In Search of Hope (29 page)

The newcomer scowled. ‘Someone trashed it, hacking the tyres. I’ve hired that slug of a car because it was the only thing available today.’

No wonder he looked angry, Libby thought, surprised when once again his eyes slid towards her. He looked as if he recognised her, but she was quite sure she’d never seen him before in her life.

He followed Chad into the office and the door closed behind them, so she continued towards the Old Barn. ‘Hold my hand, Ned.’

‘Don’t want to.’

‘If you don’t, we’ll go back to the bedroom.’

For a minute he looked at her, bottom lip jutting out, then he took the hand she was offering.

He cheered up immediately they went into the huge room. As it was Tuesday, there were only a couple of customers there and some of the stalls were covered. For a while they enjoyed looking at the stalls, particularly the toy stall. She wished she could buy him something but didn’t dare spend any money.

After a while, she took Ned out into the rear courtyard and let him chase the ball around. He laughed and shouted as he ran to and fro, full of energy.

Toby and Ashley came to the door of their units to watch him, smiling.

Then Ned missed the ball and let it roll round the corner. He chased after it, shouting happily. Suddenly his voice cut out and there was only silence, not even the sound of footsteps.

Something was wrong. She started running across the courtyard, yelling, ‘Toby, fetch Joss. Fetch Joss quickly.’

He stood staring at her.

Ashley said, ‘I’ll go.’

Round the corner, Libby stopped dead.

Her worst nightmare had just come true.

Steven was standing there, holding Ned in his arms, his hand firmly across their son’s mouth.

Ned was rigid with terror.

‘Not a sound, unless you want me to hurt him.’ Even though he spoke very quietly, Steven’s voice rang with menace and he looked different from usual, wild and angry, as if he’d let his temper off its chain. She froze, terrified of what he might do in this state of mind.

‘Follow me, and don’t make a noise.’

If she followed him and they got as far as a car, who knew what he’d do to them? Whatever happened to her, she wasn’t going to let him hurt Ned, so she had to stop him and let her child escape.

She walked forward as slowly as she dared, pretending to stumble on the uneven ground.

‘Hurry up!’ Even though Steven’s voice was low, it was sharp.

‘Let Ned go,’ she pleaded. ‘I’ll come with you. I won’t struggle. But let Ned go.’

‘Why should I? He’s my son. I’ve a right to have him living with me. You’re both coming home and you’re going to tell the busybodies that’s where you want to be.’

She saw a tear roll down Ned’s cheek and that was the final straw. Not giving herself time to think, she flew at Steven, taking him by surprise and making him stumble. She scratched the hand that was across Ned’s mouth then clouted Steven across the head before he recovered from his shock.

‘Ouch! You bitch! Stop it!’

She tried to kick him where it would hurt most and in defending himself, he dropped Ned.

‘Run to Joss, Ned!’ she shouted and began screaming at the top of her voice, till something hit her on the head and she knew nothing more.

Joss looked up as he heard someone running up the stairs, calling his name. He was already at the door of the flat when Ashley arrived.

‘Come quickly! There’s a bad man. He’s hurting Ned. Libby says to fetch you.’ Ashley turned and ran downstairs again.

He was after her at once, yelling for help as he clattered down the stairs.

Chad and another man came to the door of the office.

‘Libby’s in trouble!’ Joss yelled.

Ashley ran ahead, taking him across the courtyard.

There was no sign of Toby, and when they turned the corner, there was no sign of Ned – or of anyone else.

‘Where are they?’ Joss asked.

‘They were here. The man was holding her. They’ve gone.’

‘Stand still and be quiet.’ He listened carefully and thought he could hear the sound of footsteps from the direction of the outbuildings. ‘Shhh!’

He listened again. Yes, that was definitely the faint squeak of a door being closed.

Chad caught up with him just then, so Joss pointed, whispering ‘What’s over there?’

‘Some sheds.’

‘I think he’s hiding in one.’

Des stepped forward. ‘Shall I call the police?’

Joss hesitated. ‘We don’t know what’s happening. There are three of us. If it’s only Pulford, we can take him down.’

‘And if her abusive husband has got Libby, that might be a hostage situation,’ Chad said.

Joss swallowed hard. Dear heaven, how had this happened? Why had he left her on her own? The damned phone calls could have waited. If anything happened to her …

‘Better safe than sorry. I’ll call the police; you go after them. I’ll catch up with you.’ Des moved back into the courtyard and took out his mobile to dial 999.

Joss nodded to Chad and they began to move forward as quietly as they could.

Cursing his son, who’d run back towards the house, Steven slung Libby’s unconscious body over his shoulder and ran along the back of the building to the empty shed. It’d do as a place from which to bargain. They’d have to let him go or … or he’d end it here and now.

He was panting by the time he got there and she was stirring.

Dammit, he should have brought something to tie her up with. He hadn’t planned this as well as he usually did. That was her fault for upsetting him.

He fumbled through his pockets and came up with his handkerchief. That’d have to do. He yanked her arms behind her and tied her hands at the wrists, noting that the back of his hand was bloody where she’d scratched him. The bitch!

Where was the kid?

He thought he heard something outside and opened the door a crack to peer out, ducking back, cursing. Two men. Strangers. They were looking for something – him, probably.

He must have been seen.

‘Pulford! We know you’re there. Stop this now. Don’t make things worse.’

The door creaked, so he stopped trying to hide and pushed the door back, dragging Libby forward to show them he wasn’t alone. ‘Stay where you are. Do not move another step forward or I’ll thump her again.’

They froze.

He smiled. ‘That’s right. Now listen. This is just a domestic dispute. My wife and I can settle it if you leave us alone. She’s agreed to come home with me. I’ll not hurt her if you let us go.’

She tried to wriggle away from him and he was forced to yank her back by the hair.

‘Where’s Ned?’ she yelled.

Steven glared at her. Always the child. She cared more about the boy than she did about her own husband. That was wrong. ‘I’ve got him safe in the car. You’ve been unconscious. I came back for you.’

She immediately yelled, ‘He says Ned’s in the car. Save my son! I don’t—’

In desperation, Steven dragged his tie off and fastened it across her mouth, which more or less shut her up. Then he saw a third man join them – that sod from the hotel – and shouted again, ‘Stay back or she’ll suffer.’

Des crept closer and whispered, ‘I’ve called the police, told them it’s urgent. Where’s the boy?’

‘She just shouted that he’s locked in Pulford’s car.’

‘His car isn’t in the car park,’ Des said at once. ‘I was keeping my eye on him yesterday and I’d have recognised it. Where else could he have parked?’

‘Well? Do you accept my terms?’ Steven yelled.

‘No!’ Joss replied at once. ‘It’s stalemate, so you’ll have to negotiate. You can’t get away.’

‘But I’ve got Libby
and
the boy. You wouldn’t want me to hurt her, would you? If you try to come any nearer, I’ll lock the door of this shed, and then who knows what I’ll do?’

‘What’s his car like?’ Chad asked suddenly.

‘Big silver Mercedes.’

‘There was one parked in a layby up the road when we drove down from the moors yesterday. You could go to the road and see whether it’s still there.’

Des set off at a run.

‘Answer me, damn you,’ Pulford called. ‘Do I have to hurt her to make you negotiate?’

‘We won’t do anything till we have the boy back.’

‘She was lying to you. He’s here, inside this shed.’

Somehow, Joss didn’t believe that. ‘Prove it. Show him to us.’

Pulford laughed, but it only sounded like a bad stage laugh. ‘Why should I?’

‘The fellow’s lost it,’ Joss whispered. ‘Listen to him. We’d better tread really carefully here. He’s already hurt her and who knows where he’ll stop.’

‘Are you a trained negotiator?’

‘Yes. But I’m way out of practice. And anyway, I’m emotionally involved.’

‘You’re all we’ve got at the moment. Do what you can.’

Des ran through the antiques centre, pausing briefly to yell to Emily. ‘We’ve got a hostage situation. No one to go outside.’

‘Who’s the hostage? Not Libby!’

‘Yes. Her husband’s got her. But we can’t see Ned.’

He ran out to the road and stared up the hill. He could see a layby, but there was no car parked in it. He couldn’t see the road beyond that very clearly, so clambered up on the wall, holding on to the gatepost. That was better.

There was a car further up the hill, silver, could be Pulford’s.

He didn’t believe the boy was there because Pulford hadn’t had time to get here and back, so he didn’t linger.

As he was going back into the centre, he thought he could hear police sirens in the distance, so he asked Emily, who was standing in the rear courtyard, to tell the police where the others were and what was going on. Then he ran back through the front showroom and outside.

Perhaps he could get round to the back and take Pulford by surprise.

Pretending to be only semi-conscious, Libby watched Steven carefully. He was staring out of a small dusty window and jerking to and fro like a mechanical toy that wasn’t working properly.

Something was very wrong with him. In the six years of their marriage she had never seen him so out of control, never been so afraid of him, either.

He turned towards her and she managed a small groan. But the tie was partly in her mouth and she couldn’t speak.

‘You shouldn’t have shouted out like that,’ he said abruptly. He reached out to hold her face, thumb and fingers digging into her cheeks, forcing her to look him in the eyes. ‘I’ll have to teach you to do as you’re told in future. Do you understand?’

He seemed to expect something so she forced herself to nod and groan again.

He let go of her and turned back towards the window, muttering to himself. Then he yelled suddenly to the men standing guard on them, ‘I’m coming out with her and if you don’t stay back, I’ll hurt her again.’

This time he took out a knife.

She stared at him in terror. Was he going to kill her?

He yanked her to her feet and she staggered more than she needed to. ‘You’d better move only when I tell you. Got it?’ He pressed the knife tip against her throat.

She nodded very slightly, but it satisfied him.

As he opened the door, she could see Joss standing there, with Chad behind him. There was no sign of Ned. Dear heaven, what had this monster of a husband done with her son?

‘Get back,’ Pulford yelled.

Joss spoke much more quietly. ‘We need to agree on the terms first.’

‘No, we don’t.
You
need to do as you’re told. And so does she.’

There was the sound of a police siren, more like two of them.

‘What the hell have you done?’ Steven shouted. ‘That wasn’t necessary.’

‘We haven’t done anything.’ Joss’s voice was calm. ‘Sounds like the police, but I haven’t called them. I give you my word on that.’

‘Then
he
–’ he jerked his head in Chad’s direction – ‘can go and tell them to stay clear. This is between me and my wife, no one else.’

‘Do as he says,’ Joss said. ‘Tell them to stay back.’

Chad stared from one to the other, moving away with a sigh.

‘She wants to come back to me,’ Steven said. ‘Don’t you?’

With the knife still at her throat, Libby could only nod.

‘You see. This is all a lot of fuss about nothing.’

‘The trouble is, you’re depriving her of her liberty. If she says the same thing after you release her, naturally we’ll respect her wishes.’

‘She wants me to take her and the boy back home, so that we can make up and carry on with our lives. We were happy before.’

The bleak expression in Libby’s eyes told Joss this wasn’t true.

As Chad started to cross the courtyard, Ashley intercepted him. ‘Toby wants to see you.’

‘I’ll speak to him afterwards. I have to speak to the police first.’

‘He wants to speak to you now.’

Chad was already turning away when she added, ‘He’s hiding the little boy.’

He swung back. ‘What did you say?’

‘Toby’s hiding the little boy. They’re in the secret room.’

‘You’re sure of that?’

She nodded.

Two police officers peered through the windows then came out of the centre. Chad gestured to them to stay where they were and turned back to Ashley. ‘Tell Toby to come out and bring the boy.’

But she only repeated, ‘He’s frightened. He wants to speak to you.’

‘Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.’ He hurried across to the police officers, told them quickly what was going on. As the officers moved quietly across the courtyard towards the scene of the confrontation, he turned to Ashley. ‘We’ll go and see Toby now.’

She nodded and led the way.

When they got to the secret room, he called, ‘Toby! It’s Chad here. Come out.’

The door began to open slowly.

Steven was looking so wild-eyed that Joss knew he couldn’t delay him much longer. The hand that held the knife was twitching and Pulford’s other hand was clamped firmly round Libby’s arm.

Suddenly Steven dragged the improvised gag down. ‘Tell them to let us go, Libby. And tell them I always mean what I say.’

Her voice was husky. ‘Let us go. For Ned’s sake.
Please.
’

Joss could see that she was terrified for the child and with that knife still close to her throat, he didn’t dare detain them any longer. ‘I’ll move slowly backwards.’