‘What the—’
‘Have you seen a young girl wandering around on her own?’ Kim asked.
The woman shook her head, anger forgotten.
Shit. It could only have happened in the last few minutes. How could no one have seen a ten-year-old girl wandering alone at this time of night?
Emily, where are you? Kim silently cried.
She took a breath and continued walking. Another few feet and a bright light shone across the road and onto her boots.
A wave of hope surged through her. The double window displayed the welcoming bright lights of a mini market.
Kim immediately knew that if she was on the move, that’s where she’d go.
She darted across the road and glanced in the window. The cashier was not at the front desk.
Please be here, Emily, she prayed, opening the door.
A bell sounded somewhere at the rear of the shop.
A woman in her early fifties appeared, dressed in navy blue trousers and a black zipped-up fleece jacket.
‘Have you seen a little girl?’ Kim blurted.
‘And who are you?’ the woman asked.
Kim could have cried with relief. Emily was there or the answer would have been a simple ‘no’.
Kim had never been happier to show her badge.
‘Detective Inspector Stone, the girl called me earlier to come and get her.’
‘Follow me,’ she said.
Kim headed to the rear of the shop and through the door marked ‘Staff Only’.
Emily sat in the corner of a small staffroom that held some tea and coffee provisions and a few lockers.
Kim charged towards the girl and grabbed her hands. ‘Emily, why did you leave the takeaway?’
The poor girl was pale and trembling uncontrollably. Her palms were ice cold.
‘I had to,’ she said, looking at Kim through terrified eyes.
Kim lowered herself to Emily’s level. She hadn’t sounded like this on the phone.
‘Emily, what happened?’
‘It was him,’ she said, as the first tear fell. ‘I saw him. I saw the man that took me.’
Eighty
Kim kept her hand on Emily’s shoulder as they entered the takeaway. The crowd had thinned and only two people stood at the counter.
Matt was searching the area looking for a ‘blue booted car’ which was the only description Emily was able to give.
Although Kim had been doubtful, Emily had insisted it was him and that their eyes had met. She had been sure that he had seen her and that’s why she had run. If he was still in the area Kim hoped Matt would find him but she wasn’t leaving this girl alone for a second.
Kim suspected it was a fruitless search. The man Emily had seen already had a good ten- to fifteen-minute head start.
If Emily was correct about the direction of travel, he’d crossed the traffic lights and headed towards the Stourbridge ring road. And that led just about anywhere.
Kim caught the eye of the takeaway manager and nodded towards the restaurant section that was cordoned off at night. ‘May we?’
He nodded in return and flicked a light switch so that the furthest point in the corner was illuminated.
‘Thank you,’ she said, opening the black tape to let Emily through.
She would have preferred to stay at the rear of the shop but the woman had made it clear that she needed to close up and lock the building.
Kim seated her and took the chair opposite. ‘Why did you run away from home?’
Emily stared down at the table. ‘I just couldn't stand it any longer. It's like a prison. I can't move without Mum asking me what I'm doing. In the last thirteen months I've left the house six times. Once to see the doctor, two dentist trips and a few times to get new clothes.’
Kim sympathised with her. There were inmates at Featherstone with more freedom than this kid.
Emily glanced towards the window anxiously.
‘He’s not coming back, Emily,’ Kim said. ‘Nothing will hurt you while I’m here. I promise.’
Emily smiled and nodded. ‘I know, but I just keep seeing his face now.’
Kim guessed that Emily would not feel completely safe until her parents arrived and removed her from the area.
Kim leaned forward and spoke softly. ‘Why did you call me?’
‘Because I heard what you said to my mum. It won't make any difference but I know that you got it. And I know you asked if you could talk to me so I took the card you left on the table.’
Kim was drawn to the sadness of this girl. But she knew what she had to do.
‘Emily, you know you have to call your mother.’
She nodded and her lower lip trembled.
‘She's not going to be angry. She's probably very frightened right now.’
‘It's never going to change, is it?’ Emily asked, sadly.
Kim said nothing. She suspected the child was right.
Kim held out her hand. ‘If you give me your phone …’
Emily shook her head. ‘I don't have one. Mum says you can get the internet on them so I’m not allowed.’
Kim took out her phone. ‘What's the house number?’
Emily read it off and Kim dialled immediately. It was engaged. She pressed the call button repeatedly. On the fifth she got half a ring.
‘Hello?’
Kim heard the anxiety and fear in just one word.
‘Mrs Trueman, it's Kim Stone. We met—’
‘Please get off this line. My daughter is—’
‘With me,’ Kim said, quickly.
‘Wh-what?’
‘She's safe, Mrs Trueman. Nothing has happened to her.’
‘Thank God … oh my … thank … oh …’
Kim handed the phone to Emily.
Kim guessed she could hear her mother's sobs on the other end of the phone. The tears began to roll down her cheeks.
‘Mum, I'm sorry. I didn't mean …’ Emily nodded and listened and then nodded some more. ‘I know, Mum. I love you too.’
Emily handed the phone back to Kim.
‘Inspector, I'm on my way. Please don't let her out of your sight.’
‘Not a chance, Mrs Trueman,’ Kim said. She explained exactly where they were and ended the call.
Matt appeared behind Emily and shook his head. As she’d suspected, the man Emily had seen was no longer in the area. Matt took a chair and sat a metre away from the table.
Kim turned back to Emily. ‘Your mum loves you very, very much. She's only doing what she thinks is right.’
‘I know. That's why I can't be angry with her. It's not her fault.’
Kim’s insides clenched with anger. No, it was the fault of the bastards that had abducted the two of them and probably still had two more.
‘You can talk to me,’ Emily said, quietly. ‘It'll be a bit until my mum gets here.’
Kim was desperate to but she couldn't. She smiled at the child. ‘I can't, sweetheart. I don't have permission from your parents to ask you any questions …’
‘But I can,’ Matt said, pulling forward his chair.
‘No, Matt … I can't allow—’
‘I wasn't asking your permission. I'm not governed by police rules and if your sensitive nature can't take it I suggest you step away.’
Kim sensed that whatever she did, this man would not do as she asked.
Emily watched the exchange between them.
‘Emily, cover your ears,’ Kim said, leaning closer to Matt. ‘I can't stop you speaking to her but if you say one word that upsets her your balls will be hanging from—’
‘I have no intention of upsetting her,’ he hissed back. ‘But not because you're threatening me, but because I'm not an insensitive pig.’
Kim drew away from him. Fine, as long as he got the message.
She motioned for Emily to uncover her ears. He leaned forward and spoke gently. Kim hid her surprise at his tone.
‘Emily, I'd like to show you a picture of a man. I thi
nk he might have been the man that abducted you. Are you okay to look at it?’
It was the sketch that had been compiled from Brad's description of the fake policeman. The picture had meant nothing to the Hansons and the Timmins.
Emily swallowed and looked at Kim. Kim reached across the table and touched Emily's arm. ‘You don't have to, sweetheart.’
‘Could it help you find Suzie?’
Kim swallowed and looked away. Did this young girl hold out hope that her friend was still alive?
‘Don't worry, I know she's dead, but she should still be brought home.’
Kim felt the emotion gather in her throat before she nodded.
‘It might, Emily.’
‘Please, show me the picture. Suzie would have done it for me.’
This child was not as young as she'd thought.
Matt took the sketch from his pocket and opened it up. Looking at it, Emily sucked in her breath and turned her face away.
‘Is that the same man you saw earlier?’
Emily nodded her head but wouldn’t look again, just clutched at Kim’s hand. Matt folded up the paper and put it away.
‘Okay, Emily. I'm not going to show you again. Was this the man that snatched you?’
‘Yes, he had a ginger kitten. He said it was poorly and needed a hug. I cuddled it and he put tape over my mouth and put me in a van. He grabbed the kitten and threw it out the door and then tied me up. He drove for a bit and then he threw Suzie in.’
She closed her eyes. ‘I was happy when I saw Suzie ’cos she was my best friend and I didn't feel so scared any more.’
Kim sat back and listened, feeling the occasional flex of Emily's fingers as Matt gently asked questions. Her memory of her time in captivity was remarkably detailed.
‘What happened on that last day?’ Matt asked. She knew what he was after.
‘The big man came in and grabbed my hair. Suzie tried to hang on. She was screaming … we were both screaming but he punched her and she fell backwards. I looked back. I screamed her name but she didn't move.’
Kim stared down at a crumb that hadn't been wiped from the table.
‘He put me in a van, drove for a while and then he took me out. He spun me around a few times and then pushed me to the floor.
‘I heard the van drive away but I didn't see it because I'd got a blindfold on and I was dizzy.’
Matt leaned forward. ‘Emily, can you remember anything else at all about that day? Did you hear any noises or see anything that might tell you where you were?’
Emily shook her head. ‘I was too scared. I didn't know what they were going to do with me. I was crying and …’
‘It's okay, Emily,’ Kim soothed. The young girl had remembered so much. Unfortunately not a lot that would help them.
A sudden rush of air caught Kim's attention.
Julia Trueman headed towards them at speed. Her eyes were red discs in a colourless face but her gaze rested only on her daughter.
Kim moved out of the way. Matt followed.
An attractive man with short blond hair followed closely behind. His expression was not as fraught as his wife's but there was no doubting the concern etched into his features.
The family joined together and hugged and cried and hugged some more.
‘There's more in there,’ Matt said to Kim, quietly. ‘Perhaps with more time …’
‘Inspector, thank you so much,’ Mr Trueman said, extricating himself from the hug.
Kim held up her hand. ‘She called me, Mr Trueman. She wanted to help.’
Mrs Trueman straightened. Her eyes were full of fear but her mouth was set. Julia probably blamed her for Emily running away. If she hadn’t visited and started asking questions, none of this would have happened. Kim suspected she could be right.
Kim knew she had to give it one last try. With her eyes she motioned the two of them to the side, leaving Matt to distract Emily.
‘Look, I understand how difficult this is for you but it would be helpful if Emily could talk to us some more. She's begging to help and I think she remembers details that might help us but are not at the forefront of her mind.’ Kim took a deep breath. ‘If we could consider hypnotising …’
A small cry escaped the mouth of Mrs Trueman. Her husband placed a reassuring hand on her arm.
‘Inspector, we've worked very hard to distance Emily from the events of the past. I don't think …’
‘And how's that working out for you?’ Kim asked, gently. ‘I don't mean to be rude but the kidnapping might as well have happened last week for Emily. She loves you both very much but she is not a happy child.’
‘But what if we allow her to help and they come back for her? After all, they were never caught.’
Kim heard the mild accusation in the woman's voice and let it pass. Julia was entitled.
Kim knew she had only one option left.
‘Because they've done it again, Mrs Trueman.’
‘Oh, God, no,’ she said, covering her mouth. Her husband swore under his breath.
‘I can't give you any details. There's a press blackout so I must ask you to keep this to yourself but two young girls were taken on Sunday.’
‘And you think it's the people who took Emily?’ Mr Trueman asked.
‘We're pretty sure it is,’ she said to Mr Trueman and then rested her gaze on his wife. ‘If you allow us to work with Emily I swear to you that I will not rest until these people are caught.’
Kim hadn't noticed Emily close by until she stood between her parents.
‘Please, Mum, let me help. I'd do anything to bring Suzie home.’
When Kim saw the look of agreement that passed between the parents she could have hugged the life out of the brave little girl.
Mrs Trueman nodded. ‘Okay. Let us know what you want us to do.’
Kim thanked them before they headed out the door.
She stepped to the corner of the restaurant and called Woody's mobile. He promised to have a qualified professional in place by the morning.
‘Well, I just earned myself a cup of coffee. Want one?’ Matt asked.
She hesitated and then nodded. She could just about stomach a coffee with him even though it was not where she wanted to be.
She would prefer to be driving the streets looking for the man that Emily had seen but she knew he was long gone by now.
More importantly, had he seen her?
Eighty-One
Kim turned her gaze on Matt. ‘So, are we gonna bond now and swap life stories and reach a mutual respect?’
‘Jesus, it'd take more than a cup of coffee.’
Kim took a sip. For a takeaway pizza place it was good coffee.
‘I saw it, you know,’ she said, with a half-smile.
‘Saw what?’
‘Emotion. A little bit seeped out when you were talking to Emily but don't worry, it was barely noticeable.’
‘See, you couldn't do it, could you? I buy you a cup of coffee. All I ask is a ten-minute ceasefire, but you just couldn’t do it.’
She conceded the point. ‘Fair enough. What's your history? Were you a police negotiator?’
He nodded. ‘Yeah, for the Met.’
‘But you're not any more?’
‘No.’
‘Jesus, and I thought my social skills were lacking.’
‘Sorry. I'm not good on small talk.’
The similarities were beginning to freak her out. Damn it, she hated when Bryant was right.
Kim realised Matt was most animated when talking about his work. Asking him about it would mean more talking for him and less effort from her.
‘Did the Met send you overseas?’
He nodded. ‘I was tasked to go to Mexico. The granddaughter of a member of the House of Lords had been kidnapped. She was back home forty-eight hours later.’
‘Do all cases go so smoothly?’
He shook his head. ‘Each gang is different. The primary reason for child abduction in South America is to fun
d terrorist organisations. Although it's a business, you can never lose sight of the type of person you're dealing with.’
‘Go on,’ Kim prompted. She was intrigued and it was good to give her mind a rest from the case for ten minutes. ‘Please, just talk.’
He took a sip from his coffee. ‘The first decision you make is, adversary or partner. Are you going to battle – or co-operate? As I said to you before, there are not many parents who will encourage an adversarial strategy when you're negotiating for the life of their child.
‘Gangs will normally offer a straightforward presentation of demands. A technique is adopted based on the information available.’
‘Such as?’
‘There are many. Our kidnappers have used the auction approach, a bidding process to create competition. Brinksmanship is when one party sets out terms that are not negotiable. There's a bogey, where you pretend an issue is of little importance but can be used later.
‘There's Flinch, where you show a strong physical reaction to an offer like a sharp intake of breath. Effective over the phone but not so much by text message. There's highball, lowball, nibbling, snow job and the old favourite of good guy, bad guy.’
‘Which works best?’
He thought for a moment. ‘It makes no difference, as long as you stick to the rules. The gangs know the techniques better than we do. They expect them. There is an underlying agreement that if everyone plays the game properly, both sides will win.’
‘So, the kidnapper can guess the tactic you're going to use?’
Matt nodded. ‘The key is in remaining true to the strategy. Gang members don't like surprises. If you change it part way through they get nervous, and that's not a good thing.’
‘Does it always go to plan?’
He shook his head.
‘No, there was a case in Panama. There were two of us working to secure the release of the five-year-old son of a government official.
‘Unfortunately reports of a recent inheritance had been greatly exaggerated. We adopted good guy bad guy and in two days had negotiated them down by a third. The system was working well. I was bad guy giving them barely anything, and the local guy, Miguel, was offering bigger concessions.
‘We took it in turns to answer the phone and continually worked down their demand. We knew that the boy was safe. His parents had received an email with pictures of him chasing a chicken in just his underpants.