by Heidi Swain
‘Was he at the youth centre last night?’ I asked Jacob. ‘You never called, so I thought everything was all right.’
‘It was,’ said Jacob, rubbing his hands through his messy hair and leading the way along to the kitchen. ‘He was there when I arrived, but as he was nothing to do with the trouble, I didn’t ring you.’
‘Good,’ I said, feeling relieved.
That was something.
‘And then, by the time I’d helped calm things down, he’d left. I assumed he was going to check on the cats and would then head home.’
I was annoyed that he hadn’t let me know that Ryan had left, but then he’d only promised to text if my brother was in trouble and he hadn’t been. Not then, anyway.
‘Maybe he’s at Joe’s,’ Jacob suggested, sloshing milk into two mugs. ‘Perhaps he decided to stay at his place. The pair are as thick as thieves these days.’
‘Maybe,’ I said, pressing the tips of my fingers into my temples to relieve some of the pressure I could feel building.
A headache would be most unwelcome, but given the heavy air and the worry it felt inevitable.
‘But if he was going across the road to see to the cats,’ I said, wincing as I stopped massaging and the pain began to pulse, ‘then why would he go to Joe’s, rather than come home? Given the weather warnings it would have made more sense for him to come over to the square, even with Joe, rather than to trek across the city to his place, wouldn’t it?’
Jacob shrugged.
‘Was Joe even at the youth centre?’
‘I’m not sure,’ he admitted, putting a mug of tea on the table in front of me. ‘I didn’t take much notice of who was hanging around beyond those involved in the disturbance.’
I wondered if he thought I was making too much of it all. But I wasn’t, was I? Ryan deciding to disappear now of all times, when he had so much going on, really was something to make a fuss about. I felt certain my fears were more than justified.
‘Look, Jacob,’ I said, growing angry, ‘I know you’re probably thinking I’m being completely over the top about this.’
‘I’m not thinking anything like that,’ he said softly.
‘But this isn’t like him, is it?’ I carried on, ignoring his denial.
‘We’ll find him,’ said Jacob, pulling out the chair next to mine so he could sit close. ‘I’ll help you. I promise.’
‘Thank you,’ I whispered, the words catching in my throat.
He lifted my chin as two fat tears made a bid to escape and rolled down my cheeks. He brushed them away and leant in to kiss me. I turned my face and my lips easily found his, the caress firm and reassuring, even though it was forbidden, and I gave in to it, finding comfort as the remains of my anger melted away.
As much as I loved my independence and was in no hurry to compromise it, not having to bear the weight of this current problem on my own was a relief. The physical comfort Jacob was offering was kindly shared rather than sexually charged and it felt heartening in the face of the current crises.
‘What’s that?’ I asked, pulling back. ‘Can you hear sirens?’
Jacob took a moment to listen before he answered.
‘Ryan has the place rigged.’ He smiled. ‘He’s seen us kissing on some spyware he’s secretly installed and called the cops on us.’
‘That’s not funny,’ I said, jumping up, ‘they sound really close.’
I rushed from the kitchen, along the hall, and pulled open the front door. They were close. They were just across the road.
*
‘What’s going on?’ I called to Graham, who was talking to a female police officer just outside the gate to the garden. ‘What’s happened?’
‘Poppy!’ Jacob called after me. ‘Wait up, will you?’
I had rushed across the road while he grabbed his trainers and locked his front door.
‘There’s been a break-in,’ said Graham, as the officer started talking into her radio and then strode off into the grounds.
He explained how he had come over to the garden extraearly to check yet again that everything was in its rightful place in case the predicted downpour hit and, once finished, took the longer path, which led along the side of the house, back to the gate.
‘Violet and Dash,’ he told me, ‘were play-fighting in the bushes next to the back door. I knew straight away that something was wrong because Ryan had locked them in the house last night after we had finished up in the garden.’
I was relieved to hear my brother had done his duty before he disappeared.
‘I know he’s an early riser these days,’ Graham continued as Jacob caught up, ‘but I didn’t think he would have let them out yet and I was right. When I went to check on the house the back door was wide open.’
‘Oh no,’ I gasped. ‘Did you go in?’
‘No way,’ said Graham, ‘I could see from the hall into the kitchen that someone had been inside. Everything looked upside down and I wasn’t going to risk going in in case they were still in there. I came straight out here and called the police.’
‘Very wise,’ said Jacob, chewing his lip and frowning as he studied the gate. ‘This doesn’t look as though it’s been forced.’
‘It hasn’t been,’ Graham confirmed. ‘It was locked as usual when I arrived. I had to use the code to get in. Whoever broke in must have scaled the wall.’
My mind began to race, flitting through the potential possibilities that might explain how this had happened.
‘You don’t think Ryan might have made some sort of mistake locking up the house, do you?’ I swallowed.
‘Of course I didn’t,’ snapped an angry voice behind me.
‘Oh, Ryan!’ I exclaimed, spinning round to face him, my cheeks burning. ‘Thank God. Where the hell have you been?’
‘What’s going on?’ he asked, ignoring my question. ‘What’s happened?’
‘There’s been a break-in—’ Jacob began, but he didn’t get the chance to elaborate.
‘Are you Ryan Radcliffe?’ asked a male officer who had just rushed back along the path to the gate. ‘Mr Ryan Radcliffe?’
‘Yes,’ said Ryan, stepping forward. ‘That’s me.’
‘Can you come with me, please?’
Ryan joined the officer under the strip of police tape that had been tied either side of the gate.
‘Can I come with him?’ I asked. ‘I’m his sister.’
‘That won’t be necessary,’ said the officer, striding off with Ryan at his side.
My brother didn’t look back and I couldn’t believe that I had even hinted that what had happened might be down to his negligence. He and Luke had worked through the locks and alarm system at least a hundred times in the run-up to Ryan taking charge. But with that in mind, why hadn’t the alarm gone off when someone broke in?
‘The back door had been hacked at with a crowbar, Poppy.’ Graham hastily explained. ‘It didn’t look as if it had been left open to me.’
I wish I’d known that before I opened my mouth.
‘So why didn’t the alarm go off then?’ I asked anyway. ‘If the alarm was set it should have started blaring out as soon as someone got inside and then didn’t key in the code to deactivate it, shouldn’t it?’
‘What are you suggesting?’ Jacob frowned, looking every bit as horrified as Graham now did.
‘I’m not suggesting anything,’ I said, ‘I’m just trying to work out how this happened, that’s all.’
From what I could decipher, whoever had got inside the house had managed to bypass both the code to the gate and the alarm system once they had forced their way inside. The only thing they hadn’t had, which would have made gaining entry even easier, was a set of keys. Keys that my brother had, thankfully, been keeping safe.
‘What’s happened here then?’ asked John as he crossed the road to join us, with Neil, Mark and Carole hot on his heels. ‘Is everyone all right?’
I took a step back as Graham filled them in on the details. I wondered
why the police officer had been so keen to identify Ryan and then take him with him. I would have felt easier about it all had I known where my brother had spent the previous night, and who with, but for now I would just have to wait for the answers to those and the dozens of other questions buzzing about my head.
‘Don’t you think you should call Harry and let him know you’ll be late for work today?’ Jacob suggested, as the minutes ticked by and neither Ryan nor the police officers came back out of the grounds.
‘Yes,’ I sighed. ‘I suppose I should.’
It was still early, but I couldn’t imagine there was going to be a resolution to what had gone on within the next couple of hours. I only hoped the place wasn’t in too much of a state and that there wasn’t anything of value missing. Or anything missing at all, for that matter.
‘I’ll have to go home to ring,’ I told Jacob, ‘I didn’t think to bring my mobile to yours.’
I should have done, though. If Ryan had been trying to get in touch he would have been more likely to send a text than call the house.
‘If he comes out while I’m gone, please tell him to come straight home.’
‘I will.’
‘You won’t let him disappear again?’
‘Of course not.’
The community grapevine being what it was, even in our part of the city, had ensured that Harry had already heard that something was afoot.
‘Come in when you can,’ he said once I had filled him in on the finer details, or what I knew of them anyway, ‘and if you can. Don’t worry if you can’t make it and don’t even entertain the idea that this had anything to do with Ryan,’ he went on firmly, sounding like the father figure neither my brother nor I had. ‘It won’t be anything to do with him. I daresay he’s just helping the police with their enquiries.’
I ended the call thinking that, given Ryan was the current keyholder, Harry was probably right. It just wasn’t possible that he could have played any part in breaking into the house. I might not have known him as well as I did now for all that long, but I knew he was a good lad, with a heart of gold, who had settled into our little community and enjoyed the love and respect his behaviour and helpfulness had earned him.
But there was something, some fear, I couldn’t completely set aside. Perhaps it was only natural given that I was responsible for him. Had I given him too much freedom lately? Had I been too preoccupied with my feelings for Jacob to spot the signs that Ryan might be heading for trouble?
I jumped as the front door was flung open and then slammed shut. Heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs told me it was Ryan.
‘Ryan?’ I called.
He didn’t answer.
‘Hey!’ I called again.
‘I can’t believe you thought I hadn’t locked up properly,’ he shouted down.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I called back. ‘It was a stupid thing to say.’
‘Yeah,’ he said, thudding back down. ‘It was.’
‘I’m really sorry, all right,’ I said again. ‘I didn’t know the door had been forced then,’ I added, unwittingly making the situation even worse. ‘What did the police want?’
‘It doesn’t matter.’ He sniffed. ‘But as you can see, I’m not under arrest, so they didn’t think I’d done anything wrong.’
‘It wasn’t like that,’ I told him. ‘I didn’t think you’d done anything wrong.’
He didn’t look as though he believed me and had I been in his position, I probably wouldn’t have believed me either.
‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ he said huskily, striding into the kitchen and filling the kettle.
I was desperate to ask where he’d been all night, but knew I wouldn’t stand a chance of getting an answer.
‘I’ve let you down, haven’t I?’ I said instead, the words catching in my throat. ‘After all I said about being an adult you could rely on, after promising I’d always be there for you, I’ve messed up, haven’t I?’
‘Forget it,’ he said, glancing up at the kitchen clock. ‘Isn’t it about time you were getting ready for work?’
He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t have to.
Chapter 28
I got ready for work, as Ryan had suggested, and left the house without another word. I had lingered for a few seconds outside his bedroom door, wondering if perhaps I should have been more like Jacob; less generous when it came to handing out promises, especially if I ended up not being able to keep them. I had promised to be there for my brother and right when he needed me most, I had let him down by doubting his ability to competently carry out his responsibilities.
‘Where’s Ryan?’ asked Jacob when I arrived back at the gate to see if there was anything I could do, or whether there was any more information to be had. ‘Have you seen him? My God, you look terrible, Poppy. What’s happened?’
The others were chatting to the female police officer, so Jacob left them to it and moved away a little, taking me with him so we could talk without being overheard.
‘Yes, I’ve seen him.’ I sniffed, doing my best not to cry. ‘He hates me, Jacob.’
‘Of course he doesn’t hate you,’ he said, pulling me in for a hug. ‘He’s just a bit pissed off about what you said, that’s all. He’ll come round once he’s had a chance to think it all through.’
I shook my head and pulled away.
‘I don’t think he will,’ I told him, blowing my nose on the bundle of kitchen roll I had stuffed into my pocket before leaving the house. ‘He’s really angry.’
‘Teenage boys often are.’ He smiled, trying to jolly me along.
‘No,’ I said, ‘he’s really angry and I can hardly blame him.’
I thought back over the last few days, how his enthusiasm for looking after Prosperous Place had all but evaporated and how he had been surlier, far less smiley.
‘And there’s something else . . .’ I began.
‘What?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I wish I did, but I don’t.’
Jacob’s poor hair didn’t look as if it could cope with much more manhandling and I was disconcerted to see him running his fingers through it yet again. That sort of follicle abuse could only mean one thing: Jacob was really worried too. I stuffed the shredded ball of kitchen roll back into my pocket.
‘He has seemed different this week, hasn’t he?’ he admitted.
‘Oh God,’ I groaned.
I had wanted him to tell me I was being paranoid rather than perceptive.
‘Look,’ he said, ‘you don’t think—’
‘Poppy!’ called Mark, beckoning me over to where the group were still talking to the policewoman.
‘Yes,’ I said, nervously stepping forward, Jacob’s potential question forgotten.
‘I was just telling your neighbours here,’ said the officer, ‘what a help your brother was when he came with us into the house earlier.’
‘Oh.’
‘He was pretty cut up about what had gone on.’
‘I know.’ I nodded.
‘He kept saying he felt responsible that it had happened on his watch.’
‘It’s certainly unfortunate timing for the lad,’ Graham agreed with her, ‘but perhaps the thieves had been watching the place and waiting until Luke and Kate weren’t here before they made their move.’
‘That is a possibility,’ the officer said. ‘And if that does turn out to be the case then it really was bad luck for Ryan because he’s obviously highly thought of and well trusted by the owner,’ she went on, glancing back at the house. ‘We spoke to Mr Lonsdale and he told us that Ryan would be the only person who could give us all the information we needed about locks and codes and where the most valuable things are kept in the house.’
‘Wow,’ said Neil, whistling under his breath, ‘that’s quite something.’
‘It is,’ said the officer, smiling, without so much as a hint of suspicion. ‘I can’t imagine there are many people who would trust such a young lad with that sort of in
formation.’ She turned to me again. ‘You must be very proud of him.’
‘I am, yes.’
I knew she wasn’t trying to make me feel even worse, but she was managing it nonetheless. Her kind words were making a fine job of tightening the knot of pain that had lodged in the pit of my stomach. Had this been an ITV police drama I knew that my brother would have been suspect number one, but this was reality rather than fabricated fiction and the only person who had put my brother in the frame was me. I looked at Jacob for some moral support, but he didn’t appear to be listening.
‘That brother of yours will probably need a bit of reassurance that this wasn’t his fault,’ said the male officer, who had rejoined his colleague and also picked me out. ‘I take it he’s living with you at the moment?’
‘That’s right,’ I confirmed, ‘he’s been with me for a while now.’
‘And we’re really going to miss him when he leaves,’ said Carole. ‘He’s a credit to you, Poppy.’
I couldn’t bear to hear any more.
‘If you don’t need me for anything,’ I said, ‘I think I’ll head off. I need to get to work.’
‘I’ll walk with you,’ said Jacob. ‘I’ll pop in and see Colin on the way.’
‘Okay,’ I said, ‘perhaps you could bring him and Lou up to speed about what’s happened. I don’t think I could cope with having to go through it all again.’
*
Harry was surprised to find me already setting up the shop when he pulled up in his van just before nine.
‘Give me a hand with this, will you?’ he asked, jumping out and opening the back doors. ‘And then you can give me an update.’
‘Where did you get this?’ I gasped. ‘They’re rarer than hens’ teeth.’
Harry tapped the side of his nose and between us we manhandled the pedestal fan into the shop and set it to full speed. It didn’t cool the air much, but it did waft it about a bit, easing our discomfort during what was set to be yet another ludicrously hot day, as well as sending the pile of paper bags skittering across the counter and fluttering to the floor.