Breaking the Circle (15 page)

Maya tried to speak normally, but her voice was shaking and she had to bite back tears. ‘I’m sorry. I lost my mobile. I knew you’d be worried.’

‘Worried! I was frantic.’ The expression on Helen’s face was by turns furious, then desperate, then sympathetic. She clasped Maya’s arm and pushed her through to the
kitchen. ‘You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.’ Her eyes scanned Maya’s face. ‘Did somebody hit you?’ She put a hand over her mouth. ‘Oh, Maya!’

There were tears in Helen’s eyes. Helen, who was always so calm and practical, never seeming to be put out by anything, was crying, and Maya realised just what she’d done.

‘Oh Helen, I’m so sorry. Don’t worry, I’m OK.’

A strong sob shook Helen as Maya kissed her cheek. ‘If only you’d called and explained where you were. I thought the worst. I couldn’t help it. Kidnap, murder – I was
distraught.’ She blew out a big puff of air. ‘I phoned your friend Leona – couldn’t get a reply, then I tried Evie, she didn’t know where you were. I was just about to
call Simon when he phoned me. Your friend Zac had got in touch with him, told him you’d been driven away in a van. He gave Simon the registration number but the plates were false, they
couldn’t trace it. They’ve been working all night to find you.’

‘Did you let him know I’m safe?’

‘Of course. He’s coming over.’

‘The press aren’t on to it, are they?’

‘Not yet.’ Helen pulled out a chair and sat Maya down. ‘And lucky for you, Simon couldn’t contact Pam, although by now the news might have filtered through. You have to
tell me what this is all about.’

Maya nodded. ‘I know. It’s complicated. I got mixed up in something that I shouldn’t have got involved with. But I was safe last night – a nice woman on a houseboat let
me stay with her.’

Helen looked incredulous. ‘A houseboat?’

‘Yes,’ Maya said, brushing back the hair from her eyes. ‘She was very kind.’ A sudden coughing fit shook her, she gasped for breath and when she spoke her voice was
hoarse. ‘Can I tell you the rest when Simon gets here?’

Helen shook her head and rolled her eyes. ‘All right. As long as you promise me you aren’t hurt or in danger and. . .’ She stopped speaking abruptly as she noticed Maya’s
unfamiliar leather jacket. ‘Whose clothes are you wearing?’

Maya got to her feet. “I . . . er. . . I’ll explain later. I’m fine, honest. Just let me go and have a shower and change and then I’ll tell you everything.’

A real sense of warmth and relief flooded through Maya as she walked into her bedroom. The cool white curtains, crimson duvet and black framed photographs that she’d thought were so
stylish now looked familiar and comforting. She glanced at the photos of herself and Pam and sent a mind message.

Come home soon, Mum. I need you.

Slipping into the bathroom, she closed the door. Safe, she was safe. She’d escaped, she’d survived – but only just. Standing in the shower, her thoughts darted to Kay and the
other girls. She had to convince Simon to act quickly or they might be lost forever.

What would you do, Mum? What can I do? She pictured her mum’s face. And the message came back loud and clear.

You have played your part, Maya. Leave it to the experts.

* * *

Helen was bathing Maya’s face with antiseptic when Simon stormed in. He took one look at Maya and exploded.

‘What’s been going on, Maya? What the hell have you been up to?’

His blond hair was flat, his nose was pink and his eyes watery. He didn’t look half so cool and attractive as he usually did. Maya could tell he hadn’t slept all night.

‘I’m sorry. I was trying to help my friends and then one thing just led to another. Have you spoken to Mum?’

Simon’s eyes narrowed and he lowered his voice. ‘No, I didn’t personally have that pleasure. She can’t be reached directly – somebody had to pass a message on. No
doubt she was woken in the middle of the night and told her daughter was missing. Don’t imagine she got much sleep after that.’

‘Simon,’ Helen said quietly. ‘Let’s listen to what Maya has to say.’

Helen dropped the cotton wool swab she was holding into the bowl, asked Simon to sit down and took the bowl over to the sink. ‘I’ll make us some tea and then Maya will tell us what
happened.’

Maya took a sip of tea and swallowed. ‘OK. I told the Drug Squad about this boy, Gerard. He was selling drugs to my mates, some Es, maybe, and other stuff, I’m not sure what –
he was trying to get them hooked. But he was dealing hard drugs, too, coke and heroin. I hoped the Drug Squad would get him, but they seemed more interested in locating his contacts, the suppliers,
dealers, whatever.

‘Anyway,’ she continued, ‘after Gerard gave Serena some heroin he’d cut, she ended up in hospital. Then this girl I know, Kay, told me her friend Leila had taken the same
stuff, courtesy of Gerard, and she’d reacted badly too. Kay wanted to look after her, but Gerard wouldn’t let her and in the morning Leila had disappeared.’

Simon and Helen were listening closely and didn’t interrupt as Maya took another sip of tea.

‘All Leila’s things were there, coat, shoes, but she was missing. Kay thinks she died and Gerard hid the body. So, Kay begged me to steal the bad drugs and get rid of them before
more people were harmed.’

‘So why didn’t you call the Drug Squad?’ Simon snapped. ‘Or me? You know I’ll always listen.’

Maya looked down, biting her lip. ‘I don’t know. I suppose I should have, but it was sort of an instinctive reaction. If I didn’t act quickly, Gerard would sell the drugs and
more people would die.’ She put her cup down and turned it round. ‘It seemed like a simple answer – go into the house, steal the bad stuff, flush it down the loo. After that the
Drug Squad could sort it out.’

‘You can’t do this sort of thing,’ Helen said, ‘take on dangerous criminals. You could have got yourself killed.’

Maya nodded. ‘I know, Gran. Maybe it was a stupid thing to do, because they caught me and I was lucky to escape. But at least I know where they hang out, where they stash their stuff, and
I found out that it’s not just drugs they’re dealing in. They bring in girls, too – young girls, not much older than me. They use them in clubs, make them go with men –
it’s horrible, Gran. They’re nice girls, but they’re poor, and in their own country they don’t have a chance. We have to rescue them.’

Simon folded his arms and shook his head. ‘I am lost for words. You thought you could tackle an international drug and sex trafficking ring by yourself?’

‘No!’ Maya disagreed hotly. ‘Of course not! All I knew was I had to act quickly – to stop people being hurt. It was a desperate situation. It wasn’t until I went
into the house that I realised all the things Gerard was mixed up in.’

‘It was irresponsible, Maya,’ Helen said quietly, ‘totally irresponsible to try and sort it out on your own.’

Maya touched her hand. ‘I know and I’m sorry I worried you. But while we’re sitting here, Kay and the other girls are in the gang’s hands and those men are ruthless.
Ginger is just a thug and Stefan is mean and cold-hearted. He won’t have any worries about getting rid of the girls if they don’t cooperate. We have to find them and rescue them. I
can’t let them down.’

At this point, the doorbell chimed. Helen went to answer it and returned with Zac. He was not looking his usual bright, confident self. In fact, he looked scared, his arms jiggling by his sides,
his eyes darting around the kitchen.

Simon turned an icy gaze upon him. ‘So, you’re the young man I was talking to last night? Maya’s spy – keeping watch.’

Zac ignored him and made a beeline for Maya. ‘Oh, my God! What did they do to you?’

‘It’s all right. I’m fine.’

‘You don’t look fine. Did they hurt you?’

He knelt down and took hold of Maya’s hand. She put her head on one side and smiled at him.

‘It’s OK. Just scratches, no real damage.’

‘It was so scary, I thought I’d never see you again. I saw them takin’ you and I didn’t know what to do. There was too many. I couldn’t do anythin’ to stop
them. Then afterwards, I felt like a coward cos I didn’t even try.’

‘Good job you didn’t. They would have killed you.’

‘I called the number you gave me.’

‘I know. You did right.’

‘I was goin’ crazy. Couldn’t sleep all night, thinkin’, wonderin’ where you were and what was happenin’ to you. Are you really all right?’

Maya looked down at her hands, her voice was a whisper. ‘I . . . there was . . . one of the men. . .’ She raised her eyes and looked at Zac. He put his hand on hers. Helen gasped,
Simon stared. Conscious of their attention, Maya put her hand over her mouth, sniffed, then sat up taller in her chair and brushed back her hair. Then, in a much stronger, firmer voice she said,
‘For a few moments it was scary, but I handled it. The man was coming on to me but he tripped and I ran. There was no way that fat slug was going to catch me.’

Helen put her hand to her throat. ‘Oh, Maya!’

‘I’m fine, Gran. The main thing is, I dumped the drugs – they’re at the bottom of the canal.’

Zac nodded. ‘You done good. They was poison.’

Simon cleared his throat. ‘Good?’ he snapped. ‘You got yourself mixed up with a notorious drug-smuggling, trafficking operation, an outfit the Drug Squad tell me they’ve
been tracking for two years. This gang is clever, brutal, ruthless – they don’t forgive, they’ve got eyes everywhere and,’ he paused dramatically, ‘now they’re
after you.’

‘Simon!’ Helen warned.

Simon walked away, speaking as he paced about the kitchen. ‘Well, it’s true. I’ll have to put a watch on the flat. You can’t do this, Maya. You can’t take things
into your own hands.’

Maya stood up. ‘So, I see my friends getting into trouble – nearly killed – and I should just turn my back?’

His face was stony. ‘No. You should inform the proper authorities.’

‘That’s exactly what I did, you know that.’

Simon spread his hands in exasperation. ‘If you want to be a special agent, Maya, one thing you’re going to have to learn is patience. That counts for all of us. We rarely move as
fast as we’d like, but gathering evidence gets us convictions.’

‘But what Maya’s done is sound,’ Zac said. ‘If you’ve been lookin’ for these guys for two years, then Maya’s found them.’

‘If only it worked like that,’ Simon replied. ‘They’ll be on the back foot now. They’ll lie low.’

‘But we can’t just leave it,’ Maya said. ‘This is not just about drugs any more. They have Kay and Tanya and Annika and the other girls, and they’ll bring in more.
Girls who come here with hope. Girls like me, from Kosovo and all the other places where their lives are hard and they have nothing. And they think in England they’ll have a better life and
then when they get here they’re just exploited. The criminals don’t care, they traffic in human misery. I want them caught and I want the girls released.’

Simon’s face was grave when he came back into the room. ‘You’re not going to like this.’

Maya, Zac and Helen stared up at him questioningly.

‘I relayed the information about the girls, gave the Drug Squad the location of the warehouse. They want to interview you again.’

‘Don’t tell me,’ Maya said, ‘they’re not going to do anything yet. They’re not even going to try to rescue the girls.’

Simon sat down. ‘Maya this is huge, bigger than we imagined. The gang that Gerard was involved with is operating a chain of criminal activity which runs from China across Europe to the UK.
The Drug Squad have been watching them for months, Interpol is involved. The gang bring in drugs and girls via Eastern Europe. They run several clubs where they put the girls to work as hostesses
– get them hooked, exploit them and use the clubs to distribute supplies of heroin and other drugs.’

‘So, what you’re telling me is that, in the grand scheme of things, Kay and Tanya and Annika and the others are not that important,’ Maya said dully. She sighed bitterly.
‘Individuals don’t matter. The cops will wait until they have all the evidence they need and by that time Kay and the others will all be junkies or dying from some horrible disease
they’ve picked up.’

She banged her cup on the table. ‘What more evidence do they need? I’ve told you about the warehouse and they must know where the clubs are.’

Simon pursed his lips and looked into the distance, then he focused on Maya. ‘Look, I shouldn’t tell you this, but there are intelligence reports that there’s a big shipment
coming in from Europe, sometime in the next month. They want to catch the gang and their European contacts red-handed.’

Maya slumped forward, elbows on the table and sighed. ‘So that’s what Stefan was talking about. He said they were setting up something big.’

‘Did he give any details?’

‘No.’ She scratched impatiently at the red marks on her wrist. ‘What am I supposed to do now, forget the whole thing? Those men tried to kill me, they’re selling drugs to
school kids, controlling girls with drugs so that they can pimp them.’

Simon folded his arms and nodded. ‘That’s exactly what you do – you let specially-trained people take care of it. But first give me all the information you can, write it all
down and I promise you it will be followed up. And there’s one other thing.’