CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

Neil Clarkson turned out to be nothing like Chief Superintendent Cade, and their deep concern about their wayward daughter’s disappearance was undoubtedly genuine. They admitted their faults, blamed themselves for pandering to her, and apologized repeatedly if it should turn out to be a waste of police time.

‘We lost a child, Chief Inspector. Killed in a road accident. He was only four.’ Clarkson ran his hand through his thick iron grey hair. ‘It’s wrong, I know, but Ellen and I have totally over-compensated with Toni.’

His stick-thin wife gave a sad smile. ‘And look where it’s got us. We love her with all our hearts, but she’s turning into a nightmare.’

‘One that we are not dealing with particularly well,’ added her husband wearily.

Kate felt for them. There were times when she believed that Marcus and Eddie were alien spawn, from a planet that bore no resemblance to the one in which she lived, but she loved them no less.

They took names of friends and lists of places that she frequented, but the only one that interested Kate was a recently ditched boyfriend called Ethan Barley. Hurt, rejected or angry, he may have been looking for a spot of payback.

‘What sort of boy is Ethan Barley?’ she asked.

‘He’s the son of the vicar of Fendyke Village. A student, and a bit of a rebel. We met him once and weren’t totally impressed.’ Clarkson looked at his wife.

Ellen agreed. ‘Not exactly our cup of tea. I got the impression that he was born out of time. He came over as very passionate about causes.’

‘We commented at the time that he should have been leading the Miner’s Strike, or selling copies of Che Guevara’s manual on guerrilla warfare. Frankly I should think that the student protests over tuition fees must be something of a God-send to him right now.’ Neil Clarkson shrugged. ‘Not that he was a thug or anything like that. He clearly came from a decent home and his manners were surprisingly good for such a driven young man.’

Jon asked about Toni’s personality. Was she easily led? Impressionable, etc. Her parents had laughed in unison at that one. Apparently Toni was contrary enough to pick an argument about a change in the weather, yet alone be talked into doing anything that she didn’t want to do.

Kate was just about to bring the meeting to a close when her phone rang. She excused herself, and went to the hallway to answer it.

‘Ma’am? It’s Rosie here. I’m in the A&E department of Saltfleet General Hospital. I thought you should know that a teenage girl has been admitted, and she’s in quite a bad way.’

A feeling of confusion swept over Kate. ‘Rosie? How come you’re at the hospital? And what makes you think it’s our missing girl?’ She added in a whisper so as not to alert the Clarksons.

‘I overheard a call come in about a youngster found wandering around on the outskirts of one of the fen villages. She had no ID on her and she was well out of it. Then I remembered what the Sarge told me on the phone, about you checking out another missing girl from the Harlan Marsh area. I decided to come down and take a look for myself. Can you give me a description of the girl you are looking for?’

Kate glanced at her note-book. ‘Brunette, shoulder-length hair, slim, brown eyes and wearing a yellow skinny T-shirt and boot-cut jeans.’

‘Then I think you should get over here ASAP.’

‘I’m with her parents right now.’ Kate bit her lip. ‘You say she’s in a state, can you clarify that, before I scare the shit out of her family.’

‘Battered and bruised. Query broken ribs. Nothing immediately life-threatening, although she’s pretty unstable. The medics are working on the supposition that she’s taken, or been given, a drug of some kind.’

Kate thought about Shauna. ‘What a hallucinogen, or a Rohypnol-type drug?’

‘They don’t know yet, it’s too early to say. Although thankfully there are no signs of sexual interference.’

‘That’s one blessing. Now, Rosie, are you sure enough about the description to allow me to bring the parents to the hospital?’

‘It’s close enough, ma-am. I’m almost certain. The clothes, the hair colour, and her build all seem to tally, but please don’t get their hopes up, just in case I’ve found a look-alike.’

Back in the lounge, Kate carefully re-worded what DC Rosie McElderry had just told her. ‘Now this may have nothing to do with Toni, but I do need one or both of you to come with us. I must just ask you to forgive us if this turns out to be another girl, and not your daughter.’

Both husband and wife jumped to their feet. ‘We’ll take our own car, DCI Reynard. We’ll follow you.’

Jon travelled with them, and Gary with Kate as she sped back towards her home patch.

‘Looks like the lass finally came up against someone tougher and nastier than she expected,’ mused Gary. ‘You can only push your luck so far before it runs out.’ He glanced worriedly at her. ‘And there’s something else you should know, ma’am. For the past year, we’ve been trying to trace an underground drinking club. Sounds pretty soft cell, but it’s far from that. Someone is supplying under-age youngsters with alcohol and God knows what else. It seems that the kids get in free and get free drinks as long as they party themselves silly, and socialize with the paying members.’

A wave of nausea hit Kate. ‘Socialize?’

‘Mm, we’re not sure exactly what form that takes, and no-one is prepared to talk about it.’ His face drew into a dark frown. ‘Whoever runs it is damned clever. They’ve been one jump ahead of us for months.’

‘So why can’t you locate the venue?’

‘That’s the clever part, ma’am. It moves around. We suspect that members are sent a text with a time and location, just a few hours before it kicks off, bit like the old Smartie parties?’ Gary shook his head. ‘We’ve been close, but so far we’ve discovered zilch. And hell, would I like to get my hands on the men behind it.’

Kate slowed down for a red light. ‘Gary, we are investigating the drowning of a fourteen year old girl with alcohol and Foxy Methoxy in her bloodstream. We suspect she was taken to a deserted beach and dumped. The fact she drowned must have been a real bonus for whoever drugged her. Any chance we are talking about a connection?’

Gary nodded quickly. ‘I’d say so, and if Toni Clarkson has a date-rape drug in her system, that could be connected too.’

‘Then we’ve got to find this club and get inside it.’

‘Easier said than done, ma’am.’

Kate accelerated towards the town. ‘No offence, but we have better resources than you, Gary.’ Kate thought of her best resource, i.e. Jon Summerhill. ‘I’m willing to bet we can crack this. What would you say if I managed to swing a temporary transfer? Get you on our team for while?’

‘I’d welcome it, ma’am. Really I would, and…’ He sat back and took a deep breath. ‘Actually things have been pretty shitty over the last year. Sadly I lost my sister a few months back, and although the guys at the station are not a bad bunch, the atmosphere and the working environment is pretty crappy. I’ve been thinking about a change of scenery, but I need to know that club is closed down, and our kids are safe from their clutches before I consider my next move.’

‘Then I’ll put some wheels into motion. I think Saltfleet Division could do with a man like you, PC Pritchard.’

They drove the rest of the way in silence, Gary with an excited smile on his face, and Kate silently congratulating ‘Mystic Meg’ on yet another correct prediction.

 

They found Rosie waiting for them in the foyer of the hospital. Kate made a brief introduction and she rushed them through to where the teenager was being treated. A doctor greeted them, and then they waited anxiously while he made sure that she was ready to be seen.

‘She’s still very confused, and we are concerned because we have no idea what she has taken.’

The young man looked haggard. His shirt had come adrift from his trousers and he looked to be somewhere around twelve. If it hadn’t been for the stethoscope around his neck Kate would never have known this ‘school boy’ was a doctor. She silently prayed for the return of the white coat.

‘Toni doesn’t take drugs.’ said Ellen Clarkson in a very small crackly voice.

And neither did Shauna. Kate looked at the woman sympathetically and wondered how many times she’d heard that empty statement. The parents were always the last to find out.

‘That’s as maybe,’ said the doctor gently, ‘and no matter how they got there, there are drugs in her system, and some pretty powerful ones from the symptoms that she is presenting.’ He turned towards the door of the examination room. ‘Let’s just see if you recognize her first, shall we?’

They stood back as the Clarksons tentatively approached the trolley on which the agitated girl lay.

Kate realized that she was holding her breath, and then she heard a low cry from the mother, followed by the exclamation, ‘Darling! My God! Whatever has happened to you?’

‘Bingo,’ whispered Rosie with a great deal of relief. ‘Game over!’

Kate didn’t answer. Apart from the fact that they needed to find out exactly what had happened to the youngster, she was experiencing a seriously bad bout of policeman’s nose. Something wasn’t right about all this.

The others moved away, talking animatedly, but she stayed and continued to look through the observation window.

The young woman was still hallucinating. One moment she appeared almost comatose, the next she was throwing herself around, fighting and screaming at anyone who went near her. Her eyes were wide, her pupils contracted to little more than pinpricks, and she obviously did not recognize her parents. For that reason, and to spare them further upset, a nurse quickly led them out and took them to a nearby relative’s room.

‘May I go in?’ Kate asked the doctor.

‘Sure. But keep well back. We’ve already had a syringe of sedative travel like a dart to the far wall!’

‘I just want to observe her.’ She looked at the trolley and large plastic bag beneath it. ‘Her clothes have been bagged for forensics?’ she asked.

‘Yes, they are all there. Although the shoes are separate. They were covered in thick mud.’

As Toni yelled and cursed in an altogether un-ladylike fashion, Kate stared at the clear plastic bag holding her footwear.

‘She was alone when she was found?’

The doctor looked across at her. ‘Yes.’

Alarm bells rang in her head.

Toni’s bare feet thrashed and kicked out at the nurse closest to her. Her feet were narrow, very slim with long toes, but clearly, no more than a size 5. Kate looked again at the plastic bag and saw the pair of mud-covered chunky wide trainers.

‘They are not her shoes.’ she said softly. ‘Why is she wearing someone else’s shoes?’

The doctor blinked a few times. ‘Pass.’ He frowned. ‘Although she does keep calling out for someone called Emily. Maybe it’s connected.’

As if on queue, Toni screamed the name several times, then whimpered, “Where are you taking her?” before shivering violently and curling into the foetal position.

An icy trickle of fear coursed down Kate’s spine.

They’d found Toni, and thank God she was alive, but who was Emily? And what did Toni mean by ‘where are you taking her?’ Did they have another girl to find?

She swallowed hard. She believed that they did, and considering what had happened to Shauna Kelly, whoever Emily was, she was in grave danger.