Joe came over to the group. He kept his voice down.
“Jeez, they’re hanging him out to dry. With this on his official record he’ll be lucky if he gets a job anywhere. Does he know what they are saying about him?”
Paul shrugged.
“He can’t do. They must have told him one thing, but if anyone asks they get the version we received. It doesn’t look good and right at this moment, I have no idea what we can do about it.”
Patrick snarled.
“I am not going to see one of my men dragged through shit like this. I’m taking it further.”
Ellen put a hand on his arm.
“You can’t do anything that will hurt this venture. I’ll support you in anything, but not to the detriment of this place or the rehab centre. Roscoff can be shut down just by the government taking their business elsewhere. You can’t risk that, Patrick. There are too many men to consider.”
Joe looked thoughtful.
“Why can’t Alex just change the official record. He can get into their computer system easily enough. Why don’t we get him to wait until Ryan has his official discharge and his medal and then go and adjust the whole lot? I doubt anyone will check after he’s out, I mean, why would they. If he ever needs a reference they just print off the entry and send it. No one ever looks at them to check. And if anyone looks him up casually they aren’t going to check very far. As soon as they see his medal list, which is official anyway, everything else will just be icing.”
Ellen turned to Patrick.
“Can that be done? It would mean that he has some kind of future at least.”
Patrick glanced over at his friend and ran his fingers through his hair. He wasn’t enamoured with the idea. There were too many pitfalls.
“I think Alex will take some convincing and Ryan still wouldn’t be allowed to fly. He’ll need insurance and there’s no way he can risk putting in an apparently false record. Even if we know the truth his insurance company will go over it with a fine toothcomb and if they decide to clarify anything the game would be up. If he ever needed to make a claim any changes will be discovered...I need a few days to think this over and discuss it with Daniel Bailey. He might be willing to help officially if it’s just in order for Ryan to get a job.”
Amy watched as Ryan wiped Rose’s toffee-appled cheeks with a big white handkerchief.
“And what do we do about Gemma and Ryan. She thinks he’s a liar and a fraud. We have to tell her that Ryan was telling the truth about everything.”
Patrick shook his head.
“It won’t matter what we say. She’s the one who has to learn to trust him if their relationship is going to go anywhere. If they are going to have anything long term, she has to believe his version of events. If she doesn’t then they will never last.”
Ellen was about to speak again when Ryan suddenly came bursting into the tent. David and a frantic Geraldine were close behind him.
“Has anyone seen the kids? Geraldine thought they would be with David, but he’s not seen them since before the waxing.”
David stumbled into the tent with Geraldine holding his arm. He was still attempting to fix one of his legs on properly. At last the leg appeared to be stable and he stood up straight.
“I thought they were playing down here, but Geraldine just came home because she thought they were with me. I had to go and have a lie down. I was feeling a little weak.” He confessed, though he didn’t look weak now. He looked petrified.
Patrick spoke up.
“I haven’t seen Robbie since this morning. He came and asked me about a tree house. I thought you must be going to make one together or something.”
David looked confused.
“He’s not mentioned it to me, but then we don’t seem to be talking about anything at the moment. He just goes off in a huff every time I open my mouth. I can’t say or do anything right.”
Geraldine had tears in her eyes.
“Luc was in ‘is pram earlier, but he’s not there now and neither is ‘is baby bag. I thought Robbie must ‘ave taken ‘im out to show the other children, you know what he’s like for ‘olding ‘is brother.”
The others nodded. Robbie had been looking forward to a brother for so long that he barely let anyone else near the child from the moment Luc was born.
Geraldine dissolved in another round of sobbing while David began shouting for his children. Patrick caught hold of the desperate man’s shoulders and lugged him into a chair while Ellen hushed everyone. Patrick took over as soon as calm had been restored.
“Right, we need to get hold of the local police immediately and then we can set up a search party. There are still plenty of people about who will help us search. The kids are probably somewhere on the estate. Robbie was pretty keen on the tree-house idea. He might be planning it as we speak, but hasn’t thought to tell anyone where he has gone. There’s no way he can have gone far with Fran and Luc with him. With a bit of luck we’ll hear Luc crying for a bottle or because his nappy is uncomfortable.”
Ellen looked out of the tent. Their local policeman stood bare-chested, proudly strutting around the ebbing crowd outside the cider tent. She rushed over to speak to him.
It wasn’t long before the policeman had re-buttoned his shirt and organized a search party. He gathered any remaining locals and quickly divided them into groups. Because the estate was so huge they all began at different points, with Patrick, Joe, Paul and David each heading up a group. All of them knew the estate inside out and even though Paul couldn’t see, his other senses counted for more than a normal pair of eyes. Ryan walked with him just to make sure that he didn’t miss anything or came to any harm from unexpected obstacles.
It was late in the afternoon before all the groups made their way to the middle of the forest with no result. By the time they had all retraced their steps the clouds had darkened even further and rain had begun to pelt down. There was still no sign of the three children anywhere and Geraldine sat and sobbed in David’s arms as the local constable called in the Gendarme.
Chapter Thirteen
David sat with his head in his hands as the overbearing Gendarme blasted him with rapid questions. He felt as though he’d answered every one of them five times over, but the man kept asking again and again.
No, he hadn’t seen Robbie or Fran or Luc since early that morning. He’d had to go out and by the time he came home he assumed that Geraldine had sorted them out with either friends or family.
No, he hadn’t brought them back up to the château after the waxing event.
No, he hadn’t been drinking all day. He’d had three pints of cider straight after he’d had every hair removed, extremely painfully from his body by his own wife.
Yes, he had an excellent relationship with his wife.
He had an excellent relationship with his children.
He looked up when silence met his last response. The Gendarme looked right back at him and raised an eyebrow.
David lost his temper.
“What the fuck is that meant to mean? Why are you even asking me these questions? I want to get back out there and search for my kids.”
The man in front of him sat back and breathed in deeply.
“Do you know where to look for them? It will save a lot of time if you can tell us where they are.”
David stared open mouthed at the man.
“What are you saying? If you think that I have anything to do with their disappearance you can just bog off out of my house.” He pushed his chair back and stood up.
The Gendarme didn’t move.
“You will stay here until you answer all my questions. Where were you this morning that was so important that you couldn’t be here to see your children were looked after? I know that you have argued with your son. It’s common knowledge that you are trying to push him into a school in Brest. Was that so you no longer have to take responsibility for him? Were you trying to get rid of him?” The man stopped as David turned a dark shade of pu
ce.
“You bastard! You can either charge me with something or get out now, either way I’m making a complaint against you. You’re wasting time and throwing around stupid suggestions.”
The man stood up slowly. He looked David up and down.
“You should be careful. A man in your situation wouldn’t do well in prison. I think that you have grown soft in this life of luxury.” He tilted his chin at the opulence of the room as he walked towards the door. “I need to question your beautiful wife. It can’t be much fun for her having such a disabled husband. Maybe she will tell us the truth about what has been happening here.”
David stalked forwards and stood toe to toe with the arrogant man.
“You upset my wife at all and I will make sure that you never step foot outside an office ever again. If you are not going to bother searching for my kids then I’ll bloody do it myself.” He tore the door open and almost fell over as Geraldine threw herself into his arms.
“David! What is ‘e saying? I listened through the door.” A clearly distressed Geraldine wept into his neck.
David swept the love of his life close into his chest and held her tightly. He breathed into her hair.
“Fucking idiot thinks I’ve hidden the kids somewhere, either that or something even worse. He’s suggesting that I took them away and hid them this morning when I went out, but the idiot’s already forgotten that Patrick already told him that he drew a plan of a tree-house with Robbie ages after I left here.”
The policeman looked down at Geraldine.
“You husband declined to tell me where he was this morning. You can imagine what I thought. In cases such as these we nearly always find that one of the parents is to blame. Your husband clearly has his own problems.” He glanced down at David’s legs before his eyes roamed over his scarred face. “I have also discovered that he has been arguing with your son. It is sometimes easier to get rid of the problem rather than addressing it.”
Geraldine looked at David.
“What is ‘e going on about?” she sounded as confused as she looked.
The Gendarme didn’t wait for a response from David.
“Do you know where you husband went this morning? It was a big event for you here. Why did he leave and not return until midday?”
Geraldine turned to David again. Even though she knew that he would never harm his own or anyone else’s children, she was curious about his continued disappearances.
“Where did you go? You keep on going out without telling anyone. What are you ‘iding from me?”
David looked decidedly uncomfortable. He took Geraldine’s arm and guided her towards the lounge where everyone was gathered, waiting to hear news of the children. He sat down on a chaise just outside the door and pulled Geraldine to sit down with him.
“I’ve done something that I probably should have discussed with you first.”
Geraldine pulled back from her husband as the Gendarme took a long stride forwards, his expression almost gleeful as he waited to hear David’s confession.
Geraldine took hold of David’s hand.
“What should you ‘ave told me about? What ‘ave you done?” Her voice trembled with anxiety.
David’s whole body drooped.
“Something probably really stupid,” he spoke quietly, not realizing that nearly everyone was listening to his confession from just inside the lounge doors. He looked guiltily into his wife’s eyes. “I couldn’t bear the thought of Robbie going away to boarding school. It’s too far to drive him there and back every day, even though we both know that it’s the best place for him. I had to do something to keep him here with us...I’ve been really selfish and done something that won’t benefit anyone but our own family. As soon as I did it I felt so ashamed of what I’ve done that I just couldn’t bring myself to tell you.” He paused and took a deep breath before he ploughed on quickly. “I bought a helicopter and I’ve been having lessons, but I haven’t passed my test yet. I’m just not getting the hang of it at all. I’ve been trying to fit extra flying hours in the hope that I can pass so that I can take Robbie to and from school every day. Ellen organized this event after I’d already booked my lesson. I didn’t want to miss it in case it put me behind. The school have already agreed that I can land in their field every...”
He didn’t have chance to say anything else before Geraldine suddenly burst into tears and threw herself back into her husband’s arms. David patted her back and looked over her shoulder towards the Gendarme.
“I’d not hurt my children for the whole world. They are everything to me, everything. You have no idea what my life was like before I met Geraldine and you have no way of knowing what my wife and family mean to me but I hope you never have to go through what I did to find out what is really important to you.” He clutched Geraldine into his chest as he kissed her forehead tenderly.
The Gendarme looked slightly uncomfortable at the fervour in David’s tone. He turned to the crowd gathered inside the lounge doorway and looked as though he was about to speak when a soaking wet Joe suddenly burst through the front doors waving a soaking sheet of paper in front of him.
“This was in the back of my car.” He shoved the dripping sheet at Patrick who snatched it out of Joe’s wet hand.
He recognized it immediately and glanced back up quickly.
“I drew that for him this morning. It’s the plan for the tree house he wants to build. How did it get in your car?”
Joe’s hair dripped as he shook his head.
“No idea, unless Robbie put it there. It was in the boot. I’d left a window open and was making sure that the kids hadn’t sneaked inside somehow. You know how Robbie likes to pretend he can drive. They’re obviously not there now, but they must have been at some point today after I picked up the cakes. I would have noticed it if it had been there before.” Water began puddling at his feet. The storm had worsened considerably.
Ryan stood looking over Patrick’s shoulder at the soggy picture.
“What’s that line and those wiggly squiggles all around the drawing? That doesn’t look like anything you would have drawn.”
Patrick turned the drawing and peered at it with narrowed eyes.
“You’re right. I’ve not a clue what it is. Looks like it could be a flock of birds on a washing line.”
Ryan shook his head.
“No, can’t be that. Look, isn’t that a fish?”
David released Geraldine and stared at the strange drawing.
“That is definitely a fish. Remember, Robbie used to draw all the ones he caught with Joe. So he wants to build a tree house down by the river.” He shuddered as he pointed at the three little faces depicted peering out of the wooden building, one with short dark hair, one with longer brown hair and a bald baby holding onto a fluffy ball with legs on. David let out a great breath as he spoke again. “He thinks he can live with Fran and Luc on his own. He’s going to try and make a house for them all.” His voice sounded as though splinters had been poured down his throat.
Ryan swallowed as he looked around at the now crowded hall. David’s distress was more than he could bear to see.
“Who checked down by the river?” He waited until the local policeman stuck his hand up, but the man shook his head at the same time.
“There was nothing to indicate that the children were anywhere near there. We’ve been all over, but maybe young Robbie was trying to find you, Joe...”
Joe interrupted.
“I haven’t been anywhere near home again today and Robbie knew that I wouldn’t have time to. I’ve been way too busy collecting cakes, taking people to and from and getting waxed practically all over. The only place I’ve actually been today, apart from here, is the rehab...” He stopped dead and stared at Ryan. “Has anyone bothered to call Gemma to tell her what’s going on? The kids could have sneaked into the back of the car after I collected the cakes, but before I went to pick up Amy and Paul. Amy was still getting ready so I had a coffee with Paul at the
centre. Do you think Robbie could have stowed away in my car and sneaked out when I was inside?”
Patrick was already on the phone. He couldn’t believe that the children could have been so quiet that Joe hadn’t noticed them, but if he’d had the radio on...He listened to the phone ringing for several seconds There was no answer from the château. He punched in some different numbers and pulled the phone from his ear a few seconds later as a buzz of sound erupted from the device. He waited until the static cleared before he spoke.
“Gemma? We’ve lost Robbie, Fran and Luc. Have you seen any of them? Joe found Robbie’s picture in his car. He’d been up to the centre this morning. Robbie could be somewhere there now.” He pressed speaker volume as the phone crackled in his ear and Gemma’s voice suddenly came through above the sound of crashing waves in broken, shouted snatches.
“Robbie...hiding in...never knew they...sick all over....sail gone...finding somewhere...” The line crackled again before going dead.
David stared in horror at the phone as Patrick slapped it against his palm and then raised it to his ear again.
“Gemma! Are you still there? Gem?” There was nothing but dead air answering him.
David grabbed the phone and shook it.
“Gemma! Where are you?” he bellowed, desperation evident in his tone.
Ryan put a hand on his shoulder.
“Give me the phone.” He didn’t wait, but took it from David’s hand. He swept his finger across the screen several times and then showed it to David, Patrick and Joe.
Joe’s eyes opened wide.
“Shit! She’s out in amongst the islands with my kids!” His eyes glanced at the time on the screen and then out of the tall drawing room window. “Jesus! It’s high tide in half an hour, in this storm...and she’s out in our sailboat with apparently no sail! Fuck! She’ll be lucky if she can find a pimple of rock to land them on.”
Patrick grabbed the phone back and began to dial the emergency services. The coastguard responded quickly, but he wasn’t sure that it would be soon enough.
Scarred Survival (Scarred Series Book 5) Page 21