Their Lost Daughters (DI Jackman & DS Evans #2)(21)

‘Was it a farm?’ asked Marie. ‘Or some sort of farm building, maybe?’

The girl shook her head. ‘I dunno. I don’t think so. It was old and really creepy.’ She frowned. ‘But I could hear music, so I wasn’t scared. We went down into a sort of cellar. It had oil lamps and candles and the seats were old boxes with blankets thrown over them. There were wine bottles everywhere. I thought it was pretty cool to start with . . .’

But not later, Marie thought angrily, seeing the welts on her face and watching as she clasped her midriff to protect her cracked ribs.

‘How many people were there with you, Toni?’ Jackman asked.

‘To start with, just me and the bloke who drove me there. He said we were early, and the others would be along soon. He gave me a glass of red wine.’

‘And you drank it?’

‘Free wine?’ Toni rolled her eyes at Jackman as if he’d just said something quite insane. ‘Uh, yeah.’

‘Can you describe the man, Toni?’

‘Kind of old, bit like you I guess. But he had a great haircut, and trendy clothes.’

‘Tall? Short?’ Jackman was smiling slightly at being described as old.

Toni looked at him. ‘Your height, but he had a hotter body. More muscles.’

Marie was trying hard not to grin. ‘What about his clothes?’

‘Faded jeans, but expensive. Blue T-shirt and trainers, and a grey zip-up jacket with a hood. Yeah, he was trendy for an old guy.’

‘Listen, Toni,’ Jackman said. ‘Would you recognise him again?’

She shrugged, then gasped and put a hand to her broken rib. ‘Maybe. He was kind of ordinary looking, and a bit shy, although he smiled a lot. Oh, and he smelled good,’ she added.

Jackman threw a puzzled look in Marie’s direction. Whatever this man had done to her, thought Marie, talking about him didn’t seem to upset Toni. And he didn’t come over as some sinister psycho either.

‘Was he the one who hurt you?’

Toni shook her head. ‘Oh no, not him. When the others arrived, he left. I didn’t see him again.’

‘The others?’

Toni tensed, and swallowed hard. ‘I . . .’ She paused, her young brow wrinkled in confusion. ‘Things got weird. I can’t remember any more.’

Marie’s heart sank. The damned drug must have been in the wine. Just as they were getting to the crux of the matter, Toni was slipping off the radar.

‘Can you recall how many people were there?’

‘I don’t know. Not many.’

Jackman was regarding the girl thoughtfully. Then he gave Marie a look that said they’d pussy-footed around for long enough. His expression changed. ‘Toni, when you were brought in you spoke about someone called Emily. Do you remember her? Was she there with you?’

A look of terror stamped itself on Toni’s face.

‘Toni, who is Emily, and exactly what happened to her?’

A gurgle escaped from the teenager’s throat, and then a loud, low moan. Marie hoped it wouldn’t bring the medical staff running.

Jackman leant closer to the bed. ‘Listen, Toni! She may be in grave danger. You have to tell us anything you can remember. Please!’

Tears began to flood down over the livid bruises. ‘I told you, it all got weird. It’s like a bad dream. Everything’s all jumbled up together.’ Toni sobbed. ‘Someone was singing, and then someone was shaking me and asking me stupid questions.’

‘What questions?’

‘Like when was I born.’

The age of consent. Marie gritted her teeth. The bastard was checking whether she was underage. ‘You mean the year you were born?’

‘No. The whole thing. The day, the month and the year.’ Wordlessly, Gary held out a tissue to her and Toni took it and wiped her nose. ‘He did the same to Emily.’ The tears welled up again.

‘Then I was out in the fields! I was so scared. I felt sick. Emily had gone, and I was lost. I wanted my mum and dad. I wanted to go home.’

‘Who is Emily, Toni? You have to tell us.’ Jackman was almost shouting. Marie gave a sharp cough that meant, “Don’t blow it now.”

‘I think my patient has had enough for now, Inspector.’ The young doctor was standing in the doorway and he was no longer smiling.

Jackman nodded brusquely, smiled tightly at Toni, and they reluctantly left the room.

‘I’ll hang on here, sir,’ said Gary, ‘until you can organise some uniforms to come and take over from me.’ He gave them a conspiratorial wink. ‘But there’s no rush. I’ll do my best to get another word with her when she’s calmed down.’

Jackman drove back to the station, giving Marie time to read through her notes. Two things bothered her. ‘What was all that about exactly when she was born? I mean, if they were checking her age with sex in mind, she’s sixteen, so . . .’ she shrugged. ‘So why ditch her and take the other lass?’

Jackman shook his head. ‘Maybe they wanted underage girls, and Emily may be younger than Toni. Or perhaps Toni was hallucinating by that time? Then again, if someone was looking for a particular girl, then he’d need an exact birth date.’ He pulled a face. ‘Nothing really makes much sense, does it?’