As I heard the sound of an engine grow fainter, I felt more despair at that moment than I have ever felt in my life.
Would Daddy come back and give himself up?
On the one hand, I hoped that he would, on the other, I hated the idea of him giving up to those thugs.
We had gone through so much in such a short space of time and I wondered if we would ever see our father again and whether we would still be alive in a weeks’ time. I was under no illusions that these people would stop at nothing in their quest to get to my Daddy and I dreaded the future like never before.
And now the story continues...
I wondered what Claire and the others were thinking? If I was Claire, I would be frantic by now. I had no idea how long we had been in this place. Our phones had been taken away from us, so we had no contact with the outside world or couldn’t be traced. For some reason our watches had been taken too, so we had no idea as to what time it was.
Amelia was sitting in the corner, rocking herself and crying. I went over and sat beside her and gave her a hug. We both had a good cry and I think that it made us feel a bit better for some reason.
After a while, Amelia touched my face where that brute had hit me. I winced, as it was quite painful and my tongue was sore where I had bit it.
I now wished that I had kept my mouth shut. It was a hard lesson.
‘Does it hurt?’ she asked.
‘Mmm,’ I admitted.
‘What’s going to happen to us?’
‘I don’t know honey, but I bet that everyone is looking for us and that we’ll get out of this somehow.’
I had tried to sound positive for Amelia, but it was hard to be positive knowing how ruthless these people were.
It led me to wonder who “they” were. Were they working for the government or just thugs, hired to do a nasty job? Were we expendable? Probably, I thought. And what about the police, were they in on this or just blindly following orders to find us?
I glanced over to the door and noticed the cooler bag that thug number two had left there.
I went over and unzipped the bag. Inside were some pre-packed sandwiches bought from a supermarket or petrol station, together with some cans of cola and bottled water and a couple of bars of chocolate. Not much, but better than nothing.
Amelia was now sitting on her bed, looking into space. I worried about her. She was only a kid and I had to do something to cheer her up, maybe some food?
I took a sandwich, choc bar and can of cola over to her.
‘Here, have this.’
‘I’m not hungry.’
I staggered back and gave a little scream.
‘What?’ she asked, looking puzzled.
‘You,’ I gasped, ‘not hungry, are you a clone and what have you done with my sister?’
She giggled at that and then, cheering up a bit, reluctantly took the food and drink.
‘You’re silly Emma.’
It seemed so natural calling each other by our new names. I kind of preferred them and I thought that I might keep mine when all this nastiness was over. My acceptance by everyone that I was a girl and not a boy was the only positive thing to happen to me since all this mess started. It might seem daft to think of that in the current circumstances, but it gave me a little bit of comfort and I would take anything going at that moment!
I smiled and joined her on the bed as we ate our small meal. I did wonder in passing whether the food could have been drugged, but on reflection, I didn’t think so as what would be the point of that? They had us locked up and they could have harmed us at any time but we were, I assumed, some sort of pawns in the sick game they were playing.
It didn’t take us long to eat the sandwich and chocolate bar although I had to be a bit careful as my tongue was pretty sore. I was kind of glad that there was no mirror on the wall. My face probably wasn’t a very pretty thing to look at. I was hungrier than I thought and it left me wanting more, but at least food helped me feel a bit better and Amelia looked a bit more chirpy.
It was a strange, unreal situation that we were in. After eating, we just sat on our musty beds and wondered what was going to happen.
I tried to reassure Amelia.
‘At least they’ve fed us. If they wanted to harm us, they would have starved us,’
Or even worse, killed us, I thought.
‘ I miss Daddy,’ sniffed Amelia.
‘Me too, squirt.’
‘Don’t call me squirt,’ she said and threw her pillow at me.
I wasn’t going to have that, so I threw mine at her and we were soon in the throes of a pillow fight.
It didn’t last long, as the pillows burst and we were covered in feathers but at least it broke the tension a bit, which was my cunning intention.
After that bit of fun, we just sat there, wondering what would happen to us. Would we get more food and drink? I hoped so, as starving to death or dying of thirst weren’t very nice things to think of. But there again, to have food and drink, those horrible men would have to come back and I didn’t look forward to that possibility. The head brute, man or whatever you wanted to call him, hinted that they would not come back unless Daddy cooperated, whatever that meant.
I estimated that we were there for about two days and nights but it was difficult to know as we had no watches and only had the rays of light from the shuttered windows to go by. The food, such as it was, had run out and there was very little water left. We were both starving and getting more than a little desperate. The boredom took its toll and we began to get on each other’s nerves and we had silly rows about stupid things. I can’t remember what about, but each hour that passed seemed to get longer and longer and I was feeling desperate about our situation. I almost got to the stage when I would welcome the return of our kidnappers just for something to happen.
I suppose I had thought that we might be rescued and that the countryside was being scoured for us but apart from some noisy birds, all was quiet. I didn’t hear any cars, trains or anything that indicated that we were close to any sort of civilisation. It was all very worrying and depressing.
I wondered what the others were doing. Were they worried about us? Would they call the police? I supposed that they would have had to and that worried me because I didn’t know which side the police were on.
I suppose that it was mid-afternoon. Amelia was lying on her bed asleep, covered with her coat to keep her warm. December wasn’t the best month to be imprisoned without any heating. At least when she was asleep, she wouldn’t be worrying about what was to become us. I felt in my bones that no one was going to come to rescue us in the near future and as far as those men were concerned, we were expendable.
I couldn’t believe that the men who captured us had anything to do with the authorities or government. The authorities were the good guys, weren’t they? Maybe I was being naïve, what did I know? Daddy said something about suspicions people in his department and the police had definitely been looking for us on the train, so were they just following orders to find us or was it something else. I felt my face where the man had hit me, feeling all the more confused as to who were the good guys and who were the bad ones.
In the end, I had enough of fruitless speculation and going over the same things again and again and again. I decided to do the same as my sister and just tried to sleep. It beat the hell out of worry and the boredom.
Despite the things going on in my head, I finally dropped off. I had no idea how long I was asleep but when I woke up, I saw that it was just getting light outside. Amelia was still in the land of nod and I decided not to wake her. What was the point, weren’t going anywhere.
In the gloom, I went over to the door and tried the handle, it was locked, of course. It was very solid and I didn’t think it would be easy for anyone to break it open. For lack of anything better to do, I went over to one of the shuttered windows. The window itself was locked and anyway, the shutters on the outside were closed and looked very secure. The other window was the same and I despaired of ever getting us out of there.
I went over to my bed and sat down with my head in my hands. I was very close to tears. It wouldn’t take much to push me over the edge, but I had to be strong for Amelia. I missed my father so much and hadn’t felt this bad since Mummy died so horribly.
I pulled out a tissue from in my coat pocket and blew my nose gently and somehow, I dropped the tissue on the floor.
Stooping down to pick the tissue up, I noticed, under my bed, the carpet had a slight depression under it.
For lack of anything better to do, I quietly moved the bed out of the way. I didn’t want to disturb my sister so I tried to make as little noise as possible, although normally, she could sleep through the middle of a fireworks display.
The stained and worn carpet definitely had a square depression in it. I wrinkled my nose as the carpet smelt of… I didn’t know what. I peeled back the edge and blinked in surprise when it revealed a square wooden trapdoor!
I managed to get my fingers under the edge of the hatch and swore silently in an unladylike manner when I broke one of my nails in the process. But I didn’t worry about that for long, as I pulled the trapdoor up and out of the way. It creaked alarmingly on its rusty hinges and it looked like it hadn’t been opened in ages. I saw some stone steps leading down into complete darkness.
I could feel cold air coming from below, so I realised that this could be our way out. Maybe, it wasn’t just a cellar but a way out of our prison!
‘What,’ asked a sleepy Amelia yawning. The noise must have woken her up.
I turned and looked at her.
‘Wake up sleepy head. I’ve found a trap door.’
This grabbed her attention rather more quickly than usual!
She jumped off the bed and came over.
‘It looks rather dark,’ she said uncertainly, ‘it’s probably an old cellar and full of spiders, rats and snakes.’
She always had a bit of a wild imagination, not like me, all calm and brave.
Who was I kidding?
‘I can feel a bit of a breeze.’ I said.
‘Can you? Wow, maybe it’s a way out.’
‘That’s what I was thinking. Shall we try?’
‘It is very dark.’ She replied uncertainly.
‘Well, do you really want to stay here and starve?’
‘Of course not. OK let’s do it.’
I grinned at her and then, after Amelia put her coat on, we made our way over to the trapdoor. Then I had a sudden thought.
‘Hang on a minute. Help me drag the beds up against the door.’
I thought that it might be an idea to barricade the door in case the baddies turned up suddenly. It might give us a few minutes.
We heaved and pushed the beds hard up against the door and then went back over to the trapdoor.
‘You lead the way,’ said Amelia bravely…not.
I gulped. This was not going to be easy. Who knows what was down there? We had no light to guide us and I was just an incy-wincy bit scared of the dark, although I would never live it down if I told my sister.
‘Right,’ I said as confidently as I could manage, ‘I’ll go first and you follow on closely. When we get to the bottom, hold on to the tail of my coat, OK?’
‘Yes, get on with it.’
It was alright for her; I was the one leading the way!
I sat down on the floor with my legs hanging over the opening, one foot on the first step. With a deep breath, I stood up and started to go down. I had my hand up against the roughly hewn wall and after a few steps, I came across a handrail which I gripped like someone who had just been thrown a lifebelt ring.
‘There’s a rail on your left,’ I said as I continued down, feeling my steps like a blind person, which, I suppose, I was, near enough at that moment.
I could hear Amelia breathing hard behind me and could sense that she was not enjoying this.
I suppose there were about twenty steps until I reached the floor, which was hard rock, like the steps but felt a bit gritty underfoot.
‘I’m at the bottom now,’ I said.
Amelia bumped into me.
‘Careful,’ I said.
‘Sorree,’ she replied indignantly.
‘She’ll have to go,’ I thought
Looking back up from where we came, I could see the opening and the faint light coming from the room above. I could also see the steps dimly as my eyes grew accustomed to the poor light.
There was a definite breeze coming from somewhere and now that my eyes had become accustomed to the dark, I could see that we weren’t in a cellar but a passage. This didn’t surprise me as I had heard stories of smugglers tunnels both in Devon and Cornwall. In the distance, I could see a chink of light coming from the roof and we headed that way, being careful of where we put our feet and hoping that we didn’t come across nasty creepy crawlies or worse, rats.
My bravery, such as it was, had its limits.
I held onto Amelia’s rather sweaty hand or was that mine that was damp? Never mind that, we continued on slowly and carefully. The chink of light grew larger and larger until we were under it. Looking up, I could see some metal rails lodged in the rocks, that formed a ladder. Above the ladder was an opening that appeared to be partially covered in branches.
‘Shall we go up?’ I asked.
‘Der, obviously,’ said cheeky chops.
She definitely had to go. Where, I didn’t know? But I would think of something when I had the chance and we weren’t fleeing for our lives.
I bravely went first, so if a rung broke and I fell, I would land on her and serve her right!
Such silly thoughts spurred me on as I went ever up towards the opening. Amelia followed close behind. She should have waited for me to get to the top, but I think that she was as spooked as I was about staying in that dark and dingy tunnel. I heard an animal type squeak from below and it sounded like it might be a rat, so that made me go faster.
‘Hurry up, slowcoach,’ exclaimed Amelia bumping up against my leg. I think that she heard the squeak too!
The metal rungs were somewhat rusty and I wondered how long ago that the ladder had last been used. The granite walls looked roughly hewn, giving me the impression that the passage was very old, perhaps used by smugglers?
I didn’t have much time to ponder as Amelia let out a little scream as we heard the scurrying of tiny feet and squeaking sounds.
‘H…hurry up!’
I continued climbing the ladder as fast as my feet would take me, hoping and praying that a rung wouldn’t break.
I reached the top and pulled myself up over the edge, pushing some overgrown bushes out of the way and scratching my hands in the process. I then turned to help Amelia, not that she needed much help as she came up and out of the opening a bit like a cork out of a bottle of champagne.
‘Oooh, I feel all creepy and crawly,’ said Amelia, brushing down her cobwebbed coat.
Looking down, I saw that I was in the same condition. I didn’t much like spiders either and we checked each other out for any signs of life on our clothes. Luckily, all clear.
Looking around, I saw that we were in a small clearing, surrounded by high bushes. The hole itself had been covered in branches and bracken, presumably hiding it from prying eyes.
It all confirmed to me that the secret tunnel was more than likely something to do with smuggling.
I pushed a bush out of the way and saw that we were by the side of a narrow, seldom used lane with grass growing down the middle. At the end of the lane, just fifty yards away, was an old cottage and it didn’t take much brainpower to work out that this was our former prison. It was strange, I thought that we had gone a lot further than that in the tunnel. Mind you, you can’t really judge distance very well in the dark.
‘Let me see,’ said Amelia, pushing me out of the way.
‘Wow, was that where they kept us?’
‘Looks like it.’
‘We’re well out of that! I’m hungry and thirsty.’
‘Always thinking of your stomach.’
‘Aren’t you hungry and thirsty then?’
‘A bit.’ I admitted, ‘We’ll go and see…’
I stopped talking as I heard the sound of an engine in the distance, coming closer.
We both pulled back to hide amongst the bushes and not soon enough, as a car came down the lane at a terrific speed, throwing up dirt as it went.
I had hopes that it might be someone there to rescue us and we both carefully looked out from our hiding place and saw two men get out of the car. They were wearing balaclavas and I knew that they were the men who had kidnapped us.
They went over to the front door and tried to open it. They found some resistance and they pushed hard before it finally opened and they rushed in. slamming the door closed behind them.
‘Now we’re for it!’ said Amelia.
I had a mad idea.
I went over to the hole and covered it up with as many branches as I could find.
‘What are you doing. This is no time for doing gardening.’
‘Shut up and help me cover the opening. Quick we haven’t much time.’
We did as best as we could and soon the opening was completed covered over.
‘Come on, let's go.’
‘Where?’
‘To the cottage, where else.’
‘Are you mad?’
‘Probably. Now come on, no questions.’
We pushed through a gap in the hedge and ran down the lane towards the cottage with Amelia constantly complaining behind me.
We reached the cottage and saw the front door. I was gambling on the fact that the men were by now in the passage trying to follow us and that they would not just come out of the cottage.
There was a key in the lock of the cottage door and I locked it and then as an afterthought, threw the key in a patch of stinging nettles. Why? I hadn’t a clue but it seemed a good idea at the time. Then I wondered what to do next.
‘Emma?’
‘What?’
‘The key is in the car ignition.’
‘So what?’
‘Let’s pinch it?’
‘What?’
‘The car, silly.’
‘I can’t drive.’
‘You drove that go-kart at the fair once.’
‘Yes, but a car is different.’
‘Have you any better idea?’
I had visions of the men getting through the passage and up that ladder.
‘Oh sod it, let's try it.’
‘You swore, I’ll tell Daddy about that.’
‘You would, you snitch! Oh come on then, at least we can try. Get in the car and for goodness sake, put on your seat belt.’
I got into the driver’s seat. It was miles back and I had to pull the seat as far forward as I could towards the steering wheel for me to just about reach the pedals. I put on the seat belt and then tried to remember what I had seen when other people like my dad had driven. At least the car was an automatic, so I didn’t have to worry about gears.
I didn’t have much time to think, I just pressed the ignition button and the car engine started.
I looked down and put the gear lever thingy into drive and the car crept forward. Not a good idea as there was a wall six feet in front of the car. I slammed on the brake, put the lever in reverse and the car went backwards a bit too fast. In the reversing camera, I saw that we were now in danger of hitting a tree.
‘Watch out,’ shouted Amelia.
Once again, I slammed on the brakes. This driving business was harder than I thought!
‘Not so fast, I want to get out of this alive.’
‘Shut up squirt. If you think that you can do any better, you try it.’
‘I would if I had long enough legs.’
I put the lever into drive again and then, turning the steering wheel, I gently accelerated and managed somehow to turn the car around, so it was facing the right way.
‘What are you waiting for?’
I gulped and then pressed down on the accelerator. The car moved forward but I was finding it difficult to keep to a straight line as the lane was rutted and had holes in it.
‘Oh no.’ exclaimed Amelia.
I gasped as up ahead to our left, the two men burst out from the bushes and came out onto the road. They saw us immediately and they both had guns in their hands, aiming them at us.
‘Duck down,’ I shouted.
I went as low as I could whilst still seeing in front of me and just kept moving. My heart was in my mouth and I impulsively pressed down hard on the go pedal and the car shot forward.
There was a huge bang and the windscreen had two holes in it. Later, I was amazed that the screen didn’t shatter. The two men were a few feet in front of the car by now and I didn’t apply the brakes.
I’m a gentle person and I wouldn’t hurt a fly, but at that moment, I didn’t want to do anything but to get away and if they were stupid enough to stay in the road, they would get run over.
They both dived out of the way and we accelerated down the road. Unfortunately, one of the men was too late in getting out of the way and there was a sickening thud as I hit him a glancing blow with the wing of the car.
‘What’s happening?’
‘Keep down.’
It was a good job I told her this as, in our mad dash to get away, the car was hit by several bullets in the back, including the rear windscreen that exploded into hundreds of pieces.
We turned a bend and looking at the rearview mirror, I could see that we were out of sight of the men. It was then safe for me to sit up properly. How I managed to get the car that far was nothing short of amazing.
I felt sick as I realised that I had hit that man. I hated him but I didn’t want to kill him. I stopped the car for a moment.
‘You can sit up now. They’ve gone.’ I said with a quavering voice.
‘What happened.’
‘We got away from them.’
‘That was cool.’
‘Cool…cool, are you mad?’
‘Just like in a film. You were like James Bond or is it Jane Bond?’
‘You do talk rubbish sometimes. Blimey, I was nearly wetting myself.’
‘Gross, too much information Emma.’
That bit of banter helped to calm me down a bit and after a moment I well enough to carry on.
We went down the lane at a slower pace, knowing that there was no danger now from those men. It took a while for my heart to stop beating furiously. I had never been so scared in my life. I wondered at the calmness of my sister and then remembered that she had seen nothing after she spotted the men bursting out from the bushes. Lucky her, I was going to need intensive therapy after all this was over!
We came to the end of the lane and I wondered where I should go.
‘Where are we?’
‘I don’t know, do I. Why not turn on that satnav thingy?’
I felt a bit of a twit, Of course, the sat-nav!
I stopped at the junction. The flaming car kept wanting to creep forward so I stuck it in neutral and pulled the handbrake up. I then pressed a few buttons and finally, the satnav screen jumped into life.
The map showed on the screen and I zoomed out far enough to tell us where we were. Of course, not knowing anywhere in Devon or Cornwall, I was none the wiser. So I keyed in Penmarris and the sat-nav showed us the way back. I had thought that we might be miles away, but we weren’t we were just ten miles from there.
‘That’s not far is it?’ said Amelia.
‘No, I don’t know whether to stop and ask for help somewhere or try to drive the thing home.’
‘Drive home; we don’t know who we can trust.’
‘It’s against the law for me to drive.’
‘What’s more important, breaking a few silly rules or getting us back safely?’
I thought for a moment.
‘Breaking a few silly rules,’ I replied.
‘That’s my girl!’
I pressed GO on the sat-nav and turned left, as instructed.
There were no other cars on the road, which was almost as narrow as the lane that we had just left. I was glad of that as I wasn’t sure that my driving skills would allow me to do anything complicated like passing another car or heaven forbid, anything bigger.
Luckily the holes in the windscreen were to the side and they didn’t impair my vision much, just making a whistling noise where the wind came in. It was really cold in there as we had no rear windscreen and I had to have the heater full on to counteract that.
I got a bit more used to driving the car after a bit and only scraped a wall once. I wasn’t too bothered about that as the thing had more bullet holes than Swiss cheese and anyway, it wasn’t mine.
After a bit, Amelia chirped up.
‘I’m hungry. Can we go to a McDonald’s?’
‘No, are you nuts?’
‘No, just hungry and thirsty.’
‘One, I don’t know where McDonald's is around here. Maybe none at all and two, just think what would be said if we turned up in this car, in the state that it’s in and people saw a kid driving it? Don’t you think that they might be a little bit suspicious?’
‘Maybe.’ She admitted. ‘So, how long till we get home?’
I looked at the screen.
‘About twenty minutes. I’m not driving fast though.’
‘You’re only doing 15 miles an hour. At this rate, I’ll be seventy by the time we get back. I could walk faster.’
‘Want to get out and walk?’
‘Don’t get huffy with me, but you could drive a wee bit faster.’
‘Don’t talk about wee. I am dying to go,’
‘Pull over in that layby then, we can go in the bushes.’
I was kind of desperate. I don’t know why because we hadn’t had much to drink lately. It must have been nerves. I pulled over and we both got out and ran in different directions.
I had just finished doing my stuff and adjusting my tights and skirt, not as easy as it sounds, when in the distance, I heard sirens. I hid behind a bush and then a police car whizzed past us, going in the direction that we had come from. It must have been doing 70 at least.
‘Emma,’ called Amelia.
I came out of the bushes and there was Amelia, looking worried.
‘Is that anything to do with us?’ she asked.
‘Possibly. Look we have to get going. We need to get back home.’
‘Home?’
‘Well, Auntie’s mansion anyway. It’s our home for the moment isn’t it?’
She shrugged.
‘OK, stop talking and start driving, but for goodness sake go faster!’
I shook my head. I’ll never understand her if I lived to be a hundred. One minute she’s the scared little girl who still sucks her thumb when she sleeps and the next, she acts older than me; not that I’m that ancient!
We got back in the car, belted up and continued our journey. Soon we reached the main road and were belting along at 25 miles per hour. I daren’t go any faster as I wasn’t exactly confident but at least Amelia stopped complaining about the speed.
As the road was wider now and I was feeling easier about driving the car, I wasn’t too worried when the occasional car went past us, although I nearly had kittens when an articulated lorry overtook us on a bend and blew his horn, making me almost jump out of my seat. The impatience of some people!
Eventually, there was the sign for Penmarris and we went up the hill, around the bend and there in front of us was the large gates that led us into the mansion’s grounds.
The gravel drive led up for some distance, turned left past the mole infested lawns and the fountain spewing water high into the air and then finally, the mansion itself came into view.
I was so relieved to get back safely and couldn’t wait to see the others.
I screeched to a stop, the engine running.
My heart was in my mouth.
There, in front of us were no less than three police cars, a police van and an ambulance.
A couple of policemen had noticed us and came running over.
I wanted to turn the car around and get away, but there was no chance of that, as another police car came up behind us, effectively hemming us in.
Amelia started crying and I felt like it too. I didn’t trust the police in any way shape or form. After getting away from one set of villains, I had no doubt the police would take us away to God knows where and then hold on to us until Daddy came back.
The driver’s door was wrenched open…
I screeched to a stop, the engine running.
My heart was in my mouth.
There, in front of us were no less than three police cars, a police van and an ambulance.
A couple of policemen had noticed us and came running over.
I wanted to turn the car around and get away, but there was no chance of that, as another police car came up behind us, effectively hemming us in.
Amelia started crying and I felt like it too. I didn’t trust the police in any way shape or form. After getting away from one set of villains, I had no doubt the police would take us away to God knows where and then hold on to us until Daddy came back.
The driver’s door was wrenched open…
And now the story continues...
‘Get out.’
I turned to a very frightened Amelia and said, ‘don’t tell them anything. I do not trust them.’
She nodded.
We got out of the car. You don’t argue with a policeman armed to the teeth.
Amelia rushed around and grabbed my hand.
‘Don’t you dare hurt us,’ she blurted out.
I would have shouted and maybe sworn a bit, but I was speechless and kind of numb. We had been caught and now we would have to face the consequences.
‘You drove this car?’
I nodded.
He looked at me as if I was mad.
‘You know that it’s against the law?’
I shrugged. I might be young, but I’m not stupid.
‘And what’s with these bullet holes?’
‘Well…’
‘Shut up,’ I said to Amelia. She had obviously forgotten about saying nothing.
‘Humph,’ she replied and went all sulky.
I didn’t want to say anything that might incriminate us or Daddy. They would want any excuse to put us away and I did not want to give them any ammunition.
‘I asked you a question.’
I just looked at him and shook my head.
‘That isn’t the attitude I like to see; it could get you into trouble.’
‘You bully,’ said Amelia.
‘Just doing my job little girl.’
‘I’m not a little girl!’
‘Whatever, just do as you are told or you’ll suffer for it. Now, come with me and no back-chat.’
We complied. I did fleetingly wonder if we could make a run for it, but the place was crawling with cops. We didn’t stand a chance. The two policemen standing beside us looked like they meant business. One of them was fingering his automatic weapon suggestively and I kind of knew that he would use it if necessary. Well, I wasn’t going to give him the opportunity.
Our shoes crunched on the gravel as we went across the drive and up to the mansion. I wondered where everyone was. I had hoped to be welcomed back as heroes or something but this was anything but the welcome I expected. After all, we had been through, we were out of the frying pan and into the fire.
I had naturally thought that we were to go into the mansion, but that wasn’t the case. We were taken around the side and over by the walled garden where there was a large police portacabin. We were led over and told to go in.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked.
‘Just go inside. No questions,’ said the policeman gruffly.
I had a distinct impression that he didn’t like us.
It was just like a mini police station with a small reception desk with a police sergeant at the counter. Behind there was a short corridor with rooms off to the side.
Before we knew it, we were sitting in one of the side rooms, with a policewoman guarding the door, no doubt so we wouldn’t make any attempts to escape.
She wouldn’t or couldn’t say anything about why we were there. This was like being treated as criminals and it wasn’t a very nice feeling.
We asked for and were given cups of tea to drink, together with a few plain biscuits, so that was something nice.
I suppose we were there for about half an hour before another policewoman came into the room and took me away.
I tried to protest and Amelia screamed and shouted, but to no avail. It made no difference and I left her crying and creating havoc as only she could.
I was led into a room across the corridor and asked to sit down behind a desk. I was still upset at our treatment and protested that we had done nothing wrong. The policewoman said nothing but looked a bit embarrassed. It was as if I was talking to a brick wall.
A few moments later a man in a suit came in and sat down.
‘I am Superintendent Hargreaves….’
‘Why are you keeping us here?’ I interrupted.
‘I’ll ask the questions Emma, or is it Jason?’
‘Emma.’
‘Hmm, you don’t look much like a boy. Trying to evade detection were you?’
‘What do you mean?’
He ignored my question.
‘Where is your father?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘When did you last see him?’
‘A while back, I can’t remember the exact date. Why?’
‘Why did you drive that car and why are there bullet holes in it?’
‘Am I under arrest?’
‘Possibly. You do know that it’s against the law to drive underage with no insurance or licence?’
‘We were getting away from some men who kidnapped us.’
‘What men?’
I had no need, in my opinion, to hide at least some of the facts from him.
I explained that we were kidnapped and taken to an old cottage and that we somehow escaped and took the car to get away from the baddies. I didn’t mention the fact that I had run over one of the men.
‘What did the men look like?’
‘They were wearing face coverings.’
‘So where is your father?’
And so it went on. He kept on returning to the whereabouts of Daddy.
After asking me to go over my story for the umpteenth time, I got fed up.
‘No more, either arrest me or let me go. I have a right to a solicitor, haven’t I?’
‘All in good time, now where is your father?’
I said nothing. I wasn’t going to play his game.
‘Look Jason, you are in big trouble…’
‘I’m Emma.’
‘Not according to your birth certificate, health and school records. Agreed, you look quite convincing as a girl, but we both know that you are really a boy and you are only dressed like that to evade capture.’
‘I have done nothing wrong and I am a girl and have always been a girl.’
‘So you say, but if that is the case, why are you not under a doctor for the condition?’
‘It’s not a condition or illness, it’s what I am and have always been. Why can’t you understand!
‘So, your father, where is he and when did you last see him?’
Tears were streaming down my face by now, but I said nothing.
He kept on and on asking me the same thing again and again but I did not speak again. I knew when to keep my mouth shut.
A policeman knocked on the door and came in. My interrogator looked annoyed at the interruption.
‘Yes, what is it?’
The policeman whispered in his ear and the superintendent suddenly went pale. I had heard that expression before but I had never seen it; his face was almost white. The policeman left in a hurry leaving Hargreaves strumming the desk and looking more than slightly worried. I wondered what the policeman had said to him. Whatever it was, it left the superintendent looking more than a bit flustered.
He got up and looked at me with contempt.
‘You are not helping yourself Jason. I will leave you to think about things.’
He went out followed by the policewoman, who looked a bit upset for some reason and then after a sickly-looking smile, she closed the door leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I did not doubt that he would now be giving Emma a grilling. I had seen enough crime programs to know that he would be asking her similar questions to the ones I had given. I just hoped that she would be able to hold her end up and not get too upset.
I hated it when he referred to me as a boy. I wasn’t a boy. Couldn’t he get that into his thick skull? Then I realised that it was probably a tactic to get me to open up and talk about my father. To be honest, I had no idea where he was and I couldn’t help him even if I was inclined to do so.
Suddenly I heard some shouting from outside, some stomping of feet and then the door burst open.
‘There ye are young Emma.’
‘Auntie Dotty!’
I got up and ran to her and was engulfed in an embrace. she smelt slightly of lavender and mothballs, but I didn’t care. A friendly face at last!
‘There, there, ye safe now. Amelia is outside, let’s get out o’ this.’
She held my hand firmly as we walked out. The policewoman was outside and she just winked, gave me a thumbs up and followed us. I had no idea where Hargreaves was and I was very pleased about that.
Outside I saw Amelia and she ran over and gave me and Auntie a hug.
‘Oh, Emma, this is a lark isn’t it?’
I thought that she was mad to say that, but she was a bit doolally as Daddy always said so I took no notice. I was only pleased to see her and to be away from that horrid policeman.
‘Let’s go into the house,’ said Auntie.
‘Are we free to go?’ I asked.
‘Of course. They should never have treated you as criminals. Heads will roll over this. By the way,’ she said, ‘this copper is young Fiona, daughter of me head gardener. Why she wanted to join the plod, God only knows, but there ye are.’
Fiona just grinned and shrugged.
Just then I saw a police car go down the drive and Hargreaves was in the back and seemed to be shouting at someone in the front of the car. He looked none too happy. I was glad to see him go as he wasn’t a very nice person.
He looked at me and I gave him a little wave and blew him a kiss. I don’t think that he appreciated it.
‘Where are the others?’ I asked looking around.
‘Safe, away from here. As soon as we realised that you were gorn…’
‘Gorn?’
‘Gorn, gorn away, kidnapped or whatever, plan B was put inter operation and the others were put somewhere safe in the village. We look after our own, ye know. Do yer know that half the village were out lookin’ fer yer? Anyway, enough of this idle chat, I need a cup of tea and a particular sticky bun that I’ve had my eye on this mornin’.’
We started going towards the mansion and looked up at the sudden sound of a helicopter in the distance. The noise got louder as it came ever nearer but I couldn’t see it. Then suddenly, it came up over the wood to the left, flying low and then landed on the lawn just thirty yards away from us. We felt the wind of the rotor blades, even at that distance and I had to hold down my skirt.
We had stopped and were looking in the direction of the chopper. Auntie was holding onto her long voluminous skirt with one hand and her hat with the other.
‘What the hell?’ She exclaimed.
A door opened on the chopper and a man jumped out. He had a helmet on and his arm was in a sling.
He ran over towards us, taking his flying helmet off.
Time stood still and it was as if everything was in slow motion.
I saw his face and my heart thumped.
Amelia and I ran towards him, forgetting everything else. I could have been shot at and I don’t think that I would have noticed at that point.
‘Daddy!’
We ran to him and were soon trying to hug him to death.
‘Careful,’ he laughed, ‘watch my arm.’
‘Ooh Daddy, are you hurt?’ asked Amelia.
‘Broken collarbone, nothing too serious. Have to pick my nose with my other hand now.’
‘Ooh gross!’ Amelia and I said together, laughing.
Daddy looked at me.
You look so lovely Emma, just lie your mum.’
I had a warm feeling in my tummy. I had worried that he might not accept me as Emma even though he had said that he would.
‘What about me?’ asked Amelia.
‘You always have been lovely, pumpkin.’
Amelia frowned and was going to say something about her pet name but Auntie was impatient.
‘Let’s get inside, you lot,’ said Auntie.
We clung to Daddy as we walked on. I don’t think that he minded too much!
Mr Jenkins the butler was standing by the huge double doors of the mansion.
‘Nice to see you all safe and well,’ he said smiling.
‘Enough of that nonsense Jenkins, get some tea organised for the breakfast room, pronto.’
‘Yes, Milady,’ he replied.
Soon we found ourselves in the breakfast room. I heard a huge WOOF and was pushed over by a rather excitable dog and was drooled over and licked in the face by a rasping tongue.
‘Fifi, desist!’
Suddenly, I was free from dog attack as Fifi went over to her mistress and sat at attention beside her. It looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. This was a Jekyll and Hyde dog and I wasn’t sure which I preferred as I straightened my clothes and wiped the yucky ick off my face with a tissue.
I sat next to Daddy with Emma sitting on the other side of him. I think that we both felt that we didn’t want to be apart from our father again…ever.
‘Emma, your face. I don’t like the look of that bruise and split lip.’
‘One of the men who took us did it.’
‘I’d like to get him on his own for a few minutes. Fancy hitting a young defenceless girl. We’ll get a doctor to have a look at it as soon as possible.’
I went a bit squidgy at my Daddy calling me a young girl!
Mr Jenkins appeared as if by magic with another uniformed footman and a maid and they placed tea and cakes on the coffee table and left just as swiftly.
Auntie, unsurprisingly, took charge.
‘Right, shall we have tea. I’ll be Mum.’
I was dying to find out what had happened but had to go through the formalities that Auntie thought were necessary before we could settle down and discuss all that had happened.
‘Right,’ said Auntie after she had wiped her lips with a lace handkerchief, ‘let’s do a catch up of what has happened. Phillip, we will leave your part until afterwards as it’s the most complicated. Emma and Amelia, will yer tell us what happened to yer?’
I looked at Amelia.
‘You tell,’ she said, ‘I get mixed up.’
So, I told them all of our adventures that led up to Auntie bursting into that room in the portacabin.
‘My God, I don’t believe that I let you into so much danger,’ said Daddy.
‘You weren’t to know,’ said Amelia.
‘Blame those buggers – pardon my French – for causin’ all this trouble. Now I’ll tell yer what happened at this end.’
She paused to grab the last cream cake that everyone had left out of politeness, took a huge bite out of it and then, after a moments’ pause to wash it down with a sip of tea, continued.
‘Right, we wondered where you had got too when you didn’t get back in good time. I sent the kids down ter the harbour ter look for yer. You hadn’t answered yer phones but the reception here is bloody awful– pardon my French – so it was no surprise that we couldn’t contact yer. A few people were asked if they had seen yer, but it was as if yer had disappeared inter thin air. So we started a hunt. We looked on the beach in the caves and all places where we thought that you could gorn to. It was only then that we smelled a rat. Old Mrs Higgins, the one with the smelly cat that likes to climb up the backs of people, said that she swore that she saw a couple of girls’ bein’ bundled into a van. She thought nothin’ of it, silly woman, until Abby asked her.
‘Well, that was enough for me. I decided that we had ter get the police involved. Claire was against it, but we had no choice, even though we all had reservations about the police involvement regarding Phillip here. I spoke to young Hector the local plod and he said that he would have ter tell the higher-ups, he had no choice.’
‘In no time the place was infested with police and they set up an incident room in me grounds. Claire and Stephanie had disappeared by then. We thought that they might be targets from the same people who kidnapped you, so it was important to get them away ter safety. They have been staying up at Sam and Abby’s place with all those cats. Can’t abide cats, they give me the creeps. Give me a dog any day.’
Fifi looked up at Auntie and licked her hand. Auntie didn’t seem to notice.
‘Anyway, as soon as the police arrived, I realised that something wasn’t quite right. That superintended bloke, Henderson didn’t seem that worried that we had lost you two girls. Not much was happenin’ and I was getting slightly annoyed.’
‘Mummy was livid,’ said Sarah.
I hadn’t seen her creep in and Auntie gave her a look that would have melted steel.
‘No one invited you, you young rascal.’
‘I’m an interested party.’
‘What?’
‘Well, Emma and Amelia are my friends,’
She tried to look sincere and failed miserably.
‘Hmm, well keep quiet and don’t speak until you are spoken to.’
‘Yes Mummy.’
She smiled angelically and it was all that I could do to not giggle.
Auntie frowned and then shook her head. Sighing, she continued.
‘As I was sayin’, I was getting a bit annoyed at Henderson’s attitude. I could smell that something fishy was goin’ on. I went into my office and rang young Roger…’
‘Roger?’ queried Daddy.
‘Home Secretary, nice boy for a politician and doesn’t tell too many lies.’
She said politician as if it was some sort of disease.
‘Anyway, I told him what was happenin’ and he said that he would look into it asap, whatever that means…’
‘As soon as possible Mummy.’
‘Shut up idiot child. Anyway, about an hour later the Met Chief Constable rang. He told me a few things that I can’t discuss due ter national security and the fact that I’m under that Damn’ Official Secrets Act – I used ter do stuff for the government, and all that codswallop. Anyway, it appears that certain unnamed people were bein’ a bit naughty and were throwin’ spanners in the works, so ter speak and Phillip here got caught up in the crossfire…’
Daddy coughed suggestively and shook his head slightly. I wondered what all that was about? Auntie continued before I could think any more about it.
‘Right, yes, anyway, can’t discuss much but the long and short of it is certain people have been caught up in a conspiracy and have now been arrested. Your father is a free man and everything is hunky-dory.’
‘I’ll take over, shall I?’ said Daddy.
Auntie looked relieved and just nodded.
‘Right, like Dotty here, I can’t tell you everything because it’s all on a need to know basis and subject to OSA.’
‘OSA?’ I said.
‘Official Secrets Act stoopid,’ said a rather smug Sarah.
‘Sarah!’
‘Sorry Mummy.’
‘Anyway,’ continued Daddy with a slight smile, ‘I’ll start from when I dropped you off near the cottage. I was pleased to see that my tail was still on me and that they didn’t stop where I had dropped you off. It was quite a car chase and it was a good thing that I was in such a powerful car, as I was able to keep ahead of them until I was well away from the cottage’s location. Anyway, I got as far as Nettlesham and my luck ran out. I got stuck behind a tractor and my pursuers managed to get up behind me and tried to force me off the road. The front wheel of my car hit a pothole and a tyre blew. My car spun and their car hit me. They got off worse because their car ended upside down in a dyke. Unluckily, I broke my collar bone. I didn’t hang about, but I painfully grabbed my case and just made a run for it whilst they were incapacitated.
‘I hitched a lift from a lorry and that got me away and into the nearest town. I went to A&E, gave a false name and managed to get my collarbone strapped up. I called up a friend who luckily lived in the area and was someone whom I could trust and he helped me to hide away whilst I tried to sort out the mess.’
‘What was the mess?’ I asked. ‘You didn’t give us much information in your letter to us.’
Daddy thought for a moment.
‘I can’t talk much about what was going on in my department, but there was someone quite high up there who was a double agent and was trying to sabotage operations and doing a pretty good job of it.
‘I had managed to hack into this mans’ computer a few days before and had copied information that incriminated him, unfortunately, I stupidly left a trace on his computer that led to me. That was why I was being pursued by him and his accomplices, as they were aware of what I had done. The man had for some time been trying to discredit me as he knew that I was a danger to his operation. He managed to get the police involved and had cast me as a traitor using trumped-up charges.’
‘Who was this damn’ traitor?’ Asked Auntie, who had been dying to say something for some time.
‘I can’t say, as that’s sensitive information at the moment.’
‘He needs shooting with me twelve-bore.’
Daddy smiled.
‘I agree, but we have to go through legal channels. Anyway, to continue, before I left the office on my so-called holiday, I laid a trap for him. I gave him and no-one else certain false information for him to pass on to his paymasters. He took the bait and I have now been able to prove to the people who need to know that he was the leak. I had to go above my section head to the chief of the organisation I belong to and luckily, my story was believed, especially as I was able to provide him with the incriminating data I found on the mans’ computer.
‘I only found out about you girls being kidnapped this morning and with the help of Dotty and Claire, managed to get down here as soon as I could to help out where I could. It’s wonderful that you managed to escape, I have been worried out of my mind about you two.’
He put his good arm around Amelia and I cuddled in close to him. it was wonderful that he was back with us. I had been so worried about him. I think that there had been a lot of things that he couldn’t tell us about what had happened, but was just glad to have him back.
‘What about those men who kidnapped us?’ I asked.
‘They will be dealt with,’ replied Daddy in a flat voice that deterred any further questions.
I shuddered for some reason, but what did I care, they wanted to harm us and they deserved all that they would get. I would have liked the opportunity to do damage to his face like he did mine and then I wondered if that was a very girly thing to think of. Well, there are girl boxers, aren’t there?
Just then, we were interrupted by Claire and Stephanie coming into the room. Steph was using her crutches.
Daddy got up and he and Claire embraced.
‘Ooh yuck!’ exclaimed Stephanie, ‘not in public, you two. Someone get a bucket, I want to be sick!’
We all laughed. Things appeared to be getting back to normal, whatever that is.
So, that was our adventure. In a brief few weeks, life had, for me and my sister, changed out of all recognition. I had finally come out as a girl and everyone who mattered -except an old aunt who never wanted to see me again – now knew me as Emma. Amelia decided that she liked her old name better and reverted back to Suzie, but I liked Emma and have stuck with it.
Daddy was now clear of any danger from the police and the authorities. In fact, he has been commended for his work and is now the head of his section, whatever that is.
We had a lovely time at Christmas. We stayed at the mansion and had a great time surrounded by people we liked and trusted. It seemed like half the village had been invited to Christmas dinner and the large stateroom was packed out There were so many people that we were introduced to that seemed to know us, but we didn’t know them!
Weird.
I was in a party frock borrowed from Sarah. It was what is known as an LBD or little black dress for the uninitiated. I loved it. It was black, obviously, sheer three quarter sleeved and had a lace overlay skirt with a silk slip. It felt and looked wonderful. I wore makeup properly for the first time with Claire’s help and no-one would ever think that I was a boy and I liked that, very much!
Suzie looked pretty too and wore another one of Sarah’s dresses that she had outgrown. It was white and a bit too frilly for my taste, it even had a wide red ribbon tied up at the back. Strangely though, it suited her and I could tell that she thought that it was the bee's knees, especially as she was allowed to wear a little makeup.
Samantha and a very pregnant Abby together with their lovely little girl Heather came and were sitting at our table with Daddy, Claire, Auntie, and all us kids.
The tables were brightly decorated with Christmassy centrepieces, lit with candles. Every place setting had a Christmas cracker, a wine goblet and silver cutlery that gleamed in the candlelight.
The food was delicious (apart from the Brussel sprouts – yuk) and very filling. I didn’t much like turkey, so I had beef instead and it melted in my mouth. As was traditional, like others, I was full up after the first few courses and by the time the Christmas pudding came around, I was almost full to the brim.
There was one hysterical moment during that fateful meal when Fifi the Labradoodle managed to grab hold of a turkey leg and the sight of her being chased around the room by a pack of footmen was a site worth remembering. Auntie bet five pounds at 3 to 1 that her dog wouldn’t get caught and she won her bet as Fifi managed to get out through the French windows and was last seen heading for the hills.
It was as I struggled to eat the last bit of pudding, that there was a bit of drama. Abby suddenly went into labour after eating a large chunk of Christmas pudding and had to go to a side room helped by Doctor Marcia, Samantha and a few others, where, after a few muffled screams and the occasional naughty word, she promptly gave birth to a bouncing and rather vocal baby boy.
It didn’t help that Sarah said, just before the emergency, that Abby was eating pudding and in the pudding club at the same time and I think that remark pushed Abby over the edge!
According to reports, Mother and baby were doing well and Doctor Marcia said that she didn’t need to go to hospital as it was a straightforward birth without complications. Mother and son were taken upstairs to a bedroom for a bit of peace and quiet, joined by a proud and rather weepy Samantha. Of course, there had to be a celebration and some of the adults had a few too many drinks. Boringly, we weren’t allowed to wet the baby’s head with anything stronger than cola, so that was a bit of a downer. Not that I had ever drunk alcohol, but I was curious as any normal girl would be.
It had been a fun day and one that I would never forget.
It was very late when I got to bed that night (or was it morning?). We had had a great time. Auntie sure did know how to organise a party, or was that Mr Jenkins? Anyway, my head was buzzing and it took me a little while to get off. I was wearing a new silk nightie that I had got for Christmas and it felt delicious and girly.
The was a fire in the grate that crackled and gave off a warm light that danced on the ceiling. I was so happy that things were now going so well. It was obvious that Daddy and Claire were to be married, they kind of hinted it after the third or fourth glass of champagne. I was pretty sure that they would not be sleeping in separate beds that night and I realised that I didn’t mind one bit. I liked; dare I say loved Claire now and our family would be complete.
So, it looked like we were going to have a new mother and sister. I was sure that Mum would approve. She was full of love and understanding. I knew that Daddy loved mum, but he had found someone with whom he could share his life with and I so wanted him to be happy. I might even call Claire Mummy, you never know.
There was talk that we might move down to Penmarris. How that would work out with Daddy’s work commitments, I wasn’t sure, but I thought that it would be great if we did move down to this wonderful place. I would be seeing Doctor Marcia in the next few days about gender referral, and I sort of looked forward to it. I knew that I wanted to be a complete girl and had no illusions that it would be a hard journey, but one that I would take with the love and support of my now extended family…
There was a small knock on the door.
‘Come in.’
The door opened and there was Suzie, rubbing her eyes.
‘I can’t sleep.’
‘Get in with me then.’
The bed was a king-size one, so there was plenty of room.
‘Ooh, you have cold feet.’
‘Sorry.’
‘Why can’t you sleep?’
‘Don’t know, lots of things going on in my head. Are you happy about Daddy and Claire?’
‘Yes, you?’
‘Mmm, they look good together. Mum would like her.’
‘I think so too…’
There was a knock on the door.
‘Who’s that?’ asked Suzie.
‘I don’t know,’ I replied, ‘come in.’
The door opened and there was Stephanie.
‘Hi, I can’t sleep.’
‘Best come in then,’ I replied.
She stomped over, using her crutches and somehow got into bed. It was starting to get a bit crowded in there.
‘Why can’t you sleep Steph?’
‘Don’t know. Still stuffed from all that food earlier and I can’t stop thinking about Fifi and that turkey leg. Do you know that she was sick all over the kitchen floor afterwards? She’s in the doghouse now.’
‘Doghouse, ooh it’s cold outside,’ said Suzie worriedly.
‘Nah, her doghouse is a room by the kitchen. With a fire in it and her favourite dog bed. I wish I was her, she gets treated like royalty even when she’s been naughty…’
There was a knock on the door.
‘Come in,’ we all called.
The door opened and there was Sarah.
‘I can’t sleep.’
We all laughed as she was wearing Winnie-the-Pooh pyjamas and rabbit-shaped slippers.
‘Well,’ she said huffily as she joined us in bed, ‘they’re comfortable and warm in this draughty old place. Shove over Emma, you’re taking up most of the bed.’
‘Flaming cheek, this is my bed.’
‘Technically as the daughter of the house, it's more mine than yours. You are only borrowing it.’
‘Whatever,’ I said yawning. I was too tired to argue.
All I wanted was to go to sleep, but the girls had other ideas. Then I heard a noise from outside.
There was a tap-tap noise on the door.
‘Oh no, who can this be?’ I groaned, ‘come in.’
The tapping continued and after another louder, ‘come in.’ and no response I got up and went to the door as no one else was inclined to volunteer.
I opened it and a huge furry lump rushed by me and landed on the bed. There were a few screams and shouts and there she was on the bed, looking like she belonged there.
‘Fifi, I thought that you were in your doghouse?’ I said, climbing back into the already overcrowded bed.
She said nothing but just lay down, sighed and promptly went to sleep, drooling on the bedcovers.
Everyone complained about the lack of room but none of them decided to go back to their own bed!
After we had finally all settled down again, We spoke about the day we had just had and there was a lot of giggling and laughing for a while. Gradually though, one after the other, my friends and sister dropped off. I was the last to go to sleep to the sound of Fifi gently snoring and wondering what the new day would bring.
For the first time in quite a while, I slept peacefully, without any nasty dreams and very much looking forward to the future. A future as a girl called Emma.
After all, tomorrow is another day.
I couldn’t wait.