“You said the kidnapping was most likely organized in advance.”
“I said he targeted the girls for a reason. It wasn’t random.”
“What about the letters that were sent to Emily and Aiden Foster?”
“Martinez could have organized it. He expected the letters to be given to the police-to throw you off the trail.”
“But he brought Emily’s letter to the station.”
“It was a fishing exercise. He wanted to find out how much you knew.”
I can hear Drury breathing down the phone. He cups the receiver and yells down the corridor. “Put out a missing person’s bulletin on Emily Martinez.”
It’s dark.
I can keep to the road by feeling the hardness of the dirt beneath my shoes, but I can’t avoid the puddles. The rain has eased, but in the distance I can see shimmerings of lightning above the trees, followed by a dull rumbling.
The phone is still in my pocket. I can feel it with my fingers as I walk. I take it out, turn it over and feel for the catch to the battery compartment. The rear panel slides off and I use my thumbnail to lever the battery from its slot, before putting it back in again and replacing the panel.
I turn the phone on again. The screen lights up.
I call the last number.
“Daddy?”
“Piper! Thank God! We were worried.”
“I dropped the phone. My hands were so cold.”
“Are you OK? Where are you?”
“Are the police coming?”
“Yes. Where are you?”
“On a dirt road.”
“Can you see any lights?”
“No. Tell them to hurry.”
“I will.”
“Have they found Tash?”
Daddy doesn’t answer. Joe takes the phone.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Your dad needs a minute. He’s a little overwhelmed. I need to ask you some questions.”
“OK.”
“Have you walked very far since we last spoke?”
“It feels like a long way because my feet hurt, but I don’t think it is.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m on a dirt road. I passed an old house and a barn, but nobody lives there.”
“OK, just hold on, I’m going to relay that information to the police.”
I can hear him talking to someone.
“OK, Piper, what else can you see from the road?”
“Nothing now, it’s too dark. Before there was a pylon in a field.”
“Have you seen the river?”
“No.”
“What about a railway line?”
“I used to hear trains when I was in the basement.”
“That’s good information, Piper. One more thing-have you ever met Emily’s father?”
“No.”
“Do you know what he looks like?”
“No. Why?”
“The man you call George-had you ever seen him before?”
“I don’t think so. He knew stuff about us. He knew we’d given evidence in Aiden Foster’s trial. He knew that Daddy worked in the City and that Tash’s dad had been to prison.”
“Is that all?”
“Uh-huh. I’m getting tired, Joe. My feet hurt. Do you think I could sit down for a while?”
Piper’s body is closing down. Her words are getting slower and thicker. I turn to Ruiz. “Where are they?”
He relays the question to Drury, who’s on the phone. “How close?”
Ruiz gives me the thumbs up. “They know the road. Cars are on their way.”
“Did you hear that, Piper? They’re close. Just a few more minutes.”
“Mmmmm,” she says.
“Keep talking, Piper… are you still there?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I have a daughter about your age.”
“What’s her name?”
“Charlie.”
“Where does she go to school?”
“Shepparton Park School-it’s on the outskirts of Bath.”
“Does she like it?”
“I think so.”
“I’ve missed so much school. I don’t suppose I’ll ever catch up.”
“Sure you will. Bright girl like you.”
Her teeth are chattering. “I’m getting very tired, Joe. I’m going to close my eyes for a little while.”
“Stay awake, sweetheart. They won’t be long. It’s Christmas tomorrow.”
“That’s what George told me. Did they have the Christmas procession with all the lanterns at Oxford Castle?”
I look at Dale Hadley, who nods.
Piper yells excitedly. “Hey, I’ve just seen something. Lights. I can see lights flashing. It’s a car!”
“Stay on the phone, Piper.”
“I’M HERE! I’M HERE!” she yells. “They’ve seen me. They’re slowing down. Tell Daddy I’ll see him soon.”
“Don’t hang up… Piper?”
I’m listening to dead air.
Dale Hadley is in tears. He hugs Ruiz and he hugs me and then he hugs Ruiz again. He’s like a man who’s been given a second chance, who wants to stop people in the street and say how wonderful it is to be alive.
“They’ll take her to the hospital first,” I tell him. “They’ll want to make sure she’s all right.”
“Can we go there?”
“Of course, but first we stop at the police station.”
44
Julianne calls. She’s at home with the girls. I can hear them laughing in the background, Charlie tickling Emma, Christmas carols on the stereo.
“Where are you?” she says. “We’re waiting.”
“I’m truly sorry-but I won’t make it tonight.”
I don’t have to see her face to gauge her reaction. It doesn’t take words or sighs or a sullen silence. I know I’ve disappointed her. It’s what she expected.
Rain zigzags off the windscreen, trembling at the edges of the glass. “Piper Hadley is alive,” I say. “The police have found her. She’s on her way to hospital.”
“So you’re the white knight again?”
“It’s not like that.”
In the silence that follows, Julianne chastises herself for being unreasonable. “I’m sorry. That was a terrible thing for me to say. Forgive me.”
“Of course.”
There is another long pause. I can picture her standing in the living room, biting on the corner of her lip. She’s stronger than I am, surer of her place in the world, less burdened without me. I guess that makes her happier.
“I’ll save you some dinner just in case you make it down. And I’ll leave the key in the usual place.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m really happy about Piper Hadley. What a wonderful Christmas present for her family.”
“Yes, it is.”
The Range Rover pulls into a parking spot. Abingdon Police Station is lit up like a spaceship with an angled turret that looks like a flying saucer has crashed into the roof and become stuck there.
From the moment I step through the door, I sense something is wrong. The incident room is deserted. Drury isn’t in his office. A dozen people are crowded around the doorway of the control room. Pushing between shoulders, I make my way to the front. Dale Hadley follows me.
DCI Drury’s voice comes over the two-way. Angry. Frustrated.
“OK, I want to go through this again. Mobile units, I want call signs, exact locations and personnel. Who picked up Piper Hadley? Which cars were on the road?”
One by one, the cars respond. DS Casey is using colored circles to represent each vehicle on a map of the area.
Drury’s voice again.
“So what you’re telling me is that not one of you has Piper Hadley?”
There is silence.
“I want roadblocks. Seal off the area. I want vehicles stopped and searched. Farmhouses, barns, outhouses, garden sheds-I want them all searched.”
Dale Hadley looks from face to face. “We heard her. She saw headlights.”
“It wasn’t one of our vehicles,” says DS Casey.
“Piper saw flashing lights?”
“She saw lights flashing through the trees,” I say, “which is not the same thing.”
Dale Hadley pauses, his mouth opens. No sound emerges. He’s locked in a terrible wordless commune with himself. His legs buckle. Someone helps him to a seat.
“Where’s Drury now?” I ask Casey.
“On his way back.” He turns to Mr. Hadley. “I want to reassure you, sir, that we’re doing everything we can to find your daughter. We know her last location. We have sealed off the area. We’re also tracing the phone she was using. Previous calls. The positions. We’ll unlock the history. Find out where she was held.”