Stolen (30 page)
‘Is she part of this?’ Simon said.
Gardner turned his attention back to Abby, his expression asking her the same question.
Abby started to shake her head. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. ‘She wanted a favour from him, I think. Something to do with a website or her book.’
Gardner saw Simon calling someone. ‘What are you doing?’
Simon turned away, his breathing coming out like a snorting bull. ‘Jen? It’s Simon. I need you to call me back. It’s important.’ He hung up. ‘I’m going.’ He started to walk out of the room. Abby reached for him only for him to shrug her off.
‘Get off me,’ he said.
‘Where’re you going?’
‘I’m going to find out where he is and fucking kill him.’ He pulled away from Abby and opened the door.
‘Simon-’
‘Fuck,’ Gardner said and went after Simon. ‘Hold on,’ he said, reaching out for Simon’s arm but he pushed him away. Gardner stumbled back as he watched Simon climb into the car. Gardner pounded on the window but Simon ignored him, driving away. Gardner called Lawton back. ‘I need you to get someone to Paul Henshaw’s address now. Get onto the locals. I’m on my way to get you, we’re going over there. And find someone to come to Abby Henshaw’s. I want someone with her.’
Chapter Seventy-Five
‘Paul’s not here,’ Helen said and started to close the door but Jen put her foot in the way.
‘I saw him through the window,’ she said. ‘I know he’s in there.’
Helen held onto Casey. ‘What do you want?’
‘I just want to talk to him.’
Helen glanced through the doorway into the kitchen. Paul stood there, frozen like a frightened child. Helen turned back to Jen.
‘He’s not here,’ she said and tried to close the door again.
‘I just want to talk,’ Jen said, her voice rising as Helen tried to shut her out. ‘I know I’m probably the last person you want to see but I saw your website. I thought we could talk about maybe working together.’ She paused. ‘And I know you want to see Abby. We could all get together. Like old times.’
Helen lost her grip on the door and it swung back.
‘I know you were there, Paul. I know you went to see her. So I know you still care. And I’m sure she’d want to see you. I can pass on a message if you like,’ Jen said, craning her neck, trying to see past Helen.
‘He’s not here,’ Helen said and pushed the door shut. She could hear Jen banging on the door. ‘Upstairs,’ she said to Casey. ‘Get your things.’
‘But I want to stay with Daddy.’
‘No, Casey. We’re going,’ Helen said.
‘Ohhh,’ Casey said, dragging out the word before stomping up the stairs.
Helen walked back into the kitchen. Through the window she saw Jen walk away and get into her car.
Helen stared at Paul. ‘I hope you don’t mind me not inviting your friend in. But I’m not really in the mood for guests.’
‘I don’t know why she was here,’ Paul said, swallowing hard. ‘I haven’t seen her in five years.’
‘But you’ve seen your ex-wife.’
‘No, I haven’t.’
‘I should’ve known you’d break. That you’d go running back.’
‘You’re the one who went back there,’ Paul said. ‘If you were so concerned with someone seeing you, that Abby might see you, why did you go back to Redcar in the first place? You could’ve stayed away. But you can’t help yourself, can you? It was like that from the start. You couldn’t even stay away from the doctor’s. What kind of fucking psychopath goes and sits there in front of cameras, knowing it’s the first place the police will look? You could’ve stayed hidden but it wasn’t enough, was it? You have to play your mind games, don’t you? Was it to keep me away from Casey? Or just to make me sweat? Because, I don’t know about you, but there hasn’t been a day since it happened that I haven’t expected someone to find out. That someone will come and knock on the door and that’ll be it. Game over.’
Helen shook her head, ignoring his words. ‘You couldn’t do it, could you? Not face to face. You don’t have the guts. You never did. Plenty of ideas but never the courage to actually follow through. So what? You put a note through her door? Anonymous phone call? What else do cowards do?’
Paul shook his head. ‘Helen...’
‘Why would you do that? Why would you destroy your own family?’
‘Family?’ Paul said. ‘You think we’re family now? You used me. You manipulated me, turned me against my own wife.’
‘Manipulated?’ Helen laughed. ‘I told you the truth. I told you she was sleeping with Simon Abbott. I told you her baby wasn’t yours. I told you she’d be better off with us.’
‘And how did you know all that, Helen? How come you just stumbled across it all? You knew what you were doing from the start. You set out to destroy our lives because you wanted Beth.’
‘I wanted you!’ Helen said. ‘I wanted to drive you apart so I started following her. I wanted to find a way to get between you but in the end I didn’t have to. She did that for me. I saw it all, all the secret meetings with him. She was making a fool out of you. They both were. He even
told
me the baby was his. He was gloating about it like he’d done nothing wrong.’
‘And you just couldn’t wait to tell me about it. Couldn’t wait to put your plan into action while my life was falling apart.’
‘It was all true, wasn’t it? And don’t try and tell me you were forced into anything. You wanted this as much as I did. Whose idea was it to follow her? Who was the one that said we’d have to get her out of the way?’
She could see Paul shaking. ‘And who let things get out of control? Who let those animals do what they did to her?’ he said.
‘I never wanted that to happen. That wasn’t my fault,’ she said. ‘But you knew what you were doing, Paul, let’s not deny that.’
‘No, you knew what you were doing. You saw an opportunity and you took it. I meant nothing to you. I was just a way of getting what you wanted.’
‘We were family,’ Helen said.
Paul laughed. ‘Bullshit. As soon as you had Beth you were trying to find ways to get rid of me. You wouldn’t let me near her. You wouldn’t leave me alone with her. You couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.’
‘You were the one who walked away. You were the one who wouldn’t even come near her for months on end. We were supposed to be together. That was the plan.’
‘How could we be together? How could I just walk away from Abby and then start playing house with you? If I hadn’t stayed away, you wouldn’t be here now, you’d be in prison. We both would,’ Paul said. ‘And you knew that. I think that was the idea from the start. You got what you wanted, Helen. You always do. I’m just surprised you stuck around long enough for me to find you at all.’
‘You really think that? I loved you. I did what I did for you. For both of us. I saw what she was doing to you and I saved you. You deserved better. We both deserved more and I got it for us and then you just walked away.’
‘The only reason I still see you is because I’m the only person who has the power to take her away from you. You think I’m weak, but I have the power here. I can take everything away from you.’
‘You
are
weak,’ Helen said. ‘If you weren’t such a coward you would’ve already gone to the police instead of tip-toeing around your ex-wife.’ She turned to walk away. Paul was a fool. He was pathetic. ‘I have the power here. You might’ve led her to me but I know you’ll never give yourself up. Which means I just walk away and you and your ex-wife will never see me or Casey again.’ Helen started up the stairs. ‘Casey, are you ready to go?’
‘I’ll call the police, Helen,’ Paul shouted after her. ‘You’ll lose another child.’
Helen froze. It felt as if her heart has stopped for a moment and then with every second that passed her breathing quickened. Her throat closed up. She turned around and looked at Paul standing there, phone in hand.
Chapter Seventy-Six
Simon drove towards the beach, his heart hammering in his chest. He hadn’t realised it was raining until he’d been driving for a few minutes but as he pulled up and looked out over the sea he couldn’t ignore the rain anymore. It thundered down onto the roof of the car and he closed his eyes trying to use the sound to blank out his thoughts.
He sat with his head against the window, listening to the rain. Paul was Abby’s ex. Her responsibility. How could she not have realised something was wrong?
Opening his eyes, Simon wiped at the steamed-up window. The rain was coming down hard and he realised he’d been crying. He should go back and talk to Abby, talk to Gardner like a grown up, find out where Paul was and bring Beth back. It hurt him to think it was someone so close who’d taken their daughter, God only knew how Abby felt. But it was another step forward. He had to think of it that way. Another step closer to getting Beth back. And Paul would be punished for what he did. He’d go to prison.
Simon slammed his hand against the steering wheel. He didn’t want him to go to prison. He wanted to hurt him. Make Paul feel everything that he’d felt, that Abby had felt, over the past five years. He felt his throat close up, choked with tears, and punched the wheel again and again. He just wanted to hurt Paul. For Beth, for Abby, for himself.
He wished he’d brought his cigarettes; he could really do with one. Or ten. He went to put the car in reverse when his phone rang. Jen.
‘Why were you at Paul’s?’ he said before she could speak.
‘How did you know?’ Jen said.
‘Just tell me. Why were you there?’
‘I needed to see him,’ she said. ‘I wanted to prove to Abby I wasn’t lying about seeing him hanging around.’
Simon sighed. What had he been expecting her to say? That she’d been in on it all along? That she was going to warn him they were onto him?
‘And alright, I wanted to see him about this website he’s got too - which I know is selfish of me but he might be able to help me,’ she said. ‘But I did want to prove it to Abby. I know she’s angry with me. But he wouldn’t talk to me.’
‘He’s there? Now?’
‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘Why? What’s going on?’
‘I need the address,’ Simon said. He scribbled it down on an old parking ticket and hung up before Jen could ask any more questions. The address was less than thirty minutes from where he was. In half an hour he’d have his hands on Paul Henshaw.
The tyres screeched as he pulled away.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Gardner was on the way to Paul Henshaw’s when the call came.
They’d found her.
He pulled over to the side of the road and closed his eyes, feeling his heart sink, wishing he could be there. ‘Where?’ he asked.
‘At Louise Cotton’s house,’ Harrington told him.
Gardner opened his eyes. ‘Jill Hoffman’s mate?’ He could feel Lawton’s eyes on him.
‘Yes. She-’
‘Is she..?’ Gardner asked, gripping the steering wheel. ‘Is she alive?’
‘Yes. She’s alive. She was in the loft. She seems fine but she’s been taken to the hospital to get checked over.’
Gardner let go of the breath he’d been holding in. She was alive. He let out a little laugh and felt relief wash over him. He turned to Lawton.
‘Chelsea Davies. She’s alive,’ he said and Lawton smiled.
Of course it wasn’t over yet. The investigation was really just beginning but the girl, the girl was safe. At least there was that.
Gardner took some more details and asked Harrington to keep him informed. He leant forward, resting his head on the steering wheel.
‘Her friend had her?’ Lawton said. ‘Was her mother involved?’
‘I don’t know,’ he sighed. ‘Maybe. It wouldn’t be the first time.’
‘Why now? We searched Cotton’s house. We searched everywhere.’
‘Harrington said police saw her entering the property but she refused to answer the door, which aroused suspicion. She got Chelsea to climb into the loft, pretending to play hide and seek. When they found her, Cotton swore that Chelsea had just turned up and she was about to call the police. Maybe she was partly telling the truth, she could’ve just moved her from somewhere else. I don’t know,’ he said, rubbing his eyes.
Lawton shook her head. ‘I should’ve seen it. I spent more time with them than anyone.’
Gardner turned to her. ‘No one saw it, Dawn. You can’t blame yourself.’
Lawton stared out of the window. ‘But-’
‘Look where we’re going now. I had no idea Paul Henshaw was involved. Not a fucking clue.’ He sighed. Maybe the papers were right about him.
Lawton wiped her nose. ‘Should I get back there? I’m the liaison.’
Gardner looked at his watch. Lawton was right. She should be there. But they were halfway to Paul Henshaw’s and he wanted more than anything to have him in custody. He started the car and pulled away.
‘We’ll get Henshaw first. It won’t take long.’
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Simon drowned out the voice of the sat-nav directing him to the address he’d been given, instead thinking about the first time he had seen Beth. She had been nineteen days old. It had been torture waiting that long but he’d made an agreement with Abby and he had to abide by it. It was no surprise that Paul stuck to Abby and Beth like glue for those first few weeks. He would’ve too, given half the chance. But each hour that passed when he didn’t see his little girl was agony. He wondered what little landmarks would’ve happened in the time before he’d even clapped eyes on her. Abby called him a couple of times, teary and overjoyed, and she sent a picture to his mobile but the image was blurry; it could never do his girl justice. Phone calls and pictures were fine, but not what he really wanted. Not the real thing.
Eventually Abby called and said he could see her. Paul had gone to meet someone, a business thing that couldn’t be avoided, and would be gone all day. When he’d come off the phone he’d panicked. He was going to see his daughter. He’d spent an inordinate amount of time choosing something to wear and then picking a gift to take from the mountain of toys he’d been stockpiling in the spare room for months. He’d finally chosen a soft pink toy that was either a cow or a dog; it was kind of hard to tell. When he was finally ready, he’d gone to Abby’s house and knocked at the door.