Indefensible (DI Sara Ramsey Book 12), M Comley [world of reading TXT] 📗

erupted on his chin. “Meaning what? What can he do worse than raping and killing three women?”

“He’s abducted a police officer. My partner in fact.”

He flung himself back in his chair, hard enough to almost tip it over. “What the… damn, I can’t say what I really want to say. How do you know this? Has he been in touch? Oh God, don’t tell me he’s asking the police for a bloody ransom?”

“No, not yet. Although I sense we won’t be far away from that.” She heaved out a sigh. “He stabbed a victim last night and stole his car. We were at the hospital. The man survived, and Adam showed up there, wielding a knife, trying to find the man. I believe it was his intention to possibly kill him. My partner and I were elsewhere in the building, attending to a different matter, when the alarm was raised. When we got back to A&E, we were told he’d left the building. My partner and I split up in the car park and that’s when he must have picked her up.”

“Damn.” He sat forward again and raked a hand through his hair. “I didn’t know he had it in him, to do any of this. I don’t know the boy, or should I say, young man, at all. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll willingly do it.”

Sara paused to contemplate his words and another idea sparked. “Would you be willing to do a media stint for me?”

“I don’t get you?”

“If I can get things arranged, would you speak to him via the media, plead with him to give himself up before it’s too late?”

“Of course. If you think he’ll listen to me. I have my doubts. I don’t know how he ticks. What the hell is he thinking, kidnapping a copper for—?” He stopped talking before he released an expletive which would get him into serious trouble.

“Maybe his intention is to use her as leverage to get you released. I really don’t know.”

“Perhaps. Let’s do it. For his sake as well as your partner’s.”

“Thanks, I appreciate you trying to help me. I’ll get on the blower, but first, I need to clear things with the governor.” She glanced up at the officer. “Can you ask her if she has time to see me?”

“I’ll need to take him back to his cell first.”

“Of course. Shall I wait here? I can make the calls I need to make from here, if the reception is good enough.”

“Yep, it should be. I’ll be back soon.”

The first person Sara called was the press officer, Jane Donaldson. “Jane, it’s Sara Ramsey. Sorry to trouble you, I need your expert guidance on a sensitive matter.”

“Hi, Inspector, sounds intriguing, how can I be of assistance?”

Sara ran through the predicament she was in and asked for Jane’s advice.

“Crikey, I do hope Carla will be all right. Let’s see what we can do to get her back to us in one piece. I don’t suppose it’s going to be possible to get the prisoner here, is it?”

“It’s a timing issue. I need to get this plan into action ASAP. I was wondering if you could arrange some of the media to come to the prison and we could do the appeal from here. Of course, I need to run it past the governor first. But I wanted to get in touch with you before I asked her, to ensure it was a feasible task from your end.”

“It’s doable, I have no doubts about that. I have a couple of journalists in mind who would jump at the chance to have an exclusive, which is probably what it’ll need to be in light of the logistics et cetera.”

Sara tapped her fingers on the table. “Are we talking press or TV journalists here?”

“A mixture of both. I’m guessing you want the emphasis to be on the TV angle more, yes?”

“Yep. I need the appeal circulated as quickly as possible if we have any significant chance of getting Carla back before he… well, I shouldn’t have to spell out to you what this fiend is capable of doing.”

“I get that. Leave it with me, I’ll see what I can do. Get back to me as soon as you can if the governor gives you the all-clear, okay?”

“Will do. Thanks for this, Jane.”

“There’s no need to thank me. Let’s hope we’re successful in our mission and Carla is returned to us unharmed.”

“Amen to that. Speak soon.” She ended the call and then rang the incident room to apprise the team of the situation. Christine answered the call.

“You must be a mind-reader, I was just about to ring you.”

“Sounds ominous. Good news, I hope?”

“Maybe. We’ve just had a call from the desk sergeant to say a patrol car has spotted the stolen car Zappel is driving.”

“And? Tell me they’ve got him, please.”

“The driver lost him. I’m so sorry, boss.”

Sara kicked out at the table. “Has Jeff sent more men to the area?”

“He has. He’s sure they’ll find him again. It was on a small housing estate on the other side of town.”

“All right. Keep me updated. I’m in the process of going public with a plea from Jo Zappel to his son. Maybe he’ll hear it on the radio and do the right thing, give himself up. If not, perhaps the media attention will be fruitful for us in another way—a member of the public may spot Adam and call us with his whereabouts. As soon as I’ve sorted out the appeal, I’ll be back. I shouldn’t be any longer than a couple of hours, although that’s going to seem like a lifetime with Carla still missing.”

“Okay, boss, I’ll let the others know. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Sara ended the call and waited for the officer to return. Her mind whirling with questions and what ifs while she sat in the room, staring at the walls that felt like they were closing in on her.

It was another five minutes before the door opened