Free The Evil That Men Do by Steve Rollins Page A

serious.” Terry came to full awareness, and hung up the phone.
    The screeching tires and wailing siren of his cruiser announced the arrival of Terry and his repugnant partner Sergeant Dobbs less than twenty minutes later. Roberta’s heart sank even further into her boots. Hadn’t she specifically said that he should come alone? This would ruin everything, Ricki was surely doomed. Word would get out that the police were investigating, and Ricki would die for Roberta’s stupid mistake. She could not bear it, and as soon as Terry came through the door of R3 Recovery, she went into full attack.
    “What is he doing here, you idiot!” she hissed. “I told you to come alone!” She slammed the door behind Dobbs as he followed Terry inside, and drew the shutters. Not that it would hide the police car outside, but it made Roberta feel marginally better. Dobbs made a bee line for Riley, sat at Ricki’s desk.
    “Hey, there little darling,” he drawled with lust that was barely concealed, “What say you dry those eyes for Sergeant Dobbs, huh?”
    “Drop it, Sarge, please,” said Terry. “This isn’t the time or the place. What’s going on, girls?”
    Roberta threw herself into Terry’s arms. “Look! Look at this! Someone has kidnapped Ricki, and they want us to find a jewel to get her back, and I don’t know what the hell to do!”
    Riley pushed past Dobbs, and brandished the letter at Terry.
    “See! How does this even happen? What did we do?”
    Dobbs took the letter from Riley’s hand.
    “I’m the senior officer here; let me see it.”
    He read the note aloud for Terry’s benefit, who had Roberta in his arms. Roberta felt more tears fall on her cheeks, to be soaked up by Terry’s uniform shirt.
    “Sounds like this guy—or these people, it could be a group after all—doesn’t want your sister at all,” Terry said. “Sarge, you got an evidence bag on you, we should take this in for fingerprints.”
    “Do you think there is any chance that you’ll get anything from it?” Riley said, with hope.
    Terry considered.
    “In all honesty, it would be a long shot, but we can’t rule it out. We’ll need to take prints from both of you, if you’ve handled this note.”
    Roberta released herself from Terry’s embrace.
    “Yeah, we both did. Oh God, that was so stupid. What should we do now? How do we get Ricki back?”
    Dobbs cut in before Terry could reply.
    “You girls do absolutely nothing. Anything you do could be under surveillance and anything you do to comply with their demands will only make our job harder. Leave it to the professionals, you got it?”
    He looked from Roberta to Riley and back again, to ensure his words were heeded. Riley and Roberta nodded.
    “Call me if you get any calls, or any more notes. Try and get some rest tonight, OK? We’ll get to the station and start work. I’ll call you tonight, Bobbie, ok?” Terry said as he kissed Roberta’s tears away.
    Roberta looked into his eyes, and wanted to believe that the police could do something to save Ricki. Terry and Dobbs left, leaving Roberta and Riley alone, in the gathering dark of the Georgian summer evening.

 
    Chapter Ten
    Ricki
     
    Ricki came to in darkness.
    There was some kind of covering over her head, a bag that felt like hessian cloth or some other rough fabric which thickened the air with the carbon dioxide the she breathed out, combining with her sweat and the humidity. She gasped desperate lungs of rotten air, and tried to take the sack off her face. There was some kind of stinking fabric gagging her, making her retch. She found that her wrists and ankles were tied to the uncomfortable wooden chair she was sitting on. Confusion set in ahead of a rising panic. First she strained her right arm, and then her left in an attempt to free them, but the bonds were too tight, too well knotted. Her legs told her a similar story; although she could at least lift the chair she was on by putting all her weight forward onto her