Chapter Two

"To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" Raleigh's tone was oily, overly pleasant.

"Detective Inspector John Bacchus," I forced myself to speak clearly and calmly. "Where is Chief Inspector George Gently?"

"Oh, straight to the point. I like that." Raleigh laughed. He had a strange laugh; it juddered up and down an octave instead of climbing it like most people. "Oh, he's safe for now," he added, "Safe as houses, isn't that right, Chief Inspector?"

"Is Gently there? I want to speak to him. Put him on."

"You don't have the authority to demand that, John Bacchus. I decide. Besides, he might find speaking… difficult."

"I need to know he's still alive!" I shouted. Rachel motioned at me. Be calm. Be rational. "I won't bargain for a corpse. I need to hear that he's still alive and unhurt."

"Do you know he's a spastic, John Bacchus?"

My blood turned to sludge, my heart twisting. "What… what do you mean, Raleigh?"

"Your Chief Inspector's a spastic, John Bacchus," the words warped into a mocking sympathy, "The poor fella can hardly walk. That's how I caught him, you know, he barely even struggled."

I shuddered and attempted to ignore Taylor's wide-eyed horror, "I know. He's sick, Raleigh. Very sick."

A long breath of static echoed in my ear. "Then I'd be doing him a favour, wouldn't I, John Bacchus, if I put him out of his misery?"

"No!" I was standing now, all decorum gone. "You shoot him, Raleigh, and I'll hunt you down and mebbe I won't even bother with the judge. Mebbe I'll do the same to you."

Raleigh laughed again. "That's not the Chief Inspector's way, is it, John Bacchus? Is it, Chief Inspector?" There was the sound of flesh striking flesh and a muffled grunt of pain.

"Stop it!"

"No," Raleigh's tone dropped several degrees and classes, "No, you're the one who stops it, John Bacchus. You threaten me again and I'll do more than just hit him – got it?"

"I've got it. Please… please, I want to speak to him."

I held my breath. There was a scuffling sound from the other end and then; "John?"

I felt like weeping in relief, "Sir, are you alright?"

His voice was slurred, like he was speaking around cotton wool, "Don't worry about me, John. Worry about catching Raleigh." His voice dropped to almost a whisper, "You can do this, John – faith!"

Another heavy thud. The brief yelp made my knuckles whiten; "Guv!"

"That's enough from him," Raleigh said darkly.

I swallowed convulsively. "What do you want, Raleigh?"

That seemed to confuse him. "Want?"

I slammed my hand into the desk, making the telephone jump. Rachel and Taylor flinched. "Yes! You've kept my guv alive. He's your hostage. Why?"

"I just want to give you a message." It was said so innocently that I wanted to be sick. "A message of what you pigs get if you cross me."

"Cross you? What do you mean?" I asked. Rachel raised her eyebrows. I scrabbled for a sheet of paper, ripping it in the process. Taylor handed me a pen and I scribbled, don't know. Trace?

"Elderton is on it," Taylor told me quietly. "Keep him talking."

I nodded. "What do you mean, Raleigh?"

"I have sent you my demands," Raleigh said casually. "I will telephone you tomorrow once it arrives. For now… goodbye, John Bacchus."

"No! Wait -!"

The line crackled and died. I was left holding the telephone, staring into the middle distance.

"John?" Rachel gently took the telephone from me and placed it back in the cradle. Placing her hand on my arm, she asked, "John. Are you alright?"

"Raleigh's going to send his demands," I said faintly, "He said he'll 'phone us tomorrow."

Taylor shoved another piece of paper under my hand. I stared at him, confused. "Write it down. Everything you remember. What did Inspector Gently say?"

"He – he told me not to worry about him," I smiled despite myself. Typical Guv. "Told me to catch Raleigh and… he told me to have faith."

"Faith?" Rachel asked, "What did he mean by that?"

"Well, I expect he didn't mean to just sit around and pray," I snapped.

"We managed to trace the call," Rachel said, pointing to the map pinned up on the board, "But we only have this general area," she tapped the centre of a circle angrily drawn in red pen, "Meaning that the Chief Inspector could be anywhere within this two-and-a-half mile radius."

I stifled a yawn in the back corner. I had not slept well last night; my imagination throwing up some pretty graphic nightmares every time I closed my eyes.

"What's the area like?" one policeman – Henryson – asked. "Can we mount a search?"

Rachel bit her lip and looked at me. "I – I'm not sure. We can go door to door, but…"

"But we don't want to spook Raleigh," I growled, "He's got us by the throat. We put out a big police presence then… best result: he moves Gently somewhere else. Worst? He puts a bullet in his head!" I didn't mean to shout, but the tension burst out of me like a smashed dam.

Everyone turned around to stare at me. Reddening, I shoved away my chair and stood. "I'm going to check the post," I muttered.

In the bathroom, I locked myself in one of the stalls and sat down. Burying my face in my hands, I exhaled a heavy breath. "Jesus, John," I told myself, "Get a hold of yourself. Just think. What would Gently do?"

"Inspector?"

I hesitated a moment, wanting to be left alone.

"Sir, are you in here?" He knocked on the door, his voice wavering.

"Yes, what is it, Taylor?" I rubbed my eyes but I made no move to unlock the stall door.

"That package has arrived and I think you better take a look at it."

My stomach dropped through my feet. "Why?" I asked. My fingers were trembling as I tried to open the lock.

The door opened to reveal Taylor. He was holding out a plastic bag. I took it gingerly and folded back the creases so I could see inside.

My heart froze and, without meaning to, I shook my head in denial.

Glittering in the dim light was a gold wedding ring and a silver lighter. I didn't need to read the inscription – To George from Isabella – to know whose they were.

"Oh, Jesus Christ."

Taylor looked at me. "Look on the bright side;" he said quietly, "It could have been a finger."

I stared at the letter. It was Guv's handwriting alright and there was something very surreal about reading the words, 'if you don't comply with my demands then I'll shoot your Chief Inspector and dump the body where you'll never find it' in Gently's distinctive script. "Bastard," I muttered, "'E couldn't even write the bloody ransom note 'imself."

I threw the letter onto my desk, taking savage pleasure in it crumpling as it hit the wood. Rachel reached over and smoothed it out. "He wants us to give him safe passage out of the country and three hundred pound."

"The Chief's never going to endorse that," Taylor said, "That would be negotiating with terrorists."

"I know," I took a long drag on my cigarette to steady my nerves and said, "We could pad it out, mebbe…"

The telephone on my desk rang as shrill as scraping glass. I stubbed out my cigarette and swallowed my fear, snatching up the 'phone before I lost my nerve. "Hello."

"Did you get my message, John Bacchus?"

"Yeah. I did."

"And?"

"We need time." Hopefully the trace was kicking in now. "Three hundred bob and safe passage? That's a lot to ask. I don't 'ave access to stuff like that…"

"He's getting worse, you know."

The calm, quiet statement was worse than a shout. I could hear the smirk in Raleigh's voice.

My voice had dried up.

Raleigh continued, "He's very confused. Oh, sometimes he's lucid and that's fun."

My heart was hammering. I swallowed again.

"But more and more, he's asking for Isabella. Who is Isabella, John Bacchus?"

"What the hell are you doin' to 'im?" I managed. "I want –"

"The Chief Inspector isn't here, John Bacchus. I'm in a phone box, miles away." I heard him take a breath. Desperately I tried to keep my composure. Raleigh continued, sounding like we were talking at a tea party or something, "I'm sure that you wouldn't want to prolong my stay here. What if something happens…?"

The pen kept sliding out of my fingers. I was sweating like a pig. A pig in a uniform. Ha. "Where and when?" I asked.

"Two days from now. Noon. The heath. The place in the road that overlooks Durham. You will come alone with the money and passport."

"And the Chief Inspector?"

"We'll trade. Nice and calm-like. First sign of trouble and I'll shoot him, understand?"

The cliché stabbed me in the guts. Fire dancing through me, I had to restrain myself from screaming down the 'phone. It was like Raleigh wasn't even taking this seriously. "We have a deal." I heard myself saying through the mists of rage. I couldn't understand why I was so calm.

"Good. It'll be good to see you in the flesh, John Bacchus."

"I'm lookin' forward to it," I snarled, but it was into a dead line. Slowly I placed the phone into the cradle.

Rachel pulled a chair across the floor and then sat herself down beside me. "How long do we have?" she asked.

"Two days." I fumbled in my pocket for another cigarette. "He's not goin' to release Gently. I know it."

Taylor shook his head and folded the letter up again. "What do we do?"

"I don't know."

"I do," Rachel said. We stared at her. She misunderstood and continued hotly, "We need to go door to door. We need to investigate the area. You said that Raleigh's not going to hold up his end of the bargain and getting the three hundred pound isn't goin' to happen."

"What if we scare Raleigh?" Taylor asked.

"Easy, plain clothes. Raleigh has no idea what we look like, does he? Not all of us. Send out a few coppers dressed as normal hillwalkers or something. He'll not guess." Rachel stared defiantly.

To my horror, Taylor was nodding. "That could work."

"Are you insane?!" I slammed the desk. "It's too risky!"

"Inspector…" Taylor began, but I shut him up with a glare.

"What do you know, Taylor? Your only job 'ere is to make the bloody tea!"

Silence. I knew I'd gone too far. "Taylor… I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

Tight-lipped, he responded, "I know you didn't. You're scared, Inspector. So am I. So's Rachel. But we're not tearing strips off everyone who offers us a solution. I suggest," His gaze flashed dangerously, "You calm down. You're right. It's risky, but we need to take it," Taylor's smile was faint, but there were teeth in it, "How about I get you a cup of tea?"

There was nothing I could say to that.