by Peter Martin
Amazingly, Gail and Andrew, his two favourite police officers stood before him. His heart sank as he feared it meant more distress for them.
‘Oh God, no! What now? Haven’t you caused us enough trouble?’
‘Could we come in please?’ Gail asked in a polite tone of voice.
‘Do I have any choice?’
‘I can assure you, you’ll want to hear what we’ve got to say to you. It’s very important.’
‘Don’t tell me you’ve found Tim – alive and well. That would put a spanner in the works, wouldn’t it?’
‘No, Mr Shepherd I’m sorry we haven’t, but we do have some news,’ Andrew explained.
‘You’d better come in.’ He moved to one side, to allow them to walk past him into the hall.
His heart began to beat a little faster, as he showed them into the living room. Maria’s face dropped like a stone when she caught sight of them.
‘Hello Mrs Shepherd – don’t worry we haven’t come to arrest you or anything like that. Rather, we’d like to apologise for what we’ve put you through these last couple of days,’ Gail said, clearing her throat.
‘Oh really. And why would you do that?’ Bob asked.
‘Because following further investigations we’ve discovered that the video is a hoax. Two people have been charged with fabricating evidence and wasting police time,’ Andrew revealed.
‘So why didn’t you bloody well check all this out before you put us through hell.’
‘Well Mr Shepherd, it was pretty convincing, and more than one witness said the same thing,’ Andrew said.
‘I think your methods stink. It’s bad enough that our son is missing, but to accuse us of killing him as well, was like a kick in the teeth. I blame those Harper’s from over the road, they put the poison down didn’t they?’
‘Well... Mr Shepherd...’
‘We could have told you all about them if you’d bothered to ask. None of them are any good; all have been in trouble with you guys. We’ve had a long running battle with them over the years. It began about four years ago when Tim got the blame for breaking one of their windows with his football. Ever since then it’s been one thing after another. But, I never thought they’d sink this low.’
‘Well, you need not worry any longer. Two of them are in custody and been charged,’ Andrew said.
‘So it is them? Bob asked, directing his question at Andrew who just nodded.
‘How did you find out it was a fake?’ Maria asked, her face like thunder.
‘We’ve painstakingly gone through each frame, and with the help of new technology, have blown the images up even further, revealing several irregularities. To start with, it enabled us to work out that the individuals were taller than you, and a little chubbier. And when we confronted them, eventually they admitted it was a hoax – and to cap it all, they didn’t even film it in your garden. We’re really very sorry about this – it’s most unfortunate,’ Gail told them.
‘I’ll say it is. We’ll be filing a complaint,’ Maria said.
‘Look, we all make mistakes – nobody’s infallible,’ Andrew said. ‘But we aim to put this behind us and step up the search for your son. There’s now a hotline to ring regarding Tim’s disappearance, and we’ll continue to post pictures of your lad in the local area. Please rest assured we’re doing everything we can to find him.’
‘I should hope you are,’ Bob said.
‘Now unless there’s anything you’d like to ask us, we’ll leave you in peace.’ Gail said, getting to her feet.
And as they moved towards the front door Andrew added, ‘By the way, someone’s been painting graffiti on your garage door. I’ll get it removed for you if you like?’
‘Don’t bother, I can do it myself,’ Bob said, shaking his head in despair.
He followed them to the front door, to let them out. He wouldn’t forget what they’d done in a hurry, and how pathetic to hear them grovelling.
He returned to the living room, to a bemused looking Maria.
‘Come on, love, I know we’re no nearer to finding our son, but at least the other nightmare is over.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t know what the Harpers will do next. As if we haven’t got enough to put up with. What with two of them being charged over that video, we now face being intimidated by them every time we go through the front door.’
Bob’s heart sank, ‘Lets’ hope it puts the frighteners on them and if not we’ll go straight to a solicitor and get a restraining order, Ok?’
She nodded in agreement.
Chapter 11
Maria found Life seemed more unbearable than ever. Although two of the Harpers were in custody, she feared the rest of them would make up for their loss.
While Bob went outside to paint over the graffiti again, she stayed indoors, afraid to show her face, in case there was a barrage of abuse from the neighbours.
‘Are you all right?’ Bob asked, when he came back inside to see her sitting there in the living room, staring into space.
When she didn’t answer he continued, ‘Well, at least the garage door looks as good as new – and if it happens again, I’ll get the law onto them.’
‘A lot of good, that’ll do.’
‘Oh for God’s sake, Maria – let’s try to be positive about this. Once this latest commotion with the neighbours has died down, it will be forgotten and life will return to normal.’
‘You don’t understand, do you? Can’t you get it into your head that I’ve had enough – of everything.’
‘Why don’t we get away for a few days? Then you’ll have time to take stock of the situation. And if you’re that worried about the Harper’s – I promise you they won’t cause us any more trouble. We’ll slap that restraining order on them, the first time they start.’
‘It won’t do any good. They’ll still be over the road with their intimidating gawps without laying a finger on me. And as for taking a holiday, how can we with Tim missing? What if he comes back while we’re away?’
‘It would do us good to have a break.’
‘No, it won’t. It’s impossible, you may as well face it.’
He groaned.
It was all right for him, it seemed he had the ability to put all of his troubles to the back of his mind. Perhaps going back to work had enabled him to deal with things calmly. She however, couldn’t switch off to the goings on of the last few weeks. Even putting the milk bottles out conjured up thoughts of malice and innuendoes from the neighbours.
A few weeks later, the staff of the Colonial and Mutual Assurance Society were summoned to a meeting, chaired by Bob’s new boss Dave French. Bob had heard the rumours circulating about the company relocating to the North-East but hadn’t thought too much about it - he already had enough on his plate. So when Dave announced the offices in Dexford were to be closed, and all business transferred to the main office at Cliffburn in the North-East, Bob was stunned. He never dreamed this would actually happen. All the staff were to be offered the option of a redundancy package or they could relocate at the firm’s expense. Not much of a choice, he thought.
Afterwards Bob met with Dave French to explain the predicament he faced, with Tim still missing and his wife’s state of mind. And although personally he was very sympathetic, he pointed out the firm had a business to run, and in three months’ time, like it or lump it, the Dexford office would close. The only consolation, Bob thought, was the pay rise he’d been offered for having more staff under his control after the relocation. Cold sweat trickled down his back as contemplated breaking the news to Maria. Something he wasn’t looking forward to. There’d never be a good time, so he’d tell her straightaway, and then they could decide what to do.
Maria was in the kitchen when he got home, prodding the vegetables with a fork to see if they were cooked.
‘Er… Maria I’ve got something to tell you,’ he said in a sombre tone of voice.
‘Oh! Is it about Tim?’ She asked hopefully.
&n
bsp; ‘Sorry love, but it isn’t. Let’s go into the living room, you need to sit down for this.’
‘What now.’ The colour drained from her face, obviously not knowing what to expect, and his heart started to beat hard against his chest.
Once they were seated, he took hold of her hand and began. She listened in silence, except to shake her head slightly. When he’d finished, she pulled her hand away, and raised her eyebrows in horror.
‘What are we to do? How can we leave Dexford, with Tim still missing? I can’t do it, not until I know what’s happened to him.’
‘I haven’t got much choice. We’ve got a big mortgage, if I take redundancy I still have to get another job and that won’t be easy. And I might not be on anywhere near the money I’m getting now. Unless you can go back to work, we won’t be able to pay the mortgage.’
‘That’s out of the question while Tim is missing…’
‘All right, so what do you suggest?’
‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ she said getting to her feet, rushing out of the room and upstairs, to lock herself in the bathroom. Bob didn’t follow, she needed time to calm down and come to terms with what was about to happen. He knew what she’d be like after such news, they wouldn’t speak about it and she’d be very distant with him.
<><><>
After a rather turbulent few months and many heated discussions, followed by sulky silences, Maria finally agreed to put the house on the market and look at properties in the Cliffburn area.
Now at last she seemed to understand the plight they were in. Jobs were scarce in Dexford and Bob hadn’t been able to find a suitable job, and although Tim’s disappearance still hadn’t been resolved it was inevitable that at some point they’d have to visit Cliffburn to see what accommodation was available.
The drive from the Midlands to the North-East was pleasant, passing through picturesque parts of the country. It took them roughly four hours to reach their destination. A large town near to the coast, the nearest beach was only ten minutes’ drive away.
Bob was initially a little disappointed, he’d been expecting the town to be classy with well-kept shops and offices lining the high street. Instead it contained large grey buildings, giving a dull and dreary feel to the place, made worse by the dank weather. Surprisingly Maria seemed unperturbed; he’d expected to have a big problem with her, but now she looked quite interested. Although the bustling high street had a shabby appearance it boasted a large newly constructed shopping centre and a precinct, both of which contained national department stores as well as local shops. It had much more to offer than homely Dexford.
So after parking the car they agreed they’d have a walk round in order to get a feel for the place. Everything seemed to fall into place, first they located the Colonial and Mutual headquarters, a large ten storey office block, where Bob would be working, and then had lunch in one of the many pubs. Their next port of call was the estate agents. Here they got details of properties in the area, which to their surprise were cheaper than in Dexford.
During the drive back, Bob looked across at Maria, aware she seemed more upbeat having seen the area.
‘So what’s your opinion of Cliffburn?’ He asked putting her on the spot suddenly.
‘It seems all right, I suppose.’
‘Not disappointed because it’s just another big town that’s close to the sea.’
‘No, but we’ll be a long way from Dexford.’
‘Well, at least we’ll be away from those horrible neighbours.’
‘The only good thing about Cliffburn is that no one knows us there. But what will Tim think if we’re not at home? I’m warning you, if moving up here stops us finding him, I’ll never forgive you.’
‘I realise that. We’ll leave our telephone number and new address with the new owners. And the police have already been informed that we intend moving and will be advised of our new address as and when.’
But Maria’s silence meant she wasn’t convinced.
He smiled sadly, he didn’t want to leave his home in Dexford either. They’d been happy there before Tim vanished, and if Tim came back he’d be happy again too despite the Harpers. But with each passing day his return seemed more and more unlikely.
They put their house up for sale on the Monday, and were surprised to have sold it within three weeks, making the need to find a place up north more urgent.
The next Saturday they travelled up to Cliffburn to view several houses and returned home late. It had been a long day, Bob was tired after a four hundred mile round trip, so he stayed in the car while Maria opened the garage door for him.
She opened the front door and switched on the hall light. Amongst the post on the floor was a piece of yellow paper, which she picked up. As she read the scrawl she let out a gasp of horror. It read ‘GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD MURDERERS’.
Bob, who was right behind, threw his keys against the wall in anger. Before shutting the front door he could have sworn he heard someone across the road laughing. But looking through the hall window whoever it was, had vanished.
Maria had watched her husband hurriedly close the door behind him. How she hated the neighbours, more especially the Harpers who must be behind this. Had it not been for Tim, she’d have been glad they were leaving.
‘They’re sick, that’s what they are,’ he commented.
‘Yes, but it won’t be easy to leave and not know where Tim is.’
‘We should give this to the police as evidence – they might be able to prove one of the Harper’s did this.’
‘I wouldn’t waste your breath, they won’t do anything.’
‘Yes, I know…’ But before he could finish the sentence Maria snatched the piece of paper from Bob’s grasp and ripped it up into tiny bits, the evidence destroyed before it had a chance to be admissible.
He shook his head angrily, but she took no notice. It would never hold up in a court of law anyway.
Later when they were in bed, Maria moved up close to her husband, then turned to him. ‘How long will it take?’
‘How long will what take?’
‘Before we move.’
‘That depends on what house you liked best.’
‘I’ve been pondering over it all night. Seems to me there’s only one choice – the house at Luke’s Close. It’s the most reasonably priced, is close to the town centre and is well kept. I reckon we wouldn’t need to do much decorating.’
‘Mm, but it’s a little on the small side.’
‘All right, so it’s smaller than this one, but I don’t care. It’s big enough for us, and Tim when he comes back.’
‘That’s true. So shall we go for it?
‘Ok.’
‘You’re sure about this?’
‘As if I have any choice.’
‘Maria, if there was any other way…’
‘Yes, but be it on your own head,’ she warned him.
The next day Bob put in an offer for the house at Luke’s Close. After a little wrangling it was accepted, and the wheels were set in motion.
But no matter how she tried she couldn’t stop worrying about not being there for their son, should he turn up. It kept her awake at night, and she resented the fact Bob seemed more tuned in to relocating to Cliffburn than her.
Within five weeks everything was ready. But Maria felt drained, lately there had been several sightings of Tim and the slightest hope followed by a big let-down afterwards caused her mood to drop. Each disappointment seemed worse than the last, making it hard to deal with. This not knowing whether he was dead or alive left her nerves shattered. But there was a sense within her, that despite everything, he was alive. She imagined some monster kidnapping him and forcing him to do terrible perverted things. If only she had an inkling about where he was, they could rescue him. But that was just a pipe dream.
Unfortunately they had no choice but to go to Cliffburn; she’d spent many a sleepless night racking her brains to find a way round it but it was futile. That’s why
in Cliffburn, she planned to decorate one of the spare bedrooms in exactly the same way as his room here. And in her mind’s eye she saw this as a shrine to him. Maybe it was over the top, but no man would ever understand a mother’s love for her child – for her it was a much deeper love.
So in the run up to their move, she took photographs of his room and packed everything carefully, including a sample of the wallpaper.
When the day of the move arrived, a Friday, everything was packed and ready to go. The van was soon loaded and on its way to Cliffburn.
All that remained to be done was to check nothing had been left behind. When Maria opened the door to Tim’s empty bedroom it was all brought home to her again. She put her hand in front of her face, and quietly wept. This was the end of their life here with Tim. Bob put his arm round her shoulder and squeezed her close, but she knew nothing would ever be the same again.
‘Having second thoughts?’ He asked her.
She smiled in a sad way. ‘Of course I am, but it’s too late now. I feel as if everything we’ve done here has been wasted. All the sacrifices we made for him have been for nothing, and now he’s gone from us before he’s had a chance to grow up. Why did we have to go through all that and then lose him so quickly?’
‘I don’t know. No one could have loved him more, or done as much as we did. I only wish I knew what the future holds.’
‘I’ll never give up hope Bob, and whatever happens I’ll make sure he’s never forgotten. If it’s possible for him to come back – he will. And when he does, I’ll be there for him. I plan to ring the new owners every couple of weeks to ask them if there’s been any news. And I also intend to keep in touch with his old school and his friends, and obviously the police, so that his story is never far from people’s minds. I hope I’ve covered every eventuality.’
‘So when will you do that?’
‘While you’re at work, dear. You might think I’ll be there twiddling my thumbs all day, sitting by the phone or lying in Tim’s room, but I won’t be – far from it. I’m very persistent when I need to be. And when we find him, you know what I’ll do. Parade him down this street, right in front of the Harper’s house and stick my two fingers up at them.’