Bring Him Back

  He nodded. ‘Galway.’

  ‘Nice there.’

  He replied, ‘I love the sea.’

  ‘So does Carl,’ she said, and her face tightened at the mention of his name, her brows knitting with emotion as if she might suddenly burst into tears. Collecting herself, she offered Ben a coffee. He declined politely and walked over to the wall where a large framed photo hung. The boy in the picture was eight or nine, sitting on a bike and beaming happily at the camera.

  ‘His father took that,’ Jessica said, glancing across with a grimace as she poured her coffee. ‘Almost four years ago. It’s the only photo of Drew’s I still have on the wall. I can hardly bear to look at it any more.’ She paused. ‘Do you have any children, Mr Hope?’

  ‘Ben,’ he said. ‘No. No children. No family. It’s just me.’ That wasn’t something he liked to talk about. He pointed at Carl’s picture. ‘I’ll need a smaller, more recent shot of him. Preferably one with you in it too.’

  ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘May I ask why I need to be in it?’

  ‘Because if I have to take him away from his father, having a family photo in my hand that he recognises means you sent me, and that he can trust me. It would also help to have one of Drew.’

  She anxiously sipped her coffee, standing facing Ben and leaning against the kitchen worktop. ‘It’s such an incredible relief to hear you talk about finding him. Needless to say, there’s still no word. Nobody’s seen them. I don’t even know what the police are doing.’ She paused, looking at Ben with frightened eyes. ‘You will find him, won’t you?’

  Before Ben could reply, a man walked into the kitchen. He was about Ben’s height, just a shade under six feet, and around the same age. Despite the wire-framed glasses and the bookish look about him, he could almost have been Ben’s more sedate, more urbane brother. His fair hair was neatly combed and parted, but there wasn’t much he could do to hide the dark circles under his eyes from anxiety and lack of sleep.

  ‘I’m Mike Greerson,’ he said, striding over with his hand extended. ‘We spoke on the phone.’ Ben shook his hand. It was a good, dry grip.

  ‘You’ve no idea how grateful we are to you for coming at such short notice,’ Mike said. He waved towards the wicker sofas. ‘Please, take a seat. You must be tired after your trip.’

  Mike and Jessica sat together on one sofa, each with a coffee. Ben sat opposite. Mike Greerson might not be Mr Hunter, but from the way the two of them were sitting close together, fingers interlaced, and thighs touching, it looked very much as if he’d taken Mr Hunter’s place.

  ‘Let’s recap,’ Ben said. ‘Your son Carl was forcibly abducted from home fifteen days ago by your ex-husband Drew Hunter, who threatened you with a firearm and imprisoned the two of you in the cellar while he made off with the boy.’

  ‘That’s correct,’ Jessica said in a tight voice.

  ‘We were locked in there all night,’ Mike added. ‘Until Sally arrived the following morning and heard us banging on the door.’

  ‘Sally?’ Ben said.

  ‘Our housekeeper,’ Jessica said. ‘She lives in St Helier.’

  ‘Is she here at the moment?’ Ben asked.

  Jessica shook her head. ‘Nobody’s been allowed into the house since that day. Except the officers dealing with the case, that is. And now you.’

  ‘The moment we were let out of the cellar, we were on the phone to the police,’ Mike said. ‘To begin with, it looked as if they were being efficient. They were here within minutes, did everything they had to do and set up the trace on the phone. They even combed the island with sniffer dogs. But it’s been over two weeks and they haven’t turned up a single lead or shred of evidence.’

  Ben was already familiar with every step the cops had taken to date. They’d done a lot of the things he’d have done himself, checking ports and airports on the assumption that Drew Hunter would have taken his son straight off the island on the evening of the abduction. The ferries to France had been checked, as well as every small boat charter outfit and every light aircraft shuttle service. Blanks had been drawn every which way. The only key development so far in the inquiry had been the discovery of the large cash withdrawal that Drew Hunter had made from the bank just minutes after opening time on Tuesday May 4th, three days prior to the kidnapping. He’d emptied his entire account, walking away with almost sixty grand in a bag, which was all that remained of what had once been a much healthier balance. The only conclusion the police could draw was that this hadn’t been a spur-of-the-moment crime.

  ‘It’s as if they’d simply vanished into thin air,’ Jessica said, momentarily close to tears again. Sniffing, she went on, ‘We soon realised that the investigation was simply going nowhere. That’s when Mike suggested we call in someone from the outside. Someone who knows about these things. I understand you’re from a military background?’

  ‘I’ve been out of that coming up for a year,’ Ben said.

  ‘It isn’t just any old military background, though, is it?’ Mike asked with a knowing kind of tone.

  ‘It’s not something I really talk about a lot,’ Ben said. ‘I served with 22 Special Air Service. Which gave me experience in covert work and hostage rescue, among other things.’

  ‘And since that time, you’ve been involved in a number of missing persons cases,’ Mike said. ‘The Italian kidnapping a few months ago, for instance. The girl was returned safely to her family, wasn’t she?’

  ‘I was barely involved,’ Ben lied.

  ‘And four kidnappers were jailed, one killed.’

  ‘Nobody’s going to get killed this time,’ Ben said.

  Jessica Hunter looked at Ben imploringly. ‘Does that mean you’ll help us? Please. I’m begging you. We don’t know where else to turn.’

  ‘I’m here,’ Ben said. ‘I’ll do what I can.’

  3

  ‘THANK YOU,’ JESSICA said, her eyes misting. She quickly wiped one of them. ‘You don’t know what it means.’

  Ben had some more questions. ‘So as far as you’re both aware, apart from the boy’s natural father, there’s no other suspect involved in this situation?’

  ‘Drew isn’t a suspect,’ Jessica said. ‘His guilt isn’t in question here. We both saw him snatch Carl away at gunpoint. And of course he’s acting alone.’

  ‘How long have you two been together?’

  ‘Six months,’ Mike said.

  ‘Going on seven,’ Jessica said, squeezing his hand.

  ‘I take it that Drew wasn’t exactly thrilled with the new domestic situation,’ Ben said.

  ‘He’s jealous,’ Jessica sobbed. ‘He’s all alone now and he can’t stand it that I’m not. That’s what this is all about. He’s just trying to hurt me by taking away my child.’

  ‘Seven months,’ Ben said. ‘The divorce was well over a year ago, wasn’t it? Though I understand the marriage had turned sour long before.’

  ‘You mean when he started drinking,’ Jessica said bitterly.

  ‘It’s what I read,’ Ben said.

  ‘Nothing much escapes the reporters, does it? They get into your life like ants. They only care about their story.’ Jessica paused, calmed herself and went on in a wistful tone, ‘Drew hasn’t been content with his life for a long time. I don’t know what happened. He used to be. At least, he seemed to be. He had everything. Successful career, beautiful home. I thought we were a happy family, you know? Thought everything was fine. But obviously he was feeling restless and dissatisfied, deep down. It was about three years ago when he started drinking, and it got quickly worse from there. He’d always been so fit and active, but then he just seemed to let himself go. He stopped exercising, started not caring about the way he looked, or what he ate. He became moody and prone to outbursts of anger. Said what he was doing was bullshit. Said he’d trade it all – the money, the glamorous clients and friends, the cars, toys, all of it – to do what he really wanted to do.’

  ‘Which was?’

  ‘Wildlife photo
graphy,’ Jessica said. ‘That became his passion. Sneaking up on animals and getting pictures of them.’ She snorted, her anger returning. ‘He didn’t give a damn that there was no money in it, that nobody was going to pay for a long-distance shot of some rare bird or other, even if he could stay sober long enough to snap the bloody thing. Didn’t care that we might end up having to sell this house and live like a couple of paupers for the sake of his dream. He didn’t even care about Carl’s education. He was becoming more and more despondent and spending more and more time drunk, and I mean drunk. I couldn’t take it any more. It simply tore us apart.’

  Ben had already noticed the gold Datejust peeking out from under the sleeve of her silk blouse, and the diamond earrings that glittered through her hair. He wondered to himself how much it was the prospect of being married to a much poorer guy that had swung Jessica Hunter’s decision to end it.

  ‘What do you do, Mike?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m a development consultant for a specialist optics firm in Europe,’ Mike replied. ‘Custom applications for science and industry. I work mostly from home. But at the moment I’m taking time off to devote myself totally to supporting Jessica.’ He squeezed her hand tenderly.

  Ben nodded, and turned back to Jessica. ‘Tell me more about your relationship between you, Carl, and Drew since the marriage ended.’

  ‘He used to have Carl every second weekend,’ she said, ‘while things were still reasonably amicable between us and before the drinking got completely out of control. But then it did, and the arrangement couldn’t go on. He’d turn up here reeking of booze, slurring his words – expecting me to hand Carl over to him in that state?’ Jessica sighed. ‘He was going more and more downhill. Living like a total slob. Carl said his place was a pigsty and all there was to eat there was frozen pizza and takeaway curry. Bottles everywhere, gin, whisky, vodka. He hadn’t had a job in months and all he did was drink. The last straw was when he crashed the car with Carl in it. He’d tricked me, somehow managing to turn up relatively sober to collect him, and then getting plastered the moment he was away from here. When the police arrived at the scene of the accident they found Drew four times over the drink-drive limit and a half-empty bottle of spirits in the car.’

  ‘Were they hurt?’

  ‘Carl had minor bruising, nothing more serious, thank Christ. Drew dislocated his shoulder. That’s when he was banned from driving and I had the restraining order put on him. Of course, I felt bad that it meant taking away his access to Carl completely. But I had no choice. It was the only thing I could do for my son’s safety.’

  ‘You said Drew had become prone to outbursts. While you were married, did you ever have reason to think that he could harm Carl?’

  Jessica shook her head firmly. ‘Never. Despite everything, I always thought he loved him as deeply as I do.’

  ‘The night of the abduction, did it seem as if he’d been drinking?’

  Jessica and Mike both shook their heads. ‘That was the strange bit,’ she said. ‘He seemed completely sober. There was no smell of alcohol on him. He didn’t seem discoordinated at all, and his voice was steady and clear. He knew exactly what he was doing. But he looked crazy.’

  Ben asked, ‘Crazy in what way?’

  ‘I hadn’t seen him since the restraining order,’ Jessica said. ‘He looked like a wild man. I can let you have a copy of the police artist’s sketch, if you want.’

  ‘That would be helpful,’ Ben said. ‘But if you can describe him to me, that would too.’

  ‘His hair was all straggly and greasy. He had a beard. His clothes were dirty looking and he’d got so much fatter around the belly. It’s like he’s become a whole other person. A complete stranger.’ Her voice choked up. Her lip began to tremble, and then she burst out weeping. ‘How can a man who says he loves his son kidnap him?’ she said through the tears. ‘What’s he going to do?’

  Mike put her arm around her as she dabbed her eyes. ‘I’m never going to see him again,’ she sniffed. ‘I just know it. Drew’s never going to let me see him again.’

  ‘What was Carl’s reaction when his father turned up like that?’ Ben asked, steering the conversation back onto neutral ground. ‘Did he seem scared?’

  ‘I think he was as shocked as Mike and I were,’ Jessica replied, dabbing her eyes.

  ‘So he didn’t go willingly.’

  ‘Drew was armed with a pistol,’ Mike said, frowning. ‘Who’s going to argue with a half-crazed man waving a gun around? We did what he ordered. So did Carl. None of us had a choice.’

  ‘Do you know where Drew could have got hold of a firearm?’

  ‘I haven’t the faintest clue,’ Jessica replied. ‘He’s always hated anything to do with guns. Said the only thing he’d ever shoot an animal with was a camera.’

  ‘The police have already been down that route,’ Mike told Ben. ‘They presume he must have obtained an illegal weapon from somewhere. They didn’t find any leads. There isn’t exactly a lot of arms trafficking on the island.’

  ‘Plenty of places he might have got one in France,’ Ben said. ‘He could have smuggled it back on the ferry, or he could have sailed a boat across himself.’

  Jessica shook her head and almost smiled. ‘Drew couldn’t possibly handle any sort of boat on his own. He’s hopeless at anything practical that doesn’t involve cameras, lenses and tripods.’

  ‘Does he know anyone with a sea-going vessel of any kind?’

  ‘We had friends with yachts, when we were married. They no longer speak to Drew. In any case, gun smuggling would hardly be their thing. Neither would helping to kidnap a child.’

  ‘Look, the police have already been over this ground,’ Mike said.

  ‘And found nothing,’ Jessica added, suddenly on the edge of tears again. ‘Not a trace of my boy. Where is he? Where’s Drew taken him?’

  ‘Jessica, Mr Hope is here now,’ Mike consoled her. ‘If anyone can find Drew, it’s him. Everything’s going to be fine, you’ll see.’

  ‘Call me Ben,’ Ben said. ‘Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to take a look at Carl’s room.’

  4

  WHILE JESSICA STAYED downstairs, pacing and agitated, Ben followed Mike to the boy’s bedroom. It was at the very top of the house, two floors up.

  ‘Jessica can’t bear to come near this room,’ Mike said. ‘Nobody’s been in since the forensic people. It didn’t take them long to find the DNA evidence that proves Drew was here.’

  The door was slightly ajar. Ben swung it open a little wider and stepped into the large bedroom. He walked around, careful not to disturb anything. The bedclothes were rumpled. Drawers had been left lying untidily open where clothes had been pulled out. A lone sock lay strewn on the carpet.

  ‘What do you see, Mr Hope?’ Mike asked.

  ‘After he closed you and Jessica in the cellar, Drew brought Carl up here to pack his things up. Looks like it was done in a hurry.’

  ‘Why would that be?’ Mike asked. ‘He had us locked up good and proper down there. No way could I have smashed my way out, and he knew it.’

  ‘Maybe he had an appointment to make,’ Ben said.

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘Such as whoever he paid to take him and Carl off the island that night. With sixty grand in his pocket, there’d be a lot of people willing to help him, and no questions asked.’

  Ben went on walking around the room, taking in details. Apart from its size, it was a more or less a typical room for a kid Carl’s age. Posters were clustered all over the wall around and above the single bed. A bookshelf was filled with books a twelve-year-old boy would read. There were model kits of fighter aircraft hanging on threads from the ceiling. A carefully painted plastic Tyrannosaurus Rex stood on a table next to a Sherman tank. Nearby was a collection of miniature enamel paints and some fine brushes standing in a pot.

  ‘He likes models a lot,’ Mike explained.

  Spotting a small black object lying on the carpet, Ben crouched to look at it
. It was a chess piece, a rook.

  ‘That’s from his chess computer,’ Mike said sadly. ‘I’d just fixed it for him, the night he was taken.’

  ‘You won’t mind if I hang onto this for now,’ Ben said, picking up the rook and dropping it into one of the small polythene evidence bags he carried in his pocket.

  ‘No, but any particular reason?’

  ‘I like to have something of the victim’s. So Carl’s into chess?’

  ‘Loves it, and he’s an excellent player. Thrashes me every time. Even beats the machine. He’s a very gifted boy. Very gifted indeed.’

  Ben noticed the pride in Mike’s voice. It could have been the real father talking. ‘How do you and he get on?’ he asked.

  ‘He’s a great kid,’ Mike sighed. ‘I’ve tried my best to be a proper dad to him, but it’s hard. I know he resents me. I can’t really blame him for that. It’s normal in a situation like this. It’s always tough on the kids when their parents split up, isn’t it?’ He glanced at Ben, then went on. ‘I was hoping that in time he’d get to know me better. Now I don’t even know if I’m ever going to see him again.’

  ‘Don’t think that way,’ Ben said.

  ‘I’m counting on you,’ Mike said with sudden emotion. ‘We have to have Carl returned to us. He’s the most important thing in our lives. And I want that piece of shit Drew caught. I want him—’ Mike swallowed whatever he was going to say next, as if he’d been going to say too much. ‘What now?’ he asked instead.

  ‘I’ve seen enough,’ Ben replied, and headed for the door.

  ‘Where will you go from here?’

  ‘Give me Drew’s address.’

  ‘The police have already—’

  ‘I’m sure they have,’ Ben said. ‘I’d still like to take a look around the place.’

  ‘Carl had a key,’ Mike said. ‘I think Jessica’s got it somewhere.’

  ‘Then I’d like that too,’ Ben said.

  ‘I can do that.’

  As Ben was leaving a few minutes later, armed with the things he’d asked for, Jessica appeared in the hallway. She’d been crying again and her eyes were puffy and red.