The House on Rectory Lane

by Stuart James

‘Did you notice what time they left?’ Emma asked, avoiding the question.

  Annette confirmed they were there till last orders and that she thinks she saw them getting into a taxi over the road, but she couldn’t be sure as she was chatting to some regulars while collecting the last of the glasses. With a sense of déjà vu, Emma handed over a card and asked her to call if either Sofia or Mike showed up again or if she remembered anything else. A feeling of dread pitting itself firmly in her stomach.

  ∞∞∞∞ A withheld number was calling Jake’s phone. Debating whether to risk a PPI cold-call, it ended before he answered, but rang again immediately. Deciding it must be important, he answered. ‘Jake me old mate! How the devil are ya?’

  ‘Who’s this?’

  ‘Pete. Pete and Laura from down the lane …’

  ‘Oh, Pete. Sorry, I didn’t recognise the voice.’

  ‘Laura and I have called over a couple of times and keep missing you. Is everything all

  right?’

  ‘Yes, fine. We’ve come away for a couple of nights.’ Jake imagined them turning up unan

  nounced at the lodge and spending the week.

  ‘Where are you?’

  ‘We just decided to get away is all. We’ll be back in a few days.’

  ‘Anywhere nice? Still local or further afield?’ Pete pushed. Jake quickly steered the conver

  sation to a more comfortable topic.

  ‘How can I help you, Pete?’

  ‘Well. You know we spoke about my contact, the property developer? He’s got an emergency job, old dear with water pissing through her ceiling and he’s struggling to get anyone over

  there. Asked if I knew anyone locally who could get there sharpish and help him out. Would be a

  great way to get your foot in the door.’

  ‘I’ll call you back in five, have to run it past the boss-lady.’ He hung up and relayed the conversation to Kate.

  ‘Now we are here, babe, we are running out of money fast. We’ve had nothing coming in for

  a while, apart from that one job that you did on the cheap. I know we get money from the business

  in London, but you need to get established here. You have to go. Think of the work you could be

  offered in the future.’

  ‘How can I leave you though?’

  ‘No one apart from my mum knows we’re here and it’s off the beaten track. Go. Please. I’m

  ordering you.’ About to hit the call button, he cursed that he didn’t take Pete’s number. ‘If he calls back, I’ll go.’

  Luckily, Pete called him back a few minutes later and gave him the details, thanking his

  lucky stars he had the right tools in the boot, he set off, the satnav telling him the address was about

  forty-five minutes away on the other side of Ramsbury. The property was a small, newly built,

  thatched-roof cottage with a wide driveway to the front. Jake could see through the glass in the door

  that the TV was on in a back room. After his third attempt at knocking, there was still no answer.

  Jake checked around the back, but the place appeared to be empty and with no way to see upstairs,

  he decided to wait. Ten minutes later and still no sign of life, a pissed off Jake headed back to the

  lodge.

  ∞∞∞∞ Kate was sat reading to Sean when Jake stormed through the door.

  ‘What a blinking waste of time.’ He walked to the fridge and grabbed a can of Coke. A few

  minutes later Pete called back.

  ‘What happened, Pete? No one was in.’

  ‘I’ve just had a call from the resident. She had to pop out, but she’s left a key under the mat

  for you.’

  ‘Right. I’ll head back, but if I can’t get in this time, I’ll be sending a bill.’ ‘You’re a gentleman, Jake. Thanks, mate.’

  ∞∞∞∞ Reynolds and Marsden were back at the station working through the café killing. The channel they watched had more information on the waitress and broadcasted her picture. She lived alone after moving to the area a few years back. Her sister was being interviewed, struggling to hold back tears. They watched the screen from Reynolds’ office as she gave a rundown on how wonderful, kindhearted, and generous her sibling had been and stated how she couldn’t understand why anyone would do such a thing. The reporter stood in a long cream coloured coat, and couldn’t hold the microphone still for shivering. Marsden wondered if it was the adrenaline or the sudden artic conditions. She finished with a plea to anyone who had information and a number popped up on the bottom of the screen.

  A while later, Reynolds’ phone rang. The senior CSI gave her an update on the scene. The tyre marks came from a large Jeep type vehicle. They were waiting for the autopsy to look at the bullet if it could be retrieved. The type of gun used. Skin was being analysed from the scene in the hope that they had something. They knew the killer was right-handed from reports given by witnesses, which didn’t help the case, as most people were. The witnesses had confirmed a lot of what he had told her.

  ‘We did find something of interest though.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘We found rear fibres possibly from a jacket where we think the guy stood when he pulled

  the trigger. They match fibres found at the scene where Shelly, the drama student was abducted. Again, we’re looking into this, it’s going to take time, but it looks like the same guy.’ Once he’d finished, Reynolds asked him to keep them updated.

  ∞∞∞∞ Jake arrived back at the property and found the key under the mat as Pete promised. As he walked through the door, he could hear the water falling and went through to the kitchen to see where it was coming from. He noticed that the TV had been turned off but no bucket or cups underneath the water to catch the flood.

  Curry stained plates were strewn on the sideboard, and empty takeaway boxes were piled on top of each other. His stomach grumbled with hunger at the smell. A few empty beer cans and two empty bottles of wine lay on the side. The ceiling was starting to open slightly, so Jake made his way up the stairs to the bathroom directly above. He checked over the sink, toilet, and then pulled the bath panel off. It came away easy, the cheap plastic ones always did. Underneath the bath, he found a pipe spilling water. It had been crushed.

  How the heck …? He thought. There was no way this could have happened accidentally. A burst pipe, yes but this pipe looked like it had been sabotaged! Probably an insurance job. Perhaps they wanted a new bath suite fitting or a new kitchen? Luckily, he had the right sized pipe to do the repair in his toolbox. The owner still hadn’t returned by the time he had finished, so he locked up and left the key where he had found it.

  All the way back to the lodge he was constantly checking his rear-view mirror. He did it a lot more frequently than he used to since they had moved out here. As he manoeuvred down the dirt track, he pulled to the side for five minutes. A new habit given their recent encounters. A few minutes later he walked back through the door of the lodge.

  ‘Hi, Kate, I’m back. Simple job in the end.’ No response. ‘Kate, you OK?’ He walked down the hall calling her name. He checked the bedrooms. Bathroom. Ensuite. ‘Kate. Where are you? Kate!’

  There was no sign of her or Sean. Jake pulled out his phone and dialled her number, hoping she’d just gone around the back for a walk.

  The phone rang from the table. ‘Little Green Bag’ from Reservoir Dogs. ‘Shit, Kate, where the hell are you?’

  He dashed back up the hall and ran out to the hot tub, the cover was on. Jake lifted it and threw it to the side, panic ripping through his body. He charged around the back of the lodge, then ran through the woods shouting their names. A deathly silence grew around him. His voice echoed.

  ‘Kate! Sean!’

  He got further into the trees, spinning around in circles. A crow squawked on a far-off branch. The sound of twigs crunching under his foot. He didn’t know which way to turn. He felt tiny as he peered up to the top of t
he trees. Dwarfed by their sheer size. He screamed deep from his lungs. ‘Kaaaaaatttttteeeeeee!’ Birds fluttered as they left their perches, flapping frantically, making Jake jump.

  He arrived back at the lodge. Still empty. The lights off. He flicked them back on; Jake couldn’t remember how they were before he ran out. He didn’t care. Kate was gone. Sean was gone.

  He knelt on the floor in the middle of the kitchen, grabbing his hair with both hands. Screaming at the top of his voice. His frustration bellowing through the walls. His head went into overdrive. His mind racing. How could he be so stupid? So utterly naive. Jake knew his family were under threat, for what reason, he hadn’t a clue, but he had left them. There. In the lodge. Kate and Sean. Mother and baby. What the hell was he thinking? He needed to sort this. He placed them in this mess; he had to get them out of it. No matter what. It was now his responsibility to get them back, at any cost. Whoever had them was going to pay.

  Chapter Twenty-six Jake tried to stay calm, but as he drove, questions catapulted around his mind. A rational explanation for everything. How had they found his family? He’d made sure they weren’t followed. Jake had been so careful. Think Jake. The events leading up to the disappearance: the phone call from Pete, a burst pipe, an empty house – although the TV had been on. Had he been followed on his way back? He didn’t think so, but then again, he didn’t check. A ploy to lure Jake into the open? Pete calling again sending him back out, knowing he’d rush? The pipe that looked like someone had crushed it on purpose. Sabotage? The TV off. Someone had been there in between him leaving and returning. Pete, the neighbour down the lane. Calling over every other night. Turning up at the curry house. Checking them out. His oh-so-friendly wife, Laura. Pete pushing Jake earlier to find out where they were staying. It was coming together now. A clearer picture. Could Pete have set him up? Jake searched his phone for the last incoming call. A withheld number.

  He pressed the accelerator hard and made his way back to the house with the leak. The mat was still in the same position. Yes, it’s me again, he thought. He looked for the key, but it was gone. Jake thumped on the door, gave it a minute and pounded again. Harder. He backed up, looking at the upstairs windows. He thought he saw a curtain twitch, but he couldn’t be sure, so he raced around the back. The garden was empty. The back door shut. I have to get inside, he thought. He ran back to the front door, checked the street around him then kicked the door near the lock – harder than he thought he was capable of. The lock snapped, and the top hinge came loose – shards of wood covering the hallway floor.

  The kitchen was still a mess. The telly off. Excess water still dripped from the ceiling. The smell of damp and curry still hanging in the air, this time making him sneeze. He checked the small living room, back room, the toilet. Empty. Upstairs was the same. Jake opened the door to the airing cupboard at the top of the landing, the bathroom at the end, the bedrooms. He ran back out onto the street.

  In a panic, he called Kate’s phone again, before realising it had been left at the lodge. He dialled Reynolds and left a muffled, longwinded message of what had happened. Then called her back. The phone went straight to voice message. ‘This is DI Reynolds—’ He hung up. Jake knew time was running out. He had to act. Fast. Now. Pete. He knew where he lived all right. Mr Oh So Sociable, call over nine times a week, breathing down your neck. Turning up when you least expect it. Predator Pete. You know I’m trying to have a shit here? Don’t worry; I don’t mind watching. Drinking and eating us out of house and home. This is how it is around here old boy; we look out for each other. You just won’t have any breathing space is all. You’ll get used to it.

  Jake thought it’s probably why the Prescotts pissed off. Laura hanging off his arm. Tittering and laughing and oh so nice. Loveable Laura. Loveable fucking Laura.

  He ran back to the car, leaving the damaged front door hanging like a crooked picture frame. Once the satnav had kicked in, he tapped his address out, deleting a couple of letters that he entered by mistake. Breathe, Jake. Take control. When the address was correct, he pulled out onto the road and headed home. Jake watched vigorously in the rear-view to make sure he wasn’t being followed. He recalled a programme he’d watched recently on missing loved ones, families spending their lives searching, wanting answers, needing closure. The presenter was giving advice on how to track down a person you’d lost. Put yourself in their shoes. Think like them. Act as they did. Where would they go? Why? Visit their old haunts. Talk to their friends. Jake knew they’d been taken, that was the problem. He didn’t know by who or why so how could he possibly know where they were now? They could be buried under the floor of the …

  Punchy Man. Did he have something to do with it? Jake tried to shake the picture forming at the front of his mind. The guy out in the front garden, dragging a huge sack in one hand, a smaller one in the other. Jake’s face became flushed and sweat formed at the front of his head. He wiped it away as the chirping of his mobile phone dragged him back to reality. Reynolds retuning his call.

  ‘Jake, I couldn’t understand your voicemail – what’s going on? Is everything OK?’

  He could hear her breathing quicken as he relayed the story of the possible fake call-out and the disappearance of Kate and Sean.

  ‘Jake, I’m so sorry, but there has to be a rational explanation.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘I’m sure she’s just gone for a walk or maybe to a friend’s?’

  ‘She doesn’t have any friends here. Not real ones anyway.’

  In the middle of a murder enquiry, Reynolds was loathed to leave the station but decided that, as this could all be connected, she could spare him a little time to get a more detailed update. ‘I’ll be at your house in an hour. See you there.’

  ∞∞∞∞ Hugo gave a whine as they passed by Punchy Man’s house on their way down Rectory Lane. ‘Yeah, I know what you mean, boy.’ Jake was shocked to see the gates of his house open. He pulled the car into the drive and locked it. He had never been to Pete’s house before but knew it was a few hundred yards down from his own. ‘You wait here, boy.’ He gave Hugo a quick rub under his chin and closed the driver’s side door. The dog had already made himself comfortable on the seat.

  As Jake made his way down the lane, he noticed again how quiet the place was. In London, there were more sounds than his brain could ever process. It freaked him out as it dawned on him. He was so alone. How could he survive without Kate? Sean? The two most important people in his life. Kate and Jake had been through so much together. They had their whole life to look forward to. Wherever he was, she was, and vice versa. He was getting her back, whatever the cost, he’d pay it, do it, perform whatever he had to do.

  As he approached Pete’s driveway, Jake heard the sound of a machine and water hitting something with enormous pressure. A mist drifted over the tightly pruned hedges. Jake stopped – Pete was jet washing the driveway. He could see him swinging the long nozzle left and right; and in his shorts, trainers and a plain white shirt Pete looked like he was dressed for Malibu beach. Music blasted from a small speaker set out on the front porch. Jake couldn’t see Laura. He entered the drive and Pete looked up, clearly shocked to see him as the colour drained from his face. With an air of guilt – or was it fear? – Pete reached across and turned off the washer.

  ‘Jake. What a surprise.’ He watched as Jake charged towards him. ‘How did the job go?’ Jake didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled his right arm back and landed his clenched fist straight into Pete’s nose. He dropped like he’d been Tasered.

  ‘What the fuc—’ ‘Where are they, Pete?’ Jake interrupted as Pete struggled to turn over. Legs sliding on the gravel. Pete brought his hands up and held his now bleeding nose.

  ‘What are you talking about? Who? Where’s who, Jake?

  ‘You know who! Don’t make me ask again!’

  ‘Jake. Really. I don’t know what you’re—’ Jake cut him off with a sharp and fast kick to the ribs, hearing a satisfying snap of a rib bo
ne as Pete rolled back, groaning, tears in his eyes.

  ‘I promise you now if I find out you were anything to do with it, I’ll come back and kill you. I will rip you apart, limb by limb.’ As Pete rolled around, Jake made his way back up to the house.

  ∞∞∞∞ Reynolds and Marsden were waiting on Jake’s drive when he got back, showing them inside after getting Hugo out of the car, he quickly scooped the dog up having seen the broken glass on the kitchen floor. Locking the dog in the living room, he turned and asked, ‘Do you think I’m overreacting now?’

  ‘Jake, I know it’s difficult but take a deep breath and come out of the kitchen. We need to get CSI up here before any evidence is contaminated.’ Radioing through for them to attend as soon as possible, she asked him to explain why they had left this house and what had happened since.

  ‘They knew the colour of her dress,’ Jake said, the request to repeat the reasons they had left triggering an almost forgotten memory. Deciding it wasn’t safe to continue the conversation inside, they went and sat in Reynolds’ car as she got back on the phone and called Ed Myers to request he come and sweep the property for bugging devices. He owed Reynolds a big favour. Jake explained that they had lost a Jeep which was following them on their way to the lodge and he believed the plumbing job was a fake – going over his reasons made him feel more confident in his theory – so that whoever it was following them originally, could find them again. It had to have been a trap, and by god, it was a good one.

  Reynolds jotted down the address of the lodge, the house where he had repaired the pipe, and Pete and Laura’s address. Knowing that the CSI team could take another hour to arrive, Reynolds sent Marsden down to talk to Pete and Laura.

  Ed Myers arrived an hour later. He was the man when it came to anything technical Reynolds had explained to Jake, a member of their Special branch team he was an expert in bugging and tracking devices. If there was something in the house, he would find it. Ed shouted from the hall that he’d be turning the lights off. He had a strange box type device which emitted a red LED light. Ed was scanning it over the house.