Jaime Raven - The Mother

There was a small patch of woodland on the other side of the fence at the bottom of the garden. Beyond that was a road that wasn’t overlooked by houses or flats. Brennan had already raised the possibility that the kidnapper had parked a car or van out there. He’d also told me in the last half hour that none of the neighbours had seen or heard anything.

Mrs Lloyd had been in her bathroom when the kidnapping took place and hadn’t become aware of what had happened until the police called on her.

I wanted to do something, to join the search, put my police skills to good use, but right now I was in no fit state to be of any use. My body was numb, my mind in utter disarray, and I felt smothered by a dark blanket of despair.

When Brennan suddenly stepped out onto the patio, my stomach leapt. I assumed straight away that it was bad news.

‘Don’t panic,’ he said quickly. ‘There’s been no change. I’ve come to tell you that Molly’s father has arrived. If you pop back in I can update you both at the same time.’

My legs threatened to collapse under me as I walked towards the house, and I could feel a fresh batch of tears building behind my eyes.

When I entered the kitchen and saw Adam standing there next to Brennan, I totally lost control and broke down. Adam rushed over and put an arm around me, and I sobbed into his shoulder. We were used to seeing each other during his frequent visits to the flat to pick Molly up, but this was the first time we’d had physical contact since the divorce.

He spoke in a soothing voice, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I was just glad he was there and the scent of him filled every intake of breath.

When I eventually stopped crying, Brennan handed me a tissue and I used it to dry my eyes. Then I stepped back out of Adam’s embrace and looked up at him.

At six feet he was a good four inches taller than me and was wearing a dark suit and white open-neck shirt. His familiar face was sharp and angular, with high cheekbones and a thin nose. But his expression was totally unfamiliar, a mixture of fear and incredulity. Sweat had gathered in the creases of his brow and his lips were drawn into a tight line.

‘I’ve been told what’s happened, Sarah,’ he said, his voice barely above a whisper. ‘I can’t believe it. Why would anyone take Molly, for God’s sake?’

I had a sudden, violent urge to vomit again. Brennan must have sensed it because he quickly pulled over a chair and told me to sit down.

Adam came and stood in front of me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I could feel the tension in his fingers.

He held out his other hand and said, ‘Can I see the photo?’

Before I gave the phone to him I opened up the message.

‘You should check that first,’ I said.

He clamped his top lip between his teeth as he read the text.

‘This is fucking insane,’ he said. ‘What kind of lunatic would pull a stunt like this?’

He took a shivering breath and exhaled, then tapped on the photo.

I watched the muscles in his neck tighten as he stared at it, his eyes narrowing to slits.

‘Do you by any chance recognise that room?’ Brennan asked him.

Adam’s eyebrows knitted together, and for just a moment hope surged within me.

Please say yes, I wanted to cry out. Please tell us you know who lives there and where it is.

But after an agonising wait he shook his head and my insides shrivelled up.

‘I’ve never seen it before,’ he said. ‘I’m absolutely sure of it.’

He continued to stare at the photo and I saw his eyes start to glisten with tears.

‘The bloke who did this obviously knew that Molly would be with her grandmother,’ Brennan said. ‘It’s likely he was watching the house and waiting for your father to leave before striking. That suggests he knew that you were all locked into a routine. And it also suggests that you might know him – or them – since it’s quite possible he wasn’t acting alone.’

It was something that hadn’t occurred to me because my head was all over the place. But now the thought that Molly had fallen prey to more than one man sent my pulse racing.

‘Can you think of anyone you know who’d be capable of this, Sarah?’ Brennan said. ‘Or someone you’ve seen around who was perhaps acting suspiciously?’

I narrowed my eyes, tried to focus, but it was hopeless.

‘I can’t,’ I said.

‘Well keep thinking,’ Brennan said. ‘Something might come to you.’

No one spoke for at least twenty seconds, and the silence threatened to become deafening. Finally Brennan said, ‘You both need to know that we’ve had no success tracing the message. It must have come from an unregistered phone that’s now switched off.’

Adam turned to face him. ‘What time was Molly taken?’

‘Well according to Mrs Mason the guy arrived here at just before nine.’

‘And this message was received about an hour later?’

‘Just over. We’re checking all CCTV and road cameras within a half-mile radius. Unfortunately there aren’t any in this street or in any of those around it.’

‘What about the neighbours? Someone must have seen something.’

Brennan shrugged. ‘We’re still going door-to-door, but none of those we’ve spoken to so far saw a man with a child around the time it happened.’

Adam twisted his lower jaw, considering. Unlike me he was still able to think like a police officer, despite the shock to his system. That was impressive. My brain was far too splintered, and I was struggling to focus on anything other than Molly’s startled expression in the photograph.

‘What about Sarah’s mum?’ Adam said. ‘Has she been able to give you anything useful?’

‘I’m afraid not,’ Brennan said. ‘I’ve sent officers to the hospital to get a formal statement from her, but the kidnapper was wearing a balaclava of some sort when she answered the door. The one thing she is certain of is that it was a man and not a woman. He grabbed her and put a scarf doused in chloroform against her face. She was unconscious in seconds then woke up tied to the chair and saw that Molly was gone.’

Brennan went on to say that a full-blown search of the immediate area was under way and that the photo of Molly on the sofa would shortly be sent to media outlets.

‘Reporters and television crews will soon start to descend,’ he said. ‘It’ll turn into a media circus outside for sure. So I suggest that you go home.’

‘I don’t want to go home,’ I said. ‘I have to be involved in this. I have to help find my daughter.’

‘You know that’s not going to be possible,’ Brennan said. ‘You’ve both got to step back and let us get on with it.’

This was something I was going to find hard to accept, but I knew we’d have no choice. We were the parents of the child who had been abducted. It meant we could not be involved in the investigation. We’d just have to sit it out and pray that our colleagues got a quick result. But it wasn’t going to be easy.

‘Come on, Sarah,’ Adam said. ‘I’ll take you home. There’s nothing we can do here anyway.’

Every nerve in my body was vibrating as I stood up. Despite my best efforts, my eyes began to fill with tears, but something in me resolved not to break down again.

‘If there’s a development, I’ll be sure to let you know straight away,’ Brennan told me.

He walked with us to the door and said that a number of officers, including someone from family liaison, would be sent to my place to be with us.

I knew the drill, of course. And I knew that the Met would commit a huge amount of resources to finding Molly, and to providing us with support. They would look after their own.

But what I didn’t know was that the person who had taken my daughter would soon be making contact again.