Altered Egos by Bill Kitson Page B

bedrooms they found the two men. Both were alive, both unconscious. They were bound, hand and foot with duct tape. They checked the other bedrooms. The second double room showed signs of female occupancy. But Jessica was missing. ‘I’ll have to ring our people,’ Caroline told him.
    She looked across the room. Richard North was standing by the dressing table. He was clutching a teddy bear and staring at a photograph. It was a family group, mother, father and twoyoung children. His family in happier days. Now, two of them were dead, a third missing.
    Caroline went downstairs and began phoning. When she returned, North was still staring at the photograph. ‘Security are on their way,’ she told him briskly. ‘Give me a hand to cut the guards free.’
    He gave no indication that he’d heard. ‘Richard,’ she said sharply.
    ‘Sorry,’ he put the photo down and followed her from the room. At the door she saw him turn and look back. As if it was the last time he’d see them.
    Both men were beginning to regain consciousness. When they were fit enough to speak, they told their tale. ‘I heard a knock at the door and went to answer it. I looked out first; thought it was you, Dr Dunning.’
    Caroline blinked in surprise.
    ‘The car was similar to yours,’ the guard explained. ‘When I opened the door there was a man standing there. I remember thinking, I know you, then I felt a pain in my arm and that’s the last thing I knew, until just now.’
    They looked at the second man, who took up the tale. ‘I heard a voice, thought it was him,’ he gestured to his colleague. ‘I can’t be sure, but I thought he said, “Are you there, Frank?” So I came out of the lounge. That’s the last I knew.’
    They were interrupted by the sound of vehicles pulling up outside. Caroline crossed to the window. She turned to the guards. ‘Your boss has arrived. This should be fun.’ The expression on their faces told Richard her idea of fun and theirs differed greatly.
    When they’d re-told their tale, the head of security questioned the second man. ‘How certain are you that he used your name?’
    ‘I’m not really sure,’ the man admitted. ‘But I thought he did.’
    North watched with increasing bewilderment as the team of security men went from room to room. Quite what they were searching for, he wasn’t certain. Outside, more men were using ladders to ascend a street lamp and nearby tree. The security chief drew him to one side and explained. ‘Don’tworry, Dr North. The man who abducted your daughter won’t be aware that we had every room in the house bugged, and that we positioned surveillance cameras to cover every aspect of the building. Between them there’ll be plenty of evidence to identify him. We’ll be able to get a recognizable likeness of the kidnapper, plus the cameras outside the front will tell us what car he’s using and the registration number. We’ll have a name and address within half an hour and have your daughter back safe and sound in no time.’
    ‘Shouldn’t we inform the police? Isn’t that what usually happens?’
    ‘Hardly,’ the man’s scorn was apparent. ‘A bunch of country bobbies would have no chance of any success compared to the resources we can command. Leave it to us. We’re the experts. We’ll sort it.’
    A man appeared at the door. ‘There’s nothing from the room bugs. Just one sentence, when the man called out. Frank was wrong. He didn’t use a name. After that, nothing but vague muttering, then rustling noises, and the sound of the duct tape being pulled out. But we’ve retrieved the tapes from the CCTV cameras. The ones at the back are blank, but there’s some footage from those at the front. It’s all set up, ready to view.’
    The leader beckoned to Richard and Caroline to follow. In the lounge they stood in a semi-circle in front of the TV. The tape started, showing an excellent image of the drive. After a few seconds a car pulled in. Caroline frowned.