by Carol Wyer
‘He came to collect Freddie from the party. Freddie’s mother dropped the boy off and Ned came to collect. He remembered a lot of faces in the shop and helped us locate a few customers who’d been at the craft centre at the time. Of course, nothing came of it but he was able to describe them in detail and that gave us the edge.’
‘He was watching television and didn’t hear or see anything when Audrey went missing,’ said Murray.
‘That’s a shame.’
‘Daddy!’ came the voice from the pool.
‘Coming. Better go. We don’t have too long before the club begins and we have to get out of the water.’ He dropped the towel back onto the seat and slipped back into the water.
The lifeguard had moved and was talking to Ned. Natalie and Murray approached the pair. Ned nodded a greeting to them and then shuffled away to the seating area, where he set out his grandson’s towel, a newspaper and a flask.
‘Do you take the swimming club?’ Natalie asked the young man.
‘Yes, I’m a lifeguard and swimming instructor.’
‘I have a couple of questions about the club,’ Natalie said. ‘Do any of these children attend?’
She handed him the list of names that Helena had already perused. The young man stopped halfway down the list and wrinkled his nose apologetically. ‘They’ve all been to the club in the past, but to be honest, I’m not very good with names and faces. I just bark instructions to the children. I only remember the ones I see more regularly. I know Harriet Downing, for example, although I haven’t seen her for quite some time. Some weeks they come along, others they don’t. Audrey was one of the more regular attendees.’
‘What about Rainey? When did you last see her?’
‘I can’t remember if she was here or not last week. It’s quite difficult to see who’s who in the pool, and we don’t keep an attendance register. It’s a free class and if the children want to participate, they can. Maybe Ned can help you on that. He might have noticed. Would you excuse me? I have to clear the pool before we can start the club.’
He lifted a whistle and blew it loudly. Natalie searched the water for Howard, who was at the deep end of the pool. He swam easy strokes, maintaining a watchful eye on his daughter’s progress as she battled to reach the edge of the pool and the steps to get out. Freddie and his friend pulled themselves onto the side of the pool and waited obediently, joined now by other children. The place was filling up with parents and children and a hubbub of noise. Family swimming was at an end and the club was about to begin.
Ned was unscrewing the top of the flask as Natalie and Murray approached.
‘Mr Coleman, do you mind if we ask a few questions?’
He put a hand to his ear. A group of six children had arrived and their excited voices bounced around the walls.
‘Do you know Rainey Kilburn?’ she asked more loudly.
‘Of course, I do. She’s in my grandson’s class. That’s my grandson. Freddie.’ He pointed out the boy on the poolside.
‘When did you last see her?’
His thick eyebrows almost met each other as he pondered the question. ‘She was here last week. She usually comes with her friend Harriet, but Harriet hasn’t been to swimming club for a while. Freddie says she’s given it up. I saw her then. Has something happened to her?’
‘I’m afraid Rainey died Thursday afternoon.’
A look of concern crossed his features. He looked around at the children near the lifeguard. ‘Oh, goodness gracious. This is dreadful news. That’s two children dead in the same week.’
‘Do you happen to know if any of these girls came to swimming club?’
She handed him the same list she’d shown the lifeguard and Helena. ‘I’ve seen them all here at one time or another. They’re all in the same class as Freddie at school too.’ He lowered his voice, looked around to make sure nobody was listening and leant in closer. ‘Is this to do with what happened to Audrey?’
‘It is. We were wondering if you’d seen anybody acting suspiciously here, possibly watching the girls or hanging about outside.’
He rubbed at his chin. ‘I’d have noticed if anyone else was about. Sometimes the parents wait for a while but it gets boring watching the kids splash about and they go off for a coffee. I see the same faces come and go most weeks and I haven’t spotted anyone new or behaving suspiciously.’
At that moment, he looked up and a warm smile filled his face. ‘Yes, lad?’
Freddie was rushing towards them, a flash of white flesh.
‘I haven’t got my nose protector,’ he said. He hopped from one foot to the next, arms dangling, droplets of water pooling around his bare feet.
Ned rummaged in the bag next to him and withdrew the silicone swimming training protector. ‘Here you go.’
‘Thanks, Grandpa.’
‘Freddie, can I ask you a quick question about Rainey?’ Natalie crouched to meet the boy’s eyes. ‘Did she come to swimming club last week?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you notice any grown-ups talking to her at the swimming pool or outside?’
He shuffled again and cast an eye towards his friends by the poolside. They were getting into the water. ‘No. Only Guy. They laughed about something. I remember that. It was when we were leaving. I walked past them and she laughed at him and punched his arm.’
‘Guy was here?’
‘By the wall. I said hello to him. He’s nice. He works with birds at the wildlife centre. He let me stroke an owl when we went.’ A friend called for him, voice echoing in the pool. ‘I have to go.’
Natalie nodded and he bounded lightly back to the pool. She turned her attention back to Ned, who was watching his grandson fit his nose clip and jump into the water with the others.
‘Did you see Guy?’
‘Yes. He chatted to Terry the lifeguard for a while.’
‘Have you seen him here before?’
‘I don’t think I have, no.’
‘And you come here most Saturdays?’
Ned’s cheeks lifted. ‘Every week. I look after Freddie on Saturday mornings. Only time I get with him and he’s growing up so fast. We come here first and then go for a burger or roll afterwards, without fail. He loves swimming.’ He paused for a second and his face changed again; the enthusiastic spark that had been there when he spoke about the boy disappeared as he stared at his flask. ‘Wicked thing to have happened to those girls.’
‘If you can think of anything that might help us, would you get in touch with the sergeant?’
‘Naturally. If anything strikes me as important, I’ll do that.’ His attention was drawn to Howard, now wearing a shirt over his towel and walking towards the changing rooms.
Natalie’s phone buzzed. She thanked and left Ned, speaking as she walked off. It was Ian.
‘We’ve had an anonymous tip-off. Somebody thinks they spotted Rainey on Thursday afternoon, near that dance school in Uptown, around three thirty or three forty. They claim there was a small black car around that area too, and Rainey might have got into it. No make or model. Caller wouldn’t leave a name and said they couldn’t be sure it was her, as they were on a bus at the time going past that spot, but they wanted to help us.’
‘Yet they wouldn’t leave a name so we could talk to them in person, which would actually be even more helpful. Okay, best follow it up.’
A pulse beat steadily in Natalie’s neck. Had Rainey been picked up from school? This went against what they’d believed so far. She might not have walked at all. The dance school had once again been brought to their attention.
The lifeguard blew his whistle again and shouted for the children to pay attention.
They left Ned to his newspaper and tea and hastened away.
Thirty
FRIDAY, 24 JULY 2015
AVA SAWYER
Ava watches Freddie and Thomas fighting over some plastic dinosaur, their faces red with anger, and fumes inside. It’s a stupid party. She didn’t want to come. Her mum had insisted.
‘You’ll be the only one in the class not to go,’ she had said.
That would have suited Ava just fine. She doesn’t care for any of her classmates, not since Harriet Downing decided to be mean and told everyone that Ava wet the bed. Horrible Harriet who unwrapped the carefully chosen birthday present – a jewellery-making set – and barely glanced at it before sliding it on the table next to the other gifts. Ava had spent all her saved pocket money on the gift, and Harriet had looked down her pointy nose at it and mumbled thanks she didn’t mean.
Audrey Briggs is starting to annoy her. She tries too hard to be friends with everyone, and the last few minutes she’s been grinning her idiotic, gap-toothed smile at Harriet every time Harriet squeals. It’s too much for Ava. Audrey’s her friend not Harriet’s. Rainey Kilburn, who’s taken over the role as Harriet’s best friend, whispers something in Harriet’s ear, and both girls look across at Ava and begin giggling. Ava can’t stand the smug expressions any more. She told Harriet about her bed-wetting in strictest confidence and now everyone knows about it. She’s going to make her pay for it.
The woman in charge of the party, Elsa, is still dealing with the boys. No other adults are about. Guy, the nice man who looks like a human bear, has gone off. Ava knows what to do. She’ll ruin Harriet’s party. She’s going to disappear, and everyone will have to spend time searching for her instead of playing games. Elsa will soon realise Ava’s gone. And if she doesn’t, Audrey will say something, and then Elsa will have to stop all the fun and games and send people out to look for her. Ava gives a wry grin at the prospect. Ava is good at hiding.
‘I’m going to the toilet,’ she tells Audrey.
Audrey gives her a dumb, open-mouthed look. ‘You have to tell that woman first.’
‘I’m big enough to go to the toilet on my own, and besides, I know where it is,’ says Ava. She ducks out of the back door and into a corridor. She doesn’t head for the toilets, signed to her left, but heads to the right. She’s been to the centre before with her parents and she remembers there are sheds and stables out here.
No one sees her as she races along. If anyone stops her, she’ll burst into tears and say she’s lost. She soon reaches the stables and heads for the furthest one. The door is shut but she can open it with the latch. It’s empty inside and quiet. It smells of warm straw and earth. Light filters through the slight gaps in the wood, and as her eyes adjust to the gloom, she spots a pile of blankets at the far side. She moves towards them and squeezes in behind them, pulling the top blanket over her head. They’ll not find her in here for a long time. By the time they do, Harriet’s party will be over.
Ava is pleased with her plan. Harriet should never have told everyone her secret. She thinks about what she’ll say when she’s found. Maybe she’ll just cry and say Harriet was so horrible to her she ran away.
A sound makes her stiffen. There were no animals in the stable when she came in. She strains to listen. It’s the door latch. It clicks as it opens. The door creaks open and then shuts again. She waits. There’s nothing. Then suddenly a voice calls softly.
‘Hello, little girl.’
She doesn’t reply. The voice is scary.
‘I know you’re in here. I saw you come in. You look very pretty in that yellow party dress.’
She doesn’t dare move. There’s something about the voice that frightens her.
‘Where are you hiding?’
She keeps stock-still. This isn’t what she expected to happen.
‘You shouldn’t hide in dark places like this. Nasty things might happen to you.’
She suddenly wishes she wasn’t alone in here with this person. Mummy warned her about strangers.
‘Do you want me to look for you?’
She presses her lips together to stop from crying out.
‘I’m going to find you.’
It falls silent in the stable. Ava’s knees begin to tremble. She’s made a big mistake. She could jump up and race for the door and get away from this person with the silky-soft, frightening voice. She counts to ten and then throws off the blanket, jumps up and runs straight into a solid shape. An arm grabs the top of hers and holds it tight; too tight. She whimpers.
‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ says her captor. ‘Aren’t you pretty? Far too pretty to be hiding all alone in a barn.’
He strokes her hair, scaring her further. She struggles to free her arm. It’s released but two heavy hands are placed either side of her face.
‘I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to be your friend.’
‘I don’t want… to be… your friend,’ she gasps and kicks out.
‘Don’t say that.’ The heavy hands slide around her neck and suddenly she can’t breathe. She sees flashes of stars like the jewels in the jewellery-making set and imagines she can hear the laughter of children playing party games. She remembers her mother in the car, blowing her a kiss she pretended to ignore, and then she sees no more.
Thirty-One
SATURDAY, 29 APRIL – AFTERNOON
‘Guy Noble. What do we know about him?’ Natalie spoke on the hands-free set so both she and Murray could listen in.
‘Nothing more than we had when we were looking earlier,’ said Ian. ‘No convictions. He shares some rented accommodation with Helena Dickinson, who works at the leisure centre.’
‘We spoke to her. She runs the netball club,’ Natalie said. ‘Go on.’
‘Guy’s parents live locally at Shelley’s Drive. There’s a brother, Sam, who currently lives in Brisbane. Guy graduated from Samford College with a degree in horticulture. Worked for Uptown Craft Centre until 2015. Nothing else. Not so much as a parking ticket.’
‘What does he drive?’
‘Nissan pickup truck in silver.’
‘So that wasn’t the vehicle our witness claims to have seen outside the dance school, then. What about his girlfriend? Does she have a car?’
‘Nothing registered in her name.’
‘Okay. We’re going to interview him now. How’s Lucy getting on?’
‘No-go at the warehouse.’
Natalie rolled her eyes. She’d really been pinning her hopes on somebody at the warehouse remembering who’d collected the parcel containing the yellow dresses.
‘She’s talking to the techies again. I’ll ring if we find out anything.’
‘Thanks. Should be back once we’ve spoken to Guy.’
Traffic was heavy as they drove through the town centre, the streets busy with families and groups of youngsters shopping. She thought about her own children at home and wondered what David was doing with them today. She was going to ring and ask, then changed her mind. Home and work didn’t mix.
Guy answered the doorbell immediately in bare feet, dressed in tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt, an almost empty bowl of cereal in his large hand.
‘Sorry. Just got up. Had a late night.’ He ambled into the kitchen and deposited the bowl by the sink. ‘Tea?’ he asked affably.
‘It’s not really a social call. We’d like to know why you were at the swimming pool last Saturday.’
Guy wiped his hands. ‘To invite Terry to the pub.’
‘Why didn’t you ring or text him?’
‘I was at the centre, waiting about for Helena to finish a class, and dropped in to see him.’
‘Even though he was running the swimming club?’
‘It’s only a splash-about session, not training for the Olympics!’ he scoffed. ‘I was only there a few minutes.’
‘What did you say to Rainey Kilburn?’
‘Rainey? Why?’
‘Answer the question, please.’
‘I can’t remember.’
‘Try.’
‘Some random aside about her brother. I’d seen him outside, skateboarding with his mates. He was showing off as usual and came a cropper. Landed right on his arse. I told her he was skateboarding like a girl.’
‘You know her and Tyler well enough to make such a comment?’
‘They live in the same street I used to live in. I’ve known them pretty much all their lives. They’d often be hanging about or playing football. I’d always say hi to them and even join in the odd game. Nice kids. My parents sold up a few years ago and we all moved to the house at Shelley’s Drive. I moved out when Helena came up here.’
‘When was the last time you saw Rainey?’
‘Where are you going with this?’
‘I’m afraid Rainey was killed on Thursday afternoon.’
His jaw dropped. He spluttered a response. ‘No. How?’
‘I can’t tell you that, but I am keen to know when exactly you last saw her.’
‘Last Saturday. At the pool. I haven’t seen her since. Oh crap. Her folks are going to be so cut up.’ He shook his head in disbelief.
‘Where were you Thursday afternoon?’
‘Work. I was cleaning out cages until about four. I left after that. Came home. Got showered, had a bite to eat, watched some telly and went out with Terry.’
‘Were you anywhere near the dance academy or Monks Walk on Thursday?’
His head moved from side to side several times. ‘I came straight home from work.’
‘In your truck?’
‘Yes.’
‘Okay, I think that’ll be everything for the moment,’ said Natalie.
‘Was Rainey murdered? Audrey was. Was Rainey?’
Natalie didn’t answer but instead thanked him for his time and strode back outside where she lifted her head to the sky and gritted her teeth. ‘We can’t prove he was anywhere near Rainey on Thursday afternoon,’ she said. ‘If he drove back from work when he said he did, he couldn’t have gone to either the school or Monks Walk. Shit!’
‘We can run checks on ANPR and see if his number plate was picked up, which’ll confirm his story and route,’ said Murray.
‘Do it but I think he’s telling the truth. I don’t think it’s him.’ She released a lengthy groan before getting back into the car. ‘Who is it? And who the fuck are they going after next?’