Wrong Time Wrong Place Page 2

  ‘Either way, we need to get an ambulance. She’s been through a trauma.’

  ‘I’ll phone one,’ said Nick, taking out his mobile, then almost immediately cursing. ‘There’s no reception up here.’

  Ash checked her own phone, as did Guy and Tracy, all with the same result. One of the reasons Ash had chosen this place was its remoteness. Nick was always getting out-of-hours calls from work, and she’d wanted this weekend to be different, so she’d been happy to be somewhere where his phone wasn’t going to ring constantly. Now she realised just how far they were from any sort of help.

  ‘Jesus, what the hell’s wrong with this country?’ grunted Guy, staring with disgust at his phone. ‘I can get perfect reception in any Third World hellhole, yet here—’

  ‘Shut up, Guy,’ Nick snapped. ‘We don’t need your moaning now, all right?’

  ‘There’s a landline at the lodge,’ said Ash, ‘and it’s only ten minutes away. We’ll call an ambulance from there, and if we have to, we’ll drive her to a hospital.’

  ‘But we don’t even know who she is,’ said Tracy, sounding as put out as her husband.

  ‘Exactly. And she can’t tell us. So we need to help her.’ Jesus, thought Ash. What was wrong with these people? Had their time abroad sucked out all their humanity?

  She put a hand out to the girl and helped her to her feet. As she did so she noticed something on her wrist. It looked like a plain black wristband, but it had a hard plastic casing and was an extremely tight fit.

  The girl seemed to notice it too, almost for the first time. She tried to take it off, but it wouldn’t budge.

  ‘What do you reckon this is?’ Ash asked her husband, showing him the wristband.

  They both examined it.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Nick. ‘It just looks like a bangle.’

  ‘Except it’s locked on to her wrist.’

  The girl pulled her arm away, tapped her finger on the wristband and then pointed back towards the trees. There was fear in her eyes.

  ‘I don’t like this,’ said Tracy.

  Guy put an arm round her. ‘Me neither. If we’re going to hang on to her, then let’s get going before it gets dark.’

  The sun was dropping behind the opposite hill and the air was feeling colder.

  As one, the group turned and started walking towards the lodge, the girl moving faster than any of them, and every now and then looking back over her shoulder.

  He watched them go from his position a hundred metres away, and cursed. He’d almost had the little bitch earlier. It had been easy enough to track her progress using the GPS clamped to her wrist. He thought he’d cut her off, but she’d been faster than he expected. She had the kind of stamina that he wouldn’t have thought possible in someone who’d just spent the last two weeks chained in a cellar. Then again, as he knew all too well, desperation does strange things to a person.

  Now, though, he had a real problem.

  They all did.

  3

  ‘LET’S GET THE poor thing some clothes, she’s freezing,’ said Ash as she unlocked the door to the lodge and stepped inside. ‘Come on, sit down.’ She led the girl over to the sofa.

  The girl sat down, grabbed a cushion and hugged it. She looked terrified.

  Ash gave her a reassuring smile. ‘It’s OK. You’re safe now. Do you have a name?’ she said slowly. ‘What is your name?’

  The girl just shook her head and looked away.

  ‘She can have some of my clothes,’ said Tracy. ‘I packed a load of things.’

  ‘Trace, are you sure?’ whined Guy.

  ‘Course I am. Jesus, Guy. Look at her shivering. Have some heart.’

  Tracy ran upstairs to her suitcase while Guy stared after her. Ash was pleased to see the look of shock on his face. The man could be a real idiot at times. She wondered what her husband had ever seen in him.

  ‘We’ve got a problem,’ said Nick from the corner of the room where he was holding the landline phone to his ear.

  Ash felt her chest tighten. ‘What is it?’

  ‘The bloody phone’s out of order.’

  ‘We’ll have to drive her to the nearest hospital.’

  ‘Jesus,’ sighed Guy. ‘That’s all we need.’

  ‘Look, I don’t want to have to do it either, Guy,’ said Ash, turning on him, ‘but we haven’t got any bloody choice.’

  ‘What is it?’ said Tracy, coming back down the stairs with a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a garish pink hoodie. She handed them to Ash, who’d clearly been chosen as their main contact with the girl.

  ‘The landline isn’t working either,’ Guy told her.

  ‘You two don’t have to worry,’ said Nick. ‘Ash and I will take her. There’s booze in the fridge. You just stay here until we get back. We’ll try not to be too long.’

  Guy nodded. He and Tracy both looked relieved, having been let off the hook.

  Ash handed the girl the clothes. ‘Put these on. We’re going to take you to the doctor now.’ She spoke slowly and carefully, as if this would somehow help the girl understand her.

  The girl nodded silently and put on the clothes.

  ‘All right, let’s go,’ said Nick, grabbing the keys to their Land Rover.

  Gently, Ash lifted the girl to her feet and together they followed Nick out of the front door.

  It was nearly dark and the wind was picking up, sweeping through the trees that surrounded the lodge on every side. When they’d arrived that morning in the sunshine, Ash had thought it was a perfect location, far from the city crowds. But now that this mysterious girl had arrived out of the blue, naked and bruised, it had suddenly taken on a more menacing air. Something had happened to her out in these woods, something terrible, and Ash was suddenly glad that they were leaving.

  She got in the back with the girl, putting a protective arm round her shoulders, while Nick started the engine and pulled away in a crunch of gravel.

  Almost immediately the car seemed uncontrollable. Nick turned the steering wheel, trying to right it, but the car seemed to have a mind of its own. It bumped up and down as if it was being shaken. Nick brought the car to a stop and pulled up the handbrake.

  ‘What is it?’ Ash asked him.

  Nick didn’t answer. Instead he got out, took a quick look round the car, then pulled open the back door. His expression was grim. ‘Let’s get back in the house. Now.’

  He grabbed Ash by the arm. In normal circumstances, she’d have yelled at him to let go of her. Ash didn’t like being manhandled by anyone. But these weren’t normal circumstances. Nick looked scared, and that scared Ash, because usually he was the calmest person she knew. It was why he was such a damn good lawyer.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she said, pulling the girl out with her.

  ‘Someone’s slashed the tyres,’ he hissed, leading the two of them back to the lodge, his fingers shaking as he unlocked the front door.

  Ash risked a look over her shoulder, and immediately saw the gaping tears in each of the nearside tyres. The girl looked too, and let out a frightened, animal-like whimper.

  Guy and Tracy had already sat down on the sofa with the TV on. They both jumped up like guilty teenagers caught groping each other when the others came back in.

  ‘Everything all right?’ asked Guy, looking past them to the girl.

  ‘We’ve got a situation,’ Nick told them, locking the door behind him and pulling the curtains as he explained what had happened.

  ‘You mean, all four of the tyres have been slashed?’ demanded Guy.

  Nick nodded. ‘All four of them. So it’s deliberate.’

  ‘But who’d do that?’ asked Tracy, her voice rising several tones.

  ‘I have no idea, but whoever it is clearly has a problem with us.’

  Guy looked angry and put-out, like a spoilt child. ‘Why? We haven’t done anything to them. It must be something to do with her.’ He pointed at the girl, who shrank away from his accusing stare. ‘Whoever’s after her know
s she’s with us. I say we let her go. It’s her they want. We don’t even have a clue who the hell it is who’s after her. We don’t even have a clue who she is.’ He took a step towards the girl. ‘Go on,’ he shouted, ‘get the hell out of here! Now!’

  ‘Leave it!’ shouted Nick, blocking Guy’s way. ‘It’s not her fault.’

  ‘It’s not our fault either,’ said Tracy. ‘I’m really sorry but I’m with Guy. She’s not our problem. She should go.’

  Ash felt her anger rising. ‘You want to send a young girl out into the darkness alone, Tracy? Is that what you’re saying?’

  ‘We don’t know what she’s done. She might have really hurt someone, and they’re looking for revenge. Otherwise why are they so keen to stop her leaving?’

  ‘Bullshit. Look at her. The poor thing wouldn’t say boo to a goose.’

  ‘Then why’s someone trying so hard to get her?’ demanded Guy, trying to step past Nick. ‘Come on, let’s ask her. I bet she speaks English better than the rest of us.’

  Nick put a hand on his friend’s chest. ‘Let’s just calm down.’

  But Guy had the bit between his teeth now and he tried to shove Nick out of the way, at the same time pointing an accusing finger at the girl. ‘Come on, start bloody talking.’

  Nick, though, was a lot bigger and stronger than his friend and he easily held him back. He tried again to take the heat out of the situation with more calm words.

  Ash looked at the girl. ‘Don’t worry,’ she told her, giving her a reassuring smile, but it was already too late for that. The poor thing looked terrified. Like a rabbit caught in a car’s headlights.

  Then, without warning, she ran for the front door, unlocking it in one swift movement and dashing out into the night.

  Instinctively, Ash chased after her, not thinking about the dangers that might lurk outside. The girl was quick, but so was Ash. She also had the advantage of wearing shoes on the gravel. She thrust out a hand and grabbed the girl by the hood of Tracy’s top. ‘Come on, it’s all right,’ she said, pulling the girl into a tight bearhug, trying desperately to make herself understood. ‘No one’s going to hurt you.’

  She heard Nick coming up behind her. ‘Ash, get back inside. Now.’

  ‘I’m coming. I’m coming.’

  Ash loosened her grip on the girl, which turned out to be a mistake. The girl immediately wriggled away from her, shoved Ash backwards and set off again at a run.

  Ash went to follow but Nick grabbed her by the arm for the second time that night. ‘Let her go,’ he snapped.

  Ash watched as the girl reached the end of the driveway, her battered feet crunching on the gravel, before being swallowed up by the woods. A part of Ash – the brave part – wanted to run after her and drag her back to where she’d be safe and warm. Another part kept her rooted to the spot. Jesus, the poor thing had to be terrified of something.

  ‘We can’t just leave her,’ she told her husband. Even so, she didn’t resist as Nick led her back inside.

  Tara tore through the trees, telling herself that she wouldn’t stop until she reached a town. She had no idea how far away one could be, or indeed where she even was. She assumed she must still be in England, but it was an England that was totally strange to her, a hilly wilderness where danger lurked at every turn. She’d thought the hikers would help her, and it had seemed like they were going to. The pretty dark-haired woman had been kind to her, but one of the other men had shouted and screamed. When she saw the slashed tyres on the car, she knew that her captor had somehow followed her to their house.

  That was when she’d made the decision to run, not wanting to involve these people in what had happened to her. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t their problem. So now, once again, Tara was on her own.

  A three-quarter moon shone down, bathing the forest in eerie light. She didn’t want light. She wanted darkness. Darkness would hide her. She looked round as she ran. The forest seemed empty, so she started to slow as the trees and bushes grew thicker, feeling the first sense of relief.

  She glanced over her shoulder, saw no one following her, and turned back.

  And ran straight into the knife.

  Tara gasped as the blade was buried up to the hilt in her stomach, slicing through her flesh like it was slicing through a ripe orange. All her strength seemed to disappear in an instant.

  Her attacker loomed up in front of her, an unmoving wall of black. She gazed into his cold, dark eyes as he withdrew the blade and drove it upwards into her heart, his gloved hand gripping her throat and holding her in place while she died.

  4

  FOR A GOOD minute, none of them spoke. Nick had locked the door and had the key in his hand. In the background, the TV was still blaring out some reality show rubbish, with lots of shouting and laughter.

  Finally, Tracy broke the silence. ‘Look, I didn’t mean for her to go like that. But you know … I don’t know what to do about this. I’m not used to this kind of drama.’

  ‘None of us are, Tracy,’ said Nick. ‘I’m just a bloody lawyer, like Guy. The point is, we’ve got to deal with it.’

  ‘For all we know she could have been the one who slashed the tyres,’ said Guy.

  ‘Don’t be bloody daft,’ snapped Ash, who was rapidly losing patience. ‘Why on earth would she do that?’

  ‘I don’t know. But then I don’t know why any of this is bloody happening.’

  Which, thought Ash, was a fair point. What had started out as a relaxing, if potentially dull, weekend trip had turned into a nightmare. Just like that.

  Ash had been mugged once, a couple of years ago. Coming home to their flat late at night, she’d got out of the taxi and was walking towards the front door when a man had appeared from behind the gate post and punched her full in the face. There’d been no pain. Just total and utter shock. She’d stumbled backwards, putting a hand to her bleeding nose, and the man had simply pulled her handbag from her shoulder and run off up the street.

  The whole thing had lasted a matter of seconds, but Ash would never forget that feeling of shock as the urban violence she’d read so much about, but had never actually seen, finally came crashing into her cosy world. She had that shocked, partly dazed feeling now. She felt she could understand a bit better Guy and Tracy’s own reaction to the events that were happening around them.

  ‘Maybe now she’s gone, whoever slashed the tyres will leave us alone,’ sighed Tracy, and any understanding Ash had felt for her disappeared.

  ‘Jesus, don’t you have any feelings for that poor girl?’

  Nick put up a hand. ‘Ash, leave it.’

  ‘How can I? That girl was probably raped and now she’s alone in the woods, and these two seem happy about it.’

  ‘No one’s happy about it,’ shouted Guy. ‘But what do you want us to do? The phones are dead. The car’s buggered. And the girl has just run off, and in Tracy’s clothes too.’

  Ash sighed, knowing this argument was getting them nowhere. ‘It would just be nice to hear some compassion, that’s all.’

  ‘All right guys, enough,’ said Nick firmly, fixing them each in turn with his lawyer’s gaze. ‘Here’s the plan of action. We make sure the place is secure, and then wait here the night. That means locking all the windows and doors so there’s no way we get any uninvited guests. Then as soon as it’s light, we walk down to the main road, or somewhere we can get reception, and call for help. We’ll also report what happened to the girl. It’ll probably mean the end of the trip, but I think we’re all happy to accept that.’

  Everyone nodded.

  ‘We’ve got food, we’ve got booze, so let’s just sit tight.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan,’ said Guy, beginning to calm down. ‘I need a leak. While I’m up there, I’ll lock the windows.’

  ‘Thanks, Guy,’ said Nick, patting his friend’s shoulder as he walked by. Guy avoided looking at him. It was clear to Ash that what friendship there was between them had just taken a very big hit, and at least part of that wa
s her fault. She smiled at her husband to show she supported what he’d done. He gave her a nod in return before turning away, saying, ‘I’ll check the back door’s locked.’

  Tracy sat down heavily on the sofa. ‘Jesus, what a day.’

  ‘Tell me about it,’ said Ash. She still couldn’t get the poor little blonde girl out of her mind. She was so young and so vulnerable. But Nick’s words made sense. Right now there was nothing else they could do to help her.

  Ash went over to the front window and pulled back the curtain to check that the window was locked. As she did so she was unable to resist looking out into the night. The Land Rover sat sadly in the driveway, and once again Ash wondered who’d tampered with it, and why they’d gone to so much trouble to find the girl.

  Something moved at the edge of the treeline. It looked like a person. Ash squinted, pushing her face against the glass, but the figure was gone.

  ‘Is everything all right out there?’ asked Tracy uncertainly.

  Ash replaced the curtain, trying to decide whether or not to tell Tracy what she’d just seen. Or thought she’d seen anyway. She decided not to. Tracy had had enough scares for one day, and there was no point setting her off again. ‘It’s fine. Dark, that’s all.’

  ‘I’m glad we’re in here.’

  ‘So am I,’ said Ash, but her heart was beating faster, and she could feel the slow, cold fingers of fear beginning to creep up her spine. If someone was out there watching them, what were they planning on doing?

  Tracy stood up. ‘I need a glass of wine. Do you want one?’

  Ash was checking the lock on the other window. She saw nothing else outside, and walked back over. ‘Sounds good to me,’ she said as casually as possible.

  ‘Listen, I’m sorry, Ash. This whole thing’s been a bit of a shock, that’s all.’

  Ash smiled, appreciating the other woman’s efforts to make up. ‘Yeah, I know. I’m sorry too.’

  Tracy gave a small nod and disappeared into the kitchen, returning a minute later with two big glasses of white wine, followed by Nick, who was holding a bottle of Becks. ‘It’s all locked up at the back,’ he said, looking more relaxed. ‘We should be safe and sound now.’