J. P. Carter - In Safe Hands

They entered a spacious reception area that was swarming with police officers, some in high-vis jackets.

There was a small cafeteria to the right and straight ahead an open door revealed a large hall with some rows of seating and a makeshift stage.

Anna led Ruth to the cafeteria and pulled out a chair for her at one of the tables. Then she looked around, spotted a WPC, and called her over.

‘This is Mrs Ruth Brady,’ Anna said to the officer. ‘She’s the mother of one of the children and I’d like you to stay with her for a while. Her husband will be here shortly.’

‘Of course, ma’am. There’s someone behind the counter making tea so shall I go and fetch her one?’

‘That’s a good idea. Thank you.’

Anna turned back to Ruth, who was drying her eyes with the hanky, and said, ‘I’m expecting the other parents to start turning up now and I’m going to arrange for you all to move into a room where I can keep you up to date with progress and answer your questions. Would that be OK?’

Ruth looked up and nodded.

‘If you’re wondering why my husband was cross with me on the phone, it’s because Liam wasn’t meant to be coming here today,’ she said. ‘Ethan bought us tickets for the Shrek Adventure, but then shortly after he left for work this morning I got invited to a lunch meeting in connection with my work as a freelance journalist. I felt it was important so I agreed to go and brought Liam here.’ Her eyes filled with tears once more. ‘It’s my fault that he’s been taken. If only I hadn’t been so selfish.’

‘You shouldn’t blame yourself, Mrs Brady,’ Anna said. ‘You weren’t to know that this would happen.’

‘Well, that’s not going to stop me feeling responsible. I put myself before Liam and now I have no idea where he is and what’s happening to him.’

‘You need to remain positive,’ Anna said. ‘We’ll be throwing all our resources into this investigation. Every police officer in London is on the lookout for the children and the men who took them.’

Ruth shook her head, clearly unconvinced.

‘I have more reason than the other mothers to be concerned,’ she said. ‘My son is not well. He has cystic fibrosis. If he doesn’t get his medication he’ll become very ill, very fast.’

Anna tried to review in her head what she knew about cystic fibrosis. Her limited understanding of the disease came from reading magazines in which sufferers explained how it had affected their lives.

‘A bag with his medication inside is kept in the nursery,’ Ruth said. ‘But I rather doubt that the kidnappers were told about it before they took him away.’

‘I’ll ask Sarah Ramsay about that,’ Anna said. ‘I’m going to speak to her now along with the two teachers who were here with her.’

Ruth frowned. ‘Why only two teachers? There were three here when I dropped Liam off. Emma, Tasha and Paige.’

‘Tasha is on her way to hospital.’

‘Oh Jesus. Is she badly hurt?’

Anna nodded. ‘She’s suffered a serious head injury, but she’s receiving the best possible care now.’

The WPC returned then with a steaming mug of tea which she placed on the table in front of Ruth.

‘Get that down you,’ Anna said. ‘I’ll be back in a few minutes. In the meantime, if there’s anything you need, just ask the officer here.’

Anna turned to go but Ruth reached out and grabbed the bottom of her jacket.

‘I’ve just remembered something,’ Ruth said. ‘It’s something I saw when I dropped Liam off.’

Anna looked down at her. ‘And what was that, Mrs Brady?’

‘A minibus. I saw a minibus. It was parked at the kerb in front of the nursery when I arrived. I parked my own car right behind it.’

‘Was it there when you left?’

Ruth thought about it and nodded. ‘It was. Definitely.’

‘Did you see if there was anyone inside?’

Ruth shook her head. ‘No, I didn’t. The windows were tinted. That struck me as unusual.’

‘Had you seen the vehicle there before?’

‘I don’t know for certain. The nursery occasionally arranges for the children to go on short visits such as to the park, and they get taken in buses similar to that one.’

‘And how big was it?’

‘I would say big enough for about a dozen people.’

Anna experienced a surge of adrenalin. She was willing to bet that the minibus Ruth saw was the one used by the kidnappers, and that this was a significant lead.

She got Ruth to describe the vehicle in more detail and then phoned the information straight through to central control.

Anna spent the next ten minutes soliciting updates from members of her team, including DI Walker who had some bad news to impart.

‘The recorder for the outside security camera has been removed along with the hard drive,’ he said. ‘It was kept in a cupboard in the office so it wouldn’t have been difficult to find. All they had to do was unplug it.’

‘Shit,’ Anna said.

It was a serious blow but not a complete surprise. The gang would have spotted the camera at the entrance and taken steps to ensure the tape of them showing up did not get into the hands of the police.

Another detective told her that a mobile incident van had arrived and was being positioned outside on the forecourt. Once it was set up they’d be able to receive feeds from central control and monitor footage from CCTV cameras. It would enable them to carry out essential tasks without having to return to base.

Anna also learned that a police forensic artist was on his way over to produce computer-generated e-fits of the three kidnappers. She was keen to get these out to the media as soon as possible, along with the description of the minibus. Every minute that passed gave the bastards time to cover their tracks and go to ground.

Sarah Ramsay and the two teachers were waiting in one of the community centre’s four meeting rooms when Anna eventually got back to them. They were sitting around a table along with an MIT detective named Bellingham who’d been eliciting information from them about the children who’d been taken.

The teachers’ names were Emma Stevens and Paige Quinlan. Anna had to remind herself which one was which. Paige was the one with lank, shoulder-length brown hair and a porcelain complexion. She was wearing a wedding ring and what might be considered too much make-up for a day shift at a nursery. Emma was the smallest of the three women at about five two. She had compact features and short fair hair and wasn’t wearing any jewellery. Anna had already ascertained that she was divorced, thirty years old, and living by herself.

It was Sarah who spoke first, asking if there was any news on Tasha Norris.

‘All I know is that she arrived at the hospital and is in surgery,’ Anna said. ‘I’m told she has a depressed cranial fracture with internal bleeding. Her husband should be there by now.’

‘We’re all praying for her,’ Emma said. ‘It was horrible what that man did to her.’

Anna could tell from their faces how desperately concerned they were for their colleague. And they had good reason to be. By all accounts the twenty-three-year-old teacher was in a bad way and the surgeons were fighting to save her life.

Anna then took a seat and apologised for keeping them waiting.

‘A lot’s been happening,’ she said, and went on to tell them that it was believed the children had been taken away in a grey minibus that had been parked on the road outside in front of the nursery.

‘It was Mrs Ruth Brady who saw it when she dropped her son Liam off,’ she said. ‘She arrived here just a few minutes ago and told me that the bus had tinted windows so she couldn’t see inside. But we’re assuming it was the vehicle used by the kidnappers.’ Anna looked at Sarah, adding, ‘Mrs Brady said that you sometimes use minibuses to take the children out. Did you arrange for one to be here this morning? And does this particular vehicle sound familiar?’