Tom didn’t know what to say. Apart from something rude and that wasn’t an option.
‘I follow DCI Grant’s orders, sir. I do my best and I’ve been working with the Glovers since the beginning.’
‘I think the best thing will be if you keep out of my way,’ Billingham said.
‘If it doesn’t conflict with our mission then I’ll try to.’
‘Perhaps I’m not making myself clear. I said I don’t want you near me and I don’t want your lack of judgement making a mess of this operation. Are we clear?’
‘Crystal.’
‘That’s Chief Inspector to you. I’m glad to hear it, Detective Sergeant.’
The tone of Billingham’s voice grated but Tom swallowed it down. There was no point retaliating against a senior officer, besides, he had every intention of focusing one hundred per cent on Alice. He’d leave getting twisted up by petty rivalries to Billingham. It simply wasn’t Tom’s bag.
Tom went to check in with Ruby.
‘Was Billingham giving you a hard time?’ she asked.
‘How did you know? Don’t tell me you can lip-read.’
‘Oh. No I can’t and I was too far away to hear. I could see it in his body posture and the way you reacted.’
‘Right. Yeah, Billingham’s behaving like an idiot. I hope it isn’t going to get in the way.’
‘It won’t if you don’t let it.’
Alice was talking to Grant and Tom could tell Grant was worried she might not be able to handle it. Once Grant moved away, Tom and Ruby took Alice aside.
‘My boss is having doubts,’ Tom said. ‘If you want to pull this off you’ve got to dig deep.’
‘Oh Tom, I want to do it but I can hardly function. It’s like my mind has turned off.’
Tom took a light hold of her elbow and her green eyes fixed on him.
‘It doesn’t matter. Let me and the chief do the thinking for you – that’s what we’re here for. All you need to do is follow our instructions. We’ll guide you every step of the way.’
Ruby nodded. ‘You can do this. You’re tougher than you think.’
‘Am I?’
‘Yes! You’ve changed, you’ve found strength you didn’t know you had,’ Ruby said.
‘Thank you. I couldn’t do it without you and I don’t want to let Jack take my place. He’s bursting to and I won’t let him. You’re right – I can do this as well as him. They’re my babies and I’m going to get them back.’
‘Good,’ Tom said. ‘You’ll hear my voice playing in your ear the whole time. I’m going to talk you through it. If for any reason you go out of my sight line DCI Grant will be the one who’ll be talking to you.’
‘Thank you. Oh God, please let me get through this.’
‘I know you will,’ Ruby said. ‘Believe in yourself.’
Grant came back. ‘Everyone is in position. This is a very difficult task, Alice, and whatever happens please do as we say. Are you ready?’
Alice lifted her chin. ‘Yes, Inspector. Is it time for me to start walking?’
Grant was staked out, hidden with the other officers amongst the trees. He didn’t like this one little bit. With everyone separated all it would take was an unexpected move on the part of the abductor, or a blip in the police communications, and the whole thing could become a disaster. He cracked his knuckles and cleared his mind, breathing steadily. ACC Treadgold was right, he might not have as much endurance as a younger DCI but one thing he did have was experience. And that’s what they were all relying on.
Diane had drawn a blank with local airfields and Grant didn’t know whether to feel relieved or not. It was always a possibility the abductor owned his own damn plane, but a flight schedule had not been registered.
Grant had chosen a spot at the far end of the woods because it gave the best visibility of the mother. McGowan and Diane were close by. The abductor had sent instructions for Alice to walk due west on a footpath crossing the middle of the grassy basin. She was to start walking from the car park at two o’clock precisely.
‘Send Alice Glover out, Delaney,’ Grant ordered.
Alice was wearing dark trousers and a red jumper. The jumper was so she would be easy to spot in the landscape and it was bulky to hide her bulletproof vest.
She had tied her blonde hair into a ponytail and Grant couldn’t help thinking Alice was very brave, stepping out alone from the shelter of the cars, leaving the activity and the security and walking across the heather and the gorse into the open and the unknown. They would be far away from her.
In a black bag, she carried the money, and hidden inside was a transponder to track the bag’s location. The load was heavy and Grant could hear Delaney encouraging her to take it steady.
Grant could hear Alice’s quick breaths in his earpiece and soon she was a good distance from the cars. With the woman exposed like that anything could happen. To Grant’s right, a sniper and their spotter tracked Alice’s progress.
Like Grant, Diane trained binoculars onto the basin. McGowan was in full cycle gear and he waited astride his bike, listening to her commentary.
‘No movement from any side so far,’ Diane said. ‘Not even a rabbit.’
The only non-natural feature in the basin was an abandoned water trough. At one time it had been used for cattle farming and Billingham’s crew had checked it out and found a rusting metal trough with no potential for being a hazard and nor did it hide one. As Alice came alongside the trough, she paused and put down the bag. Her hand went inside her pocket.
There’s a message come through on her mobile phone, the technical team texted through to Grant. Sending a copy to you now.
The message read, ‘Put the money in the trough and climb to the top of the hill. Wait there.’
‘Shit,’ McGowan said. ‘What the hell is he playing at?’
‘Tell her to follow the instructions, Delaney,’ Grant said.
Billingham was standing beside Grant. ‘There’s nothing at the top except rolling countryside. Where are the children? And how does he expect to retrieve the cash and get away?’
Grant pursed his lips. ‘We’ve no option but to play along.’
Grant was liking this less and less. He watched as Alice hefted the bag into the trough then she turned and began the long climb to the top of the hill. It was a steep path, full of stones and dotted with chalk deposits. Right at the bottom, as Alice set off, she slipped and almost fell.
‘Where are my children?’ Alice asked Delaney. ‘He promised they’d be here.’
Grant was listening in. ‘She’s got to hold it together, Delaney. Keep the pep talk going.’
He heard Delaney’s calm voice reassuring Alice and encouraging her to put one foot in front of the other for the climb.
Grant turned to McGowan. ‘See if you can sneak around the other side of that damn hill and find out if anything is coming. This is getting hairy. Chief Inspector, what’s the access like from the other side? Can we move officers into position?’
‘It’s miles and miles of countryside. There’s one road coming in from the east. I can send a car the long way if I pull officers from one of the car parks but it’s half an hour’s drive to get around.’
Half a damn hour by road? Bloody hell. ‘Okay. Go ahead.’
It was painful watching Alice. She kept slipping and she clearly wasn’t a sportswoman. When she had climbed halfway up, Grant got a text message from Ruby.
Jack Glover just left the car park.
What do you mean? Grant messaged back.
He was in a patrol car, and one minute he was there and then I turned around and he was gone. I think he took his own car.
Shit. Jack was a wild card. The reason Grant had put him in a patrol car was because he didn’t trust him. Where the hell was the father going at such a critical time? Grant could not spare Delaney, and he, Diane and McGowan were too far away to help.
Take DI Hunter and go after him, Grant texted.
Several minutes later
and Alice had reached the summit of the hill. There had been no reports from the roadblocks apart from ordinary people being turned away. Nothing had moved in the area. Where the hell was the call with the next step? When were they going to get the vital information on the children?
‘If she goes down the other side we’ll have no one in position to see her,’ Diane said. ‘Wait, she’s taking out her phone. It looks like she’s got another message.’
Seconds after, the techies forwarded Grant the text received by Alice.
If you want to see your children again walk down the hill until you’re halfway and then wait.
‘Stay in position, Delaney,’ Grant said. ‘Ask her to keep talking to you and tell you what’s happening and what she can see and hear. Tell her to not stop speaking.’
‘And then?’ Delaney asked.
‘Now is not the time to get the wobbles, DS Delaney. Do as I say! No one has yet come to pick up the money so stay focused on your task.’
Diane was gesticulating. ‘McGowan contacted me. He has sight of Alice. He’s on the other side of the hill.’
Grant thanked his lucky stars. ‘Tell him to stay out of view. Billingham, send around half your other bikers.’
The Chief Inspector seemed about to object but Grant cut him off.
‘Do it. He’s moving us around like damn pawns on a chessboard but it takes two to play a game and we’re not finished yet.’
DI Sarah Hunter did the driving. Ruby could see the firm set of the Detective Inspector’s jaw, her hair short and styled to suit her face, hazel eyes calm. The woman was unruffled and determined, and there was something solid about her which Ruby liked. A bit of a rebel underneath, Ruby thought.
‘What the hell is he up to?’ Hunter said.
‘Jack can’t have been gone long,’ Ruby said. ‘I saw him when Alice was about halfway up the hill.’
They could see a small dust cloud some way ahead.
‘That’s thrown up by Jack’s tyres. Looks like he’s turned off the road and is taking a dirt track. Can you find it on the satnav?’ Hunter asked.
‘Got it. It’s two hundred metres ahead on the right.’
‘Where’s he going? Why would the father cut and run leaving half a million sitting in the middle of nowhere and while we’re waiting for news on his children?’
‘Good question,’ Ruby said. ‘It makes it sound like Jack knows something we don’t.’
‘Please call me Sarah, and I know Chief Inspector Billingham isn’t good at diplomacy so I’m sorry if he’s rubbed any of you the wrong way.’
‘Don’t worry about it and oh, call me Ruby. I don’t see any more dust. I think he’s stopped.’
They took the turn for the track. It was two lines of dirt with a band of weeds down the middle. They followed as fast as they could, the car bouncing and tussocks of grass scraping against the front bumper. Sarah swore now and again as the steering jerked in her hands. As they rounded a corner, they found Jack’s car abandoned at the side.
‘He must have continued on foot,’ Ruby said. ‘This is getting strange.’
She got out as quickly as Sarah.
‘Take a good look around, Ruby. Let’s see if we can pick up his trail.’
They tramped through the undergrowth, scanning in all directions. It was a pretty flat landscape with scrubby bushes and rocks and a few trees.
‘There he is,’ Ruby said. ‘It looks like he’s moving fast.’
‘He hasn’t seen us which is good. I’m going after him. You stay here.’
Sarah started jogging after Jack Glover and Ruby went with her.
‘You’re kidding me, right? Of course I’m not staying put.’
‘I thought you were a criminal psychologist,’ Sarah said, her breathing steady as she ran. ‘I didn’t imagine you’d be up for action.’
‘Then you thought wrong. I’m in training for a fun run so I should be able to keep up and I’m a climber, and us climbers are feistier than you think.’
Sarah cut her a quick grin. ‘Aren’t you a dark horse. Okay, we follow him and we need to be careful because we don’t know what we’re walking into.’
Jack seemed to know where he was going. He was heading along a path which followed a stream.
‘Do you see that bag he’s carrying?’ Sarah said.
They exchanged a glance. It was a black holdall and very like the bag Alice had packed half a million pounds in.
‘Someone examined the bag Alice took with her, right?’ Sarah asked. ‘It hasn’t been swapped at the last minute has it?’
‘It can’t have been. Tom checked it.’
They jogged after Jack, keeping out of sight as well as they could. Jack’s attention was focused ahead and he never once glanced behind. A cluster of buildings came into view. It looked like an abandoned farm and Jack made straight for it.
When they reached the first barn they crouched at the corner.
Ruby caught her breath. ‘Do you know this place?’ she whispered.
‘No and it’s in the middle of goddam nowhere. Looks disused. Must have been a farm at one time.’
‘What do we do?’
‘We call for backup.’ But when Sarah tried to send a message, her radio wasn’t working. Neither was there a phone signal.
‘Damn we’re out of range. The South Downs has that effect because sometimes the signal gets cut off.’ Sarah peeked around the corner. ‘I can’t see a thing. I’m going to find out what’s going on. You stay here.’
‘I’m coming too,’ Ruby said.
Sarah’s hand landed on Ruby’s arm. ‘Wait – you’re a civilian and this isn’t safe. Whatever Jack Glover is up to it doesn’t look good.’
‘If you think I’m letting you go on your own, think again.’
Sarah was stern. ‘You could get back to the car and drive until you get a signal. That would be prudent.’
‘Prudent, my arse. No way am I leaving you here.’
‘Okay then, on the condition you stay behind me.’
Scooting around the barn, they dashed to the next building. Ruby was so close to Sarah that when the DI stopped abruptly Ruby banged into her. Sarah signalled for them to get low. Not twenty metres away, Jack was standing in the middle of a courtyard amidst the buildings. He was talking to another man.
Jack was angry. He dropped the bag and the other man opened it and checked inside.
‘It’s a drop-off,’ Sarah whispered in Ruby’s ear. ‘And I’m betting it’s the real one.’
Ruby’s heart was hammering and she was sweating. If Jack Glover was handing over money did it mean the children were close?
‘Lisa and Emily,’ she whispered. ‘They could be here.’
The other man gripped the holdall and made to move off. Jack grabbed him and they heard Jack shouting.
‘You bastard. You promised! Where are my children!’
The other man sneered and in a lightning quick move he took out a knife and stabbed Jack in the belly. ‘You think you’re better than me, but you’re not.’
Sarah shouted and ran out. The stranger fled.
Jack staggered into Sarah’s arms. With a look of surprise, he stared at the red stain spreading across his shirt. Sarah lowered him to the ground and Ruby ripped open Jack’s shirt.
‘Oh shit. Ruby, put your hands right here and apply as much pressure as you can.’
‘What are we going to do? He might die.’
Then Sarah was gone leaving Ruby trying desperately to stem the blood flow. Within seconds, Jack Glover was having problems breathing. He stared up at her.
‘Who was that man? Where are Emily and Lisa?’ Ruby demanded.
Jack’s eyes were losing focus.
‘Answer me!’
‘My children,’ he whispered.
‘Where are they? Who was that man?’
From the way Jack approached the man and the way they spoke together, Ruby felt sure they knew each other.
Sarah came running back and she was cov
ered in dirt and her trousers were ripped. ‘The bastard got away. Press harder, Ruby, it’s not working.’
Sarah took hold of Jack’s shoulders. ‘Sir, listen to me, you’ve been seriously injured. You must tell me what you know before it’s too late.’
‘Emily,’ Jack whispered.
‘Who was that man? Give me a name.’
‘Lisa…’
‘Give me a name.’
Jack Glover’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he lost consciousness.
Sarah checked his pulse. ‘He’s still hanging on. The priority is searching this place. Maybe they are here.’
Ruby nodded. ‘You go.’ And she watched as Sarah sprinted for the first building.
37
Grant and Tom stared down at Jack Glover. There had been no sign of the children at the farm. Glover lay on a hospital trolley and he was ready to be wheeled into an operating theatre.
‘Can you wake him up?’ Grant asked.
‘Impossible. He’s been prepped for emergency surgery,’ the doctor said.
‘Lisa and Emily Glover are missing and their father has vital information. Couldn’t you administer a stimulant?’
The surgeon wasn’t amused. ‘Out of the question. A man’s life is in the balance. Please get out of my way.’
The surgical team left, taking Jack Glover with them.
Grant was fuming. ‘Jack has been talking directly with the abductor. The idiot kept us in the dark. That pay-as-you-go-phone we found on him? Well, the techies have recovered messages setting up the handover. The real handover. And when I checked with the damn concierge at Jack’s apartment, he told me a package had been dropped off there yesterday. It must have been the phone. We were there earlier asking questions and searching Jack’s apartment, why the hell didn’t the concierge call me?’
‘I’m sorry, sir,’ Delaney said. ‘I don’t know how a second phone slipped past me. I thought I had good lines of communication with both Jack and Alice.’
‘Don’t beat yourself up. If people want to be underhand they find ways to do it. Jack Glover had his own agenda and now we’re in a bloody mess.’
Deadly Lies Page 18