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

should have been more forceful, got the bloody truth out of him.”

“He denied knowing about it, I take it.”

“Yep. Told me to butt out of something that didn’t concern me.”

“And what did Carla say when you told her?” Des asked.

Sara fell silent.

“Shit! You haven’t told her, have you? Ah, I get it, now she’s gone missing, that’s why you’re feeling the way you are; you’re riddled with guilt,” Des summed it up perfectly.

“Thanks for pointing out the obvious. Wouldn’t you be if you were in my situation?”

“Nope. Because I would never allow myself to get in that situation in the first place. I would have pinned him up against the wall by the throat and forced the bloody truth out of him, to save all this kicking off the way it has.”

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” she murmured.

“Ain’t that the truth? So, who do you think is behind the abductions?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t really get a good enough look at the bloke to do some extra digging on the side. His intentions were clear towards Gary and if he’s the one who beat Carla up, well, he’s either an idiot or a hard piece of shit who doesn’t give two hoots about jumping on a copper.”

“Which do you think is the most likely?”

“I dread to think is my honest answer. God, I hope I haven’t messed things up, in more ways than one. If Carla ever finds out that I had an inkling Gary was in trouble and didn’t tell her, she’ll want to string me up from the nearest tree.”

“I doubt it. If we find her, her first reaction is going to be one of relief.”

“And her second?” Sara turned and asked.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. Where next?”

“Sorry. Yes, another two right turns and we should be almost there.”

Sara’s mobile rang. She fished it out of her pocket. “Hi, Christine, what have you got?”

“Good news I think, boss.”

“Wait, let me put the phone on speaker. Right, go ahead. We’re listening.”

“Two patrol cars are in pursuit of the van which we identified swooping in to abduct Gary. They’re chasing it on the other side of the town. They’re currently out at Withington, heading on the A4103 towards Worcester.”

“Going towards my patch,” Des added.

“All right, Christine, we’ll head out that way, see if we can help. Can you make Will and Craig aware of the situation? They’re following us, but just in case we lose them in traffic, as it’s quite heavy at present.”

“I’ll do that now. Good luck, boss. If I hear anything else, I’ll get in touch.”

“Thanks.”

Sara ended the call and braced herself for the high-speed chase she guessed was ahead of them.

“Hang on tight.” Des flicked the siren on and floored the accelerator.

“Already actioned. You will be careful, won’t you?”

“Of course. That’s my middle name… not!” He smirked and turned to face her.

“Please, keep your eyes on the road. I’d like to get out of this alive, if at all possible.”

He snorted. “What, so your partner can string you up?”

“Ha-bloody-ha. Just get us there in one piece.”

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at a blockage in the road. The van that two patrol vehicles had been following had left the road and ended up in a hedge. A third police vehicle, coming from the other direction, had used a stinger to disable the vehicle.

Sara and Des tore out of the car and approached the scene. “Are they in there?” Sara asked the five uniformed officers who were standing around, discussing what to do next.

“We think so,” one of the younger ones replied.

“Why aren’t you in there, checking if everyone is all right?” Sara demanded. She attempted to make a move towards the vehicle, but Des latched on to her arm to detain her.

“No. Wait. We don’t know what the situation is. It could be volatile. The suspect might be armed,” Des said.

One of the uniformed guys nodded. “Our thoughts exactly. The desk sergeant told us to hang back. He’s arranged for an ART to attend.”

Sara sucked in an anxious breath and released it. “Okay, I agree that’s the right call. How long are they likely to be, did they say?”

“No. Maybe you could chase that up, ma’am,” the officer suggested.

Sara withdrew her phone from her pocket and rang the ART command centre to which she had a direct number. She was informed that the team was only five minutes out from their location.

She ended the call at the same time the back doors to the van burst open and the man Sara had seen attacking Gary a month before came out. He had a rope around Carla’s neck and a gun pointed at Gary. “Stand back, the lot of you. You,” he pointed at Des. “Where are the keys to your car?”

“They’re in the vehicle.”

“Good. You two, stand over there where I can see you. Make any smart moves to try and jump me, and the bitch copper gets it, got that?”

Sara and Des moved to the side, allowing the kidnapper a direct path to Des’s vehicle. Sara nudged Des in the ribs. “We can jump him.”

“Bollocks. Stand down. Let them go if necessary,” Des replied out of the corner of his mouth.

They watched the kidnapper manoeuvre Carla and Gary, who both appeared to be petrified, into the back of Des’s vehicle.

Carla, try to get away if you can. Don’t let him drive off. Try to delay his departure in some way.

As if reading her mind, Carla fell to the ground. “I can’t, my ankle’s twisted. I think I’ve broken it.”

The kidnapper pistol-whipped Carla around the face. “Get up. Stop fucking trying my patience, bitch.”

Sara winced. “Please, there’s no need to do that. Can’t you see she’s hurt?”

“She’ll be fucking hurting in a minute when I shoot her foot off. That’ll take care of the problem.” He laughed and pointed the gun at Carla’s right foot.

Carla raised a hand and pleaded with her aggressor, “No, don’t, I’ll get up.” Carla struggled to get to