Sister, Missing

  I tightened my grip on the backpack with the money. The handle felt sticky against my palm.

  ‘They’ll be here in a minute,’ Jam said, looking round.

  I thought of Rick, stuck on the other side of the gate. Had we been really stupid to come through here alone?

  A white van appeared on one of the gravel paths. We stared as it drew slowly closer.

  At the edge of the clearing – about fifty metres away – the van swung round so the back was now facing us. It stopped. A man got out. He was big . . . muscular, with a cap pulled down over his eyes. He walked to the rear of the van.

  ‘You were supposed to come alone,’ he called out. He had an American accent.

  I said nothing. My heart was pounding in my ears.

  ‘Marcia says to put the money there.’ He pointed to a spot halfway between us, on the dusty gravel ground.

  I glanced at Jam. Marcia Burns was Sonia Holtwood’s real name. So she was behind the kidnapping. Jam said nothing, but the muscles in his jaw tightened and I knew he’d clocked the name too.

  ‘Where’s Madison?’ I shouted, trying to stop my voice from shaking. ‘We’re not giving you anything until we’ve got Madison.’

  The man reached for the back door of the van. He opened it slowly, keeping his eyes on Jam and me.

  I gasped. Madison was inside, curled up on the floor. She struggled to her feet as the door opened, turning to face me. There was a gag round her mouth, but even from this distance I could see the terror in her huge, brown eyes. Instinctively I rushed forward, my breath catching in my throat. ‘Madison!’

  ‘Get back!’ The man’s yell stopped me in my tracks.

  I stood, shaking, in the middle of the clearing. ‘It’s OK, Mo, we’re here now. Are you all right?’

  Madison gave me a small nod.

  ‘You better not have hurt her!’ The words exploded out of me.

  The man chuckled. ‘She’s fine. Now bring the money over. Slowly. Put it down and we’ll do the exchange.’

  I walked towards the van. My legs were trembling, but I kept my gaze on Madison. She was still wearing the denim shorts and blue top from our outing to the beach. Her plaits had mostly come undone and, for some reason, it was the sight of her messy, unbrushed hair that hurt the most . . . the thought that there had been no-one to look after her . . . no-one to hold her when she cried . . .

  ‘I’m going to get you,’ I called out. ‘Everything’s going to be OK.’

  Madison’s hands were tied behind her with rope. I took another step forward. My legs could barely hold me up. This had to be the longest walk of my life.

  ‘Come on!’ the man shouted.

  I had a flashback to the boat on which Sonia had left me to drown. This man had been with her then – his name was Frank.

  The sun beat down, fierce against my face. It was almost directly overhead now, glinting off the side of the van.

  ‘OK, Frank,’ I said.

  His head jerked up. He stared at me.

  Good, I’d unsettled him by recognising him

  Madison was now pointing at Frank as if trying to warn me about something. She twisted round, moving her fingers like she was firing a pistol. Was she trying to tell me Frank was armed? I gritted my teeth. I didn’t care if he was carrying a bomb packed with enough explosives to blow up the whole of the south coast.

  ‘I’m coming, Mo,’ I called again.

  ‘That’s far enough,’ Frank shouted.

  I stopped, about thirty metres away from the van. I glanced over my shoulder. Jam was a little way behind me, his foot tapping nervously against the ground.

  ‘Put down the money,’ Frank ordered.

  I set the backpack down in front of me. ‘Let Madison go.’

  Frank turned and reached inside the van. He ordered Madison to jump down. She landed with a light thud on the gravel. She started to run towards me, but Frank tripped her. She stumbled, almost losing her balance.

  ‘You freaking bully,’ I shouted. ‘If you dare hurt her I’ll—’

  ‘You’ll what?’ Frank laughed. ‘Now take a few paces back, away from the money, then I’ll let the rugrat go.’

  I took a step back, keeping my eyes on Madison the whole time.

  ‘Further,’ Frank ordered.

  Another step. Another. Frank watched me carefully. A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.

  And then the sound of an engine drifted towards us. I looked round. Through the narrow gap in the maintenance vans, I could just make out a police car shimmering in the sunshine. It was heading slowly along the gravel path behind me, a long way off still, but definitely coming towards us. As I watched, the car disappeared behind a clump of trees. It couldn’t have seen us yet.

  Frank stopped walking, his expression furious.

  ‘Double-crossing little—’

  In a single, swift movement he whipped a gun from his pocket. The barrel glinted in the sun. He pressed it against Madison’s head.

  ‘You told the police,’ he shouted.

  ‘No!’ Panic surged up inside me. I ran forward. ‘No, I didn’t.’

  Frank swore. ‘Stop or I’ll shoot her!’

  I stopped running. The backpack was at my feet. A good thirty metres away from Frank and Madison.

  ‘Throw me the money,’ Frank ordered.

  ‘Let Madison go first,’ I insisted. I glanced over my shoulder. The police car was still hidden from us by the trees, but it would surely reappear again any second.

  Frank swore again. Before I could move, he picked Madison up, tucked her under his arm and ran to the front of the van. Madison kicked furiously, but Frank just flung her into the front seat. A second later the engine revved and the van roared away, up the path it had come down earlier.

  No. I raced after the van, a scream rising inside my throat.

  But the van was roaring into the distance, leaving only whirling gravel dust behind.

  Madison was gone.

  8

  Last Chance

  Jam grabbed my arm. I hadn’t even noticed him run up beside me. ‘Are you OK?’ he said.

  My head was spinning. I couldn’t think straight. I glanced round. The police car was visible again on the gravel path, driving slowly towards us. I had no idea what the police were doing here. All I could focus on was Madison, trapped in that van. A huge sob welled up in my chest. I’d promised my little sister that she’d be all right and instead I’d let her be taken away from me. Again.

  The police car was almost at the end of the gravel path.

  ‘Lauren?’ Jam gripped my arm.

  I took a step towards the police car. We had to get them to follow the van . . . rescue Madison.

  As I moved, my phone, which was still in my hand, vibrated. Call withheld. It was her. Sonia Holtwood.

  I snatched the mobile to my ear.

  ‘Is Madison OK?’ I gasped.

  ‘What the hell are you playing at?’ Sonia Holtwood – even with her voice disguised through the filter – sounded furious. ‘The one thing I told you not to do was involve the police.’

  ‘I didn’t . . . please.’

  ‘Frank saw the cop car.’

  ‘I know, but I didn’t call them. Please. Let me speak to Mad—’

  ‘My gun is pointed at your sister’s head right now,’ Holtwood said. ‘Give me one reason why I shouldn’t pull the trigger.’

  My whole body froze with shock. I met Jam’s gaze. He looked as distraught as I felt.

  Across the clearing the police car was pulling to a halt.

  I looked down at the bag with the money on the ground beside me. I had to think – and move – fast. I kicked the bag across the gravel so that it was half hidden behind a large piece of scrap metal.

  ‘You don’t have the two million,’ I hissed into the phone. ‘And if you shoot Madison now you’ll never get it.’

  ‘Are you threatening me?’ The filtered voice hardened. ‘Because you’re—’

  ‘It’s not a threat,’
I said, desperately. The police car front door opened and a female officer got out. ‘I didn’t call the cops but they’re here. Right now.’

  Holtwood sucked in her breath. ‘OK, we’ll do another deal,’ she said quickly. ‘But this is your last chance, Lauren. If you tell those officers anything you’ll never see Madison again. Leave the phone on so I can hear.’

  I took the phone away from my ear and held it in my hand.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Jam hissed.

  Across the clearing a male police officer had now got out of the car as well. He and the policewoman started walking towards us.

  ‘We have to lie about the kidnapping,’ I said quickly. I had no doubt Holtwood meant what she said. If she heard me speaking to the police now she would kill Madison.

  ‘Oh, man.’ Jam blew out his breath.

  ‘Hello there.’ The male police officer smiled as he reached us. He was young – not much older than we were. The woman beside him, on the other hand, was middle-aged, with grey hair and a permanent crease down the middle of her forehead.

  ‘What are you two doing out here?’ she said, unsmiling.

  ‘We just came for a walk.’ My lips were dry. ‘We’re not trespassing on private land, are we?’

  ‘No.’ The policewoman looked irritated. ‘We had a call from a Shelby Purditt. Do you know her?’

  Jam and I looked at each other. Shelby. So that was why the police were here.

  I met the policewoman’s gaze. ‘Shelby’s my sister.’

  A beat passed. The woman was still staring at me. ‘So you’re Lauren Purditt?’

  I opened my mouth. I was about to explain that my surname was different because I’d been brought up by different parents, but then I thought better of it. There was no point complicating everything.

  ‘I’m Lauren,’ I said. ‘Look, I don’t know what Shelby’s told you, but she’s always making up stuff. She does it to get me into trouble.’

  Jam cleared his throat. ‘What’s this about?’

  ‘The station received a call from your sister about an hour ago,’ the policeman said. ‘She was apparently emotional and incoherent, but the gist of what she said was that your sister Madison had been kidnapped and that you were paying a two-million-pound ransom to get her back.’

  Jam laughed. ‘That’s crazy.’

  ‘Yeah.’ I raised my eyebrows. ‘Jeez, Shelby’s really acting out this time.’

  The young policeman fixed his eyes on my face. ‘You’re saying she’s making her story up?’

  I gripped the phone in my hand, my stomach tightening into knots.

  ‘Of course,’ I said, rolling my eyes. ‘It’s ridiculous. Madison’s at home with our mum.’

  I held my breath. Would the officers believe me? The phone in my sweating palm felt sticky.

  The policewoman coughed. ‘The officer on duty asked Shelby to come to the station to make a formal statement. She refused and hung up, but about ten minutes ago she called again and described where you were.’ She paused. ‘We were driving through the area so we came to take a look.’

  I nodded, working it through in my head. When Rick couldn’t get over the iron fence, he must have rung Annie who must have told Shelby what was happening . . .

  ‘We haven’t been able to get hold of Shelby’s mother on the number Shelby gave us, but Shelby herself seemed convinced that when we found you, you’d be in possession of a bag containing two million pounds.’ The policewoman pursed her lips. She sounded sceptical.

  I shrugged, hoping she didn’t notice the backpack hidden behind the large piece of scrap metal.

  ‘As you can see, we don’t have any money on us,’ Jam said, holding out his empty hands to emphasise the point.

  ‘And obviously my little sister isn’t here either,’ I added. The sun beat down on the back of my neck. Beads of sweat were gathering on my forehead.

  ‘There’s no-one else here,’ Jam said. ‘That’s why we came.’

  ‘Shelby makes stuff up,’ I added. ‘She does it all the time.’

  The police officers looked at each other.

  ‘OK,’ the policewoman said. ‘Well, tell your sister wasting police time is a serious issue.’

  ‘I will,’ I said.

  As the police officers walked back to their car, I let out a long, shaky breath.

  Beside me, Jam shook his head. ‘Man, that was close,’ he muttered.

  I lifted my mobile to my ear again.

  ‘Did you hear all that?’ I said.

  ‘Yes.’ The filtered voice sounded calmer than before. ‘Wait there. I’ll call in ten minutes with instructions for the next exchange.’

  She ended the call. Almost immediately my phone rang again.

  ‘Lauren?’ It was Rick. ‘What the hell happened? Are you OK?’

  I explained how Shelby’s call to the police had resulted in the kidnap exchange going wrong.

  ‘Where are you?’ I asked.

  ‘Trying to get round that fence with the gate you went through.’ Rick swore. ‘It’s impossible. If you’re sure you’re OK, I’m going back to the bridge where I last saw you. I need to call your mum too, let her know you’re all right.’ He paused. ‘I was thinking . . . did you notice the licence number on the van? Because if you did I could get one of my police friends to check it out. They’d do it for me as a favour, I’m sure.’

  I made a face, feeling useless. I’d been so fixated on Madison it hadn’t even occurred to me to check out the van’s licence plate.

  ‘I didn’t look at the number,’ I said. ‘Did you, Jam?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘No, but the kidnapper’s going to call again in a minute,’ I said. ‘She wants to set up another exchange.’

  ‘Well, that’s something,’ Rick said. ‘Where?’

  ‘I don’t know yet,’ I said.

  ‘OK.’ Rick cleared his throat. ‘Well, call me as soon as you know. I’ll get my car and try and work out how to drive round . . . pick you guys up.’

  ‘Thanks, Rick.’ I rang off and leaned against Jam’s shoulder.

  ‘You OK, Lazerbrain?’ he said softly.

  I turned my head so we were facing each other. ‘Not really,’ I whispered.

  Our lips were centimetres apart. I closed my eyes, wanting to feel the soft brush of Jam’s healing kiss. But instead I felt him shifting away from me. I opened my eyes, my face reddening. Jam was walking away from me, reaching for the backpack still half hidden behind the scrap metal.

  I frowned, confused. Why did he not want to kiss me? With a terrible jolt it occurred to me that maybe Jam was only here, helping, because he felt he ought to. That if Madison hadn’t been kidnapped he would have dumped me yesterday. I’d suspected he might be losing interest, and Shelby had said as much last night. Maybe she was right. That would explain why Jam had been distant recently. And why he had shied away from that kiss just now.

  Jam had always wanted to kiss me before. There had to be a reason if he didn’t any more.

  And that was the only reason that made sense.

  I closed my eyes. I couldn’t think about Jam and me now. I had to keep my focus on Madison.

  I tipped my face to the sun. It was still blisteringly hot. Holiday weather. Back on the beach, families were no doubt playing on the sand, just like they had yesterday.

  It seemed impossible that the rest of the world was carrying on as normal, while Madison was tied up, dirty and frightened, inside Sonia Holtwood’s van.

  My phone rang again.

  Holtwood, I mouthed at Jam as I answered.

  ‘Lauren?’ The sneering voice through the same robot-filter as before. ‘Are you ready for your next instructions?’

  ‘Where do you want to do the exchange?’ I said.

  ‘First things first,’ Holtwood said smoothly. ‘I told you already we are going to do another deal.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I said, a chill creeping down my back, despite the fierce sun. ‘There’s only one deal. Madi
son for the money. Two million buys her freedom.’

  ‘That’s correct,’ Holtwood went on. ‘Except for just one thing. The price of Madison’s release has just gone up.’

  9

  A New Deal

  I stood quite still. Jam shuffled closer, trying to hear the call too.

  ‘Lauren?’ Holtwood’s filtered voice on the other end of the line pierced through me. ‘Are you listening?’

  ‘Yes.’ I hesitated. ‘I don’t understand. There isn’t any more money. The insurance payment is two million pounds. Unless you want Annie to sell her house, then—’

  ‘I’m not talking about money. I’m talking about something else, immensely valuable, hidden in Annie and Sam’s London apartment.’

  ‘What?’ I said. My head was spinning, a million thoughts charging through me. ‘There’s nothing valuable at the London flat.’

  ‘Yes, there is.’ Holtwood paused. ‘Your father – Sam – said there was.’

  ‘Sam said there was?’ I echoed.

  What on earth was she talking about?

  Jam touched my arm. You OK? he mouthed.

  I nodded, though I wasn’t in the slightest OK.

  ‘Sam’s exact words on what he’d hidden were: “there is something of huge value”,’ Holtwood said. ‘D’you hear that? Something of huge value. That’s got to mean big money.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ I went on. ‘Why would Sam have hidden something valuable in a flat he hardly ever used, in a city he hardly ever visited?’

  ‘Because the valuable thing is for you, Lauren . . . and you do live in that city.’

  My chest constricted. ‘For me?’

  ‘Yes, I don’t know what it is, but he was planning to give it to you next time he saw you.’

  ‘How do you know all this?’ I said. ‘How do you know what Sam’s “exact words” were?’

  ‘Never mind that,’ Holtwood said sharply. ‘You need to go to the apartment immediately. It’s almost midday now. If you walk along the track where the van drove earlier you’ll come to a town called Ringbourne. The next train for London leaves in twenty minutes. I’ll give you two hours from now to get to the apartment. Then another two to find whatever is hidden there.’

  ‘No,’ I gasped. ‘Wait. That isn’t enough time. I don’t even know what I’m looking for.’