A Face To Die For (41 page)

'Can't stop just yet, darling. Later! Petrol first.' The knifepoint dug once more through my coat into my ribs.

Lucy caught my eye in the rear-view mirror. I smiled at her as reassuringly as I could. Bless her heart, she was my precious godchild; I owed it to her and her little brother to see us all safely out of this horrific predicament. Her huge, blue eyes continued to stare hard at me as she handed out Smarties to her brother. At least he'd quietened down now. I glanced sideways towards the man without moving my head. He really was most unsavoury looking; spotty and pock marked with a thin, mean mouth.

Resting the knife briefly on the dashboard and dragging a squashed pack of cigarettes from his dirty navy anorak pocket, he took one and lit it with the car lighter. How I wanted to shove that lighter right into his face! No chance. He quickly took up the knife again.

I contemplated briefly what he might end up doing to the children and me if sex was indeed his motive. I imagined him raping me in front of the children in some field or wood somewhere and it horrified me. Oh God, what
then
might he do to these two sweet children? Somehow, God knows how, I had to find a way for us to escape from him.

CHAPTER 30

I followed the curve of the road still in a state of panic. What could I do? How I could save us from this fiend? I prayed the garage wouldn't be too far off. Suddenly the red and green logo of Mercers Garage loomed up on our left and I drove in.

Thank God! Perhaps I can do something to save us here? I could feel the hidden knife still digging in me as the petrol pump attendant came forward.

'Fill 'er up,' my scruffy assailant said through a small open gap in the window. Quickly he wound up the window again. But before it was shut, Matt called out, 'Wanna wee-wee, wanna wee-wee!'

'Shud up kid,' the man grunted.

'Wanna wee- wee, Ann-bel,
now
!’

Matthew kept on about going to the toilet.

'Bloody kid,' my assailant growled, and picking up my bag, which was at his feet, he thrust it at me. 'When he’s done, pay 'im, an' quick about it.' I unwound my window more and handed the attendant a note. Enough to cover the amount indicated on the petrol pump gauge.

'Oh, not on account then, madam?'

'No,' I said, shaking my head. I felt the knife-point, under the cover of the man's arm, dig into my ribs again.

'And keep the change,' said my assailant sharply. But Matt kept on about wanting a wee-wee. I was trying to think how to alert the attendant to my predicament when he put his head to the window again.

'Why don't you take the little lad to the toilet here, madam?' he said, pointing to the WC sign on the wall beside the office.

'Yes! I wanna go there!' yelled Matt. I could see Lucy's petrified eyes getting larger and larger in the rear-view mirror. Something told me this might possibly be our chance. I gave her a flickering smile and a tiny nod. She was a bright kid and so hopefully she would take the initiative.

'Yes, and I wanna go too!' shouted Lucy loudly.

'Shit,' the man spat under his breath, leaning over me and winding up the window again. 'Right, we'll all bloody well go! And no funny business, or else,' he mumbled at me.

I tried to catch the pump attendant's eye.
Surely
he could see how scared I was, how out of place this man looked with us. But he gave no indication. The ruffian came round and stood close to me while I got the kiddies out of the car. He could still draw the knife from his pocket at any moment to stab me, or the kids. So for the moment I mustn’t do anything to annoy him. Maybe soon there'd be a chance.

Outside the WC, I suddenly saw my only hope to save the children at least; if not myself. The attendant had come back out of the office again and was looking towards us. I tried to catch his eye again but the kidnapper had his hand firmly on my arm, the other hand I knew was on the knife in his pocket, ready to draw. Somehow I had to get the kids to safety.

The garage attendant was still watching us. He'd obviously recognised the car and the children and was perhaps concerned for us after all. I glanced at him desperately. The grip on my arm tightened and I opened my eyes wide briefly to show my fear. The kids looked up at me. Any moment Matt might call something out to him. I couldn't risk that. Right, here goes!

I opened the WC door and shoved them both in hard, pulling the door shut. This produced a loud wail from Matthew. Lucy must have fallen on top of him inside. The wailing continued.

At that point the attendant came briskly across. 'Excuse me, er... can I...' he began. Distracted, my assailant turned towards him. It just allowed me time to push the WC door open again and slide in myself. I then locked it.

'Help us, please!' I shouted. 'He's got a knife!'

Confusion then must have broken out on the forecourt. A load of scuffling and grunting could be heard, running footsteps and then silence. Next a car started up. Damn! In panic I'd stupidly left the keys in the ignition.

I waited a moment then gingerly unlocked the door. Just outside the petrol attendant was picking himself up off the ground holding his arm. Vanessa's car had gone and so had our assailant. He had obviously lashed out with his knife at the attendant before running off, using the car to get away.

'Ann-bel, please. Wanna wee-wee!' wailed Matt.

'All right, Matt, just a minute please. Are you OK?' I asked the attendant, as he inspected his arm.

'I think so. It's only a bit of a cut. These sleeves are pretty thick. He only just caught me with the knife. Are you and the kids all right?'

'Yes, we're okay, thanks.'

'Afraid he's taken off with the car though!'

'I know. Like an idiot I left the keys in! I say, I think you're bleeding badly. Let me take a look.' Blood was dripping off the man's hand now. At that point Matt set up another wail, 'Wanna wee-wee!'

'Look, you see to him, before there's another sort of accident. I'm Bob by the way, and this can wait. I'll take this young lady into my office while I phone the police.'

'Lucy, will you be all right, or do you really want to go to the toilet too?' I asked, but Lucy was already by Bob's side.

'No I'll go with him,' she replied.

'Are you sure you're OK?' I asked Bob again.

Once again Bob assured me that he was and that I should go ahead and see to Matt. He then took Lucy into the office with him, where Matt and I joined them later.

Bob looked up from the phone, nodding to me.

'Right, Inspector, I'll keep 'em here till you come.' He replaced the receiver, gripping his injured arm. 'I knew there was something odd. You see I know Vanessa and Rowley quite well. They're regulars and a short while before you came in, Vanessa phoned to explain you would be calling for petrol and that it was to go on their account...'

'I see. So when I paid cash you were sort of alerted I suppose? Thank God, and thank
you
!' I said, helping him off with his jacket. 'You know, you really should get that looked at.'

It seemed to be a deepish cut but he went to a cupboard and pulled out a first aid box.

He shook his head. 'No need, I'll be fine, honestly. It looks far worse than it is.' He then grinned at the children. 'I know these two little monsters quite well, don't I?' He ruffled Matt’s hair while I sorted a bandage out for him. 'This young man nearly always wants to use the toilet ... does it almost
every
time Vanessa comes in with him. Bit of a habit, isn't it, laddie? I've kinda come to expect it so, naturally, I suggested you should let him go here.'

Lucy's head bobbed up between us as I finished bandaging his arm for him. 'And I thought if I said I wanted to go too it might help us. And it did, didn't it, Annabel?' she said.

'You were marvellous, both of you. You completely saved the day!'

'I'd expected you’d be on your own with the kids too,' said Bob. 'And I could see that nasty piece of work was hardly the sort of passenger you'd be giving a friendly lift to. You were also looking
rather
frightened...'

'I was, petrified actually!'

Bob gave the children packets of potato crisps while we waited for the police. Fortunately I'd held on to my handbag when I left the car. Of course I was concerned about the theft of the car but there was little I could do about that now. Better the man took that, I reasoned, than harm the children and me. Thoughts of what could have happened to us horrified me and I realised what a lucky escape we'd probably all had.

The police arrived, and after giving them a statement and full description of the man, they drove the children and me back home to Vanessa's. Matt was thrilled to bits to be riding in a real police car. As we were getting in, Bob said he would call Vanessa for me to warn her. I thanked him. I didn't want her to be too shocked when we rolled up minus her car and with the police.

That evening, after the police had taken another statement with all the car details from Vanessa, and Matt and Lucy had elaborated again about the 'nasty man' in the car with us, I managed to rustle up a basic mediocre spaghetti bolognaise with the mince I'd left thawing earlier.

On the whole, the meal wasn't bad considering I'd not after all, been able to get the fresh pasta and special extra ingredients I'd wanted. Although I didn't have much appetite, the children loved it. Rowley was so hungry when he came in that despite his shock at hearing about the abduction and the theft of Vanessa's car he too managed to wolf down a huge plateful.

'Clever old Bob, eh, coming to the rescue! Good for him,' he said. 'What a frightful experience for you though, Annabel. Not exactly what you'd bargained for when you came here for the weekend, I’d say? Thank God, you're all okay though. A maniac like that might have been capable of doing anything!'

'Well it was lucky really that Vanessa had phoned the garage before we got there,' I said, smiling as Vanessa came through. She was looking much better for her afternoon rest, despite all the drama that had taken place.

'Wise move, Vanessa. It probably saved the day, really,' asserted Rowley, putting his arm around her.

'No Daddy, it was Matt and me.
W
e
saved the day. We did, didn't we, Annabel?' retorted Lucy, her eyes bright with excitement from talking about it.

'You certainly did, darling,’ said Rowley and Vanessa in unison.

‘
Yes, it was
all
your clever thinking,' I said, holding my hand out to Lucy

'It was
us
wanting to use the toilet that got us away from him, wasn’t it?' she butted in again.

I nodded, hugging her to me. The closeness between us now was simply wonderful and I revelled in the happy warm satisfied glow it gave me. I felt so proud of her, but above all I was astounded at my lack of concern during the crisis for my own personal safety. Throughout the whole ghastly nightmare, uppermost in my mind had been the children’s safety. Had I been forced to, I know I would have risked my own life for them to escape. Realising how precious they'd become cast a completely new dimension on what life and life's values were all about. Somehow I felt a totally different person.

*

For the rest of the weekend, and for days after I'd arrived back in London, I found myself constantly re-living the terrifying ordeal of that afternoon and, had things gone differently, how close we'd come to tragedy. Suppose I hadn't been able to push the children into the toilet - suppose I hadn't been able to get in there myself! The horrors of what might have taken place didn't bear thinking about.

Life and people, especially those who were close and precious to me, such as my own family and these two darling children, had suddenly become more important to me than anything else now: more important than even my business. That was nothing compared to the love I had for these very special people.

Two days later the police recovered the car on the other side of Staines. So the man had only used it then to get away? Once more it convinced me that he may have had a sexual motive for the abduction and an icy chill went through me. I prayed the police would catch him before he accosted another woman. The careful description I had given the police would, I hoped, lead to an early arrest. I hated the thought of him still roaming free.

*

Three weeks later I was requested to attend a line-up. They'd caught someone resembling my assailant threatening a woman with a pocketknife. But it wasn't him. I was
so
disappointed.

It was Lynda who threw a different slant on it, when we were talking about it the next day.

'Suppose he was kidnapping you and the children thinking you were Vanessa? She
is
the daughter of a very wealthy man don't forget. A huge ransom could have been demanded.'

'Yes, but I told him I wasn't the children's mother.'