Times of Trouble (39 page)

Words appeared on the
screen, just as when we had been able to see the messages between
Bill Holland and Danny. This message had been sent at 6:05. Liam
must have sent it straight after Sophie got off the phone to
me.

‘
Got what you want.
Have money ready. Send address. Will meet you there’. Who the hell
was that message sent to? My heart started pounding in my chest.
Liam couldn’t be doing what that message implied. He just
couldn’t.

‘
Did he get a message
back?’ I asked.

With a click of the
mouse, Andy brought the response up on the screen. We both read it,
and then stared at each other, speechless.

‘
Can’t have been
difficult. Got her from the police station did you? Will negotiate
new price. 85 Towradgi Rd, Towradgi’.

A new price? It could
only mean one thing, and there wasn’t even the smallest doubt. I
knew instantly what Liam had done. He was selling Sophie to the
people who had been looking for her. And I had agreed that he go
and find her on his own.

‘
Fuck!’ I screamed,
running from the study, and grabbing Andy’s mobile. I had
originally thought Liam was a fraud, and somehow I let him charm me
into believing in him!

I had Detective
Williamson’s card in my pocket. I took it out, and with shaking
fingers, called his mobile number. To my immense relief, he
answered straight away.

‘
It’s me, Ellen. I’ve
just found out Liam has kidnapped Sophie, and is going to take her
to the people who want to kill her! You need to send police to find
her! I’ve got the address. Can you please send someone
now!’

I was running on so
fast I thought the detective would tell me to slow down, be calm,
explain it again. But he caught on quickly, and didn’t waste words.
‘Give me the address...’ I ran back into the study where Andy had
brought up a map on the computer screen, showing the location of
the address that had been sent to Liam’s phone.

‘
85 Towradgi Rd,
Towradgi... it’s near... Wollongong.’

Andy was pointing his
finger at the word Wollongong on the screen. The detective was
still speaking as it occurred to me where I had heard of Wollongong
before... Bill Holland’s associate had been taking calls near
there...

‘
Do you know how far
away from the address he is?’ the detective was asking.

‘
He left Central
Station at 6:00. I don’t know how long it takes to get there...he’s
driving a white Holden station-wagon, I don’t know what year, it’s
pretty old, must be a early 90s model...’ Why hadn’t I ever taken
note of exactly what make his car was? But then I remembered the
number plate, or at least some of it.

‘
The number plate!
It’s got a D 960 in it, I’m sure!’

‘
Ok. I’ll send a
local crew from Wollongong. You stay where you are, and I’ll call
you back on your uncle’s phone when I have some news.’

Yeah right. I wasn’t
going to sit on the couch now and wait for someone else to act.
Andy was already picking up his car keys and grabbing a
coat.

‘
Are you going there
too?’ I asked the detective, avoiding his statement about staying
where I was.

‘
Yes. I’m on the road
now, so I’ll head towards the address. Can’t hurt to see what’s
going on there. If Kingsley has gone straight there, he should be
there in 10 to 15 minutes from now.’

I didn’t really care
what was going on there, if only Sophie wasn’t involved.

The anger I was
feeling for Liam was like nothing I had ever experienced. There was
no fear, just a deep anger, and hatred. How could he do this to us?
It wasn’t just the money we've paid him. We trusted him. How could
he be capable of such a betrayal? Just when I expected to have
Sophie walking through the door, Liam was taking her to the people
who would kill her. I risked my life to track these people down,
and he’d been working with them! This was madness! How could he
sell Sophie to anyone for certain slaughter? And how long had he
been planning to do this?

I suddenly saw my
mistake. Liam wasn’t in love with Sophie. He was in love with the
idea of how much money someone was willing to pay for her capture.
Revolting. I couldn’t believe I had been friendly with him over the
last few harrowing days. Maybe even more than friendly. My first
instinct, when mum told me about him, was to think he was a con
man. But I let his smarm work on me. I liked him. I trusted that he
was a good guy. And he was worse than a con man! He was a murderer!
I had ignored the things Detective Williamson had told me about his
past, but suddenly I saw who Liam really was. I felt sick. Anger
was pouring out of me, making my eyes water and my hands shake. My
face burned. I had to control myself not to scream, and swear, or
bang my fists against the wall. The only way to keep myself sane
was to picture what I'd do to him when I found him. He might think
he was going to profit from his betrayal, but I wasn’t going to
rest until he was locked up for a very long time. And if anything
happened to Sophie before I got to her, I just didn't know what I
was going to do.

Putting my angry
energy to use, I jogged down to the car. Andy ran next to me,
explaining between puffs that it would take about an hour and a
half to get to Wollongong. We could put the address in his Sat Nav
to make sure he took the fastest route. I was so thankful that he
was continuing to help me. I had thought Liam was the one backing
me up. I suddenly thought of mum, and remembered she was waiting to
speak to Sophie too. How could I call her and tell her what had
happened now? I had to ring her, but I’d have to make something
up.

She answered with so
much joy that it crushed my heart to have to tell her Sophie wasn’t
with me.

‘
Ellen? Is she
there?’ she asked, sounding like an excited child.

‘
No mum. I’m just
calling to let you know Liam and Sophie have got a bit held up...
they went to get... some of Sophie’s things she had left somewhere
else that she didn’t want to lose... so they are doing that and it
will be a bit longer before they get to Andy’s.’

‘
Oh... ok then,
thanks for letting me know...’ She sounded disappointed, but the
excitement was still there.

‘
We’ve waited this
long, we can wait a couple of hours more,’ I said, forcing myself
to sound casual and carefree.

‘
Of course we
can.’

‘
I’ll call you as
soon as she arrives.’

‘
Ok love, speak
soon.’ I got off the phone as quickly as I could.

Andy looked like a
man on a mission. He was driving safely, but fast enough to make me
think we could be getting speeding fines all over the place. I
cursed that we had let Liam get so far away before we checked where
he was. But how on earth were we to know he wasn’t on his way to
Parramatta? I had thought I understood his motives. How bad a
detective would I make! Andy looked over at me, and I knew he
wanted to say something comforting. But, not having had any
experience with this sort of situation, he was as lost for words as
I was. So we both focused on the road, and willed it to get us to
Wollongong as fast as it could.

Chapter 33

Vince paced the room.
Every few seconds he glanced at Jared, who looked much calmer than
he must have felt. The last few hours had been beyond ridiculous,
with fuck ups that he just couldn't believe. But the text message
out of the blue from Kingsley had helped him to calm
down.

‘
How much do you
think she said to the cops before he got her?’ he asked Jared
again, for the fourth time.

Jared didn’t point
out that he’d already answered that question, and patiently
replied: ‘I wouldn’t have thought she had time to make a statement
or anything. He must have got her just as she got to the
station.’

‘
So without her, the
cops can't link me to anything they found in the hotel. Or to Bill.
Or to any of part of my business?’

This was also a
question Jared had already answered, but he answered it again, this
time in a monotone that subtly purveyed his own frustration at the
situation.

‘
Keith knows who I
am, so if he has implicated anyone, it would only be me. I've been
very careful to keep everything contained.’

Vince nodded, aware
that Jared might be thinking his pay cheque wasn’t worth the
trouble he was in now. The hostility was barely there, but there
was definitely a hint of it. And he didn't like it. He needed Jared
to fall back into line, because if ever he needed his unfaltering
support, it was now.

‘
When will Kingsley
be here?’ he asked impatiently. Jared still spoke calmly, but
diverted his stare. This was another sure sign that something had
shifted.

‘
I'm sure he'll be
here any minute. I haven't had a chance to organise his payment.
Should I promise it in cash tomorrow?’

‘
Are you bloody mad
Jared? I’m not giving that little fuck a cent! He should have given
her to us before the police got involved. He can deliver her, and
then we’ll deal with him.’

Jared didn't react to
this, his expression filled with muted contempt.

The tension between
the two men broke, as if on cue, when they heard a car turn off the
road. From the front door, they watched the white Holden pull up at
the far end of the driveway, and saw a fair-haired young man
wearing shorts and a t-shirt get out, and go round to the passenger
door, opening it for a woman. At first Vince felt a rush of fear
when he saw her. She didn’t look like the photos of Molly that they
had been given by Bill. He hadn't watched the first few scenes of
her movie yet; he'd always hoped he have a chance to watch the
completed version. Now that she had escaped the filming today, he
wasn't willing to waste any time trying to finish it off. He’d cut
the losses and make sure she wasn't getting away again. He glanced
at Jared to confirm this was the right girl, but he was, as usual,
expressionless. As the couple walked up the driveway, he got a
better look at her face, and he could see it was her. She had cut
off her long dark hair, and dyed the remaining spikes almost white.
But it was definitely her. And she was holding the kid. Katie’s
kid. He stared for a moment at the man she was with. So this was
Liam Kingsley. What a wimp. God, he hated wimps.

He heard them
speaking as they got closer to the front door.

‘
I didn’t realise
Andy lived so far away! And at the beach too! His house is
amazing...all that glass! Must have been expensive! I hope Ellen’s
had a nice time staying with him!’ Her voice was high-pitched and
excited. Liam had obviously succeeded in keeping her in the dark
about where they were really going.

Vince instinctively
stepped back into the lobby when Liam knocked on the door. Jared
opened it for them, and Vince could see that Molly was smiling,
peering into the house as if expecting to give someone a hug. She
barley looked at Jared as they stepped into the entrance hall. In
an instant, Jared had slammed the door behind them, trapping them
in the house. Vince smirked as Molly shrieked with fright, and was
amused, if slightly surprised, to see Liam looked scared
too.

‘
Hello Molly,’ Vince
said. ‘I hope you don't still have a knife on you.’ As soon as she
heard her name, she spun on her heel and tried to pull the door
open, clutching the kid on her hip. She wasn't going anywhere.
Stupid bitch.

‘
What are you doing?
Where is Ellen? Where are we?’ She turned and looked at Liam, her
face pleading for help. Then seeing his blank expression, she
screamed. Liam stared at her silently.

Jared reached into
his back pocket and calmly pulled out a compact black revolver. The
sight of the gun made Molly go white. The best way to shut people
up usually involved guns.

Liam spoke in a cold,
quiet voice. ‘Her name isn’t Molly. That was just her hooker name.
Her name is Sophie.’ Sophie stared at him again, this time with
more of a glare than a look of confusion.

Jared didn't react to
this information, so Vince didn't ask what was going on. It was
definitely her, no matter what her name was. As he strode into the
living area, Jared followed, waving the gun forward to direct Liam
and the girl to walk ahead of him. She looked petrified; her eyes
were wide, her mouth slightly open, ready to cry out but too scared
to speak. She clutched the kid to her chest, and moved close to
Liam, still apparently under the naive impression he was there to
help. Liam avoided looking at her.

Vince felt calmer,
now that Liam had delivered the goods, as promised. Even Jared
looked more himself, comfortable in his roll as enforcer with a gun
in his hand. Vince was back in control, and he knew Jared would do
whatever he was told.

‘
Put Molly and the
kid in the spare room before we deal with him.’

Jared jerked his gun
in Liam’s direction, which made Liam flinch backwards. Now Liam
looked at Molly, his face suddenly full of fear, willing her not to
follow Jared. But Jared was already pointing the gun at her,
motioning with it towards the stairs so she knew where she was
meant to be walking. She held the kid to her chest, shielding him
from them as she went unsteadily up the stairs. She'd need to do
more than that to keep the child safe. Vince noticed her legs
shaking, and laughed to himself. She had caused enough worry for
him over the last few months. It was nice to see her suffer now.
The kid started to cry just as Jared shoved them into the small
bedroom at the top of the stairs. He locked the door after them,
and joined his boss back in the living room. Vince sat down on the
sofa with Jared, waving Liam to a seat across from them. Liam sat
down like a spineless puppy waiting to be fed. The child’s wailing
was getting louder, and more annoyingly insistent. Vince couldn't
stand that sound. It was no wonder he had never had any
kids.