The One You Really Want (47 page)

 

Carmen finished reading and put the letter down on the kitchen table. Burying her face in her hands, she burst into tears.

 

How could Doreen be gone?

Mia, her heart beginning to race, double-checked that the gate leading into Fitzallen Square's garden was still shut. This made no sense; a dog didn't simply vanish into thin air. Doreen couldn't have been beamed up by aliens. She had to be here somewhere.

Bloody hell, she'd only offered to give Doreen her afternoon walk out of the goodness her heart because Zac and Nancy were still rushed off their feet at the shop. If anything happened to the little dog, Zac would have her guts for garters.

Her
guts, not Doreen's.

‘Doreen!' Fear drove her voice up a couple of octaves. Dropping into a crouching run - dimly aware that she now looked like Groucho Marx - Mia began peering under bushes. She prayed that Doreen was playing an ill-timed game of hide and seek. ‘Doreen, this isn't funny, come back here this minute!
Doreeeen . . .'

 

‘Oh my God, where is she? What have you done with her?' The moment Zac saw the look of anguish on Mia's face he knew something terrible had happened. The dressmaking shears clattered from his fingers and three metres of chartreuse duchesse satin slithered to the floor. ‘What's happened to Doreen?'

Mia blurted out, ‘I'm so sorry,' and stood there gasping for breath, evidently having raced all the way back to the shop.

Feeling himself go white, Zac said through numb lips, ‘Is . . . is she d-dead?'

‘She just disappeared.' Mia spread her arms helplessly, at a loss to explain. ‘We were in the square, I let her off her lead for a run-about, she trotted off behind that kind of clump of bushes next to the ash trees, and the next thing I knew, she'd gone!'

‘You left the gate open.'

‘I didn't leave the gate open! I closed it!' Mia's lower lip began to wobble. ‘And I looked for her and looked for her, because I thought maybe she was hiding from me or had fallen down a rabbit hole, or had a heart attack or something, but she wasn't
anywhere
. Then I . . .'

‘Then you what?' Zac demanded as she faltered.

‘Oh God, it's probably nothing, but I checked outside the gardens and at the far end - you know, the corner by Amber Road - I found clumps of fresh mud on top of the railings, like you'd get if someone had climbed over them. But that's stupid, because who would want to take Doreen? I mean, I know she's a sweet little thing and all, but nobody would actually set out to steal her.' Mia's voice faded away as she saw the look of utter disbelief on Zac's face. Quivering, she pleaded, ‘Well, they wouldn't, would they? It's not as if she's valuable.'

 

Nancy arrived back from a five-minute trip to the post office to find the shop in uproar. Zac was pacing around the workroom yelling into the phone and Mia was sitting on a spindly pink and silver chair sobbing noisily. There was a spilled cup of coffee on the floor, and over in the corner the fax machine was churning out fresh orders for handbags from the hottest designer in town.

‘Well, you're a big help. Thanks for nothing!' bellowed Zac, slamming down the phone.

‘What's happened?' The hairs on the back of Nancy's neck prickled in alarm.

‘Doreen's been kidnapped.' Zac was shaking. ‘Some bastard's taken her and the police say they can't do anything because we didn't see them do it. A missing dog is presumed to have strayed. Oh God, I can't believe this is
happening
.'

Nancy went to put her arms round Mia, who was in a terrible state.

‘No, don't.' Mia pulled away, distraught. ‘I can't bear it.' Bursting into even noisier sobs she wailed, ‘It's all my fault.'

 

Zac's mobile phone rang an hour later. He snatched it up.

‘Yeah, hi, have you lost your dog?'

The tag that dangled from Doreen's collar was engraved with her name and Zac's number. Despite his misgivings, Zac's hopes rose. ‘Yes, yes I have! You've found her?'

‘Yeah. Wandering across the King's Road. Nearly got mown down before I rescued her,' said the youngish-sounding male voice. ‘Is her name really Doreen?'

Tears sprang into Zac's eyes. ‘It is.'

‘Funny name for a dog.'

‘Is she OK?'

‘Hey, calm down, she's just fine and dandy. So you'd like her back then, would you?'

‘I can come and get her,' Zac blurted out. ‘Where are you? I'll come now.'

‘Whoa, hold your horses.' The caller sounded amused. ‘Steady on there. Before that happens, I wondered if you'd considered a reward at all.'

Zac's heart sank. ‘Sorry?'

‘You know, mate. To show us how grateful you are to be getting your dog back. Just as a token of appreciation, kind of thing. Unless you're not really bothered about seeing Doreen again.'

Zac said flatly, ‘How much?'

‘Five grand.'

‘
What?
'

‘Fine.' The caller's tone was dismissive. ‘Suit yourself.'

The line went dead.

‘Oh God.' Sinking into a chair, Zac clutched his forehead and moaned, ‘I've killed her.'

Nancy grabbed the phone, dialled 1471, scribbled down the number and pressed 3. The phone was picked up on the fifteenth ring.

‘Hey, don't be a cheapskate,' the same male caller chided as Zac snatched the phone back from Nancy. ‘Five grand isn't that much, is it? Compared with a furry little paw through the post.'

‘I'll pay it.' Zac was so agitated he could barely speak.

‘Good, good. That's what we like to hear. Now, I'll give you a ring later to fix a time and a place. Used notes please, in a Boots carrier bag. And if you're thinking of contacting the police, well, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not a good idea if you want to see little Doreen again.' He chuckled. ‘Woof woof.'

‘Right.' Zac nodded, feeling sick at the thought of Doreen at the mercy of this lunatic.

‘Okey dokey. Bye for now. I'll let you tootle off down to the bank,' the man said cheerfully. ‘Pick up that cash!'

Zac closed the shop. Nancy walked Mia home. Since Mia was inconsolable, Nancy took her into number sixty-two, despatched Rennie to make coffee and phoned Connor at the Lazy B.

By the time Zac arrived at six o'clock, everyone was gathered at the house.

‘I still think you should call the police.' Rose was worried.

‘No.' Vehemently Zac shook his head. ‘I won't risk it. Too much could go wrong.'

‘But they could trace the number the man was calling from.'

‘Phone box on the King's Road,' Zac said bitterly. ‘I kept ringing back and eventually someone answered. They told me.'

‘But—'

‘And I went over there to double-check.' With a trace of impatience Zac added, ‘Kidnappers don't generally call you from their own phones.' Then he saw the expression on Rose's face and raised his hands. ‘Sorry, Rose, I didn't mean to snap. I just want Doreen back safe and well. And we're not calling the police.'

‘Probably too busy giving out parking tickets,' said Rennie. ‘Did you get the cash?'

Nodding, Zac patted the inside pocket of his jacket.

‘What a bastard.' Connor shook his head in disgust.

‘Plural,' said Zac. ‘He said we and us. I'm pretty sure there's two of them.'

Rennie raised an eyebrow at Connor. Connor nodded briefly.

‘Just a thought,' said Rennie, ‘but there's more than two of us.'

 

The kidnapper phoned at eleven o'clock. Everyone in the room fell silent as Zac answered it.

‘Hey,' drawled the voice, ‘did you think I wasn't going to ring?'

‘I've got the money.' Zac's hand might be trembling but his voice was steady.

‘Then we're ready to rock and roll, my friend!'

‘Is Doreen all right?'

‘She's just dandy, can't wait to see you again. So long as you don't try anything stupid.'

‘I just want my dog back.'

‘And you'll be welcome to her. She pissed on my shoe earlier. Had to give her a bit of a kicking for that.' The man chuckled. ‘I mean, it's not nice, is it? We're in another call box, by the way, in case you were wondering. Not the same one as before.'

‘Where d'you want to meet?' Zac managed to remain outwardly calm.

‘Hey, don't flatter yourself. This isn't a dating agency, you know. I don't want to meet you. I just want my financial reward.'

Zac gritted his teeth. ‘Right.'

‘OK, here we go. The place where Doreen went missing. Fitzallen Square. Put the bag of money in the rubbish bin next to the bench. Then go and wait in Tindall Road, OK? Someone'll be along to pick up the cash. When they've checked it out, made sure it's all there, you'll get your dog back.'

‘How do I know that?'

‘You don't. That's the beauty of it,' Doreen's abductor said smugly. ‘You just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best. Good game, eh? Now, pop along and drop that dosh into the bin, there's a good chap. Woof, woof!'

 

It was eleven thirty. The Boots bag containing the money was in the waste bin. Zac was waiting two streets away in Tindall Road. Nancy, wearing a black fleece and jeans, lay on her front between two dense bushes in the square and wondered if her racing heart was audible to Rennie, lying ten feet to her left. Further away, ranged around the enclosed garden and similarly concealed by foliage and darkness, lurked Connor, Mia and Carmen.

So far there hadn't been any sign of Doreen's abductors. A blade of grass tickled Nancy's chin and she hoped they wouldn't have to stay out here all night. Good job she wasn't bursting for the loo or—

Shit, footsteps.

Nancy held her breath as the gate creaked open on its hinges. The footsteps grew nearer, approaching the bench. The next moment a lighter briefly flared, illuminating the features of the man holding it, and she saw that it was Brigadier Brough-Badham. Returning from a night out, he was sitting on the bench enjoying a cigar before heading home to his wife.

‘Hey. Brigadier.'
Rennie's voice, low and urgent, cut through the blackness. ‘No questions. Over here.'

Nancy flinched, expecting their neighbour to leap to his feet barking, ‘What? Who's that? What's going on?' But by some miracle - presumably thanks to his military training - the Brigadier rose and moved towards Rennie. It was his turn to flinch when he saw who had called his name.

‘Just leave, OK?' Rennie murmured. ‘Doreen was abducted. The ransom money's in the bin. Zac wouldn't risk getting the police involved.'

Remaining commendably calm, the Brigadier glanced around the square. When he was satisfied he wasn't being observed he murmured back, ‘What time did they say?'

‘They didn't. But it should be soon.'

‘Right.' The Brigadier extinguished the just-lit cigar beneath the toe of his highly polished brogue and lowered himself to the ground alongside Rennie. Nancy prayed Rennie wouldn't choose this moment to make any Kiss Me Hardy type jokes.

Or to whisper cheerfully that he was dying for a fag.

They heard the faint whirring noise less than ten minutes later, of bicycle tyres on the road beyond the railings. Then the gate creaking again and the bicycle being ridden into the gardens. Her mouth dry, Nancy watched from the shadows as a figure in a hooded jacket plucked the Boots bag from the bin, briefly shone a torch into it then stuffed the bag inside his jacket and headed back to the gate. Pausing to listen and peer up and down the road, he took out a mobile and said, ‘Yeah, got it,' before cycling off.

Nancy could have wept. Thirty minutes of lying in cold damp undergrowth, all for nothing. And where was Doreen anyway?

Then she heard a sharp intake of breath from either Rennie or the Brigadier and realised that they could see something happening at the far end of the square. Leaping to her feet a split second after them, Nancy realised that their first cyclist had slowed, a second had appeared from the direction of Merivale Street, and that the rider of the second bike was hanging something from one of the railings. Then they all heard a roar of fury, a series of shouts and the metallic clatter of bicycles hitting the ground as Carmen, Mia and Connor leapt over the railings and launched themselves at the two abductors. Tearing after Rennie and the Brigadier, her throat burning and adrenaline surging through her body, Nancy saw one of the two manage to twist free. Unable to reach his bike, he turned and began to race up the road on foot, heading towards their end of the square. Abruptly changing direction, Rennie and the Brigadier veered towards the gate. The man attempted to dart away but Rennie was too fast for him. The next minute he was on the ground swearing and wriggling like an eel whilst the Brigadier efficiently twisted his arms behind his back and Rennie, brushing mud from his jeans, phoned the police.

Zac appeared from the direction of Tindall Road, out of breath and terrified. ‘I heard all the shouting. You actually got them! Where's Doreen?'

Oh God, where
was
Doreen? Nancy turned and looked back to where Carmen and Connor had finally managed to bring the first abductor under control on the pavement next to the abandoned bikes. Mia, walking up the road away from them, was carrying something inside her zipped-up jacket. Nancy's heart began to thud with fear when she saw that Mia was crying.