by Pryke, Helen
‘Young lady, a cappuccino with extra cocoa on top, as soon as you can,’ she demanded in a supercilious voice. She stood glaring round at the few customers while the waitress rushed to make her coffee. ‘Come, come, I haven’t got all day.’
Mike leaned over and nudged Maggie. ‘Hey, that’ll be you in a few years’ time, old thing,’ he said with a wink.
Chloe giggled.
Maggie snorted, trying to hold back a laugh in case the woman looked their way. ‘Less of the cheek,’ she said, then glanced at the woman again. ‘Although I do like that hat, I must admit.’
Chloe burst into a fit of giggles, and the woman tutted as she stirred her coffee.
Maggie was grateful the awkwardness had been broken and thought desperately of something to talk about. ‘So, have you two known each other long?’ She groaned inwardly at her social incompetence. What the hell was she supposed to say to teenagers?
‘Bit hard not to, when your sisters have been kidnapped,’ Mike said curtly, his earlier edginess coming back.
‘Mike!’ Chloe nudged him with her elbow. ‘Sorry, he’s a bit tense.’
Maggie nodded. ‘It’s okay, I understand. Did you know each other before it happened?’
Chloe hesitated as the waitress came over with their drinks, and waited until she’d gone. ‘Oh, no. Jane was a year younger than Charlotte, they were in different classes, and there’s three years’ difference between Mike and me. Mum took me out of the school and moved me to another one after Jane… you know, and we didn’t meet until recently, at college. Mike was helping out on my course.’
‘Oh, right. Do you mind if I make notes? Any little thing might come in useful later.’ Maggie took her notebook out of her bag, along with a biro.
‘What, no voice recorder?’ Mike smirked.
‘I’m old school, me,’ Maggie replied with a laugh. ‘I’d rather trust my pen and notepad than a recording device that might run out of juice at any moment.’
‘Fair enough.’ He drank a mouthful of coffee. ‘So, what do you want to know?’
‘Well, we’ve got some time to kill before Joe finishes work, so I thought you could tell me more about your sisters. Their likes and dislikes, their characters, whether they were happy at home and school… everything, really.’ She glanced at Chloe, who nodded. ‘It’ll help me with the article, I want to write a more emotional piece so people will take notice of it.’
‘I’m fine with that. I felt sorry for Jane at times, Mum was always telling her to keep an eye on me while she went out gallivanting with Dad. Jane hated it, and I used to get her into trouble as well.’ Chloe grimaced. ‘I was a right little shit, I’m afraid.’
‘Okay, that’s good,’ Maggie said, writing furiously. ‘Not that you were a little shit, obviously.’ She grinned at Chloe, who blushed. ‘She wasn’t happy at home, but what about school? The newspaper articles say she was bullied.’
‘Yeah. She had it pretty tough, I think. She never seemed happy.’
‘So if someone approached her, maybe someone she knew, perhaps she would have been glad of the attention,’ Maggie said thoughtfully. ‘She might have gone off willingly.’
‘The police interviewed everyone we know, friends of the family, other relatives. Nothing,’ Chloe said.
‘I know, the police are always very thorough,’ Maggie admitted. ‘But in almost half the cases of abduction, the victim knows the kidnapper.’
Mike cleared his throat. ‘That might be the case if it was just Jane, but Charlotte was taken too. And she had no reason to run away from home. We all got on well, she and Mum had a great relationship.’
Maggie raised her eyebrows.
‘Honest! Yes, she got annoyed with Mum being overprotective, but she knew that was just how Mum is. And we got on great, we hardly ever fought. Well, we occasionally fought. She could be annoying, you know.’
‘Did you fight just before she disappeared?’
‘No.’ He shook his head emphatically. ‘She talked all the time about the school disco, she and her best friend Rosie were making plans. I’m pretty sure there were boys involved.’ He tutted and raised his eyes to the ceiling.
Maggie laughed. ‘There usually are with teenage girls.’
‘Rosie came to our house not long after,’ Mike said. ‘She was really crying, it was awful. She said Charlotte got upset when the other kids were being nasty about Jane, and that they’d promised each other they wouldn’t let it happen if they got abducted. Just messing about, like. And then Charlotte was taken, and Rosie couldn’t cope with it.’
‘What happened to her?’ Maggie asked softly.
‘Don’t know. I didn’t see her around school anymore, and she didn’t come back to our house.’ Mike shrugged, as if it didn’t matter to him, but Maggie noticed his hunched shoulders and knew he was hurting too.
She glanced up at the clock on the wall. ‘Right, we’ve still got half an hour. How about we go over what we need to say to Joe?’
The two teenagers nodded, relief at the change of subject evident on their faces. They listened carefully as Maggie explained what they needed to do.
19
I had the dream again. Sometimes it comes back to me in my darkest moments. The smoke, the confusion, the screams, the smell… oh my God, that stench, I never want to smell it again. Screams, choked by coughing as the smoke fills the house, crackling sounds all around, red and orange flames creeping up the walls.
And I’m there, powerless as always. I can hear them upstairs, their panic, their fear, but I can’t get to them because I’m downstairs. Too far away. Too scared Mother will find out what I’ve done. I almost stay there, waiting for my flesh to be consumed by the fire just like theirs, but a primal instinct overcomes me and I run outside into the garden, my chest heaving as I drag huge gulps of fresh, cool night air into my lungs.
* * *
I thought when I got my little girls back the nightmares would go. But they’re still there, worse than before. I remember how we used to huddle up together in the big double bed while Mother was out doing her shift, their warm bodies against mine, until sleep overcame them and I could take care of them, a big brother comforting his little sisters. Just like Mother used to comfort me.
But they’re different now, they don’t even seem to like me playing with their hair, as they used to. Maybe bringing them back wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe I can’t recreate what we once had. It hardly seems worth the effort. As time passes it gets harder and harder.
The end is coming, I can feel it. And this time, I’m going to join them.
20
Maggie, Mike and Chloe watched as Joe left the garage wiping his hands on a rag, which he then shoved into a pocket in his grubby overalls.
‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ Chloe asked nervously.
‘Look, Joe’s not in any trouble. We’re only going to ask him some questions,’ Maggie explained once again. ‘We’re not the police, I’m just a journalist who wants some information for an article I’m going to write.’
‘He hates talking to journalists,’ Mike reminded her.
‘Which is where you two come in, to calm the waters,’ Maggie replied. ‘He knew the girls and you from school, he might not mind talking to you.’
‘But what if he doesn’t want to tell us anything, or he’s forgotten?’ Chloe insisted.
‘In that case, we’ll leave him be,’ Maggie promised. ‘If I see he’s getting upset or angry, I’ll end the conversation. Okay?’
‘I s’pose.’
Mike intervened. ‘Come on, Chloe, you were all for it back at the caff. What if he can help us? The police released him, but Mags thinks he might know something more. It’s worth a try, right?’ He grinned at Maggie.
‘Definitely,’ she agreed. ‘But less of the “Mags”, please.’ Sally was the only person who had called her Mags before and got away with it.
‘Why? I think it suits you,’ he replied.
‘Me too,’ Chloe said.
‘It’s cooler than Maggie.’
She sighed. ‘All right, Mags it is. But only for you two!’ She laughed as they high-fived each other. ‘Oh, stop it.’
Joe halted at the edge of the pavement and let the traffic pass before he crossed the road, heading directly towards them. Maggie crossed her fingers and hoped he wouldn’t run this time.
‘Let’s go,’ she muttered. She put a big smile on her face and beckoned to the two teens to follow.
‘Mags, you want him to like you, not scare him off,’ Mike said, laughing.
She tossed her head, but toned down her smile. ‘Excuse me, Joseph Cooper?’ she said as they drew level with him.
He stopped. ‘Yes?’ Maggie saw recognition flood over his face as his smooth forehead creased into a frown. ‘You again. Why don’t you leave me alone?’
Mike stepped forward. ‘Hi, Joe. I’m Mikey, Charlotte Hodgson’s brother. I went to the school in Cosham where you used to work. We used to chat about football during break times, remember?’
The frown disappeared as a grin broke out over Joe’s face. ‘Mikey. Long time no see. How’s things?’
Maggie stepped back and watched as they chatted together, renewing a friendship destroyed by tragedy. Joe was about the same height as Mike, slightly balding, with a distant look in his blue eyes. His face was smooth, as if he didn’t need to shave at all, and his movements were like the clumsy, self-conscious ones of a boy on the brink of adolescence, even though he must be in his forties. She remembered Eric’s scathing comments about him, and wondered if he was disabled in some way.
Chloe joined in the conversation, hanging onto Mike’s arm as they talked. She turned to Maggie. ‘Joe, this is our friend, Maggie Turner. She’s a journalist, and she wants to write an article about Jane and Charlotte. Do you mind if she asks you some questions?’
A frightened expression came over his face. ‘I already spoke to the police, back then. I don’t want no more trouble.’
‘There won’t be any trouble, Joe,’ Maggie tried to reassure him. ‘I won’t even mention your name, if you prefer. I’d just like to ask you a couple of things, clear up something I found in a newspaper.’
‘No names?’ he asked, hesitant.
‘Promise,’ she replied, wondering why he was so scared. ‘Joe, did something happen back then, after you spoke to the police?’
‘Some parents…’ He paused. ‘When they found out the police questioned me, they waited for me outside my home one night, and some of the fathers beat me up. Then the headmistress called me in, told me I couldn’t work there no more. I loved that job.’ He looked down at the ground, avoiding her eyes.
‘I’m so sorry.’ Now she understood. ‘Well, I can promise you that won’t happen again. I just need to see if you remember something. I won’t write it in my article. Okay?’
He nodded, his bottom lip trembling.
‘That’s wonderful.’ Maggie smiled at him, then mouthed ‘thank you’ at Mike and Chloe for breaking the ice. Maybe she could get somewhere, now he wasn’t legging it down the street. ‘So, do you remember the day Charlotte went missing?’
‘I’ll never forget it.’ His eyes misted over, and he sniffed loudly. ‘Like I told the police, I saw Charlotte standing by the main gates of the school. You came out and talked to her, Mikey, then you went running off.’
‘Yeah, I wanted to walk home with my mates instead of waiting for Mum.’ Mike bit his lip. ‘I’ll regret that for the rest of my life.’
Maggie touched his arm. ‘It’s okay, Mike. You weren’t to know.’
Joe shuffled his feet, his arms held awkwardly at his sides. ‘I went back for the other bin. There’s always so much rubbish to collect after the kids go home. I went over to the netball courts and picked up some litter, then put the bin outside the gates for the rubbish men, like I always did.’ He kicked out at a stone, sending it skittering across the pavement and into the gutter. ‘Charlotte was gone, but there was a car driving away.’
‘A white car, right?’ Maggie asked. ‘Like you said in the interview.’
‘Yeah. The police wanted to know what kind of car, but I didn’t know. There are so many cars, they all look the same to me. I just said it was white, that was all I could tell ’em.’
‘I’m the same, I can’t tell one model from another.’ Maggie paused a moment. ‘Can you describe it, Joe? Was it big or small?’
‘Medium.’
‘Medium. Good. Did it have any writing on it, on the sides or back?’
‘I only saw the back, but no, there weren’t nothing on it.’
‘Okay. What about a roof rack, or coloured wing mirrors?’
Joe thought for a moment. ‘No. It was completely white, no roof rack.’
‘Good.’
‘It is?’
Maggie smiled. ‘Yes. We’re building up a picture of the car, it might help us. Now, did you see anything else? Anything unusual on the car, like a bump or a scratch?’
Joe shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. It was just normal like.’ He thought for a moment. ‘I asked the police if they wanted the number plate, but they said no.’
Maggie almost choked. ‘What? Why on earth didn’t they want it?’
He shrugged. ‘Dunno. They said I was making it up, about the car, and kept asking me why I did it, why I took the girls. I said I didn’t do anything, that there was the car, but they just ignored me. And they confused me, keeping on with all those questions about where I was, what I was doing, and who with. I just wanted to go home and forget about it, so I stopped trying to tell ’em. They didn’t want to talk about the car.’ He clenched his fists. ‘I’d never tell lies, ’specially not to the police. I may be a bit slow up here’ – he tapped his head – ‘but I’m not stupid.’
‘I can’t believe they didn’t take you seriously,’ Mike said. ‘You definitely saw the number plate?’
‘Yep. I may not know makes of cars, but I can remember every number plate I want. I still remember your mum’s one, Mikey.’
‘Would you give it to me?’ Maggie asked. She took out her notepad. ‘If you can remember it, that would be great.’
She scribbled down the number plate as Joe recited it, his face scrunched up in concentration.
‘Thanks, this could help us,’ she said, careful to keep her voice neutral. She didn’t want to raise Mike and Chloe’s hopes for nothing. ‘I’ve got a friend who can trace this number plate to the owner at the time. It’s definitely worth trying.’
Joe held up his hand, as if he was in a classroom. ‘There’s just one more thing.’
Maggie nodded, and waited for him to speak. She could see the tension in his body, his arms trembling as he hesitated, and knew that one wrong word could make him clam up.
‘There was this substitute teacher at the school. He’d only been there a couple of weeks before Jane disappeared. Everyone liked him, the kids, the other teachers, but…’ He stopped.
‘But?’ Maggie gently prodded.
He clenched his fists, a deep frown on his face. ‘No, it’s stupid. I never told no one before.’
‘Anything could help, Joe,’ Chloe said quietly.
He took out the dirty rag and wiped his brow, leaving a greasy streak. ‘He didn’t like me,’ he said after a few moments. ‘I mean, the kids were always calling me names or making comments, I was used to it, but he was nasty. Only when it was just me and him, mind, never when someone else was around.’
‘What did he say to you?’ Maggie asked.
He thought for a moment, the tip of his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated. ‘He said that I was defective and should have been drowned at birth, that he’d never have given me a job near kids as I was a disgusting retarded pervert.’ The words gushed out, as if he’d been holding them back for years. Maggie thought he probably had.
‘Jesus,’ she said, shocked. Chloe had her hand over her mouth, and Mike looked like he wanted to thump someone.
‘Every da
y, every time he got me alone, he’d say these things. I begged him to stop, that I loved my job, that I would never hurt no one, but he wouldn’t. He was a nasty, mean bully.’
‘What was his name?’
‘I don’t remember.’ Joe shook his head. ‘I’m hopeless with names, they don’t seem to stick in my head, not like numbers do. I can’t remember half the teachers’ names from back then. He left before me, must’ve got another teaching job. I never saw him again.’
‘Why didn’t you mention it to the police?’ Maggie asked, trying to hide her disappointment.
‘I tried to tell the headmistress one day, but she wouldn’t listen. Said I was making it up, that I was jealous ’cos he was popular with everyone,’ Joe said sullenly. ‘So I didn’t bother telling the police; I never told no one else, up to now. If even the headmistress wouldn’t listen, what chance was there of anyone believing me? He was too popular, no one would’ve imagined he could do something like that. The police thought it was me who took the girls, I lost my job. End of. But there was something about him, something not quite right. He had shifty eyes, as my mum would say.’
‘Well, you’ve definitely given us lots to think about.’ Maggie finished writing everything down and closed her notepad. ‘Thanks, Joe, you’ve been a big help.’ She held out her hand and after a moment’s hesitation, he shook it.
‘You’re okay, for a journalist,’ he said, his cheeks flushing red.
‘I’ll take that as a compliment,’ Maggie replied. ‘Right, kids. I’ve got some research to do. I’ll take you home, then get cracking.’
‘Do you think we’ll find them?’ Chloe asked, her bottom lip trembling.
‘I think we’ve got somewhere to start from,’ Maggie said, not wanting to make promises she couldn’t keep. ‘Now we just have to see where it takes us.’
21
The wind ruffled Charlotte’s hair and she stopped for a moment, enjoying the feel of the breeze on her skin and the warmth of the sun on her face. During the four long years of moving around, they’d never been allowed outside on their own and she almost felt like running and jumping, a child once more. Almost. She could sense his eyes on her, from somewhere inside the house, and goosebumps ran along her arms. It was just an illusion, make-believe freedom, as if she were a tiger in a wildlife park. There were no cages, that was true, but there was still a barrier, designed to keep her trapped forever within its boundaries.