'Witness' - The White Bridge Crime Series 3 - LGBT, manXman

6

Freddie fidgeted in the back of the car the entire way to the coast.

"Are we nearly there?" He demanded finally.

"Almost. Just another two miles."

Rex glanced nervously in the rear-view mirror.

"Is the child-lock on the back doors?" Dom murmured under his breath.

"Yeah," Rex answered.

As soon as they pulled into the layby, Rex knew something was wrong. He pulled in behind a lorry, and leant across to whisper in Dom's ear.

"There's a burnt-out car in front of the lorry. Same make and colour as Tom's."

"Shit," Dom growled.

"What?" Freddie asked in alarm.

"Erm... I forgot to tell Adrian to get beef for dinner," Dom said, improvising wildly.

"Right..." Freddie frowned at Dom, before trying to get out of the car. "What's wrong with the door?"

"There's a child-lock on it. To prevent criminals jumping out," Rex explained.

"Well, I'm not a criminal. So, can you let me out?"

"Not just yet, Fred," Dom said softly.

"Why not?" Freddie demanded.

"I-" Rex glanced at Dom. "In front of the lorry, there's a burnt-out car. The same make and model as Tom's."

"What?" Freddie shrieked.

"Fred, calm down," Dom said firmly. "What was Tom's registration number?"

"FG07 AYT," Fred said shakily.

"Rex, go and look at it," Dom said, twisting in his seat to grip Freddie's hand. "It'll be alright, Fred," he said gently.

"What if it's his car?" Freddie demanded.

"Then we'll call the police, and go from there," Dom said calmly, squeezing Freddie's hand.

"I knew something was wrong," Freddie moaned. "He never turns his phone off."

"Freddie, calm down." Dom commanded. "Now, listen to me. It's possible, if the car is his, that the phone was damaged in the fire. If it was in the glove box, it could have been burnt up."

"So why didn't Tom call me?" Freddie asked. "Surely the fire brigade or someone must've come? He could have borrowed a phone and called me."

Dom saw Rex coming over and got out of the car.

"It's Tom's car," Rex confirmed, making sure he and Dom were out of earshot of the car before speaking.

"Damn," Dom sighed. "Alright. Let's start calling all of the local hospitals. Perhaps Tom was injured in the fire."

Rex shook his head.

"I don't think he saw the fire at all," Rex murmured. "His mobile phone's beside the driver's door, all smashed up. And there's blood all over the pavement and the inside of the driver's door."

"Shit," Dom swore again. "Alright, let's call the police."

"Ring Eli and Adrian too," Rex said. "They can pick Fred up and take him home."

Dom nodded, dialling Adrian's number while Rex called 999.