“So you really did kidnap Anna?” Sally was sitting next to Gavin as he drove at breakneck speed across town. They were heading for Rob’s flat and somewhere in the evening traffic there were at least two other security men coming to their chief’s aid. He had phoned in while driving with one hand and giving quite a few motorists, plus Sally, minor heart attacks as he zipped around them, burning rubber all the way.
He nodded and the grin he gave her was tinged with a sadness she could well understand. She knew that he stood to lose out on a deal that was no deal at all. Maybe he would get to Anna before they got the child out of the country, which is what he expected them to do. However, it might not make any difference. The law would not be on Gavin’s side. He would have to see his little daughter being handed over to a mother who cared only for money and power and a step-father who was a monster.
“Slow down! You’ll get us both killed, Gavin!” But he wasn’t in the mood to take advice. He had the Devil pushing him from behind. “There! Next turning on the right – oh, my God Gavin, you nearly chopped that cyclist down! No – no! Straight ahead, first left over the cross-roads and watch for the…” Too late. “…red light!”
Fortunately, the part of town where Rob lived was relatively quiet and only two cars travelling in opposite directions ended up nose to nose with white faced drivers staring at each other, wondering how they managed still to be in one piece.
There was no answer to Gavin’s pressure on the doorbell of Rob’s flat, nor to his fist reverberating on the thin wooden panel.
“Rob! Rob, it’s me, Sally! Please open up. We’ve got to talk!” Sally shouted through the door, but all she was met with was the silence from within and Gavin’s laboured breathing as he seethed impatiently by her side.
“Good evening!” A small, polite voice made them jump and when they swivelled round they found that the owner was a short, comfortably built man in his seventies who was regarding them with unbridled interest from the flat opposite. “Can I help you? You know, I don’t think there’s anybody at home in number seven. It’s been very quiet for some time.”
“Look, old man,” Gavin went to the old fellow and laid a hand on the padded shoulder that was no higher than his own waist. “This is an official emergency. I’ve got to gain access to this flat. You wouldn’t have the spare key would you?”
“Oh, no!” the man shook his head violently and his smooth rosy cheeks vibrated with the action. “He would never trust me with a key. Too nosy you know. I am. It’s quite true and I’m the first to admit it, but then I always say that God gave me a nose and meant me to use it.”
“So you don’t have the key, Mister….?”
“Arthur.”
“Mr. Arthur…”
“Just Arthur, dear boy. Can’t stand being addressed as ‘Mister’. Makes me feel old.”
“Okay, Arthur. Look, this is very important and…”
“You’re American, aren’t you? Why don’t you do like they do in the movies? Go on, let me see you do it. Kick the door down.” He lifted his foot as he spoke and went through the motions of a lethal kick-boxing step, nearly overbalancing in the attempt.
Gavin looked from the old man to Sally, then stared at the door. Sally saw him take a deep breath just before his foot lashed out and the door splintered from the jamb.
“Gavin! Oh, my God!”
The old man was rubbing his hands together and laughing heartily. “My dear girl, don’t stop him now. Good heavens, isn’t this exciting? Do you mind if I come in with you? I’ve always wondered what the inside of the dear boy’s flat was like. He’s never invited me you know. I think maybe he’s afraid that I’m an old queer since I live alone.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t think any such thing, Arthur,” Sally said over her shoulder as she followed close behind Gavin, picking her way delicately over the caved-in door.
“I’m not you know…Oh!” Arthur had bumped into her because she had stopped suddenly, watching Gavin’s face as he reached down and picked up a small red shoe.
Sally recognised the shoe instantly. It was one of a pair and they were Anna’s favourite shoes. She had worn them often. She watched Gavin turn it around and around in his hands, saw the agitated twitch of the muscle in his cheek.
“Oh, that must belong to the little girl,” Arthur came forward and pointed to the shoe. “Pretty little thing she was.”
“You saw her?” Gavin demanded and Arthur flinched nervously. “You saw a little girl here in this flat? Come on, old man! This is a matter of life and death.”
“Oh, my goodness! Well, there was a little girl here this morning. She came with a tall, rather ugly looking fellow. Not much hair and a big nose. Eyes were too close together. Never trust a man whose eyes ride too near the nose. The poor little mite wasn’t at all happy. I got the impression that she was frightened.”
“Where was Rob in all this?” Sally wanted to know. “Was he with them?”
“No, but I know he hadn’t left the flat at that point. And he didn’t leave later after the woman arrived.”
“Woman? What woman?” Gavin was sounding more and more threatening and the old man’s chin began to quiver.
“A fancy looking piece – all blonde and big jewellery.”
“Nadine!” Gavin muttered darkly.
“Good looking, some might say,” Arthur went on, “but she had a hard face beneath all that make-up. The three of them left together half an hour later. I got the feeling that the little girl was an unwilling passenger, though she never uttered a word.”
“What car? Did you see the car?” Gavin persisted and Sally took hold of Arthur’s arm and gave it an encouraging squeeze, which won her a grateful smile.
“Yes, of course I saw the car. Why that’s my hobby. From my window I make a note of all the cars I see during the day. Make, colour, registration, occupants when I have enough time. The car the woman was driving was a metallic green BMW and if you’ll just come across to my flat for a second I’ll give you the registration… Good heavens! What was that?”
They all spun around at the sound of a groan and a hollow thump coming from the bedroom.
“It’s coming from the wardrobe!” Sally said as a second thump came, followed by a third and a fourth and further groans that were beginning to sound more like muffled words now that their attention was caught.
Gavin crossed the room in two great strides and yanked the wardrobe door open. Sally gasped and ran forward as a very crumpled Rob rolled out onto the carpeted floor. He was gagged and hog-tied and looking positively purple in the face from lack of oxygen and the effort to free himself.
“Oh, Rob!” Sally was fumbling with his fastenings, but was pushed aside by Gavin who tore off the broad Elastoplast that was keeping him quiet and almost suffocating him.
“Poor boy!” Arthur murmured and went off to explore the kitchen, announcing his intention of making a pot of tea.
“Who’s he?” Rob looked from Gavin to Sally with round, worried eyes.
“Never mind who I am,” Gavin barked at him, making him blink. “You’re going to have some explaining to do to the police later about aiding and abetting kidnappers. Now, tell me what you know as quickly as possible.”
“Aye, all right – anything you say, but get me out of these ropes.”
“First the answers!”
Sally bit her lip as she saw Rob wince. He wasn’t the most courageous of souls at the best of times, but she felt utterly sorry for him now. He had been cruelly used and Gavin was prolonging his agony.
“Who was this Bruce fellow? He wasn’t your brother, was he?”
Rob shook his head. “No. I don’t know him from Adam, but he made me do it. He was the one who invented the story about my broken foot. He threatened to do all sorts of things to the kids at The Rose Carousel if I didn’t do what he told me… I – I believed him. He was rotten to the core that one.”
Rob’s voice cracked and he turned his face away so they couldn’t see his tears. Sally got down on her knees beside him and put her arms about him, hugging him tight.
“It’s all right, Rob. You’re safe now.” She looked up at Gavin’s stern face and saw no mercy. “Well aren’t you going to cut him free or…?”
“There’s no time for that. The old man can do it when we’ve gone.”
“Where are we going?”
“After Nadine and her boyfriend, who is undoubtedly one of Macey’s henchmen. At least we have a description of the car. Arthur!”
Arthur appeared in the kitchen door, teapot in hand. “Any idea where the car was heading? The one with the child in it?”
“North, dear boy! I’m afraid that’s all I know…”
“You’ve done just great, fella!” Gavin forced his mouth into the semblance of a grateful smile and Sally relaxed a little, seeing the human being coming back into the mean machine. “Release Rob here, will you – and then I want you both to give all this information to the police.”
“The police!” Sally was running after him as he bounded down the stairs and out into the street. “But Gavin, won’t that cause trouble for you? Gavin, you kidnapped a child. You’ll go to prison!”
“Get in, if you’re coming!” Gavin ordered as he pulled open the passenger seat door of his car. She did as he said and he slammed the door shut then got in behind the wheel. The car seemed to take off instantly, tyres screeching and gears grinding.
“Isn’t there some other way…?”
“I’m past worrying what they do to me. I just want to make sure that Anna doesn’t land back in the hands of that pervert. You understand that, don’t you, Sally?”
Of course she understood. He was a father who loved his daughter. He couldn’t stand back and let her life be ruined, physically and mentally. He had to do what he had to do and she was right there with him.
“What do you want me to do, Gavin?”
“There’s a map there in the pocket beside you. Take it out and find the freeway for Scotland – sorry, motorway, main road, whatever. There’s a place called Glen Tor just north of Dumfries. You can map-read, can’t you?”
“I’m a female,” Sally grimaced, trying to lighten the atmosphere between them. “We’re not noted for our talents at navigation.”
“Do your best. I’ve driven there once before, but it was a few years ago.”
“How do you know where they’re headed?”
“I don’t. I’m just taking a guess and following my gut feeling. Macey has a hunting lodge up there on the edge of the moors. It’s his private hideaway.”
“Lucky man!”
“He won’t be lucky when I get my hands on him.”
“Just promise me one thing, Gavin,” Sally laid a hand on his arm, feeling the taught muscles beneath the material of his jacket. “Promise me you’ll be very, very careful. I don’t want to…”
Goodness, she was about to blurt out something like not wanting to lose him, but that was hardly the kind of thing to say in the circumstances. After all, they didn’t really have a relationship, did they. It had almost started, but had been curtailed before getting beyond the basics. Besides, what would have been the point in starting a relationship with a man like Gavin Calder? He wasn’t even from her world.
“You don’t want to what?” He glanced at her swiftly, then turned his concentration back to the busy road ahead.
“Oh, nothing. I just don’t want Anna to end up visiting you in prison.”
His hand sneaked out, squeezed her thigh. She nearly choked on her emotion. Instead, she took a deep breath and hurriedly found the place in the map that he had told her. Thank heavens it seemed a pretty straightforward route. To Dumfries at least.
What they were going to do when they got to this place that Gavin knew about – this hunting lodge – heaven only knew. Sally was aware of her heart pumping at a quickened rate and her blood racing through her veins. The nearer to Scotland they got, the worse it became. Fear and excitement made a heady cocktail.
It was already dark and drizzling a fine, misty rain as they reached Dumfries. Gavin negotiated heavy traffic through the town centre, then they headed north over the River Nith and took the Kilmarnock road.
“You can put that map away now, Sally,” Gavin told her softly and in the dark she felt his fingers squeeze her hand. “Well done. We’ve made it.”
“Oh, it wasn’t that difficult,” she said, feeling her face flush red and glad he couldn’t see it.
“No, but you made it easier for me. Thanks.”
“What about the rest of the journey?”
“It’s not on the map, but I think I can remember the way from here.”
“I hope so. And I hope your gut feeling is right. About them being there, I mean.”
He tossed her a smile that was picked up in the headlights of an oncoming car. “Me too.”