The widows, p.24
The Widows, page 24
‘Get out of my house!’ she said, knowing her voice was trembling.
The big man pulled his lips back into a sarcastic smile.
‘Oh, you’ve got a temper, have you, Ellie?’ he sneered. ‘I’d never have thought that, seeing you in your little farm shop.’
‘Get the fuck out or I’ll blast your head off!’
He stood firm, and the smaller man stopped throwing things around her kitchen and looked at the big man as though waiting to be told what to do.
‘Put the gun down now, Ellie,’ he said, his voice calm and controlled. ‘Before you hurt yourself.’
Instinctively, and before she could stop herself, Ellie fired off a shot, not at them but at the fireplace wall, blasting a huge hole in the brickwork and sending debris flying everywhere. Both men threw themselves to the ground, then slowly got to their feet, the big man dusting off his jacket. His face wasn’t calm now. It was flushed and raging with a black look in his eyes that terrified Ellie. But she took a step onto the landing and then the top stair, keeping her eyes on them, the shotgun firmly facing them.
‘Get your hands up.’
They both stuck their hands in the air, the big man holding her cold stare.
‘Turn around and start walking out.’
She took the stairs one at a time, slowly, keeping her eyes on them and the shotgun pointed at them. They turned around and walked slowly towards the door in silence. Then they were outside in the yard. Ellie was a few steps behind them, and felt the cold blast of air from her open kitchen door as she stepped outside. Christopher was standing a few feet away, his hands in the air, with a pistol pointed at him. He looked at her, his face white and fear in his eyes. In one swift movement, the guy held the gun high to his forehead.
‘Now, Ellie,’ the big man said, turning his head to look behind him. ‘It seems we have a problem here. You need to put the gun down and your man here will be all right. Don’t be silly now.’
‘You put your gun down, arsehole,’ she shouted to the man with the gun.
He looked at the big man, who gave a slight nod. Then the man fired a shot, hitting Christopher in the shoulder. He staggered backwards.
‘Stop!’ Ellie said. ‘Stop or I’ll shoot right now.’
‘What?’ The big man was calm again. ‘And let your man here die? Because you fire one more shot, Ellie, and the next one is in his head.’
Ellie stood trembling, sick with nerves, knowing she was defeated, desperate as Chris stood with blood seeping out of a wound in his shoulder and spreading across his shirt.
‘Put the gun down now or he’s dead.’ The big man turned to face her.
She stood for a moment looking from him to Christopher, whose face was a mask of terror and shock. She dropped the gun and it rattled on the gravel. The shorter man quickly picked it up and trained it on her. Then the big man strode across and suddenly slapped Ellie so hard in the face he knocked her off her feet. Then he stood over her and yanked her up by the hair.
‘You little fucker! You don’t mess around with people like us.’ He punched her viciously on the face again and she could feel her cheek beginning to swell.
He looked at the other guy.
‘Get her tied up and in the boot.’
Ellie thought she was going to faint.
‘Please,’ she pleaded. ‘I have a little boy.’
He sneered.
‘Really? I thought you said you’d no kids. Where is he?’
‘He’s . . . he’s with my parents.’
‘Well, lucky for him he’s not had to see this.’
‘Please. What do you want?’
‘I’m taking you to see a friend of mine, who wants a word with you.’
‘Please. I have to get my son. I can’t just leave like this.’
The smaller man roughly grabbed her hands and put them behind her back. She could feel a rope being secured around her wrists and her shoulders strained as he pulled it tight. Then he pushed her across the yard towards the waiting car. The boot of the jeep clicked open. He reached inside and pulled a mask over her face, then bundled her into the car, just before she had a last look at Christopher, who looked stricken and helpless. In the boot, she crumpled as she heard the voices outside.
‘What about this prick, boss?’
‘Tie him up and shoot him. Or put him in the house or something and torch the place,’ the big man’s voice replied.
Ellie sensed other people getting into the car and she caught her breath, gagging, gasping, her entire body shaking. They drove away fast, and all she could think of was her little boy, and Christopher, the man who asked for nothing and who was about to die.
CHAPTER FORTY
Ruby pushed her foot to the floor as the line to Ellie went dead.
‘Fucking hell, Ruby, that sounds bad.’ Bella turned to her from the passenger seat. ‘Should we call her back?’
‘Christ no, Bella.’ Ruby switched in and out of lanes, her speed hitting over eighty. ‘Ellie says they were kicking her door in. It’s too late to call her back.’ She shook her head. ‘Fuck! If only she’d called me sooner.’
‘So, what do we do now?’ Cissy leaned in from the back seat. ‘How long till we get there?’
‘We’re about fifteen minutes away.’ Ruby was watching the road closely, looking for the slip road that would take her in the right direction for the farm.
‘What do we do if they’re still there when we get to the place?’ Bella asked.
Ruby glanced from the side of her eye.
‘I don’t know yet.’ She leaned her head back towards the back seat. ‘Cissy, that metal case on the back seat. Can you pop it open?’
‘Sure,’ Cissy said as she pulled it onto her lap and clicked the lock. Then she gasped. ‘Shit, Ruby! Look at these bad boys!’
Ruby had put the case on the back seat once she’d checked and re-checked that the contents were primed and ready. There was one small handgun, and a bigger Glock pistol that she’d acquired a few months ago from a dealer in Glasgow.
‘Are they loaded?’ Cissy asked.
‘Of course,’ Ruby said. ‘But the safety catch is on them. Don’t lift them out or anything. Just have the case open and ready in case we need it.’
‘I’ve never used a gun before,’ Bella said. ‘I’d probably shoot myself in the foot.’
‘You won’t have to,’ Ruby said. ‘I’ll deal with any shooting.’
‘I can shoot,’ Cissy piped up.
‘What?’ Ruby asked. ‘When did you shoot anything?’
‘I went to a gun range with Terence twice a few years ago. He taught me how to shoot. I was quite good at it.’
They fell silent for a moment, each of them remembering Terence’s fate that day at the end of Ruby’s gun.
‘I should have shot him years ago,’ Cissy said wistfully.
Nobody answered. Ruby saw the slip road and pulled in quickly from the outside lane to the cut-off and dropped a gear as she drove onto the smaller road. Drivers honked their horns in indignation at her reckless move.
‘Fuck off!’ Ruby muttered.
Then as she drove a mile or two along the narrow road into the countryside, Ruby’s heart suddenly sank. In the distance she could see smoke swirling up to the sky. It was three years since she’d been up this road, but her sense of direction told her the smoke was coming from the farm. There were no other houses nearby so it had to be from there.
‘Shit, guys! Look! Smoke. I’m sure it’s from Ellie’s place.’
‘Fuck,’ Bella said. ‘Do you think they’re still there?’
Ruby pushed out a sigh. ‘I don’t know.’ She slowed down a little. ‘They might be.’ She turned towards the back. ‘Cissy, give me the bigger of the guns. Just be careful how you lift it out. Pick it up with the pistol grip. Hand it to me.’
A few seconds later Cissy handed over the pistol to Bella, who then gave it to Ruby. She placed it in the side pocket of the car.
As they got closer to the direction of the smoke, Ruby was more and more convinced it was coming from Ellie’s farm. The thought that whoever these fuckers were had torched the place was bad enough, after all Ellie had done to build it up. But the more terrifying thought was that they might have done it with her still inside. She knew how ruthless bastards like this could be. Her insides were churning as she approached the dirt track that would take them up to the farmhouse. She knew that halfway up, the track veered to the right, so she could come in via the back way instead of into the front yard, in case they were still there. The track was full of potholes and normally only used by the tractor, but the Land Rover was easily able to handle it. They bobbed in and out of potholes, Cissy and Bella looking uncomfortable: Cissy strained, Bella concentrating, staring straight through the windscreen.
‘You okay, guys?’ Ruby asked.
‘Yep,’ Bella replied. ‘I went on the waltzers three times in a row one day. Feels a bit like that now.’
As they got to the clearing where the track rose a little, she could see through the trees that the smoke was coming from the farmhouse. She sped up as she negotiated her way over the rough track and down towards the lane that took her to the back of the house. Then she pulled the car up a few yards away from the back. Ruby pulled the gun out of the side pocket and turned to Bella and Cissy.
‘Right. You guys just stay in the car. Cissy, take that small gun out and just keep it in your hand. Take the safety off. All you need to do is fire it if anyone comes near you.’
‘Holy fuck!’ Bella said.
‘It’ll be fine,’ Ruby said. ‘I’m going to go round the front to see if any cars are still there. If there’s none, then that means the bastards have torched the place before they left.’ She paused and ran a hand over her face nervously. ‘Let’s just hope they didn’t do it with Ellie inside.’
Ruby got out of the car and picked her way carefully towards the back door, the acrid smell of smoke burning her nostrils. Someone in the area will have called the fire brigade by now, she thought. The nearest farm was a few fields away, but the rising smoke would alert them to a problem. She knew she didn’t have long. She walked close to the back of the house and crept along the wall, keeping her body low until she was at the side of the house, then crept further towards the front. When she got to the front she was relieved to see there was only one car. But then she looked at the house, no longer blazing, but smouldering, and she went to the window and glanced through, hoping she wouldn’t see Ellie inside. It was too dark and smoky. Then she stood for a second as she thought she heard a noise. She heard it again. ‘Help! Help!’
Ruby went towards the door and kicked it open. The voice was coming from the kitchen floor and she saw a man lying there, his ankles tied up and his hands behind his back, blood seeping through his shirt.
‘Help me! Please! Don’t shoot me!’
‘Where’s Ellie?’
‘They took her.’
‘Who?’
‘The men in the Jaguar. They took her and they shot me. Please. Can you find her?’
‘Who are you?’
‘My name is Christopher. I work here and I help Ellie on the farm. She told me things. Are you Ruby? She said you were coming.’
‘Yes. I’m Ruby.’ She knelt down and pulled him a little by one shoulder as he winced in pain. She managed to get him to the door and outside in the yard away from the smoke. ‘You need an ambulance, Christopher.’
Ruby took out her phone and rang Bella.
‘They’re gone, Bella. They took Ellie. Come round. There’s a guy hurt here, we need an ambulance.’
‘Shit.’ Ruby turned to Christopher. ‘Where’s her boy?’
‘Parents.’ His breathing was laboured.
Ruby breathed a sigh of relief.
Bella and Cissy came round in a flash and stood for a moment not knowing what to do.
‘Call 999, Cissy,’ Ruby said. ‘Tell them there’s been a fire and a guy is injured. Shot. Tell them it was robbers. Tell them anything. This guy needs help now. He’s losing a lot of blood.’
Ruby cradled Christopher’s head in her hands and used her jacket to stem the blood but he looked weak and confused, and like he was fading away. He would die if he didn’t get help soon.
‘Christopher,’ she said. ‘I have to get out of here before the police come. But listen, I will find Ellie and bring her back. I promise.’
Christopher looked up at her and his eyes were heavy but he gave the slightest nod, then his eyes drooped and his head lolled to the side.
‘Is he dead?’ Cissy asked. ‘I called the ambulance.’
‘No,’ Ruby said. ‘But he doesn’t have long. We need to get out of here before the cops arrive. Go back to the car.’
They turned and went back the way they came.
Ruby stood looking down at Christopher. Guilt and fear washed over her. Ellie had been in trouble by the time she had pitched up here three years ago looking for help. But now, because of Ruby, she’d been kidnapped by the thugs hunting her down. The bastards who did this would pay a hefty price, Ruby vowed. She stepped away and sprinted round the back to the car.
‘We need to get out of here quick.’ She switched on the engine and the wheels churned up the mud as she put her foot down and roared away.
They were silent as Ruby sped down the dirt track and onto the country road, and then onto the motorway. About a mile down the road on the other side they could see two fire engines and an ambulance racing up towards the slip road, followed by a police car, all sirens blaring.
‘What are we going to do now, Ruby?’ Bella asked.
Ruby turned her head towards them for a second.
‘We’re going to find the bastards who’ve got Ellie. And we’re going to bring her home.’
Bella and Cissy didn’t reply, and Ruby knew that right now it would be crossing their minds that they should never have gone into that café when they got out of jail. After a long silence, Ruby spoke.
‘You girls all right with this?’
‘Yep,’ they both replied.
‘How are we going to find them, Ruby?’ Cissy asked.
‘We’ll find them, Cissy, because these fuckers are not that clever.’
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Ellie’s legs and back ached from the position she’d been squeezed into in the boot of the jeep. She’d had to fight to control her breathing at first, because they’d pulled a hood over her head and she felt as though she was suffocating. But now her breathing was slow and measured as she sensed the car build up speed and figured she was perhaps on a motorway. All she could think about was James. She was so thankful he was with her parents until Sunday. But what if she wasn’t coming back? She blinked hard to push the thought away; she could never allow that to happen.
She moved her body a little and was relieved to feel the hard plastic of her mobile phone in the pocket of her jeans against her thigh. How had they not noticed she had her phone? They’d been in such a rush to get her bundled away, they didn’t even frisk her or search the house. They hadn’t even asked if she had a phone. She was glad that after her brief call to Ruby as they were kicking her door in she’d switched it off, so at least it wouldn’t be ringing and giving her away. But she had to find a way to get it back on again and send a message to Ruby. They were playing music in the car and she couldn’t hear the conversation, but it sounded like they were laughing together. She closed her eyes and prayed. She prayed that Ruby would get to her place in time to save Christopher before he bled out. The expression on his face when they shot him would haunt her forever.
She sensed them slowing down and the car making what felt like a left turn. Her imagination ran riot. Were they taking her somewhere to execute her and dump her in the woods? No. Please don’t let them kill me, God, she pleaded under her breath. The engine was killed and the music stopped. Ellie could hear them talking.
‘I’m starving.’
Perhaps they were in a motorway café car park. At least she hoped so. She heard the sound of a door open, and then someone coming round to the boot where she was lying bunched up and as still as she could. The boot opened slightly and she felt a harsh prod to her shoulder and she shrank back.
‘You’re not dead, are you?’
‘No.’ Her voice was muffled under the hood.
‘What?’
‘No. I’m not dead,’ she managed to say.
As he was closing the boot, she manoeuvred so her foot was in the way. He opened the lid a little.
‘What the fuck are you doing? Get your feet in,’ the voice rasped.
‘I need to pee. Please. I need to pee.’
‘Fuck’s sake!’ the voice said as the lid closed firmly, just as she managed to draw her feet back.
Ellie heard his footsteps go away and then him speaking to someone else at the passenger side.
‘Bird says she needs to pee.’
‘Bloody hell!’ another voice said from the front.
‘What are we going to do?’ the man who had opened the boot to her said. ‘I don’t want her pissing all over my boot.’
There was silence for a moment or two then someone spoke.
‘Untie her and walk her into the toilet. Stand outside till she gets out. Keep the gun at her all the way in. She’s too scared to start screaming for help.’
‘What if she talks to someone in the toilets, some punter, and tells them she’s been kidnapped and to call the police?’
‘She won’t. She knows if she does anything stupid, she’ll never see her kid again.’
The last words jolted Ellie’s stomach. Then she heard the sound of the boot opening a little. Someone was untying her wrists and feet and she felt the pain in her shoulders relax.
