The Kidnapper

by PerfectStoryLove

This is a story about Ben Jones as a DI in Brighton after he left Midsomer. He is still together with Gail and they have a child. Some children are disappearing form a school and eventually Ben and Gail's daughter too.

Ben Jones felt like he was the happiest man in the world. His job as a Detective Inspector was great and the best thing was that Gail had come with him to Brighton. She had become a Detective Sergeant yet and they were happily married. Their daughter, Isabel, had just turned five and she did well at school. Of course, Ben missed his old boss, John Barnaby, but now he had his own life and his own job. He didn't have to do what he had been told to do anymore, now he was finally the one who could make the decisions in a case.

Ben was sitting in his office, it was already getting late. He looked at his watch and saw that it was eight o'clock. He was going out for dinner with Gail at half past eight, so he had to hurry if he wanted to be on time. Gail had left the station two hours ago, because her boss told her she could go. Ben was still reading a report. When his Sergeant, DS Josh Hammond, came into the office, he got to his feet.

'Josh, have you found anything about that lost child?' he asked.

'No, sir, not yet. It seems she has disappeared completely. I hope nothing bad has happened,' Josh said.

'Her parents are very worried. I can imagine that. We have to find her as quick as possible,' Ben said.

'I know that, sir. But we have no leads at all. How are we supposed to find her?'

'I don't know either. Maybe we could better call it a day and continue this tomorrow,' Ben said. 'I was going out for dinner with Gail.'

'I am going through the files again, if that's okay, sir.'

'Of course, but you don't have to stay here if you don't want to.'

'Lizzy is just a little child, sir. She could be in danger. I just want to find out something.'

'I understand, Josh. Tomorrow we will talk with her teacher at school. Maybe she knows something. My daughter happens to be at the same school and the same class, so I know the teacher. Well, I should be going. Goodnight, Josh,' Ben said.

'Night, sir. Oh, and say hello to Mrs. Jones for me!' Josh said.

'I will,' Ben said as he left the office.

Gail was already waiting for Ben in front of the restaurant. They finally had an evening for themselves. Gail had had a hard day behind her and now she felt she could do with a relaxed evening. Ben was on time, surprisingly. He walked towards her and gave her a kiss.

'Hi, love,' he said. 'How was your day?'

'Terrible. Shall we go into the restaurant first? It is getting a little bit cold out here. I will tell you about my day as soon as we are sitting at our table. You have reserved a table, haven't you?' Gail said a little bit offensive.

'Of course I have. I am not completely useless, you know,' Ben said a little bit indignantly.

'I know that, I am sorry if I sounded rude. I didn't mean to. It's just work,' Gail said, feeling guilty for being mean to Ben. She gave him another kiss and they walked inside the restaurant. A waiter approached them as soon as they opened the door.

'How can I help you, ma'am, sir?' he asked politely.

'We have reserved a table,' Gail answered.

'On what name, ma'am?'

'Jones,' Gail answered.

'Just a minute, please. I'll check your name,' the waiter said and he disappeared. In one minute he was back again.

'Everything is okay,' the waiter said. 'Please let me take your coats.'

Ben took Gail's coat first from her, not wanting the waiter to do that, and then he gave both coats to the waiter who disappeared again to hang up their coats.

'Well, that is very polite,' Ben said. 'I have never been here before, but it seems all very good.'

'I haven't been here either before,' Gail said. Before she could say anything else, the waiter appeared again and he led the couple to their table.

'There you go,' he said as he gave the menu cards. He disappeared again.

Ben and Gail choose both a dish and waited then for the waiter to return.

'Tell me about your day,' Ben said curiously.

'It has been very difficult. In the afternoon, around four o'clock, rather late, we got a phone call. A child was being missed. My boss, Inspector Cameron, thought that we could handle this case in a second. He thought that it was probably a child who walked away. But we haven't found the little boy yet. And there is more. The boy, Harold, was only five years old. He was in the same class and school as our Isabel. My boss doesn't know that yet, I was early off duty. Imagine how this is for his parents, Ben! Imagine how we would feel if our child was lost!' Gail said, slightly panicked.

Before Ben could answer, the waiter came again. They both ordered a dish and then Ben began to talk about his case.

'This is very strange, Gail. You know, I am recently on a case as well. It is about a lost girl who had disappeared this morning. Her parents are very worried that something might have happened. This girl, Lizzy, was also in the same class as Isabel and Harold. You can hardly call this a coincidence, can you?' Ben said.

Gail's face went white. Ben knew what she was afraid of. She was afraid that something might happen to Isabel as well.

'Gail, relax. There is nothing going to happen to Isabel, I promise you. We will find those kids, there is hopefully a good explanation for all of this. I will talk to Cameron tomorrow. It seems that our two cases have probably become one case,' Ben said.

Gail wasn't going to relax. Ben held her in his arms and tried to reassure her. Finally she calmed down. Then the waiter came again and gave the two detectives their dish. They ate in silence.

'I am happy to have this evening alone with you, Ben. But I feel that we should be going by now, the babysitter is not going to stay there the whole night,' Gail said.

'Of course, I only have to pay and then we can go,' Ben said.

Ben called for the waiter and he paid the money. The waiter thanked them and went for their coats. When they finally got their coats, they walked outside together. Suddenly, Ben stopped walking.

'Gail?' he said. 'Have you seen my warrant card? It is not in my pocket anymore. It was in my coat, I am sure of that.'

'Are you really sure? Maybe you are just a little bit upset because of those lost children.'

'I am really sure, Gail. Maybe I am upset, but I am still able to think, thank you,' he said irritated.

Gail stepped back when she heard the hard tone in Ben's voice.

'Maybe it has fallen out of your pocket?' Gail suggested, placing an arm on Ben's shoulder.

'Could be. Maybe it has fallen out of my pocket in that restaurant,' Ben said and he hurried back.

The waiter approached him again as soon as he entered the restaurant with Gail behind him.

'Hello, sir. Can I help you?' the waiter said.

'I hope so. Is it possible that something has fallen out of my coat when you hung it up?' Ben asked as calm as he could. Something like this had happened before with his boss DCI Tom Barnaby. Back then, someone was trying to frame his boss for a murder. His card could not be lost.

'Well?' Ben said impatiently.

'I shall have a look for you, sir,' the waiter said.

Ben waited for the man to return. The waiter returned eventually without his card.

'Where is it then?' Ben said, getting more and more panicked. 'Well?'

'It was not in the wardrobe, sir, I am sorry,' the waiter said.

'I think you should have a closer look. Or should I come with you? Maybe I can find it,' Ben said.

'I am sorry, sir, but customers are not allowed in the wardrobe. That is for security reasons,' the waiter said, not showing any emotions.

'You will take me to that wardrobe right now,' Ben said, now getting angry.

'Sir, if we do find something, we will get in touch with you. In the meantime, I have to ask you to leave this restaurant.'

'I will not leave this restaurant until I have had a look in that wardrobe,' Ben said resolutely. He felt Gail's arm on his shoulder.

'Sorry, sir, but I can't let you go in there. If you don't leave now, I am afraid I will have to call the police,' the waiter said firmly.

'I am the police, you stupid bloke,' Ben said furiously. 'Now let me go in there, or I will have you under arrest for not being cooperative!'

Ben knew that this was no use. How on earth could he prove that he was a policeman without his warrant card? The waiter seemed not to believe Ben and he went to the phone without a word. He called the police and stayed with Ben and Gail in silence. Ben sighed and sat down on a couch. Gail had her warrant card not with her either. She was smart enough to leave that thing at home. After ten minutes, two PC's appeared.

'Good that you are here,' the waiter said. 'This man refuses to leave the building. He is determined to have a look in the wardrobe, because he thinks he has lost something. He says he is a police officer.'

Ben shot an angry look at the man.

'I am sorry, but he is speaking the truth. This is Detective Inspector Jones,' the PC said. Then the PC turned to Ben. 'I am sorry, sir. What exactly are you looking for? Maybe we can help.'

'My warrant card. That's why this man didn't believe me. You can help me by arresting this man,' Ben said.

'May I ask why, sir? He didn't know you were a police officer,' the PC said.

'You have to arrest him, because I want it. Now just do as you have been told and get him out of my sight. Keep him at the station for one night, maybe he will learn to be a little bit more cooperative,' Ben ordered.

'But, sir… We have no reason to…' the PC began, but he stopped when he saw the Inspector's look.

'Just do as I say, Constable,' Ben snapped.

'Yes, sir,' the PC said, looking at the ground. Then both officers left with the waiter under arrest and Ben and Gail went to the wardrobe.

'Wasn't that a little bit harsh?' Gail asked.

'No, it wasn't. He was just getting under my skin. Look what a waste of time this was.'

Ben's eye fell on something flat and black. It was his warrant card. Ben couldn't hide his relief.

'That stupid waiter has no eyes, really. Look what I have found!' Ben said, showing his ID to Gail.

'Finally, well, we can go home now,' Gail sighed.

'Yes, dear, we can,' Ben said, giving Gail a kiss on her cheek.

They walked out of the restaurant and got into the car. They drove home as fast as they could to go to their little child. The babysitter was obviously very happy that the couple had returned, because now she could finally go home. Ben and Gail walked into the living room where Isabel was sitting on the floor. She had no idea that her classmates were lost and Ben wanted to keep it that way. Gail picked the girl up and hugged her happily.

'Mommy and daddy are home, sweetheart,' she said, giving the kid a kiss.

'Look what I have made at school!' Isabel said enthusiastically. She showed her parents a drawing of a car. It looked a lot like a police car.

'It is your car! It has got blue and red lights on it!' the little girl explained.

'It is beautiful, sweetheart,' Gail said, studying the drawing.

'Gail?' Ben said suddenly, his face white. 'Gail, you should have a look at this.'

'What is it?'

'My warrant card. There is some letter in it.'

Gail took Ben's warrant card and started to read it:

Don't stick your nose in my business, or your daughter will be the next one.

Gail's face went white as well.

'This is a serious threat. We have to stay close to Isabel. I will take her to school tomorrow and we will pick her up as well. We need to catch this kidnapper, Ben. Whatever his plans are, he is not up to anything good,' Gail said slightly panicked.

'If this person thinks he can make threats against us, he is dead wrong,' Ben said with clenched teeth. 'I will have a talk with DI Cameron first thing tomorrow, we need to solve this.'

'I have an idea,' Gail said suddenly.

'What?'

'Well, that waiter… He was not very keen on helping you. Maybe he knows something about that letter. We should have a talk with him as well.'

'You are right. We will have a talk with him tomorrow,' Ben said and he gave Gail a kiss. Then they went to Isabel together to tuck her into bed.

The next morning Ben arrived at the station at seven. Gail was somewhat later, because she had to bring Isabel safely to her school. She had told Isabel to stay at school until her mommy or daddy would come to pick her up. Ben was already looking for Cameron, but he wasn't there yet. DS Hammond wasn't at the station either. Ben decided to look for a file about that other kid, Harold, where Gail was talking about. He walked to Cameron's office and saw a few DC's sitting there. He approached one of them.

'Constable, I have got a question for you. Are you working on the case about that lost child?' he asked.

'Yes, sir. Why do you ask?'

'I need those files. I want to read them,' Ben said firmly.

'I don't know if I am allowed to give someone else those…'

'Give them, Constable,' Ben ordered.

'Yes, sir,' the DC said and he walked away to get the files. When he returned, he gave the map to Ben.

'Oh, one more thing,' Ben said. 'Tell your boss, Cameron, that I am looking for him. I need to speak to him as soon as possible.'

'Yes, sir,' the DC said and Ben walked out of the office.

When Ben walked into his own office, he noticed that Gail was sitting there. She was sitting at Josh's desk, reading the report about Lizzy's disappearance.

'Oh, Ben,' she said, looking up from her file. 'School's out at halve past twelve, so one of us should leave work for a while. We could take her with us to the office?'

'Yes, yes, that's a good idea,' Ben said absently.

Before Gail could respond, Harry Cameron came into the office. He was a much older man than Ben, around his middle fifties, with dark-grey hair and blue eyes.

'Ben, I was told that you wanted to speak to me?' he said.

'Yes, that's right. It is about that lost child case. Gail has told me that there was a missing child reported, Harold Graham, yesterday in the afternoon. I have also a case at the moment concerning a missing child, Lizzy Bell. Both children were in the same school and the same class. Now I think that these two disappearances are connected. I think we should work together, since we are dealing with a double case,' Ben said.

'Oh, I see. Yes, I think we should, Inspector,' Harry answered.

'There is more. Yesterday, I went to a restaurant here in Brighton. My coat was hung up in the wardrobe and when I got it back, my warrant card was gone. The waiter was not going to help me, so I decided to take a look for the card in the wardrobe myself. I found my card and when I opened it later that day, I noticed a letter in it. It said that I should not stick my nose in the kidnapper's business, or else my own daughter would be the next victim. We have to catch this crazy man, before he catches my child,' Ben said.

'This is worse than I thought, Ben. Of course we need to catch this kidnapper, whoever it is. Maybe we should have a talk with that waiter first, he is the first suspect at the moment,' Harry said.

Just then, Josh Hammond came walking into the office. He had brown hair and blue eyes and was not much younger than his DI, around his middle thirties. He was a smart guy and a good officer. Ben was very happy to work with him. After work he was also a good friend of his. Josh looked surprised when he saw the two Inspectors and Gail in the office.

'Hello, sirs, Mrs. Jones,' he greeted.

'Just call me Gail, will you? I am your fellow DS, not your boss's wife. And I feel old when you are calling me that, so please don't,' Gail said friendly.

'Okay, Gail,' Josh answered smiling. 'Sir?'

Ben explained the whole case to his DS. Josh seemed to be very shocked when he heard about the letter. He had always liked Isabel, so he didn't like what he was hearing.

'We need to talk to that waiter, sir,' he said.

The four of them walked out of the office to an interview room. Ben asked a PC to get the waiter out of the cells to bring him in for questioning. The detectives sat down. The Inspectors behind the table and the Sergeants next to the table. The waiter came in with a confused look on his face. He sat down across from the Inspectors very nervously.

'What is your name?' Harry asked friendly.

'Alan Wilson, sir,' he answered. Then he turned to Ben. 'Look, I didn't know you were an Inspector, sir,' he said nervously.

'It isn't about that. I want to ask you if you recognize this,' Ben said and showed the waiter the letter.

'No, I don't.'

'You'd better be honest with us, Alan,' Harry said.

'I am honest with you!' Alan shouted panicked. 'I don't know anything about this!'

Harry looked at the man as though he didn't believe him. As though he was determined to get a confession out of the man. But without any evidence, they could never catch him. Ben wasn't so sure about it all. He didn't think that Alan had planted the letter in his card.

'Alright, Alan. You are free to go, but you are still a suspect. Don't go anywhere in the meantime and give us your address,' Ben said.

Harry gave Ben a look as though he was mad. The waiter left the room and Harry turned to Ben.

'How could you let him go? He knew something!' Harry said frustrated.

'We can't hold him here without evidence, Harry,' Ben said firmly.

'He was there, he was the only one who could get close to your coat, he must know something.'

'I am not so sure about that. Have you already spoken to the parents?' Ben asked.

'Yes, I have. They are worried, but they have absolutely no clue about where their child could possibly be. You?'

'I have spoken to Lizzy's parents as well, but that's the same story. They don't know anything,' Ben answered.

'Then I suggest we start reading each other's reports and then we can check out the school, since they were both at the same school. Lizzy was reported in the morning, around twelve, so that's around lunchtime. Harold, our victim was reported later, around four, so that's after school. Someone at school must have seen something,' Harry said.

'Alright, we have about an hour, so we'd better start,' Ben sighed.

At twelve o'clock, the detectives hadn't found anything yet. They hoped that there were answers at the school. Gail realized that it was time to pick up their child from school.

'Ben?' she said. 'We should be going by now.'

'You are right,' Ben said. He called the other two detectives and they went to the school in two cars. The school was busy, because everyone was picking up his or her child at this time. Ben saw Isabel in the distance and was relieved. She wasn't gone. The four jumped out of the car and walked towards Isabel. Ben picked her up and held her in his arms.

'Hi, sweetheart, how was school?' he asked. Then he realized she had been crying. She grasped her daddy tighter, but she said nothing. 'Isa?' Ben asked again.

Then Gail came walking towards them as well. She stroked Isabel's head and tried to ask her the same question again.

'Do you want to tell mommy and daddy about school?' she asked softly. Harry and Josh were just standing in the background, trying to be invisible.

'Yes…' Isabel began. Ben and Gail waited for her answer and then she continued. 'Miss Shaw was being very mean. I saw that Harold and Lizzy were not in the classroom and I wanted to know why. Then she said that it was none of my business and that I had to shut up my face. I wanted to know where they were, so I asked Miss Shaw again. She called me cheeky and then she hit my cheek. Then I told her that she should not hit me, because then you would put her in the cells. She went more angry and she hit me again. It hurts, mommy. I don't like Miss Shaw anymore.' Isabel started to cry again.

Ben and Gail both went angry. Gail took the crying kid over from Ben and they walked into the school, followed from a distance by Harry and Josh.

'Who is that, mommy?' Isabel asked her mother. She pointed at Harry, because she already knew Josh. She always liked Josh, he was a very friendly man.

'That is Harry Cameron, dear. He is a policeman as well,' Gail answered.

'Are you going to lock Miss Shaw up?'

'We'll see,' Ben said with an angry look on his face. He walked through the hall very quickly. 'Do you know where Miss Shaw is, love?' he asked Isabel.

'Yes, she is in that classroom, daddy,' she answered, pointing at a nearby classroom.

The four detectives walked into the classroom and they saw a woman around thirty years with blond hear and dark eyes sitting behind her desk, reading a book.

'Yes?' she asked without looking up from whatever she was reading.

'I am Detective Inspector Jones, this is Detective Sergeant Jones, Detective Inspector Cameron and Detective Sergeant Hammond,' Ben said, approaching the desk. 'I want to have a little talk with you.'

'Oh, yes. You must be Isabel's parents. The police officers,' Miss Shaw said.

'That's right. You must know that I don't like it when someone is hitting my daughter, Miss Shaw,' Ben said firmly.

'And that's why you have brought another DI and DS? My, I am important…' she sneered.

Ben didn't like her attitude and looking at Gail's face, she didn't like it either.

'We just don't want this to happen again,' Gail said angrily, taking a step closer.

'Easy, Mrs. Jones. Are you having a bad temper?' Miss Shaw sneered.

'I am done with your rudeness, Miss. You are going to apologize for what you have done, or I will take you down to the station for a formal interrogation. We have plenty of questions to ask you,' Ben said with clenched teeth. He didn't like the fact that this woman was being rude to Gail.

'Is cheekiness in the family?' Miss Shaw asked with a mean laugh.

'That's is. Do you really think you can talk to us like that? Sergeant, please handcuff her and take her down to the station. You can take my car,' Ben said, throwing Josh the car keys.

'Yes, sir,' Josh answered as he walked towards Miss Shaw.

'No, wait, please , I was just kidding,' Miss Shaw said with a nervous smile. Josh stopped walking and looked at Ben.

'I don't think this is a very funny joke, Miss Shaw. You have one last chance to apologize, or else we will go to the station,' Ben said.

'Okay, then… I am sorry for hitting your daughter, sir,' she said, looking at the ground.

'I think you have to say that to Isabel, not to me,' Ben said.

'Yes, of course. Isabel? I am really sorry for hitting you, okay? It won't happen again.'

'That's more like it. Now, why did you exactly hit her? And try to be honest, because we already know how it went.'

'Two kids have disappeared yesterday. One of them in the lunch time and one after school. I am just frustrated, because I don't know where they are. Your daughter was right to ask me where they were of course, but I didn't like her questions, because I didn't know the answer. She kept asking me things, and that's why I hit her.'

'You haven't seen anything unusual?'

'No. I haven't. Now, I have more important things to do than talking with you and I assume you have other things to do as well. Just find those kids,' Miss Shaw snapped.

'Don't start being rude again, Miss. I can charge you for that.'

Miss Shaw remained silent, knowing that she could better keep her mouth shut.

'If you touch my daughter again, you will regret it. You have made yourself suspicious, so I have to ask you not to leave this town. Please give your address to my Sergeant, will you?' Ben said and he walked out of the room.

'Any ideas?' Harry asked Ben as they were outside the building again.

'Not yet. Just keep your eyes open, maybe we find something,' Ben said.

'Ben?' Gail said. 'There is someone watching us over there.'

'Let's have a talk with him then,' Ben said and the three were walking over to the man. Then Josh came hurrying towards Ben.

'Sir,' he said out of breath. 'Sir, Miss Shaw had something important to say. It just popped into her mind. She looked out of the window and she saw a man standing there, watching the school. He was there yesterday as well and the days before. Maybe he knows something.'

'Do you mean that man over there?'

'Yes, sir.'

'We were just going to have a talk with him. He was watching us.'

'Oh, Ben. Let me do the talk with this man. Then you and Gail can just go home. And Josh? Would you please talk to some teachers around here and ask them if they saw someone?' Harry said.

'Are you sure, Harry?' Ben asked.

'Yes, you can go. I can handle things here. I will let you know if I find something out,' Harry answered.

'Thank you. Gail? Shall we go?' Ben asked Gail and they walked to the car.

Ben was very happy to have the afternoon off. Gail was playing some games with Isabel on the floor while Ben was watching the TV. Suddenly the doorbell rang. They weren't expecting any visitors. Ben walked to the door and saw that it was Josh.

'Josh!' he greeted. 'How did it go?'

'Hello, sir,' Josh said. 'Well, I have to tell you something.'

'Come in,' Ben invited Josh. 'And I am off duty, you can call me just Ben.'

'Yes, s… Ben,' Josh said and he followed the Inspector to the living room where Gail was sitting with Isabel.

'Hello, Mrs.… Gail,' Josh greeted. 'Hi, Isa.'

'Hello, Josh. How did it go?'

'I was just going to tell you about today. I wanted to call you earlier, but Inspector Cameron thought it was not necessary to disturb you both. So I decided to come over. Another kid had disappeared while I was interviewing some teachers. That was a waste of time, by the way, because they haven't seen anything unusual. Inspector Cameron hasn't seen anything as well. He was talking to that man who was watching us. Just a few minutes later, when that man was gone and Cameron was joining me again, a woman came towards us. She was in panic and said that her child had disappeared. This time it was another girl, Maggie. She was not in the same class as Isa, she was a class higher. She was on the same school, though.'

'Why didn't Cameron call me earlier?' Ben demanded.

'I don't know. He just thought it wasn't important enough. He said that it could wait until tomorrow.'

'Not important enough? What is that man thinking? Why haven't you seen something? And who was that man who was watching us, by the way?'

Josh went very nervous. He didn't like it when Ben was getting impatiently with him. He was staring at the ground.

'I am sorry, sir. Ben. I don't know why he thought it wasn't important. As I said, I was interviewing teachers, so I haven't seen anything. And the Inspector only told me that that man was of no importance, totally irrelevant for the inquiry.'

'He still should have told me. I want to know who that man was,' Ben said. He picked up his phone and started to call Harry Cameron.

'Would you like to stay for dinner, Josh?' Gail asked.

'I'd love to, thank you,' Josh answered, glad that he didn't have to go to the takeaway once again.

Josh sat down with Gail and Isabel while Ben was finishing his call.

'That man is impossible!' Ben said frustrated. 'He is being so unclear about that one man he had been talking to. He said it was just some guy who is walking daily around the school, but he doesn't even know the man's name or address. How unprofessional. I can't trace that man either without any names or addresses.'

'Maybe he had just forgotten to ask?' Gail suggested.

'Maybe.'

'Ben, Josh is staying for dinner. Could you just make a start with cooking the vegetables? I am finishing this game with Isa,' Gail said.

'Of course,' Ben said and he disappeared to the kitchen.

'You need help?' Josh asked.

'No, no, I think I can deal with these vegetables on my own, thank you,' Ben said smiling. 'You just make yourself comfortable. You are our guest after all.'

Ben started to make dinner and Josh and Gail kept playing with Isabel. After ten minutes, dinner was ready and they started to put the plates and cutlery on the table. Ben carried the pans with flesh and vegetables to the table and then all four of them sat down. Suddenly Gail jumped out of her chair.

'I heard something! Someone was knocking on the door!' she said frightened.

'Easy, Gail, I will have a look,' Ben said and he went to the front door. There was a small letter on their doormat. Ben read the letter and his eyes widened.

'Gail!' he called. 'You have to see this!' Ben hurried back to the living room with the letter.

'What? What is it? Was someone there?'

'No, I saw no one. But there was this letter,' he gave it to Gail.

I have warned you. You have been acting stupidly. You are going to pay for that. Your dear daughter is next.

Gail's face went white and she passed the note to Josh. She put her head in her hands as Josh was reading the note.

'This is a serious threat. We need to find this person,' Josh said.

Isabel didn't have the slightest idea of what happened.

'Mommy? Why is everyone doing weird?' she asked.

Gail gave Ben a look. Ben turned to Isabel and said:

'It is nothing , sweetheart. Do you want an ice-cream before we go to bed?' he asked sweetly.

'Yes, please, daddy!' she answered happily.

Ben went for an ice-cream and then gave it to his daughter.

'There you go,' he said and turned back to Gail and Josh. 'We should take this seriously. We are not going to send Isa back to school until we have caught this kidnapper. We have no idea what happened to those three kids. We have no idea about anything and this kidnapper is now playing games with us. I take her with me to work tomorrow.'

'I think that that is the best thing to do,' Gail said.

'Me too,' Josh agreed.

'I will have a couple of PC's to guard the school tomorrow, just in case. Well, let's just finish this dinner now, then I can start with doing the dishes and no, I don't want your help, Josh. Once again, you are our guest,' Ben said when Josh opened his mouth to offer his help.

Gail was already gone to make sure that the school was getting security while Ben was still at home, making breakfast for Isabel. Isabel was sitting at the kitchen table, getting a little bit impatient.

'Why am I not going to school, daddy?' she asked.

'Because you are coming with me,' Ben answered, giving Isabel a plate with toasted bread.

'To the station? Can I come with you to a real police station?' she asked. Her eyes were flashing with excitement.

'Yes, exactly. So finish your breakfast quickly, then we can go.'

Isabel quickly ate her breakfast and then they went to the car. They drove to the station together in a hurry, because Ben wanted to have a talk with Harry Cameron. As they stepped out of the car, Isabel grabbed her father's hand in excitement.

'Daddy, I am nervous,' she said. She could barely hide her excitement. She had never been in a police station before.

'You don't have to be, sweetheart,' Ben said as they walked into the station. He greeted the Desk Sergeant as he walked to his office. He put Isabel in his own chair and told her to stay there with one of the DC's who were in the office as well. She started to talk with the DC, not realizing her dad was going out of the office.

'Where is Isa?' Gail asked as soon as she saw Ben walking towards her.

'She is in my office, with a DC,' Ben said. 'Where is Cameron?'

'He is on his way, just five minutes. I am going to have a talk with the parents of Maggie. Please keep a close eye on Isa,' Gail said.

Ben nodded, gave her a kiss and then she went out. Josh and Harry came walking onto the office and they both greeted Ben. Josh seemed a little bit off somehow.

'Harry, I am glad you are here,' Ben said. 'I would like to know who that man was yesterday.'

'I have told you, he was just some man who was passing by.'

'And why did it take you so long talking to him then?'

'We were just having a talk about the school. I thought that he might have seen something, but I was wrong. He hadn't. If you'll both excuse me, I have to continue my work,' Harry answered a bit sharply.

Ben walked back to his office without another word with Josh close behind him.

'Sir?' Josh said before they were in the office where everyone could hear them.

'What is it?' Ben said absently, he was still thinking about Harry.

'I feel that I have to tell you something.'

'Get on with it then,' Ben said, now looking at the DS.

'I am not allowed to tell you. DI Cameron said I should not tell you anything about it, but I have decided that I want to be loyal to you. I only hope I don't get any problems with this,' Josh said insecurely.

'Well, I am your boss. So I am responsible for you. I will make sure that you won't get in any trouble, I promise. I really appreciate your loyalty. Please tell me what is bothering you. Does it concern Inspector Cameron?' Ben asked.

'Yes, sir,' Josh said, looking grateful for Ben's protection. 'I was outside the station. Just for a little bit fresh air. Since you had not arrived at the station yet, I thought I could go outside for a while. Then I saw something remarkable. I saw DI Cameron talking to that same bloke as yesterday. They were talking very quietly, so I couldn't hear what they said. The Inspector saw me watching and he walked towards me. That other man disappeared instantly. Cameron told me not to mention any of this to you, or else he would destroy me. Cameron knows something, sir, I am sure of that.'

'So Cameron lied to me?' Ben asked.

'It appears so, sir,' Josh said, looking at the ground.

'He can't do anything to you, you know that, don't you? I am very glad you have told me this. I am going to have a talk with him and I will make sure he gives me an explanation,' Ben said, giving his Sergeant's shoulder a soft squeeze.

Josh was still looking at the ground.

'Can you trust me, Josh?' Ben asked him. Josh looked up at Ben.

'Yes, sir, of course. I trust you,' Josh said.

'Good,' Ben said. 'Do you want to come with me?'

'Yes, sir. I would like to hear what he has got to say for himself.'

Just then, the DC where Isabel was with came hurrying out of Ben's office.

'Sir!' he shouted. 'Sir, your daughter has disappeared!'

'What?' Ben almost shouted, afraid of what could have happened. 'I have told you to stay with her!'

'I am so sorry, sir. I went for a cup of tea, just for one minute, honest. When I returned she was gone.'

'Where did you get the nerves for telling me this, you stupid man,' Ben snapped angrily. 'How is this possible?'

'I don't know, sir. I am really sorry. I didn't think,' the DC said nervously, not wanting to meet Ben's eyes.

'For once, use your mind! She could be anywhere! You are going to look for her right know and you take some PC's with you, maybe they know how to use their brains. I hope for your sake that you find my daughter, or else I will make sure you are going to regret this mistake for as long as you live,' Ben said. 'Now, Constable! I don't want to see you again before you have found her!'

The DC rushed away and Ben turned to Josh.

'We are going to talk with Cameron right now and I will not leave him before he has told me who that man was. I have the idea that he even might know where Isa is,' Ben said.

Both Ben and Josh were sitting across from Harry Cameron in an interview room. They had asked Harry to have a talk in private and he agreed. Because the office was not really private, they decided to go to an empty room with only the three of them.

'So, what is it? Have you found out something?' Harry asked.

'Not yet. That's why I wanted to talk to you. Who was that man you were talking to yesterday?'

'I have already told you,' Harry said.

'And you are sure you haven't seen him ever again?' Ben asked.

Now Harry shot a glance to Josh, as though he was trying to find out what the Sergeant had told his boss.

'No, I am sure of that,' Harry said firmly.

'Don't lie to me! My Sergeant saw you this morning, talking to that bloke!' Ben said.

Harry shot an angry look at the DS, who was sinking deeper and deeper in his chair.

'He must have been mistaken,' Harry said, his face on neutral.

'I don't think so. I think he is telling me the truth. I want an answer, Harry,' Ben said sternly.

'You have no right to ask me questions like this!' Harry shouted.

'Yes, I have. If I suspect you are hiding something from me, then I have every right to ask you questions about that. If you don't want to answer, then that implies that you have got something to hide. I believe my Sergeant. He won't lie to me about something like this,' Ben said.

'I think he has made it up,' Harry said.

'I don't think so. I want to know who he was and where he is now. He might have taken my daughter.'

'Your daughter is gone? So? What has that got to do with me?' Harry snapped.

'You are not very surprised, are you?' Josh said.

'Shut your mouth, Sergeant, you have no say in this,' Harry snapped at Josh.

Ben suddenly jumped to his feet.

'Don't be rude to my Sergeant again, Mr. Cameron,' Ben said with clenched teeth. ' He does have a say in this. I strongly advise you to speak the truth now and to be a little bit less snappy.'

'Sit down, Ben, I will not talk to you while you are standing here,' Harry said.

'You are not in the position of making orders and as long as we are here, you can call me sir, Inspector or Mr. Jones,' Ben said sternly.

'Right, then you will never know where your beloved little child is,' Harry sneered.

'So you admit you know where she is?' Josh asked as he sat up straight.

'I don't have to say anything. You can't prove anything. I know my rights,' Harry dared his fellow detectives.

'You will talk to us, Mr. Cameron, or I will make you talk,' Ben said, getting face to face with Harry.

'Right, right, easy, lad,' Harry said. 'That man was an old friend of mine. He is the one you need to talk to. He kidnapped those kids, only because he has been being bullied in his youth. He hates children, that's why he kidnaps them. But I don't know where he is hiding them. All I know is that the children are still alive.'

'And we are supposed to believe you?' Ben asked very softly. 'Why were you talking to him twice then? Why didn't you want us to notice? Why haven't you told us about this? You should have told us about this man. You should have told us that you knew who kidnapped these children. My own child has disappeared and I don't believe you are completely innocent. You have been keeping some very important information from us.'

'I know and I am sorry. I have just been talking with him because he is an old friend of mine. I first didn't even know he was doing this,' Harry said, staring at the ceiling.

Ben saw that Harry was not speaking the whole truth.

'I think you are not being honest with me. I think you know where these kids are and I think you are closer to this man than you are admitting.'

'No, I don't. I know nothing,' Harry said, still not meeting Ben's eyes.

'Why don't you look at me when you are talking to me, Mr. Cameron?' Ben asked sternly.

Harry kept his mouth shut.

'Answer me,' Ben ordered.

'If you keep on treating me like this, I will make sure that your daughter will never be found, Mr. Jones,' Harry sneered, finally meeting Ben's eyes.

Ben's face went white and his eyes were flashing with anger. He grabbed Harry's collar in anger.

'So you know where she is?' he asked with a dangerously soft voice and clenched teeth.

'Relax, maybe I will tell you when you are a little bit calmer. Let go of me,' Harry said, but he couldn't hide the fear in his eyes.

'TELL ME WHERE SHE IS! NOW!' Ben shouted as he pulled Harry out of his chair, half over the table.

'Alright, alright,' Harry said with a trembling voice. He tried to get away from Ben, but Ben's grip on his collar was just too tight.

'Don't walk away, answer my question,' Ben ordered, his grip getting even tighter.

Harry knew he would not stand a chance against Ben. The younger Inspector was much stronger and fitter. He could better just answer the question.

'She is in the old lighthouse,' Harry answered.

'What is the man's name?'

'Connor Walker.'

Ben let go of Harry, who fell back in his chair, still anxious.

'Charge him, please, Josh,' Ben said.

Josh got to his feet, looking very guilty at Inspector Cameron. He knew he didn't have to, because he did the right thing. If he had not told Ben about all this, Isabel would be gone for a much longer time. He walked towards Harry and handcuffed him. Then he called for a PC to lead the Inspector to the cells. Ben was still standing there, fuming with anger.

'Sir?' Josh asked very carefully. 'Are you alright?'

'Yes, thank you,' Ben answered surprisingly calmly. 'We should go now. And don't tell Gail anything about this, not yet. She would only be worried. We have to find the children first.'

'Yes, sir.'

The old lighthouse in Brighton was very well hidden. Josh knew the way to the lighthouse, otherwise Ben would never had found it. It was somewhere just outside the city and there were trees covering the building. The building had been half demolished, so the lighthouse was not as high as it had been before. It was remarkably quiet around the lighthouse. It was so quiet that it gave the two detectives the creeps. They hoped that they were in time. They walked into the building, which was bigger than they first thought. There was a light turned on in a nearby room. As quiet as they could, the two men approached the door. They could hear someone talking to a kid. It was Isabel. The other man was probably Connor.

'Shut your mouth for once, kid. Or I will shut it for you!' the man cried.

'I want my mommy!' Isabel said, she was very frightened.

'Your mommy is not here! No one will find you here,' Connor said. 'We will wait for Mr. Cameron. He will decide what is going to happen to you all.'

Neither Ben nor Josh could see anything, but to what Connor was saying, the other kids where there as well. Cameron seemed to be the mastermind after all of this.

'Mr. Cameron? That policeman?' Isabel asked. She remembered Harry Cameron from the school.

'Yes. That's right. And don't think he is going to safe you.'

'He is a friend of my daddy's. My daddy will find out that I am here,' Isabel said.

'I am not afraid of your daddy, girl. Now, shut your mouth, I am going to get something to eat.'

'Let me go! I don't want to be here!' Isabel shouted.

Ben couldn't take it any longer. He gave Josh a sign and then rushed into the room.

'Well, well,' Connor said. 'It seems that daddy have found my nice place.'

'You are under arrest, Mr. Walker,' Ben said, stepping closer to the man.

'Don't come any closer, or your daughter is getting hurt,' the man said. Ben realized that the man was closer to Isabel than he was. The man could easily cause the girl pain.

'Don't be stupid, Connor,' Ben said, not coming any closer.

'Where is Harry? What have you done to him?'

'He is in the station. I have arrested him,' Ben realized that Josh was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly he saw a person on the other side of the room behind Connor. It was Josh. If Josh could only get any closer to Connor from behind, then they would stand a chance. Ben realized that he had to keep on talking. 'So, Harry has set this all up?'

'Yes, we were friends since high school. We both hate children since we left the primary school, because kids were never nice to us. This is our way to teach them a lesson.'

'What about those letters?' Ben asked.

'That was also an idea of Harry's. He asked me to bring you those letters to make sure you wouldn't stick your nose in everything. Of course you did stick your nose in everything, especially after those letters. Harry had to make sure that that waiter wouldn't tell you anything. He threatened him and that waiter was so afraid, that he kept his mouth wisely shut,' Connor sneered.

Ben couldn't believe that this man was telling him everything. He had learned from his old bosses to keep talking when you are in a difficult situation. Surprisingly, it did help indeed. Ben was surprised that villains and murderers always revealed their plans before they get caught. It was as though they wanted everyone to know about their 'genius' plans. As though they were proud of the fact that it had taken the police so long to catch them.

'Why are you keeping these kids here?' Ben asked just to give Josh some more time. He saw that Josh was sneaking up behind Connor.

'Where else should I keep them? No one could find me here, except for you, because Harry has told you of course. Now, I can't keep you here after I have told you this,' Connor said, picking up a stick.

'No!' Isabel cried. 'Don't hurt my daddy!'

'Shut up you stupid girl, or I will hurt you as well!'

Connor slowly approached Ben and just when he wanted to hit him with the stick, Josh jumped on Connor from behind. He twisted Connor's arms until he screamed out in pain and then he handcuffed the man. He looked up at his boss.

'That went well, sir,' he said.

'Well done, Josh,' Ben said, giving the Sergeant a smile.

Ben walked towards his daughter and started to untie her. He picked her up and held her close to him.

'I've got you, sweetheart, don't be scared anymore. It is all over,' he whispered in her ear.

Josh started to untie the other three kids who had remained silent the whole time. They seemed to be in a shock. Josh tried to speak with them, but they didn't want to talk back.

'You are one sick man, Connor,' Josh said to the man who was still lying on the ground.

'Easy, Josh,' Ben said. 'Just take him down to the station and send some PC's. I will stay here with these kids. And lock this man up, by the way. If he opens his mouth, you are allowed to beat him up until he knows how to shut his face.'

'It would be a pleasure, sir,' Josh said, giving the man a dirty look.

Josh left the lighthouse with Connor and Ben stayed with the children. After only ten minutes, Ben heard a car outside the building. He went outside with Isabel still in his arms to take a look. It was not a police car. Someone stepped outside the car and walked towards Ben. It was a heavy man around his early fifties with blond hair and dark eyes.

'Who are you?' the person asked.

Ben showed his ID.

'I am Detective Inspector Ben Jones, Brighton CID,' Ben said. 'Who are you?'

The man didn't answer that question but started to run off. Ben put Isabel down and started to give a chase. The man was not very fast, so it was not very hard for Ben to catch the man. The man was not very strong either, so Ben could easily handcuff him and take him back down to the lighthouse where Isabel was still waiting. Ben forced the man down on a bench.

'Try again. Who are you?' Ben demanded.

'My name is Markus Filling, sir,' the man said with a trembling voice.

'Right, Mr. Filling, what were you doing here?'

The man looked around very nervously.

'Where is Connor? He was supposed to be here.'

'I know that he was supposed to be here. He was here a few minutes ago. We have arrested him. And unless you can tell me what you were doing here, I will arrest you as well,' Ben said firmly.

'I've got orders from my boss yesterday, sir. I was supposed to pick up some children here,' Markus said.

'Your boss?' Ben asked, but he already knew the answer.

'Yes, Mr. Cameron,' the man said. 'I am in real trouble if he finds out that I am telling you this.'

'No, I don't think so. We have locked your boss up as well. So please, tell me what you were supposed to do with the children. Your cooperation will be taken in consideration of course. I would really appreciate your help,' Ben said.

'I… I was told to finish them up and to drop them in the sea after that,' the man said, looking at the ground.

Ben felt himself getting angry.

'And you were prepared to do so?' Ben asked furiously.

'Mr. Cameron would have killed me if I didn't do what he ordered me to do!' Markus yelled.

'You were going to kill four innocent children? I can't believe how you can live with yourself. You are very lucky that I haven't beaten you to a pulp yet. Please don't say anything, you will only make it worse,' Ben said, holding in his anger.

Markus kept his mouth wisely shut and kept staring at the floor. Then the police cars came. Ben picked up Isabel again and walked towards one of the PC's.

'Take that man there down to the station and charge him for attempted murder. There are three kids in the lighthouse. Take them down to the station as well and contact their parents,' he said.

'Yes, sir.'

The PC left and Ben noticed someone familiar stepping out of one of the cars. It was Gail. She ran towards Ben and Isabel. She looked like she was in a panic.

'Ben!' she shouted. 'Josh told me that you were here with Isabel. He has told me everything. Why didn't you tell me?'

Gail gave Isabel a kiss and then looked up at Ben.

'I didn't want you to get worried about it. Everything is fine, love. We are alright. No one's hurt,' Ben said, giving Gail a kiss on the forehead. He wasn't able to hug her with Isabel in his arms.

'Don't you ever leave me again like this. I was terrified that something had happened to you,' Gail said. Then she noticed the look on Ben's face. 'What is it, sweetie? What is bothering you?'

'It's Harry Cameron. I feel so stupid for trusting him. He ordered someone to kill our daughter, Gail, that man is just plain evil. I will make him pay for what he had done.'

'You already have all the evidence you need, love. You don't have to go to him just to beat him up.'

'Try to stop me, then,' Ben said teasingly and gave Gail another kiss. 'I was just kidding. I am just going to have a talk with Mr. Cameron. Being forceful will help better than beating him to a pulp. I don't think violence can solve everything.'

Gail took over Isabel.

'Well, someone has to make sure he won't do this a second time,' Gail said smiling.

'And I am going to make sure that I am that someone,' Ben said, returning the smile. Then he walked to his car and drove to the station for a meeting with Harry.

Gail and Josh were with Isabel in the Jones's house. They were just talking about everything what happened over the last case.

'So what are you going to do next? Your boss is behind the bars,' Josh asked.

'I suppose I'll have to wait for another Inspector. In the meantime, I think I will have to work with Ben's team,' Gail said.

'That's not very bad, is it? You don't seem very happy.'

'No, you are right. It isn't bad, but it is just awkward. I rather don't work with Ben as my superior officer, you understand?' Gail said.

'You have done so before, haven't you? Back in Midsomer.' Josh asked.

'Yes, that's true. But that was different. We both worked for the same DCI, only he was a DS and I was a DC,' Gail said.

'Well, there will be a new Inspector soon, I gather,' Josh said.

'Yes, I think so. You know, I still can't believe that I have worked for that Cameron criminal,' Gail said. 'He planned on kidnapping and killing my daughter and I was just blindfolded.'

'How were you supposed to know that? Everything is alright now. I just hope something like this never happens again,' Josh said, placing an arm on Gail's shoulder to reassure her.

'Yes, me too. Well, I am going to tuck this girl into bed,' Gail said.

'Can I do something for you?'

'No, I think Ben will be home in a minute, so you can wait for him if you like,' Gail said and she walked up the stairs.

Josh sat down on the couch and turned on the television. There was nothing really interesting on, so he decided just to read a magazine which was lying on the table. When he had nearly finished the magazine, Ben came walking into the living room.

'Still here?' he asked, giving the Sergeant a smile. 'It is getting late. Do you want another drink?' Ben asked, pointing at the empty glass on the table.

'No, thank you, sir,' Josh said.

'For the last time, call me Ben. If you ever dare to call me sir again when we are off work, I will suspend you for the next two months.'

Josh laughed at that.

'Oh, do you think that that's funny? I wasn't joking really,' Ben said, laughing as well. 'Where is Gail?'

'She is upstairs, putting Isa into bed,' Josh said.

'I don't want to sit here on my own, so you are getting another drink, whether you like or not,' Ben said, walking to the kitchen.

'No, really, s… Ben,' Josh protested, but he was already too late. Ben returned with two beers.

'The least I can do. You have done a very great job back there at the lighthouse.'

'Thank you, I was very frightened, you know? What if he saw me before I even had the chance to tackle him?' Josh said taking the beer from Ben.

'Good thing that it did work out then. I thought it was very brave. And a little bit tricky too.'

'Well, I guess that that's a part of the job.'

'Yes, it is,' Ben sighed.

'What is it? Why are you sighing?' Josh asked.

'I was just thinking about Midsomer. I really miss it there. I was a Sergeant back there, just like you are now. Every week there were at least three murders. It a lot more quiet here, I have to say,' Ben said.

'I don't think I would like it there. A little bit too much murderers,' Josh said.

Gail came walking down the stairs and she sat down next to Ben on the couch.

'Do you want something to drink, Gail?' Ben asked her.

'I'd like some water, please,' Gail said and Ben got directly to his feet to get some water. He was back in ten seconds and gave Gail the water. They all drank their drinks, talking about work, sports and other things that popped into their minds. Around eleven o'clock, Josh got to his feet.

'I should go home, work again tomorrow,' he said.

'It was nice to see you, take care,' Gail said and she gave Josh a hug.

'I see you tomorrow, Josh,' Ben said, giving Josh a hand and a tap on the shoulder.

'See you tomorrow,' Josh said and he left the house.

'Just the two of us now,' Gail said.

'I can see why you are a detective,' Ben joked.

'Don't try to be funny, Ben. You know what I meant,' Gail said laughing.

'Yes, certainly. You meant that there are not three but two people yet in this room,' Ben said.

'Do you really have to spoil every moment?' Gail said while she was running her fingers through Ben's hair.

'Alright then. I suppose there is no way I am getting myself out of this,' Ben sighed.

'You little meanie,' Gail said, giving Ben a kiss and pulling him down on the couch. She started to loosen his tie and to undo the buttons of his shirt.

'I love you, Gail, I really do,' Ben said softly as he kissed her back.

'I know that. And I love you too,' Gail answered.