‘What is it you want to know?’
Another ridiculous question. ‘I need your help to find someone’.
‘Who are you looking for?’
He must have known the answer. ‘Molly Lane of course.’
‘I…I...don’t know…’
‘Don’t lie to me! Do you think this is a game? Did Danny think it was a game? It’s his fault you’re involved in this. Now you’ve got this one frigging chance to stay alive!’
Vince was losing his battle with his temper. God how he hated wimps. This whining was really pissing him off. Maybe he should have just got rid of him after all.
‘I...I....don’t know where she is…. please... I can’t help you.’
The squeaky voice gave away everything it was trying not to. This man definitely had the information he needed.
‘I hope you’re not lying to us, lad. I’m sure you realise what we’ll do if you are.’
‘No… no... I have no idea... Please, just leave me alone, I don’t want to be involved in this.’
‘Oh, but you are already, aren’t you? And I know you need the money.’
‘No, no, I don’t want anything to do with this. There’s nothing ’
‘You help us find her. We’ll make it worth your while.’
Before Vince could finish his offer, his phone went dead. The man either had a bad connection, or had just shat his pants, and hung up the phone.
Vince was in no mood to call again. So instead, he typed a text message to the man.
‘100,000 for Molly. Find her and we won’t hurt anyone you love’
He felt pleased with himself as he re-read the sent text message. Of course he wouldn’t really pay the little shit anything like that much, but carrots and sticks, that's how business worked. He didn't get a reply, but that was of no concern. Surely this was all the incentive the man needed to get himself, and Vince, out of the unfortunate situation they had found themselves in?
Chapter 11
I didn’t hear from Liam for the rest of the day. My impatience and curiosity unquenched, I eventually went to bed, and suffered hours of broken sleep. I had started to feel a bit guilty about how rude I had been to him. And my reaction to his news seemed a bit over the top. So what if Sophie worked as a prostitute? At least when her acting career failed, she didn’t fall to bits. Like I did. She did what she had to do to survive, without any help from her family. Which was quite commendable, in a way. I would never feel good about her choice, but Liam did say she wasn’t doing it anymore, so that had to be a good thing. He had seemed quite concerned about Sophie: too concerned for a con man. Or was he just a really good actor himself? It wasn’t likely. When he told me about his investigations, he seemed genuinely enthralled by his own story, as if re-telling it was as satisfying as when it happened.
At 7:00am, two hours before I usually woke up, my mobile rang. I answered it with a muddled half awake greeting.
‘Ellen here.’
‘Did I wake you? Sorry about that, I can call back later.’
It was Liam. I sat up. ‘No, that’s ok. I’m up, I was just...’
‘Sorry about yesterday... I really had to go...’
‘Are you going to come back over here today?’
It sounded like Liam was in a car. I wondered if he was already on his way over.
‘Unfortunately I’m not going to have time. I’ve just changed my flight. I’m going back to Sydney this morning. There are things I need to urgently chase up.’
‘About Sophie? What is it? Have you got a new lead?’
‘Look, why don’t you come to the airport, and meet me. I’ll have a few minutes to explain more then.’
‘Ok, I’ll see you there. Text me which gate you’re leaving from.’
I was more confused than ever. My suspicions about what he had been up to were cooling. It was impossible not to be worried by his tone; he sounded really anxious. I quickly showered and dressed, explaining to mum as I ran out the door that I was borrowing her car to see Liam off at the airport. When she heard he was flying back urgently to Sydney, her face lit up with hope.
‘Has he found her?’
But I couldn’t give her good news, as much as I would have liked to.
When I found Liam in the departure lounge, he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, and looking far from relaxed. His air of confidence was completely gone today. His face looked drawn and grey, his eyes red and his hair didn’t look like it had been brushed. Much to my annoyance, he still looked attractive.
‘My flight boards in 15 minutes,’ he said.
‘Can you tell me why you’re going back? We don’t have time for a really drawn out explanation...’
‘I know, I know. I’ll make it as quick as I can.’
I wanted him to get to the point, but when he did, I wished he hadn’t said anything.
‘You remember I went to see the property manager? He told me the previous tenant had been murdered there. He said the man’s name was Danny Wright.’
The word murder crashed over me. ‘Sophie’s boyfriend was murdered? What about Sophie?’ Suddenly my throat was dry.
‘She wasn’t there.’
‘How do you know she wasn’t there? How did Danny die? What the hell happened to him?’ Panic filled every pore of my body, and I felt like I was going to faint.
‘He was shot. Apparently he must have opened the door to someone, and they shot him in the face.’
I gasped. ‘But you don’t know Sophie wasn’t there. How do you know she wasn’t taken by whoever shot Danny? You don’t know!’ I was starting to get hysterical. People sitting around us were staring, but I didn’t care. ‘Liam, you can’t just tell me you know Sophie wasn’t there! How do you know?’
‘I’ve already told you, I know she’s in Sydney!’
‘And is she safe there? Who shot Danny? Why would someone kill him? What’s going on Liam?’ My voice cracked as I said ‘kill’. This was all starting to become far too real.
Liam put his hand on my knee, and looked me in the eyes, trying to calm me down. ‘I understand you are frightened. I kept quiet about it before because I didn’t want you and your mum to panic.’
‘Shit Liam! You never said anything about people getting shot! When did this happen? Before or after Sophie emailed mum?’
‘The day before. That’s how I know she wasn’t there.’
‘So do the police know who did it? Do you have any idea? Why would Danny be killed? What are you not telling me?’
‘I’ve been trying to find out who might have killed Danny. I’ve managed to work out that whoever it is, they weren’t just after him.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Well, the email from Sophie is a fairly big clue that she felt she was in danger.’
‘Of course she was petrified. Her boyfriend had just been killed!’
‘Yes, and also the fact she’s been moving around so often that I haven’t been able to track her down. The move to Sydney, I believe, was to get away from the people who killed Danny.’
‘People? How do you know it’s more than one person?’
‘I just do. There are too many reasons to explain now. I think Sophie and Danny got involved in something that made them a target.’
‘So you have no more idea than that?’
‘That’s what I’ve been working on. I don’t know why they‘re after her. Or why they killed Danny.’
‘What do you know about him?’
‘He owned a gym in Brompton. But his other business was managing Sophie and Katie’s… careers’.
‘And who on earth is Katie?’
‘Katie Easton. She’s a friend of Sophie’s. They worked together, back when Carla was their boss. They met Danny through the gym, and sort of became a trio, running their business together, working alternating nights so that someone was always available when the clients called. I’m pretty sure she’s in Sydney with Sophie.’
Any thoughts of a huge scale con
on Liam’s part had completely vanished. But the reality of what he was telling me was much harder to bear than having money stolen from mum.
‘So these people, Danny, Katie and Sophie, or Molly or whatever, they got into some sort of situation where some people wanted them dead. And you’re telling me that whoever these people are, they’ve killed Danny and you think they are after Katie and Sophie now?’
‘I don’t just think so. I know they are.’
‘And how do you know Sophie - and Katie as well? - made it to Sydney?’
‘A contact told me. Someone I met who knew both the girls.’
That would have to do for now. He wouldn’t have left London for Sydney unless he was certain they were there. ‘And you haven’t got any idea where they are in Sydney?’
Now Liam looked even more concerned. ‘One of the things I did when I got to Sydney was to visit the morgue. I wanted to find a contact there who would let me know if... you know...someone came in who might be...’
‘I get what you’re saying.’
‘I paid him money to keep me informed, and he called me yesterday evening.’
The blood drained from my face.
‘The description he gave doesn’t match Sophie. But I think it is probably Katie,’ he said quickly, knowing he was putting me out of my misery.
‘How can you be sure?’
‘Because I’ve got a photo of Katie. She had dark skin. She was West Indian.’
I exhaled for what seemed like the first time in minutes. There wasn’t time just then to care that Sophie’s friend might be dead. It was Sophie I needed information about.
‘Ok, so you’re telling me these people have possibly killed this Katie in Sydney. And now they are going to be looking for Sophie. They weren’t together?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t know where Sophie is.’
It was understandable that Liam was rushing back to Sydney. If these people had found Katie, it might not take them long to find Sophie. I felt small and stupid for questioning Liam’s motives yesterday, when he was quite obviously as worried as I was about what might happen.
People were starting to stand up and queue to board the flight.
‘Liam, you haven’t told me who you gave the $30,000 to. What information did you get for that money? You said in your email you got an address. Was it somewhere Sophie was living in Sydney?’
Liam didn’t seem to be listening. He started to flick through his back-pack, eventually pulling out his boarding pass.
‘About the money Ellen, I’m really sorry you had to sell the piano. But honestly, you’ve got to believe me, the money has been well spent. I would still be in London, chasing my tail, if I hadn’t got that lead.’
‘But that’s the thing. We can’t afford to pay you for the work you’re doing. The money I’ve made off the piano has to cover the mortgage. I know you are still working, and still have expenses. I regret now that I accused you of being a, well, you know, not doing the right thing. But I believe you now. I’m really sorry.’
It was the first time I’d seen him come close to a smile all day. His expression showed he understood how hard it was for me to admit this. Now he was walking towards the line, his mind a million miles away from the money trouble mum and I were facing, as was mine. He waved his hand, brushing off what I was saying.
‘Don’t worry about the money Ellen. I won’t keep sending your mum payment requests for now. We’ll sort if out once I’ve found Sophie. My parents have lent me enough money to keep me going for a while.’
‘Are you sure? I mean, I don’t really have a choice but to accept your offer, because we can’t take you off the case now...’
‘Of course not. I’m not willing to give up now anyway. I can live fairly cheaply in Sydney. I’ve got enough friends there willing to offer their couch.’
‘So what are you going to do now?’
‘There’s something else, Ellen.’
Liam was the last in the queue, and he was about to be ushered through the departure gate.
‘Tell me quickly.’
‘Danny and Sophie’s things were sent to the local charity shop. There was an envelope slipped in-between the books, with a return address sticker for Danny’s parents in Manchester. I thought it was worth talking to them. But when I got there, the house was deserted. One of the neighbours asked if I was looking for the Wrights. She told me they had been killed in a car accident. Their car ran off the road and hit a tree, just streets away from their house.’
‘So what’s this got to do with Sophie...’
The answer dawned on me before I could finish the question.
‘I looked up the accident in a local newspaper. They died the day after Danny was murdered. It’s just too much of a coincidence.’
‘Jesus.’ What he said hit me like a ton of bricks.
‘I’ve got to fly. I’ll call you, and let you know what I’m doing.’
‘Ok, just be careful...’ He was already gone.
I stood in the departure lounge, watching Liam's plane take off. Usually when I left the house, I couldn't wait to get home, which was one of the reasons I so rarely went anywhere. I felt most comfortable in the solitude of my room, or chatting to mum while she cooked, or playing Picasso. But I didn't like the idea of going back to monotonous hours of nothing. To mum's worried face. To a house without a piano. It struck me I was jealous that Liam was so caught up in the search. Jealous he was looking for my sister, while I sat at home wondering what on earth was going on. Maybe I could help him? Maybe I should be in Sydney too?
As I drove home, I thought about Sophie, all alone, running from these people. She must be absolutely terrified. I wondered if she knew what had happened to Katie. I almost hoped she did, so she would know to be extra careful. I wanted her to hide somewhere no one would ever find her, except Liam of course.
Sophie was always so brave. As a child, I thought she was invincible. I remembered one time, when I was about seven, I found a huntsman spider in the bathroom sink. I was so terrified I dropped my hairbrush, and stood there screaming. Sophie grabbed one of its legs and flung it into the toilet, flushing it before it had a chance to swim. I stood in shock, staring at her as if she had slain a wild beast. The next day, mum let out this piercing shrieked when she came to the front door with her shopping. Dad and I went to see what was wrong. Hanging from the doorway were three huntsman spiders, dead, and strung up with cotton at waist height. We looked at each other in astonishment. Then Sophie wandered out of her bedroom, and calmly explained she had hung them there to warn other spiders not to come into our house. Dad thought it was hilarious, and congratulated Sophie on her creativity. Mum told her to take them down, and that it was disgusting to kill spiders. I was touched she went to all that trouble for me.
I hoped Sophie still felt brave. But would her bravery make her more likely to run from these men, or to confront them? They wouldn’t be so easy to string up in a doorway. Maybe she needed some help?
By the time I walked in the front door, I was almost convinced I should go to Sydney. Sure, I hadn’t any idea where to start looking for Sophie. And I also had none of the things people usually used to find missing people: ingenuity, guts, bravado and luck. But would my presence do any harm? My email to Tina was a good idea; maybe other inspiration would come.
Chapter 12
When I got inside, I prepared myself for the idea I might chicken out of going to Sydney. Maybe the comforts of home would suddenly seem like the better option. But the first thing I saw was the living room without Picasso in it.
‘Mum, I have to go to Sydney.’
‘Oh no, Ellen. I’m worried sick about Sophie, and now you want to put yourself in harm’s way as well? Why would you want to do that? It's not like you.’
‘I can’t just sit here waiting for Liam to call. I need to do something to help!’
Mum was desperate to get me to change my mind. ‘Please Ellen, leave it to Liam. He has the best chance of finding Sop
hie. You are better off here with me. Please stay here.’
I wavered.
'How on earth do you think you’re going to be of any use anyway?'
She didn’t mean to upset me. The words just popped out of her mouth. But the comment did more than upset me: it spurred me on. I hated being her useless daughter who never made anything of her life. I wanted to show her I could bring Sophie home.
‘I’ve already decided mum, I’m old enough to look after myself. You can’t force me to stay here.’ I jumped up from my chair so quickly that it launched backwards, banging against the floorboards. Mum jumped a foot in the air.
‘How on earth are you going to afford to live in Sydney?’
This was her last ploy, but I was prepared for it. ‘I’ve got plenty of frequent flyer points left from all the travelling I used to do…’ I almost faltered at this point, but managed to keep going. ‘I’ll stay in a cheap hostel. I’ve got a bit of money saved up. I won’t be using the funds from Picasso. I’ve already transferred them into your account for the mortgage. It’s not like I’ll be sightseeing. All I’ll need to buy is food.’
I booked my flight for later that afternoon.
Before I left, I explained to mum as much as I felt I could about what Liam had found so far. Without being completely truthful, I said it was not really clear what Sophie had been working as, since it was very difficult to get information from her employer. But I told her about Danny, and Katie, and Danny’s parents, as much as I had found out, anyway. Mum looked horrified by the information that Sophie’s friends had been killed, one at a time, like birds picked off a fence.
‘I knew something awful was happening. Why else would Sophie ask for help after so much time away? Can Liam prove beyond doubt that Sophie is still alive? Can he, Ellen?’
Times of Trouble Page 8