Page 125 of The Black Trilogy

“Yes?”

The voice on the other end was harsh. “I said no police. Such a simple instruction, and you screwed it up. I’ll tell your sister you said goodbye.”

“Wait! I didn’t call the police. I don’t know why…” Luke started, then realised he was talking to dead air.

His heart hammered against his ribcage, and not just from the exertion. He’d messed up, and his sister was about to die.

What were his options? He had no phone to call for help, even if he knew where he was. Sure, he had cash, but if he waved a fistful of twenties around in this place, he’d probably get mugged. He tore at his hair in despair.

Think, Luke, think.

Okay. He’d been two minutes from his destination when the kidnapper called, and the man assumed the police were there for him. Which meant the police must be two minutes away. If he… Hold on. What was that? Something the size of a grain of rice clung to his finger. He tried to flick it off, but it was stuck fast. What was it? He moved under a streetlight to get a better look at the tiny black object.

“I see you found the extra tracker, then.”

Nick’s voice coming from behind made Luke jump out of his skin, and he dropped the bag on his foot. Curses turned the air blue as Nick’s words sank in.

“Tracker? You put another tracker on me?”

“Call it an insurance policy. So, what’s happening? Why have you stopped?”

“The kidnapper got spooked by the police ahead, and he’s going to kill Tia. Did you call them? Did you call the cops?”

Nick scoffed at that idea. “Of course not. We got unlucky. They’re doing a drug bust. A bunch of potheads have turned a family home into a cannabis factory, and it looks like they’ve called half the force in to pull the place apart. Must have been a slow day at the station.”

Images flashed through Luke’s mind—his sister as a baby, a toddler, her first day at school, her twelfth birthday party. He couldn’t give up. Not now.

“The guy must be nearby, and so are the police. Can’t they set up a roadblock or something?”

“That’d take too long. I need to make a call.”

“Who to?”

“Just give me a minute.”

Luke paced the dirty pavement as Nick spoke. Who was on the other end? Luke had no idea.

“Things have gone to pot here. Quite literally. If you’re going to act, you need to do it now because the kidnapper told Luke he’s on his way to Tia.”

Luke strained his ears but couldn’t catch the reply.

“Right, I’ll let you get on with it,” Nick said, then hung up.

“Who were you speaking to?” Luke asked again. “What are they doing?”

“The other team. The one out looking for Tia.”

“What do you mean? What other team? I thought there weren’t any leads?”

Before Dan left that morning, he’d asked her if there was anything new. Her apologetic shake of the head had left him close to despair.

“Well, you’d better hope our esteemed leader’s back on form and her hunch of a couple of hours ago turns out to be right,” Nick said. The words, “Because that’s the last chance Tia has,” were left unspoken, but the implication was clear.

“What can we do to help?”

Luke wanted to keep busy, anything to take his mind off what could be happening to Tia at that moment.

“Nothing. We can only wait.”

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