded.
The white car veered to the right, careering across the sandy ditch, finally stopping as it crashed into an olive tree.
Del got out of his car, his gun pointed at the Range Rover. He signalled his men to move forward and form a circle around it. He watched as Milo did the same – only the guns his men carried were military issue.
‘Get out of the fucking car.’ He edged forward, not wanting to shoot in case Star was behind the blacked-out windows. There was no sound. Del motioned to Fat Man to stay back as he crept forward. He pressed his body against the side of the car, moving along it. With a quick movement, he opened the driver’s door. What he saw made him jump back in horror. Falling out of the driver’s seat was Bunny, covered in blood.
‘She’s been shot! She’s been shot!’ Del yelled, holding Bunny in his lap as he knelt on the ground holding her head up. Milo rushed up to him, crouching down to look at her.
‘No, she hasn’t been shot. She’s bleeding.’
Del looked at Milo in horror. ‘Oh my God, the baby.’
55
Julian Millwood sat back on the deck of the boat, feeling the sun and warm wind on his face. They headed out into the Mediterranean Sea and he couldn’t help being impressed. ‘I hate to say it, Alf, but you pulled a blinder sorting this out.’
Alfonso grinned as he drove the boat on the crystal waters. ‘It’s not over yet but once we hit Morocco we can relax a bit. I can almost smell the money, little brother.’
Star sat at the back of the boat, watching the coastline of Spain fading into the distance through her telescopic spyglass, along with the fading of hope that she’d ever see her mum and dad again. At first they weren’t going to allow her on deck but she’d been sick several times and eventually they’d let her get some fresh air as they sat and watched her every move.
She could feel herself trembling with fear even though the sun was beginning to beat down. She found every time her thoughts moved away from watching the sea she began to cry, so she stayed looking at nothing in particular, desperate to keep her thoughts away from home.
She glanced at Julian and Alfonso, feeling a shudder. They were mean and they scared her, but she didn’t know what to do to get away. And now they were on a boat she didn’t think she’d be able to get away at all, especially as she didn’t swim very well. Since they’d been here her dad had begun to teach her, but she much preferred splashing about looking for shells. She didn’t think pirates needed to swim. She’d never heard about one swimming so she supposed it was all right. The teacher at school had said she could try in the deep pool next term but she didn’t really know if she wanted to.
Walking right to the back of the boat, Star looked down at the water. She could see the propeller frothing up the water into white bubbles, and the little dinghy that was tied to the yacht dancing along on top of the water behind.
Star let out a small cry as an idea came into her head. Her hands shot out over her mouth and she quickly looked round at Julian and Alfonso, making sure they hadn’t heard her.
Slowly she crept nearer the edge. She looked behind her again and saw Julian lying in the sun with Alfonso concentrating on steering the boat. Turning back, she pulled the rope, bringing the dinghy close to the yacht. Star’s head whipped round again. No one was paying her any attention.
She looked at the water below. It looked so deep. But she had to be brave. That’s what adventurers were and that’s what her dad was. He was brave and strong. And her mum always said Star was like him.
With one more look behind her, Star Barker-Williams closed her eyes and jumped off the yacht into the dinghy below.
* * *
Teddy Davies couldn’t believe his luck. Though it didn’t surprise him. It was just the kind of luck he’d come to expect after the last few weeks. But even he couldn’t quite have guessed how bad it could really get. He looked to the left of him and to the right of him, but didn’t bother looking behind or in front of him because he knew what was there. Water. Oceans of the stuff. The only thing surrounding him was sea – and not a centimetre of dry land in sight.
When he’d tumbled down the hill to the beach below, his fall had been broken by several bushes and trees. He’d ended up with only a few scrapes and an angry bruise on his right knee. That hadn’t been the problem. The problem had been that there was no way to get back up the slope. Although it hadn’t been steep enough for him to be really hurt, it’d been steep enough for him to fail several times in his attempt to climb it.
Thankfully he’d seen a small motorboat pulled up on shore, probably left, though not abandoned, by one of the private yachts. At the time he’d been thankful, knowing Puerto Banús wasn’t too far away. But as Teddy sat floating in the middle of the sea, miles from anywhere with the petrol run out in the small outboard motor, thankful certainly wasn’t the first word that came to mind.
56
She didn’t know how long she’d been on the dinghy but she was starting to get tired and the sky was turning dark. She was hungry and thirsty. And even though she’d got away from the mean men, looking into the sea, which now looked so deep and black, was beginning to scare her.
She thought about two-headed sharks, monsters with one eye, fish with teeth so long they were nearly as tall as her, all swimming about just below her, waiting till she fell asleep to sneak into the boat and eat her. She shivered, huddled up in the dinghy and for the first time since she’d been taken by the men, Star Barker-Williams allowed herself to cry loudly, knowing she was in the safety of the middle of nowhere. The noise of her cries soared high into the air as all her stored-up tension and fears were let out. All she wanted to do was go home but she didn’t know how to get there.