STALKED AND STOLEN

Chapter 17

I've made a change in chapter 16, which is quite vital to the plot, so if you're reading this new update, please go back and read 16.

I've literally just wrote this chapter, so please remember it is a first draft so won't be perfect.
Happy reading!
-

“Zoe, I’m officer Collins, this is my colleague Amy Turner,” the man said. He held his tie to his chest as he took a seat opposite me. A kind looking lady with pinned back blonde hair sat next to him in a grey skirt suit.

“We know you haven’t been up to talking to anybody since you’ve been home. But, Zoe, it’s really important that we hear what happened to you. We need the catch the men who did this.” He leaned forward as he spoke in a soft voice. He had steel coloured eyes and thinning hair on top of his head. He seemed friendly enough, I just didn’t want to talk to anybody until I could come to terms with it myself.

“Take your time. Just start at the beginning,” the nice woman, Amy said. She gave me a tilted head smile, like I was some kind of victim and she felt sorry for me.

My dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I instantly felt safer.

“Didn’t Justyna tell you what happened?” I asked.

“She did, but we want to hear your side too.”

“Well, there’s not really much to tell.” Is shrugged and looked up into my dad’s bloodshot eyes.

Tommy's words swirled around in my head about how I couldn't trust anybody. I wasn't safe? It had been two weeks. Two weeks of torture as I hid out in my room and eyed every single person I came across with suspicion. I couldn't cope with it.

“How about we start with how many men were responsible?” Collins asked.

“Three, I think.” I squinted as I thought about the answer. My mind felt muddy and groggy.

“Did they hurt you in any way, Zoe?” Amy asked.

“No, he was really nice to me,” I said.

“When you say he, do you know his name? Did you get a good look at their faces?”

I swallowed, hard.

“Maybe any conversations they might have had?”

I fiddled with the string on Tommy’s hoody that I had on.

“Zoe...” he pushed.

“I don’t think she’s up to this, officer. Can we re schedule?” dad asked.

Collins looked at him with sad eyes. I could see he was devastated I wasn’t giving anything away. And why wasn’t I? I knew enough, at least about Tommy, that would get him caught within no time. But something was stopping me.

“Zoe, these men kidnapped you. They could go on to hurt someone else. We need to find them.”

“Listen, officers, Zoe has been through a lot. She’s not ready to talk about it,” mum said. She took a seat next to me and rubbed a palm up and down my back in an attempt to comfort me.

“When you said he was nice to you, what did he do?” the officer pressed on, despite my parents' protests.

“You realise how serious this is? They could go on to hurt someone else,” Amy said.

“I just want you to drop it OK? They didn’t do anything. I don’t want to do this,” I said. I felt like the walls were closing in on me.

“They stole millions of pounds from your father.”

“Well, he can afford it,” I said. I shrugged slightly and the officers both sat back at the same time.

“Zoe, we cannot drop this. Armed men broke into your house in the middle of the night. Three weeks. Three weeks they held you for. They threatened your life.”