Authors: Sophie McKenzie
I froze, unable to reach Jam. He was clinging to the bottom of the ladder. Frank was trying to pull him off.
And then the woman came running over. She stood beside them, her gaze fixed on Jam’s face.
She wasn’t Sonia Holtwood. She was much younger with a narrower, longer face.
The good news was that she hadn’t seen me.
The bad news was that she had Frank’s gun and was pointing it at Jam.
Help
Jam looked up at me.
Go
, he mouthed silently.
‘Get him off the ladder!’ the woman who was not Sonia Holtwood screamed. ‘Get after the girl.’
I backed away from the hole, then turned and raced out of the beach hut. Shelby came running up, backpack flapping on her back. ‘I didn’t call Mom yet. What happ—’
‘Run!’ I gasped at her.
She stood, gawping at me. ‘Where’s Jam?’ She frowned. ‘Where’s Madison?’
I shoved her in the shoulder. ‘Come on!’ I urged again. ‘Go!’
I tore past the row of beach huts, not bothering to check if she was following me. The noise and bustle of the promenade filled the air. I raced to the square, past the carousel, still playing
‘The Teddy Bear’s Picnic’, and on up the street, away from the sea.
Shelby caught up with me and we ran on. After a few minutes, we reached the holiday home. We stopped just outside the front garden, both of us gasping . . . trying to get our breath back.
I looked back down the road. There was no sign of anyone following us.
What did that mean? Had we lost them? Or had the kidnappers given up the chase?
‘What the hell happened?’ Shelby panted. ‘Where’s Jam?’
I stood shaking in the sunlight as the full reality of the situation sank in.
They had Jam . . . Frank and this woman. I had no idea who she was. I had no idea about anything. All I knew was that in trying to save Madison I’d only managed to lose Jam as well.
I glanced over at the holiday home. Annie was inside, walking past the living-room window. She was speaking to someone – Rick presumably – twisting her hands together.
What on earth was I going to say to her? In that instant it hit me how stupid and selfish I had been earlier. I hadn’t thought through what Jam and I would do down in the tunnel, even
though I knew we were up against two ruthless adults with a gun. I’d been so obsessed with finding Madison – and so convinced I was dealing with Sonia Holtwood – that I thought
I’d be able to handle whatever situation I came up against.
Instead of which I’d only made mistakes. I’d lied to the female kidnapper, promising her diamond jewellery I didn’t have on top of the two million pounds cash. And I’d
lost Jam. A terrible raw pain swelled inside me. Whether or not he was helping because he wanted to or because he felt he should, Jam had been with me every step of the way. He had warned me we
didn’t have a plan for rescuing Madison and now
he
was the one who was paying the price for it.
I fingered the wooden oval round my neck.
Please be OK, Jam. Please
.
Beside me, Shelby swore. ‘Will you
talk
to me, Lauren?’ she said. ‘Where’s Jam? Did you find Madison? What happened?’
I gritted my teeth. The last thing I wanted to do was explain what had gone on under that beach hut.
‘We saw Madison . . .’ I hesitated, hating having to say the words out loud. ‘But they stopped us. They . . . they caught Jam.’
Shelby blinked, shocked. ‘Sonia Holtwood has Jam now?’ she said. ‘As well as Madison?’
‘She’s
not
Sonia Holtwood,’ I said savagely, realising as I spoke that this meant I knew less than ever about who we were dealing with – and what they were capable
of. ‘The man is Frank – Holtwood used him two years ago. But the woman is someone else altogether. Not Sonia Holtwood.’
‘What do you mean?’ Shelby’s face expressed confusion.
For goodness’ sake
. All my frustration and anxiety seemed to roll into a ball at the sight of her blank incomprehension. I took a deep breath then I hurled everything I felt into
Shelby’s face.
‘I wish it was y—’ I stopped and dug my fingers into my palms to stop myself saying it . . .
‘What?’ Shelby’s frown deepened. ‘Wish
what
?’
‘Nothing.’ I couldn’t say it. I didn’t mean it. It was too cruel.
Shelby drew in her breath. ‘You were going to say you wished it was
me
. That you wished the kidnappers had taken me instead of Madison and Jam?’
‘No, of course not.’ But I couldn’t meet Shelby’s gaze.
She took a step away from me. I looked up. Hurt flashed through her eyes and for a moment, I thought she was going to burst into tears or hit me or scream. But she didn’t do any of those
things. She just stared at me for a few seconds as her expression hardened, like a mask.
Guilt spread through me like a poison.
‘I’m sorry, Shelb—’
‘Don’t.’ Shelby held up her hand, cutting me off. Her voice was hard and cold. ‘So what do we do now?’
I bit my lip. ‘Well, we have less than two hours before the next exchange. The kidnappers think we’re bringing them a diamond necklace and earrings that don’t exist so unless
we rob a jewellery store in the next ninety minutes, we’re basically screwed.’
Shelby stared at me. She said nothing.
I swallowed, shuffling from foot to foot. I knew she was thinking about how she had wanted to involve the police in the first place.
Jeez
, it hit me like a thunderbolt. She’d been
totally right. I mean, OK, so involving the cops put Madison at risk.
But Madison was at terrible risk already.
Shelby glanced over towards the holiday home. I followed her gaze to the brightly painted blue gate and the front garden, overgrown with flowers. Annie was still visible through the window, her
back to the pavement where we were standing.
I took a deep breath. ‘I think we should tell Annie and Rick everything,’ I said. ‘I think we should tell them it’s time to call the police and tell
them
everything.’ I wanted to add:
like you said we should
. But the words somehow stuck in my throat.
Shelby gave a curt nod. ‘Right.’
And together we walked up the road to the house.
‘But what are we going to do if the police mess up?’ Annie wailed for the fifth time. ‘I can just imagine them going in heavy and . . . and my baby getting
hurt . . .’ She dissolved into tears again.
We were in the kitchen of the holiday home. Annie was pacing in front of the door to the garden. Shelby was sitting at the table. Like me, she was watching Annie but saying nothing.
I don’t think she knew what to say to calm Annie down.
I certainly didn’t.
I’d imagined – more a hope than a reasoned thought – that once we’d told Annie everything she would pull herself together and, at the very least, agree that we need to
phone the police and hand over responsibility for rescuing Madison to the authorities.
But Annie, once again, had fallen into a panicky mess of terror and indecision.
I’d briefly wondered if she would question me more closely about my search for valuables in the London flat. But she’d just looked amazed that Jam and I had thought we’d find
anything there. She didn’t seem at all concerned that I might have stumbled across Sam’s letters. I was more sure than ever that she didn’t know about them.
This made it easier not to deal with the discovery myself. Shelby’s letter was in Jam’s pocket, of course, but I’d shoved mine away in my bedroom. I still felt numb about Sam
not being my biological dad, like the whole thing wasn’t real.
Madison and Jam being taken, on the other hand, was urgent and overwhelming.
I glanced over at Rick. He was gazing thoughtfully at Annie. He exuded calm. The only indication that he was in any way stressed was the way his little finger tapped against the counter.
Surely he would know what to do about the kidnappers?
‘Rick?’ I said. ‘What do you think?’
He glanced from Annie to me. ‘It’s going to be all right,’ he said firmly.
‘You don’t know that, Rick, honey.’ Annie wrung her hands together.
‘Mom, please.’ Shelby sounded close to tears.
‘Yes, Annie,’ Rick repeated slowly. ‘I do know. We’re going to make this work.’
The three of us stared at him.
‘What do you think we should do?’ I asked.
‘What you and Shelby have already suggested,’ Rick said. ‘I think we should contact the police.’
‘But—’ Annie started.
‘I’m not saying we dial 999,’ Rick interrupted. ‘We need the exchange to go ahead so we can get Madison and Jam back as fast as possible.’ He looked down at his
watch. ‘That only gives us just over an hour and a half. Not enough time for a proper police response to the situation. But I’ve got a mate who’s a cop . . . his name’s
Cooper Trent. He used to work on kidnap and ransom cases. I should have thought of him earlier. He’ll help. I know he will. If he’s there for back-up then we’ll be able to handle
whatever this couple who’ve got Jam and Madison do.’
I felt my shoulders release as he spoke. Looking at Annie and Shelby, it was clear they felt the same. Relief was etched on both their faces.
‘Are you sure, honey?’ Annie said with a sniff.
‘Absolutely.’ Rick gave her a warm smile. ‘Cooper’s the man. If he and I can block the kidnappers off there’s no way they can run off like they did last
time.’
I frowned. ‘But how can just two of you block them off? Suppose they pick a place for the exchange with lots of exits.’
‘They’re not picking the place for the exchange,’ Rick said. His voice was stern and completely authoritative.
I gaped at him.
‘We’re telling
them
where the exchange will take place,’ he went on. ‘And by “we” I mean “I”.’ He paused. ‘I should never have
let you take their calls, Lauren. I should have stepped up sooner. But I’m doing it now. When your phone rings,
I’m
answering. Let them deal with someone their own
size.’
I stared at him, impressed.
Annie flew round the table and hurled herself into his arms. ‘Oh, Rick, thank you, thank you,’ she sobbed.
I looked at Shelby, hoping we could share a moment of acknowledgement. Annie might be a flake, but Rick was pretty cool.
But Shelby didn’t meet my gaze. Her expression was unreadable.
The Exchange
Half an hour later and it was all sorted. Rick had spoken to his friend, the ex-cop, Cooper Trent, and arranged to meet him on the way to the exchange. Shortly afterwards, the
kidnappers rang and Rick took the call.
He was amazing. Completely unflappable and holding firm to everything he’d said earlier.
‘Well, I’m talking to you now,’ he said into the phone. ‘There weren’t any diamonds. Lauren just made that up because she was scared.’
I could feel my face flushing. Though what Rick said was true, I didn’t much like hearing it.
‘If you want your money you’d better listen to me,’ Rick went on. ‘We’ll meet at Chantler’s Cross in thirty minutes. Leave your van by the stile down the
track. Bring the kids into the field. We’ll do the exchange there. You get the cash. We get the kids. Deal?’
Annie gripped my arm as we listened.
‘D’you know where that is, Mom?’ Shelby whispered on her other side.
‘Yes, we drove past it when we had that picnic on Sandcove beach last week,’ Annie said.
I nodded. I didn’t remember Chantler’s Cross, but I remembered Annie’s crazy picnic. She’d brought soft rolls (no butter) and a bag of carrots, so I’d made
carrot-stick sandwiches for me and Madison. I’d munched away while Madison whispered in my ear a long story about her pocket dolls Tammy and Tilda. It was all made up, just Madison’s
imagination firing away like it always did, but she’d spoken about the dolls so passionately it was as if they were real people.
Rick came off the phone to the kidnappers.
‘Did they mind it wasn’t me doing the exchange?’ I asked.
Rick made a face. ‘They still want you there with the money. As you heard, I told them those diamonds you’ve promised them don’t exist.’
‘Were they really OK about that?’ I asked.
Rick shrugged. ‘No, but there isn’t anything they can do, is there?’
I frowned. Would the kidnappers really let it go?
‘Don’t worry about it, Lauren,’ Rick said firmly. ‘You and I need to go to the field now. We’ll hook up with Cooper on the way. Just keep a tight hold of that two
million.’
I squirmed in my seat, realising I had something else to admit to now. ‘Er . . . it took about sixty pounds to pay for our train tickets earlier.’
‘You mean the money’s light?’ Rick said. ‘Annie, how much cash do you have on you?’
‘Oh my goodness.’ Annie’s hands fluttered nervously over her purse. ‘There should be enough . . . I brought lots of British money with me . . .’
‘It’ll be fine,’ Rick said firmly.
And it was. Shelby and I checked the money in the backpack and added exactly the right amount we needed from Annie’s purse. As we worked methodically at the table, Annie herself paced
around the kitchen. Tears were streaming down her face.
‘I should come with you,’ she wept. ‘I want to be there when we get Madison.’
Rick eyed her. I could tell that, like me, he thought Annie’s presence during the exchange was an extremely bad idea, and felt a surge of pride that he had no such doubts about me.
‘Maybe it would be better for Madison if you stayed at home, sweetheart,’ Rick said. ‘I mean, it’s going to be pretty tense out there and the kidnappers won’t be
expecting you, and if you stay here you can have the house all ready for the little one to come back to.’
‘Do you really think so?’ Annie sobbed.
‘Yes,’ Rick said. He looked at me and Shelby. ‘Agreed, girls?’
I nodded.
‘Rick’s right on this, Mom,’ Shelby said. ‘You stay here.’
‘OK,’ Annie sniffed.
‘And
I’ll
go with Rick and Lauren,’ Shelby said.
What?
‘I don’t know that’s such a great idea,’ I said.
‘That’s so typical of you, Lauren,’ Shelby said bitterly. ‘Why should
I
be left behind?’