by Dan Clark
“I think it’s time for a new van. I’ve had this for the past five years and it was already ten years old when I got it,” Barry chuckles. “I bought it for a bargain though.”
Carolyn tells him again that it’s fine, and she’s very grateful for his help.
At Llanbedr Convenience, Barry says he’ll stay in the van and wait. He doesn’t want to seem intimidating towards Sophie. Carolyn agrees it might be a good idea.
Sophie is starting her lunch break as Carolyn approaches and asks if they can talk. The skinny redheaded girl ushers her around the side of the building to a part that has a sign reading EMPLOYEES ONLY. They sit on a wooden picnic bench, surrounded by plastic coffee cups. The surrounding floor is cluttered with dozens of cigarette butts. Sophie reaches into her bag and pulls out a box of cigarettes. She offers one to Carolyn, and when she refuses, she puts one to her lips and lights up. Sophie tilts her head up to blow the smoke away from Carolyn’s face.
“So how come you want to talk to me?” Sophie asks, taking another drag of her cigarette. “It’s about those missing boys, right?”
Carolyn nods.
“It’s about time somebody decided to do something about it. After I told the police, the old fat one who is always sweating didn’t even write anything down. He just listened, staring at my tits the whole time, then thanked me and left.” Carolyn guesses she’s talking about Inspector Richard Williams. Not wanting to give the same impression as him, she reaches into her own bag and pulls out the pad, turns to a new page and puts pen to paper.
“So, what did you tell the police?”
Sophie stares straight ahead, holding her cigarette in one hand and twisting a strand of her long red hair in the other. She begins.
“I was twenty-two when it happened. Rhodri and I had only been together for a couple of months. My dad didn’t like him at the best of times, because he smoked weed and was mad for motorbikes. So we’d go camping you know, so we could… do it.” She flusters.
Carolyn nods, and writes this down.
Sophie continues. “I didn’t feel comfortable doing it at his parents’ house, and there was no way Dad would allow him to stay at ours. So I’d say I was staying at Rachel’s, my friend. I don’t want to sound like a slut to my parents. But instead, we’d go camping at Sandle Moor. We’d hike up the mountain and find a desolated place overlooking Llanbedr. We’d sit up all night smoking pot, and drinking, and making love.”
Carolyn smiles at the making love.
Sophie goes into a stare again, as though remembering their romantic time together. Carolyn waits, and after a moment, the girl looks back up at Carolyn and smiles, taking the last drag of her cigarette before flicking it away and lighting another, all in the space of five seconds. Carolyn makes a few notes and gestures for Sophie to continue.
“Well, anyway, it was so quiet up there, and after we’d smoked a few spliffs, Rhodri would always go silent and watch over the town, you know, daydreaming? He was always so deep and meaningful.”
Carolyn conceals another smirk and nods.
“We both heard it: a twig snapping and bushes moving. We looked at each other. Rhodri jumped up ready to catch somebody watching us, but we didn’t find anyone.”
Carolyn writes it down. “Go on,” she urges.
“Then we went to sleep, after some more lovemaking, but later that night… I woke up to go for a pee. I think it was around half four, maybe five in the morning. It was all misty outside and really cold, and I swear to God I saw the back of somebody’s shoulder walking away from our tent. I almost choked on my breath. I panicked and ran back in the tent to tell Rhodri, but he wouldn’t wake up. He just kept telling me to leave him alone and go back to sleep… but I couldn’t. I stayed awake for hours listening in case there was a killer after us. It wasn’t long after that boy went missing. I had to wait until Rhodri woke up before I could pee.” Sophie inhales deeply.
Carolyn looks up to Sophie, then back down to her pad with the useless information she’s been given.
“That’s it? That’s all you told the police?” Carolyn asks, trying not to show frustration at a wasted journey.
“Well, I didn’t tell them about the weed we smoked… but yeah. I told them of the person I saw the back of. But they told me it wasn’t helpful,” Sophie says, her cigarette smoked almost to the butt. “Oh, and now we’ve broken up.”
Carolyn thanks Sophie for her time, and heads around to the front before the girl can light another cigarette.
“Well… That was a waste of time,” Carolyn says, climbing into the van as Barry is in the middle of checking his teeth in the sun visor mirror. He slams it closed as she gets in.
“What happened?” he asks.
“Sophie and her boyfriend went camping. Sophie thought she might have seen a Peeping Tom watching them, and now, sadly, she and her boyfriend have broken up.” Carolyn drops her bag into the footwell. “That’s it. That’s the whole story.”
Barry stays silent, his cheeks twitching as he fights back laughter. When Carolyn looks over, they both open up.
“What’s this thing you might be able to use me for then, other than my taxi service?” Barry says.
Carolyn looks at her watch. “Soon.”
“Come on. I’ve been wondering all night what it could have been. Tell me.”
“I’d like to buy you a coffee as a thank-you for saving me yesterday, and I can explain then. Is that ok?” Carolyn asks.
At The Coffee Shack, they both order large lattes – Barry’s plain, Carolyn’s with a shot of caramel syrup – and take a seat at the window. It’s a quiet afternoon. Two elderly women sit three tables away, not speaking. A man and his daughter are sitting at the back, next to the door for the toilets. It’s the table Carolyn would have chosen as she thinks it looks more private.
Barry’s huge hand cups his mug, almost hiding it in his palm. He looks up at the man and his daughter, who are colouring pictures, and sighs. Carolyn acknowledges his sadness and shows a sympathetic smile. She spends the next half hour discussing Simon and Ryan, telling him about the accident and about the woman driving the Mercedes that she was sure had Ryan strapped in the back seat, that day in Ashwood forest.
“Wow. So that’s why you’re in Llanbedr then. There I was feeling sorry for myself because I don’t have contact until Amy is sixteen, which is pretty soon.” He smiles at the thought, but quickly the smile drops. “I’m sorry.”
“Its… okay,” Carolyn says, though she knows it isn’t okay. None of this is okay. She shouldn’t even be here in Llanbedr. “Thank you for listening and for helping me.”
“So,” he says, holding open his hands, “what you got so far?”
She tells him about her visit to the Roberts’ home and the pictures she saw of the young boy, especially the one of him sitting on the rock, fishing.
“But Elwyn Roberts went missing about seven years ago.”
“It was eight, actually. And that’s what’s getting to me. Not only does the body vanish, but it’s supposed to belong to a kid that went missing eight bloody years ago.”
“It doesn’t make any sense.”
“This is what I’ve got so far.” Carolyn pulls out the pad and places it on the table in front of Barry. “I literally have no idea what I’m doing. I’m just making notes, pissing people off, and hoping for the best.” She finishes the last of her coffee.
“You feel really passionate about finding out the truth,” Barry says, looking up from the pad.
“It’s something I’d hope another mother would do, if it was my son.”
Barry flicks through the pages. “Julio Alcala?” he asks.
“The guy you saw me speaking with the other night… outside that function hall you were at.”
Barry nods. “P’s Party Accessories. What’s a party shop got to do with any of this?” he asks, intrigued.
“The day you saw me talking to Julio Alcala. It must have been roughly ten minutes later, he left his home, and I do
n’t know why, but I followed him, and he went to that party shop. He was in there for about half an hour.”
“So?”
“So, it might be nothing, I guess. I paid the party shop a little visit the other day. There’s this locked storage room.” Carolyn goes on to explain how she got the key and what she found. She tells Barry about the cork board with cut-outs of young girls, the laptop, the tissues and hand cream.
Barry grimaces. “And Mark Buckles, the candle shop owner?”
Carolyn nods. “Apparently he’s Dylan’s biological father, or so the rumour goes. I thought I’d go and speak to him, to see if he could shine some light on what’s happened or what he thinks might have happened. But to be honest he was quite rude.”
Barry flicks through the rest of the pad and pushes it back over. “You still haven’t told me what you need me for tonight.”
Carolyn lowers her voice and explains her plan to him.
He leans in closer to the table and keeps his own voice low. “You want me to break into the party shop using the tools in my van and steal the laptop?”
She explains her gut feeling is screaming at her that something isn’t right with the owner, or with whatever it was that Julio had picked up the other night.
“Why would he drive such a distance if it wasn’t important?” Carolyn asks.
Barry rests back in his chair, looking thoughtful.
You’re completely crazy, the internal voice shouts. He’s going straight to the police!
Barry leans back in, looking side from to side, and smirks. “I’d say it’s still far too early and far too bright to go breaking into a party shop,” he says. “You go and get us another coffee and we’ll discuss our plan… Oh… and we’re putting the laptop back once we’ve searched through it.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Barry parks his van next to the cars for sale and turns off the ignition. The van is in roughly the same place where Carolyn had parked the other night, after following Julio. It’s gone 6:45 pm., and according to the shop’s website, the shop closes at 5:30 pm. The shutters are three-quarters of the way down, but the lights are still on and the party shop’s van is parked in its designated spot. Barry watches his wing mirrors and is beginning to breathe nervously. His index finger taps agitatedly against the steering wheel.
“Don’t worry. Try to relax,” Carolyn says. “Even if he does spot us, we’re not breaking the law by being here, are we? Besides, if he drives past, we’ll pretend that we’re kissing. I saw that in a Mission Impossible film.”
Barry doesn’t answer. Carolyn doesn’t look at him, but she knows he’s blushing again.
“Okay, I think he’s leaving,” Carolyn says, watching as the shop lights switch off.
The obese man drops the shutters to the floor, locks up, and heads for his van. He starts it and pulls towards the entrance of the industrial site.
“We’ll give it a few minutes before going in,” Barry says.
“SHUSH!” Carolyn holds a finger up, as though the party shop owner can hear them from over a hundred yards away. They both watch as the van comes to a stop, then its reversing lights come on and it backs into the parking space. The party shop owner gets out and reopens the shutters, flicks on the lights and disappears inside.
“What’s happening?” Carolyn asks.
“Do you think he saw us and is calling the police?” Barry asks nervously.
“Calling the police about what? That you’ve driven me here to look at these cars that are for sale, after I swerved from hitting a fox and ended up down the ditch?” Carolyn replies. She wonders if Barry has always been like this, a worrier. For a man of his size, she would never have guessed he’d feel nervous, not when he looks as if he works for security at night clubs.
Whilst the obese man is in the party shop, Barry and Carolyn sit with their eyes glued on the shutters, watching. After forty seconds which feel more like five minutes, the light goes out and the obese man, now sweating considerably more from the walking, comes back into view holding a leather case. It’s the laptop.
“SHIT!” Carolyn whispers. “He’s got the laptop with him. Why?” she asks.
Barry sighs, keeping his voice down too, the same way you do when standing in a lift with strangers.
The party shop’s van starts up again and heads out of the industrial grounds, this time making it to the road and heading away from them.
“Follow him!” Carolyn orders.
“What?”
“Follow him!” she orders again, this time more assertively.
“But he has the laptop, Carolyn. What’s the point?” Barry argues.
“Please, just follow him. Follow him.”
Barry pauses for a second, then he turns the engine on, looks in his mirrors and joins the road, keeping a safe distance behind the party van.
“What are you expecting we do here?” he asks.
“I… I don’t know. I just want you to follow him and see where he goes. I don’t think he suspects us. It’s just a strange coincidence that he went back in for it,” she says, trying to sound confident and keep Barry focused. Although while saying this, she feels the knot in her stomach tighten.
“He probably takes it home every night. Why leave a laptop in there? It could get nicked.”
“It was locked behind a door with a thick padlock. Why would he lock it away like that? He’d keep it under the counter he sits at, surely. I have a laptop in my shop in Leeds. I never take it home. Ryan would want to play on it if I did and probably give me a virus.” She falls silent and watches the van in front. A car is waiting to pull out from a side road and Barry slows down and flashes it out, creating more of a distance.
“Well, I think it’s normal to want to bring your laptop home. I wouldn’t want to leave mine in there,” Barry says.
Carolyn doesn’t reply.
They watch the van take the next turning, and after the car carries on they turn after it. They’re heading down a long open lane, passing a farmhouse then a landfill a few yards down. Apart from a lorry that had just passed, the road is quiet. Finally, the party van slows and indicates right into the driveway of an old cottage. The grounds around the cottage are unkept and the wild hedges stand tall, almost completely hiding the two-storey building.
Barry drives past the cottage, finds a lay-by further down the road and parks. The cottage lights can be seen through the bony, leafless bushes.
“So what’s the plan now?” Barry asks, shutting off the engine.
Carolyn shrugs, looking from him to the cottage. She wishes she’d taken the laptop with her the other day, while the obese man was busy looking at his flat tyre. That was a silly idea; if the place had CCTV that she hadn’t spotted, or even if he’d described her to the police, she knew Inspector Richard Williams would happily take her in for the owner to confirm it was her. She’s come this far, and no way is she going to give up now. One way or another, she’s going to have a look at what’s on that laptop.
Barry turns to face Carolyn. “Go on. What’s on your mind?” he asks. “I can see you’re concentrating on something.”
She is, in fact, concentrating on something: a plan. She pulls in her tongue from gritted teeth and meets his gaze.
“I’m going to find a way in and get hold of that laptop tonight. I understand if you want to leave me here and head home. It’s not a problem.” But even as she speaks, she knows only too well that it would have been a very big problem if he did decide to take off and leave her all alone out here.
Barry shakes his head. “I’m not going to leave you here by yourself, am I?” he says, a slight tone of annoyance to his voice. “I think we might have passed a fish and chip shop not too far back. I’m starving. Want to go grab something to eat, and give him time to settle in?”
They order a sausage each and a portion of chips to share, then head back to the cottage. There is a dim light in the front room, and they can also see flashes from the TV bounce back through the crack in the cu
rtains.
“He’s still up, watching TV,” Carolyn says.
Barry parks back in the lay-by. “Give it time,” he replies with a smile.
“It’s such a nice little cottage, isn’t it?” Carolyn says, keeping her mind occupied on anything other than what she has planned.
Barry agrees. They finished their food and play I-Spy, and talk more about Simon, Ryan and Jeanette. They speak about Carolyn’s plans once she heads back to Leeds, and whether Barry is planning on moving from the flats above the betting shop and café. It’s now just after half past nine, and the light in the front room has gone out. They watch carefully, but can’t see any flashes from the television either. A lamp in the top window of the cottage switches on, and a few moments later it flicks off.
Barry urges Carolyn to give it another half hour. A lorry passes them quickly, with the driver not showing any interest in the lay-by or their van. They watch in silence for any other life in the cottage, then Barry turns on the engine and creeps forward. He bumps the tyres onto the kerb outside the cottage and shuts off the engine.
“Shouldn’t you have stayed in the lay-by?” Carolyn asks.
“I’m not taking any chances if something goes wrong and he calls the police. I want us gone out of here, quick. I don’t want to give him the time to see our faces or my van as we run back to it across the road. Besides, here it’s hidden behind the bushes.”
They climb from the van and close the doors, careful not to slam them shut. Barry takes a couple of screwdrivers, a small LED torch and a metal rule with him, and they walk slowly into the front garden. Their steps crunch on the stones in the drive.
“Wait… does he have kids?” Barry asks, stopping Carolyn with his arm held out. She steps closer to him, squinting her eyes as she hears the stones crunch under her boots.
“I don’t think he does. And the place was in darkness when he got home, remember?”
“Okay, but any sign of him having kids in there, I’m out!”