But once she exited the club and tried to make a couple of calls, it all seemed to fall away. I remember she was looking quite closely at the people gathered in the street outside, she even approached one or two of them. What’s interesting is that everyone she looked at or approached was a man. I remember thinking, Who’s she looking for? The impression I got was that she was searching for someone in particular, and she was confused not to find him out there.
KIMBERLY NOLAN:
There was a hand on my back and I was being pushed into this filthy white rust bucket van. Someone had used their finger to write clean me on the door in grime, and I was half laughing at that when everything went black.
FINTAN MURPHY:
Now, because Kimberly never mentioned anything about this assault to anyone, not in the wake of her sister’s disappearance, not for seven years afterward, there was no cause for authorities to check cameras in the surrounding area at the time. Conveniently for Kimberly’s story, there’s no way for us to confirm the existence of this white van now, but I can tell you for damn sure I never saw it on the club’s camera. I mean, not to state things too bluntly, but my dealings with Kimberly Nolan have all been characterized by tall tales.
KIMBERLY NOLAN:
When I was thirteen years old, I got run down on a pedestrian crossing. They could never find the car, it was just one of those things. I didn’t see anything and no one ever came forward. The driver was going too fast, but honestly, I walked out without looking. And the second it hit me, the word IDIOT just flashed through my mind in capital letters. It was so clear, I thought, This must be the last thing people think when they die in an accident, and I used to tell my friends that when we’d talk about it. How lucky I was to have come so close, to have gotten this glimpse of the other side but still lived to remember it.
The van was the same thing again, like a near-death experience.
There was a hand on me, I was in the back and then the door slammed shut, like it was all happening in one moment. Someone put a bag on my head, this thick fabric with a drawstring tight around my neck, then they ripped off Zoe’s jacket and put cable ties around my wrists. I heard the plastic teeth when they pulled them on, so tight I thought my hands might fall off. And my whole brain’s flashing IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT in mile-high capital letters, just like when I got hit by the car, only now I know what I learned from that. That it must be the last conscious thought a lot of people have.
LIU WAI:
I’m not a judgmental person, I say, “Live and let live.” You know, a lot of girls have that one drink too many and find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s just that Kim seems to frequently have that one drink too many? She seems to frequently find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
KIMBERLY NOLAN:
When they started driving, I couldn’t speak. I don’t think I could even cry. We’d been going a few minutes before it even occurred to me to try and remember the turns or work out where we’d gone. My head was spinning so much, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I was on my knees, leaning into the wall to stay upright. And I knew there were men in the van, because I could feel their eyes on me. I could smell them through the bag on my head.
ANDREW FLOWERS:
So we’re talking gone midnight? Unfortunately, I was in possession of the world’s most knackered Rolex back then. I couldn’t tell you where I was for sure, even if I remembered. My guess would be that I was pouring Jai into bed.
JAI MAHMOOD:
Yeah, I’d have to go along with that. I was probably in bed or on my way there. I am sure I woke up back at ours the next day. I mean, I’d remember if I hadn’t.
LIU WAI:
I think Zoe and me just enjoyed the rest of our night? I was probably quite happy that everyone had left us to it. She was definitely annoyed we couldn’t find her jacket, though. I had to wait for Kim’s Mail on Sunday interview seven years after the fact to get some closure on that.
KIMBERLY NOLAN:
I was told that this bag on my head was the only thing keeping me alive, and if I tried to look at them when they rolled it up to check something, they’d have to hurt me. Only one of them really talked. He sounded northern, but I couldn’t be sure. He rolled the bag up to my nose and told me to open my mouth. You can guess what was going through my mind by that point, but I did it. And even though the bag was still over my eyes, I could see the glow from a flashlight. I could tell he was looking into my mouth like a dentist, checking me for something. He grunted and I felt another guy come closer. It felt like they were both leaning in and looking at me. Then they started asking me about my teeth. Seriously, asking me about fillings and stuff while they had me tied up in the back of a van.
ANDREW FLOWERS:
The old cavity search? Right, I think I read about that too. Is there a reason we’re going over things I wasn’t around for?
KIMBERLY NOLAN:
Well, I didn’t have any fillings, which I just about managed to tell them. They said that was good, then started feeling along my arms. I don’t think it was sexual, but only because it felt worse than that to me at the time. It was like the way you’d handle meat or something. Turn it over, press it and check it for imperfections. I was so cold I could hardly feel their hands, and the cable ties were making my arms go numb. And at the same time, we were still driving, turning, stopping, starting, and I couldn’t see anything. Then they picked me up and started feeling along my legs in the same way, checking for something. They got halfway down my right leg and stopped, still gripping me by the knee.
ROBERT NOLAN, Kimberly and Zoe’s father:
Well, whatever we might think about Kimberly’s gift for invention, the road accident thing’s true, I can vouch for that. Music was a big part of our lives at home. I was a professional musician myself for a time, but she always went for different stuff, like, than the rest of us. Punk and whatnot. Some of what she listened to you’d struggle to call music at all. That’s partly why we got her the iPod for Christmas, so we wouldn’t have to hear it. I don’t think she took her headphones off again until she went under that car. She broke her right knee, and she was lucky that’s all.
SALLY NOLAN, Kimberly and Zoe’s mother: