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CHAPTER ELEVEN - Rescue Act

I raced back Hendry's as fast as I could without encountering any police cars and setting off any speed cameras. Thankfully there was not too much traffic about at this time of the night, and the few traffic lights I'd passed were in my favour.
Once back in the area I parked up a lot closer to Hendry's than I had initially intended. However, I'd managed to find a back street that was badly lit and hoped that my car would not be spotted. After that I stepped quickly down the road, heading for the brick-pillar columns and Greek gods statues that guarded the entrance to the club.
As I passed under a street light I checked on my watch. The time was one fifteen in the morning. I'd been away from the club for just over an hour and a quarter. This was not good and I feared the worst. Hendry could have done a whole lot of damage in that time.
On reaching the entrance to the club I saw headlights coming out of the drive. Quickly I took refuge in a neighbouring drive. From my vantage point I observed not one car, but three leaving the club premises. The first one was Hendry's, the second one was the unmarked police car of Bo's, and the third I'd not seen before. It certainly wasn't Fernando's or one of the club members.
As the three cars passed the driveway where I crouched in the shadows, I tried to make out the various occupants. It was dark, and the nearest street lamp was some distance away, so I could not see clearly, but there was no mistaking Hendry in the first car and his sidekick apeman in the second. They were both driving their respective cars and there were no obvious passengers.
As the third car passed I was able to see that this car too had only one person in it. But I did not recognise him. I made a mental note of the car and the number plate. It was a large, silver-grey Mercedes, with left hand drive, and it carried German number plates. That, I must admit, I found unusual, and I began to wonder just who this mystery man was?
I waited for all three cars to disappear into the distance before venturing out from my hideaway and heading on down the road. Quickly I darted into the Hendry's driveway and dived for cover in the bushes. Here I waited a while to see if the coast was clear. It appeared to be: The place looked deserted: The house was in total darkness and there were no cars parked up in the driveway.
I considered the lack of any source of light coming from the house, coupled with the complete absence of cars, to be very bad news indeed, and especially grave news for Bo. Hendry and his crones would have had over an hour in which to torment and torture poor Bo. I guessed that it was all over by now and they were all going home. I wondered if they'd taken her with them? If so, I hoped and prayed that she was still alive. All the same, I was prepared to fear the worst. There was no point hiding the fact. There was a strong possibility that Bo was dead by now.
I took heart from the fact that I'd not seen Bo in either of the three cars. But that didn't mean she was not there. She could have been lying on the back seat of one of the cars, or even locked away in one of the boots. I had visions of Bo's car being found at the bottom of the Thames, with poor Bo at the wheel.
Anyway, I decided not to hang around any longer and set off for the club's back door entrance. There were no lights on anywhere, and, like an idiot I'd not brought a torch. But by now my eyes were fully adjusted to the darkness and I could see enough to navigate myself around to the back door.
I circled the house and keeping to the bushes for most of the way. I had a close encounter with a thorn bush, and a peacock made a horrible shrieking noise from somewhere within the grounds. But other than that I came out of it relatively unscathed.
On reaching the rear entrance I inserted the key I'd taken from Bo's handbag into the lock and gave it a turn. I knew it would work. I'd tested it before. But I was unsure as to whether some member of staff slid the bolts across every night just before they went home.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Plan 'A' was working. The door opened and I stepped inside.
From now on I worked my away along the corridor in total darkness. I'd not seen any light switches for this part of the building, and presumed that they were behind the bar somewhere. I found the stairs to the basement, and, holding on to the rail, made my way down to the floor below.
From the bottom of the stairs, and looking down the corridor I could detect a faint chink of light coming from beneath the dungeon doors. I paused to listen. My fear was that another one of Hendry's sidekicks had remained behind and that he was in there.
Slowly I crept my way to the door. I could not hear a thing. I waited a little longer, listening intently, but all remained silent inside.
A small chink of light issued from the keyhole, so I put my eye to it. There was no key in the lock and I could see right inside. To my horror, away at the far end of the chamber, I could see Bo. She was up on the raised section that held the brazier and the small iron cage. I could see her naked body chained spreadeagled between the two posts. She was slumped forward, her arms stretched upwards and her head hanging down. There appeared to be no life in her at all.
This blew my 'bottom of the Thames' theory. I figured they were just going to dump the car somewhere, then tell everyone that she left the club sometime around midnight and had presumably gone home. From past experience let me tell you that these 'I know nothing alibis' are generally the best for the criminal and the hardest to crack.
Before acting the hero, I wanted to see more of the chamber. With my eye still to the large keyhole, I looked to the left and right as much as the angles would allow. I could detect no one else in the chamber, so I plucked up my courage, took a deep breath and tested the door. It was, as I suspected, locked. I fumbled at the side of the door for the hook that held the key. Again, as suspected, there was no key to be found.
I was starting to put a picture together. Hendry had done his nasty work. Bo had confessed under torture. They'd then left her here whilst they went away to dispose of the car and presumably create alibis for themselves. However, I knew they'd be back. They had to, either to dispose of the body, or, if for some reason unbeknown to me they wanted her to remain alive, then they'd need to move her to some safe place before the morning.
Anyway, enough theorising and back to the big problem that was facing me. How to get past the door? If you think barging it down with my shoulder was an option, then forget it. Let me remind you, this door was made of solid oak and at least six inches thick. It was also heavily studded and a collision against an armful of these could do an awful lot of damage.
I considered I had only one option available. Now I'm no real expert at picking locks, but I was fully aware that great big locks with great big tumblers, generally, aren't too difficult to open, so I had a go. I always carry a small pocket knife with me on my key ring, and it appeared to do the trick. Gradually, one by one the tumblers clicked into place, until finally I'd got the lock open.
Proud of my success, I inched the door open and peered inside the chamber. Most of the spotlights had been left on. I did not expect to encounter anyone at this stage, but I must admit I breathed a big sigh of relief at finding no one other than Bo in the chamber.
Having considered not being jumped upon a bonus, I moved quickly to the far end of the chamber. I could see now what damage Hendry had inflicted, and I felt sick and horrified. This, I guess was partially due to the smell. The stench of burning flesh hung in the air above the raised platform. It was worse than a barbecue gone wrong. The brazier was still warm and thin blue whiffs of smoke drifted upwards from the branding irons propped inside. It looked to me like there were still bits of skin left smouldering on the tips.
Bo was completely naked. I could see the leather-strap dress she'd been wearing. It had been cast to the back of the floor next to the cage. It looked like it had been cut away in a hurry, for it was in several pieces and scattered all over the floor.
Quickly I turned my attention to Bo. She was spreadeagled, chained both hands and feet between two upright posts about six feet apart. Her wrists were taking most of her weight as she hung there lifeless with her head drooped forward on her chest. Her skin was pot-marked with burns, with the letter 'H' symbol of the branding iron very much in evidence. Her breasts had taken the brunt of the onslaught. They were covered with a multitude of brand marks.
Aghast at the sight that greeted me, I observed the rest of Bo's body with equal horror. Her stomach, most noticeably around the area of the bellybutton had been struck several times. There was also burn marks and a significant shrivelling of the pubic hairs, so I guessed that her fanny had also received a certain amount of attention.
  I stepped up to Bo and raised up her head. I was expecting to lift up the head of a corpse, but to my surprise I discovered that she was still alive. She was breathing, albeit very shallowly, and on checking further, I detected a faint pulse in the side of her neck.
I slapped her on the face in attempt to revive her.
"Bo, are you awake? Can you hear me?" I asked.
One eye barely opened, the other was bruised and shut and looked like it wouldn't open even if she tried. But the slight eye movement was enough to encourage me.
"I've come to get you out of here," I told her.
I got the same flickering of the eye. I don't know if Bo recognised me. We'd only met briefly at the bar. But suddenly it was time for action and I began to think quickly.
Bo needed hospital treatment, and fast, that was for sure. These were major first degree burns and needed immediate attention. There was one other very important consideration that crossed my mind. Under no circumstances did I want to be caught down here. Hendry, quite obviously, could turn quite brutal if he so wished.
I looked around for keys to release Bo, but could see nothing. I figured that Hendry had taken them with him along with the key to the dungeon.
I took a closer look at the chains. The manacles about Bo's hands and feet were all held in position by small padlocks. I looked around. There were many other similar chains hanging around on the walls and pillars of the chamber, and most had similar manacles attached. I moved to the side of the chamber, to a place on the wall very near to the table that held the video camera.
There were several chains with manacles hanging from a hook on the wall. I rummaged quickly through them. I remember smiling as I found what I was looking for. Thankfully someone had left a small key in one of the padlocks. I took it out and had a good look at what I'd found. I thought that I might be in luck. At least the key appeared to be the right size.
Not wanting to waist anymore time, I turned quickly to head back to Bo. I then remembered that earlier that evening I'd set the video camera going. I switched it off, removed the tape, and slid it into my pocket. If nothing else, I hoped this would help the prosecution if ever Hendry was taken to court.
I returned hastily to the platform, tested the small key in a padlock, and to my utter relief, the padlock opened. Wasting no further time, I busily set about undoing the rest.
Bo slumped into my arms as I undid the final manacle about a wrist. After that it was the fireman's lift, and I was on my way. I don't think I'd ever moved so fast in my life. Not in total darkness and with someone over my shoulders anyway.
I remember thinking how relieved I was to get outside. The cooler air on my face and a shrieking peacock seemed like heaven to me. But then, on a night when everything was seemingly going wrong, I guess I already knew that this brief moment of uncontrolled ecstasy was not meant to last. And so it proved to be.
Out on the wide terrace path that ran all along the back of the house I froze. To my right, beams of light cast from torches were coming from somewhere alongside the house. I could see the light bouncing off the bushes that ran down the side of the garden. I looked around. There was enough light from an almost full moon that kept disappearing past scudding clouds to see that I had a dilemma. I had nowhere to hide other than get behind a statue and plinth, and with Bo over my shoulders I didn't fancy my chances of getting away undetected. Quickly I turned and shot off for the other side of the house.
With Bo over my shoulders I ran the best I could, but I did not make it very far. As I hurried on down the path I found myself in the spotlight of a very powerful beam.
I heard a distance voice behind me call: "Halt, don't move," but I don't think it made any difference. I just kept on running.
Then it happened.
As I rounded the corner to the house there came a mighty thump to the side of my body. I'd been rugby tackled and I went sailing to the ground.
Bo flew from my arms, thankfully to land on an area of grass, whilst at the same time I was jumped upon. I struggled and put up a bit of resistance, but with all the wind taken from my sails, the burden of Bo across my shoulders, and the suddenness of the attack, I guess I was in the losing end right from the start. Anyway, whoever my attacker was, he was a professional and knew what he was doing, and pretty soon he had my arms handcuffed behind my back.
I feared the worse and wondered if anyone would find my latest will on top of the wardrobe in the spare bedroom back at my cottage. I think I also said a little prayer.
Then the man spoke, and I must admit they were the sweetest words I'd ever heard in my life. My prayers had been answered.
"Police… you're under arrest," said whoever it was that was sitting in the middle of my back.
I got rolled over onto my back and I looked up at my attacker.
"Denny North!" I exclaimed.
My assailant had been the guy I'd met centre floor of the bar earlier that evening. Now I understood. Bo's minder was inside the club and not out in the car as I originally thought.
"Woody!" replied Denny North. "Well this is a surprise!"
I was about to tell him to call an ambulance quickly, for Bo's sake, when several glaring torches arrived to stand above me and shine down into my face.
Then I heard a voice I recognised. The words were almost identical to those issued by Denny North just moments before.
"Woody!" the voice exclaimed, "What a surprise! What are you doing here?"
I squinted upwards through the glare of flashlights.
"Harry Bell!… Well am I glad to see you?" I told him.
Detective Chief Inspector Harry Bell, if you remember, was the first person I called on when I first came to visit London at the start of the week. It was with his assistance, and the use of his department's mug shot files that led me to Rachel Joyce.
"I can't say that about you Woody," replied Harry Bell. "I think you've got a lot of explaining to do."
At this stage my concerns were still very much with Bo. All the explaining could come later.
"I've just rescued Bo, your undercover agent. She's somewhere over there on the grass," I informed him, "and I think you'd better call an ambulance straightaway."
The beams from several torches moved to the area of grass I knew Bo to be lying. I turned my head to follow the beams. I could see two paramedics, dressed in their bright yellow fluorescent coats. They were kneeling at Bo's side. There was a stretcher on the grass alongside her body and they were lifting her onto it.
I breathed a big sigh of relief.
"An ambulance is round the front of the house," Harry informed me. "She'll be getting the best treatment available."
"Thank God for that," I breathed.

End of Chapter Eleven