Chapter 48

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

T he village fair ended abruptly, with police telling everyone to leave. Some left peacefully, while others demanded to know what was going on.

Jassy begged a policeman to tell her what was happening. ‘Only my friend has gone off,' she said. ‘She hasn't returned yet, and I'm really worried.'

Then she saw Needles being escorted to a police car and hurried over to him. ‘Where's Laine?' she asked.

Needles turned his red, tear-stained face towards her. ‘I think the Paki bastard killed her.'

Jassy gasped. ‘What? What do you mean?' Hysteria was building up inside her.

The sudden roar of the air ambulance deafened them. Its bright lights lit up the field, reminding her of a concert she and Laine had gone to, where the whole arena had lit up in the same way. But this wasn't a concert. It was an ambulance for Laine. Jassy shielded her eyes.

The police were hurrying everyone out of the area. Jassy slid to the ground crying hysterically, and Beth rushed to help her.

‘It's okay. No need to be frightened. We're just getting everyone out so the ambulance can land.'

‘No, you don't understand,' sobbed Jassy, shaking her head. ‘Laine is my best friend. Is she dead?'

‘She's being flown to the hospital now. As far as I know, she was still breathing. Let me have your number and I can phone you later when I know more.'

Jassy wiped her eyes with the tissue Beth handed her and wrote her name and number on Beth's pad.

‘Needles said Sajid did it, but he wouldn't hurt Laine,' she sobbed.

‘Needles?' questioned Beth.

‘Laine's brother, Colin,' Jassy explained. ‘That's what everyone calls him.'

The helicopter's lights illuminated the field, and Beth saw what a mess the place was: empty crisp bags, crushed beer cans, empty plastic mugs, and cigarette butts littered the area. It seemed like forever before the ambulance took off, and all Jassy could think was, would it take longer if Laine were dead and then she sobbed more. Beth and Jassy covered their ears as the helicopter took off. People were hurrying from the field, their faces white with shock and disbelief. Beth called over a constable to take Jassy home.

‘Who is it?' she heard someone ask. ‘What's happened?'

Beth turned to see Sandy.

‘A young girl. Elaine Lees. Does the name ring any bells?'

Sandy shook her head. ‘What's happened to her?'

‘She's been attacked. Someone said it was The Vigilante.'

‘Oh my God,' she whispered. ‘Is she badly hurt?'

Beth nodded. Sandy then saw Ray and ran into his arms.

‘Hey,' he said, alarmed. ‘What the hell is going on? I almost couldn't get back in. Has someone had a heart attack?'

‘A girl was attacked in the woods, apparently.'

Lisa stumbled towards them and collided with Sandy. Ray just managed to stop Sandy from falling. ‘Hey, careful,' he said.

‘You seen my waste of space husband?' she slurred.

‘He's probably left,' said Beth. ‘You should too.'

‘Waste of space,' she muttered and wandered to the exit.

‘We should get home,' Sandy said and then burst into tears. ‘This is all so horrible,' she cried. ‘People being hurt and shops vandalised. I don't…'

‘I think you've drunk too much and are a bit over emotional,' Beth said, hugging her.

‘You'll be pleased to know the babysitter wasn't having sex in our bed,' Ray said, trying to make her smile.

‘Oh Ray,' she said and cried even more.

‘Where was she attacked?' asked Ray. ‘It wasn't one of those lads causing trouble earlier, was it?'

‘I don't know,' said Beth.

Sandy sniffed and let Ray take her hand.

‘Let us know when you hear more?' he asked.

‘Of course,' Beth said.

Who is this fucking vigilante? thought Beth. And why would he want to kill a young kid like Laine? The card had read, ‘The police should deal with blackmailers. When the law fails to serve us, we must serve as the law. Vigilante.'

Had Laine been blackmailing someone? And if so, who and why?

The doctors were waiting at the helipad, and Ana watched as they lifted Laine carefully from the air ambulance before rushing her into the operating theatre.

‘I'll need her clothing for evidence,' said Ana.

‘Of course. We'll remove them as carefully as we can, but we may have to cut some of the garments. My job is to save her life.'

‘My job is to catch the person who has done this to her. You wouldn't be trying to save her life if he hadn't tried to take it. Her clothes will help find her attacker,' Ana said.

He nodded. ‘You've made your point, and we'll be as careful as we can not to contaminate. We've handled cases like this before, but please remember our objective is to save lives, and whatever we have to do to do that, we will.'

You'd think I was the enemy , Ana thought, taking a seat in the waiting area. Sajid waited silently with her until a nurse called him in.

Ana found the loo and locked herself in a cubicle. She sat on the toilet seat for a few seconds with her head in her hands until, finally, the tears came. Tears because it hadn't been him and she didn't know the first thing to do to find him, then tears for Laine, a young girl she didn't even know, but who was only a few years younger than her, now lying on an operating table with half her brains hanging out.

‘Jesus,' she muttered, looking down at the blood on her dress. Using cold water from the tap she did her best to remove some of it.

Almost an hour passed before a man dressed in scrubs came to the waiting room. ‘DC Rawlins?' he asked.

‘Yes,' she stood up.

‘Dr Marcus,' he said, shaking her hand.

‘Is she going to be all right?' Ana asked hesitantly. Please don't say she's dead. Please don't.

He glanced at the blood on her dress but didn't say anything. ‘We're operating on her now. The head injury isn't as serious as we initially thought, but she's having trouble breathing. We have her on a ventilator, and we've taken some blood to see if she took anything at the fair that could be causing the breathing problem. The good thing is that she's alive, but it's not looking great.'

The doctor continued, ‘The lad Sajid took quite a beating. He's suffered several broken ribs and we'll need to keep him in for a CAT scan to ensure there are no internal injuries. So are you contacting the next of kin?'

Before Ana could answer, a couple walked into the room. The woman stared at Ana's dress, and sobs tore from her body. Shit , thought Ana, I should have phoned for a change of clothes.

‘They said a copper who came with our Elaine was in here,' said the man. His face was mostly obscured by a scraggly red beard that clung to his skin like winter-ravaged ivy tendrils. His nose was unusually crooked, and Ana wondered if a fight had damaged it. He seemed the type that wouldn't take any nonsense. His eyes were a sparkling brown speckled with green, and he was looking directly into hers. His strong arms seemed to hold up the woman by his side, and Ana imagined she would crumple to the floor if he released her.

‘That's me,' said Ana. ‘DC Ana Rawlins.'

‘Where's my daughter?' he asked bluntly.

Not one to mince words , thought Ana. She beckoned for them to sit down. ‘The doctor can tell you more about her injuries.'

Her mind drifted as the doctor began to talk. Why would someone want to kill a young girl? Vigilantes don't go around killing people. A vigilante was supposed to keep crime off the street, not be the cause of it. Something didn't add up. Her attention was sharply drawn back to Mr Lees.

‘What actually happened?' he asked.

‘We're not sure. Her body–'

Mrs Lees sobbed at the word body, and Ana bit her lip before continuing.

‘…was found in the woods by her boyfriend–'

‘She doesn't have a boyfriend,' interrupted her mother.

‘He said he was her boyfriend. Your son beat him up quite badly. The doctors are treating him as we speak. Your son is in custody.'

‘I know,' said Mr Lees. ‘The little bastard beat up a Paki, didn't he? We never brought him up to be racist. I want to make that very clear.'

Except you just called the lad Paki yourself , thought Ana. ‘No one is calling your family racist,' she said. ‘We believe that someone who calls himself The Vigilante attacked your daughter.'

‘But why?' sobbed Mrs Lees.

Ana knew her blood-stained dress was a problem for Mrs Lees and didn't want to prolong her agony. ‘Was your daughter involved with anyone else besides the lad who claims to be her boyfriend?'

Mr Lees stepped closer to Ana. Ana determined not to be intimidated, didn't move. ‘She was no slag,' he retorted. ‘And she didn't have a Pakistani boyfriend.'

Ana turned to the door. ‘Thanks for answering my questions.'

‘You'll find him, right? This bastard,' said Mr Lees sternly.

‘If it's the last thing we do,' she reassured him.

Sajid was arguing with the nurse when Ana entered the ward. The surgical smell of hospitals had always had a bad effect on her, and today was no different. The sooner she was out of there, the better. The nurse took in Ana's blood-stained dress and hurried over.

‘I'm okay,' Ana quickly assured her. ‘I'm the police officer that came in with the air ambulance. I need to ask your patient a few questions.' She fumbled for her ID and remembered she didn't have it on her.

‘Not too long,' said the nurse. ‘We've given him a mild sedative.'

Sajid looked at Ana pleadingly. ‘I need to see Laine,' he said, his voice breaking. ‘They won't let me. Is she going to be all right?'

Ana pulled a chair next to the bed. She felt emotionally drained. ‘I don't know,' she said honestly. ‘She's in theatre, so you can't see her.'

He looked crestfallen, and Ana gently reached out a hand and laid it on his arm. ‘Anything you can tell us, Sajid, will help us catch who did this.'

He wiped his nose with a tatty tissue. ‘We'd argued.' He sniffed. ‘A few days ago. It was about her brother. He's a racist. He intimidated me and others on a coach back from a football match–'

‘Hang on. Did The Vigilante stop him?' she interrupted.

Sajid nodded. ‘Anyway, they started on us at the fair, and we had this fight. I was going to text Laine, but I must have dropped my phone during the fight and I couldn't find it. Jassy said Laine was upset and had gone into the woods, and as she liked it by the Old Oak, I went there to look for her and…'

He burst into tears and Ana looked around the bedside cabinet for tissues. ‘Here,' she said, handing him one.

‘She was just lying there. I thought she'd fallen, and then I heard that girl say The Vigilante did it.'

Ana chose her words carefully. ‘Had she been spending more money recently?'

He shook his head. ‘I don't think so. Why, what's that got to do with it?'

The nurse approached and said softly, ‘His parents are here.'

‘Okay,' said Ana, standing up. ‘Someone will be back tomorrow to take your official statement.'

Sajid's parents were younger than Ana had anticipated.

‘Thank you for coming here with him,' said the woman, holding out her hand.

Ana took it. It was warm in hers, and a strong memory assailed her and she wobbled slightly on her feet. ‘Just doing my job,' she said.

‘The police have filled us in,' said the father, walking towards his son. Ana only had eyes for the mother and realised her hand was still in hers. She pulled it away, said goodbye.

Then she walked briskly from the ward until she came to reception. ‘Can I order a cab?' she asked. The sooner she was home, the better.