He's Gone

by Alex Clare

  Graham reached into the door pocket for chewing gum. ‘But, just after you’d gone, she took a call. She advises some charity and a couple with a baby were about to be evicted so she spoke to them for ten minutes. She spent time helping a family when her own son’s been taken.’ He offered the packet to Robyn.

  Robyn shook her head. ‘No thanks. Did she give you anything relating to Ben’s disappearance?’

  Graham chewed, the smell of mint filling the car. ‘She’s working on the redevelopment of the Docks area. There’s going to be a new leisure centre and shopping village, as well as the warehouses being turned into flats for trendy people, as if there are any of those around here.’ They were trundling down the hill behind a bus. ‘It’s going for a decision soon and apparently there are heritage people angry about the development so it’s possible someone might resort to desperate measures to put the application off. I followed up about the threats she’d had previously but nothing else has happened.’

  They were so close to the bus, Robyn could read the graffiti in the back window. She suppressed the urge to grip the door handle. ‘The woman on the CCTV didn’t have anything with her, even a handbag and those dresses don’t have pockets. If she hadn’t gone to buy anything, it makes me think she was there for Ben. What did you find out about his father?’

  Graham gunned the engine to overtake the bus as they passed through the red-bricks, then braked hard behind a learner driver. ‘She clammed up a bit. First she said he didn’t have a father and I asked whether she’d used a sperm bank. She got a bit huffy and said “playing God” with life was against the Bible so I asked her straight out for a list of her boyfriends.’ Graham smirked. ‘Let’s face it, a woman with a body like hers isn’t going to be lonely.’

  ‘Have you got a name?’

  ‘No, she refused. I did explain an absent father is one of the first lines of enquiry we need to eliminate when a child goes missing and she finally admitted the father didn’t know about Ben.’

  ‘Someone must know, or at least suspect who he is, even if the father himself doesn’t.’ Robyn wished she had some water. ‘Did you get the impression there were any people Ms Chivers would confide in?’

  ‘Well not Susan, that’s for sure. Stupid, whiny cow.’ They reached the bottom of the hill, passing through patches of light and shade from the clumsy blocks of flats between Upper Town and the Docks. A rusting Astra poked its nose out into the road, the chunky blonde driver tipping her cigarette to thank Graham for letting her out. ‘Doesn’t seem to think of much outside work, oh, apart from church. She’s a member of some evangelical one. You remember last year, there were demonstrations outside the health centre because it was giving out birth control?’

  ‘That turned nasty, didn’t it? There were threats against some of the workers at their homes.’

  ‘Yeah. Well, that was them. Ms Chivers seems pretty keen. When I mentioned they’d broken the law, she snapped that it was new arrivals who didn’t know the rules over here. When I asked if she needed more support, she said the Lord gave her all the strength she needed. I think it’s … why she’s …’ Graham tailed off, chewing faster.

  ‘Why she wouldn’t speak to me?’ Robyn found her jaw clenching.

  ‘Ah, yeah.’

  A second later, Graham gave a coarse laugh. ‘One good thing – I’ve never seen Susan shut up before.’ He sobered when Robyn didn’t react. ‘Ms Chivers is in a state though, underneath. I reckon all the DIY stuff is just something to keep her from going mad because she’s not in control. She has to do something, you know?’

  Robyn tensed, watching a child Ben’s age stumble towards the road. His father grabbed him just in time. ‘What about her home arrangements?’

  ‘Ms Chivers sounds a bit of a workaholic. Gillian comes six days a week to do the housekeeping and teach Ben when he’s not at his school – I’ve got the details. She was going to ring Gillian when I left so maybe Susan can be useful for once and fill us in on the conversation.’ Graham smiled, without humour.

  ‘Why is the house to let?’

  ‘She’s about to go and spend six months working in Europe, which might turn into a permanent thing. All sounds very high-powered.’

  ‘Any other family?’ Robyn gave in and gripped the door handle as they went around the roundabout too fast.

  ‘Mother and sister. Another area she didn’t like me asking about. Her early life sounds pretty hard and she came here to get away.’ Graham swung the car into the police station car park, bumping over the speed humps. ‘I went up to Ben’s room and I’ve got a toothbrush we can use for the DNA test. Far too tidy, lots of educational stuff. His clothes shouldn’t be hard to track – he was wearing his school uniform.’

  Robyn spotted a parking space. ‘Over there. I wondered about the mention of a school rather than a nursery. What can they teach a child so young?’

  ‘Don’t know.’ Graham swung the car around. ‘I did ask why Ben was dressed for school in the holidays.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘She said his school doesn’t stop for summer, because it’s a missed learning opportunity.’ Graham adopted a clipped imitation of Melissa. ‘She also told me “wearing his uniform teaches him the value of education”.’

  ‘She didn’t show much emotion, did she? Certainly not the usual bereft mother.’

  Graham killed the engine. ‘She’s upset though, I could tell and she isn’t as tough as she talks. A couple of times, when I was asking her about anything personal, she talked about how she’d had to work harder than anyone else to get where she had. Almost as if she needed to convince herself.’ They got out of the car. Graham paused, leaning on the door. ‘I guess she’s so used to acting the hard woman, she doesn’t know how to do anything else.’

  They walked up the steps, Graham opening the door for Robyn with an unnecessary flourish. ‘Right, I’m going to drop this off for the lab.’ He waved the bag. The toothbrush was plain white, the only way you could tell it was for a child was by the size.

  Robyn walked up the stairs. The CID office had been opened out. Janice was marking things on a clipboard, pointing to a corner as an extra printer was carried in. Three constables were answering calls at new desks. Behind them, a large-scale map of Meresbourne and the villages was stuck with coloured pins.

  ‘The red ones are the credible sightings.’ Ravi fished in the pot and held one up. ‘Blue is for possible and yellow is unlikely. We had one woman call because her drains were blocked and she thinks someone’s dumped a body down there.’

  The yellow pins spread like a rash. A pair of red pins were stuck in Willingdon village.

  Robyn pointed. ‘What are these, Ravi?’

  ‘Two reports, Guv, one from a woman who said she saw a child being bundled out of a van, then a second from someone walking his dog in the same area who found a child’s backpack beside a track. Lorraine’s out there now. She was going around the villages with the new description of the burglar so she was nearby.’

  Robyn scanned the map. ‘Any more of these worth investigating?’

  ‘We’re picking up all the credible ones as part of the house-to-house searches, Guv.’ Ravi tapped the map with his pen. ‘The last update said teams are spreading out into Upper Town and Barton.’

  Graham’s phone rang. ‘Lorraine.’

  Robyn cleared papers from a table. ‘Put her on speaker.’

  ‘Hello, darling, just putting you on speaker so everyone can hear your beautiful voice.’ Graham propped the phone against a stapler.

  ‘Hello, Graham, everyone. Two false alarms, I’m afraid. I went to see the first caller and the more I questioned her, the more muddled she got. She’s unhappy about travellers living in a field near her house and I think she’s trying to get rid of them by saying they’re gypsies who steal children.’

  Lorraine’s rich laugh boomed from the phone. ‘I also don’t think she appreciated a black copper turning up,’cos she demanded to see my warrant card twice before letting m
e in. I talked to the travellers, just one family, four adults, three kids. They’d hitched a ride from town and the youngest child threw a tantrum as he got out of the van. I believe them.’

  Ravi jumped in. ‘What about the backpack?’

  ‘It was a plastic one with princesses on.’

  ‘Damn.’ Robyn rubbed her forehead. ‘OK, thanks, Lorraine.’

  ‘Do you need me back there, Guv, or can I keep going on the burglar? Now I’ve got something, I really want to catch this git.’

  Robyn stared at the map as she considered the options: decisions in a case of child abduction would always be scrutinised, internally and externally. The media were all over this story and a missed clue or any sign the case wasn’t been taken seriously and they would be howling. On the other hand, in the last three months, six old people had been threatened with violence before their homes were robbed and this was the first lead. ‘If you’re getting somewhere, Lorraine, carry on. We’ve got enough of us here.’ She noticed she’d smeared foundation on her hand.

  ‘Thanks, Guv. Anything I need to know?’

  Robyn nodded to Graham.

  ‘Not much.’ Graham leaned across the table to speak. ‘All Ms Chivers does is go to work or go to this “Church of Immaculate Purity” …’

  A noise somewhere between a snort and a laugh blasted out of the phone.

  Graham jerked backwards, then recovered. ‘So ladylike. Did you want to say something, Lorraine?’

  ‘That church is bad news. They’re not just a bunch of happy-clappies, they’re anti just about everything and believe the Bible is law. They shoved a leaflet at me in the town centre one day and then closed in, kept telling me only Jesus could help a poor woman like me when the end of days came, which I think they said was going to be last Tuesday. I thought about arresting them for blasphemy, except I’m not sure it’s still on the statute book.’

  Robyn managed a smile. ‘Have you still got the leaflet?’ Ravi pointed at his computer where he’d brought up the church’s website.

  ‘Don’t worry, Lorraine, we’ve got details here. Let me know when you get something concrete on the burglar.’ Robyn felt stiffness in her neck as she stood up. She would need that information in case her decision came into question, which it would be if Ben wasn’t found soon.

  Robyn stepped across to Ravi’s desk and leaned closer to see the screen. Ravi pushed his chair backwards so only his fingertips were on the keyboard.

  Graham retrieved his phone. ‘What rubbish are they spouting, Raver?’

  ‘Lots about hell and sin.’ Ravi squinted at the Gothic font. ‘OK, basically, it doesn’t matter who you are, race, nationality, we’re all damned and our one hope of salvation is to give ourselves up to the Lord.’ He clicked to another page. ‘There’s a “Campaigns” section. Pictures of them outside the walk-in clinic and …’ Ravi’s voice tailed off and he scrolled the page down. Robyn had already read the notice for the next campaign, picketing Saints’ Row, to disrupt the climax of the Gay Pride march through Meresbourne.

  Ravi scrolled down. ‘Yuck.’ The screen filled with a bloody picture of an aborted foetus next to a coffin. ‘So they’re against abortion but say those who bring death should be killed themselves. A doctor was shot in the US because he carried out abortions and they’re calling his killer a saint? That makes no sense at all.’

  ‘And they’re supposed to be Christian? What about “thou shalt not kill”?’ Janice fished for a pin, then shoved a yellow one into the map at Lower Markham. ‘I’ve just had the daftest call so far. A man wanted to report he could hear a child crying. When I asked him when he’d first heard this, he said a week ago.’

  She shook her head as another phone rang, glanced at her watch, then gestured to Ravi to turn on the television. The one o’clock news droned through a foiled hijack, an international treaty and the potential for drought before Ravi upped the volume.

  A toddler has gone missing from a shopping centre in Meresbourne, Kent. The child is believed to have been abducted by a woman after a chance photo showed Benjamin Chivers, aged two, being led away.

  The newsreader cut to a serious-looking reporter in the shopping centre, teenagers fooling around behind him. They ran the CCTV footage with step-by-step commentary and lingered on the image of Ben walking away with the woman, before cutting back to the reporter, who was now standing near the Riverside doors. He pointed out possible escape routes: the main road was just the other side of Victoria Park and the train station only minutes’ walk along the river path. After a warning of flash photography, they cut to the press briefing. Robyn stared at the screen. She wasn’t sure who the person was, standing in a tatty room in a dark suit and plain blouse. Whoever they were, they looked a lot like Roger Bailley but with odd-coloured hair, lips darker than usual and the face a different colour from the neck. That was it, she realised. Now everyone could see her. Anyone could have seen her. Becky might be looking at her now … The thought made her feel a little sick.

  Ravi pressed the remote and the picture died. No one spoke until Janice came and laid her hand on Robyn’s shoulder.

  ‘Well done, Robyn. I don’t know how you stayed so calm in front of all of those cameras. I hate having to do press briefings. No fun at all. Cup of tea?’

  It was easy to forget Janice was a detective, filling as she did the role of hostess, agony aunt and even matchmaker at the station. The tea came from her desk store and the mini kettle they weren’t supposed to have, for never-explained safety reasons. She stepped over Robyn’s handbag and put down a mug and biscuits.

  Robyn wondered for a second whether there was a reason she’d been given a mug with Miss Piggy on it, then thought it wasn’t worth drawing attention to. ‘Thanks. Have you found something?’

  Janice continued to her own desk and pulled across a pile of spiral notebooks, aligning the edges. ‘When Ravi mentioned I’d been involved, the case sounded familiar and checked back.’

  She patted the notebooks. ‘Sure enough, I’ve met Ms Chivers before. Three months ago, Gillian Green hired a bloke called Dean Harper to repair a gutter. Afterwards, he claimed he’d fixed other things while he was up on the roof so demanded more money. I noted Mrs Green was scared, though more of her employer than the builder.’

  Janice turned a page of the notebook. One finger twisted a wisp of hair.

  ‘I realised why when I met Ms Chivers – she was very particular about the Ms. She’d told Harper she’d pay him for the work specified and no more. He made threats and she called the police. When we started digging, we found a number of vulnerable people who’d paid up after he’d threatened them, which means goodness knows how many more were too embarrassed to admit they’d been had. We arrested him but as the amounts were petty, the guy got off with a fine.’ Janice shrugged one shoulder. ‘Previous record, drunk and disorderly, driving without tax and insurance. Kidnapping seems a bit out of his league. Do you want me to follow him up?’

  ‘Yes, please. We can’t overlook anything. Good work.’

  ‘Wasn’t he the guy who asked the judge if the courthouse roof needed fixing?’ Graham cracked his knuckles. ‘Cocky git. Hey, Janice. Are you planning on having your birthday barbecue this year? I bet your garden’s looking even better now Martin’s retired.’

  Janice stood up, pushing hair from her face. ‘How can you even think of a party when we’ve got a missing boy?’ She made a grab for the notebooks. One flopped to the floor, then another.

  ‘Only asking.’ Graham shook his head.

  Janice ducked below the desk to gather the notebooks. When she sat up, her jaw was clenched.

  ‘Something up, Janice?’ Robyn kept her voice low so Graham couldn’t hear.

  Somewhere under the litter of maps and statements on her desk there was a beep. Janice took the opportunity to start a call. Robyn made a mental note to catch her in private and have a chat. It was inevitable that people would be on edge during a case like this. After piling most of the paper into her in-
tray, she retrieved the phone. There was one new message.

  Dad, or whatever you are now. Got your letter. Don’t know what to say. Good luck in your new life’cos it looks like you don’t want your old one any more. Becky.

  7

  It was an effort but Robyn kept her face steady as she re-read Becky’s text. The counsellor at the gender identity clinic had stated the obvious by warning Robyn her actions would ‘affect those closest to her’. What made the situation worse was that the process had made her realise there was only one person on that list. Exactly how Becky would take the news had been a constant preoccupation during her long brooding towards a decision. She hadn’t wanted to discuss things with her daughter until she was sure she would go through with everything. After she’d booked the time off work, it didn’t feel right to disturb Becky during her university exams. Then, there was the promise of a visit and she’d justified more delay, reasoning face-to-face was the best way to explain. She’d planned the confession in detail: she and Becky, talking over glasses of wine, like adults. At the end, they’d hug. Becky might shed a few tears but would offer her ‘full support’ or something similar that didn’t sound so much like something Fell would say. Then Becky had announced she’d got a part in a festival play and was staying up in Norwich for the summer. An attempt to explain over the phone had ended in a wordless fug so, stuck for any other option, she’d written the letter. Now everything was in the open, Robyn despised her earlier cowardice. Her jumbled thoughts on how to reach out to Becky were interrupted by someone calling.

  ‘Guv. Guv? The search has covered the area inside of the ring road – nothing.’ Graham’s face was grim.

  The team absorbed the news and went back to work, their heads down. Everything was normal, except her. She should be leading them to find Ben not focusing on her own family worries though the urge to speak to Becky was close to overwhelming. Nowhere in the station was truly private: if she was going to do it, she’d have to go and sit in the car while everyone was absorbed in their tasks. With need overriding guilt, Robyn slipped out of the incident room and started down the stairs.