The Choice Page 5

  ‘There’s a lake?’ he said.

  ‘Yeah. You should have seen it on the way in.’

  ‘That?’ Matt said. ‘It’s more of a pond.’

  ‘Maybe, but they call it a lake. I don’t think pond has quite the same ring to it. Shall we?’

  They headed for the exit. There was a terrace outside; people milled about, smoking and drinking. They walked along a path until they came to the lake.

  It really was more of a pond.

  ‘Another smoke?’ he said.

  ‘No. I don’t actually smoke, if I’m honest. I just hold them and take a few puffs. Sort of like a French film star.’

  ‘Is that what they do?’

  ‘Don’t you watch French films?’

  ‘All the time. Well, when I’m not watching Terminator or Predator. Or Jean-Claude van Damme kicking ass and taking names.’

  ‘Do you really watch those films?’

  ‘Do you really watch French films?’

  ‘No,’ she said, and laughed. ‘I don’t.’

  ‘Me neither.’

  They fell silent. It wasn’t awkward; it was comfortable. It was as though they’d known each other for a long time.

  ‘So,’ she said. ‘Your girlfriend. Lindsey. What’s she like?’

  ‘She’s nice.’

  ‘Nice? God forbid any boyfriend of mine ever describes me as nice. It’s the blandest, most meaningless adjective in the English language.’

  ‘Worse than OK? Or pretty good?’

  ‘Much worse. So, tell me. What’s she like?’

  ‘I dunno,’ he said. ‘To be honest, it’s not been working out that well.’

  ‘Oh? But she’s coming to stay?’

  ‘Exactly. It’s – it’s complicated.’

  ‘Well,’ she said. ‘This is not like me, Matt, but I’m going to say it anyway. I think I like you. But you have a girlfriend. Who it’s complicated with.’

  ‘I know,’ he said. ‘I like you too.’ He turned to face her. ‘Isn’t it weird? I feel like I really like you, already.’

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘It’s weird. But she’s coming here tomorrow.’ She leaned forward without warning and kissed him on the lips. Her mouth was warm and she smelled of perfume and then it was over.

  ‘And I don’t want to be in the middle of that,’ she said. ‘So let’s go back inside.’

  6

  His first thought was Why the fuck did I set an alarm? and then, when, he looked at his alarm clock, seven in the morning? Why do I need to get up at seven in the morning?

  Especially after last night. They had left the bar when it closed, and then gone wandering around the grounds. Jason had a bottle of Bell’s whisky which he, Sammy and Matt passed between themselves. At some point Sammy had gone for a swim in the lake. He had left his shoes near the spot where Matt had stood with Annabelle.

  The spot where she had kissed him.

  The kiss. It was the reason he had been walking on a cushion of air all night. It was the reason he had worn a stupid, manic grin until collapsing into bed at four in the morning.

  And it was the reason his alarm was set for seven.

  He had to call Lindsey. Her train was leaving Warrington at ten o’clock, so he wanted to let her know before she left.

  It was going to be a hard conversation, but it was only fair. He knew now that he didn’t want to be with Lindsey. He hadn’t for a while, but he had not known how to tell her.

  But now Annabelle was on the scene he had no choice.

  Plus, it was unfair to her to keep stringing her along. Regardless of Annabelle, the right thing to do was to tell her it was over.

  But he was not looking forward to the phone call.

  He got out of bed. He was still wearing the jeans and T-shirt from the night before. There was a sink in his room and he cupped his hands underneath the tap and splashed water on his face, then lowered his mouth to the stream and drank as much as he could stand.

  Barefoot, he walked down the corridor to the phones. He took a fifty-pence piece from his pocket and fed it into the slot. That should be plenty.

  He dialled Lindsey’s number. It was her mum who answered.

  ‘Hi, Sue,’ he said, his voice hoarse. ‘It’s me. Is Linz there?’

  ‘She’s having her breakfast. Are you well? You sound like you’ve got a bit of a cold. She’s very excited about coming to see you.’

  His resolve wavered. She was not going to take this well. Maybe it would be easier to see her one more time. Get through the weekend and then let their relationship fizzle out.

  He thought of Annabelle. Of the soft, warm kiss. Of how she had said she didn’t want to be in the middle of this. He had to make sure there was no ‘this’ to be in the middle of.

  So he had to do it. It was the right thing.

  ‘I had a late night last night,’ he said. ‘No cold.’

  ‘Right. I’ll put her on.’

  She called Lindsey. There was a pause, and then his girlfriend was on the line.

  ‘Hi,’ she said. Her voice was guarded and suspicious. ‘I wasn’t expecting a call.’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘How’s it going?’

  ‘Good. You sound awful. Are you ill? Is that why you’re calling?’

  ‘No. I wanted to talk to you.’

  ‘Couldn’t it wait until I get there?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  He listened to her breathe. ‘Go on,’ she said.

  ‘I – I’ve been thinking. And—’

  ‘Are you breaking up with me?’

  ‘No!’ It was an instinctive answer. ‘I mean, maybe.’

  ‘Maybe, or yes?’

  ‘Look, Annabelle, I—’

  ‘What did you call me?’

  He realized what he had done, and looked at the phone as though it was somehow to blame. ‘Nothing.’

  ‘You called me Annabelle. Who’s Annabelle? Is she that slut that showed you to your room? No – that was Carla. It’s a different one. Is that what’s going on here? You’re breaking up with me for some university slag.’ She gave a harsh laugh. ‘I knew this would happen. I fucking knew it. I told you. Well, let me save you the trouble. You’re dumped, Matt. You’ll never see me again.’

  There was a click and the phone went dead. It had gone, weirdly, better than he had hoped. And, whatever else, it was over between them.

  7

  ‘I broke up with her.’

  Sammy raised an eyebrow. He was still in bed, having woken up when Matt knocked on his door. ‘That’s a bit out of the blue. I thought you two were serious.’

  Matt sipped his tea. ‘We were, in a way. We started going out and it just sort of carried on. I liked her – I still do – but she was way more intense than I was. I was kind of glad to come to university, honestly. To get away a bit. And now I’m here – I guess I see it differently.’

  Plus, he’d met someone else, and even in that fleeting kiss he’d felt something totally new. Maybe that was what Lindsey had felt about him; if so he could understand how she would do what she did. He couldn’t get Annabelle out of his mind. Even in the moments after the phone call and with his head throbbing with a hangover he had remembered the kiss and thought of her and realized he was smiling.

  Later this afternoon he was going to go and see her and tell her that he had broken up with Lindsey and then, he hoped beyond hope, they could repeat that kiss.

  ‘How did she take it?’ Sammy said.

  ‘Not great. I got called a few names.’

  ‘Well, at least it’s done.’

  ‘Yeah. She was supposed to be coming today but that’s off.’

  Sammy sat up. ‘You didn’t think it was better to tell her face to face?’

  ‘No. It’s a waste of a journey.’ He hadn’t been planning to say anything about Annabelle, but he found he couldn’t keep it in. He wanted to tell the world. ‘Plus there’s someone else.’

  Sammy smiled. ‘Really? Someone at uni?’

  ‘Yea
h. I met someone last night. Well, I’d met them before, but last night I realized I liked them.’

  ‘That’s weird,’ Sammy said. ‘I did too.’

  ‘You met someone?’

  ‘Yep. We’re going out tonight. Just for a drink.’

  ‘Who?’ Matt said.

  ‘That friend of Guy. I thought they were an item, but they’re not, so I asked her out. It was like, three in the morning. I thought I had no chance, but she said yes.’

  He felt sick. ‘Which friend of Guy? Annabelle?’

  ‘Yeah. Her. She’s fit as fuck.’

  He wanted to scream Don’t talk about her like that, but he just nodded.

  Sammy stood up and grabbed a pair of jeans that were half under his bed. ‘Who did you meet?’

  ‘Oh,’ Matt said, his mouth dry. ‘It doesn’t matter. No one you know.’

  Saturday, 7 March 2020, 8.30 p.m.

  Matt

  1

  Matt sat next to his wife, his arm around her. She was resting her head against his shoulder. After reading the ransom demand they had fallen silent. He didn’t know what she was thinking; he didn’t know what to think himself. It felt very lonely.

  ‘Who can it be?’ he said quietly. ‘If we can figure that out then we have a chance of finding them.’

  ‘I don’t know anyone who would do this,’ Annabelle said. ‘I don’t know anyone who could.’

  ‘It can’t be random,’ Matt said. ‘If it was just money it could be anybody, but it’s you they want. There has to be a connection. Something personal.’

  ‘Someone who hates me,’ Annabelle said.

  ‘Or the opposite,’ Matt said. ‘Someone who loves you.’

  ‘But who?’ Annabelle said. ‘If that were the case it would have to be someone I know, someone I would recognize when I turn up to ransom the kids. What could they hope to gain by it?’ She frowned. ‘No, it’s someone who hates me, Matt. They want to hurt me.’ She looked up at him. ‘Or it could be somebody who loves you and wants me out of the way.’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘It’s not that. There’s no one. I’d know.’

  She started to cry. Matt held her tighter. It was all he could do; he felt totally helpless. And guilty. If he hadn’t left them in the car, none of this would have happened.

  ‘Then it’s someone who wants to hurt me,’ Annabelle said. ‘That’s the only explanation.’

  ‘Who?’ Matt said. He fought back his own tears. He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. It felt so unreal. ‘Who would want to, and who could hide something like this?’

  ‘It doesn’t have to be someone we know,’ Annabelle said.

  ‘I think it does,’ Matt said. ‘They must know you, because they targeted you.’

  ‘Right. But that doesn’t mean we know them.’ She paused. ‘Perhaps they know me, but we don’t know them.’

  He didn’t understand what she was driving at. ‘Like who?’

  ‘Like a fan. Someone who’s read my books.’

  He considered it for a moment. It made a kind of sense, but it also made things much, much worse. ‘Then we have no way of working it out. It could be anybody.’ Annabelle sat upright, her head in her hands. He got to his feet and began walking up and down the room. He felt like he was fizzing with energy, like his nerves were out of control. He wanted to do something. Anything.

  But there was nothing to do.

  ‘Has anything weird happened?’ he said. ‘Any fans got in touch, on Twitter or Facebook?’

  ‘I can’t think of anything,’ she said. She picked up her phone. ‘It might be very recent. I can take a look.’

  She tapped on the screen. ‘I don’t see anything.’

  ‘In the past?’

  ‘Not that I can recall.’

  On the arm of the sofa his phone buzzed. He walked over and snatched it up.

  There was a new message.

  This is what you asked for.

  ‘What is it?’ Annabelle said. He held up the phone and she read it. She frowned. ‘What does that mean?’

  The answer came quickly. The phone buzzed again and a photo appeared.

  It was of the children. All three of them – Norman, Keith and Molly – asleep in the back seat of Matt’s car.

  Annabelle grabbed the phone. She stared at it. ‘What’s been done to them? They would never sleep like that. And Norman would know something was wrong. He’d be too worried to sleep. The kidnapper must have given them something.’

  Matt’s stomach tightened. What had they been given? What if the dose was too high? He leaned over and enlarged the picture. He examined their faces.

  They were relaxed, their jaws slack. There was colour in their faces. They looked alive, at least.

  The phone buzzed again.

  They are fine. For now. They will not remain that way unless you do as I say. I will start sending pieces of them to you. First something small, like the tip of a finger. Then larger things. I will leave that to your imagination.

  Annabelle grabbed the phone and typed a reply.

  Who are you? Why are you doing this?

  The reply that came ignored the question.

  I will send my demands in the morning. If you do not meet them, or if you inform the police, this will be over and you will never see your sleeping beauties again. And I repeat: if you contact the authorities, I will know, and there will be no second chances.

  Matt sat heavily on the couch. He studied his wife.

  ‘This is for real,’ he said. ‘This is actually happening.’

  2

  Matt sat back on the couch. His head was spinning. It reminded him of a time early in his career when he had had to deliver a speech to a room full of lawyers and his mind had gone blank. Brain freeze, someone called it, and it was an accurate description. Everything stopped; all thought became impossible.

  ‘This is insane,’ he said. ‘I don’t understand it. The kids are gone, someone wants you as a ransom. And I have no idea what to do about it.’

  He felt, for the first time in his life, completely powerless. There were no options. All they could do was whatever the crazy bastard behind this told them to do.

  ‘I know,’ Annabelle said, her voice close to breaking. ‘It’s just us, waiting to see what happens. And it’s so unfair. What have we done to deserve this?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Matt said. ‘No one deserves this.’

  ‘What can we do, Matt? Is there anything?’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘I can’t think of anything. But then I can hardly think at all.’

  ‘Maybe we should get help.’

  ‘From who? We can’t risk telling the cops.’

  ‘What about my brother?’ Annabelle said. ‘He might have an idea.’

  ‘I suppose. But what if the kidnapper finds out? They said to tell no one.’

  ‘How would they find out? And I’d like to see my brother.’

  Matt nodded. He’d like to see Tessa, his sister, too. If nothing else it would make them feel less alone.

  ‘OK,’ he said. ‘I’ll call Mike.’

  Mike answered on the second ring. He lived in Bebington, on the Wirral, where he had a building firm.

  ‘Matt,’ he said. ‘How’s it going?’

  ‘Not great. Can you come over?’

  ‘What’s the problem?’

  ‘I’ll tell you when you get here.’

  ‘You’re calling at eight-thirty on a Saturday evening asking me to come over? What’s going on, Matt? Is it the kids?’

  ‘Can you come?’

  There was a pause. ‘It’ll be an hour. OK?’

  ‘See you then.’

  He texted his sister.

  Are you free?

  She replied immediately.

  Just finishing a shift at the hospital. Pooped, but you need me for something?

  Can you come over?

  Now?

  Maybe nine-thirty?

  Sure. Is everything OK?

  Will tell you when y
ou arrive.

  He put the phone down and looked out of the window. It was dark outside, and he imagined someone hiding in their garden, watching them. He got up suddenly and closed the curtain.

  ‘What?’ she said. ‘Did you see something?’

  ‘Only in my mind,’ he said. ‘I’m jumping at shadows.’

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘But this time the shadows are real.’

  Annabelle

  1

  Annabelle sat next to Matt on the couch, her legs tucked underneath her. Tessa had arrived a few minutes earlier and was opposite her in an armchair. She took deep breaths, fighting to control the panic.

  It didn’t help much. Every few seconds she was hit with an image of her children, locked in the car or in a strange room, crying out in terror or hunger for their parents, and she felt a physical pain that took the place of everything else in her world.

  ‘So,’ Tessa said. ‘Are you guys going to tell me what’s going on?’

  ‘Let’s wait for Mike,’ Matt said. ‘He’ll be here any minute.’

  ‘Do you’ – Tessa nodded at Annabelle’s stomach – ‘have any news?’

  Annabelle shook her head. She wished it was that.

  The bell rang and Matt went to answer it. She heard the front door open, and then her brother’s voice. Mike walked into the living room.

  ‘So,’ he said. ‘What’s up?’

  Annabelle looked from one to the other. She couldn’t quite believe the words she was about to say. ‘It’s the kids. They – they’ve—’ her voice broke and she started to sob.

  Mike knelt next to her. ‘Annie. What’s happened?’

  She couldn’t reply; all her breath had left her and she was shaking with sobs. Mike wrapped his arms around her.

  ‘They’re gone,’ Matt said. ‘The kids are gone.’

  ‘Gone?’ Mike said. ‘Gone where? What the hell is going on?’

  She forced herself to inhale, slowly and deeply. ‘They’ve been taken,’ she said, eventually.

  ‘Taken?’ Tessa said. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘The children have been kidnapped,’ Matt said, his voice slow and heavy. ‘We don’t know who’s responsible. But we know why. It’s a ransom.’