Long Gone

by Paul Pilkington

  ‘I understand, Zack. Don’t worry about me, I know what I’m getting myself into.’

  ‘Okay, as long as you know what gets printed might not be exactly what I wrote. It’s not my style to sensationalise.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Zack. I get good vibes from you. And I get it, Simon will put his spin on it.’

  ‘Thanks. If it helps, I think you’re going to be very pleased when you find out what I was planning to tell you. I reckon it will be a big help for that independent police investigation.’

  ‘Well, do tell my colleagues,’ Cullen replied, secretly desperate to know what this revelation was. It would be great to be back in the fray, with his team, doing the job he loved. But process was process. ‘I’ll wait to find out.’

  Zack nodded his understanding. ‘I’ll call them straight after this. But in the meantime, are you ready for this?’

  ‘Fire away,’ Cullen said, wondering whether he should pre-empt the piece by letting Maggie Ferguson know personally about what was happening. It would probably be the most sensible thing to do. But it would no doubt ruin his afternoon plans of visiting New House.

  Maggie Ferguson would quite rightly order him to stand down from his informal investigations, and he just wasn’t prepared to do that.

  31

  Previous Saturday afternoon

  THE CAR WAS WAITING for them as they exited the building.

  ‘Well done,’ Catharine said at the entrance. ‘Best of luck with the rest of the weekend.’

  She looked at Natalie as if she wanted to say something significant. ‘Look after yourself,’ was all that she said.

  Natalie wanted to press her, but the car was waiting, and the others were standing next to her. She couldn’t put Catharine in that position. ‘Hope everything goes well for the future,’ Natalie said.

  They hugged.

  ‘Just be careful of that man,’ Catharine added in the embrace.

  ‘WELL, THAT WENT WELL!’ Susie said, as the car started off. ‘I must admit, I’m still buzzing with excitement.’

  ‘Me too!’ Penny said, beaming. ‘What a team we were!’

  Just be careful of that man.

  Catharine’s words echoed in Natalie’s head. But she couldn’t say anything to the others, because there were no details. Did she really want to be responsible for all that disruption and upset, based on half-spoken warnings?

  ‘You okay, Natalie?’

  Natalie snapped back to the present situation. ‘Yes, yes, I’m just a little worn out by the day, I guess.’

  Penny and Susie nodded their understanding.

  ‘I wonder how the other team have got on,’ Penny said. ‘We don’t even know where they went.’

  ‘Yes, it will be interesting to find out what happened,’ Natalie said.

  ‘I can’t imagine Samantha and Krishna working together in harmony,’ Susie said. ‘She really dislikes the guy, and I just don’t think he can see that he winds people up the wrong way.’

  Natalie thought back to the previous evening and over breakfast, where Samantha’s scorn for Krishna was unconcealed. She could only agree with Susie’s assessment of what their working relationship would be like. Although surely they realised that any group disharmony must significantly harm their chances. Maybe someone like Ben would have managed to hold the peace for the good of the team. ‘I guess we’ll find out shortly.’

  ‘I’m not supposed to tell you anything,’ a voice said from the front. The driver was addressing them via the rear-view mirror. ‘But my colleague radioed through while I was waiting for you guys. According to him, the other group have fallen out so badly, they had to call for an extra vehicle to take them back to the house in separate cars.’

  ‘HI, GUYS! WELCOME BACK!’ Tabitha was waiting on the pavement, her clipboard still clutched to her chest. ‘Great to see you all!’

  She was acting as if they’d been away for weeks, rather than a few hours.

  ‘C’mon on in,’ she said. ‘If you could go through to the drawing room where we met this morning, we’ve got some refreshments for you. The other team are in there already. I’ll be with you in a couple of minutes, where we’ll be reporting back on the day.’

  She didn’t give them a chance to ask any questions. She was already striding back towards the house.

  ‘Can’t wait to find out what happened to the others,’ Susie joked, as they entered the house. ‘Must be something bad to have needed separate cars.’

  Natalie had been wondering the same thing. ‘Sounds like it.’

  They made their way back to the drawing room, where three of the other four were indeed already present. Samantha and Ben were talking over near the table of tea and coffee, while Matthew was over on the other side, inspecting one of the paintings. He was the first to notice their arrival, and he smiled in a way that looked something like relief.

  He met them just inside the door.

  ‘Have you heard what happened?’ he said under his breath.

  ‘The driver said something about a falling out,’ Susie replied. ‘We don’t know any more than that.’

  He shook his head. ‘Absolute disaster. Most embarrassing experience of my life.’

  Penny’s interest was piqued. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because of Krishna,’ Samantha said, approaching them with Ben just behind her. ‘He was even more of a nightmare to work with than I’d imagined.’

  Natalie looked at Ben for confirmation.

  ‘Total nightmare,’ he said.

  ‘Why, what did he do?’ Natalie asked.

  ‘Tried to take over,’ Matthew said. ‘Appointed himself team leader and wanted to do everything his way.’

  ‘And when any of us suggested anything, he’d dismiss it out of hand.’

  ‘But you didn’t just take it, did you?’ Susie asked.

  ‘No, of course not,’ Samantha said. ‘We tried to reason with him, to try to get him to be a team player, for the good of us all. But Krishna isn’t a team player.’

  ‘Not at all,’ Ben said. ‘It’s either Krishna’s way, or the highway.’

  ‘Where is he now?’ Penny asked.

  ‘Hiding out in his room,’ Samantha smiled. ‘At least that’s where I assume he is. He came back on his own in the other car, so we haven’t seen him since leaving the recording studio.’

  ‘Recording studio?’ Susie asked. ‘What was your task?’

  ‘We had to come up with a branding strategy for a boy band called Young Gunz,’ Ben said.

  ‘With a “z”!’ Penny said. ‘I know about them! There’s four of them, from Liverpool, I think. They’re going to be the next big thing.’

  ‘Not if they follow our branding strategy,’ Ben replied, deadpan. ‘Not that there’s a cat in hell’s chance of that, of course.’

  ‘No, I’m pretty sure they won’t be taking forward our suggestions.’

  ‘Was it really that bad?’ Natalie asked.

  ‘It was shocking,’ Matthew replied. ‘Like I said, one of the most embarrassing experiences of my life. We had to present in front of the band and senior executives from their record label.’ He shook his head at the memory. ‘I mean, during Krishna’s opening address I was just wishing the ground would open and swallow me whole.’

  ‘Krishna decided he was going to lead off the presentation,’ Samantha explained. ‘We tried to talk him round, but in the end, we were wasting so much time going around in circles, we just gave up and let him do it. Big mistake.’

  ‘We thought with all the talk of him being this mega-successful entrepreneur that he’d do well, even though we didn’t feel he was the best person to front things,’ Ben added.

  ‘But he wasn’t good?’ Penny asked.

  Ben shook his head. ‘Totally bottled it. He couldn’t get his words out, he was stuttering and he didn’t seem to be able to remember anything we’d rehearsed. I mean, I actually felt sorry for the guy, up there dying on his feet, but he brought it on himself. And he ruined things for everyone.’


  ‘So what happened?’ Susie said.

  ‘He left the room,’ Samantha replied. ‘Virtually ran out.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘And we had to pick up the pieces. Except that by then we were rattled, and we didn’t really get the introduction right. We did okay with the basics of the branding, the logo, the descriptions, but because of Krishna’s influence a lot of the presentation was about the development of an app to promote the band’s brand. We did okay presenting the basics on it, but because he wasn’t there to answer any of the technical questions, we got absolutely hammered in the Q and A.’

  Ben ran a hand through his hair. ‘One of the guys in the audience was in charge of the band’s current digital branding, and he just went in for the kill when he realised we couldn’t answer the questions.’

  ‘Sounds awful,’ Penny said.

  ‘That wasn’t the worst part,’ Ben explained. ‘The private feedback that we got from the record company was just awful, really awful.’

  ‘So,’ Samantha said, ‘unless you guys had a similar worst-day-of-your-lives experience, I’d say that I’m currently looking at one of the winners of this weekend’s Brand New recruitment exercise. Because I’m sure as certain that it isn’t going to be one of us.’

  Susie, Penny and Natalie looked at one another, hesitating to confirm the news that the others were surely dreading hearing.

  ‘We were sent to EXCEL-ENT, the media agency. Had to come up with a branding strategy for a new publishing house they’re launching,’ Susie explained. ‘We got really good feedback.’

  Samantha put up her hand. ‘That’s all we need to hear, I think. Congratulations – especially for not having Krishna on your team.’

  Natalie wasn’t sure that she liked Samantha’s tone, and the insinuation that Krishna’s presence, or not, was the sole reason for the outcome of both teams. It was maybe for that reason that she decided to say what she said. ‘Do you know Krishna’s room number? I’m going to go and see if he’s okay.’

  ‘You’re what?’ Samantha replied, agog.

  ‘He needs to be down here for the debrief,’ Natalie said.

  ‘Room Two,’ Ben said.

  ‘Great.’ Natalie looked at the time. ‘We’ve got a few minutes until Tabitha returns. Should be long enough to convince him to come back down.’

  ‘Rather you than me,’ Natalie heard Samantha mutter as she headed for the stairs.

  32

  Previous Saturday afternoon

  BY THE TIME Natalie had reached the door to Krishna’s room, she was seriously reconsidering her decision to venture up there.

  She didn’t know Krishna, apart from those brief, rather uncomfortable conversations the previous night and at breakfast this morning.

  Who was to say how he’d react to the intrusion?

  And why did she think that she’d be the one to change his mind and come downstairs?

  But she was here now.

  Knock!

  There was no answer and no sign of any movement behind the door.

  Knock! Knock!

  Still no signs of life.

  ‘Krishna? It’s Natalie. Natalie Long. I was wondering if you’re going to come down for the debrief.’ She checked her watch. ‘We’ve got about five minutes until Tabitha comes back.’

  Still nothing.

  Natalie glanced back towards the stairs, wondering whether she should just give up and rejoin the others. After all, Krishna was an adult – if he wanted to stay in his room, it was his right.

  But she wasn’t about to give up.

  ‘Krishna. I heard things didn’t go very well with the pitch. I just wanted to check you were okay.’

  After a few moments of silence, the lock clicked from the inside and Krishna stood facing her. His face was puffy and his eyes swollen. If he hadn’t been crying, he must have been close to it. ‘I just want to stay in my room,’ he said sadly.

  Natalie tried to brighten the mood. ‘C’mon, you can’t just hide out here. It wouldn’t be the same without all of us there. Just come down, even for a few minutes.’

  ‘They don’t want me, Natalie,’ he replied. ‘The team, they don’t want me to be there, because they blame me for ruining everything.’

  He turned and headed back into the room, leaving the door open for Natalie to follow.

  ‘I think they’re just still upset,’ she said, as Krishna perched on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands.

  She took the place next to him.

  He shook his head. ‘You know, Natalie, I was looking forward to this day so much. I thought it was going to be the best day of my life, the culmination of all my endeavours. But it was hell.’

  Natalie tried to be diplomatic. ‘I heard the team had problems.’

  He laughed incredulously. ‘Problems? Is that what they told you?’

  She had to be careful what she said. The last thing she wanted was to worsen the situation – she was here to try to calm things down, not pour petrol on the flames. ‘They said there’d been issues with the team, that’s all.’

  He shook his head. ‘Oh, yes, there were problems with the team.’ He looked directly at her, his eyes burning with intensity. ‘They are racist.’

  Now Natalie did regret voluntarily stepping into the situation, which it seemed she really knew nothing about. ‘Racist?’

  ‘They look at me, from India, and they think, oh, he cannot be the leader, it’s best we put him to work, he can take orders from us.’

  ‘I’m sure they’re not racist, Krishna.’

  He didn’t look convinced. ‘Natalie, I am a successful business entrepreneur, I have made millions from the companies I have created. I have achieved more than any of the others combined. And yet, I am not capable of leading the team! Why? Why would that be?’

  ‘But I thought you did lead? Samantha said…’

  ‘Huh,’ Krishna interrupted. ‘She was the worst of all. Samantha was obstructive, critical, a block on things all day. She set out to undermine me, using whatever means possible. She wanted to destroy my chances, because she knew I was the main threat. And I’m sorry to say she was successful. Her and that sidekick of hers, Ben.’

  Natalie had come around to the idea that with Krishna being so angry and bitter, it was probably best for him to try and calm down in the privacy of his room. And it was time to leave, anyway, as Tabitha would be returning any minute. ‘Maybe I should go…’

  ‘The pitch, it was awful. I’d felt so under attack, for the whole day. But I thought I’d got through it. And then, as we were in front of everyone, about to present, I looked across at Samantha, and she just gave me a look, it was a horrible, mean look. It was something in her eyes, hatred or, I don’t know, something awful. And it got to me. I couldn’t concentrate, I couldn’t remember the script that I’d memorised, I couldn’t even speak. And I was just looking at all those people, those important people, key to my future success, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Krishna.’

  ‘So I ran. I ran off. Out of the room. Like a coward. That’s not who I am, Natalie. Not who I thought I was.’ He looked towards his feet. ‘I’ve brought shame on my family.’

  ‘You haven’t, Krishna. Look at everything you’ve achieved. You’ve done more in your life already than most people achieve in a lifetime. Your family must be so proud of you. And you’ll bounce back from this, I know you will.’

  For the first time since the beginning of their conversation, she seemed to be getting through to him, to be pulling him out of the mire.

  ‘Won’t you just come down?’ she tried again.

  He looked at her. ‘Why do you care?’

  Natalie shrugged. ‘Because.’

  He smiled. ‘I’m sorry, Natalie.’

  ‘Sorry? For what?’

  He looked away.

  ‘Krishna?’

  ‘Maybe you’d better get back downstairs,’ he replied, still with his face away from her. ‘You do
n’t want to miss the announcement.’

  ‘Why did you say you were sorry?’ she pressed. She had her suspicions as to what this was about.

  Finally he turned back to her. ‘This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. Sir Kenneth, he’s a hero of mine. I’ve read all his books on the business. I would have done anything to work for him.’

  Suddenly it made sense.

  ‘I just wanted to scare you off, unsettle you.’

  ‘The note in the room,’ Natalie said. ‘You wrote it.’

  He nodded. ‘I wrote the note, and slid it under your door. I did what I thought I had to do at the time.’

  ‘What you thought you had to do? I don’t understand, Krishna. You’d only just met me. Why do that?’

  She stood up from the bed, stepping back a pace from him.

  Krishna gazed up at her. ‘It was just business, nothing personal.’

  ‘Business?’

  ‘I needed to gain the competitive advantage,’ he said. ‘I admit, when we first met, and you said you were still at university, I wondered why had you been chosen for this great opportunity. But when I heard you’d met Sir Kenneth, and he’d invited you to apply, I felt that I had to do something.’ He looked at her with the pleading eyes of a child, as if she should somehow feel sorry for him.

  ‘He didn’t invite me, Krishna.’ Frustration was building inside Natalie, and she wished she’d never told the group about her encounter with Sir Kenneth. After all, it had been nothing, no invitation, just a chance remark that he probably made to a dozen other people that day. And how many other people before and after that? ‘All he did was mention the opportunity, Krishna. Nothing more than that.’

  ‘I know, I know. But he told you face to face. The great Sir Kenneth New, he told you personally.’

  Natalie shook her head. She wasn’t getting through to him, and probably never would.

  ‘I must admit,’ he continued, ‘I felt jealous. And also I was scared. I was afraid you’d take my dream away from me.’

  ‘You didn’t need to do what you did.’

  Krishna shrugged. ‘I did what I thought I had to do. I thought the note might be enough.’