two million pounds.’ The policewoman pursed her lips. She sounded sceptical.
I shrugged, hoping she didn’t notice the backpack hidden behind the large piece of scrap metal.
‘As you can see, we don’t have any money on us,’ Jam said, holding out his empty hands to emphasise the point.
‘And obviously my little sister isn’t here either,’ I added. The sun beat down on the back of my neck. Beads of sweat were gathering on my forehead.
‘There’s no-one else here,’ Jam said. ‘That’s why we came.’
‘Shelby makes stuff up,’ I added. ‘She does it all the time.’
The police officers looked at each other.
‘OK,’ the policewoman said. ‘Well, tell your sister wasting police time is a serious issue.’
‘I will,’ I said.
As the police officers walked back to their car, I let out a long, shaky breath.
Beside me, Jam shook his head. ‘Man, that was close,’ he muttered.
I lifted my mobile to my ear again.
‘Did you hear all that?’ I said.
‘Yes.’ The filtered voice sounded calmer than before. ‘Wait there. I’ll call in ten minutes with instructions for the next exchange.’
She ended the call. Almost immediately my phone rang again.
‘Lauren?’ It was Rick. ‘What the hell happened? Are you OK?’
I explained how Shelby’s call to the police had resulted in the kidnap exchange going wrong.
‘Where are you?’ I asked.
‘Trying to get round that fence with the gate you went through.’ Rick swore. ‘It’s impossible. If you’re sure you’re OK, I’m going back to the bridge
where I last saw you. I need to call your mum too, let her know you’re all right.’ He paused. ‘I was thinking . . . did you notice the licence number on the van? Because if you
did I could get one of my police friends to check it out. They’d do it for me as a favour, I’m sure.’
I made a face, feeling useless. I’d been so fixated on Madison it hadn’t even occurred to me to check out the van’s licence plate.
‘I didn’t look at the number,’ I said. ‘Did you, Jam?’
He shook his head.
‘No, but the kidnapper’s going to call again in a minute,’ I said. ‘She wants to set up another exchange.’
‘Well, that’s something,’ Rick said. ‘Where?’
‘I don’t know yet,’ I said.
‘OK.’ Rick cleared his throat. ‘Well, call me as soon as you know. I’ll get my car and try and work out how to drive round . . . pick you guys up.’
‘Thanks, Rick.’ I rang off and leaned against Jam’s shoulder.
‘You OK, Lazerbrain?’ he said softly.
I turned my head so we were facing each other. ‘Not really,’ I whispered.
Our lips were centimetres apart. I closed my eyes, wanting to feel the soft brush of Jam’s healing kiss. But instead I felt him shifting away from me. I opened my eyes, my face reddening.
Jam was walking away from me, reaching for the backpack still half hidden behind the scrap metal.
I frowned, confused. Why did he not want to kiss me? With a terrible jolt it occurred to me that maybe Jam was only here, helping, because he felt he ought to. That if Madison hadn’t been
kidnapped he would have dumped me yesterday. I’d suspected he might be losing interest, and Shelby had said as much last night. Maybe she was right. That would explain why Jam had been
distant recently. And why he had shied away from that kiss just now.
Jam had always wanted to kiss me before. There had to be a reason if he didn’t any more.
And that was the only reason that made sense.
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t think about Jam and me now. I had to keep my focus on Madison.
I tipped my face to the sun. It was still blisteringly hot. Holiday weather. Back on the beach, families were no doubt playing on the sand, just like they had yesterday.
It seemed impossible that the rest of the world was carrying on as normal, while Madison was tied up, dirty and frightened, inside Sonia Holtwood’s van.
My phone rang again.
Holtwood , I mouthed at Jam as I
I shrugged, hoping she didn’t notice the backpack hidden behind the large piece of scrap metal.
‘As you can see, we don’t have any money on us,’ Jam said, holding out his empty hands to emphasise the point.
‘And obviously my little sister isn’t here either,’ I added. The sun beat down on the back of my neck. Beads of sweat were gathering on my forehead.
‘There’s no-one else here,’ Jam said. ‘That’s why we came.’
‘Shelby makes stuff up,’ I added. ‘She does it all the time.’
The police officers looked at each other.
‘OK,’ the policewoman said. ‘Well, tell your sister wasting police time is a serious issue.’
‘I will,’ I said.
As the police officers walked back to their car, I let out a long, shaky breath.
Beside me, Jam shook his head. ‘Man, that was close,’ he muttered.
I lifted my mobile to my ear again.
‘Did you hear all that?’ I said.
‘Yes.’ The filtered voice sounded calmer than before. ‘Wait there. I’ll call in ten minutes with instructions for the next exchange.’
She ended the call. Almost immediately my phone rang again.
‘Lauren?’ It was Rick. ‘What the hell happened? Are you OK?’
I explained how Shelby’s call to the police had resulted in the kidnap exchange going wrong.
‘Where are you?’ I asked.
‘Trying to get round that fence with the gate you went through.’ Rick swore. ‘It’s impossible. If you’re sure you’re OK, I’m going back to the bridge
where I last saw you. I need to call your mum too, let her know you’re all right.’ He paused. ‘I was thinking . . . did you notice the licence number on the van? Because if you
did I could get one of my police friends to check it out. They’d do it for me as a favour, I’m sure.’
I made a face, feeling useless. I’d been so fixated on Madison it hadn’t even occurred to me to check out the van’s licence plate.
‘I didn’t look at the number,’ I said. ‘Did you, Jam?’
He shook his head.
‘No, but the kidnapper’s going to call again in a minute,’ I said. ‘She wants to set up another exchange.’
‘Well, that’s something,’ Rick said. ‘Where?’
‘I don’t know yet,’ I said.
‘OK.’ Rick cleared his throat. ‘Well, call me as soon as you know. I’ll get my car and try and work out how to drive round . . . pick you guys up.’
‘Thanks, Rick.’ I rang off and leaned against Jam’s shoulder.
‘You OK, Lazerbrain?’ he said softly.
I turned my head so we were facing each other. ‘Not really,’ I whispered.
Our lips were centimetres apart. I closed my eyes, wanting to feel the soft brush of Jam’s healing kiss. But instead I felt him shifting away from me. I opened my eyes, my face reddening.
Jam was walking away from me, reaching for the backpack still half hidden behind the scrap metal.
I frowned, confused. Why did he not want to kiss me? With a terrible jolt it occurred to me that maybe Jam was only here, helping, because he felt he ought to. That if Madison hadn’t been
kidnapped he would have dumped me yesterday. I’d suspected he might be losing interest, and Shelby had said as much last night. Maybe she was right. That would explain why Jam had been
distant recently. And why he had shied away from that kiss just now.
Jam had always wanted to kiss me before. There had to be a reason if he didn’t any more.
And that was the only reason that made sense.
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t think about Jam and me now. I had to keep my focus on Madison.
I tipped my face to the sun. It was still blisteringly hot. Holiday weather. Back on the beach, families were no doubt playing on the sand, just like they had yesterday.
It seemed impossible that the rest of the world was carrying on as normal, while Madison was tied up, dirty and frightened, inside Sonia Holtwood’s van.
My phone rang again.
Holtwood , I mouthed at Jam as I
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