The Hunted Child Read online

  ‘You’ve probably been over this a thousand times already,’ said Kirsten, ‘but is there anywhere you can think Innocence would go?’

  ‘We’ve given the police all her friends’ names and numbers, and they say they haven’t seen her.’

  Kirsten nodded to Marion as she said this, then looked over to PC Linsey, who also gave a nod.

  ‘Ringing them every half hour to check, but there’s nothing. They’re all very well aware of what’s happening and they’re to ring in straightaway if they see or hear from Innocence.’

  ‘I figured they’re also being alerted in case anything else is going on?’

  Kirsten was indicating to PC Linsey that they should be ringing in if anybody strange was hanging around their houses, as Collins may have been able to deduce who Innocence’s friends were.

  ‘All done,’ said PC Linsey.

  ‘Have you holidayed anywhere here recently?’

  ‘No,’ said George. ‘We don’t; we holiday well away from here.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Usually down towards Oban. There’s a caravan park down there.’

  ‘Already alerted, although it’s a heck of a trek in the time we’ve had,’ said PC Linsey.

  ‘Indeed, it is, but George, Marion, is there anywhere that your daughter would go? Anywhere particular she likes to stand and look? A hidey-hole she likes to sit in?’

  ‘Not really. I mean, she always enjoys the centre of town, more life than up here at home. That’s why she was down at the carnival. She was really excited, being able to mix and move about. She said it was just so lively compared to what usually happened. She gets us to go down to the free concerts at Inver Park and that. I’m never interested, but she likes all the bands and stuff.’

  Kirsten turned over to PC Linsey. ‘Have you checked anywhere like that? Band locations, Steam Works in town, places where gigs and that happen? I know it’s a long shot, but it’s worth it.’

  PC Linsey was taking down notes and said she’d pass it on to the inspector.

  Kirsten stood up and started pacing around. She kept an eye out the window, because it really was troubling her at the moment.

  ‘Ollie,’ Kirsten said to Marion. ‘What sort of a boy is he?’

  ‘He’s very caring. Especially about his sister. He cares for them all, but Innocence and he are close in a way that Gavin and Amy are.’

  ‘But is he reckless?’

  ‘No,’ said Marion. ‘He’ll have an idea what he’s doing. He’ll be going through from place to place looking for her.’

  ‘Is he in a car?’

  ‘No,’ said George. ‘The two cars are outside, and he hasn’t got one himself. He usually uses mine and Marion’s if he’s traveling about.’

  ‘But he can drive?’ asked Kirsten.

  ‘Yes. Yes, he can drive.’

  Kirsten turned to PC Linsey.

  ‘Car hire soon as they open. Need to check. What time did he disappear last night?’

  ‘It was after midnight, so he won’t be hiring one until the morning.’

  ‘Good point,’ said Kirsten. ‘Have you checked his friends? Any one of his friends who drive a car? I mean, he’s not likely to nick one, is he?’

  ‘No,’ said Marion, almost bursting into tears. ‘He’s not that sort of a kid. He’s looking for his sister. That’s all.’

  ‘I understand that,’ said Kirsten, ‘but if he did take one, we’d have a number plate if we know it’s missing. Just makes things a lot easier to find them but find them I will. How much money does she have in the bank?’

  George looked at Kirsten. ‘Well, maybe a hundred, something like that.’

  ‘Put some more in just in case she needs to be going anywhere.’

  ‘What? You think she’s just going to take off?’ said George.

  ‘Look, your daughter has just seen somebody getting his brains blown out. She’s seen something so traumatic you have no idea what she can do. She’s also on the run because they’ve come after her. If she’s a smart cookie, she won’t come up above ground. Unless she starts to use the cash bank, she’ll do it and move on quickly. Yes, put some more money in for her. That way she also knows that you’re doing something. You might not be talking to her, but she’ll feel a comfort from it.’

  The last bit wasn’t necessarily true, but Kirsten thought she should offer something to these people who were sitting there worrying their hearts out.

  There came a call on the phone, and automatically George reached across and picked up the telephone by the window.

  ‘George Waters. Who is it?’

  Kirsten saw the man’s face drop and instantly started to hunt around for another telephone. George put his hand over the receiver. ‘It’s someone called Collins. He said he’s ready to do a deal.’

  Kirsten made a motion with her hands indicating that George should keep talking. She could see the man listening to what was being said on the other side of the phone, and he gave the occasional, ‘Uh-huh,’ or ‘Yes,’ or ‘That sounds okay.’ As the conversation developed, Kirsten wondered what was going on. She stood in front of George Waters, her hands raised up, indicating she had no idea what the man was doing. His hand once again was placed over the receiver.

  ‘He says he’s wanting to give us £2 million for our silence—£2 million for my daughter. He says we can just leave the country, go somewhere.’

  Kirsten’s heart sunk. This didn’t sound right. Albeit Collins would be desperate to clear his name, the one thing that would hang over him was the fact that Innocence Waters could at any time drop him in it. Simply paying the girl to clear off wouldn’t do. He’d want to know for sure. After all, it was a murder rap and a cold-blooded one at that. The authorities would want him thrown to the wolves, ready to spend his rest of his life in prison. No, this didn’t make sense.

  George was still talking on the phone and there was a sense of relief on his face as he seemed to think he was getting somewhere with the kidnapper.

  ‘He says he’ll just come to the house. He said he’ll drop the money. Someone will come, give us the money and we just go. That solves everything, doesn’t it? We could just get out of here.’

  PC Linsey was standing up and advising that this was not always the case. ‘George, just keep the man talking.’ She was calling in on her phone, seeing if she could get any trace on the call being made, and Kirsten was surprised that Collins was staying in the line this long. Of course, it wouldn’t be Collins, it would be somebody else. Collins would never be so daft as to do this on his own. Plausible deniability. Somebody else did it on his behalf. Somebody else scamming them, but why bother calling up? Why even think of it? And then it hit Kirsten. The phone, by the window, at the street. As she looked out, she saw the car roll by. She took two steps, shouting at PC Linsey to get down, and threw herself at George Waters. She caught the man in the midriff, knocking him backwards to the floor, the phone flying out of his hand. Before she’d hit the floor, the front window shattered.

  Chapter 4

  Kirsten held George Waters on the ground, making sure he didn’t try to get up again. She could feel the man’s heart pounding as she landed with her head on his chest. There was glass all around them, but Kirsten was not concerned about that at this time. Instead, she turned her head back, shouting over to PC Linsey.

  ‘Are you okay? Everyone okay?’

  Marion Waters was shouting, screaming at the top of her voice and Kirsten caught a glance over at the two smaller kids, Gavin and Amy, who were cowering in the corner. Most of the glass had been contained at the edges of the room by the curtains, but in the centre of the room, the glass had blown across and Kirsten could see cuts on Marion and PC Linsey. The door of the living room flew open, and a constable burst in demanding if everyone was okay.

  ‘I think so,’ said Kirsten rising. ‘Watch this man!’ Kirsten made her way into the hallway and looked out of the front door. Outside, two police constables were hiding behind cars.

  As
Kirsten opened the door, she saw there was still a car there at the front of the house and spun herself back inside as a gunshot took out the light above the door. Dear God, she thought, they’re still there. They’re still looking to shoot. Crouching down, she bent around the door, drew her weapon, and fired at the tyres of the car. With two more shots, she peppered the sides of the car before throwing herself back inside the house. She heard a squeal of tyres. When she next peered out, the car had gone.

  Kirsten moved out of the house, checking the area for the gunmen before putting her gun away and shouting over to the constables hiding behind the car. ‘Get hold of some backup. Ambulance as well. We’ve got injured people inside.’

  ‘Anyone get hit by the bullets?’ asked the Constable.

  ‘No,’ said Kirsten, ‘but there’s glass everywhere. They’re injured.’

  She reached down for her phone and hit the instant dial to Anna Hunt.

  ‘This is Anna.’

  ‘Kirsten. They’ve taken pot shots at the family. Front windows blown out. I’ve driven them off, but we need a safe house now. These people are under attack.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll get Justin to send you through one. I want you to take them there. No ambulances.’

  ‘You’re going to need a doctor then or somebody else in the house. Somebody who knows how to look after people because they’re a mess and you need to clear it with DI Cairns running this show.’

  ‘I will do, but let’s get them in your car.’

  ‘No,’ said Kirsten, ‘Three-car stunt. We’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.’

  ‘Roger,’ said Anna and put the phone down. The three-car stunt was where three identical cars would pull up in front of a house. Who knew how Anna would get that ready in fifteen minutes, but that was her job. Meanwhile, Kirsten secured the perimeter of the house and began to see neighbours coming out. She held up her hands, calling over some of the constables, ‘Get these people back inside. Last thing we need is for people to be in the street in case anyone comes back.’

  ‘Comes back?’ said the constable. ‘You don’t seriously think they’ll have another go.’

  Kirsten didn’t know what to think. This was unprecedented. People having a hit and run on the street of a housing estate in Inverness. It was crazy, but with what was on the line, who knew what Collins would do.

  ‘Just get them back inside. The key thing here is that nobody else gets injured.’

  Kirsten went to the end of the street before returning back inside the house. Inside, PC Linsey was fastening a piece of bandage around the hand of Marion Waters.

  ‘It cut quite badly. She could do with going to hospital.’

  ‘Ambulances are on their way, but then we’re on the move. George, go upstairs, grab a suitcase, stick in clothes for you, your wife, and the two kids. You’ve got five minutes.’ The man looked shocked. ‘You heard me,’ said Kirsten.

  ‘But why? What are you doing with us?’

  ‘You clearly aren’t safe here. Your window’s been blown in. We’re going to get you to a hotel somewhere.’

  This was a blatant lie, but Kirsten didn’t want anyone to know that they were heading to a safe house. She got a call back from Anna Hunt and it took a full thirty minutes before three black cars arrived. George had been efficient in his packing and Kirsten ran out with two suitcases, throwing him into the boot of one of the cars. She then stood out in the street where the PCs ran the family into the middle car. Kirsten got into the passenger seat and gave a nod to the man behind the wheel to start driving.

  Having established an Inverness base, the service had put various assets around the town, but Kirsten was still impressed by the efficiency which they turned up after thirty minutes to site and extracted the family. The cars peeled off and for the next two miles, constantly readjusted position, the middle car going to the front and the rear car into the middle again, before ending up at the front. As they reached the edge of Inverness, all three cars left in different directions.

  ‘That’s the car over the Kessock bridge.’ Kirsten checked her rear-view mirror but was struggling to see anyone behind them who hadn’t been there before. The car then pulled off and started driving through the Black Isle along tracks that most cars never see. Looking behind her again, there was no one. After taking another three or four different turns, the car arrived at a farmhouse located in the middle of the Black Isle.

  Kirsten ushered the family out and the black car drove off to begin another load of snaking turns around the isle. Eventually all three black cars would join up again before going back to the base, but Kirsten opened the farmhouse door and ushered the family inside quickly. As they entered the kitchen, she heard George shout and Marion scream. Kirsten ran in, but there was a friendly face there. A white-haired woman, quite small, but of large build and a pleasing smile.

  ‘George, Marion, this is Samantha. She’s going to take care of you.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said George. ‘This woman? But what is she going to do if they come with guns?’

  ‘She’s going to make sure they don’t get anywhere near this building. She will have you somewhere safe and she will also eliminate most of the threat that comes at you. Samantha may not look like something but trust me, that’s the whole point. In this business we keep our cards very close to our chest.

  George shook his head, but Marion stepped forward to the woman, holding out her hand. ‘I’m cut,’ she said. ‘It’s sore, it feels like its ripping.’

  ‘Window blew in at their home. Sam, I think you might need to do some stitches.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Sam. ‘All of you downstairs. I’ve got the medical kit below.’ She pointed over to the stairs that made their way up but had a door underneath them. On opening, there were concrete steps descending down to four different rooms. One looked like a living room except there were no windows. There were also two bedrooms and a shower and toilet facility. The rear of the living room had a small kitchenette and Sam switched the kettle on, telling everyone to settle in. She then disappeared upstairs, advising Kirsten she needed to close the place up.

  The farmhouse from the outside looked like nothing, almost abandoned, and Kirsten thought it was a perfect disguise. From above, you wouldn’t see anything, and the family would be safe underneath. How long you could keep them there was another matter. People started to go stir crazy, but at the moment, because they were on a hit list, they needed to be off the streets.

  The phone rang in the living room and Kirsten picked it up. ‘Hello?’

  ‘This is Anna, how is the lone stead?’

  Kirsten looked up to see Sam coming down the concrete steps into the living room. She gave Kirsten a nod. ‘Yes, Anna, lone stead secure.’

  ‘Good. I won’t be out, and you’ll be on the move soon. Tell Sam it’s going to be her and them for a while. Has she got provisions?’

  ‘Are you all right, Sam—food and everything?’

  ‘Yes, Kirsten. Tell Anna I’m fine. We can last at least a week to two weeks at the moment. I take it’s nobody above surface?’

  Kirsten nodded. ‘Sam says, she’s good to go. Says there’s enough for a week.’

  ‘If they’re still there after a week,’ said Anna, ‘I’m moving them on somewhere, getting them out. It’s too dangerous to be around close, but at least this will do for the minute.’

  ‘I’ve got very little from the family. They don’t seem to know where their son’s gone at all. I checked the house, but I can’t find anywhere that Innocence is going to go to. There’s nothing glaring at me.’

  ‘That’s fine. Just check up on Justin, see what else he’s got, but I need you back out here, Kirsten. We’ve got to find this girl, and quick.’

  ‘You got anybody else on it?’

  ‘We have half of the Inverness police force on it. I’m not looking for people to carry out a search, I’m looking for someone to dig into the situation, find out something that’s for real, and then go and get her. You have no idea the he
at that’s coming on us about this one.’

  ‘But we’ve only just got involved,’ said Kirsten.

  ‘No, the heat’s not about what we’re doing. The heat’s about the fact that this girl can put that bastard away for years. If we lose her, there’s going to be hell to pay.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Kirsten. ‘I’ll get up and get going. I think everyone here is okay. We’ve got some minor wounds, but I believe Sam can take care of it.’

  After hanging up on Anna, Kirsten placed a phone call through to Justin Chivers.

  ‘Glad you called in. I’ve done a little bit of spade work looking at some of the photographs that are up online about her now that she’s missing. Word seems to travel fast around Facebook and Instagram. There are words dropped here and there about where she might be, but none of them seem legit. I’ve continued doing a bit of work though. If you go into the history of some of the Facebook accounts, her brother seems to be friends with a guy who owns a boat out on Loch Ness. It might be worth a shout. It seems quite a distant connection, but I’m pretty convinced looking at the boat that the background’s Loch Ness.’

  ‘Where are the boats?’ asked Kirsten.

  ‘Well, the boat’s about, what, quarter of the way down Loch Ness? But it isn’t in the picture, so it could be anywhere up and down.’

  ‘Got a detailed description of it?’

  ‘No. I haven’t,’ said Justin. ‘Just a picture, but she’s a good-looking one, much like yourself.’