Snatched From Home: What Would You Do To Save Your Children? (DI Harry Evans Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

front of her captor, Samantha tried to push her plight to the back of her mind. She was no virgin and only a few months ago had allowed a drunken boyfriend to make love to her when she was afraid to say no. If she didn’t fight with the men then perhaps it wouldn’t be much worse than that ordeal.
    The house had a decayed feel to it, as if it had been neglected by its owner for many years. Mould adorned the top of skirting boards, the wallpaper was decades out of date and there was a damp fusty smell in every room.
    Samantha tried to look out of the windows to see if she could spot a local landmark but all the curtains were pulled to. Elvis was hot on her heels, uttering one-word directions until they were in a small downstairs room.
    The room held one chair and a desk with a laptop. Sprouting from the side of the laptop was a mouse and what she recognised as a dongle to connect the laptop to the Internet.
    At Elvis’s command, she sat in front of the laptop and clicked play to activate the video on the screen.
    ‘Pay attention. This is what will happen to you if you don’t do as we say.’
    The blood drained from Samantha’s face as she watched the forty-five second video.
    ‘Oh my God, no.’ Samantha propelled herself back from the laptop until she was tight against the wall. ‘Please no, I’ll do anything you want, don’t do that to us. I beg you. Please. Anything you say, I’ll do.’
    ‘Now that I’ve got your attention I want you to listen very carefully. If you try to escape, you’ll star in the next video. If you don’t do as we say, you’ll star in the next video. You hold the power of decision.’ He paused and stared at Samantha.
    ‘We’ll be good. I promise. You won’t hear a peep from us. We’ll do whatever you say.’
    ‘Good. Now that we’re on the same page you can go back upstairs. There are a few games up there for the PS2 to keep you amused; the telly is already tuned to the right channel. We don’t mean you any harm so long as you do as you’re told.’
    Returning back to her prison, Samantha found Kyle curled up in a ball with silent tears running from his one visible eye. When she called his name he leapt up and ran to her flinging his arms around her waist and squeezing her tight.
    ‘I was scared, Sam. I thought those nasty men were going to do something to you. I didn’t know if you were coming back.’
    Swallowing back an honest answer, Samantha pried her brother loose and offered him a piece of toast.
    ‘Don’t be silly. They are looking after us for a few days and if we’re good we can play video games all day.’ A smile was forced onto her lips. ‘Now, who said they were hungry?’
     
    *    *    *
     
    Once the girl was locked back in the bedroom, Marshall pulled off the Elvis mask and hung it on the door handle.
    Lighting a cigarette, he walked through the front door, admiring the sight of Skiddaw bathed in morning sunlight. Sheep munching at the tough hill grass dotted its flanks.
    Not keen on hill-walking or hiking, he still enjoyed looking at scenery and had spent many a weekend in the lakes with his ex-wife. The only blots on the landscape he could see other than the farm buildings were the dry stone dykes on the lower hills and the TV mast at Caldbeck.
    A short saunter across the yard and he pulled back the shed door to find Alker on his back underneath a small tractor. Sparks were flying in an orange arc as he ground away serial numbers. Williams and Johnstone were at work replacing the tin tags on small power tools with ones they had fabricated themselves.
    ‘How you getting on?’
    ‘Like he said last night, we’ll finish this lot today. When they drop off tonight’s load they can take this lot away with them.’
    ‘Make sure that you get them done and ready to load then. We don’t want them here any longer than they need to be.’
    As Marshall left to return to the house, Johnstone turned to Williams. ‘He doesn’t want them here any length of