She promised herself if she made it to the airport she’d leave a note somewhere telling where to find Emily and Lisa – and then she’d be away flying across the skies to a new life.
The trade-off for the money would be happening soon and then Emily would be out of danger. She must put Emily out of her mind and concentrate on her own safety. As soon as he realises you’ve not stuck to the plan you know what will happen, don’t you? He’ll lose control.
When a passer-by gave Maria a strange look she realised she was whispering and arguing with herself out loud. Damn it, she needed a fix. There would be the chemical demons to face soon.
Arriving at her old street, she made herself wait out of sight. The paranoia was ramping up and she half expected him to spring out from behind a parked car and grab her, having made it up from Brighton in supersonic time.
Don’t be stupid, she told herself. He can’t have got here. Get in and take what you need and get out.
She ran to her front door. Yes, she’d change into trainers and jeans and pack a small bag. He’d searched her pockets though he’d not searched her bra. Reaching in, she pulled out her front door key and felt like kissing it.
It was musty smelling inside. Ripping off her shoes and tights, she ran into the bedroom. Her hands were shaking as she pulled on jeans and a top. Rifling in the bottom of her wardrobe she found a holdall and stuffed in a few essentials. Her small stash of emergency money was hidden in one of the drawers in the bathroom and she rushed there and grabbed it. It wasn’t much yet it was her ticket to freedom.
As she zippered up the bag, she had the idea of getting herself a small supply to keep her going. That way she’d be able to cope for the next few days until she found her way and was safe in hiding.
Maria hesitated. It was a risk. It would be much safer to get away now not lingering for anything. She could be at London Heathrow airport within a couple of hours. Yet, the craving was already kicking in. When it got worse she wouldn’t be able to think straight, she’d be a physical wreck. No, she must get some to take with her. She pulled her jacket back on. She had time.
Maria’s old dealer hung out in the centre of town by the bus station. He’d likely still be there and if he wasn’t there’d be someone else who had taken his place. She persuaded herself it was a good omen because she could take a coach direct to London afterwards. Once in the capital, it would be easy to find public transport to the airport.
She was out of the flat within minutes, checking up and down the road for anyone watching and then running full pelt for the centre of town. Several times she checked over her shoulder and the shadows seemed to jump out at her.
When she got to the bus station, Maria walked around the block and had a momentary panic because Joey wasn’t there. Of course, Joey wasn’t his real name and she had no idea what was. Then she spotted her old dealer in one of his habitual hang-outs, lounging outside an off-licence with a roll-up dangling from his lips. With his lazy stride and slouched shoulders, Joey spotted her quickly, though he gave no sign of recognition.
‘Hi,’ she said.
‘Long time no see.’
‘I need some.’
‘Is that right? I heard you got clean.’
He was eyeing the street behind her and then to either side, taking his time and sizing her up. Did he think she was working for the cops now? It wasn’t her style.
‘That was then and this is now. Well?’ she said. ‘I’ve got money.’
‘Come back at five.’
Shit. It was what he said to his new customers and it was Joey’s way of sussing people out and reducing the risks for himself. It told him if people were genuine. It told him if they were being tailed or if they had no money. It told him too, how desperate they were and how much he could charge and whether they’d be good repeat customers. Glancing at the station clock, Maria saw it was just after three. Two more hours to wait! No way.
‘Come on, you know me. I need it now. It’s important.’
Reaching into her bag, she gave him a view of some money. ‘I’ve got the cash.’
‘Yeah but I’ve not got the merchandise. So see you at five.’ Joey then sauntered away.
Shit. Were the cops onto him, was that why he wanted to delay? Had he had trouble earlier that day? Had he been forced to stash his stock in case he got frisked? In a daze, she went to the bus station and queued to buy her ticket to London.
‘The next bus leaves at three thirty,’ the man at the ticket counter told her.
‘And the one after that?’
‘Five thirty.’
She should get the three thirty and get the hell out of there. Sitting in Brighton waiting for her to return, he would already have realised she’d deviated from his plan. If she took the bus leaving in half an hour he’d never catch her. The problem was if she travelled without a supply would she be able to hold out? Would she be able to get some in London?
‘Which one would you like, miss?’
‘The three thirty please.’
‘A return?’
‘No, definitely a single.’
With half an hour to kill, she decided to get something quick to eat. At a kiosk, she paid for a sandwich and spotted Joey down the street speaking to a man with a scar down the side of his face. A jolt of fear shot up her back. She tried to slink out of sight just as the man with the scarred face looked down the street and spotted her.
Of course, she should have realised. He’d sent his friends to find her. It had been a mistake to speak to Joey.
Dropping the sandwich, Maria ran.
34
Maria had been born in Himlands Heath. She’d gone to school there, spent her teenage years hanging around the streets and whenever her mother took in a worthless boyfriend, Maria got used to spending the night in the shelter of doorways or under the bridge. It was better than hearing her mother at it, or finding a naked stranger in the kitchen often throwing lecherous glances in her direction.
Maria knew paths dog walkers took and the cycle tracks and the cut-throughs, which was how she got away from the man with the scar. Shit. He’d sent instructions up from Brighton and ordered his spies to find her. How stupid she’d been.
As she was hiding at the back of the supermarket, she spotted the second of his spies searching for her. This one was a lanky young man with a long stride and dirty matted hair hanging halfway down his back. He looked like a rough sleeper and the type to know the alleyways of Himlands Heath as well as Maria did. She tried to slink out of sight but he saw her.
She sprinted through a maze of streets trying to shake him off until she came out at her old primary school. She had lost Lanky, she was sure of it. The school was deserted and, scaling the wall, she dropped down into the playground. Daylight was fading and she crept along in the shelter of the wall until she came to a niche. Maria hunkered down. She would have to hide until dark and then go across country. She would hitch-hike down to the coast and get a train to London from there.
Her skin was itching like hell from needing a fix and she knew it would get worse. If her muscles started cramping and she needed to run, what would she do? Don’t think about it, she told herself. Lanky didn’t follow you so you should be safe. Just wait a little longer and then work your way to the main road and get a ride.
On the far side of the playground, the iron grille of the gate gave her a view onto the street. The occasional car passed and a few pedestrians. It wasn’t until cold from the ground started to seep up her legs that she realised withdrawal had her in its grip. The lack of coke started messing with her mind.
In the gloom, shadows jumped out at her. Someone was calling her name. She screwed herself as small as she could, hugging her body to stop the shivers. It’s not real. It’s made up. Then she made out a shape by the gate – a tall form with dreadlocks.
The withdrawal symptoms brought a terrible fatigue. Her body’s cravings sucked the energy from her and muddled her thoughts. Was it real? Should she run? Could she
bargain with Lanky? If she offered him money would he let her go?
‘I can see you,’ he said.
Maria eased out from the recess. She had to run. Her muscles were so weak she couldn’t get up and instead she crawled.
‘You can’t hide from me. He’s coming for you.’
Oh God. ‘I’ve got money. If you let me go I can pay you.’
Lanky was peering through the bars of the gate. ‘Sorry I can’t do that. You know what he’s like.’
A car’s headlights shone outside. She heard the engine cut out and then Lanky turned and spoke to someone. Using the wall, Maria pulled herself up. She wept with fear and she tried again to run but couldn’t.
‘Hello Maria.’
Her left leg went into spasm and she fell.
‘You shouldn’t have left me,’ he called out.
Maria tried to drag herself away. A trickle of urine ran down her leg as they climbed over the gate and walked towards her.
‘I’m s-s-sorry. I got scared.’
Kneeling beside her he stroked her hair. ‘I know, babe. Don’t worry, I’m going to make it right.’
He snapped his fingers and Lanky picked her up and carried her to the car.
35
When Alice was finally sent details of the handover, Tom’s adrenalin spiked. The abductor had given them very little time to prepare. Worse, the location was outside their area, in the middle of the countryside at a South Downs beauty spot, a few miles north of Brighton.
Tom hurried to the team briefing. Grant had put in an emergency request and the team were to be joined via online link-up by two officers from Brighton.
By the time Tom got there, a uniformed chief inspector and a younger woman, presumably a detective, were present on screen. It looked as if everyone had been waiting for Tom.
‘If your DS is here at last, can we get started?’ the Chief Inspector on the screen said. ‘The seconds are ticking away.’
The barb stung and Tom shrugged it off. DCI Grant knew Tom had come straight from the Glovers, so he didn’t need to give excuses.
‘I’d like to introduce Chief Inspector Billingham and Detective Inspector Sarah Hunter, and thank you both for joining us at such short notice,’ Grant said. ‘Chief Inspector Billingham will be co-ordinating the uniformed division operation. The location falls within the north Brighton patch and his officers are best placed to know the ins and outs of the area. DI Hunter will be our link to their CID.’
There were murmurs of greetings and Tom noticed how Chief Inspector Billingham was courteous to no one except Grant, whereas Sarah Hunter was friendly all around.
‘Chief Inspector Billingham and I will be jointly co-ordinating this operation. I’ll be Gold Commander and the Chief Inspector will be the second in command,’ Grant said. ‘Let’s see what we’re working with.’
Diane tapped at her keyboard and sent a map and a photographic image to the second screen.
McGowan groaned. ‘It’s in the middle of bloody nowhere, guv. How the hell are we going to make it safe for Alice?’
‘It’s going to be a challenge,’ Grant said. ‘And we’ve no time for a site visit. Chief Inspector Billingham, can you fill us in on the local details?’
Billingham cleared his throat. ‘The spot he’s chosen is an area of natural beauty and it forms a basin at the foot of the South Downs. It’s a popular area for ramblers.’ Billingham used a red pointer to show them. ‘This here is the South Downs – they’re a line of low hills stretching across the Sussex countryside. The spot for the handover is on the side of the Downs furthest from Brighton. It’s a basin about a mile across and remote, accessed by a network of footpaths and cycle tracks. There are two car parks and neither are close. This one is the nearest and I’d estimate it to be about ten minutes’ walk away. The other parking area is more than twenty.’
‘What about visibility?’ Grant asked.
‘There’ll be some from the nearest car park because it’s at the same elevation and there’s nothing in between except heather and gorse. We’d have visibility from the top of the Downs, except that’s a real hike, so by binoculars only. Our best bet is this little wooded area and this line of trees straggling along the bottom of the Downs.’ Billingham wiggled the pointer. ‘It provides cover and it’s about as close as the car park.’
‘Basically you’re saying the perimeter must be back behind this line of trees, if we’re to stay out of sight of the abductor.’
‘Correct.’
‘Bloody hell we’ll be miles away. That’s not giving us much advantage,’ McGowan said.
‘That’s one way of putting it,’ Billingham said stiffly.
Billingham had a sour tone. He was a man with a chip on his shoulder, Tom thought, though he had good knowledge which was what they needed.
‘How do you think he’s going to bring in the children then, sir? By car? And how will the abductor leave the area? They must know we’d set up roadblocks,’ Collins said.
‘Yes, I was wondering about that,’ Sarah Hunter said. ‘I’m not convinced the children will be brought here. It seems a highly unlikely place for an exchange, don’t you think so, sir?’
Sarah Hunter was much more friendly than Billingham and she was doing her best to make up for Billingham’s lack of rapport.
Billingham puffed out his cheeks. ‘It’s impossible to say.’
Ah, thought Tom, a man who didn’t like to risk being wrong.
‘We’ve been told to bring half a million in exchange for the children,’ Grant said. ‘That’s what we’re putting Alice at risk for. The abductor must have a plan to get in and out. Is it possible to land a light plane?’
‘The basin could be a landing spot,’ Hunter said.
‘Collins, check with local airfields and see what flights have been logged. We’re running out of time to stop him if that’s what he’s planning. Another scenario is he’ll head across country and have a getaway vehicle waiting somewhere we can’t anticipate. What do you say, Billingham?’
‘Like I said, it’s a natural bowl with no cover until the wood. Outside of the basin, your guess is as good as mine. There are plenty of paths and small patches where you could conceal a vehicle and it would have to be a four-wheel drive to cope with the terrain. There are two roads which we can cut off. However, this whole place is covered with footpaths and cycle tracks which go for miles. It makes it impossible to cover all exit points.’
Grant nodded. ‘If I were him, at the same time Alice leaves the money, I’d give co-ordinates for where to find the children. Then our search for Emily and Lisa will take priority especially if he’s put them in danger. The abductor would bargain on it giving him time to grab the money and get away.’
‘It’s all very odd,’ Tom said. ‘What makes him think he’s going to have a window to get the cash? Surely he knows we’ll be waiting to nab him even if we’re scrambling for the children.’
‘I agree,’ Sarah Hunter said. ‘It’s difficult to see how he’s going to get away with it.’
‘I think it’s all hinging on him making further demands,’ Grant said. ‘He’s got a plan we haven’t thought of and there’s always the possibility he has an accomplice.’
Tom shook his head. ‘I don’t like it.’
‘Whether you like it or not, son, it’s what we’ve got to deal with,’ Billingham snapped.
Tom felt so stressed his stomach was in a knot, and everyone was on edge.
‘We won’t get anywhere if we’re not on the same page. I need everyone focused.’ Grant stamped out the rising tensions.
‘Have you got uniformed officers with bikes?’ Grant said. ‘If he tries to get away across country then we can pursue him.’
‘Yes,’ Hunter said. ‘What do you think, Chief Inspector? Officers use bikes on Brighton seafront and we have a couple of officers on scrambler bikes we can bring in too.’
‘We can try, though is there enough time to organise it?’ Billingham said.
McGo
wan stroked his moustache. ‘I could bring my mountain bike as well, guv.’
Grant nodded. ‘Great.’
‘Alice is going to be very exposed walking into the middle of that open area,’ Ruby said.
‘I’ve asked for sniper support. It’s the best we can do.’ Grant looked at his watch. ‘We’ve very little time to be in position. At the scene, Delaney and Ruby, I want you with Alice when she sets off from the car park. You’ll observe her from there and I’ll watch her from the trees. It means you and I must be in different places. We’ll keep contact with Alice via her earpiece. McGowan and Collins, you’ll be with the uniformed officers who’ll be spread out along the line of the woods. Communication has got to be slick. Everyone stay on their toes. Let’s get to it.’
36
Forty-five minutes before the exchange, Tom was in the car park near to the drop-off point. The area was teeming with officers. Brighton division had put together a team of six on bikes and McGowan joined them. They pedalled off towards the woods where they would hide amongst the trees, ready to give chase should the abductor flee the area by track or footpath.
The paramedics and an ambulance were on standby and the technical team were equipping Alice with her microphone and earpiece. Tom found himself alongside Chief Inspector Billingham who was giving final orders to his uniformed officers.
‘Spread out and keep your eyes open,’ Billingham said. ‘I’ll keep you updated as the situation evolves. Meanwhile, anyone and anything is to be treated as suspicious even if it’s a little old lady walking her dog.’
Billingham’s officers dispersed and he turned to Tom. ‘I’m guessing you’ve not been involved in a hostage exchange before.’
‘No, sir.’
‘I thought not. Grant speaks highly of you, though in my experience, young officers tend to fuck it up. Frankly, I’m astonished you’ve been given the lead with the mother.’
Deadly Lies Page 17