Behind Closed Doors

by Susan Lewis

‘Yes, yes, he called me about an hour ago from Poland. He says he is going to call you.’

  ‘Did he say when?’

  ‘No, but his mother is not well. He is at the hospital with her. I think he will be in touch with you today. I just want to let you know this.’

  ‘Thank you. I very much appreciate it. Do you know which hospital he’s at?’

  ‘I am sorry, he did not tell me, but I have a number for him. He lost his mobile, so he has a new one now.’

  Grabbing a pen, Andree scribbled down the number and noted the country code. So he was in Poland. ‘Thanks, I’ll try contacting him,’ she said.

  ‘If he does not answer, it will be because he is not allowed to have phone on while in the hospital,’ Kasia warned.

  ‘Of course.’ Realising Kasia was about to ring off, Andee quickly said, ‘Before you go, can I ask you to confirm the time Tomasz came home on the night of the seventeenth?’

  There was a slight hesitation before Kasia replied, ‘Um, yes, I am sure it was his usual time, around quarter past twelve. Maybe a few minutes after.’

  Andee’s eyes met Leo’s. Kasia wasn’t sounding as certain as she had when they’d first asked her. ‘Is there a chance you might have been asleep and not actually noticed the time?’ she suggested.

  ‘I – uh, I am sure it was then.’

  No longer convinced, Andee said, ‘Just one more question. How long has Tomasz had his laptop computer?’

  ‘Only two days by the time you take it. We need a new one for a long time, and at last Tomasz get round to it. Please, when can we have it back? I need to use for my emails and accounts.’

  ‘I’m sure we can release it in the next day or so,’ Andee replied. There was no point keeping it when it had turned out to have next to nothing on it. ‘Do you still have the old one?’

  ‘No, Tomasz take it to Curry’s so they can transfer everything we need, then I think he throw it away.’

  Guessing Kasia hadn’t had time to realise that only her personal information was on the new laptop, Andee thanked her again and rang off. ‘We need to find the other computer,’ she told Leo.

  ‘On it,’ he responded.

  ‘OK,’ Gould addressed them all, ‘let’s find out when/how Sikora arrived in Poland, given he wasn’t on the flight out of Bristol.’

  ‘I’ll check this morning’s passenger list,’ Jemma responded, as Andee dialled the number Kasia had given her.

  ‘Include flights that left from other airports yesterday,’ Andee instructed. ‘Whether to Krakow or Warsaw.’ Unsurprised to find herself going through to a voicemail box, she left a message urging Sikora to ring back as soon as he could, and said to the room at large, ‘I’m sure we’re all asking ourselves the same question: is Sophie over there with him?’

  ‘I’ll get some pictures through to the locals,’ Jemma piped up.

  ‘Can we ping his phone from the UK, to get an actual location for him?’ Leo wondered.

  Gould shook his head. ‘I don’t know if it’s technically possible, but even if it is we’d have to get all sorts of clearance.’

  ‘But if we believe she is there?’ Andee pressed.

  ‘We’d have to offer up some pretty compelling evidence to say she is,’ he reminded her, ‘and right now we don’t have it.’

  ‘So what do we do?’ Leo demanded.

  As Andee started to answer her mobile rang again, and she blinked with astonishment at the incoming number. ‘It could be him,’ she announced, and quickly setting the call on speaker she said, ‘DS Lawrence.’

  ‘It is Tomasz Sikora here,’ he told her. ‘I received the message that you want to speak to me.’

  ‘That’s right.’ Andee was looking at Gould. ‘Thanks for getting back to me. I think you’re aware that we’re concerned for the whereabouts of Sophie Monroe . . .’

  ‘Yes, I am, but I do not understand why you think I would know where is she. She is not someone I know very well.’

  ‘But you do know her?’

  ‘Of course, but she is not a friend or anything like that.’

  Since he was hardly going to admit it if she were, Andee said, ‘Can you tell me if you gave her a lift from the campsite on the night of August 17th?’

  ‘No, I did not, because I have never given her lift from campsite.’

  ‘What about Gary Perkins?’

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘Did you leave the campsite with him on August 17th?’

  ‘No, I did not, because I have never left campsite with him.’

  Andee’s eyes were still fixed on Gould. ‘Can you tell me, Mr Sikora, why Kasia thinks you were on the Bristol flight to Krakow yesterday morning?’

  Sighing, he said, ‘This is because I tell her it is the flight I am taking, but it was full when I tried to book, so I drive here instead.’

  Andee blinked. ‘You drove all the way to Poland?’

  ‘That is correct.’

  ‘So when did you arrive?’

  ‘In the early hours of this morning.’

  ‘Is Sophie with you?’

  ‘No, she is not.’

  ‘What about Gary Perkins?’

  ‘I came alone and I go straight to the hospital to see my mother. I stay with her until I go out to buy a new phone today. This is when I call Kasia.’

  ‘What happened to your other phone?’

  ‘I don’t know. I lost it. Or someone stole it.’

  ‘Could it perhaps be with your old computer?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I think you understand the question.’

  After a moment he said, ‘I recycle the computer with a company who does these things. The phone I had with me after that, so it is not with the computer.’

  ‘Which firm did you use for the recycling?’

  ‘I do not know who it was. The man, he approach me as I leave the store and say he recycle computers to make them good for children with learning problems. So I give him our old one and he take it away.’

  How convenient. ‘Which store was this?’

  ‘Curry’s on Wermers Road.’

  Andee’s eyes went to Dan, a silent instruction to check out this mysterious recycling man. ‘Why is none of your data on the new computer?’ she asked.

  ‘I have here, on USB. I am going to upload when I get back, but I ask them to do for Kasia.’

  ‘OK. Tell me, which hospital is your mother in?’

  With no discernible hesitation he replied, ‘She is at the University Hospital, in Krakow.’

  Nodding to Leo to get on to it, she said, ‘Going back to the night of August 17th, do you remember seeing Sophie at the Entertainment Centre?’

  ‘Yes, she was there.’

  ‘Did you speak to her?’

  ‘No. Or maybe I tell her thank you for the nice things she say about the show.’

  ‘Is that all?’

  ‘Yes. That is all.’

  ‘Did you see her when you were driving out of the site?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Why did you turn left on to the main road instead of right, which would take you a more direct route home?’

  He sounded confused. ‘I – sometimes I go the longer way round to wind down a little after the show.’

  Andee’s eyebrows arched. ‘And what time would you say you arrived home that night?’

  ‘It was probably around twelve fifteen, or twelve twenty. I did not check.’

  Glancing up as Shona from the press office came into the room, Andee said, ‘OK. When are you intending to return to the UK?’

  ‘I hope in the next few days. I can come to the police station to speak to you if that would be helpful.’

  Surprised, she said, ‘Yes, it would. One last thing before you go, do you remember someone who worked at the camp by the name of Tania Karpenko?’

  Sounding wary, he replied, ‘Yes, I remember her.’

  ‘Do you happen to know why she left?’

  ‘No, I do not.’

  ‘What about Mi
chaela Reznik? Is she someone you know?’

  ‘I did when she was at the camp.’

  ‘Do you know where she is now?’

  ‘I am afraid I do not.’

  Unable to tell on the phone if he was lying, she said, ‘OK. Thanks for being in touch, and please let us know when you’re back in the country.’

  After ringing off she met Gould’s stare with one of her own.

  ‘There’s no point releasing the CCTV footage at this stage,’ he decided. ‘It’s not conclusive enough.’

  ‘It is as far as Perkins is concerned,’ Andee reminded him. ‘We see her going into his flat, coming out again around forty minutes later and they’ve both been picked up going into the club. OK, they’re not actually together, but there’s only one flat at the top of those stairs.’

  ‘Right. Get Yaz to sort it,’ he said to Leo, and vacating Andee’s chair he held it out for her to sit down. ‘Copy me in on the statement,’ he told Shona as she joined them.

  ‘Of course,’ Shona replied.

  ‘Dan, get in touch with the police in Krakow to fill them in on what’s happening,’ Andee instructed. ‘They’ll need visuals of Sophie and Perkins, and the registration number of Sikora’s van. Can anyone tell me if the Monroes have a FLO yet?’

  ‘Apparently Lauren Mitchell’s there,’ she was told.

  ‘Good. Sir, I think I should talk to the Monroes about broadcasting an appeal.’

  He appeared thoughtful as he nodded. ‘Sure, provided they’re up for it.’

  As soon as Shona had returned to the press office with the information she needed, Andee rang Gavin Monroe.

  ‘Not news, exactly,’ she replied regretfully when he asked, ‘but there have been some developments. CCTV footage from the camp shows Sophie going into and coming out of Gary Perkins’s apartment that night, so we know for certain now that she was with him. Later footage shows her leaving the club alone, but Sikora’s van leaves the underground car park soon after. Unfortunately, the camera covering the entrance wasn’t functioning that night, so the van isn’t picked up again until it’s outside the camp.’

  ‘So are you saying . . . You mean . . . You think she got into the van?’

  ‘It’s certainly possible. We’ve spoken to Tomasz Sikora and he’s claiming he has no idea where she is.’

  ‘And you believe him?’

  ‘Not necessarily, but until we can prove she was with him . . .’

  ‘You know she was with Perkins. Where’s he now?’

  ‘We’re working on finding out.’

  ‘He could be with Sikora.’

  ‘It’s possible.’

  ‘So where’s he?’

  ‘We have good reason to believe he’s in Poland.’

  When there was only silence at the other end she knew exactly what was going through his mind, and wished there was a way she could make this easier.

  ‘Are you still there?’ she asked gently in the end.

  ‘Yes, I’m here.’ His voice was higher, threaded by the strain he was under. ‘If they’ve done anything to her I swear I’ll . . .’ He choked back a sob.

  ‘I understand how you feel, but if they do have her, I can promise you this, we’ll find her.’ Why had she said that when she was in no position to offer such a guarantee? Had her father been told the same when they’d been searching for Penny? What the hell did you say to a parent when you had no proper answers to give?

  ‘We’re about to issue another statement to the press,’ she continued. ‘There won’t be any mention of Sikora again, only of Perkins.’

  ‘Why not Sikora?’

  ‘Because we simply don’t have enough grounds to implicate him at this stage. Perkins, on the other hand, has already broken the law simply by being at the campsite . . .’

  Rage broke through his grief. ‘If he’s hurt her, if he’s . . . I swear I’ll kill him.’

  ‘The press are all over this,’ Andee reminded him, ‘so there’s a chance we’ll have him by the end of the day.’

  ‘Provided he’s in this country?’

  ‘Of course, but there’s nothing to say at this stage that he’s left.’

  ‘This is a nightmare,’ he shouted angrily. ‘I can’t go on just sitting here, doing nothing . . .’

  ‘Actually, there is something you can do,’ she broke in quietly. ‘I was wondering how you’d feel about broadcasting an appeal? I’m sure you’ve seen the kind of . . .’

  ‘Yes, yes, I have, and we were going to ask if we could do something like that. I said to Heidi, it might make a difference if she sees me asking her to come back, but if she’s in Poland . . .’

  ‘We really don’t know that she is.’

  ‘Will it go out over there?’

  ‘If we have good reason to suspect she’s there, I’m sure the local TV stations will run it.’

  ‘It will make a difference, won’t it?’ he gasped. ‘I mean, if she sees me . . .’

  ‘I’m sure it will,’ Andee assured him, remembering how desperately her father had wanted to believe that when he had made his televised appeals to Penny, or to someone who might have been holding her. She’d never forget the endless, torturous hours of nothing that had followed. Please don’t let that happen to the Monroes. It’s too cruel a fate, for anyone. ‘We can talk about it more later,’ she told him, ‘or you can discuss it with Lauren. Is she there?’

  ‘Yes, she’s here.’

  ‘Good.’ Then, after a beat, ‘I know how difficult all this is, especially now the press are so involved, but Lauren will stay with you and there’ll be officers outside at all times. You have my number if you want to be in touch?’

  ‘Thank you. Yes, I have it.’

  ‘I’m as determined to find her as you are,’ she told him with feeling, and after assuring him she’d be in touch again as soon as she had more news, she rang off.

  ‘Mum, for God’s sake,’ Suzi was urging down the phone, ‘if you know where Gary is you have to turn him in.’

  ‘Who said I know where he is?’ her mother snapped.

  ‘You always know where he is, and you’ve seen the news. He’s all over it. Everyone’s looking for him, and if you’re hiding him it’s only going to make it worse for you.’

  ‘Not if they don’t find him.’

  ‘But they will. Mum, you can’t protect him from this. He was with Sophie the night she disappeared, they’ve got it on camera . . .’

  ‘She’s another one who was throwing herself at him,’ her mother came in tartly. ‘They’re all the same, these little tramps . . .’

  ‘Just listen, will you! You know as well as I do that he’s not supposed to go anywhere near a girl who’s under eighteen. So the very fact he even has this job could end him up back in prison. Oh God, I should never have helped him get it. This is all going to end up rebounding on me. Already people are giving me a wide berth, like I’m the one who’s on the bloody register . . . And now they’re saying they’ve found a hydroponics machine in his flat. What the hell’s the matter with him? Does he want to go back to jail or something?’

  ‘You have to stop getting yourself in a state over this,’ her mother told her firmly. ‘Whatever he’s done has got nothing to do with you.’

  ‘It doesn’t have anything to do with you either, but that doesn’t stop people throwing bricks through your windows and damaging your car.’

  ‘They’re just morons who don’t have anything better to do. You’ve got yourself a good position down there, Suzi, so you just hang on to it.’

  Suzi felt like screaming. ‘How am I going to do that when his bloody face is all over the news with a fourteen-year-old girl who I know he’s had some sort of relationship with? You’ve got to tell me if she’s with him, Mum, and if she is, you have to make him send her back.’

  ‘Suzi, I swear to you, I don’t know where he is.’

  ‘Hasn’t he been in touch with you at all?’ She gasped as the salon door suddenly opened and a small plastic bag landed softly in t
he middle of reception.

  ‘What is it?’ her mother cried.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Suzi wailed, shaking with fear. ‘Someone just threw something in . . . Oh Mum, what if it’s a bomb?’

  ‘Don’t be silly. Tell me what it looks like.’

  ‘It’s a plastic bag that’s got something in . . . I don’t want to look . . .’

  ‘It’s probably dog poo. Did you see who it was? If you did, you just go and chuck it back.’

  ‘What good’s that going to do? They’re trying to tell me they don’t want me here, so hurling dog poo at them is hardly going to change their minds, is it? Mum, please, tell me where he is.’

  ‘For the last time, I don’t know, but I can tell you this, if he was with that girl the night she disappeared he’s better off hiding, because until she turns up everyone’s going to think he’s done away with her and next thing we know he’ll be up on a bloody murder rap when he hasn’t even done anything wrong.’

  ‘But what if he has done something to her? She’s fourteen, Mum. Nearly half his age . . .’

  ‘This is your brother we’re talking about, of course he hasn’t done anything to her. Now you just calm down and go on about your business knowing you’ve got nothing to feel ashamed of.’

  ‘Mum! Don’t hang up. Mum!’

  Realising the line had gone dead, Suzi clicked off her end and covered her face with her hands. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve such a terrible life. Why hadn’t she realised it would all go wrong as soon as she brought her liability of a brother here? The truth was her mother had always been able to talk her into doing things she didn’t want to do – and slipping Gary into this job for the summer had been their mother’s idea.

  ‘You have to do something to help him,’ she’d been told. ‘He deserves a fresh start as much as you do after what he’s been through.’

  ‘But you know he’s not supposed to be around kids,’ Suzi had protested.

  ‘And you know what a load of nonsense that is. He’s no more a threat to them than you or me. So you do what you can to get him in there.’

  ‘But they run checks on people who are working with children, so they’ll know straight away he has a record, and once it gets out, which it will . . .’

  ‘All you have to do is say it’s just for the summer. He’s got a good record from when he was working at the pool in Dagenham. I’ll have a chat with someone I know there to get him a reference, which you can give to your employer. If she starts talking about CRB checks then we’ll say he’s found something else. All right? This isn’t a big ask, Suzi. This is what families do for one another.’