Gone

by Rebecca Muddiman

  Ben was breathing quickly. ‘Who?’ he said and Lucas pulled him up straight, dragging him through to the living room. As he threw him to the floor, Lucas looked around, trying to work out if she’d been there.

  ‘Who?’ Lucas spat at him. ‘Who do you fucking think?’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘Don’t fucking lie to me.’ Lucas loomed over Ben, his eyes never leaving him. ‘Now, I’ve warned you once. Where is she?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Ben said. ‘I swear.’

  Ben flinched as Lucas raised his foot, letting it linger over Ben’s body. ‘Once more,’ he said. ‘Where is she?’

  Ben closed his eyes. ‘I don’t know,’ he repeated and Lucas brought his foot forward, kicking him in the ribs.

  ‘I will find her again,’ Lucas said. ‘I’ve done pretty good so far. So you might as well just tell me.’ He bent down and grabbed Ben’s face, squeezing, making Ben look at him. ‘You’ll only make it worse for yourself.’

  ‘I don’t know where she is,’ he said.

  Lucas raised his foot again but this time used it to push Ben’s head down, pressing against his neck. Ben gasped for air and tried to prise Lucas’s foot away but the more he struggled the harder Lucas pressed. Eventually Lucas stepped back and Ben gasped for breath, grabbing at his throat. He curled up, protecting himself.

  ‘So you don’t know where she is,’ Lucas asked. ‘But you know what I’m talking about, don’t you?’

  Ben turned away from Lucas but he reached down and pulled him up straight. Lucas crouched in front of Ben and smiled.

  ‘See, I was wondering how she’d done it, how someone like her had done something like that and then I realised. Of course, she had you,’ Lucas said. ‘But what I want to know is why you did it.’ Ben said nothing. ‘I know you didn’t get laid,’ he said, squeezing Ben’s face again. ‘Cause you’re a poof, aren’t you? A fucking bender.’

  Ben’s jaw clenched. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said and Lucas started laughing. He stood up and lit a cigarette.

  ‘What? You’re not a poof? Now I don’t believe that,’ he said and took a drag.

  ‘Please,’ Ben said. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  Lucas jumped forward and bent over in front of Ben’s face. He rammed the cigarette into Ben’s cheek, causing him to scream.

  ‘Stop telling lies,’ Lucas said, ‘and I’ll stop hurting you.’ He stepped back and picked up the cigarette butt. ‘Now that was a waste,’ he said and lit another. He sat in front of Ben, smoking, and then pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and held it up in front of Ben.

  ‘I found this in her house,’ Lucas said, putting his cigarette out on the carpet. ‘In her diary. Got me thinking maybe she was planning a trip.’ Ben still said nothing. ‘So either she’s on her way, in which case I’ll just hang around and wait until she gets here. Or else she’s already been and you’re lying to me.’ He shuffled towards Ben and put his face in front of his. ‘Either way, I think I’ll stay for a while,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘She hasn’t been here,’ Ben said. ‘I swear.’

  Lucas nodded. ‘All right. Then I’ll wait.’ He stood up, glanced around at all the guardian angel shit, and started to walk out of the room.

  ‘Where’re you going?’ Ben asked him.

  ‘None of your business,’ Lucas said with a smile, walking into the kitchen. He was starving, wondered if Ben had anything worth eating. He was probably a vegetarian. He looked like one.

  As he looked in the fridge, Lucas heard the door, the scrape of the wood across the floor as someone tried to pull it open. Was it someone coming back? It couldn’t be Ben, he wouldn’t be that stupid. Maybe it was her.

  Lucas turned to check who was coming in and saw Ben disappearing out onto the driveway.

  Emma stood across the street, watching the house, thinking it was stupid coming here. But where else was she going to go? She wondered if Ben would even want to see her. And who could blame him if he didn’t? After the things she’d made him do. She wouldn’t want to see her either.

  She watched the house and wondered if Ben even lived there any more. It’d been such a long time since she’d seen him, since he’d given her a lifeline. Maybe she should just keep away from him. But she had nowhere else to go.

  She stood staring at the house, wondering if she should just leave. Just start again like she had before.

  And then she saw him.

  The door opened and Ben came out. She almost smiled. Almost felt as if things would be okay. He always knew what to do.

  But something was wrong. Ben ran down the driveway, slipping on the icy ground. She started walking towards him, almost called out. And then she saw what he was running from.

  Lucas Yates.

  Chapter 67

  17 December 2010

  Freeman followed Gardner out of the room and closed the door on Stewart’s voice, demanding a cup of tea if they weren’t letting him out any time soon.

  ‘So,’ she said.

  ‘You believe him?’ Gardner asked.

  ‘About what?’

  ‘Any of it.’

  ‘Well, I can’t see why he’d lie about living next door to Jenny. If he was trying to make a deal, surely making something up about Emma would be the way to go.’

  ‘All right, so he’s telling the truth about Jenny living there. What about the rest?’

  Freeman shrugged. ‘If he’s right and Emma and Ben went in there for whatever reason . . . Then what? Things get out of hand and Emma ends up dead? Ben panics and buries the body?’

  ‘Might explain why he denied knowing Emma,’ Gardner said. ‘And you said it was no secret that Jenny hated Emma.’

  ‘Yeah, but enough to kill her?’

  ‘What about Ben? You think he could’ve killed Emma?’

  Freeman glanced at him before walking away. ‘I don’t know. Maybe. But I wouldn’t be willing to base a case on what Stewart Thomas says.’

  ‘Who would?’ Gardner said, looking back through the window at Stewart. ‘You think it’s worth checking the flat?’

  Freeman shook her head. ‘Knocked down a few years back.’ She sighed. ‘He knew Lucas Yates, though,’ she said. ‘It’s possible he still has a part in this. Maybe Stewart knows Lucas’s reputation and doesn’t want to be the one to grass him to the police. Maybe he’s lying about Ben.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Gardner said and checked his phone. One new message from Lawton, probably reminding him not to be late to the party. He slid the phone back into his pocket.

  ‘It just doesn’t feel right. Why would Emma go to Jenny’s flat in the first place? And if Ben was there, why would he just stand by idly while Jenny killed the girl he’d been helping?’ Freeman shifted her weight onto the other foot. ‘You think we could go upstairs and talk about this?’

  ‘I’d rather not,’ he said.

  Freeman sighed and leaned into the wall. ‘It just doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘Is it possible Ben went to the flat to try and find Jenny if he was worried about her? You said she’d been going to the clinic for a while. Maybe Emma tagged along if he was also matey with her. And that’s when Stewart saw them?’

  ‘But Stewart said they were there for a while, that they went in.’

  ‘He could be mistaken. And even if they did go in it doesn’t mean anyone was murdered. Doesn’t mean he was carrying a body out later. I think maybe we need to speak to Ben again.’

  ‘Great. But first, I need to pee,’ Freeman said and headed back the way they’d come, leaving Gardner alone in the corridor. Despite there being no one else around he felt like he was being watched, conspicuous. He checked his phone again and listened to Lawton’s message.

  ‘Sir, it’s Lawton. Can you call me back as soon as you’re free? It’s about that address on Ayresome Street you stopped at the other day. Thanks.’

  Gardner hung up. He started to call her back wh
en Freeman returned.

  ‘Ready?’ she asked.

  ‘Hang on,’ Gardner said. ‘Lawton just called. Something about Jenny’s house.’

  Freeman was about to speak, but he cut her off as Lawton answered. ‘Lawton, it’s me. What’s going on?’

  ‘I’m not sure, sir,’ she said.

  ‘Are you at the house?’

  ‘No. Someone came in not long ago saying his girlfriend was missing. His name’s Adam Quinn. He’d been away overnight so wasn’t sure how long she’s been gone but he said all her things were still there and the back door was left open, a window smashed. I didn’t think much of it but he left a photo of her, wrote his name and number on the back. Plus his address. I recognised it.’

  ‘This guy’s Jenny Taylor’s boyfriend?’ Gardner asked and Freeman’s ears pricked up.

  ‘He said she was called Louise Taylor,’ Lawton said. ‘I just thought I should let you know.’

  ‘Hang on a minute,’ he told her and held the phone to his chest.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Freeman asked.

  ‘Someone reported his girlfriend missing from Jenny’s address. Said her name was Louise Taylor.’

  Freeman’s brain whirred. ‘Jenny’s middle name is Louise,’ she said. ‘So it is her.’

  Gardner got back on the phone. ‘Lawton, can you send a copy of the photo to my phone?’ Lawton said she’d get on it and he hung up.

  ‘At least we know she was there,’ Freeman said. ‘Shame she’s not any more.’

  ‘Fuck,’ Gardner said. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have left a note.’

  His phone buzzed as Lawton’s message came through. And Gardner’s face dropped.

  ‘Is it her?’ Freeman asked and turned the phone in his hand to see. ‘Shit,’ she said and looked at Gardner. ‘That’s not Jenny. That’s Emma Thorley.’

  Freeman wondered if she looked as gormless as Gardner did at that moment. She stared at the photo again.

  Emma Thorley was alive. Alive and apparently living as Jenny Taylor. Or Louise Taylor, to be precise.

  ‘Emma’s middle name was Louise, too,’ Freeman said. ‘I can’t believe this. I just . . .’ She turned and leaned her head against the cold wall. ‘It’s not her.’

  ‘So it’s Jenny?’

  ‘Has to be,’ Freeman said. ‘Why else would Emma be using her ID?’

  Gardner blew out his cheeks and shook his head. ‘So now what? Are you looking at Emma as a suspect?’

  ‘For what? Murder?’ Freeman shook her head. ‘It doesn’t seem likely, but then . . . She’s using her identity. She had to know Jenny was dead. So maybe Stewart was right. She did go into that flat.’

  ‘You think she did it alone?’

  Freeman shook her head again. ‘No, I can’t see it. She was a kid. She must’ve had help.’

  ‘Who? Lucas? Or Ben?’

  ‘Not Lucas. There’s no way. She didn’t have anything to do with him. But Ben? He’d helped her before.’

  ‘True,’ Gardner said. ‘But helping someone get off drugs is one thing. Helping them murder a teenage girl is something else.’

  Freeman turned and kicked the wall. ‘Fuck,’ she said. She couldn’t get her head around it. All this time thinking Emma was dead, looking at Lucas. And she’d never once considered that the body wasn’t her.

  She took out her phone, pausing before dialling, trying to work out how to ask the question. When Angie Taylor picked up she just asked straight out.

  ‘Mrs Taylor, it’s DS Freeman. Did Jenny ever break her arm?’

  ‘Yes, why?’ Angie said.

  ‘Left or right?’

  ‘Left. Why?’

  Freeman closed her eyes and mouthed one word. Shit.

  Gardner followed Freeman upstairs while she spoke to the pathologist, asking him to locate Jenny’s medical records and look at Jenny’s X-rays to compare it with the bones on his table. As she hung up she grabbed DC Lloyd and told him to give Gardner a lift back to Middlesbrough. If Gardner had a problem with that, he didn’t show it. Although he was on the phone to Lawton again.

  ‘Head over to Adam Quinn’s now. I’m on my way back. Don’t tell him anything yet, just show some interest in his girlfriend and the door. Keep him there until I arrive,’ he said and hung up.

  ‘This is DC Colin Lloyd,’ Freeman said when Gardner joined them again. ‘He’ll take you.’

  ‘Where’re you going?’ Gardner asked.

  ‘Ben’s. If he was in on it with Emma, maybe that’s where she’s going. And I’m going to find her.’

  Chapter 68

  17 December 2010

  Lucas threw the glass he’d been holding onto the floor and ran after Ben, catching him just as he made it to the street. He grabbed Ben’s shirt, pulling him back. Ben struggled, trying to pull away, but Lucas got his hand around his neck and dragged him towards the house.

  ‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Lucas asked and threw Ben inside, slamming the door behind him. He pushed Ben towards the kitchen and knocked him to the floor. Ben tried to stand, scrabbling about on the floor.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Ben muttered and tried to crawl out of the kitchen. Lucas walked up behind him and slammed his foot onto Ben’s back, pushing him to the floor.

  ‘You’re going to be more sorry,’ Lucas said and turned Ben over to face him. He could see the fear in Ben’s eyes and felt a ripple of pleasure. This was just a warm-up but he’d enjoy it anyway.

  Lucas yanked Ben up by the hair into a sitting position and then slammed his fist into his face. Ben put his arms up to block the blows but he still managed to get a few nice ones in. Not enough though. He pulled back and took a breath before dragging Ben towards the table. He looked around the kitchen and then remembered something he’d seen in the hallway. He went out and got the scarf that’d been draped over the banister.

  Bending down, he pulled Ben’s arms behind his back and tied his hands, looping the scarf around the table leg. Ben was muttering. Lucas didn’t know if he was talking to him or not. He didn’t care. He twisted the knot tight and then looked Ben in the eye.

  ‘Ready?’ he said and smashed his fist into Ben’s face again and again. Blood covered Ben’s face, from his mouth, his nose. Lucas stopped after a few blows and admired his work. He looked at his fist, also covered in blood. He sat back and tried to control his breathing. He watched as Ben’s chest moved with shallow breaths. He was crying. Lucas laughed.

  ‘Don’t cry, we’re not done yet. I’m saving the best bit for last, don’t worry,’ he said and stood up. He wiped his face, smearing blood across it.

  There was a noise upstairs, a creak of a floorboard that made them both freeze. Lucas looked at Ben. ‘Are you hiding something from me, Benji?’ he said. ‘Is Emma up there?’

  Lucas walked out of the kitchen and could hear Ben writhing around behind him, trying to get up. ‘Please, don’t,’ Ben called after him. He walked up the stairs, his heart racing.

  This was it.

  He stuck his head around the door and stopped. An elderly woman lay in the bed, talking to herself. When she noticed him standing there she turned further towards him.

  ‘Ben? I need the toilet,’ she said.

  Lucas walked into the room and stood over the woman. She took a moment to focus on him and then looked confused.

  ‘Where’s Ben?’ she asked, her voice wavering.

  ‘He’s not here,’ Lucas said and searched among the boxes of tissues and pill bottles for a phone. ‘Who are you, then?’ he said.

  ‘I’m his mother. Where is he?’

  ‘He’s gone out,’ he said.

  ‘He can’t go out. I need the toilet,’ the woman said. She reached out for Lucas. ‘Can you take me?’

  Lucas waved at the woman and walked out, closing the door on her cries. He was about to go back down to Ben when he stopped. The other doors were closed. He walked to the first and pushed it open. Looked like Ben’s room. Empty. He went to the next and checked inside. A lot of medical suppl
ies, what looked like nappies and stuff, but no one hiding in there. He stopped at the last door. Must be the bathroom. He reached for the handle and the door opened.

  No one in there.

  Lucas left the door open and headed back downstairs, ignoring the old woman’s whingeing. He went back into the kitchen and found Ben where he’d left him, slumped over, tied to the table. When he stopped in front of him, Ben looked up.

  ‘What did you do to her?’ Ben asked.

  Lucas thought about telling him he’d shoved a pillow into her face or stuffed a whole load of pills down her throat but thought it’d be better to let old Ben’s imagination run wild. What you imagined was usually worse than reality. Usually.

  The old woman wouldn’t be any bother. She was hardly likely to get up and come after him with her walking stick. There was no phone up there so the police wouldn’t be coming any time soon.

  He walked to the drawers and rummaged about. He found what he wanted in the second one. With both hands full he walked back around and stood in front of Ben. ‘Which one should we play with first?’ he asked and held the knives out to Ben. Ben sobbed and struggled against his bindings. Lucas laughed again. ‘This is going to be fun,’ he said.

  He listened to Ben’s screams, savouring each one. ‘This is what happens when you try to set me up,’ he said and Ben writhed beneath him. ‘You and that little cunt are gonna pay for what you did.’

  Ben cried out again, no longer using words, just noise. Lucas grinned at him and then put his hand over Ben’s mouth. He could hear a noise, a wailing. He turned to the door and saw blue lights flashing outside.

  Lucas got to his feet, knife still in hand. He ran to the back door, threw it open and made a run for it. Through the back garden, over the fence. He kept on running.

  Chapter 69

  17 December 2010

  Adam sat in the living room, watching the clock, wondering how much longer he had to wait until the police showed some interest. No, he didn’t know exactly how long Louise had been gone, but that didn’t mean anything. She could’ve been gone more than twenty-four hours for all he knew. For all the police knew. And there was the broken window. The copper had seemed interested when he mentioned that, but when he said nothing was gone, that there was no sign that a burglary had taken place, her interest had quickly waned. He should’ve lied.