Peter Lovesey - Upon A Dark Night

Ada continued to talk optimistically of Percy’s networking skills, while Rose heard without really listening.

They were passing the building next to the hostel when a car door opened somewhere near. Rose didn’t even glance towards it, so she had a shock when a hand grasped her arm above the elbow. Turning, she looked into the face of a thin, youngish, black-haired man with a forced smile. ‘Hello, love,’ he said without raising his voice. ‘You don’t have to go in there after all. I’ve come to take you home.’

‘What?’ she said, startled. She didn’t know him.

His grip on her arm tightened. ‘The car’s over there. Look lively.’ He was still grinning like a doorstep evangelist. He needed a shave, but his clothes were passably smart.

‘Who are you?’

‘Come on, love. You know me,’ he answered, tugging on her arm.

She was forced to take a couple of steps towards him.

Ada had barely noticed this going on, but now she turned and said, ‘Someone you know, petal?’

Rose’s fear came out in her voice. ‘I don’t remember.’ She told the man, ‘Let go of my arm, please.’

Ada asked him, ‘What’s this about? Who are you?’

He said, ‘Keep out of this. She’s going with me.’

‘She isn’t if she doesn’t want to,’ said Ada. ‘Let’s talk about this in a civilised way.’

Civility was not on this man’s agenda. He tugged Rose towards him, wrapped his left arm around her back and hustled her across the pavement towards the open rear door of a large red Toyota. The engine was running and someone was in the driving seat.

Rose cried out in pain from the contact of the man’s hand on her injured ribs. He leaned on her, forcing her to bend low so as to ram her into the car, at the same time pressing a knee against her buttocks. She tried to resist by reaching out and bracing her arm against the door-frame, but it was useless. Disabled by her injury, she was incapable of holding on.

She screamed.

Her face jammed against the leather of the back seat. She braced her legs and tried unsuccessfully to kick. He had grabbed her below the knees. Only her shins and feet were still outside the car and he was bundling them in like pieces of luggage.

Then Ada acted.

Excessive weight is mostly a burden, but on rare occasions it can be turned to advantage. Lacking the strength to pull the man off, Ada charged him with agility that would not have disgraced a sumo wrestler and swung the full weight of her ample hips against him. The impact would have crushed the man’s pelvis if he had not turned instinctively a moment before the crunch. The car suffered the major damage, a dent in the bodywork the size of a dinner plate. The man caught a glancing thump and was thrust sideways. He bounced against the door so hard that it was forced past the restrainers on the hinges. Ada gave him a shove in the chest. He grunted, crumpled and hit the pavement.

They couldn’t expect to hold him off a second time. Ada grabbed Rose by the belt of her jeans, scooped her out and swung her across the pavement towards the entrance to the hostel. ‘In the house, quick!’ she gasped.

Rose needed no bidding. She dashed inside and upstairs. Behind her, Ada stood between the stone gateposts ready, if necessary, to do battle again.

There was no need. The man picked himself up, crawled into the car and gasped something to his driver. They were on the move with the door still hanging open. It was unlikely if it would shut or if they cared.

‘Take me a while to get my breath back,’ Ada said when she rejoined Rose upstairs. She slumped on her bed.

Rose thanked her. She was stretched out fighting for breath herself.

They lay like that for some time, recovering.

‘What was it for?’ Rose said eventually. ‘What was he going to do with me?’

‘I wouldn’t put money on a candlelit supper,’ said Ada.

‘Yes, but…’

‘If he’s really your bloke, you’re better off without him until he calms down a bit.’

‘My bloke? He isn’t my bloke,’ Rose shrilled. She was appalled that Ada should think it a possibility. ‘I’ve never laid eyes on him.’

‘How do you know, petal?’

She said, ‘For God’s sake, don’t keep saying that to me, Ada. Look, I’m really grateful for what you did down there. I am, honestly. But if you think that gorilla had anything to do with me, you can’t have much an opinion of me.’

‘He must have had something to do with you, petal,’ persisted Ada. ‘Okay, he didn’t treat you like precious goods, but he knew what he wanted. He was waiting there for you.’

‘How did he know? Oh,’ she said, answering herself, ‘the paper. It was in the bloody paper. I suppose it said I was staying here.’

‘Even if it didn’t, any guy with half a brain could find out,’ said Ada. ‘There aren’t that many hostels in Bath for drop-outs like you and me.’

‘He started by calling me “love” and telling me he was taking me home,’ Rose recalled. ‘Trying to sweet-talk me into going with him.’

‘Optimist,’ said Ada.

‘Bastard,’ said Rose. ‘One look at him told me he was phoney. That horrible grin. What is he – a maniac? He was trying to abduct me, Ada.’ the word sounded positively Victorian and the moment she spoke it she expected Ada to mock, but she didn’t. Abduct :

‘No argument, petal, but I wouldn’t put him down as a nutter. He had a driver in that car. Nutters are loners. They don’t hunt in pairs.’

‘It’s not unknown.’

‘This wasn’t a casual pick-up. These two were organised. They must have been waiting there some time.’’

Rose shivered. ‘That’s ugly.’

‘Sinister.’

‘Why, Ada? Why would anybody want to snatch some unfortunate woman who loses her memory and gets her picture in the paper?’

There was a longish pause from the other bed while Ada weighed the possibilities. Up to now, her advice had always been sensible except when it touched on kleptomania. ‘If it was one bloke, I’d say he was after the usual thing. Two makes it different. There’s got to be advantage in it. Money.’

‘Kidnapping?’

‘Here’s one scenario. They – or someone they work for – saw your picture in the paper and recognised you. Let’s say you come from a wealthy family. They could demand a good ransom. You’re an easy target.’

‘If my face is so well known, why didn’t my own people come and find me?’

‘Maybe they will. Let’s hope so.’

Rose said, ‘I’m going to go to the police. What happened just now was a crime, Ada. They could easily try again.’

Ada’s reluctance to have any truck with the police was well known. she said dismissively, ‘That’s your decision, petal.’

‘Well, I can’t bank on you being there to beat off the opposition next time,’ Rose pointed out.

‘Is that what you think the fuzz will do? Supply you with a personal bodyguard?’

‘No, but at least they’ll pursue these thugs who attacked us. I can give them a description.’

‘What description?’ said Ada, becoming increasingly sarcastic. ‘Some white guy between twenty and thirty, average height, with black hair, a grey suit and stubble, accompanied by someone else of uncertain age, height and sex, who can drive a car. I’m sure they’ll comb the West Country looking for those two.’

‘We know the colour of the car.’

‘We know it was a Toyota, but I could point you out a dozen red Toyotas without walking five minutes from here. I didn’t take the number – did you?’

Rose shook her head. ‘But someone else might have noticed them waiting.’

‘And taken the number?’ Ada heaved herself into a sitting position. ‘Listen to me, dreamer. All you have to do is change your address. Those goons won’t know where to look for you.’