Storymania - Taming Sophie by Martine Hayes (Chap. 13)

Taming Sophie (Continued)
Martine Hayes

Chapter 13

Rixi was half way through his coffee, when a young uniformed police man entered the room. Forest got up and met him at the door. He watched as they whispered. She returned to the table.

‘Right then Rixi. We’ve found her. She is in London and she’s okay. We have to get on now, but thank you for all your help, we couldn’t have managed without you. Please leave a contact number or address so that we can get hold of you.’

‘Is that it?’ Rixi didn’t mean to sound disappointed, he wanted to know more about Sophie. He wanted them to tell him more. He didn’t know what, but more. He wanted them to answer his questions now, like will he ever see her again? Will she visit him? He knew that the link with Sophie was broken. The police weren’t interested in him now, they might not even contact him again. Still, at least he knew she was safe.

Sophie walked to the car. She wanted to get it all over with. She couldn’t wait to see Sarah. She wondered what Clive had been telling her. She would soon find out. Swifty said nothing all the way there. He glanced nervously in the rear view mirror from time to time. The route home had been short.

Sophie tried to compose herself as she headed towards the door. Swifty opened it for her. She walked towards the lounge and shrieked in horror at the sight that awaited her. She ran to Sarah and placed her hands under her head.

‘Oh my god, what have you done to her?’ She pulled Sarah close to her and fumbled with the tape.

‘Don’t do that. Leave the tape.’ Clive rushed towards her and pushed her to the floor.

Sophie jumped quickly to her feet. She couldn’t bear to see her friend in such pain. Her face was battered and bloody. She could hear her whimpering, like an injured animal. Sophie attempted to cuddle her again. She pulled her close and rocked her in her arms.

Clive and Swifty looked on, there was no emotion in their eyes. They had set there own scene and were in control. Sophie asked them to fetch her some water to wipe Sarah’s torn face. Clive accommodated her and placed a bowl of water and a face-cloth beside them.

‘I’m so sorry Sarah. What have I done to you?’ Sophie couldn’t control her tears. She could almost feel the pain for Sarah. She wished she could wash it away with the blood.

‘She needs to see a doctor.’

‘No she doesn’t, she’ll be fine.’ Clive was quick to answer.

‘Why are you doing this? Why can’t you just let us go?’

‘Come now Sophie, you’ll go straight to the police.’ Clive bent down to her face.

‘And we wouldn’t want that now would we?’

Sophie begged him to believe her, she pleaded for him to let them go. Clive was in no mood for compromise.

‘You have to let us go eventually, Clive, Please?’ She stared into his eyes. The eyes that had once set her on fire with lust. They were now cold and empty. The passion had rotted away and left an empty shell, now filled with greed and madness. Clive rose to his feet to escape her softening gaze. He loved her. He wanted her.

‘Can we talk in private? I need to talk to you alone.’ He placed his hand on Sophie’s shoulder.

‘No way. You’re a monster. I hate you.’

Clive spun round and struck her across the face with the back of his hand. Sophie felt the power of it as she lost her balance. She felt her own pain now.

‘Why can’t you just be nice for a change? I’ve given you everything, I would do anything for you and this is how you repay me?’ Clive disappeared to the kitchen. Swifty helped her to her feet and led her to the sofa.

‘Sophie, don’t bad mouth him. He’s been out of his mind looking for you. He was worried that you might have gone to the police. He doesn’t want to hurt you, he loves you.’

Sophie turned to Swifty, he was obviously as mad as Clive. She had to think of a way out. There was no way that Clive would let them go, not now. Her only chance was to make them believe that she was on their side. She would convince them that both she and Sarah had come round to their way of thinking. She didn’t know how to convince them as yet, but she would think of something. It would be a good idea to start smiling. The thought of it sickened her to her stomach, but it was something that had to be attempted. She would have to tell Sarah first. The last thing she wanted was Sarah feeling abandoned. She would get her to understand first. That was her main priority. Without Sarah’s co-operation, it wouldn’t work.

‘Swifty, I’m sorry. I will speak to him, just let me look after Sarah’s cuts first.’

Sophie knelt down and continued to dab Sarah’s face with the water. Sarah looked a pitiful sight. She looked scared and pale. Sophie leaned closer towards her ear. She deliberately pushed firmly onto one of Sarah’s cuts.

Sarah let out a moan of pain. Now was Sophie’s chance to involve Sarah into her only plan. Sophie made eye contact with her, ‘Stay with me Sarah, I know you won’t think this will help but it’s the only thing I can do. You won’t like it one bit, but it will help you. Please trust me on this.’ She winked to Sarah and waited for her to nod. Which she did. Sarah knew all along that she wasn’t talking about her face. She expected Sophie to come up with some plan. She knew only too well, that her friend would try to get them out of it.

Swifty came over to see what all the commotion was. He leaned over them both and pretended to be concerned. Sophie knew that he was only concerned in listening to their conversation, that is why she chose her words well. If he was listening, then he wouldn’t have shared the girls’ interpretation, they knew each other well, inside and out. They had a language of their own. An intuition and a connection that only best friends could share.

It had been a long drive for Forest. She couldn’t wait to get to London, she was concerned for Sophie, but she knew within herself that she was safe. The undercover police would track her every move and were well aware of the plight she faced. Her main concern was as Rixi had anticipated, she couldn’t let this criminal slip. He was too big a fish to allow to get away. This was probably one of the biggest criminal investigations of her career. She stood to gain success on his capture. She would get all the praise she could handle and more, she had a lot to thank Rixi for. Forest got out of the car and rushed into another one waiting outside the station.

‘Well, what have we got so far?’ She was determined to get this over with quickly and quietly.

The young male passenger started his briefing. He told her that she had been seen leaving the station with a middle aged male. There was no apparent struggle, although she did seem a bit reluctant. The car had been followed to an address, and she was taken inside. They are still in there, and so far, there hasn’t been any signs of anyone leaving or entering. Forest was eager to go there. The driver of the car turned round and began giving detailed descriptions of the man Sophie left with. Forest relayed the description back to HQ, she was sure he would have form. The car had false number plates. She knew she was dealing with a well organised professional. Forest returned to her own car and passed the information on to Walters. They had no idea just what scale of danger Sophie was in. If they waited, they might catch sight of Clive leaving the house. That would have been the normal practice. Then they could enter the house and search safely. What they didn’t want, was to enter while Clive and his accomplice were in, they couldn’t afford a shoot out. They would risk putting Sophie into further danger. They still weren’t sure if Sophie’s friend was there as Rixi had stated. They had to assume she was.

Forest looked out eagerly as the car approached the street where Clive lived. She loved the rush of adrenaline. It was what kept her going, she didn’t always feel it, but when she did, it was even better than the last one. There was so much that could go wrong, so much to remember. She had to stay focused. In a man’s world, she had to be perfect.

Walters parked the car and walked over to the Granada, their colleges had been there for almost 3 hours. Forest watched him, desperate to find out what, if anything, had happened. The call came on the radio. Forest answered it, hoping that the description she gave had helped them find a name. There was nothing. She hoped that Rixi was telling the truth. They had come too far to turn back now. She clung on the fact that he did have solid information about the death of the security guard. That was her only solid evidence. If she blew it tonight, she blew her whole career.

Sophie listened carefully as Clive began his sorry tale of why he did it.

‘It was for us, I wanted to give you the best. I love you, I want you to marry me.’

Sophie cringed at the thought, how she would love to tell him what she really thought of him, but she knew she would be safer to play along, that way she wouldn’t get hurt.

‘Will you do something for me?’ She pleaded for his sympathy.

‘What?’

‘Will you untie Sarah? She’s injured, she won’t do anything stupid, she’ll understand.’

Swifty interrupted the conversation, he wasn’t too keen on the idea. He would rather kill her than let her go. She wasn’t as afraid as she was letting on, he knew she was stronger than that. He didn’t trust Sarah, not one bit.

‘NO! I don’t think that’s a good idea, I think she’s better off as she is.’ Swifty moved towards the window. He scanned the street outside carefully and feeling reassured, returned to the conversation. ‘After all, we don’t want anyone to get injured again, do we?’

Sophie pleaded silently with her eyes, firmly glued into Clive’s. If she could win his trust, there would be one less enemy to fight. Clive stared back, after all that had happened in the past, all the plans he had made, all the fine details he had mastered, he never banked on losing Sophie.

‘Tell me about Christine.’ Sophie’s voice was soft and warming. She extended her hand onto his lap in a bid to make him feel at ease. Clive said nothing, he moved her hand and stood away form her. Sarah let out a moan. She was calling Sophie.

‘I think she needs a drink.’ Sophie made her way to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. Her every move closely watched by Swifty. Sophie removed the tape from Sarah’s mouth. Her face was badly bruised and swollen. She needed a doctor.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here, I promise.’ She knelt beside her and helped her to sip the water. Each sip seemed to cool the aching heat of her mouth. She wanted to gulp, but she could barely stand the feel of the glass against her swollen lips. Sophie fought the tears, as she faced her friends tortured, battered face. She couldn’t cry, she couldn’t let Sarah know how bad it looked. She needed her to be calm. But Sarah already knew, anything with that much pain had to be bad.

‘She needs a doctor, please let her go, you have me.’

Swifty laughed, the sound of it echoed throughout the room. It brought with it a sickening bite. Where was the heart in this man? If Sophie’s eyes were knifes, she was piercing it now, she was holding them deep within, and watching the crimson veil grow large around his chest.

Forest kept careful watch of the window. She had seen a figure already check the street. She knew that they must be nervous. This wasn’t a good sign, she knew that nerves had gotten a lot of people killed. She prayed it wouldn’t happen today. The time was passing quickly and the light was beginning to leave. Whatever was going to happen, would have to happen soon. It was one job that depended on ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ she had to think it through carefully. In her 20 years of experience, she had never held much faith in luck, for her luck was something that couldn’t be gambled on. She was told once that she was lucky to find the man of her dreams, the divorce papers had thrown that into prospective. She didn’t rely on anything, but fact. Walters called in for the A.R.V. Forest needed extreme caution and armed police were vital. They would be arriving soon. She left the decisions to them. They knew best, they knew where they could get the best shots in, the fatal shots if needed. The Met police were also eager to bag this criminal. The case had lay unsolved for too long. Word was spreading fast of the impending arrest, and although careful planning had called for the secrecy of the job, it was by no means easy to enforce. The police were anxious, all hopes rested on the success of this operation, the pressure was on.

Go to chapter: [<<Prev] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 [Next>>]