My girlfriend turned to look at me, "So 'fess, Josie, how'd you end up here last night and why're you so, well how do I say....." "Looking such a mess?" I ventured, to complete Rachel's sentence. "Yep, 'fraid so, so what happened?" she asked. Eyewitness Part 6 by Alys

"Hello," said a very sleepy low voice, after the phone had rung for a long time.

"Karen? It's me," I said softly into the phone held close to my ear, as I pulled the sheet tighter over my head, trying not to disturb the two other girls sharing the bedroom in the safe house.

"Who's this, you know what time it is?" Karen responded.

I looked guiltily at the display on my watch, it read three-twenty, "Karen, it's Josie, I'm so sorry 'bout the time,"

"'S'oreit hun, what's up?" said Karen, sounding a little more awake.

"I'm in big trouble Karen," I explained, trying to avoid my voice wavering too much with my fear.

There was a pause and the sound of a cigarette lighter being clicked, "OK, love, don't worry just tell me what the problem is."

I hesitated, not knowing where to start with my tale of woe.

Karen seemed to sense my uncertainty and spoke reassuringly, "Just take your time, Josie, or at least as long as it takes for me to finish this fag."

There was a few more seconds of the sounds of Karen smoking

"Mum's been kidnapped!" I blurted out.

"What? Did you say kidnapped?" asked the voice at the other end of the call.

"Yes, it's all my fault I called her too late, they got to her, it was that racist policewoman, what am I going.........." I responded in almost a pure stream of consciousness as the stress and tiredness of the last twenty hours threatened to overwhelm me.

"Whow, slow down, hun, tell me what happened, one thing at a time," said Karen, "was it that cop who came to see you, I thought he was a bit flaky."

"No, it wasn't Inspector Lee, they tried to kill him, it was his deputy, she's a Nazi," I explained before giving Karen a precis of the events since I'd left her in the club, earlier.

"Umm, that is some complicated situation you're in," responded Karen before pausing.

I heard the sound of a lighter being flicked on before Karen continued," sorry, love, had to light another cancer stick. Dunno what me Mum will think, I told her I was quitting last month."

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Don't worry yourself, me dear, 's'not your fault if some psychotic fascists have infiltrated the 'fine Plymouth constabulary'." reassured Karen with a strong sarcastic tone in her voice.

I lay with the phone against my ear, not sure how to respond to Karen's comments.

"Listen love, I'm getting the germ of an idea, let me make a few calls and I'll see what we can do," she said after about half a minute of silence, punctuated by the sound of her drawing on her cigarette.

"OK," I said.

"Now can you send the bastards a text saying you'll meet them in the Sainsbury's car-park, you know the big one near the Novotel," she directed, "by the way, you know anyone your Mum might know well enough to jump straight into the car with them without question?"

"Not sure.......oh yes, she knows my girlfriend's Dad," I whispered back.

"Great, you contact them as well to meet us in the car-park, if they can, and then get some sleep, Josie hun," Karen said

"Good night Karen, and thanks," I said.

"No problem, dear, I'll call you at ten, night." Karen responded before disconnecting.

********************

I slept fitfully for the next few hours. I would drop off for a while but then be plagued with dreams of my trauma on the shore land and the attempted murder of Inspector Lee. Then I would wake up and lie there thinking about how I could possibly get my Mother from the kidnappers. I also was worried if my hidden transition was about to be exposed. The fascist policewoman must have worked it out after seeing me in 'girl-mode' in the police-station. My other concern was the need to possibly put Rachel and her Dad in danger.

Eventually at about seven I slipped out of my bed, picked up my clothes, phone and purse and made my way quietly out of the large bedroom.

I stood on the landing for a few seconds getting my bearings. The large, detached Edwardian town house was eerily quiet and quite dark even though the early morning sun was shining brightly through the uncurtained bay window directly opposite me.

I looked around and eventually found the bathroom. The bath was old with the enamel worn in places around the edges but at least it was clean. I turned the stiff taps, filled the tub, added some of the contents of a cheap looking bottle of bath oil, checked the temperature, took off the rather large nightdress I'd been lent and then slowly eased myself into the hot water.

Soon the heat of the covering liquid, along with my physical and mental tiredness, was inducing sleep. I felt my eyes closing and I began to slide down into a more comfortable position.

A few moments later I got a mouthful of water. I spat out the soapy liquid and sat up with a start.

"What was I thinking?" I said aloud to myself, "Come on Josie, get a grip, Mum's depending on you."

I washed myself as quickly as I could, got out of the bath, dried myself using one of the threadbare towels and then dressed in my rather grubby clothes. I left the bathroom made my way downstairs to the large kitchen and to look around for something to make for breakfast.

************************

Just over an hour later I was waiting in the cool of the morning outside the main door of the safe house. I had managed to persuade the WPC on duty that I would be safe in the care of my girlfriend's family, without mentioning the contact I had had with my Mother's kidnappers. She had agreed reluctantly to let me leave on the condition I called in every few hours with my whereabouts.

"Hi Sweetie," said Rachel through the open passenger door window o her green family car, "get in."

I quickly opened the back door.

"Hello Mr Hollins, thanks for coming to pick me up," I said to the Rachel's tall athletic father sitting in the driver's seat.

"My pleasure Josie," he replied, before putting the car into gear and heading off.

My girlfriend turned to look at me, "So 'fess, Josie, how'd you end up here last night and why're you so, well how do I say....."

"Looking such a mess?" I ventured, to complete Rachel's sentence.

"Yep, 'fraid so, so what happened?" she asked.

I quickly gave her and her father an outline of the previous evening's events after I left them to go to work. By the time I had finished Mr Hollins was pulling into the drive of their house.

"That's a terrible experience Josie," he said as he turned off the car and turned to look at me in the back of his car, "I'm so sorry to hear about your Mum."

While he was talking Rachel got out of her seat in the front of the car and sat next to me in the back, putting her arms around me, while she gently stroked my hair. The warmth of her body next to mine and the sweetness of her perfume slowly began to dissolve the mental and physical numbness.

"My sweet girl, what a horrible night you had," she said in a soothing tone as she used her forefinger to gently trace the outline of my face.

"Rachel," said Mr Hollins, after he had got out of the car in the front and walked round to open the rear passenger door, "why don't you take Josie up to your room and find her a change of clothes. When everyone else is up we can all sit down and see how we could help her get her Mum back."

*********************

Four hours later I was standing on the edge of the Car park in Sainsburys listening to a nearby clock striking noon. My phone rang. I let it ring for a couple of seconds before summoning up enough courage to answer it.

"Hello'" I said a little timidly.

"Are you there yet you stupid fucker," replied the voice I recognised as belonging to the psychotic South African murderers, Kronje.

"Yes, near the entrance off Plymouth road."

"Don't move, we're pulling in now."

I moved behind a large tree as I watched a large BMW with blacked out windows pulling off the main road into the car park.

"I see you, stop where you are," I said as firmly as I could trying to stop my trembling hands from dropping the phone.

"What do you mean you little fuck, we're giving the orders here, you want your bitch of a mother with a hole in her head?" Kronje almost spat down the phone.

"You have to let her out of the car..... before I..I..I.. show myself," I responded with my fear beginning to induce a stutter.

"No way you stupid wank!" shouted Kronje, "I'll shoot the stupid cow myself if you don't come out of hiding."

"N..N..N...No."

I heard the sound of a shouted argument in the background as I waited for a response to what must have been rather an unexpected defiance on my behalf.

".....we don't need her......let's shoot her anyway.....we need the boy..remember the statement Kronje......let her go then........."

Suddenly the back door of the BMW opened and my Mother, looking a little disheveled, was pushed out.

"OK you fucking idiot we've wasted enough time, you can see your precious Mother, but she'll be dead in ten seconds if you don't show yourself."

I moved from behind the tree and waved an arm, "I'm a..a.ahead of y..y..you by the recycling containers."

"Don't move," was Kronje's brief reply before the BMW's rear door

The next few seconds seemed to pass in slow motion as the plan Karen, myself and the Hollins family was put into operation.

As soon as the BMW had moved away Mr Hollins with Rachel pulled up alongside my Mother. I had been very unsure about my girlfriend being put in danger but there had been no other alternative since Mum hadn't met anyone else of the Hollins' family.

The few seconds it took for my Mother to get into the car and for it to turn and leave the car park seemed an eternity as the BMW rapidly closed the distance between where it had originally stopped to where I was standing.

"Get in pfutseke*," shouted Kronje as his ugly head poked itself out of the passenger window of the BMW which was slowing to a stop some ten metres in front of me.

"I don't think so," I said as I turned and ran through the concealed pedestrian exit from the car park and jumped into Karen's car that had just pulled into the bus-stop.

"Let's go!!" I shouted.

She eased the car forward and tried to enter the stream of traffic.

"Oh fuck, there's no gap." she gasped.

I looked back to see Kronje run out onto the pavement, stop look around and then appraising the situation, notice the car and quickly draw his gun.

"Billie he's going to shoot!" I screamed at Karen's employee sitting in the back seat, "get down."

"I don't think so," he said with a laugh, "anyone for cricket?"

With unbelievable grace and speed for someone his size Billie put his arm out of the window and hurled two hard red objects, in quick succession, at the tall South African.

The two cricket balls struck their target with a noise we could hear from twenty metres away. The first on hit Kronje in the stomach causing him to begin to double up and drop his gun, the second struck him square on the temple. He fell to the ground, stunned by the attack.

At last there was a gap in the traffic and Karen pulled away from the immediate threat.

"I knew all that practice for the Jolly Sailor cricket team would come in handy," commented Billie in his incongruous high pitched voice a few minutes later as we sped along the Plymouth road.

"Did you ever play a game?" I asked.

"No, more's the pity," he replied.

"No other clubs wanted to play a team of poofs," commented Karen acidly.

*********************

Less than an hour later we were all assembled in the Hollins family sitting room drinking some reviving tea with some very tasty home made scones and jam.

Luckily for me my Mother was still to dazed by her experience to ask why her son was wearing clothes that could be considered androgynous at best at a cursory glance and clearly over the line towards femininity on closer inspection.

Karen in her smart drab outfit was very much the suave businessman while Billie swapped gym experiences with Rachel's sporty sister.

There had been some general discussion about what to do next while we had waited for refreshments but no-one had made any serious suggestions. It was clear we were all keen to relax for a while after the tension and stress of our rescue mission.

Karen's phone rang.

"Excuse me," she said as she made her way to the hall to take the call.

I was just finishing off the last mouthful of my scone when she returned.

Her face was white.

"Something wrong? Who was on the phone?" I asked.

She paused for a moment for replying.

"It was Johnie. The Jolly Sailor....it's on fire!"

*South African slang for a mongrel dog