Gemma Gibbins-Smythe

by Brian Taylor.

Chapter 5.

"Gotcha!" said the voice laughing. It was Tug.
"What are you playing at? You frightened the life out of me. Where did you come from?"
"There's a gap at the back of the barn. A few planks have been broken away. When you banged I just slipped out of sight behind a pile of old tractor tyres. Got out once they'd gone"
"Anything interesting in there?"
"Nah! Loads of old rubbish. But, I got a couple of things that might prove useful: a Stanley knife and a catapult. Anyway, less of the chat. Let's get back to the wood."

It was just about that time that an observant motorist, travelling towards Spurthorpe, noticed that a car had gone off the road into the trees. The driver drew to a halt, got out, and went to investigate. In the wreckage, he found a young woman slumped forward in her safety belt. He couldn't tell by looking whether she was dead or alive so he opened the car door and felt for a pulse on the young woman'’s neck. The slight but rhythmic pressure on his fingers told him she was alive. The man took out his mobile phone and rang 999, but there was nothing. He hurried back to his car and drove on. He'd driven 3 miles towards Spurthorpe before he got a strong enough signal to make a call and alert the ambulance and police. He then returned to the crashed car and waited for the emergency services. It was a full 20 minutes before help arrived.

At 6 Chestnut Avenue, Mr and Mrs Gibbins-Smythe waited in silence for the arrival of the police. Finally, an Inspector, accompanied by a female Constable, arrived. Mr Gibbins-Smythe and his wife told them about the phone call and Gemma's failure to return from school and the fact that Neil Downs was also missing. The Inspector instructed his colleague to go back to their car and call base, "See what you can find out about this lad, Neil. I have a few more questions to ask?"
After 6 or 7 minutes, the Constable returned, "The lad's still missing. But there's no other news." As the police prepared to leave, the Inspector said, "‘Best you don't go to work again Mr Gibbins … at least not until all this is cleared up. I have no doubt the kidnappers will contact you here. We'll put a phone tap on your line and try to identify where this guy is calling from? All you'll have to do is keep him talking as long as possible. We'll get onto it straight away in case they ring tonight. I know it's easy to say, but try not to worry, kidnappers rarely hurt their captives."

Neil and Tug sat in the woods, watched the road, and talked. Tug, who had picked up any pebbles he saw, practised using the catapult until Neil, quite irritated, said, "Could you stop that for a while, the clonk! clonk! clonk! sounds like a slow motion woodpecker - and it's doing my head in."
Tug stopped. "Something must have happened to Miss Holroyd. It's after 6, Someone should have been here by now. I wonder what's happened to her."

"I think we should start walking back to town. We might be able to hitch a lift from a passing motorist."
"What passing motorist?" queried Tug, "We haven't seen or heard a car in the last hour. No! while Gemma's being held I'm not going anywhere. You go if you want to. If the kidnappers leave the farm … in fact we need to stop them leaving the farm. I'’m going back. Coming?"
Reluctantly, Neil followed Tug who was hurrying ahead of him. As they retraced their steps, Tug collected as many pebbles as his pockets would take. "Never know when these might come in useful." he said.
Before long, the pair were one again sitting against the wall whispering to each other. Occasionally, Tug would crawl to the gate-post and peer at the farm, but everything was quiet. The shadows slowly lengthened and then disappeared as the sun went down. The sky grew darker from the east. "Do you think they might leave when it gets dark?" Neil asked Tug.
"Hadn't thought of that. It would be a good time to move wouldn't it?" He paused, "‘But I've a plan to make sure they don't."
"What are you going to do?"
"Let their tyres down."
"What use is that? They'll only blow them up again. It wouldn't hold them up for more than half-an-hour."
"‘Hmmm! You're right. I know what I'll do."
Tug emptied his pockets of the pebbles he'd collected, climbed the wall and went into the barn. He was back in just a couple of minutes. "They won't be going anywhere in a hurry." he chuckled feeling very pleased with himself.

By 10 o'clock it was dark. Neil and Tug were beginning to feel the cold. And decided to take a walk across the field to the wood and back to warm up a little. As they did so they discussed what they might do next. "Do you think we could frighten them a little?" asked Tug.
"What do you mean?"
"Get them worried? Keep them awake wondering what's happening?"
"And how'll we do that?"
"I've been thinking." said Tug, "Suppose we shoot stones at the farmhouse. Say onto the roof."
"Could give it a try. It'd give us something to do. You don't think they might catch us though?"
"It's always a possibility. But we've got the advantage of it being dark. It'll be hard for them to see us."
It was half-one in the morning, before Tug put a pebble into the catapult, took aim and fired at the farmhouse roof. They listened carefully, but heard nothing. "Must have missed." said Tug as he loaded and fired again. This time they heard the stone hit the roof and clatter down it before falling to the ground. The pair watched from behind the wall. Suddenly, a beam of light was seen at a downstairs window as a curtain was pulled aside. A man peered out into the darkness for a few seconds then it all went dark again. Tug waited about half-an-hour then did the same again. It got the same result. "I bet they can't work out what's happening." whispered Neil, beginning to quite enjoy their little escapade.
Tug then suggested they move around to the other side of the house. "There's bound to be a door the other side. When it's light enough to make it out, I'll fire a couple of stones at it. Make them think someone's at the door."
The boys set off making a large loop around the farm buildings on the downhill side. They could see enough to make there way safely and, when they got to the other side of the farmhouse, they had a good look around. The farm had a 20-metre garden bounded on the downhill side by the dry stone wall and on the other two sides by a wooden fence. A farm track ran past the bottom of the garden, passing through a gate into the lower field. A hawthorn hedge with oak trees embedded in it ran along from the gate away from the farm. "You stay behind this tree and I'll go and fire from the gate then I'll come back and join you." whispered Tug.
"Be careful." replied Neil.
It was just after 3 when two stones hit the farm door. Tug retreated. "Who’s there?" came a man’s voice. Neil and Tug stood as still as statues.
"Who is it?" asked the voice closer at hand. And then the beam of a strong torch swept across the field and lit up the other side of the tree behind which the pair were hiding. The light went out and then a door could be heard closing. "Don't move!" said Neil, "It could be a trick." So they waited.
After 10 minutes, Tug motioned to Neil to follow him. They retraced their steps back to the wall beside the barn.
When they got back, Neil pointed to the eastern sky, "It''ll be sunrise in an hour. Can't wait for it to warm up a bit."

At 10 past 5, a shaft of the morning sun forced it's way through a crack in the curtains and fell on Miss Holroyd's face. It was enough to wake her. She blinked hard and it took her a minute or two to work out where she was. She called for a nurse. "I must speak to the police." she said, "Gemma's been kidnapped." It took a while to convince the nurse that she wasn't hallucinating and the police were called. Half-an-hour later she was telling the Inspector what had happened the day before.

Meanwhile, at the farm, the door opened and a man came out and walked towards the barn. "Back it up to the door here." another shouted after him.
"Now listen." said Tug to Neil.
They heard the man open the barn door and then there was a great shout as he ran back to the house. "The tyres have been slashed. We can't go anywhere."
"Time to put my trusty catapult into action again." murmured Tug. Taking pebbles from his pockets that were once again full he started shooting at the farm windows. The sound of shattering glass was frightening. When a man appeared at the door, Tug started firing at him and he quickly ducked back inside. Tug peppered the front of the farmhouse for a full five minutes. Fortunately, Neil was keeping his eyes open, "To your right." he screamed as one of the men come round the corner of the wall not 20 metres away. Tug turned and fired and the man retreated. "Back into the field." ordered Tug, "And watch for the other one."
The pair retreated walking backwards and whenever the man showed his head, Tug shot at it. Tug had been right to tell Neil to watch out for the other one. He suddenly appeared at the gateway from which the boys had kept an eye on the farm. Tug now had to keep him at bay too. It wasn't easy, and despite having started with loads of pebbles Tug was starting to run out. "Get ready to run for the wood." he warned Neil, "I've got no more than a dozen stones left."
By now the two men were getting bolder. They were 30 metres either side of the pair and dodging the stones Tug fired at them. "Run for your life, Neil! This is the last one." Tug fired, dropped the catapult, turned and began running. At that very moment sweet music reached their ears, the sound of police sirens.
The men stopped chasing Neil and Tug and turned down the field heading for the woods below. Neil and Tug turned and ran back to the farm. They got there just as three police cars screeched to a halt in the farmyard. "The men have escaped down the field heading for the woods." Neil yelled to the nearest policeman.
"Thanks Sonny, the dogs'll find them."
Minutes later the woman, handcuffed, was led out of the farmhouse. Gemma followed. When she saw Neil and Tug she was surprised, "What are you two doing here?" she asked, "I'm so pleased to see you."

The following Sunday, straight after church, Neil and Tug went to 6 Chestnut Avenue: they had been invited to Sunday lunch as guests of honour. Over the meal, and between mouthfuls of food, they all told their sides of the story. Gemma said that, on the whole the gang had treated her well. They were on to the treacle pudding and custard before Neil put the finishing touches to his and Tug's story. It was then that Gemma got out of her seat went around to Tug and gave him a great sticky kiss on his cheek and said, "My hero! Thank you Tug."
Tug Turner blushed such a blush that his face was a match for the rich red tablecloth that adorned the dining room table.

THE END

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