Seven Days(81)

Nothing other than a bauble. It meant nothing to him at all.

He wanted Sandra to be OK. That was all he asked.

Maggie was gone, he was resigned to that now. He had been for a while. James – well, James was alive, at least. Not doing well, but not getting worse. It was time to sort that out. Whatever happened with Sandra he was going to bring James home. He wasn’t going to lose all of them.

He’d tried, over the years, not to feel sorry for himself, he really had. After all, he had plenty going for him. Good health, plenty of money, a wife he adored. Yes, James was a worry, and of course there was Maggie, but he still had his blessings.

Now, though, he wondered whether a bit of self-pity wasn’t in order.

He took a deep breath. It wasn’t time for that yet. She might be fine; Maggie might come home James might get well.

Yeah, right.

But for now he needed to focus on Sandra.

He walked back to his seat. The receptionist smiled at him.

‘She won’t be long, love,’ she said.

Martin sat down. He felt sick.





Wynne


DI Wynne held her hand on the horn. The light was red and she didn’t see any other cars approaching but if you were going to ignore a red light it was worth letting people know.

There were squad cars on the way, but she was not waiting for them. There was no time to waste.

A woman’s voice on Best’s phone, saying the name Maggie Cooper. There were possibly other explanations, but Wynne could only think of one.

Best had been holding Maggie Cooper captive and she had somehow escaped. The fact the call had been cut short meant Best knew she was out and had stopped her cry for help, and that meant Wynne had to get there as soon as possible.

The speedometer was a few clicks shy of ninety miles per hour when she went through the light. Next to her DS Chan was gripping the sides of his seat.

‘How much further?’ he said.

‘Two minutes,’ Wynne replied.

Almost exactly two minutes later she braked to a stop outside Best’s house. A house she knew well. There was no car outside, although the garage door was closed, so it could be in there.

She ran to the front door and rang the doorbell. There was no answer.

‘Best!’ she shouted. ‘Open the door!’ She turned to DS Chan. ‘Ready?’

He looked at her. ‘Are you sure we should do this?’

‘Now,’ she said, and raised her foot, sole facing the door.

Chan lifted his and they kicked the door. It juddered, and they kicked it again. The lock gave and it banged open.

Wynne ran inside. The house was quiet; she checked the living room and dining room. Nothing.

‘You check the kitchen,’ she said. ‘I’ll look upstairs.’

She was in the bathroom when she heard DS Chan calling her name. When she reached the kitchen he wasn’t there.

‘DS Chan?’

‘In the garage,’ he called.

She walked through a white door. DS Chan was standing in the middle of the garage, looking down at a set of steps.

‘This is it,’ he said. ‘This is the place. But there’s no one here.’





Martin


Martin’s phone rang. He frowned.

It was DI Wynne.

He hadn’t heard from her in a long time. He let it ring to voicemail. He didn’t want to deal with her at the moment. He’d call her later.

The phone rang again. Wynne, again.

It must be important.

After all these years, it must be Maggie.

He put it to his ear.

‘Mr Cooper? This is DI Wynne. I worked—’

‘I know,’ Martin said. ‘I’m a bit tied up. How can I help?’

‘I have some news,’ DI Wynne said. She sounded nervous. ‘There’s been a development in your daughter’s case.’

Martin sat up. ‘What? What kind of development?’

‘Your daughter – Maggie – was imprisoned,’ Wynne said. ‘She was held captive.’

‘Captive? How do you know?’

A nurse opened the door to the waiting room. ‘Mr Cooper?’ she said. ‘Your wife is out. You can come through.’

Martin looked at the nurse then at his phone then back at the nurse. He covered the phone with his hand.

‘One second,’ he said, then lifted the phone to his ear. ‘I’m at the hospital,’ he said. ‘I have to go and see Sandra.’

‘Is everything OK?’ Wynne said.

‘I’m about to find out.’

‘Before you go,’ Wynne said, ‘let me tell you what happened.’

‘Go ahead.’

‘Someone – a young woman – dialled 999 and said your daughter’s name. That was all they had time to say before the line was cut off. However, we have the number she rang from. It’s a mobile phone belonging to Colin Best.’

‘Best? What does he have to do with this?’

‘We think it was him who took her. We found a secret room under his garage, but it was empty when we got there. We think he knew she’d called 999 and fled with her.’

Martin’s legs shook; he sat down heavily.

‘Is she alive?’

There was a pause. ‘We have every reason to think so. We have all available resources looking for her.’