by Peter Martin
To be locked up in a stinking police cell with only a blanket to cover her was hard to take, almost like a bad dream. How she wished Bob was with her now – she needed his support like never before and suspected he felt the same.
Early the next morning when the door of her cell opened, there stood that two-faced bitch Gail all smiles, accompanied by the duty officer who was carrying a breakfast tray for her.
‘Thought you might like something to eat,’ the duty officer said placing the tray on the small table by the bed.
‘Thanks.’
‘So have you got anything to say to us yet?’ Gail asked, raising her eyebrows.
Maria hadn’t woken up properly and shot Gail a dirty look saying tearfully, ‘Why don’t you leave me alone?’
‘Touchy, aren’t we, so early in the morning. It’s about time you showed a bit of shame over what you did. It’s your own flesh and blood, for God’s sake. You make me sick, you really do.’
‘Just go away?’
‘All right, I’m going.’ Gail said. ‘But I’ll see you when you’re ready to talk. We need to get to the bottom of this whole sorry affair.’ But when Maria made no reply she left without another word.
In the confines of her cell she lay back on the bed, her hands behind her head staring at the ceiling, unable to stomach any breakfast.
Later she was taken to the same interview room as before. And within the matter of a few minutes was joined by Gail, who questioned her all over again. It was relentless and Maria stopped listening, she’d heard it so many times before.
Eventually Gail left the room leaving Maria with only a policewoman for company. Later they gave her something to eat and allowed to go to the toilet. Every so often she asked the policewoman guarding her what was going on, but she wasn’t forthcoming.
Around three o’clock the door to the interview room opened.
It wasn’t Gail but an older man. He had a pock scarred face, his greasy black hair was combed back, and he wore plain clothes. ‘All right Mrs Shepherd,’ he began without introducing himself. ‘You’re free to go.’
‘You what!’ she gasped.
Maria wondered if she’d misheard what he’d just said, having fully expected to be charged with her son’s murder.
‘I said you’re out of here. Come on, hurry up before we change our minds.’
‘What about my husband?’
‘He’s being freed as well.’
‘Thank God,’ Maria whispered under her breath.
She followed the police officer down the corridor to a waiting room, where Bob was sitting down, his elbows on his thighs, and his head in his hands. What a sorry sight he looked she thought. But when he saw her he was immediately on his feet and took her in his arms. As they kissed she was so relieved they were going home. The last twenty four hours had made Tim’s disappearance seem much worse and it was far from over.
‘You all right?’ He asked her.
She nodded saying, ‘Shall we go?’
As they were about to leave, Maria saw a figure stomping towards them. Gail. All smiles as if nothing had happened. She came up to them.
‘Thought I’d catch you before you left.’
‘Oh yes,’ Bob replied, standing right in front of her in a hostile manner.
‘If you think you’ve got away with this, you’re very much mistaken. From now on we’ll be watching your every move.’
Maria’s mouth dropped open. ‘Pity you can’t put your energies into finding our son, instead of running around accusing people of things they haven’t done.’
‘We mean to find out the truth, no matter what it takes,’ Gail remarked.
‘Come on love, we’re not achieving anything by having a slanging match. Let it go.’ He held onto her arm.
Maria wanted to hit her, but they were in enough trouble without taking matters into their own hands. Trouble not of their own making.
Once they were outside Bob said, ‘It’s no good letting it get to you. They can’t touch us because they haven’t got a shred of evidence – and it’s riling them.’
‘I’m so glad to get out of there. I really thought they were about to charge us.’
‘There are plenty of sicko’s around. But who could have gone to those sort of lengths, without our knowledge? I’m amazed we didn’t see or hear anything.’
‘Its people we know, I’m sure – somebody who’s got a grudge against us. Maybe those neighbours from over the road; the ones we’ve had a few run in’s with over the years. Or someone at Tim’s school.’
‘Surely no one we know would sink that low – would they? It’s scaring the shit out of me.’
Maria squeezed his arm as they walked towards Dexford High Street, a little aggrieved the police hadn’t even offered to take them home after their ordeal. Bob hailed a taxi, and it was just turned four o’clock when the taxi pulled up outside their house.
After paying the taxi fee Maria grabbed hold of Bob’s hand. They were being spied on, she’d noticed the lace curtains in the downstairs window of the house opposite being pushed back into place.
‘I don’t like this, they’re prying on us, wondering what’s been going on – the nosy so and so’s. I just saw movement in the window of the house over the road. You’d think they’d have something better to do with their sad little lives than to gossip over us. I don’t want to live round here anymore. When this is all over, I want to get away from here.’
‘Yes, but come on, not everyone is like that. The trouble is, dealing with the media has made this common knowledge.’ He opened the front door.
Both were glad to be inside, and while Bob made his way to the living room, Maria went straight to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Within minutes she placed cups of hot tea on the living room table.
Having sat down beside Bob, she held his hand, trying to relax a little and taking a sip of her tea. Missing Tim was affecting her the most, much more than their dealings with the police.
After the events of the last few days it seemed eerily quiet in the house. Holding hands, they spoke little, until they were brought back to reality by the phone ringing. They looked at each other for a silent second to two, then Bob got up and went over to answer it.
‘Hello,’ was all he said. And seeing his face redden Maria realised at once it must be another nuisance call. His eyes seemed to register anger and also a little fear.
‘Get stuffed mate,’ He shouted into the phone before slamming it down.
‘What was all that about, Bob?’ She stressed.
‘I can’t believe this. It sounded like that guy again. We know what you did, he said – we’ll get you. You’re going to pay, and so on and so on.’
‘But how? The police promised to change our number again.’
‘Obviously not.’
‘We ought to sue them for what they’ve done to us. Or at least file a complaint.’
And as he shook his head in agreement, she burst into tears once again. She went into his arms, wondering if she’d ever get away from this hell called life.
Chapter 10
The rest of the day was spent recuperating after their ordeal. And to avoid any more abusive phone calls Bob unplugged the phone socket.
He intended going into work the next day, so they went to bed early. But with Maria constantly fidgeting and talking he found it hard to relax and got little sleep. In the morning he didn’t feel rested at all.
Having left Maria asleep hoping she’d have a lie in, he quickly took a shower to liven himself up. But when he came into the kitchen, she was sitting at the table, staring into a cup of tea.
‘I’ve made you a cup.’ She told him, as he got out a bowl, and filled it with Shreddies, milk and sugar.
‘Thanks.’ He took the seat opposite her.
‘Are you staying at work all day?’
‘I don’t think so. I’ll have a look at the urgent cases, but I’ll be back by early afternoon at the latest.’
‘Good.’
> ‘How about you? What are you doing today?’
‘Maybe go out, visit a few places Tim used to go to – perhaps talk to people; you never know what might happen.’
He half smiled at her, thinking she was clutching at straws, but if it kept her busy and away from the neighbours so much the better.
He took his overcoat from the hall stand, picked up his briefcase and returned to the kitchen to say goodbye to Maria. After kissing her lightly on the lips he put his sandwich box under his arm and walked into the garage through the kitchen door. Then from the inside he opened the garage door and drove out. But as he pulled the garage door down, he saw graffiti daubed all over it.
‘Oh my God,’ he whispered, feeling a sharp stab of fear in his chest. It wasn’t so much what was written that worried him, but how Maria would react. Just one word had been spray-painted in yellow letters, MURDERERS. Bob stared in disbelief, shocked that someone should do this. If he found out the perpetrator, he’d strangle them. He had to erase the word now, before Maria saw it. So going back into the garage he opened a tin of white paint, and quickly painted over it. Maybe she wouldn’t notice, and he’d go over it again when he came back from work. Risky perhaps, but worth it, considering her already fragile state of mind.
On his journey to work the word ‘Murderers’ kept coming into his mind. Had he done the right thing? Should he have gone back into the house and told Maria?
And after he’d hung up his coat, his question was answered. There was a message on his desk to ring Maria. He swore under his breath knowing she must have seen it. She answered the phone on the first ring.
‘Hello!’ She said in a quivering voice.
‘Maria. I’ve had a message to ring you urgently...’
His stomach churned over as he listened to her hysterical ramblings. Apparently when the paint had dried the lettering showed through.
‘Look, I’ll paint over it again when I come back. Pretend it’s not there.’
She was insistent he should come home at once. But when he stated he’d be back as soon as he could, she put the phone down.
Just what he didn’t need. He’d wanted to come in to work to take his mind off matters, but being unable to concentrate he felt he was fighting a losing battle. His thoughts were on Maria and what she might do on her own. In the end he realised he had to get back home straightaway.
When Maria had finished speaking to Bob, she went outside to have another look. She’d seen the graffiti whilst putting out the rubbish, and had panicked. Now she had time to study the damage.
The word Murderers splattered on the garage door, she realised, had been done in haste, as there was paint on the drive and over the walls. Her legs were like jelly, as she stared at the painted word.
Then Maria’s heart jumped when she heard that word ‘Murderers’ shouted from behind her. Instantly she recognised the voice to be that of Betty Harper, her least favourite neighbour from across the road. A fat woman, long dyed blond hair, a heavily wrinkled and made up face, and a notorious gossip and loudmouth. They’d fallen out years ago after Tim had kicked a football over the woman’s fence, which she claimed had broken one of her windows. Harper had refused to give the ball back even after Maria promised to pay for the window. Since then Maria had disliked her intensely.
‘What!’ Maria replied turning round to face her tormentor.
‘Everybody knows you murdered your son, dearie. Why not tell us what you did with the body – put us all out of our misery?’
‘It’s lies, all lies.’
Betty Harper started to cackle like an old hag. ‘Come on Mrs Shepherd, what do you take us for? Serves you right for stickin’ your nose up at us, thinkin’ you’re better than everyone else. I reckon you deserve everythin’ you’re gettin’.’
‘You’ll regret you said that.’
‘Oh yes, we’ll see won’t we? When the truth comes out,’ Betty Harper screamed in her loudest voice.
People came out to see what was going on. And before long a group of people had gathered around Betty. She pointed in Maria’s direction, obviously running her down with a pack full of lies.
‘Why don’t you tell them, Mrs Shepherd?’ A voice shouted.
‘How could you? Your own son.’ Another neighbour bawled.
This was incredible; Maria put her hands over her ears to drown out the sound. How, when she needed help and support, neighbours could turn on her like this was beyond comprehension. The whole street were against her, eager to believe she’d played a part in killing Tim. Although she was innocent she could do nothing to prove them wrong. Panicking, she turned round and went back into the house. She struggled not to break down in front of them. Now in the safety of her own home she felt trapped.
This was impossible to cope with. Was her life worth living anymore? Only her belief Tim would come back, made her carry on.
She wondered about and eventually found herself in Tim’s room. Lying on his bed she became aware of his smell which lingered despite his continued absence.
Having lain still for a few minutes she got up and went over to his wardrobe. The touch of his clothes brought about a sense of well-being in her. She’d never dreamt she’d be in this position.
When the phone suddenly rang, she was reluctant to pick up the receiver. The number had been changed several times, and still she got nuisance calls, so she just let it ring. She lay back on his bed again, closing her eyes, not wanting to leave the room, her sanctuary from the world outside. And before long as she drifted off to sleep her thoughts were of happier days and long summer holidays spent together as a family.
Bob had tried to ring Maria before he left, and when she didn’t answer, he grimaced. She must have gone out – but where? Or was she afraid to answer the phone. After leaving work in a rush, it took him twenty minutes to get home. On approaching the house he saw the slogan still in prominent position emblazoned on the garage door, despite his efforts to paint it out.
It must have had quite an effect on Maria, and now he wished he’d told her first thing this morning, but he hadn’t banked on the word showing through. Now he’d made things worse.
Getting out of the car, he tried to open the front door, but the chain was still on, stopping him from going inside. He rang the bell several times and had to shout Maria before she came to the door but with no apparent urgency.
‘Maria, are you all right?’
‘Why shouldn’t I be?’ She answered through the gap in between the door.
‘Well, I can’t understand why you’ve put the chain on the door – it’s daytime.’
‘I forgot about it, sorry. I was in Tim’s bedroom, looking through all his things… and for a time I almost felt he was there with me.’
‘Maria, are you going to let me in or not?
‘What?’ Maria replied being suddenly stunned back to reality. ‘Yes, of course.’
She undid the chain.
‘You should have come home sooner. I had it all on my own... ’she sniffed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
Bob closed the front door behind him.
‘Look love, if it’s about that graffiti, I’ll get it sorted. And when it’s gone let’s try to forget it ever happened?’
‘No, no it’s not that.’ She shook her head.
‘Eh? All right so what is it now?’
‘I don’t want to tell you.’ She walked up the stairs towards Tim’s room once more.
‘Maria – you have to. If it’s upset you, I need to know.’
Bob followed her and sat down beside her on Tim’s bed. Then she burst into tears. He tried to comfort her and eventually, once she’d calmed down he found out what was troubling her. ‘Why, I’m going round there to give them a piece of my mind. How dare they?’ He got up from Tim’s bed rather abruptly.
She grabbed hold of his arm. ‘Please Bob, no more upset.’
‘They shouldn’t get away with this.’
‘Let it go,’ she blubbered.
Bob wasn’t happy, but knew it fruitless to argue any further.
‘I’m not living here any longer – I can’t stand it.’
‘You’re joking!’ he said with surprise.
‘Can’t face those awful people knowing our business – I need to leave this place and go somewhere nobody knows us.’
‘It’s not that easy. I’ve never liked that rabble over the road, but why should we let them push us out? They’ve been a nuisance ever since that business with the broken windowpane. Then their dog bit Tim on the leg, he had a massive bruise around the wound and needed a tetanus jab. I was right in reporting the dog to the police, wasn’t I Maria? That dog was dangerous and if Tim had been a small child, it could have killed him. And what about that fight he had with that son of theirs. Tim gave him a right beating – didn’t he? Humiliated that bully. No wonder they’re gloating over our troubles. The more I think about it, the more I’m certain they had something to do with that video.’ Maria started crying again. ‘When will it all end?’
‘I don’t know – maybe when we get our son back. Someone out there knows something and is shielding that person. Don’t they realise what they’re putting us through, Maria?’
‘They don’t care – do they?’
‘No,’ Bob said. ‘We’ll get him back – of that I’m sure.’
‘But what can we do in the meantime?’
‘Carry on living our lives as best we can.’
‘If only we could.’
‘Come on, let’s go downstairs and watch television, take our mind off it all. There’s no point in sitting up here moping over it.’
He was relieved when Maria agreed. Together they watched an old film for a couple of hours.
As the film came to an end, he decided to start on their tea, knowing Maria was in a distressed state of mind. But as he got up the front door bell rang and he went to answer it.