by Peter Martin
“Tim, the fourteen year old son of Bob and Maria Shepherd didn’t returned home from school on last Friday. A thorough investigation of the circumstances has failed to find any information regarding Tim’s whereabouts. If anyone remembers seeing Tim on the day in question, or since, they should telephone the police as soon as possible. All calls would be treated in the strictest confidence.”
No mention of Tim’s absences from school or the missing money had been made, and Bob said it had been written sensitively and was quite acceptable. But when Maria broke down in tears, he realised that talking about what had happened and planning to broadcast it to all and sundry had upset her.
Gail suggested she should see a doctor to help calm her down, but as before Maria wouldn’t hear of it, saying she wanted to be in full control of her emotions.
After a few minutes, Maria seemed more composed and Inspector Williams continued, ‘I’m sorry Mrs Shepherd, but there really is no easy way to find your son, we have to take these measures.
‘We have drafted a statement for you to read out at the press conference. Please rest assured you will not be required to answer any awkward questions.’ He handed them a second A4 sheet of paper which they read methodically before nodding their heads in agreement.
Bob wondered how the conference would pan out and hoped Maria would keep her cool.
Chapter 5
The next morning Maria was up early, growing ever more frantic over the press conference due at midday.
She made herself a cup of tea, and went into the living room, switching on the television. At first sitting there sipping her drink, she didn’t take in what was on the screen. The same old boring news, the latest strike by teachers, an oil tanker had run aground off Ireland. Then came the showbiz gossip concerning a film star’s most recent illicit affair. When the local news came on, she was jolted out of her reverie by the presenter mentioning the name Tim Shepherd. Sitting bolt upright she listened to a short item describing his disappearance; the extensive police search, and as details were given of a police hotline, Tim’s photograph appeared before her.
This wasn’t supposed to happen yet. Her heart thumped hard against her chest. Panic set in. Now everyone would know. How would she deal with the comments that people would inevitably make?
Her immediate reaction was to rush upstairs and wake Bob, but tears streamed down her cheeks, and she was unable to move. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw Bob. Hurriedly she tried to wipe away her tears, but too late – he’d already seen her distressed state.
‘What’s the matter love? Something happened?’
‘The local news just covered Tim’s disappearance. They even showed his picture. The whole world has seen it – that wasn’t what we agreed.’
‘Come on Maria, don’t fret. It might seem like an invasion of our privacy but it’s probably for the best. If someone remembers seeing Tim on that day, it might make a big difference.’
‘Maybe, but that’s not the point, Gail led us to believe nothing would be released to the media until after the press conference.’
‘Yes I know, but on the other hand we need all the help we can get.’ He spoke in a very determined tone of voice.
‘Let’s hope they don’t go back on their word and allow the press to bombard us with awkward questions. And if that happens I’ll walk out.’
Maria put her hand to her forehead. She was finding this tough, and sensing this Bob held her tightly in his arms.
‘It’ll come right I promise you. Imagine if Tim had the television on somewhere and saw what lengths we’re going to, to find him; it might make him want to come home – don’t you think?’
Maria hoped so and said so praying to God the ordeal she’d have to go through would pay dividends – it had to.
Switching the television off, she went into the kitchen to make them a light breakfast. They both ate the toast and marmalade in relative silence; Maria locked in her own little world of worries and fears. After washing up they went upstairs to get ready.
In front of the mirror, she applied a little blusher to disguise how pale and drawn she looked, and a touch of concealer to lessen the dark circles under her eyes.
Bob dressed in brown trousers and khaki jacket over a cream shirt, looking as smart as his wife in her best grey suit.
‘Ready then Bob?’
‘Yes. Let’s get it over with, shall we?’
She nodded, breathing in deeply, before leaving the house for Bob’s car parked outside. As Bob drove the short distance towards Dexford Police Station, Maria sat in the passenger seat, feeling as if she could throw up at any time. The traffic was heavy, but they’d allowed themselves plenty of time, so there was no need to worry about being late.
Suddenly Maria heard a newscaster on the car radio give out the news of Tim’s disappearance. Maria’s body jerked and promptly she switched it off.
‘Hey, what did you do that for?’
‘Sorry, I can’t bear to listen to it.’
‘But there might be something important about Tim on there.’
‘I don’t think so – we’d have heard about it before now.’
Bob sighed, but Maria didn’t care. She refused to let anything upset her, or she wouldn’t get through the nightmare to come.
They arrived at the police station just after ten o’clock, to be met by Gail and Inspector Williams, and after shaking hands were shown into an interview room. There they discussed what the media had been told, and the likely questions the police would have to answer. To allay their fears, Gail reiterated that as parents of the missing child, the media weren’t permitted to ask them questions – they’d only have to read the prepared statement. Then the couple left by police car for the television studios.
As they approached the studios, the whole situation seemed surreal. All Maria could think of, was why should this happen to us? And this time last week she never dreamt her smug happy world would be destroyed so cruelly. But such negative thoughts only added to the tension. And by the time they entered the building, her head was throbbing, along with a constant anxious need to go to the toilet; but holding onto Bob’s hand, she carried on. She’d already decided to leave all the talking to Bob. He too must have felt quite tense.
First came their session with the make-up people. Which Maria saw no point in, but like everything else that had been asked of them she just went along with it.
Then a TV executive took them to the studio. The room was large and put Maria in mind of a school assembly room. But instead of a stage, at the one end there was a table and six chairs facing an area with enough seats for an audience of fifty people.
At this point Gail reaffirmed that she or one of the other officers would do all the talking, and only one of them had to read out a statement at the end of the proceedings.
Before long the sound of movement and voices came from the corridor as the studio started to fill up with journalists and photographers.
Bob squeezed Maria’s hand in reassurance. Maria smiled, but wanted the ordeal over with.
Two uniformed police officers were also in attendance. Gail sat one side of the couple, and Inspector Williams the other. After a few minutes, the Inspector glanced in Maria and Bob’s direction, and then addressed the audience:
‘Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce myself – I’m Detective Inspector Williams and this is my colleague Detective Sergeant Meadows. We are the two officers in charge of the investigation into the disappearance of fourteen year old Tim Shepherd, a pupil of Dexford High School.’ And looking towards Bob and Maria he continued. ‘This is Mr and Mrs Shepherd the distressed parents of the missing lad.’
Maria and Bob listened to Inspector Williams’ speech about their son. The policeman’s concise and to the point prose grabbed everyone’s attention.
He painted a picture of Tim, the honest, loyal teenager who’d never been in any trouble; the model pupil, clever and well-liked by all who knew him. And who ha
d left his parents’ home in the morning, in a happy and contented mood – and on his way to school had disappeared.
What had happened to him was unclear, but someone must have seen him at a bus stop or in the area, and could surely shed some light on his whereabouts. Any information from members of the public would be treated in the strictest confidence, and then certain phone numbers were given out.
Throughout the conference a photograph of Tim was displayed to the audience on a large presentation screen, along with a map of his usual route to school.
When Inspector Williams had finished, one or two journalists raised hands to ask questions, mainly to elaborate on Tim’s good character and to expand on certain points already mentioned. Then the spotlight turned on Maria and Bob and the Inspector said, ‘Maria and Bob are going through a particularly difficult time, and are out of their minds with worry. If Tim is watching, they’d like to make this plea….’
As previously arranged Bob read the prepared statement.
‘Tim, if you’re out there, would you please, please come home, or at least let us know you’re all right. Whatever’s troubling you, can be worked out between us. We’re not angry with you, son – all we want is for you to come back.’
They were written words but a plea from the heart was brought home by the quivering emotion in Bob’s voice.
Then he looked towards Maria, willing her to make a heartfelt appeal, to convince their son of their deep anguish.
And forgetting all her previous misgivings she spoke. ‘Tim, we love you so much, miss you terribly, I’m begging you to come back home – you’re breaking our hearts. And if someone has abducted him, I beg that person to release him - he’s just an innocent young boy.’
Maria broke down then, sobbing profusely, her head buried in her hands, her agony of her missing son, there for all to see. Anyone watching would be moved and feel sympathy for her.
‘Thank you ladies and gentlemen, that will be all,’ Gail shouted up amid the flashing lights of photographers taking picture after picture of the sad couple.
Once Maria had composed herself, an officer took the couple to a meeting room where Inspector Williams and Gail joined them to discuss the outcome of the conference.
‘You both did very well,’ Gail said with a supportive smile.
‘I agree,’ Inspector Williams said. ‘This publicity is bound to have the desired effect. Surely it will jog someone’s memory, and maybe we’ll get the lead we’re hoping for.’
‘I made a complete mess of it,’ Maria sighed. ‘God knows what people thought, but I couldn’t hold back my emotions. I keep thinking something awful has happened to him.’
‘Mrs Shepherd, that’s only natural,’ Gail assured her. ‘I think you should continue to be optimistic. People will have identified with what you’re going through as they’ll have sons and daughters of their own. They’ll all be talking about it to friends, neighbours, family and perhaps somewhere along the line, somebody will remember seeing him, which is all we need. Sooner or later he will be found.’
‘Of course he will,’ Bob said trying to reassure his wife, with an arm around her shoulder.
They arrived back home around mid-afternoon.
Bob changed back into his casual clothes and left Maria to do the same. He was hoping to settle down to a more relaxing afternoon, so he turned on the television, switching channels to look out for the local news reports about the press conference. He watched every report, pleased all the channels had given it some coverage and reported in a fair and balanced way. All showed clips of them overcome with emotion. Might it make a difference, he wondered? It may be the main subject of conversation for a day or two, but if nothing came to light, it would soon be old news and forgotten about.
But he was brought out of his musings by the sound of a closing door upstairs. Maria. Why was she so long in changing her clothes? She must be doing something else – but what? A wave of apprehension came over him, as he went upstairs to investigate, first in their bedroom, the spare bedroom, and the bathroom, to no avail.
He opened the door to Tim’s room, to see Maria sitting on the bed. On her lap was an album showing photographs of Tim from his birth right up to the present day. At first she didn’t acknowledge his presence in the room. Then moving to sit down beside her Bob said, ‘They’re lovely photos, aren’t they love?’
‘They are. It only seems like yesterday since…’
‘We’ve got so many happy memories, of holidays, days out, his first day at school. He’s given us so much pleasure over the years.’
‘He has - so why did he run away?’ She wept before dabbing her eyes with a tissue from up her sleeve. ‘We’ve given him everything, bent over backwards to make him happy – and this is how he repays us. Oh why! Oh why! Why has he done this to us?’
‘He may not have run away – someone might have snatched him.’
‘Then, how come that money’s missing?’
Bob shook his head. He had no answer to that one.
But in reality he felt the same way, but tried not to show it. And now he wondered whether they’d ever see Tim again. But he’d never say that to Maria.
While she continued to reminisce, Bob looked around Tim’s room, opening his wardrobe he noticed very few of his clothes, if any, appeared to be missing. His football and cricket bat lay in the bottom of the wardrobe along with his well-worn skates. On the shelving unit to the side sat his football and golf books neatly stacked together. An old skateboard leaned against the wall, and poking out from underneath the bed, were a pair of trainers. Why had Tim wanted to leave all this? The more Bob thought about it the more baffling it became. It seemed a normal teenager’s room. What could have happened to his son? He cogitated over a dozen different things, and any one of them might be the truth.
Being in Tim’s room like this, evoked happier times, which made their present situation sadder and Bob realised this wouldn’t help, only make matters worse.
But they were brought back to reality by the sound of the phone ringing. It made Bob jump before causing him to bound his way downstairs towards the living room. Maria followed, and just as she entered the room he picked up the phone.
‘I’ve seen him,’ the voice on the other end said.
‘Pardon - what do you mean, you’ve seen him?’ Bob gripped the phone tighter, glancing at Maria who suddenly looked excitable and frantic.
‘What I said. I’ve seen him – walking into the railway station, he was. Calm as you like as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Got on a train too, he did, but where to I don’t know, because I was too far away.’
‘When and where was this?’
‘Ah, that would be telling. But I’m sure it was him Mr Shepherd, cos I saw his picture on the telly. I’m positive...’
‘But that’s no good to us. It doesn’t tell us anything. Can you be more specific?’
Bob heard a cackle in the background and didn’t much like the sound of it.
‘You pay me some money, and I might tell you more.’
Bob shook with rage. He slammed the phone down, his face red with fury.
‘Bob!’ Maria screamed. ‘What did you do that for?’
‘Because it was a hoax, woman. Some bastard ringing up claiming he’d seen Tim, wanting money off us, to tell us more. Haven’t we been through enough without this jerk giving us that sort of rubbish?’
‘How can you be sure of that?’
‘Because I can. How did he get this phone number?’ He picked up the phone to get the number of the person who’d just rung, but it had been withheld. So he phoned the police who promised to get their number changed in the morning. Any calls to the old number would be received at the police station. Relieved, Bob put the phone down.
He was still shaking with anger when the phone rang again. He didn’t want to answer it, but if he didn’t Maria would feel obliged to.
‘Dad – it’s me Tim. I’m dead dad, somebody killed me,’ a voice Bob knew wasn’t
Tim said.
This time he slowly put the phone down, not wanting Maria to know about the call.
Three more calls came through during the evening, along similar lines. Finally he took the phone of the hook. Maria was horrified and put the phone back in its cradle.
How annoying, Bob thought, this was the last thing she’d expected. He closed his eyes in frustration, almost wishing they hadn’t taken part in the press conference. He’d be glad when the phone number was changed as it seemed the only way to get some peace. But if Tim tried to ring, he wouldn’t recognise the voice of the policeman at the other end, and very likely put the phone down. It seemed a no win situation.
As time passed, the pressure seemed to increase on both of them.
Chapter 6
Maria fidgeted about in bed for what seemed all night, mulling over the circumstances of Tim’s disappearance. Her head was pounding. First the press conference and now these hoax calls. People could be so cruel. These pranksters had sparked off another bout of hysteria that made her feel sick with dread.
Anyway the frame of mind she was in, she decided to get up and make herself a drink. But on reaching the living room she automatically went over to the phone and dialled 1471 just in case Tim had tried to contact them during the night. To her relief no one had phoned since the last prank call.
She carried on to the kitchen, put the kettle on, and as she was about to pour herself a cup of tea, she heard Bob coming down the stairs.
‘Not sleeping is getting to be a habit with us, isn’t it Maria?’ He remarked as he came into the kitchen.
‘I just want to help Tim, but I don’t know how.’
‘Look love, we did our best yesterday, whether it was the right thing, remains to be seen. Come on, let’s go in the living room.’
As they sat down on the sofa Bob glanced at the phone and said, ‘Had any more funny phone calls?’
‘No, not yet. I’m so angry about that. And what happens if Tim tries to contact us?’