Chapter 54
Fifty-Four
Gina
Her heart sank as she darted out of O’Connor’s car, stab vest on, into the open doorway of Claudia’s house.
Wyre and Jacob were close behind but they couldn’t wait for them.
They had to go in, now. ‘Claudia, Brian, Tabitha, it’s the police.
We’re coming in.’ She was sure she heard a voice coming from upstairs. ‘Hello?’
O’Connor and two PCs ran through the downstairs and O’Connor shouted as he came back. ‘Clear.’
They hurried up the stairs. The voice came again but she couldn’t hear what was being said.
‘Police.’ She flung open the first two doors to the right of the stairs.
One was an empty master suite and the other was a box room.
To the left of the stairs, there were two more closed door rooms and a bathroom.
On opening the first bedroom on the left, she saw Curtis, sitting stiffly and staring at a computer screen covered in zigzags.
‘Curtis,’ she said.
He continued to stare with his mouth open, not turning to acknowledge her entrance. ‘He’s watching, always watching.’ He placed his index finger over his mouth to shush Gina.
The room had been turned upside down. Clothes covered the floor. The bedside tables were on their sides with the drawers spilling out and the bed was ruffled up.
‘It’s the computer,’ Curtis said in a whisper. ‘There’s nothing else in the room.’
Gina grabbed a blanket and threw it over the screen.
‘Why did you do that?’ Curtis began to shake. ‘He’ll kill them. He’ll kill them all.’
‘Who, Curtis? Where is everyone?’
Curtis began to gasp, then he couldn’t breathe.
‘It’s okay, Curtis. I’m DI Harte. You met me the other day. I’m here to help. Take a few deep breaths. You’re safe. We have you now.’
He half turned his head, his eyes red from staring and crying.
‘But Brian, Tabby… he has them. Tabby got taken. Brian went to save Tabby. He got taken and Claudia came home and now she’s gone to save them.
She…’ He started hyperventilating. The eighteen-year-old looked like a little boy who had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
‘Curtis, you’re doing really well. Did they say where they were going?’
He shook his head. ‘They said if we told anyone or the police, Tabby would die and you’re here. They’ve seen you now.’
‘Who’s they?’
‘OpenMeSmiler. It’s all a game. All of it and we’re pawns. I saw the card on my dad’s desk and I threw it in the bin. I already knew Brian was hanging out on the site and I didn’t want my dad into all that.’ His voice turned into a whisper. ‘I, err…’ He paused.
‘What?’ Gina spoke softly.
‘I think someone has been trying to groom me over the past few days and the more I think about it, it has to be OpenMeSmiler. I received some Snapchats. They’ve gone now but the morning after the woman from the salon was taken…
’ He paused again. ‘Now dead. I got a message from this online friend wanting to meet me. I thought it was odd as they said to meet in the woods by the Ferndale shops. When I got there, no one turned up. There were police there so that might be why. Then I got other messages, trying to arrange other meet-ups but they never came off.’ He swallowed.
‘I’ll never know what would have happened to me. ’
Gina felt her heart sink. Every target had been carefully planned and events had happened so fast, that planning had been meticulous.
She also didn’t have the heart to tell Curtis that OpenMeSmiler had already got to his dad.
Why had Jackson and Curtis Dunton been targets and why had Brian and Tabby been taken?
Mindy, Dustin and Claudia had the school link but the kids and the Duntons were not a part of it all.
She frowned as she looked at Curtis again.
He’d been in trouble at school for sharing an intimate photo of a female student with friends.
She knew that OpenMeSmiler used similar tactics but in a more sophisticated way.
Why? She didn’t know but she was damn certain she was going to find out.
‘Curtis, is there anything at all you can tell me? When you messaged each other, did this person mention anything at all? We need to find your friends so please, anything that you can think of might be the key to bringing them home.’
‘I really wish I could help but I don’t know anything. We both liked action figures and collecting memorabilia.’
Football, collectibles – their perp was a chameleon, constantly being interested in whatever it took to lure his victims in. PC Benton stood outside the door, her hand gently leaning on the door frame.
Gina glanced up at the PC. ‘PC Benton is going to stay with you and very soon, she’ll take you to the station, where you’ll be safe.’
‘Where’s my dad?’
‘He’s there, too. You’ll be able to see him in a while.’
Gina left PC Benton with the boy and headed back down the stairs.
O’Connor followed and on reaching the bottom step, another PC hurried along the hallway.
‘Guv, there’s a gaping hole in the back fence.
It looks like it’s been put through using a bladed tool like an axe, and there’s blood on the wood. ’
She snapped on some nitrile gloves and ran with O’Connor to the back of the garden. Just before reaching it, O’Connor slipped on some mud. She held out a hand and helped him up.
He winced in pain as he straightened up. ‘I’m okay. Just a bruise.’
She glanced up and down the fence as one of the PCs lit it up with a torch.
She stepped through and on reaching the other side, she carefully walked along the edge of the path, hoping not to disturb any evidence.
Something glinted as a shaft of light from the torch momentarily caught it.
‘Can you shine that again, back where you were shining it a few seconds ago?’
The PC held the torch over the fence. Gina walked over to the shiny object on the ground and picked it up. Their perp was as local as local got. ‘I know where they are.’