The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3425 by Angharad Copyright© 2024 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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I made it in time and didn't add embarrassment to my other worries. I told the police that I wanted to go home and would attend first thing tomorrow to make a statement. It was only when I insisted that they agreed, presumably looking for forensic evidence in my lab, while I spoke to Diane briefly and then rushed off to the house speed restrictions and red lights not slowing my progress. I'm not sure I even saw any, my mind was planning on what I would do when I arrived.

I shot into the drive and nearly hit Danni who was parking her car. She had Trish with her; she'd been in the library of the university, researching for her PhD. I explained the situation and we approached the house with great caution. I asked Danni to phone home and then took her phone from her. "Hello, David what's for dinner?"

"What?" he replied, "You get attacked and all you want to know is what's for dinner?"

"Yes, so you can tell me or if you are being held hostage."

"No, but I could use a pay rise if my life is in danger."

"Isn't mine from your cooking?" I asked back. He laughed and I assumed me it was safe to enter the house.

"What if they're waiting for us to enter and barge in past us?" asked Trish. And as they had a gun with them previously they might well have another outside as he told me. It was a real possibility and as we didn't know how much they had in resources it could happen and I'd be guilty of underestimating them. I rang David again and told him to be ready to let us in very quickly. It all went well and the moment we heard the door click, we rushed in as if the devil himself was after us. Then the door was locked and bolted and once more I had to rush off to the loo. When I returned Danni had made me a cuppa and it tasted like nectar.

We explained to everyone what had happened and they were all amazed at my story, Danni in her droll way was surprised I could get into the cupboard under the lab bench. I reminded her that the cupboards on the end of the benches were bigger that those along the side and besides, I wasn't that big, she laughed and made some remark that if I heard it properly, suggested that compared to her I was. Maybe I needed to lose some more weight.

We closed the shutters on the downstairs windows, which would create another obstacle were they to try to gain entry to the house through them. We had an evening meal and David and Emily, plus her mother all stayed overnight in the house. Tom had phoned and said he would stay with a colleague overnight.

In the morning after a sleepless night for most of us, the police came by and checked our garden and outhouses. They were clear. I suspected they might well be and even considered that the kidnappers would try and snatch the kids from school rather than the house and might wait several weeks to do so. I spoke to Simon while David provided the police patrolmen with coffee and bacon sandwiches. As they were nominally protecting us, I felt quite happy they were there.

While I drank a cuppa I checked our passports and thought that a week in Menorca may be rather pleasant and it may be interesting for migrant birds using it as a landing place on the way up from Africa to their breeding grounds in Europe. Of course our safety was paramount and Simon called me back and suggested the castle, but in the winter, it was far from enticing. He agreed that Spain may be a good idea and it was half term and the kids who went to school were off for at least a week starting from next week. He arranged for us to be collected by a cab to be taken to Southampton airport and we'd fly by private jet to Menorca. I called them to go and pack. Danni queried it saying she couldn't go, that she'd miss some matches and also her lectures. I told her we could resolve that via the internet and that I'd speak to Bournemouth Football Club.

It was decided and by teatime we were on our way to Menorca. I felt as if I was running away and I'd have to deal with the problem when I came back, and although it went against the grain to do so, I thought after a week of relaxing I'd be more able to deal with life when I returned and besides the kids would love it.

It was dark when we arrived at the villa. I'd hired a people carrier and we all got into it. Mrs Smith the lady who looks after the villa for us had stocked up the fridge and aired it for us. As it was at short notice, I paid her a bonus and she was waiting when we arrived. The girls had to share rooms for sleeping and Danni and I shared the master bedroom. We had put-u-ups in the lounge and dining room - we always eat in the kitchen anyway, or outside if it's nice.

I sat outside talking to Mrs Smith while the others got ready for bed. There was just enough room on the drive for the people carrier, I'd check the car there tomorrow. The night was chilly but warmer than home and it was dry, at home it had been drizzling. I checked my mobile, set it to a Spanish service provider, changed the time on it and called Simon to say we had arrived. I set the alarm and went to bed, Danni was already fast asleep and the others seemed the same except Trish, who was lying in a sleeping bag in the lounge on her tablet.

"Why aren't you asleep?" I asked her.

"Why aren't you?" she shot back at me.

"I'm going to bed now I said, kissed her goodnight and went off to my own bed and after my nightly routine got into it after moving a sprawling Danni off my half of it. I tossed and turned for a while amazed that we'd actually got here so quickly. I accepted that I'd run away but convinced myself it was to protect the kids. I fell asleep after running through a training regime of self-defence I would start after breakfast tomorrow.

It was nippy when we woke up but the sun promised us a dry and warmer day. We ate breakfast and I spent an hour working out. Danni did likewise and we rigged up a target for our kick boxing and also punches and other martial elements. Trish who'd been watching the others braved a swim in the chilly waters of our pool and joined us for the end of our practice to get warm again.

The majority wanted to go to the beach even though I tried to warn them it wasn't really warm enough for it, but we made some sandwiches and set off for the beach near us at ES Grau. It was so tempting to walk over to the nearby nature reserve but I made do with watching the kids with one eye and birdwatching with the other and was rewarded with seeing at least one eagle soaring over the reserve. I had to physically remember why we were there, for protection against kidnappers although I thought it was unlikely they'd followed us, it was possible.

So while I watched the birds, the girls clad in skimpy shorts and tee shirts, watched the boys walking back and fore on the beach or assembling their kite or sail boards. I kept an eye skinned for men wearing ski masks, but in this environment they'd stand out like sore thumbs. The problem was that without their respective ski masks I wouldn't recognise them, so they could be any of the young men we saw walking past.

We eventually got to Mahon (pronounced Mao by the locals) and had a quick wander round the shops and markets there, I bought some fresh fish in one of them and we went home to cook and eat it with the fresh vegetables we bought in the local Lidl. We also bought cereals and milk, so the breakfasts were sorted quite quickly and we all had a fresh made cake afterward. We'd all had a tiring day, so after dinner we went to bed quite early. I did remember to call Simon and also Stella to say we were okay but didn't mention we had gone to the beach although the sea air caused me to yawn a few times while talking to them.

I slept all night and the next morning after some fruit and toast, I again set to with Danielle to practice our self-defence moves and kick boxing, while Trish went swimming in the pool again and once more she joined us for the last bit of our self- defence exercises.

We decided to go to Castell del Toro, which has a cafe and a viewing point, I have seen blue rock thrushes here before but not today although I did see a green hairstreak butterfly, which flies significantly earlier than back in the UK, and I think we saw a winter damselfly as well, or I did, the girls were fighting over something or other. Danni and Trish sorted it and we resumed tucking into plates of sausage and chips, so that was our healthy eating for today.

We had a quick look at a zoological garden but ended up at Castell Santa Agueda with its long walk up the hill, then the girls suggested we come another day and spend all day there with picnic. As it sometimes gets different birds there I agreed but told the girls that everyone would need to carry something if we did. I knew we had a ground sheet I could roll up and add to my rucksack.

Another day we went to Alaior and looked around there, then we went to Santo Tomas and walked the gorge and found one or two large caves. I always carry a torch with me and it proved useful there.

Then we did a packed lunch salad, cheese, rolls, drinks, some crisps and the groundsheet to sit on while we had our picnic. It took a good hour to get to the top and we shared carrying Lizzie and Cate, when they complained about it. We were well into our picnic, it was a lovely day easily twenty odd degrees centigrade but not too hot despite our physical activities. The younger girls were running about as usual and although we had seen one or two people about, two men were walking towards us and they suddenly snatched Cate and held a gun at us as they walked away back towards the path down to the base of the hill.

We were absolutely astonished, and I rang the police and reported the abduction. It took a few moments for them to understand, but they said they would come. Meanwhile Trish and Sarah agreed to watch the young ones now without Cate. Danni and I dropped our back packs and we set off at a run to try and head off the kidnappers.

Much of the path is hidden in places by a wall and towards the middle there is a flat place with the disintegrating van and below that it descends into trees with a sort of woody area on both sides. The path is very uneven which slowed our progress but it also slowed the kidnappers. After a short time we were gaining on them but at times having to hide to avoid them seeing us. We heard sirens from the bottom of the road below us and knew the police were responding. Now, here they carry guns, like most Spanish police, so the kidnappers wouldn't be able to bluff their way past them, if we didn't get them first. Although we were running most of the way, Danni is very fit and I'm not too bad either and we were close enough to hear Cate crying. It spurred us on and I was feeling very hostile towards the pair that had snatched my child..

I had hoped to intercept them at the wide green space by the wrecked van, it's been there years, but we weren't quite quick enough, however, that became to our advantage. I have spent years moving about in woodland, stalking various wildlife from birds to dormice and other rodents.

I sped through the woodland, Danni doing her best to keep up. This was my environment and once I drew level and still hidden I knew that confrontation was imminent. As I moved onto the offensive Danni jumped out onto the path to distract them. She shouted at them and they warned her they had a gun. I jumped out and smacked one of them in the face with my stick which promptly shattered on impact, no matter he went down groaning and I was able to grab Cate from the other's grasp as Danni jumped at him. He knocked her down waving the gun just as two Menorcan police officers appeared at the bottom of the path. Once they saw the gun, I dived down holding Cate and covering Danni with my body. There were a few shots and the sound of someone shout in pain and fall. It was all over and I realised I had grazed both knees as I dropped to protect both my children. Cate was screaming and Danni was crying and the man I hit in the face with half a tree was groaning and wriggling on the ground.

It transpired one of the kidnappers was shot dead on the path, one of the coppers was moaning 'papeleo' because of the paperwork shooting someone would create. Within minutes police were swarming everywhere and once they understood what had happened, an ambulance was summoned and the body of the kidnapper removed, and his injured friend was taken off in a police car. Some of the police went to collect Trish and Sarah with Hannah and Lizzie who weren't all that far away as they had followed at a safe distance.

Danni had hurt an elbow jumping at the kidnapper and I had two bruised and grazed knees. Cate was shocked and upset and all of us were upset at what had happened. The paramedic had asked what I had hit the kidnapper with and I pointed at the broken branch on the path, he shook his head and explained he thought the man had several broken bones in his face. I told him I had no sympathy, he had snatched my child. He nodded his understanding.

As neither of the kidnappers were going anywhere, except the morgue and a hospital we were allowed to go home. A senior police officer remembered me from before and asked how much of the island I had tried to burn down this time? He had very good English and he understood what had happened. I had to attend the police headquarters in Mao the next morning with Danielle to make statements, the others because they weren't involved in the action gave statements at the time and were excused.

Of course, there were long calls to London when we got back to the villa and Henry, who knew somebody in the island government, was able to smooth our way so although we were there an hour or more talking to police things were cleared up quite quickly, although the senior copper did tell me that we were all welcome but 'please no more criminals, we have enough of our own.'

We had a couple of days to recover and calm Cate down and have a shorter holiday than we should and then returned to Blighty in the same private jet we had come in. I was never more glad to see Southampton and waiting for us when we arrived were Simon and his dad. I had held it together all through our ordeal, but the moment Simon held me in his arms, I dissolved into tears. I was so glad to see him and at last, I knew it was over and we were all safe.