Gone (35 page)

She tried to focus on another section of the screen but still there was nothing that stood out. The group dispersed and the corridor was suddenly empty save a doctor talking on a phone, pacing up and down.

‘Should I speed up again?’ Wayne asked and she nodded. As the people moved about at Benny Hill speed her eyes darted after them. ‘Stop,’ she said and put her hand over Wayne’s. ‘Go back.’ On screen a woman came into shot, head down and walking quickly. ‘Pause it.’ He squinted at the fuzzy image. ‘That could be her,’ she said. ‘Press play again.’ Wayne started the tape and they watched the woman walk around the corner out of view.

‘Where’s the next camera?’ Freeman asked and Wayne twiddled with buttons and mumbled to himself about the time code.

‘Okay, I picked her up again here,’ Wayne said, pointing at a figure on the screen. ‘Here she is on the main corridor, heading towards the exit.’

Freeman leaned forward. The image was still grainy but as she got closer to the camera it became clear they were looking at Emma Thorley.

‘We lose her here when she walks behind the pillars but there’s a camera outside if you bear with me . . .’ Wayne played around with the controls, letting the corridor tape run.

‘Wait,’ Freeman said and leaned forward, pointing at the screen as it changed to the exterior. ‘There.’ She saw a man walk towards Emma.

‘Shit.’

Chapter 85

17 December 2010

Lucas listened to the noises Emma made from the boot. She was doing his head in. He wondered if anyone else could hear her. He’d been driving around trying to find somewhere to go for what seemed like forever. He wanted to do it right. Wanted to show her that she couldn’t get away with fucking with him. But there were people everywhere and he didn’t have a clue where the fuck he was. He was going to run out of petrol shortly and unless the police were complete idiots they were going to catch up with him soon. He wondered how he’d got clear of the city after those busybody bitches had interfered.

He passed by streams of traffic, thankfully no cop cars, until he got to the smaller roads and the number of cars dwindled. He was running on fumes now. He could stop here. There was no one around. They hadn’t passed another car for ten minutes. He slowed down and pulled in to the side of the road. They’d been passing woods for a long time. Maybe he’d found the perfect place.

Emma wanted to play dead? Playtime was over. He was going to give her precisely what she wanted and then he’d disappear. Be free from it all. And no one – especially Emma Thorley, Detective Freeman, or any of the other stupid bitches that thought they could get to him – would ever fuck with him again.

He was going to put her in the ground – just like she’d done to Jenny.

Freeman ran out of the security office, back into the corridor, and bumped into Gardner, who hung up the phone as she appeared.

‘Lucas was here. He’s found her,’ she said.

‘I know.’ Gardner held up his phone as they headed towards the exit. ‘Local police got a report forty minutes ago about a possible abduction not far from the hospital grounds. Two women saw a couple fighting. The man dragged the woman to a car, kicking and screaming, threw her in the boot and drove away.’

‘Description?’

‘Matches Lucas and Emma,’ Gardner said, dodging an old lady who was trying to find something in her handbag.

‘They get a licence plate?’

‘Yep. Assaulted the driver before he went. The car was spotted heading north on the B1340 about fifteen minutes ago.’

‘I guess that’s where we’re going, then,’ Freeman said, as they ran out into the cold.

‘Have you found her?’

Freeman and Gardner stopped short and turned around to see Adam staring at them.

‘I told you to wait upstairs,’ said Gardner, walking towards the car.

‘We’re going to look for her now,’ Freeman told Adam and opened her car door.

‘Where is she?’ Adam looked scared.

‘We’ll let you know as soon as we get any information,’ Gardner said and climbed in the passenger seat. ‘Go back upstairs. Wait for us here.’

Freeman pulled away, seeing Adam standing there in the car park, watching them disappear.

Chapter 86

17 December 2010

Adam walked onto the ward and looked down at Ben Swales. He’d lied to the nurse, said he was his brother.

He saw Ben’s eyelids flutter. Slowly, Adam walked towards his bed and took a seat beside him. Compared to Ben, it looked like he’d got off lightly in his altercation with Lucas Yates. It was almost a relief until he thought of her out there . . . somewhere . . . with him. What would he do to her?

Ben coughed and Adam turned to see if there was a nurse about. He looked back at Ben. ‘Do you want me to get someone? Do you need anything?’

Ben shook his head. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.

‘Adam,’ he replied. ‘I’m Louise— I’m Emma’s boyfriend.’

‘Emma?’ Ben said and looked past Adam. ‘Is she here?’

‘No,’ Adam told him. ‘But she’s been here.’ He looked out of the window. He didn’t know who this guy was, how he was involved. What he
did
know was that this man knew Louise, Emma, whatever her name was, better than he did. He knew about her past, her family, her secrets. He’d been the one person she trusted with her life. What did that leave him with?

‘Where’s she gone?’ Ben asked.

‘He took her. They’re looking for the car.’

Ben struggled to sit up. ‘Lucas found her?’

Adam gave a slight nod. ‘I heard them talking. Someone spotted the car; they’ve gone after them. Detective Freeman. And Gardner.’

Ben looked like he wanted to get out of bed. ‘He’ll kill her,’ he said, closing his eyes. ‘He’s going to kill her.’

Adam couldn’t fight it any more. The tears came and he was gasping for breath. He felt useless. He’d failed her. He should’ve done something. Should’ve stopped Yates when he had the chance. Should’ve known something was wrong with her from the start. But he’d done nothing. He was helpless. No wonder she couldn’t trust him, couldn’t tell him the truth.

‘She didn’t do anything wrong,’ Ben said.

Adam just stared, his face red hot with tears. He shook his head. ‘She lied to me. All this time she pretended to be something she’s not. They think she killed that girl.’

Ben’s eyes filled up. ‘She’s a good person,’ he said. ‘If she lied to you, it was to protect you from the truth. Everything she did was to get away from him. Lucas. They have to stop him.’

Adam felt a stab in his heart.
She
was protecting
him.
It should’ve been the other way round. He looked out of the window to the car park, which was thick with sleet. Adam pushed back the chair and thanked Ben before running out of the ward and down the stairs. Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe he could do something after all.

Chapter 87

17 December 2010

Lucas dragged Emma through the woods, spade in the other hand. The car he’d stolen had been full of gardening shit. If Ben had been there he might’ve said it was his guardian angel looking out for him.

The branches scratched at his face and kept catching in Emma’s hair. He’d gagged her with a rag and some twine from the car but he could still hear her muffled cries. In the distance ahead he could see lights, though he was sure the road was behind him. He turned slightly, moving away from the lights. He’d got this far, he didn’t need someone seeing him and calling the cops now.

Emma tried to dig her heels in, slowing them down. The ground beneath them was slippery, the muddy sleet spattering his jeans. It was starting to snow again but he didn’t care any more about the cold. After he’d finished with her he wouldn’t care about anything. He’d disappear and start again somewhere new.

They came to a clearing. It wasn’t a big space, maybe eight by ten feet, but it was big enough for what he wanted and still had the cover of trees. He doubted anyone would be out walking in this weather. Not unless
they
were burying bodies too.

Lucas let go of Emma, throwing her to the ground. She landed face down, putting her hands in front of her to break her fall and then scrambled to her feet, trying to run away.

‘I don’t think so,’ he said and grabbed hold of her. He held her tight against his body but she struggled and tried to elbow him in the guts. He pulled the twine from his pocket and pushed her down, straddling her. She tried to claw at him. He brought his fist down on her jaw and she stopped. He turned her over, pulling her arms behind her back and tied them up. She flailed about in the mud, writhing on her stomach, and he took a second to laugh at her before moving down to her feet and binding her ankles. When he was done he flipped her over and straddled her again. He couldn’t tell if she was crying or if it was the rain streaking her face but he could see the fear in her eyes and it was all he wanted. He pressed himself into her and leaned forward, his mouth next to her ear.

‘The last thing you’re ever going to see is the soil I throw down on your face,’ he said and she started to squirm against him. He laughed and got off her, pulling her up to a seated position, leaning her against a tree. He took one last look around. He could no longer see any lights. They were alone. Completely. He started digging. Under the slush at the top the ground was hard. Each time he struck it reverberated up his arm. But with each strike he felt more and more excitement. He kept his gaze on her, enjoying the terror in her eyes. He’d get the grave dug; that was the important thing, to get that done. And then maybe, just maybe, there’d be time left for some fun.

Chapter 88

17 December 2010

Gardner looked at the map in his hand as Freeman swerved around another corner. She had that look you get when things snowball, when suddenly things start to happen. He knew the look well; he’d seen it hundreds of times. He was probably wearing it himself.

‘So far they’ve been picked up on the cameras three times. First heading north. Then west. And then going north again on the B6346. That was almost half an hour ago. There’re units heading that way but so far, nothing,’ Freeman said.

‘B6346,’ Gardner said and spread his map out. ‘Plenty of woods around.’ He stopped as Freeman’s phone rang.

‘The car’s been spotted,’ she said, after speaking to someone at the other end. ‘Officer approached the vehicle but it was empty.’

‘How far?’

‘About ten minutes.’

‘All right,’ Gardner said, ‘let’s go.’ Freeman did a U-turn and Gardner hung on for dear life.

Adam checked the road signs, trying to make out where he was. He’d heard Gardner say the car was spotted on the B1340. But that was a while ago. They could be anywhere now. But surely someone would’ve seen them? Someone would notice her struggling? He tried not to picture what Lucas might be doing to her.

There’d been a part of him that felt relief when he’d discovered what was going on. When he knew that she hadn’t left him by choice, that she hadn’t wanted to disappear with Lucas. The relief was huge. But maybe he’d have preferred it if she had gone with Lucas voluntarily. At least then she might not be in danger. She might not be dead.

Adam felt sick at the thought. Images of her dying alone and thinking he’d done nothing to help her rushed through his head. He needed to find her. He pulled over and grabbed his phone to call Gardner. As he answered, Adam could hear traffic rushing in the background.

‘What’s going on? Have you found her?’ Adam asked.

‘Not yet, but the car we believe they were in was spotted outside some woods not long ago. We’re heading that way now. Stay put with Ben and I’ll call you as soon as possible.’

Adam listened as Freeman spoke in the background, asking for back-up at Shipley Woods. He hung up and looked down at the map, trying to make out his location.

He tried not to think about how much time she’d been in there with Lucas, how much time she’d been suffering, alone. At least they were on their way. They were going to find her.
He
was going to find her. He just hoped he’d get there in time.