“Christ on a bicycle!” Stone hissed.
He reached forward but stopped instantly as the girl flinched and tried to shuffle backwards into the furthest reaches of the trunk. Carter put a hand on Stone’s arm to still any further advances.
“I’ve got this,” he said firmly, as his police training kicked in. He leaned forward and spoke softly to the girl.
“You have nothing to fear from us. Those men cannot hurt you anymore. Do you understand… do you speak English?”
The girl stared at him without moving as she considered the situation. Then she gave a short cautious nod. Carter squatted slightly to bring his eyes closer to her level. He smiled warmly and continued in a gentle voice.
“We’re here to rescue you — you’re safe now. I’m going to reach over and remove that gag. It’s very important for your safety that you do not scream or make a lot of noise. Do you understand?”
The girl relaxed a little before giving another nod. Carter slowly reached forward and with a little difficulty, he untied the gag.
“There, that’s a little better. What’s your name?”
“Jenny,” she croaked in a voice as dry as dust.
“Hello, Jenny.” Carter gave her a gentle smile, and then he turned towards Stone. “Get her some water, please. I saw a bottle in the car.”
When Stone returned he handed the bottle to Carter and respectfully stood back. Carter showed the bottle to Jenny and then carefully held it to her lips. The girl gulped the water greedily, coughing and spluttering. After she had sated her thirst, she whispered a quiet ‘Thank you’.
“I’m going to untie you now Jenny, but I need to use my switchblade, to cut through these plastic cuffs. You have no need to feel afraid; I’m not going to harm you. Can I untie you now? Is that ok?” Carter asked gently.
Jenny nodded and shuffled forward to give Carter better access to her bindings. To ensure that she remained calm, he kept up a running commentary throughout the process, explaining what he was doing and even showing the girl the knife before cutting the cuffs. Stone knew that Carter had worked vice for many of his years in the police force. He realized that he was watching a man experienced in rescuing the kidnapped and abused. Soon Jenny was free, and after she had rubbed some life back into her limbs, Carter carefully helped her to climb out of the trunk. As she tottered uncertainly on her ridiculously impractical high-heeled shoes, Carter kept a guiding hand on her arm until she regained her balance.
Considering the likely trauma of her recent ordeal, Stone thought that Jenny was showing remarkable resilience. She looked around for a moment, assessing the surroundings and her two rescuers. Jenny gave Stone an uncertain smile before turning her attention back towards Carter.
“What’s you’s names?” she asked in a thick Scottish accent.
“It’s probably best that you don’t know,” Carter said factually.
“That Stephens and Markov?” she asked, pointing at the two bodies.
“Yes,” Stone answered, speaking directly to the young girl for the first time.
“They dead?” she asked Stone.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Good!” she said firmly. “Sick fuckers!”
“You’re welcome,” Stone said with a slight smile.
“So what happens to me now?”
“Now, you go home,” Carter replied simply. “But first, could you tell me how you ended up gift wrapped and lying in the trunk of this car?”
She nodded and sighed.
“I lives in Glasgow. Last week I cum down to London fer a modeling job. I seen a commercial on the internet. I spoke with Stephens on the phone. He seemed nice, you know, polite — it sounded like he was ok. I sent him some pictures like he asked. He promised to pay for my rail fare, and hotel, and stuff. Me mam wasn’t happy; she wanted me to stay in college. We had a big row and I walked out. Then I phones Stephens and told him I was coming, and he said he would meet me at the station.”
Her eyes were filling with tears of embarrassment, but she bravely continued with her story.
“Everything seemed alright for a bit, until he says there was no modeling job, and I would get killed if I didn’t do what he said. I thought I was gonna get raped, but instead he brought me to some house and gave me to Markov so I wouldn’t run away. Markov wasn’t happy ‘cos he weren’t allowed to touch me. He said I was getting sold — he called it ‘married’ — to some Russian guy.”
She pointed at her clothes.
“Today they made me undress while they watched. Then they made me put on this ‘outfit’ and then I got tied up and put in the trunk.”
“Did they…?” Stone asked uncomfortably.
“Na!” she shook her head, “Markov said the guy they sold me to paid extra for someone pure.”
“So now what?” Stone asked Carter.
“I think I have an idea that could work,” Carter replied with a smile. He turned back to the girl. “Jenny? Can you drive?”
“You bet. I passed my test first time,” she said proudly.
Carter smiled and pointed at the picnic benches.
“Good girl. Please go and sit by the water for a while — ok?”
She nodded and tottered across the gravel towards the water’s edge. Carter shook his head sadly.
“Lucky girl. I shudder to think about the life that we’ve just saved her from. In my experience she would probably have been whisked out of the Country in some private jet, used and abused for five years and then sold on to the next highest bidder.” He pointed towards Stephens and Markov. “Are you feeling better about these two now?”
“Definitely! Right now I feel pretty good!”
“Give me a hand to put the bodies into the trunk, and then I’ll explain what happens next.”
Five minutes later, they stood next to Jenny at the water’s edge. Carter handed her the car keys and the shopping bag. Inside were the watches and jewelry, and half the money. The remainder of the cash would go to Megan, along with the cell phones and billfolds for her to inspect later. Carter spoke slowly but gravely, to ensure that the young girl took what he was about to say seriously.
“Jenny, you’re a very lucky girl. My friend and I have just saved your life. Now you’re going to go home, and forget that you ever met us.” He looked directly into her eyes. “For us all to be safe, you must promise to do exactly what I say. Is that clear?”
“Yes,” she nodded, “I promise.”
“Good girl. Now listen very carefully. I want you to take the car and drive north. I’ve already set the GPS to take you to the service area at Ferrybridge; it’s near Pontefract on the A1. All you have to do is follow the directions. Can you do that?”
She nodded silently.
“You’ve got almost a full tank of fuel, so drive directly there. Make sure you drive carefully and stay within the speed limits. When you reach the service area, look for a quiet spot where you can park. Pick somewhere well away from all of the other cars. Before you leave the car, make sure that you carefully wipe any surface where you may have left any fingerprints. After you’ve done that, you can leave the keys in the ignition, and walk away. With any luck, a car this nice will be stolen before the day is out. The GPS would help the police to trace where the car has been, so be sure to remove it, it just unclips. You can throw it away when you get home.”
He gave a smile and pointed to the bag she was holding.
“In that bag there’s about £20,000 in cash — it’s all yours now.”