Annie’s face paled.
‘But Sonia Holtwood’s in prison,’ Shelby said from the doorway. She must have walked over while I was on the phone. I hadn’t noticed her standing there.
‘No, she’s not.’ Annie’s voice trembled as she spoke.
‘What d’you mean?’ I said.
‘Mom?’ Shelby twisted her hair round her fingers.
‘Sonia Holtwood was released from jail two months ago,’ Annie said. ‘There was an appeal . . . a technicality . . . They overturned her conviction. Everyone knows she’s guilty, but she never admitted it and now she’s free.’
I gasped. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘And me?’ Shelby added.
‘I spoke to your mother and father about it, Lauren. I . . . I actually wanted to say something, but they didn’t want to upset you,’ Annie said. ‘We were all going through so much, what with losing Sam and . . .’
‘My exams . . .’ I said, imagining Mum’s concern.
Fury rose in me – this was so typical of Mum and Dad, always assuming they knew what was best for me. How dare they keep such massive news from me. Sonia Holtwood had targeted me directly before. I had a right to know if she was free. And now she had Madison.
Before I could say anything, my phone rang again.
‘Is that her?’ Shelby asked.
I glanced down. Jam calling.
‘No,’ I said, relief swamping my anger.
‘Hi,’ I said into the phone. I walked past both Annie and Shelby towards the stairs.
‘Hey, Lazerbrain.’ Jam’s voice – so familiar and so warm – brought a lump to my throat. ‘How’s it going at the seaside?’
‘Oh, Jam.’ I was close to tears as I told him everything that had happened.
He listened carefully – Jam’s always been a good listener.
‘Man, that’s terrible—’ Just as Jam started to speak, the call dropped.
I checked my signal. It was fine. I waited a second. Surely Jam would call back. Nothing happened. I tried ringing him, but the call went to voice mail.
That was strange. Feeling doubly anxious now, I walked back into the kitchen only to discover Shelby and Annie both crying.
‘I hate Rick,’ Shelby wept. ‘He’s always interfering in our business and turning up when we don’t want him around.’
‘But I do want him around,’ Annie wailed. ‘He’s a good friend.’
‘To you.’ Shelby’s voice rose to a shriek. ‘What about me? What about what I want?’
‘This situation isn’t about you, Shelby,’ I snapped. Honestly, what a selfish cow. ‘It’s about Madison and trying to get her back.’
‘Shut UP!’ Shelby yelled and stormed out of the room.
We could hear her bawling all the way up the stairs, then the slam of her bedroom door.
Annie shook her head and collapsed into a kitchen chair. I checked the time. As Annie had said, it would only take a few minutes to walk to Sandcove Chine. There were still twenty minutes until I had to be there, but at least once I set off I’d be doing something. I guess I should have been scared at the thought of coming up against Sonia Holtwood but, right then, all I could think about was saving Mo.
‘I’m going,’ I said.
‘No.’ Annie looked up at me, panic-stricken. ‘It’s too early. Rick will be here any minute. At least wait until he gets here.’
‘OK.’ I didn’t really want to wait, but Annie looked so desperate I felt I had to. My head was swirling with a million emotions, but I held all of them in. What I’d said to Shelby about focusing on Madison applied just as much to me. I couldn’t afford to break down. I was the strongest person here, and I had to stay strong for my little sister.
Rick arrived a few minutes later. Annie, who’d been hovering by the door, flung herself into his arms.
‘Don’t worry, pet,’ he said, stroking her hair. ‘I’m here now. We’ll get Madison back. I was in security for fifteen years, remember?’
‘But it’s only Lauren they want to deal with,’ Annie explained shakily.
‘So you said.’ Rick sat her down at the kitchen table. He looked concerned. ‘What’s that about, then?’
‘I think the kidnapper might be the woman who tried to kill me two years ago,’ I said. ‘Sonia Holtwood.’
‘Who?’ Rick asked.
Annie explained the history and Rick’s expression of concern deepened. As Annie spoke, I found myself feeling annoyed with her again. She should have told me months ago about Sonia Holtwood being free. On the other hand, I couldn’t really blame Annie. She was just doing what Mum and Dad told her. When were they going to realise they didn’t have to treat me like a little kid any more?
‘What I don’t understand is why Sonia Holtwood would have taken the little one,’ Rick said, looking from me to Annie. ‘What’s the point?’
Annie shook her head despairingly.
‘I think it’s got something to do with getting back at me, but . . . but I don’t know what exactly,’ I said.
Rick nodded slowly. ‘Well, one thing’s for sure,’ he said. ‘I’m not letting you go to Sandcove Chine alone. I’ll hang back so I can’t be seen, but I’m definitely going to be right there behind you.’
‘Oh, Rick, thank you,’ Annie gasped.
He looked at me. ‘Is that OK with you, Lauren?’
‘Hey, excuse me, but are you seriously not calling the police?’ Shelby’s voice echoed across the hallway.
We turned round. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs, her fists clenched and resting on her hips.
‘Oh, sweetie, you don’t understand . . .’ Annie began.
‘Don’t patronise me,’ Shelby snapped. ‘Why aren’t we calling the cops, Mom?’
‘Because the kidnapper said she’d kill Madison if we did that,’ I said, trying to keep my temper. ‘And if she really is Sonia Holtwood then she definitely isn’t bluffing. She’s capable of murder.’
Shelby turned to Annie. ‘Mom, are you seriously going to listen to her instead of me?’
I dug my fingers into my palms, desperately trying not to lose control.
‘This isn’t a popularity contest, Shelby,’ I insisted. ‘The point is that Holtwood is a killer.’
Annie turned helplessly to Rick. ‘What do you think?’
‘Why are you asking him?’ Shelby snapped.
We all looked at Rick. A moment passed, then he cleared his throat.
‘From what I understand of the situation – and when I worked in security I heard about quite a few kidnap cases –’ he said slowly, ‘it makes sense for Lauren to at least go to Sandcove Chine. It’s a public place and this is the middle of the day. I’m sure the kidnappers only want to draw her outside to make sure she’s not being trailed by the police. She can get proof Madison’s alive and find out what the deal is . . . I’ll be right there with her, so . . .’
Shelby swore and stomped upstairs again.
Annie looked distraught but, to be honest, I was glad Shelby had gone. She was a nightmare and her presence only ever made things worse.
Even at 1.15 pm, the ravine at Sandcove Chine was cool and shady. The heat of the day was still fierce, but out of the sun there was a chilly breeze. As I walked, shivering, I hugged my jacket round my chest. Ahead of me, the Japanese pond glinted in the sunlight. A few elderly couples were strolling past. Others sat on the benches opposite the water.
Mum had sent me another text just a couple of minutes before, asking how my revision had gone today. Up to that point I’d been seriously considering calling her at Disney World and telling her everything that had happened. But the text made me think twice. Mum would absolutely forbid me to make any contact with Madison’s kidnappers. And I was pretty certain she’d be on Shelby’s side over calling the police too. Anyway, I was still furious with her for not telling me Sonia Holtwood was out of prison.
I reached the pond. Feeling nervous, I glanced up the ravine to where I knew Rick was watching. We’d swap
ped numbers earlier, which meant I could call him if I saw anything weird. As my fingers hovered over his number, just in case, he sent a text himself.
I can see you, kid. Any trouble I’ll be with you in less than a minute.
Slightly reassured, I leaned against the tree at my back. The ground all around was dry and hard. It hadn’t rained for days. My phone buzzed again. This time the text was from a withheld number. I opened it quickly.
Path left of pond. Thirty metres. Broken bench. Look underneath.
It was the kidnapper. I glanced ahead, into the shadowy path that led away from the pond. The first bench was missing the two slats at the back. I jogged over. There was no sign of anyone – though I knew Rick was still watching over me up the ravine – and no sound other than the wind in the trees and the distant sound of the sea sucking at the shore.
My fingers trembled as I felt along the rough wooden underside of the bench. A padded envelope was taped to the slats. I ripped it off and tore it open. Inside was Madison’s phone. As I picked it up, it beeped with a video message.
I watched, my heart thumping, as Madison’s face filled the screen.
‘Lauren?’ she said. Her lips wobbled and tears welled in her big brown eyes. ‘This message is for you.’
A lump rose in my throat. I couldn’t bear to see her so frightened and upset.
Madison turned her head, clearly looking towards someone in the corner of the room, off camera. A second later she picked up a piece of paper from her lap, tucked her hair behind her ear and gave a sniff. In a shaky voice she read out loud:
‘The woman who has me knows us because of you, Lauren. She wants the money from Daddy’s will.’
I blinked. Sam’s money? Was that what this was all about?
‘You have to have the two million pounds life in . . . insurance . . .’ My heart seemed to tear a little as Madison stumbled over the word and looked anxiously into the corner of the room again. ‘. . . ready in cash by tomorrow morning . . .’
My grip tightened on the phone. I knew very little about Sam’s life insurance . . . only that he’d arranged that, if he died, Annie would be entitled to a huge lump sum, and that she had finally received the money the week before she arrived in Britain.
On the screen, tears were now streaming down Madison’s face. ‘I don’t know where I am, Lauren, if you’re there, but I’m really scared and this woman is mean. I haven’t seen her face, but she’s American.’
At that point the screen fizzled into silence. I stared at it, panic clutching at my throat. The kidnapper must be Sonia Holtwood. She had to be. All that stuff about her knowing us because of me. Plus, she was clearly from the States. And why else would she be hiding her face if she wasn’t scared Madison would recognise her?
A twig cracked behind me. I jumped. Spun round.
‘Who’s there?’ I said. ‘Rick?’
‘No.’ And then the last person I expected to see stepped out of the shadows.
5
The Money
‘Jam?’ I stared at him, taking in his broad shoulders and handsome, square-jawed face. All so familiar and yet still so gorgeous to me.
Since we started going out two years ago, Jam had grown several centimetres and was now a head taller than me, but the warmth in his hazel eyes was just the same.
He held out his arms and I stumbled into them, feeling a weight lift from my back. In spite of the terrible situation poor Madison was in – and my own feelings of guilt – there was something about Jam’s presence that had always made me feel better. I took a deep breath, smelling his familiar scent: part soap, part unique Jam-ness.
‘I thought you were still in London,’ I said, astonished.
‘Nah, I was on my way when I called you. I was about to explain, but my battery died.’ Jam slicked back his dark hair and hugged me hard. ‘What on earth are you doing, Lazerbrain? I got to your holiday home and saw Annie . . . man, I couldn’t believe she’d let you come here alone.’
‘I’m not alone,’ I said, looking up the ravine to where Rick was now running towards us. ‘Annie’s friend Rick is watching over me.’
‘Yeah, Annie said.’ Jam hesitated. ‘Still, anything could have—’
‘I’m fine,’ I insisted. ‘The kidnapper said it had to be just me . . . alone. Oh, Jam, I think it’s Sonia Holtwood.’
Jam’s eyes widened. But before he could say anything, Rick grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him away from me.
‘Who are you?’ Rick demanded.
‘He’s my . . . my boyfriend,’ I said, blushing at having to explain. Rick and Jam hadn’t met before, of course. I mean, I’d only met Rick a few times. I quickly told both of them what the kidnapper had told me to do and the three of us walked back to the holiday home. We didn’t say much. Rick called Annie as we strode along. I could hear her on the other end of the line, totally freaking out. She was waiting anxiously at the front door when we arrived, Shelby skulking like a shadow behind her.
It took about thirty minutes before Annie stopped crying long enough for the five of us to have a proper conversation. Annie herself did most of the talking or, rather, most of the hysterical wailing. She leaned against Rick as if he were all that was stopping her from falling to the floor and alternated between extreme anxiety over Madison and profound terror at having to deal with Sonia Holtwood.
Rick, Jam and I examined Madison’s phone carefully, but it gave us no clues about anything. The video message showing Madison had obviously been filmed in an empty room. All we could see behind Mo’s head was a plain painted wall. And the sender’s name was, again, withheld.
Annie gasped when I told her how much money the kidnapper was after.
‘The whole two million pounds from Sam’s life insurance?’ she said, her hands trembling. ‘But that was our future. I was going to invest it. I was . . .’
‘That’s not all,’ I said, explaining next how I was sure Holtwood was behind the whole thing.
‘Oh my God,’ she kept saying, over and over, her hands fluttering to her chest. ‘Then it really is happening again. I can’t believe it. Not Sonia Holtwood.’
‘Never mind her now,’ Rick said in a soothing voice. ‘You need to focus on getting the money together. The sooner you do that, the sooner we’ll get Madison back and this whole thing will be behind us.’
‘That’s right.’ Annie gripped Rick’s arm more tightly. ‘I’ll call my bank back home. The money went into my account last week so—’
‘The kidnapper must know that,’ I said. ‘It’s too big a coincidence otherwise.’
‘But how could she?’ Annie said shakily. ‘How do they know the exact amount?’
‘Maybe she was able to hack into the bank’s account details,’ Rick said.
‘Or maybe she has someone on the inside at the bank, keeping her informed,’ Jam suggested.
‘Or maybe she just followed the story of Sam’s death in the papers,’ I offered. ‘If she knew there was going to be an insurance payment, and she knew where you lived, it wouldn’t be that hard to track you to the bank and get the details. She could have bribed someone to tell her.’
‘Oh my goodness.’ Another fat tear rolled down Annie’s cheek. ‘I can’t bear this.’
I shivered. However Sonia Holtwood had done it, it was horrible to feel she’d been watching and waiting, following the progress of Sam’s money into Annie’s bank account.
‘You’ll have to get your bank to wire you the money here,’ Rick said thoughtfully.
‘Yes.’ Annie nodded. ‘I’m sure that’ll work, even if I have to go to a local office here to sign for it.’
‘Or we could call the police,’ Shelby said angrily. ‘See what they advise.’
‘No.’ Annie and I spoke at once.
‘Shelby, don’t you get it?’ I said. ‘I’m almost certain the kidnapper is Sonia Holtwood. She says she’ll kill Madison if we contact the police. And she will. Come on, you know she’s capable of . . .’
&nbs
p; ‘Will you stay, Rick? Come with me if I have to go anywhere?’ Annie pleaded. ‘I can’t do this alone.’
‘Of course,’ Rick said.
‘No!’ Shelby’s lip trembled. ‘Why do you have to do everything Lauren and Rick tell you, Mom?’
For goodness’ sake.
‘Maybe because Rick and I aren’t stupid and hysterical,’ I said.
Shelby threw down her coffee cup. ‘You always think you’re right, don’t you, Lauren?’
‘This isn’t about me being right, this is about Mad—’
‘Yeah, you’re always sucking up to Madison too, thinking she’s so cute still playing with her stupid dolls,’ Shelby interrupted. ‘The two of you always leave me out of everything.’
‘What?’ I couldn’t believe what Shelby was saying. She was the one who pushed us away.
‘I hate you,’ Shelby yelled. ‘It’s your fault no-one listens to me.’ And with that, she stormed out of the room.
Annie looked at me reproachfully. ‘Please don’t wind her up, Lauren.’
‘Right,’ I said, feeling aggrieved. I mean, what had I ever done to Shelby that justified her being so rude?
The wait until we had the money in our hands was hell. Annie spent an agonising hour on the phone to her bank in the States, then the rest of the afternoon with Rick, sorting out the international wire transfer at an office in Southampton, just along the coast. She returned exhausted, having had to fill out multiple forms, repeat her password endlessly and sign in triplicate for the cash.
‘We can pick up the money in the morning,’ she said, white-faced, then disappeared upstairs to lie down. Rick and Shelby followed her, while Jam went out to buy us all fish and chips.
I was left alone downstairs. Silent minutes ticked past. I paced up and down the kitchen. There was nothing I could do until tomorrow morning which seemed like a million years away.
Hold on, Mo, I repeated in my head like a prayer. Hold on, we’re going to get you back.
I just hoped she wasn’t hurt. Still, why would Sonia Holtwood – and I was more and more certain that she was the kidnapper – harm Madison? She must know that we would only hand over the money if Madison was OK.