by Carol Wyer
He ran a tongue over dry lips and waited for her to question him further but she changed tack.
‘Have you heard from Lucas this holiday?’
‘No, but I wouldn’t expect to. The staff here usually can’t wait to get away from this place and we don’t tend to stay in touch until the new term. We see enough of each other during term.’
‘So no texts or emails?’ she said. He shook his head.
‘Is there any way I can get in contact with Jo and Stuart Devlin?’
He regarded her cagily. ‘I can’t give out confidential information like that. I’d need to see some identification.’
Robyn pulled out her Private Investigator’s licence and passed it to him. ‘This isn’t an official inquiry yet, Nick, but it soon will be. If you could get those details to me as soon as possible it would help enormously.’
‘I’ll get the school secretary to contact you,’ he said, lines appearing between his eyebrows. ‘The information will be on the school database.’
Robyn wrote down her number. ‘This is my personal number but you’ll also be able to get me at Staffordshire Police headquarters next week.’
‘Can I ask why you are asking about him? Is it to do with Thailand?’
‘Do you think it is to do with Thailand?’ She sat back and observed him. He shuffled in his seat for a moment before readopting his casual poise. ‘Well, I don’t think he’s up to anything over there, if that’s what you are suggesting.’
‘I’m not suggesting anything. I’m merely trying to build up a picture of a man who has suddenly given up a job he seemed to like and left. I’m looking for any leads that might help me work out why and where he’s gone.’
‘So he has gone, then?’ Nick said, a furrow appearing between his eyebrows. ‘Look, I wasn’t very close to the man. I was merely his head of department. I didn’t even like him that much. He was far too reserved for my liking and never integrated with the rest of us. That time we went to Thailand. It was embarrassing. I don’t like to discuss it.’
Robyn gave an encouraging nod and continued to sit back in her chair, allowing Nick plenty of space.
‘We went out for a meal with the Devlins on the first night. Lucas claimed he was a bit jet-lagged and had a headache so he left early. I stayed on and went back to their house for a nightcap so I didn’t return to the hotel until about one o’clock in the morning. I was waiting for the lift when a couple came through the hotel doors, arms wrapped around each other, clearly no eyes for anyone else. She was stunning, long sleek dark hair with orange streaks. It struck me she was quite tall for a Thai girl and dressed in a short white skirt, thigh-length boots and a glittery feather boa. She also seemed very young to me. When I looked more closely I was convinced she was a katoey – a lady boy. Her voice was not quite the right pitch and she had an Adam’s apple. That didn’t surprise me as much as the man necking her. It was Lucas.’
‘Did he see you?’
‘Luckily, I ducked into the lift and hit the button before he made it across the foyer and spotted me. I didn’t say anything to him about it but the next day, instead of going on a tour around Bangkok with the Devlins he cried off saying he felt sick and I have a feeling he spent the day with the same lady boy. It’s not that I’m a prude or anything. I know these girls are exciting and different. But it was the look on his face. I can’t describe it. It wasn’t like the Lucas I knew at all. It was lust and cruelty mixed together – it was primeval and it changed my opinion of him.’
‘Did you not say anything to him about it?’
‘It was none of my business. Exotic countries can encourage odd behaviour. People feel less inhibited when they are away. Like holidaymakers who start drinking alcohol at eleven in the morning in Spain or young people who behave wildly in places like Aya Napa or Ibiza. I figured it was one of those “What happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand” moments. Lucas has never given me reason to doubt his integrity at this school, so why question what he does when he is not here?’
* * *
Robyn left the school with a nagging feeling that Lucas Matthews was someone who would be of interest to the police and that his disappearance was without doubt suspicious. She would call her boss DCI Mulholland and request that this investigation be turned into an official police one.
7
The coffee shop was alive with chattering voices periodically drowned out by the deafening hiss of the coffee machine. Abigail spotted her friends clustered in the corner – Zoe’s bright green hair stood out. A child’s highchair was propped next to her other friend Claire, who suddenly spotted her and waved. Abigail wielded the buggy in their direction and was met with squeals of delight as she unbuckled Izzy and passed her to Claire, who wore an expression of adoration and held out her arms eagerly to take the child.
‘Hasn’t she grown?’ said Zoe from her seat, wiggling her fingers at the child. ‘I can’t believe it’s been two months since we saw you last. Good you’ve come out at last. Did you get lost under an enormous pile of nappies?’ She laughed. ‘Seriously, it’s great to see you. I know I’ve been a terrible friend but the new job has been so demanding and travelling up and down to London every day really takes it out of me after all those classes.’
‘It’s okay. I kind of lost track of time. Izzy’s been grumpy with her teeth coming through and before that she had a cold so I was frightened to take her out in case it got worse. And, I’m so tired I can hardly do anything some days. I don’t know where all the time has gone. I seem to drift from one day to the next and never have time for anything.’
‘I told you, she needs a nanny,’ said Claire, jiggling Izzy up and down. ‘Then we could go out like we used to.’
‘I couldn’t get a nanny for her. She’s so little. She needs me,’ said Abigail with a horrified expression.
‘Well, a babysitter then,’ suggested Zoe.
Abigail felt her skin go clammy and her heart began to pound. ‘No, not a babysitter. I’d prefer to look after her myself. There’ll be plenty of chances to go out again when she’s older and Jackson can have her for a few hours.’ She shut out the memory that was trying to surface and busied herself with her buggy.
Izzy gurgled contentedly and shook a plastic ring in Zoe’s direction while Claire continued to bounce the child on her knee. ‘You are so lucky,’ Claire murmured, smiling at the wriggling form. ‘She’s a poppet.’
‘She has her moments,’ replied Abigail with pride.
Zoe leaned forward to air-kiss her before taking her turn with Izzy. Izzy grabbed Zoe’s chunky necklace and sucked on it.
‘You look fabulous,’ Zoe gushed. ‘You’re looking much less mumsy today. Love the outfit. Is it new? Where did you get it? And how’s the gorgeous Jackson? Is he flying today?’ Her questions came out in a rush. That was Zoe, impatient, eager and almost puppy-like with her enthusiasm. ‘By the way, Rachel is getting the drinks. She insisted even though money is a bit tight for her. Wasn’t that sweet of her? She’s been struggling to make ends meet since the divorce and she doesn’t earn a fortune. She’s only part time at the dentist surgery and I certainly wouldn’t want her job, peering into people’s mouths and cleaning between the teeth no matter what it paid. Imagine cleaning out bits of decaying food. Yuck,’ she added, wrinkling her snub nose. ‘Rachel’s amazing.’
Claire threw Abigail a look that said otherwise.
‘That’s really nice of her to buy the drinks,’ Abigail agreed.
‘Poor Rachel. She’s really going through it at the moment,’ continued Zoe, her large grey eyes full of concern. ‘She was so pleased when I invited her to join us today.’
Izzy extracted the necklace, examined it closely and shoved it back in her mouth. Zoe smiled at her.
‘Why exactly did you invite Rachel today?’ asked Claire bluntly, simultaneously waving plastic rings at Izzy who let go of the necklace and reached out for them. ‘It’s not like she knows us very well. We only met her the once when you brought her to the
last meet-up.’
Zoe’s eyes grew large. ‘My bad. I felt sorry for her. She’s been struggling to make new friends. I think I’m the only person she knows in the area. She’s been through a horrible time with the divorce – it’s been very acrimonious – and I thought it would be okay if she came along. It’ll do her good to get out. Besides, she didn’t stop talking about you after the last meeting. She really liked you both. Obviously you didn’t feel the same.’ Claire scowled but said nothing. ‘You’re okay with it, aren’t you, Abby?’ Zoe asked.
Abigail wasn’t too comfortable with the situation but she didn’t want to upset Zoe. Rachel was a little weird and made her feel uneasy for some reason.
‘Yes, it’s fine. I’m cool with it. It’s hard to make new friends.’
Claire made no further comment as the fourth member of the group arrived with a tray laden with drinks and plonked it down.
‘I got you a latte, Abigail,’ Rachel said. ‘Hope that was okay. I got them to put some caramel syrup in it as a treat. You probably need the energy after running around looking after Izzy.’
Abigail wasn’t a fan of syrup but she didn’t want to appear ungrateful. ‘Great. Thanks.’
‘I love Izzy’s dress,’ said Rachel, stroking the child’s soft fleshy arm. ‘It’s very pretty. You’re very pretty,’ she added, talking to Izzy who beamed a happy smile. ‘There are times when I wish we’d had children. I’d have loved to,’ she said, a heavy sadness in her voice. ‘Still, it would have been a horrible experience to put them through. What with the whole divorce thing.’ She stopped, aware she was in danger of bringing everyone down, and instead adopted a more enthusiastic tone. ‘I happened to be passing a toy shop on the way here and I saw this.’
She rummaged in her large canvas bag and pulled out a rainbow-coloured teddy bear that she shook in front of Izzy who immediately held her hands out for the furry toy, burbling with pleasure. She put one of the feet in her mouth.
‘It is okay, isn’t it?’ asked Rachel. ‘You don’t mind me buying her a present?’
‘Of course. It was a lovely thing to do. Thank you,’ replied Abigail
‘She seems to like it. I still have my teddy from when I was a girl,’ continued Rachel, oblivious to the looks passing between Claire and Abigail. ‘You can never have too many soft toys. I have a collection of thirty now.’
‘Thirty?’ repeated Zoe in disbelief.
‘I’m a bit soft like that. I see them in shops and they seem to be begging me to take them home.’ Rachel giggled nervously. Izzy chose that moment to burp loudly and the conversation turned back to the child before moving on to catching up with each of their lives.
* * *
An hour later, the conversation was beginning to wane.
‘I ought to take some more photos of Izzy,’ said Claire, as the child bounced up and down. ‘She’s changing all the time. She’s also very photogenic. I could do a mother and child shot for you.’
Abigail had first met Claire when she’d turned up at the boutique in town to take photographs of several brides and mothers in their outfits for a feature about weddings. The feature was to appear on wedding websites and the shop owner had been keen to participate and promote the shop. Abigail, who worked at the boutique, was in charge of the outfits and ensured all the models looked wonderful while Claire clicked away with her Canon, encouraging people to smile and putting them at ease. After the event, both women were exhausted and Abigail poured them champagne from the shop’s special hoard. They had a laugh about the picky mothers and diva brides-to-be and a friendship was born.
Due to the nature of her occupation, Claire travelled the country taking photographs for various magazines and websites, and she had her own site filled with magnificent shots of birds. She spent hours in hides, waiting to capture a bird in flight or feeding. She had shown Abigail many of her photographs and divulged that her true ambition was to work on a television wildlife programme as a camera operator. Abigail felt Claire was often more comfortable squatting in a bunch of reeds waiting for that elusive photo opportunity than in company.
‘Do you prefer photographing people or nature?’ asked Rachel, twirling the long spoon that had accompanied her coffee around and around the empty glass.
‘Nature. I always feel I’m taking false images of people. They fake their smiles and hide behind masks. I’d rather take photographs of wild horses galloping about a field on a winter’s day, frosted clods of earth flying from their hooves and clouds of steam pouring from their nostrils and freedom in their eyes. Nature doesn’t disappoint. People do,’ she said.
Rachel regarded her warily. ‘But you photograph lots of people. Surely they’re not all like that.’
‘No. Children are nearly always natural, especially babies.’ She looked across at Izzy who was producing a large spit bubble. ‘See? Natural,’ said Claire, making Abigail and Zoe splutter.
‘She took some super photographs of Abigail when she was pregnant,’ offered Zoe. ‘Abby looked so serene and beautiful.’
‘Less so now the little monkey is out,’ said Abigail, changing the subject. She didn’t want Rachel to know about those intimate photographs. They were very artistic but personal and Zoe had no right to mention them.
‘Really?’ said Rachel, unwilling to let go of the subject. ‘How lovely. I admire women that make the most of their bodies and show them off. I’d love to see the photos some time. I bet you look beautiful, Abby – maternal and composed.’
Abigail winced. The woman was already becoming too familiar. Only her good friends called her Abby. Rachel had turned her attention to Claire now. ‘So, tell me, Claire, is there anyone special in your life? You haven’t mentioned anyone.’
‘Once upon a time but it didn’t work out,’ replied Claire, levelling her nonchalant gaze at Rachel. ‘I’m a bit busy for relationships at the moment and I’m happy on my own. I’m not old enough to be left on the shelf yet and I want to become a successful photographer – have a career before I tie myself down. There’s plenty of time for relationships.’
‘You’d soon fall into one if you met a bloke like Jackson,’ said Zoe. ‘Abigail’s husband,’ she explained to Rachel. ‘He’s totally gorgeous.’
Abigail smiled and was about to protest.
‘But, Jackson’s only got eyes for Abby,’ replied Claire. ‘So, Zoe, what about Andy? What’s happened there?’ she asked.
‘No. We split up last month. The relationship’s been going downhill for a while. He got into all that muscle-building stuff and I sort of went off him. I preferred it when he looked less like a Neanderthal. Besides, I’m with someone else.’
‘Really? Another guy from the gym?’
‘No. It’s early days though. I’m keeping this one quiet for the moment and seeing how it goes.’
‘Good for you,’ replied Rachel. ‘I hope you have more luck than me.’ She suddenly stood up. ‘Too much coffee. I need the loo.’ She squeezed past Zoe and headed for the toilets up the stairs.
‘Is she for real?’ said Claire.
‘She’s nervous, that’s all,’ Zoe retorted. ‘Hardly surprising since you’ve been glaring at her almost non-stop since she sat down. What’s the matter with you?’
‘I don’t much like her. She’s a bit blunt with her questions. Like she’s interviewing us or interrogating us.’
Zoe drew herself up on her seat and snapped, ‘For goodness sake. She doesn’t know much about you and she’s trying hard. At least she’s making an effort to be friendly. Honestly, Claire, sometimes you can be so frustrating. Ease up, will you? She’s just a lonely woman.’
‘Okay. But I’m not feeling any affection for her. She’s a bit of a whiner. Don’t bring her along next time.’
‘Don’t be such a cow. I don’t see why you have a problem. It’s no big deal. Rachel is a nice woman who could do with a friend or two. I thought you would understand that. You’re hardly Miss Popular yourself.’
‘Stop it, you two.’
Abigail waved her hands at them both. ‘You’re upsetting Izzy.’
On cue, Izzy let out a wail of dismay, diffusing the anger that was mounting, and Claire leant across to rub her arm very gently, coaxing her to smile. A large tear fell down the child’s face and plopped onto the highchair but she stopped crying when Claire handed her her car keys to play with. She jangled them in delight.
‘There, there. We were just having a girlie row. It was my fault. I was being silly. Sorry, Zoe. I didn’t get much sleep last night and I’m out of sorts.’
Zoe huffed but nodded tersely.
Claire lifted the baby. ‘I’ll take her outside for some air,’ she said. Abigail agreed and watched as her friend wandered towards the door, her child smiling again.
‘I’m going to get a glass of water. Flipping Claire. She can be so difficult at times. Sometimes I want to throttle her,’ said Zoe, standing up. ‘Back in a moment.’
Zoe went to an adjacent room where water jugs filled with cold water and ice stood in a line next to paper cups. Once she vanished from view, Abigail sat back and sighed.
Her phone buzzed. It was probably Jackson. She smiled at the thought and answered without checking the number. A mocking robotic voice spoke.
‘Hello, Abigail. What a perfect little family you have. Sadly, it won’t be perfect for much longer. You can’t trust anyone. You think you can but you can’t. So many secrets being kept. Not just you, either. Ask Jackson about his new lover. That is, if you dare. You might lose him. Poor Abigail. What would you do then?’