Millie knew who Ash was. He was her daddy. What did she mean about him being dead? This time she couldn’t stop herself, and she burst into noisy sobs.
38
Tom watched as Ash slowly opened his eyes. He could see the pain etched on the man’s face, and it took him a while to fully come round. He groaned.
‘Mr Rajavi?’ Tom said. ‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas. With me is DI Becky Robinson. I’m sure you’re feeling dreadful, but we do need to talk to you urgently.’
Ash rolled his head to the right, his eyes apparently struggling to focus.
‘We’d like to give you time to feel better, but I’m afraid we can’t afford to waste a moment. Can you understand me?’
Ash’s voice was croaky, as if it was an effort to speak. ‘I can hear you,’ he said.
‘Do you remember what happened to you last night?’ Tom asked.
‘Not really – only bits of it.’
‘Okay. We’ll tell you what we know. It might bring it back to you.’
Tom nodded to Becky.
‘Mr Rajavi, yesterday evening some people came to your home. They said they were arresting you on suspicion of hurting your partner’s daughter, Millie. Do you remember that?’
Ash closed his eyes for a moment and slowly rocked his head from side to side.
‘I’ve never touched her,’ he said with a choked sob. ‘I wouldn’t. I love her.’
‘Your partner, Jo, has told us you’re a wonderful dad, so please don’t worry about that now.’
‘Jo? Where’s Jo?’
‘She can see you soon, but we need to ask some questions first. Every minute is important. Do you remember what happened after they took you outside and put you in the car?’
‘I remember looking at Jo, begging her to believe my innocence. After that, the next thing I remember is asking the detectives where they were taking me – which police station. And one of them laughed. They weren’t police, were they? I realised it then, but it was too late.’
‘Do you remember what happened next – how you got away?’ Tom asked.
‘I was beyond terrified, but I couldn’t just sit and let them take me wherever they wanted. I started to scream that they’d dislocated my shoulder when they’d pushed me into the car in the handcuffs. My arms were behind my back, so it seemed plausible. I didn’t know if they’d care, but I heard one of them say they’d been told to deliver me unharmed.’
Tom could see how difficult it was for him to speak, and he reached for some water. Ash took the straw between his lips, drank for a moment and nodded his thanks.
‘Do you remember them saying anything else?’ Tom asked.
‘One of them – the driver – told the other guy to punch me in the face to knock me out, but he refused and said something like “The boss’ll kill us if he’s hurt.” When I looked out of the window I could see we were on a busy street – it looked like Patricroft, but I could be wrong. It seemed familiar anyway. I saw some people on the pavement, waiting to cross, so I banged my head against the window and opened my mouth as if I was screaming. I thought someone might see this mad man, mouth open yelling for help, but it was pouring down and everyone was huddled under umbrellas. The driver started to get worried about me drawing attention to myself, and they both seemed petrified of the consequences if I hurt myself. “We need to get him in the boot,” one of them said. “If he keeps on like this his face will be all bashed up. Then we’ll be for it.” When I heard that, I banged my head over and over on the window. I wanted to draw blood – if someone saw a man with blood all over his face, they would at least remember it even if they didn’t immediately call the police.’
Tom couldn’t make sense of this. Why was it so important that he wasn’t hurt?
‘And then?’ he asked.
‘I heard them muttering about Cadishead Moss. It’s quiet there, especially at night. When they pulled over, I thought it might be my last chance to escape, so I started moaning about my dislocated shoulder again, telling them it was cutting off the blood supply and I’d have to have my arm amputated. Total nonsense, but I guessed they wouldn’t know, and as I’m a doctor they believed me.’
Ash closed his eyes, and Tom knew he was pushing him too far. But he didn’t feel he had a choice.
‘How did you get away from them?’
‘They stopped the car and dragged me out. One of them got me in a headlock and the other removed the cuffs and pulled my hands round to cuff them at the front – they must have swallowed my story. I heard them talking about putting me in the boot, and when the guy who’d been holding me went to open it, I seized the moment. I clasped my hands together and swung straight arms up into the face of the other guy. And then I ran. The last thing I remember is running across a grass verge and jumping. I had no idea there was a steep drop into a ditch. I landed badly, and the pain in my leg was agony, but before I passed out I managed to roll into the shadows at the edge of the ditch, out of the water.’
Tom was watching Ash’s face. He seemed relieved to have escaped, but he hadn’t mentioned Millie.
‘I thought they would find me,’ Ash continued. ‘I have no idea why they didn’t – I hadn’t gone far, but I heard another car. Perhaps that scared them off.’
‘Are you up to giving us a description, do you think?’ Becky asked. ‘Of the car as well as the men.’
‘I’ll try, but I’ve just remembered something else.’ His voice dropped as he spoke, and it was clear that he was almost out of energy. ‘As they took me away from the house, two other people arrived. They were there to question Millie, I think.’
His eyes flew open, and he stared at Tom. ‘Did they tell her all those lies? I need to see her, to explain to her that I would never hurt a hair on her head.’
Tom had been waiting to see if Ash showed any sign of knowing that something had happened to Millie – something that might indicate his involvement. But he hadn’t.
‘I’m sorry, Mr Rajavi, but after you were taken in the first car, the other two people, posing as a social worker and another detective, took Millie. I’m afraid you were both kidnapped, and Millie is still missing.’
39
Tom was watching Rajavi carefully. He wasn’t prepared to accept yet that the man was innocent of any involvement in the kidnapping, although it would be an elaborate and convoluted plan if the idea had been to take them both and then allow Rajavi to escape. And it was hard to believe that he had deliberately broken his ankle, but the whole crime was complex.
His response to learning about Millie’s abduction seemed genuine. He squeezed his eyes tight shut and said, ‘What do you mean?’ His voice was shaky, halting. ‘I don’t understand. What’s happened to Millie?’
‘We don’t know, but we’re doing everything we can to find her. It would help if you could tell us about the men who took you, Mr Rajavi, and anything you remember about the car – make, model, colour.’
Ash’s memory of the car was good, although he hadn’t looked at the number plate, but his description of the men was vague. Other than the fact that one of them had dark hair going a bit thin on top, and the other had a pockmarked face, it seemed there was nothing particularly distinctive about either of the kidnappers. He barely remembered the woman and the other man, who were entering the house as he was leaving.