Page 121 of Little Children
He took the following left turn and kept to the prescribed speed limits, feeling sure the van would be doing the same. They couldn’t afford any attention.
‘Nothing else yet,’ Penn said, both phones in his lap.
‘Must mean just keep going,’ Bryant said, assuming the guv would only text when there was something he could use.
‘This road lasts for a good seven miles and takes us through a small town called Mereclough.’
‘Train stations?’ Bryant asked, taking care not to exceed the speed limit. The last thing he wanted was to catch them up. He also didn’t want them getting too far ahead.
Penn shook his head.
They drove in silence for the next few miles. Bryant calculated the time on the road to be approaching twenty-five minutes.
‘Right,’ Penn said as the phone lit up.
Bryant tried to estimate the time ahead and ignored the next right turn.
His next option to turn right was at a set of traffic lights in the centre of the town of Todmorden.
He took it.
Penn continued to keep track on his own phone. ‘This road leads to a village called Walsden.’
‘Train station?’ Bryant asked, repeating his earlier question.
‘Yes, just on the other side of the village.’
Bryant hoped they were on the right track.
‘What’s beyond?’ he asked.
‘Stopped,’ Penn called out.
He had no idea if that meant they’d reached the destination or whether they were stopping for fuel or some other reason.
‘Beyond is another village with a train station.’
‘They can’t be too near to the villages,’ Bryant said. ‘Folks in small villages know each other and each other’s business.’
‘The stretch between the two villages is four miles long,’ Penn said.
Four miles of countryside, having to search properties on both sides of the road.
He prayed that the guv would manage to drop one more crumb before she was completely on her own.
Eighty
Initially, Kim had had no clue why the van had stopped moving. She didn’t know if they were at lights or a give-way sign or a crossing. She’d sent the text to Bryant anyway.
The engine had continued running and someone had got out. Were they getting something from a shop? It would most likely have to be a service station at this late hour, but she couldn’t detect the giveaway smell of petrol.
A few seconds later, the van had moved forward and then stopped again, and the person got back into the front of the van. Not long enough for anyone to buy anything.
Opening and closing a gate, she realised now.
They were here, but not knowing how far the gate was away from the building, she couldn’t chance another text. She put her phone back in her pocket and felt Lewis lean against her. Not long, buddy, she thought, laying a hand against his back for reassurance.
The van door opened, and Lewis scooted forward slowly, letting the other two boys get out first.
