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Nick had been moved to a clinical assessment ward and Polly had accompanied him, she was dozing in the chair beside his bed. For the moment Nick was described as serious but stable. They had removed the oxygen mask and he was now breathing unaided through his nose which although broken they had realigned and taped it in position. The bruises were starting to appear on his face and his eyes were badly blackened, purple patches were starting to spread all down his face and cheeks. Nick had opened his eyes briefly and Polly was sure she saw a hint of recognition in them. Once the sedation started to wear off she would try to talk to him even if she didn’t get much response in return. She hoped that the sound of her voice would be a comfort to him and he wouldn’t feel alone. Matt had returned her texts and told her not to hesitate to ask if she needed him to bring anything, otherwise, he would call in again during normal visiting hours.
A junior nurse arrived to perform the regular checks on temperature and blood pressure. She performed her tasks as quietly as possible as the other patients were trying to sleep. She entered the readings on her handheld device and smiled comfortingly at Polly. The full extent of Nick’s injuries would become clearer tomorrow when he had his MRI scan on his abdomen and CT scan on his head. Polly couldn’t go back to sleep so she inched her chair forward and took hold of Nick’s hand. She was sure she felt the slightest pressure in return.
**
Dan had changed out of his suit into a T-shirt and pyjama bottoms. The flat felt chilly so he had put on a sweatshirt over the top. Jessica was stretched out on the sofa with a rug over her and Dan sat facing her in an armchair. They had finished their cup of tea and were ready to have a difficult conversation.
‘So who is going to start?’ said Jessica.
‘I should go first. I’m the one who got us into this mess,’ said Dan sounding contrite.
Jessica remained silent.
‘I’ve been a complete idiot. A few months ago I began to feel under pressure at uni. Things weren’t going so well on the project. Well, I mean, the project was going well but I seemed to be struggling. I really want to make a success of things as you’ve got a good job and travelling up to London every day,’ he paused.
‘I hope you’re not going to say that I’ve driven you to take drugs,’ said Jessica sternly.
‘No, please, hear me out. I just felt I needed something to give me, I don’t know, just a bit of help from time to time. Then I went out one night with those friends I used to see a lot, Hal and Stu and well, we went back to their flat and they were doing lines and I tried it. It gave me a bit of a buzz you know and well, one thing led to another.’
Jessica looked exhausted and depressed as she listened to his excuses. She’d put a cushion behind her head and lay back listening to him impassively.
‘I got hooked, it’s so easy. They introduced me to their dealer, someone called Wayne, that was all I knew him by and he kept me supplied. That’s what I was using the money out of our account for. I was dishonest, I lied about having to get a replacement tyre, it was disgraceful. I’m really sorry,’ and he started to weep.
‘But why kidnap me? How much did you owe?’ asked Jessica, finding it hard to believe the gravity of what had occurred was related to Dan owing some money to drug dealers.
‘Believe me, I had no idea what these people were like and I still don’t know what sort of people Wayne is mixed up with but they must be complete nutters’
‘Or sadists.’
‘The day you went missing, well in the evening, I assume they took you earlier in the day, someone approached me and threatened me. He gave me some coke but it was in return for a favour. I still have trouble processing what he asked me,’ Dan put his head in his hands.
‘Go on,’ urged Jessica.
‘I had to steal a batch of the front-runner compound, you know UP-627 and they collected it from me the next night.’
‘What? Why did they want that?’
‘They never said. It’s not got any psychoactive component, as far as we know that is. I assume somehow, I don’t know how, they’d found out it was to treat cancer and they must be trying to sell it on to someone, a drug company perhaps? But it’s bizarre, people like that don’t normally indulge in intellectual property theft as I suppose you would call it.’
Jessica was shaking her head in disbelief.
‘They gave me no choice, they gave me your necklace and some of your hair, don’t you see how awful it was for me?’
‘Yes, I’ve got some short bits of hair here where they cut some off,’ said Jessica fingering some of her hair to find the shorter strands of hair.
‘When I handed over the material I expected you to be released but instead they gave me your letter telling me you were OK and I had to be patient. I had no idea whether they were lying and I wouldn’t see you again. They threatened me not to go to the police or they would kill you. I just didn’t know what to do, I had to carry on as normal in the lab.’
‘Well, I think it’s time you heard what happened to me,’ she said, sitting up slightly on the sofa. ‘I thought it was a normal Monday morning. You were asleep when I left. I was walking by that little park when a van pulled up asking for directions. One minute I was looking at the address they showed me, the next I was in the back of a grotty van.’
‘They didn’t hurt you did they?’
‘Well, it wasn’t very pleasant, they bound my hands and feet.’
‘Bastards! I’ll kill them!’
‘Shut up and listen. They took me somewhere, it’s about three or four miles out of town, in the country. They put a bag over my head and I was locked up in a room in some outbuilding or something. They provided me with sandwiches, water to drink and a bucket to pee in. It was terrifying.’
Dan got up and went to sit by Jessica, he put his arm around her and she snuggled up against him. ‘How did you escape?’
‘It’s a long story, I still can’t believe I managed to, but I’m so glad that they asked me to write that note to you.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, because I managed to hide the pen and then when I knew that there was only one person guarding me, I faked my suicide and stabbed him through the eye.’
‘Jeez, Jessica! I can’t believe I’m hearing this! It’s like something off the TV! And what happened to him?’
‘I don’t know. I think he passed out. I must have blinded him at least. I don’t know, perhaps worse than that. I didn’t stay around to ask him but I got the keys off him and managed to flee. It’s a long story about my cross-country orienteering but I made it thanks to a kind lady called Denise.’
Dan was wide-eyed and incredulous. This was such a fantastical story. Jessica had escaped from captivity in the most dramatic way.
‘We’re going to have to tell the police the full story. You will almost certainly be charged with drug possession. I might be charged with wounding or manslaughter, although it was self-defence, I didn't know what would happen to me. But those bastards need to be caught. They must be part of some organised crime ring. I’ve kept my clothes, I’ve just realised I left them in Ruth’s flat, I’ll get them from her in the morning. I’m not sure how much evidence will be left though, I got completely drenched. I had my raincoat on when I stabbed him so any blood from him would be on that.’
‘Oh, Jessica, I’m so sorry. I love you so much,’ said Dan breaking down in tears.
‘I know. I love you too, that’s why I didn’t go straight to the police. I didn’t know whether they were holding you captive as well. I needed to know you were safe.’
They hugged once more.
‘Come on, let’s get dressed. We need to phone the police to see whether we should go to the police station now. We need to pack a couple of overnight bags as well. I don’t want to come back here until we know we are safe,’ said Jessica.
‘OK. We can chat through what we tell the police whilst we get ready.’
They set about their preparations. They just hoped the police would take them seriously as it seemed such a bizarre set of events for somewhere like Persford. Their world had been turned upside down but at least they were safe and had each other. However, they needed to ensure that they stayed safe and that could mean some tough decisions.
