“So what’s this all about?” Adam asked, lowering himself into a chair in the hotel suite. He sighed as he crossed his long legs and lifted his heels to the low coffee table. Lacey knocked them onto the floor crossly.

“Not on the table, Adam.”

“What’s your problem? It’s not your table.”

“No, but I have manners no matter whose table it is.”

“Give me a break, Lace. I’ve been driving for four hours and I’m exhausted.”

“Whatever.”

“Sit down, Lacey.” Frank prowled the hotel room, coming to rest in front of the window. He stared at the unfamiliar cityscape on the other side of the glass. He’d never visited Cardiff before. It was a beautiful city, but he couldn’t wait to leave. He needed to be home, and most of all, he needed to get Sacha home, at least to the place he hoped Sacha would come to think of as home. God, he was all over the place.

“Dad?”

Frank turned to find them all looking at him expectantly. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“I was hoping to have this conversation with Adam, but as my daughter finds it impossible not to interfere with every little thing that goes on in this family, I’ve had no choice but to include her.”

“Dad! I can’t believe you’d even considered not including me. If it wasn’t for me this family would have fallen apart a long time ago.”

“I know. No one is trying to say you’re not part of the family, or that you don’t have the right to know what’s going on, but this isn’t going to be a nice conversation, Lacey. I need Adam’s input, but I don’t need emotional outbursts. I haven’t got time to sugar coat things for you.”

“Dad?” Lacey sounded shocked and Frank regretted his harshness, but dammit this was hard.

“I’m sorry, but you need to be clear from the start. I don’t want pointless diversions. Unless you have a pertinent question or observation, keep out of it.”

“Dad!”

“Hush, Lacey, let him get on with it.”

Frank was surprised Luke had spoken up. He was usually the last person to put Lacey in her place. Lacey must have been thinking the same thing because she shut up like a clam.

“Firstly, I have absolutely no doubt that the boy, Sacha, is Alex. He doesn’t have many memories of when he was with us, but the bits and pieces he does remember fit perfectly. He was also carrying a photograph of your mother he’s somehow managed to keep with him all these years.”

“He has our eyes,” Lacey said, then bit her lip at the glare from Luke.

Frank softened and smiled at her. “Yes, he has your mother’s eyes, just like the rest of you. That’s what first attracted my attention. He also has birthmarks and scars that convince me beyond doubt.”

“Okay,” Adam said.” So far, so good.”

“As far as I can tell, he’s been held by the same man who took him from us. He wasn’t the only one. It would seem this man makes a business out of taking young boys away from their homes and either…passing them on or putting them to work for him.”

“A trafficker?” Adam sat up straight, his eyes wide.

“Not exactly. Not on that scale. His main business is….” He hesitated, uncomfortable with saying the words in front of Lacey. Oh what the hell; she asked for it. “He kept a stable of about seven or eight kids at any one time, in a remote farmhouse, a couple of miles from the city. He pimps them out, and when they get too old he moves them on to other people who want adults, not kids, and replaces them with new kids.”

“But that…that’s awful.”

“Lacey, please.” Frank hadn’t meant to snap, but he could do without Lacey’s outbursts. “It is awful, but it happens. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Sacha too much yesterday. You can imagine it was all a bit much for him, especially when he was talking about what happened, knowing what the implications were.”

“What implications?”

“Lacey! Sacha knew that if he talked to me I’d have to share what he said with the local police and they’d take action. He was selling out everyone in his life, and some of them are dangerous, as well as having to talk about what happened to him for the first time.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Frank sighed. He addressed his next comments to Adam. “We can’t know for sure yet, but I strongly suspect he’s been given hormones to stunt his growth and make him more…feminine. If he wants, we can try treatments like testosterone injections, but he might not want to change. This is his identity now.”

“What? But….”

“Lacey, if you can’t keep quiet you’re going to have to leave.”

“I’m sorry. I promise I won’t say another word. But….”

Frank sighed. “What?”

“Why would he take boys and make them more feminine? Why not just take girls?”

“It’s about making fantasies, Lacey. People will pay a lot of money for a fantasy.”

“What kind of fantasy’s that?”

“The kind of fantasies men who are prepared to pay for sex with ten year olds have.”

“But….”

“Oh for fuck sake, Lacey,” Adam snapped. “They’re dirty old men who like to fuck little boys and pretend they’re not gay because they look like girls. Or maybe they like to do things girls aren’t up to. Maybe girls can’t take the beatings like boys can. Maybe they cry too easily. Maybe they pass out too quickly when they’re choked or faint at the sight of their own blood.”

“Stop it, Adam. That’s disgusting.”

“It happens, Lacey.”

“Dad?”

Frank turned his back on them. “Sacha has scars all over his body. He’s been cut, burned, chained, whipped…. He said the more violent clients liked him because he stood up to punishment. He’s proud that it took a lot to make him scream.”

There was a deafening silence.

“Does he have any physical problems apart from the scarring?”

“Nothing apparent. He’s not well at the moment, but the doctors are fairly confident that when the chest infection clears up he’ll be fit and healthy.”

“Is any of the scarring severe enough to need surgery?”

“No. The worst of it is on his wrists and ankles where he’s fought against shackles. The rest are superficial.”

“Does he have any…?” Adam paused and glanced at Lacey. “Have the doctors found any other… problems, from his, um…lifestyle?”

“They’ve done all kind of tests and not all the results are in but he doesn’t appear to have any STD’s. He does have…injuries from having being sexually abused from a very young age.”

“Is he using drugs?”

“No. He’s clean.”

“If he doesn’t have any medical problems why did you need to talk to me?”

“You’re the only one who’s had any experience in mental health care.”

“Woah. I did a three-month placement on a psych ward. That hardly qualifies me to deal with something like this.”

“I’m not suggesting you deal with anything professionally. I’m going to make sure Al…Sacha has the best care. It’s us who need the help, Adam. How the hell do we, as a family deal with this? How do we help him? How do we….?” Frank shrugged helplessly. How could he share what happened yesterday, how deeply the conversations with Sacha had affected him. It brought home to him very clearly that this wasn’t the boy who’d left that day, eight years ago. He didn’t know this boy at all, and Sacha didn’t know him.

God knows, it was hard enough to sit and listen to the horrors that poured from Sacha’s lips as naturally as if he was telling him what he did at school. It was harder to hold back when Sacha broke down, when he curled in on himself and sobbed. His years of police training kicked in and he sat back and let the weight of one revelation spin Sacha into the next and the next until the momentum had him spilling his guts, one word falling over the next, as if he was purging the terrible weight he’d held inside him for so long.

By the time Sacha had given them enough to mount a raid on the house, he was broken. His soft, almost feminine, voice had grown so hoarse he could barely whisper and there was emptiness in his eyes that chilled Frank to the bone.

In the long hours of waiting Sacha had sat in the corner of the interview room, resisting all attempts to move him to somewhere more comfortable, or to make his misery less acute. His only concession was when he asked for a shower. Frank knew why. Once or twice, Frank had crouched beside him and tried to draw him out, but the blank stare unnerved him and the only reaction he’d had was a brief shake of the head.

When the news came that the police had arrived at the farm to find it deserted and ablaze, Sacha freaked out. He was delirious with mental anguish, and rambled on about a room in the cellar, begging them to find it, to find the kids. Frank had been chilled to the bone when he realized what Sacha was saying. He’d relayed the information and finally took the courage to hold Sacha, weeping and shaking in his arms, until it all got too much for him and he simply collapsed into a catatonic trance.

To say Frank was frightened when they were unable to rouse Sacha would have been a huge understatement. He called for medical assistance and the doctor immediately had Sacha sedated and admitted to the hospital. He’d consistently reassured Frank that once Sacha had rested he’d be fine. Frank didn’t believe him. Sacha hadn’t had the worst news of all yet, and Frank was sure that would be the first thing Sacha asked for.

“Dad? Dad!”

Frank shook himself. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Do you think he’s well enough to come home?”

And there was the question he’d avoided asking it all day. “Honestly, I don’t know. I suppose it depends on the psych assessment tomorrow.”

“Then we leave it to the professionals. I just don’t have enough experience, and…. Well…. I’m sorry, Dad, I know this is a huge thing for you. It’s huge for all of us, but…. Look, we weren’t going to say anything just yet but…. Amy’s pregnant and—”

Whatever he was about to say was lost in Lacey’s squeal. “Pregnant? Since when? That’s awesome. I’ve got to call her.”

“Lacey, sit down,” Adam said in such a commanding tone she complied without question. “It’s early days, which is why we haven’t said anything. She’s not 20 weeks yet. The thing is…. Well, Amy’s not well. It’s nothing serious, just severe morning sickness, but she needs monitoring, and with a child on the way I don’t have much time to build up the practice. I’m going to be busy, Dad. I can’t—”

“That’s alright, Adam. It’s wonderful news. Wonderful. Your mother would have been so—”

Everything caught up with him in one go. The thought of Mary’s face on finding out she was going to be a grandmother, was the last straw. He collapsed into a chair and covered his face with his hands.

Frank wasn’t given much opportunity to wallow in misery. He was shocked out of it when the phone rang. After quickly checking the number, he answered it.

“Pete. What’s going on?”

“Bad shit. Herbert just faxed me through the report on the fire and autopsy reports on the first kids.”

“Just great. I could do with more bad news. Anything I should know.”

“Plenty. The fire was definitely deliberately set. There were explosive devices all over the house and they were detonated remotely. No one in the house would have known a thing about it until the whole place went up like rocket. They wouldn’t have had a chance.”

“That was pretty much as expected.”

“Yes. They found nine bodies in all. Four adults in the main house and five kids in the…cellar.”

Pete had paused because ‘cellar’ was a euphemism for a room hidden behind the cellar wall. As described to Frank, it was large, clean and comfortably furnished, with a huge television and selection of video games. However, it was still a cell, with no window and no way out. When the explosives were detonated the kids didn’t have a chance.

“The kids autopsied didn’t die from the fire.”

“Then what?” Frank sat up, shaking the creeping horror of the images from his head.

“They were poisoned.”

“Poisoned? With what?”

“Cyanide. Massive dose. They were probably dead before the house blew.”

“Shit. He wasn’t taking any chances of the kids surviving the fire.”

“No, and you should see the tox report. Those kids were full of all kinds of shit.”

“Goddamit, the man’s a monster.”

“Frank…. I don’t want to worry you, but have you considered that Sacha is, as far as we know, the only person left alive who can ID this bastard.”

The bottom dropped out of Frank’s world. Of course he’d thought about it. He’d thought about it from the start. So had DCI Herbert. That’s why the hospital was crawling with police, but having it said out loud….

“Herbert’s got it covered. The hospital’s tied up tighter than Fort Knox.”

“Be careful. Like you said, this man’s a monster. If he can wipe out innocent kids like that, without thinking twice about it…. Take care of your boy.”

“Oh, I will. I’m hoping to take him home tomorrow. He’ll be as safe on the estate as anywhere else. I’m bumping up security, of course.”

“I’ll get on it from this end. There’ll be everything from rookies to SWAT by the time you get home.”

“Thanks, Pete. I don’t want to think about it, but the guy’s nuts enough to come after Sacha rather than just running.”

“I’m on it. Take care.”

“What’s wrong, Dad?”

“Nothing. Just going over some things with Pete.”

“Dad, we heard.”

Frank ran his hands through his hair. “It will probably come to nothing. There’s no reason to believe whoever’s been holding Sacha will link him to us.”

“That’s rubbish and you know it. He’ll check with the hospital and find out Sacha’s gone home to his family and he’ll know exactly where he is.”

“Ah hell. Look, I think it might be better if you went home, both of you; all of you. You shouldn’t have come.”

“Nonsense. You’re going to need us. I can spare you a couple of weeks, no problem. Luke will have to go back but he can come down when he’s off shift.”

“Lacey, haven’t you been listening? It’s not safe. This man’s a maniac. I was worried when I knew he was a child abductor and paedophile, but this is a whole different dimension of evil. I have no idea what he’s capable of. He might disappear, and I sincerely hope he puts all his energy into avoiding capture, but I’m not going to lie. He doesn’t come across as the kind of man who likes to leave loose ends, and I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire.”

“I don’t care. It’s my home and my family.”

Frank sighed.

The argument raged for the next hour and a half. Adam and Luke got involved, and at some point, Frank was dropped from the discussions. Somewhere along the way he’d been overruled and the kids were planning and plotting between themselves. He wandered over to the window again, and looked out. It was dark but the city was still wide awake, as was he.

Once again, his emotions were all over the place. He wanted his kids around him, and god knows Sacha would need his family, but the thought of putting them in danger stuck in his craw. The more he learned about the man they were hunting the more uneasy he got. That he’d operated completely under the radar all this time, and had been so thorough in getting rid of any evidence, showed he was highly intelligent and resourceful. The most dangerous type.

The loud tones of Tchaikovsky startled him once again and he checked his phone. This time, the number was unfamiliar. He answered it anyway.

Precisely a minute and a half later he was screeching out of the hotel car park, the portable siren on his unmarked car clearing a path.