Danielle Ramsay - Vanishing Point

Every part of Brady’s body screamed at him to just grab her and take her out of the place. Get into Conrad’s car and drive. Drive her as far away as possible from Ronnie Macmillan and his club. But he knew that wasn’t the answer. It was simple; she wouldn’t come without a fight. And that would result in getting them both killed. Fear was her captor. Fear that the men who had taken her would stop at nothing to hurt her. And if they couldn’t get her, then the next best thing would be her family back home.

The only way he could convince her that no harm would come to her or those she loved was by stopping these men once and for all.

‘Nicoletta?’

She looked at him. Her eyes distrustful. He was a man after all. Why should she trust him? As far as she was concerned, he was no doubt out to use her just as much as the other men in her life.

‘Have you been branded?’ Brady asked, not wanting to, but he had no choice. He needed to know.

Nicoletta looked from him to Trina, confused.

‘Show him your back. The bottom of your back,’ instructed Trina.

Nicoletta did as she was told. She turned in the seat so he could see the bottom of her back.

Brady noted that she had the identical ‘MD’ initials positioned below a scorpion.

This was much bigger than even he had imagined.

‘Do you know where they are? Where they stay? The brothers who did this to you?’ Brady questioned.

He looked from Nicoletta to Trina.

Trina shook her head, as did Nicoletta.

‘No … we watched … we …’ Nicoletta looked to the older woman for help as she gestured towards her eyes. ‘When move us.’

‘They blindfold you?’

She nodded at him.

Brady inwardly sighed. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

‘How do they transport you?’

‘Van,’ she answered simply.

‘Can you tell me anything about it?’

She shook her head.

‘I’ve seen it …’ interrupted Trina.

She edged forward towards Brady, looking around first to make sure no one could overhear her.

‘It’s a black Mercedes they drive. That’s what Nick was driving yesterday. I was having a tab out the back and it was parked up.’

Brady realised that Nicoletta was crying. Silent, restrained tears.

‘What is it, Nicoletta?’ asked Brady gently. ‘What are you not telling me?’

She looked at him, scared.

‘Go on,’ prompted Trina. ‘Tell him. Tell him about your friend, Edita.’

‘We friends. She Lithuanian like me,’ Nicoletta said, her eyes downcast as she stared at her untouched drink.

‘Her name? What’s her full name?’

‘Edita … Edita Aginatas …’

‘What happened to her?’ asked Brady recognising the name as that of the missing girl from Claudia’s briefing.

Nicoletta shook her head. She couldn’t speak.

Trina squeezed her hand tightly and nodded at her.

‘She’s disappeared, Jack … . That’s what they do. They punish them if they try to escape. She has a six-month-old baby back home in …’ She paused and looked at Nicoletta.

‘Raseiniai,’ Nicoletta whispered as tears slid down her face.

‘Her mother looked after her baby so she could come to England to work. To send money back home.’

‘No money … we no money send home,’ corrected Nicoletta.

‘Who took Edita, Nicoletta?’ asked Brady.

‘Dabkunas brothers. Marijuis Dabkunas … He Edita’s …’ She turned to Trina to help her explain.

‘Marijuis was her boyfriend. Convinced Edita to come here. Turns out he was only out to pimp her. She tried to escape, to get back to her baby. From what I know she tried to persuade a punter from the club Edita and Nicoletta worked in before here to help get her out.’

Brady turned from Trina to Nicoletta and watched as tears continued down her pale, haunted face. Trina’s words cutting her to the core.

He felt sick enough as it was without needing to hear any more. He knew it could only get worse.

‘What happened to her, Nicoletta?’ he prompted.

But she shook her head.

He turned to the other woman. ‘Trina?’

‘She got a package a few days ago from home. A punishment for talking to a punter and a warning of what could happen if she did it again,’ explained Trina.

‘What? What was in the package?’ asked Brady looking at Nicoletta.

She anxiously chewed her lip as she thought about it.

‘Baby. Photograph.’

Brady frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’

Trina cut in. ‘Marijuis Dabkunas is in the photograph holding Edita’s baby with his arm around her eleven year old sister.’

Brady shook his head. It didn’t make sense.

‘He has her baby and sister?’ asked Brady.

‘She doesn’t know … nobody knows. Come on, Jack … You’re the bloody copper! That’s why she tried to get away. To get a chance to contact her mother, somehow to warn her not to trust Marijuis. That they had to leave and go someplace where he couldn’t find them. But they found her before she managed to call them …’

‘If this Marijuis hasn’t already taken them,’ Brady quietly pointed out.

Trina looked at Brady.

‘I know … and now it’s all gone horribly wrong.’

Nobody said anything.‘What happened to Edita?’ Brady questioned, breaking the heavy silence.

‘You tell us,’ Trina replied.

‘Only you can tell me that,’ answered Brady.

‘She just disappeared … Who do you think Nick was looking for? Edita!’

‘Was she here, Nicoletta? Was she hiding here?’ Brady asked.

The girl nodded, surprised that he had guessed.

Brady understood now why Nick would have turned up here looking for her.

‘What happened to her then?’

Nicoletta remained silent, refusing to look at him.

‘Trina? What happened to her? What did they do with Edita?’ demanded Brady, turning to her.

Trina looked at Nicoletta.

‘Tell him,’ she insisted.

‘She no stay … she flat … with others. Come here work. Dabkunas bring her. Wanted escape … warn family … I … help … I hide her,’ she reluctantly told him, pointing to the back of the club.

Brady looked confused.

‘I don’t understand. Where?’

‘There’s a cellar downstairs, Jack. For the beer barrels. That’s where Edita hid waiting for an opportunity to get out but they found her last night … and took her,’ explained Trina.

Brady nodded at Trina, grateful that she was prepared to take the risk of telling him.

‘Nicoletta?’ he said gently.

‘Dabkunas brothers … man … took Edita.’

‘What did the other man look like?’ asked Brady. ‘Can you remember?’

Trina shot Brady a look but he ignored her.

‘What did he look like?’ he repeated.

Nicoletta shrugged.

‘Scar … here,’ she said pointing to her cheek.

Brady didn’t say anything. But inside he felt sick.

He glanced across at Trina but she had her eyes cast down, refusing to look at him. They both knew it was Nick. There was no question that he was the driver of the van.

‘What? What did they do?’ he forced himself to ask.

‘They … they … in van. Edita … took me. I … see cut fingers off …’ She paused, unable to continue as she looked down at her own fingers.

‘Who? Who did that to her?’ Brady asked.

‘Marijuis and Mykolas Dabkunas.’

‘What about the man with the scar?’ asked Brady trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. ‘What did he do?’

‘He not see. In front. Drive,’ answered Nicoletta, not understanding the full implication of her answer for Brady.

‘Did he know?’

Nicoletta frowned unsure of the question and then shook her head as tears uncontrollably slid down her face.