The Maggie Bainbridge Box Set

by Rob Wyllie

  Throughout, Josh had stood stock-still on the pavement, open- mouthed with shock and fear, and it was a simple task for Vince to push him across the street and into the back of the SUV. At least it would have been, if at that moment Maggie and Olivia had not arrived on the scene.

  Olivia flew at the youth, her arms flaying as she rained a barrage of weak punches in his direction. 'Leave him alone, leave him alone!' she screamed through her tears. 'Run, Josh, run. Get away!' but the boy was paralysed with fright, unable to comprehend what was happening to him and his mummy.

  Simultaneously Maggie had rushed over to the BMW, where the older man stood guard, waiting to bundle Josh in the back. She tried to push past him to get to Ollie, but he grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and shoved her to the ground. As she fell, her forehead crashed against the pavement edge, driving a deep gash and drawing blood. Weakly, she got to her knees, her mind clear despite the pain. She had to free Ollie, she just had to, pleading with the gods to give her the strength, but as she tried to get to her feet, the hood smashed his fist into her face, shattering her nose and causing her to collapse into the road, ending up face down in a pool of her own blood.

  Momentarily unconscious, she opened her eyes to see that across the street Olivia was still gripping desperately onto the younger man, who despite all his efforts, was unable to shake himself free. She could just about make out the words. Fuck's sake dad, get the cow off me. Then through her blurred vision, she caught the glint of steel in the sunshine as he ran across to his son and with a sickening movement, plunged the knife into Olivia's chest.

  Chapter 26

  Serious but not immediately life-threatening was how the young doctor had described Maggie's condition. Not immediately life-threatening, what the hell did that mean? That's what Jimmy was asking his brother, again and again, as they sat alongside her bed in a high dependency suite of the Royal Free Hospital. She looked for all the world as if she had come off second-best in a particularly one-sided boxing match. Her left eye was surrounded by a dark purple ring of puffy skin, causing it to be squeezed tightly and painfully shut. Her nose had fared even worse, the bone broken and the flesh swollen to twice its normal size, its colour a matching shade for her eye. Fortunately, the blow on her forehead, though causing a nasty bruise, had not broken the skin so no disfiguring stitches would be required. But along the corridor, Olivia Walton was fighting for her life, her distraught husband beside her, struggling to take in the shattering tsunami that had today, without warning, enveloped his family. He had been told not to hold out much hope, but he had not been listening. Olivia was just thirty-six years old and only yesterday they had received the news that she was pregnant with their second child. Thirty-six-year-old women didn't just die, of course they didn't, that was stupid, and seven-year old boys weren't abducted in broad daylight.

  Jimmy and Frank had been joined by Asvina and DI Pete Burnside, who had been swiftly assigned to the case by DCI Smart. The stern male nurse had balked at having four visitors in the room, but Burnside had convinced him of the need for the police to be present when she awoke from her sedation, in case she had seen anything that would help them in the desperate search for the abductors of two young boys and the perpetrators of the vicious attacks on their mothers.

  'What are we going to tell her about Ollie?' Jimmy whispered, his tone betraying his anxiety. 'I mean, it could send her over the edge, it really could.'

  'What can we tell her? We know absolutely bugger-all at the moment,' replied Frank irritably. 'Look, I'm sorry mate, we just have to tell her the truth, she would want that.' It had only been a few hours, but already he knew the sense of helplessness that Burnside must have felt all through the Jamie Grant investigation.

  'Maybe it's best if I speak to her,' Asvina said softly. 'I don't really know what to say, but well, as a mother, maybe it would be better...honestly, I don't know.'

  Burnside was trying hard to be positive, without much conviction. 'This whole abduction thing didn't turn out at all as they planned it, I'm absolutely sure of that. The crime scene will be awash with evidence, believe you me. We'll get the bastards this time, we will. There's no doubt about it.'

  Frank nodded, wishing he shared his colleague's confidence. Six hours on and no witnesses had come forward and there was nothing on the CCTV around the scene, not that they had a bloody clue what they were looking for. Burnside had a squad of uniforms conducting door-to-doors within a five-hundred metre radius, but so far they too had drawn a blank. A near-fatal stabbing and the snatching of two children had taken place on a sunny school-day afternoon and no-one had seen a thing. With Olivia Walton at death's door, the fact was that now they were totally dependent on Maggie to make any progress, and goodness knows what state she would be in when she came round.

  Outside the door, another doctor had appeared and was immediately in deep conversation with the nurse. A moment later, she entered the room.

  'Good evening, I'm Susan Blackford, Miss Bainbridge's consultant. Nurse Hamlyn has just been sharing the background of the case with me. It's a terrible thing altogether.'

  'Is she going to be all right?' Jimmy asked.

  'I think so. She has suffered quite a severe trauma to her forehead and that would have led to rather bad concussion, but luckily we don't think she has suffered an injury to the brain. These can take some time to develop of course so she will have to be kept here under observation for a few days, but the signs are good. And she has a broken nose too, which is going to be very painful.'

  Frank nodded. 'Aye, she's been in the wars right enough.'

  'Indeed,' Blackman replied, 'but my immediate concern is the effect any further emotional stress will have on her recovery. I've heard about what has happened to her son, and in my opinion, it may be sensible to keep her under light sedation when the news is broken to her. I'm genuinely worried about the effect any shock may have on her.'

  'I understand that doctor,' Burnside said, nodding in sympathy but anxious to make his point, 'but you know we really need to speak to her as soon as you think it's safe. She's probably our only witness at the moment and so you see, everything depends on what she can tell us. To help us find the boys.'

  The consultant shook her head. 'Yes, well I can see it's important, but I have to balance that with the needs of my patient. Look, I'm happy with one of you staying with her but not all of you. And please, when she wakes up, no questions until the nursing team and myself are here, is that clear?'

  'That's absolutely fine,' Asvina agreed. 'Her mum is on the way from Yorkshire and should be here in a couple of hours. Who's going to stay with her until then?'

  They looked at each other, uncertain. Finally Jimmy said, 'I will.'

  He'd had plenty of experience dealing with trauma, too much if truth be told, but he'd never expected to have to face it in this job. Out in Helmand, telling an injured squaddie that some of their mates were dead was the worst thing he had to do, and now back here in London, he would somehow have to break it to Maggie about Ollie, and about Olivia and Josh too. He'd no idea how much she would have remembered about the attack but whatever the case she would be in deep shock. Of course, she'd been through a lot, about ten times more stuff in the last two years than most people saw in a lifetime, and seemed outwardly to have built up a resilience, but that too he had seen before, plenty of times. Sometimes, there was a tipping point, just one little thing, the straw that broke the camel's back. He prayed to Christ that this wouldn't be it.

  Frank got up and patted him on the shoulder. 'Ok, we'll leave you to it mate. We'll be outside if you need a break, just give us a shout.'

  Jimmy gave a thumbs-up as they left the room. For the moment there was nothing else to do but sit and wait, watching as she lay still and silent, her shallow breathing the faintest murmur above the background hum and rhythmic beep of the heart monitor. Hard to believe it was barely eighteen months since they had first met, both of them in different ways damaged goods, but to use the over-used p
hrase so beloved of celebs, they had since been on a journey together, and it was now quite impossible to imagine life without her. Yet it was difficult to put a finger on what exactly made the relationship so special. It wasn't romance, and it certainly wasn't sexual, he was never going there, attractive though she was, but it wasn't like brother and sister either. Actually, when he thought about it, they were like comrades in the army, brought together by life experiences that few had shared. Yes, the more he considered it, the more he saw it to be true. Captain James Stewart and Maggie Bainbridge, the not-quite-QC, were comrades-in-arms, and always would be, if he had anything to do with it.

  It was nearly ten minutes before she stirred, first her head slowly tilting towards him and then with an obvious effort she opened her eyes. Her face wore a quizzical expression as she struggled to take in her surroundings, and then the faintest of smiles as she recognised Jimmy. For a few moments she lay silent, and then with no warning she sat bolt upright, wincing as a wave of pain shot through her.

  'Ollie, Ollie! My Ollie!' Now her breathing was laboured, her face turning a deathly shade of white.

  Jimmy leaped to the door and yanked it open. 'Get someone in here quick!' It was a few seconds before Dr Blackman arrived at her bedside, trailed by a young nurse. Gently, she placed her hands on Maggie's shoulders and guided her down so that again she lay on her back.

  'You're ok Maggie, you'll be fine. Just lie down and we'll get you comfortable. That's a good girl.' She glanced at the nurse. '1ml of Midazolam please,' and then to Jimmy, 'It's just a mild sedative, it's standard procedure.' The nurse bared Maggie's arm and then expertly administered the injection. 'It'll take a few minutes,' she said in way of explanation.

  Now Maggie started to cry. 'Jimmy, Ollie, they took him, they took him... and Olivia...' She sobbed violently as the image came back to her. 'God, it was so awful. That man... I can't believe it, what he did.'

  Jimmy was struggling to find the right words. 'Maggie... I know, it's just... so terrible. But listen, Pete Burnside's got more than a hundred officers out on the streets looking for him right now, and it's all over the news and in all the papers. They'll find him soon, I'm sure they will.'

  But the sickening feeling in his gut said otherwise. Of course he wasn't sure, he wasn't sure at all. After all, it was more than two years since Jamie Grant had disappeared, and they still hadn't found him, not the slightest trace. Praying was useless, he'd found that out only too starkly in Afghanistan, but he still did it because it was human nature to cling to any comfort blanket, no matter how illogical. So he closed his eyes and made a silent plea. Please God, if you're there, for once just show your hand. Prove me wrong, please please prove me wrong.

  The sedative was beginning to take effect and now she spoke more calmly. 'Jimmy, I need to get out of here. I need to go and look for him. I need to do something or I'll go mad. Please, where are my clothes, I need to go back there, I need to.'

  'I know, I know,' he said, soothingly, 'but Maggie, you have to get well first. And you should take a look in the mirror. You'll scare the horses if you go out in that state.'

  She forced a weak smile. 'Yeah, very funny. But I can't just lie here doing nothing. I just can't. Tell the doctor I want to go home, at least tomorrow.'

  He stared at her, alarmed. 'Are you mad Maggie? Hell, you're in no fit state to go anywhere.' Turning to the doctor he said, 'Can you tell her please, she won't listen to me.'

  Blackman tried her best professional voice. 'Maggie, as your doctor, I have to say it wouldn't be advisable...'

  'Advisable? Look, I'm really ok and I'm not lying here whilst Ollie is...is.' She tailed off, unable to bring herself to say the words.

  Jimmy took her hand and squeezed it gently. 'Maggie, we'll find him, we will.' It wasn't much use, but what else could he say? 'But look, maybe you'll be ok to answer a few questions. Are you up for that... I mean, will you be ok?'

  She spat out her response. 'Ok? Of course I'll be bloody ok, what sort of a mother do you think I am?'

  The doctor smiled. 'There's your answer I think. But please, not too long. I'll ask the policemen to come in, shall I?'

  They had decided to leave the questioning to Pete Burnside, as the official lead investigating officer on the case, leaving Frank and Asvina sitting silently in the corridor. Burnside gave Blackman a quick glance as he entered the room and said quietly, 'Ok then?'

  She nodded. 'Just five minutes though, that'll be enough.'

  Jimmy stood up to vacate the bedside chair and gave a thumbs-up.

  'Cheers mate,' Burnside said, taking his place. 'Now Maggie, I know this will be difficult, but can you tell me everything you remember. Even the tiniest detail can help us to find your boy.'

  'I understand,' Maggie said, and then she went on to tell him everything she could remember. Of the utter horror when she realised what was happening, the pathetic sense of helplessness when she could not free Ollie from the car, and of course, the stabbing. It was all a terrible blur, the order of events all jumbled around, like waking up in the middle of a nightmare and not knowing what was real and what wasn't. But there was something else, something she sensed was important, but it just wouldn't come to her. What was it? Come on.

  Doctor Blackman sensed her agitation and said quietly, 'Ok, I think that's enough for today Inspector.'

  He nodded. 'Yes, thank you Maggie, you've been absolutely amazing. It's been really, really helpful.'

  But it hadn't been, not really, she knew that. She hadn't got the make or number of the SUV, and that was likely to be fake in any case. She had got a look at both men, but she wasn't sure if she could identify them if she saw them again, certainly not the younger of the two. She guessed it wasn't much more than the police had already worked out for themselves, and that was probably two thirds of bugger-all.

  But then quite suddenly she remembered what it was. Dad. The man who had taken Ollie and who had stabbed Olivia. The younger man had called him dad, she was quite sure of that. How that would help, she had no idea, but it was something. But then another thing came to her. That man he had called dad. She couldn't think where, but she was certain that she had seen him before.

  ◆◆◆

  Outside in the corridor, Frank felt his phone vibrate. Glancing down, he saw it was Jill Smart.

  'Jill, hi. What's up?'

  'Frank, I'm in the ops room over at Paddington Green. We've just had something come in, and it's really bad news I'm afraid. They found a body, on some waste ground near Putney Bridge. It's a real mess. SOCOs and the pathologist are there right now, I don't envy them. But it looks like shot wounds to the head.'

  'Don't tell me Jill, please don't tell me that.' With every fibre of his being, he hoped that it wouldn't be true, but already he knew from Jill's tone that it was.

  'It's a boy. A little boy, about six or seven.'

  Of course, he had feared this might happen, although he hadn't dared to admit it to himself. Because he knew they didn't need little Josh Walton. He had just been an unexpected complication in an operation that had very nearly gone tits up. A complication that had to be tidied away.

  Chapter 27

  As soon as she awoke it started to come back to her through the fog of pain and confusion. Something had happened, something so dreadful that her body and her brain and her entire nervous system had shut down, like a computer placed in that semi-vegetative state known as sleep mode. She remembered someone saying that they would give her something, a nurse probably, and then there was only blackness. Glancing at the bedside clock, she struggled with the calculation. Five-sixteen and the light was beginning to creep through the ward blinds, so that meant it was morning. What was it, fourteen, fifteen hours that she had been asleep? And then as her operating system kicked back into life, she remembered what it was and instantly she was wide awake.

  'Nurse! Nurse!' Now she was sitting up, struggling to throw off the bed-clothes as she swung her legs round, her feet recoiling as they brushed against
the cold floor. Shakily, she pushed herself up, becoming conscious for the first time of the crashing pain in her head. Ignoring it, she flung open the door of the bedside cabinet and pulled everything out.

  'My clothes! Where are my bloody clothes!'

  Two nurses had heard her cries and rushed from their station. The first put her arm around her shoulder and gently tried to guide Maggie back to bed.

  'Now then my love,' she said in a kindly tone. 'We're not in any fit state to be up and about, are we? Let's get you back to bed, there's a love.'

  Maggie struggled to free herself, but the nurse's hold on her was firm.

  'My clothes. I need them. Please. It's my son you see, he's been taken and I have to look for him.' She could feel herself starting to shake as the emotion threatened to overwhelm her. The other nurse had turned down the sheets and now took Maggie's arm and helped her sit down on the edge of the bed.

  'I know love, I know, it's a terrible thing. Look, there's a policewoman waiting outside. Let's get you back into bed and I'll send her in so that she can give you an update. And your partner Mr Stewart is snoring away in our dayroom.' She grinned. 'He actually fell asleep at your bedside and nurse Short and I had a right job to wake him. Now we'll get you a nice cup of tea and send them through.'

  It was Jimmy who was first to arrive, unshaven and dishevelled after a night of fitful sleep, but it didn't prevent a gaggle of nurses turning to stare as he strode down the ward. He bent over and kissed her on the cheek.