Chapter Three

The wind was picking up. I lounged against a low stone dyke, cursing quietly as my cigarette refused to light. The house opposite us was squat and crudely made of stone, forbidding. "Anything suspicious?" I asked.

Casually, carefully, Rachel glanced around and said, "We've bin here an hour and I've only seen a couple of teenagers sneaking kisses in the winda. Somehow I doubt Raleigh's hiding in there."

"Yeah." Giving up on my smoke in disgust, I instead reached for my notebook and crossed off another place. "Nothing on the radio?"

"Nah." Rachel rubbed her ear. "Trevors thought he might have a hit, but it turned out to be false."

"Fuck." I leant my forehead against the stone, glaring out at the valley dropping gently below. There was a winding river cutting through it, the whole reason for the geographical feature. Out of nowhere, I suddenly heard my primary school teacher waxing lyrical about it. God, it bored me now.

I turned my mind to my missing boss, feeling guilty and disloyal.

Guv had been kidnapped nearly three days ago now; fifty hours in Raleigh's clutches was a very long time. Plus, we didn't know what shape he was in; Raleigh had insinuated that he was sick, but it could have been a lie to make us more willing to trade. I hoped Raleigh was lying. "Gently could be anywhere. There're loads of isolated houses here; Raleigh could be hiding in any one of them!"

We got back into the car, Rachel driving. I didn't trust myself to.

I stared out the window, seeing the horse track running parallel to the road beside the river down in the valley. Nestled at the edge of the hill, almost around the corner, I could see some small ramshackle building, a stable of sorts. Then we sped past.

"Let's go over it," Rachel finally said. "What did Inspector Gently say?"

Sighing, I flipped open my notebook and read in a singsong voice, "'Don't worry about me, John. Worry about catching Raleigh. You can do this John, faith.' We've gone over this."

"We're going over it again. Think, John!"

I closed my eyes, pinching my nose. Guv had sounded odd, but that hardly a surprise. There must have been a message in there, he wasn't stupid.

But what?

"Faith," I said, "What did he mean by faith?"

Rachel suddenly slammed on the brakes, almost throwing me into the windscreen. "Faith!" she cried.

"Yeah? What is it, Rachel?"

"John! Where do you need to have faith?"

I stared at her. "What? Where?"

"A church!" She looked at me with wide eyes. "He's being held in a church!" I held her gaze for a moment and then I was grabbing for the map. Almost tearing it in my haste, I unfolded it and scanned the circled area.

"There!" I stabbed my finger at a small symbol, "There's an abandoned church not four miles from here. St… St. Michael." I snatched the radio and yelled, "Inspector Bacchus, Detective Cole and I may have a lead. Any officers in the area, head for St. Michael's church…" I rattled off the coordinates, barely hearing the replies. I sat back. Had we found 'im?

The church wasn't as badly collapsed as I feared it was. If the building had been nothing but rubble then even if Guv was being held there, he'd be exposed to the elements. I ducked my head back behind the wall. My heart was thumping and I desperately wanted a smoke to calm my nerves. Was Raleigh in there? And more to the point… was Guv?

"What's the plan, then, sir?" Elderton asked. He was clutching his truncheon like a talisman. I looked past him, darkly impressed with the number of police officers that had charged their way here to help rescue their boss.

And Gently thought he wasn't well-liked.

They were all waiting for my answer. I took a breath, pretending not to see Rachel's encouraging nod. "We'll surround the building. We don't want to give Raleigh an escape route. Remember, as far as we know, Raleigh is armed and he has a hostage. Chief Inspector Gently may not be able to 'elp us, we've been told he's…" my voice faltered, "Raleigh's told us that he's sick and we assume the worst case, alright?" My hands were trembling at the thought. "Anything else anyone wants to add?"

Rachel glanced down at her notebook. "A neighbour, living in that house down there," she pointed at a pretty little cottage, "Says she saw a car drive off just twenty minutes ago. There's someone walkin' around inside. Not sure if it's Raleigh because she wasn't close enough to recognise 'im."

"Okay." I was trying to reassure myself more than anyone else. "Okay. Let's move in. Carefully. I'd rather get the Chief Inspector back in one piece."

We fanned out, approaching the church. The wind was howling in my ears and I cursed. Trying to communicate with my co-workers was difficult and the last thing I wanted was for somebody to be trapped with Raleigh and unable to summon backup. I made my way to a rotting side door, wishing I had checked out a revolver. Too late.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rachel ready herself. I took a breath and gave the signal.

The wood yielded surprisingly easily. I edged into the room, truncheon held out in front of me. The room was small, filled with decaying pews and I could see a door leading out somewhere else. Dusty light filtered through the cracked stained glass window, highlighting a rusting cross stood on the altar. I stepped cautiously between the rows and began to walk along the aisle, checking below the seats for a familiar, huddled figure…

"All clear," Elderton's whisper carried and I winced, "There's no one here."

There was a thump from the other room.

Automatically, we all turned to glare at the door. I pointed to myself and then the door. Hoping they all understood I inched my way over, cautious of creaking floorboards, and grasped the doorknob, slimy with mould. Someone was rummaging about inside, seemingly oblivious to us. A click. Light.

What the –

I shoved open the door, raising my truncheon like a club. "Police! Stay where you are!"

The scruffy young hippy dropped his camera in shock, letting out a started, "Fuck me!"