I run upstairs and ten minutes later I'm back in the kitchen wearing a black wig and one of Mum's old three quarter length dresses. Fortunately, we're the same size, so the dress fits.
I walk over and give him a twirl. ‘What do you think?’
He leans forward and laughs. ‘You don't look any different.’
‘Well that's because you know it's me. Get me a police uniform, I'll pull down the cap, then you won't recognize me.’
He's looking at me in that strange way again, then he gets up. ‘I'll talk to you in the morning, I'm going to bed. I have an early start.’
I watch him go. It feels strange, just the two of us here.
‘Night,’ I call, after him. How strange, I'm getting used to having him here. The dimly lit kitchen that had just seemed so cozy, now feels creepy. The light from the hallway casts shadows on the wall and I shiver. I peer through the kitchen window and gasp. It's only the officer but he made me jump.
I suddenly hear Nick’s bedroom door close - he must be finished in the bathroom - I turn off the lights and head upstairs to my room. I sit wondering what Mum would think if she knew Nick was here. It's nearly 11pm so midnight in Spain, they're probably asleep, I'll call them in the morning.
After brushing my teeth, I slip into a nighty, snuggle under the duvet, leaving the bedside light on. Just to make sure, I reach under my pillow and feel the handle of the kitchen knife. I close my eyes, but sleep evades me.
I lay in bed listening to the sounds of the night, an owl calling to its mate, the sound of a passing car… I wonder if Nick's asleep.
Then I freeze.
What was that?
There it goes again; it's coming from outside.
I reach for my knife, slide out of bed and creep onto the landing.
‘What the hell are you doing out here?’ It’s Nick. Then he notices the knife in my hand. ‘Are you crazy,’ he hisses. ‘Go back to your room!’
He goes downstairs, I follow.
Suddenly there's a crash, the front door swings open. Standing in the doorway, wearing a balaclava is a man holding a gun.
With one hand Nick pushes me behind him, then someone shouts.
‘Police, put your hands up.’
The man swears, then turns and runs.
Nick turns and looks at me, his face is like a mask in the moonlight. ‘Do you want to get killed?’
He grabs me and pushes me back inside the house. ‘Stay inside.’
Then he runs down the garden path with the other police officer. I start to follow him but trip over something. It's the young police officer from the front garden, his face is covered in blood.
I bend down to feel for his pulse. Shit!
I run into the kitchen, grab the house phone and dial 999.
‘I need an ambulance, someone's been hurt, you must be quick, I can't feel his pulse.’
17
BETH VISITS JANE
Next day
I’m in the kitchen thinking about the CCTV the police installed over the front of the house a few days ago. The guy who broke in last night was wearing a balaclava, so even with CCTV we have no idea who he was.
It’s supposed to be installed along the street, but so far nothing's been done. I must remind Nick to talk to them about it. Maybe the hooded guy came in a car, or someone dropped him off. If we’d have had CCTV in the street the police would have something to go on.
‘I’m late,’ Nick yells, hurtling down the stairs into the kitchen. ‘Where's my laptop?’
I smile to myself. ‘It's probably under the table where you left it. You don't have to rush, it's only ten past eight.’ I pass him a plate of freshly made bacon sandwiches.
His eyes widen. ‘Bacon sandwiches?’
‘Yeah.’
He takes a bite and grimaces. ‘What sort of bacon is this, it tastes like wood.’
He looks so funny I can’t help but laugh. ‘Here, put some HP sauce on it.’
‘No, it’s okay.’ He rams the rest into his mouth then takes a sip of coffee. ‘Don't you miss eating real bacon?’
‘No, I prefer this.’
He raises an eyebrow, takes another large gulp of coffee and turns to go.
‘What about the young PC, is there any news?’
‘He's critical, but they think he'll pull through, now I must go, or I'll be late.’
‘Don’t forget to chase them up on putting CCTV in our street, if it was there last night we might have caught him getting out of a car or something.’
He grunts.
‘Nick, I’m going to arrange to see one of the women today, what time shall I make it?’
He frowns and looks irritated.
‘Come on Nick, last night you said you would take me.’
‘I didn't say anything of the sort,’ he declares, feigning surprise. Then he gives me one of his serious looks. ‘You know I could get into trouble for this, don't you?’
I hadn't thought of that.
He stares at me for a long time as if deciding what to do.
I turn and walk over to the window, he follows.
Placing his hands on my shoulders, he quietly says. ‘I'll be busy most of the day, but if it must be today, make it around 12.30 – lunchtime, then give me a call to let me know.’
I watch him drive away, then bolt the door, run upstairs and take out my notes.
The first woman I call cuts me off after just a few seconds. The next one seems hesitant, but I keep talking. I explain what happened to me, and why I'm calling. ‘Did you have a similar experience?’ I ask, holding my breath.
Silence.
I don't want to frighten her, so I lower my voice. ‘I want to help you. I want to catch the people who did this. We must talk. Can we meet somewhere?’
‘Who are you?’ she demands. ‘Are you with the police?’
I quickly look at my notes, her name is Jane Furrows.
‘Jane, I'm a friend of Detective Inspector Nick Stephens, you can phone him if you like, he'll confirm it. I live in Oxford with my mother and son.’
Silence.
‘Jane! Are you still there?’
‘Yes.’
‘Listen carefully Jane, do you have a pen? Good! Now write down my name and phone number.’
I give her time to jot it down.
‘Can we meet today, Jane? Maybe lunch time, around 12.30?’
She hesitates for a minute. ‘At my house?’
‘Yes, if you want to. Do you live at the same address you gave the police last year?’
‘Yes.’
I read it out to her, just to make sure it’s the correct address. It is. ‘Okay Jane, I'll see you soon.’
‘Wait, how will I know it's you?’
I'm just about to say I'm 5'4’ with blonde hair, then remember I'll be in disguise.
‘I have long black hair, I'm of medium height. DI Stephens will drop me off in his black VW Golf, he'll wait outside, so there's nothing to worry about.’
We say goodbye, I sit staring at my phone for a few minutes, then I call Nick.
Although he tries to brush me off saying he's too busy and that he has a meeting to go to, he eventually agrees to collect me around 12.00 mid-day.
For the next few hours I pace around the bedroom rehearsing what I’m going to say, then I start getting dressed.
At 12.10 my phone rings, it's Nick, he's outside.
Checking my notepad and phone are in my bag, I leave. Out of the corner of my eye I can see the new policeman watching me as I walk around the corner to Nick's car.
We drive to Jane's house in silence. He parks a little further down the street from where her house is. He looks anxious but says nothing.
I open the door then turn to look at him. ‘Don't worry, I won't be long.’
He just nods and watches me walk to her house.
I ring the doorbell. No answer, I press my finger on it harder. This time I can hear someone coming.
A young woman with long red curly hair and la
rge blue eyes opens the door.
‘Jane? It's me, Beth.’
Her eyes search behind me to see if anyone's watching, then as if satisfied, she beckons me inside.
I follow her into the living room, a large fluffy black cat raises its head and looks at me suspiciously.
‘What a lovely cat. Is he yours?’
‘Yes, but it's a she.’
She motions to a chair, I sit down.
‘Do you live here alone?
‘No, it's my parent's house.’
I can tell she's nervous she wants to get it over with quickly, so do I.
‘Jane, I have to record this.’ I take out my phone and place it on the table in front of us. ‘Is that alright?’ She frowns and looks confused.
‘We have to do this. It might happen again and next time you might not get away and...’
A look of horror crosses her face, she nods, I press record.
‘It was so terrible.’ Her voice is so soft I can hardly hear it. I mouth louder and she nods. The cat snuggles close to her as if to give her comfort. I just sit and hold my breath.
‘Where did it happen?’ I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
No reply.
‘Where did it happen, Jane?’
She says nothing.
‘Was it a car, did they pick you up and drive you somewhere?’
Still she says nothing, so in desperation I ask. ‘Did it happen in a house, in a field, in a shed?’
She looks at me in amazement.
‘You know about the shed?’
I nod. ‘Yes Jane, the first time I was attacked it was in a field, but I got away. The second time was different, there were two of them. I was dragged from my friend's garden in broad daylight, hauled into a van and then driven to a shed in a field.’ I hold up my phone. ‘The police will have both our statements on this recording, I know it's hard, but they need to know what happened, then they can help us.’
She looks at me with wide eyes.
‘How did they get you into the shed, Jane?’
‘I was walking home from work, I always come home for lunch, I don't work far away. A van drew up next to me and a man popped his head out of the window. He asked if I knew the way to Oxford, he was looking at a map, so I went over to show him.’
‘Do you remember what he looked like?’
She shakes her head. ‘He had sunglasses on and wore a hat.’
I nod. ‘Then what happened?’
‘The side of the van opened, a man pulled me inside and shut the door – it all happened so quickly.’ She stops and begins to cry.
I go over and hug her. ‘What did he look like?’
‘He was wearing a black hood, and on top was a black cap. It was pulled down over his face, he smelt of cigarettes, he was wearing a horrible mask, his voice sounded funny.’
‘What happened then?’
She pauses and looks at me, tears stream down her face. ‘He put something over my eyes and did things to me, it was so awful. The van was going fast and when it stopped, he dragged me out of the van, pushed me into a shed and pulled my pants down. He wouldn’t stop. I begged him to stop but he only laughed and…’
‘You’re doing well, Jane, don’t stop.’
‘When he finished the other man…’
She stops and bursts into tears.
‘What happened then, Jane?’
‘He hit me, then they took all my clothes off and they…’ She shudders and looks at me. ‘I begged them to stop, but they were so strong, I couldn't do anything...’
I bite my lip and pass her tissues from a box on the small table.
She stops to wipe her face then carries on. ‘Another man came, I think they called him Dick or Dicken, I’m not sure. Their voices sounded horrible like Micky Mouse. He told them to put me in the van. Then I heard the sound of a tractor. Everything went quiet. I heard them moving around, then I heard the sound of a car and then a van driving away.’
‘Was this in the statement you gave to the police?’
‘Yes, it's in my head all the time, like a film that never stops.’
Jane's eyes are wide with fear, she's reliving it all over again. A shiver runs down my spine as she sobs.
‘I pulled off the thing he covered my eyes with, put on my clothes and waited till the tractor had moved away, then I ran out. I ran and ran; I was so frightened. Then I went to the police.’
She sits with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, slowly rocking backwards and forwards.
‘This happened last year, didn't it?’
She nods and sits hugging her knees to her chest.
‘Why did you retract your statement? It would have helped the police; they might have caught them.’
‘I was frightened, they said they'd do it again,’ she mumbles. ‘After it happened, I knew someone was following me.’
‘Did this stop after retracting your statement?’
She nods.
It's getting late. I get up and look out of the window. Nick's moved the car it's outside the house, time for me to go.
‘Don't worry. This nightmare will soon be over. If you think of anything, or just want to talk, call me, you have my number. Put it somewhere safe and don't tell anyone I've been here – okay? Not even your parents.’
She nods, puts the scrap of paper, with my details in her pocket and stands up.
‘Try to stay inside for the next few days, unless you really have to go out. Tell your parents you're not feeling well, call work, tell them you're sick or something.’
She stares at me, a look of panic on her face. I sound just like Nick, he's always saying this to me, but I'm worried, I suppose he does it because he's also worried. I look at my notes, have I forgotten something, I've a feeling I have, but it's time to go.
I give her a hug. ‘Please don't worry, it'll be over soon.’
She nods and walks with me to the door. ‘Don't forget to call me?’
I nod and leave.
Once outside, I turn and look back at the house. Jane's peeping out from behind the living room curtain looking at Nick in the car.
When I slide into the car, Nick’s looking up at Jane. ‘Is that her?’ he asks.
I nod.
18
BETH & NICK
How did it go, what happened?’ he mutters as we drive away.
The car is thick with smoke. ‘What do you think?’ I ask, winding down the window. ‘She's a total wreck. You must get someone to watch the house until these bastards are caught.’
He frowns and drives faster. ‘This is unofficial, how can I get her police protection if she doesn't report it?’
‘You know why. She's terrified it will happen again. I listened carefully to her description of the two men who raped her.’ I draw in a deep breath and look at him. ‘You know they could be the same men who attacked me.’
At first, he says nothing, just sits gripping the steering wheel staring at the road ahead.
‘So, what happened?’ he suddenly asks.
‘The driver of the van asked her how to get to Oxford, he had a map so she offered to show him how to get there. That's when the other man opened a side door and pulled her inside the van. I've got it all down on this.’ I hold up my phone. ‘I asked her if it was alright to record it and she agreed.’
He says nothing, just grunts. ‘What happened then?’
‘She was taken to a shed and raped by the one who dragged her in the van. Then they took off her clothes and raped her again. One of them was more violent than the other. It was only when the other guy came that they stopped, otherwise...’
The car goes around a sharp bend at a ridiculously high speed, I feel his thigh against me, he's going faster, he overtakes a car, there's another coming towards us.
‘Nick, slow down, you'll kill us!’
We miss the car by the skin of our teeth. He slows down, I sit staring ahead, stunned at his stupidity.
‘What's wrong with you, Nick?’
I take a deep breath; I don't need this. It's bad enough talking about this stuff without having him to deal with. I watch him out of the corner of my eye. ‘That was really close, we could have been killed.’
He turns and looks at me. I'm struck by the expression in his eyes. He looks tired, as if he's had enough, or maybe he's just fed up with these unsolved cases.
‘When did it happen?’ he asks.
‘A year ago, last September. The only reason she escaped was because a farm worker showed up in his tractor, if he hadn’t, I hate to think what would have happened.’
We drive along in silence, he's deep in thought, I'm thinking about my conversation with Jane. ‘Nick, can the recording I made with my phone be used as evidence?’
He shrugs and says nothing.
‘What about her clothes, would the police ask her to keep the clothes she was wearing for evidence?’
‘Shit. Bloody lights!’ He slams on the brakes, I'm flung forward.
‘What's wrong with you?’ I gasp. ‘Stop driving like a maniac!’
He sits drumming his fingers impatiently on the wheel, cursing the lights. ‘I thought you said she was naked. Did they test her body for traces of semen?’
‘I just told you Nick, the first time she was raped she had her clothes on. He was in such a rush to…’
I can feel him watching me, then the lights change.
‘Then what?’ he asks, staring ahead at the road.
‘They stripped her and raped her, then the other guy came and they stopped, he told them…’
He brakes suddenly, just missing a car. ‘I don't think she would keep the clothes, she probably went home, had a shower then threw them away - that's what most victims do.’
‘What, even if the police told her to keep them?’
He shrugs. ‘They probably had all the evidence they needed.’
I sit listening to the recording - she doesn't mention the clothes or having a test, so I give her a call, but it goes to voicemail. I leave a message telling her to call me as soon as she can.
Nick parks in the street around the corner from our house. He stays in the car, I get out.
The officer watches as I walk into the garden and go inside, I’m sure he knows its me, he must think I'm nuts.
The Beth Papadakis Thriller Box Set Page 8