by RB Banfield
“He’s with the crowds, so we follow the crowds,” Kerry reasoned.
“You don’t know where they’re going. We can’t go too far into the city.”
“As long as we’re following our target, we’ll be okay.”
“Only if he stays with the crowds. We can’t see if he will. We can’t get lost in the city, Jerry. We need to get back to Gendry tonight. It isn’t safe here. What do you think mother’s going to do to us for this?”
“If anything happens, we know where Sophie lives. We can go there, stay with her.”
“Dummy, she’s in Gendry!”
Kerry looked at his brother with growing fear. “Oh, yeah. I forgot.”
“And we don’t even know where she lives!”
“Sure we do. I remember it from last time we visited. It’s not that far from here. We’ll just break into her house if we have to. That’s what spies do, when it gets difficult and dangerous. They go by their senses, and skills, and instinct.”
“You do know we’re not really spies, don’t you?”
“Since when did you become a girl?”
“Since I think we might be lost. And you’re the girl.”
“We’re not lost. I told you, we keep following the target, and we’ll be okay. I think he went this way. Come on.”
They stopped walking when the crowds thinned, leaving a space for them to look around, There was no sign of Craigfield.
“Let’s go back home right now,” pleaded Jerry.
“I’m following the target. I don’t know what you want to do. You can go home if you want to. What did you think we were doing when we got on that train? We must be committed to this.”
Jerry answered by giving his brother a shove, to which Kerry shoved back with equal strength. No one knew they regularly fought when they were in private, and there had not once been an outright victor between them. Their mother would have been shocked to see them now; not only in the city alone, but fighting. Then Jerry started hitting his brother with his little fists, and the blows were returned without hesitation. They roughly grabbed at each other’s clothing and came close to falling over. In their anger they barged into several people. A small group of travellers then formed to watch them as they battled away, edging towards the train tracks. A few people told them to stop, drowned out by those who were laughing and cheering them on. People came rushing to see what was happening.
Then they each felt a strong hand taking hold of an arm, pulling them apart with such surprising force that their anger vanished. They both looked up at the same time, to see the concerned and yet familiar face of Craigfield. But he was furious with them, and his wild eyes made them both feel weak with fear.
When Max heard the key unlocking the door he did not know what to think. He had been sitting in the quiet apartment just waiting for the day to end. Morning turned to noon to afternoon, the evening to night. At times the clock seemed to stop and remain unchanged, and at other times the hours passed quickly. However the clock was moving, he could remain in the same position without feeling any reason to do anything else.
It had come as a surprise to him that after two days of such living he began to feel the motivation to continue with his writing. It was understandable that his story became darker and uncertain. Since returning from Craigfield’s house, in the middle of the previous night, he felt like a weight had been lifted. He now accepted where he was and who he was. Just some guy who thought he could write, and who thought he could act a bit like Elvis, and who had a failed marriage with nothing to show for it.
His writing was all he had left. His three books seemed frivolous now. He knew he would never want to sit down and read any of them. They were experiments, to see how far he could go, to see if he could complete a story and be proud of it. What he wanted to produce was a book he would enjoy to give to people, and one that he would also enjoy. He knew, deep inside, that he could do better. Everything in his life was either distraction or an obstacle to realise his ambition. Such as the person about to enter his apartment.
Jill came inside, carrying two heavy suitcases that she dumped down as soon as she could. Her face was flush and her eyes were red. She only gave Max a quick glance as she dragged one of the bags to the bedroom. Max watched her in silence.
“Don’t say it,” she said, her voice broken.
“Hello?” he asked without emotion, not understanding what she was doing. “Did you not want me to greet you?”
Jill stopped and looked like she didn’t know what to do. Then she turned for Max and rushed to him, saying that she was sorry, over and over.
“What happened?” Max asked her, still without emotion as he returned her embrace with a fraction of her effort.
“It’s over, that’s all. We don’t need to think about it, or say anything.”
“You’re back? To stay?”
“If you want me.”
He stood back from her, unconvinced. “You’ll need to tell me what happened. You can’t just go and walk out and then come back without telling me what’s going on.”
She tried to wipe back tears. “You don’t have to put me through that, do you? Is it not enough that I’m back now?”
Max thought about that and was not happy with it. He wanted more. “No, it’s not enough. What happened? You need to talk to me here, Jill.”
“He threw me out, ok?” she said angrily. Then couldn’t stop the tears and the two tissues she had at hand did little to help. “You’re happy now? Said I was too much trouble for him to deal with. Said he wanted to be alone.”
Max let her go into the bedroom with her bag. He did not help and she opened the drawers. He said nothing as she went to get the other bag. She acted like she thought he was going to do it but he made no move. What interested him more, as he saw her wanting to live with him again, was the realisation that not only was he prepared to offer no help, neither was Craigfield. He walked away and she responded by closing herself in the bedroom, clearly unhappy with his reaction.
She was home, and that must be a good thing, he tried to tell himself. As far as he could tell, except for being sorry and crying, she was just the same as when she left. It wasn’t that she wanted to come back to him. She just had no other choice. He wondered if she saw him as someone to live with when she couldn’t find a Craigfield. He wondered if she found another Craigfield then she would be gone again. This Craigfield rejected her, so she was back. When was the next Craigfield going to come along and take her away? Tomorrow? Next week? Should he help her find one, just to get it over with, to save themselves the long wait when they would have to pretend everything was normal? They could get it over with so they can admit there was no real love between them and maybe there never was. Such admissions were easier when you actually had someone else to be with, someone waiting in the wings. Not so much when there was nowhere else to go.
He went to the bedroom door and called through it, his voice devoid of emotion. “My novel’s going well, in case you were wondering. I should be getting it finished soon. The twins are lost and scared in the big city. I never meant to hurt them. They were the victims, caught up in other people’s misguided urges. But it’s going to be okay for them. Everything’s going to be okay now. For everyone. It’s funny how things can change once we’re honest with ourselves.”
Susan was pacing back and forth at Sal’s, ignoring the free coffee that was provided for her, ignoring everyone telling her it would be all right. Sal herself had spent the last hour trying to calm Susan by reminding her of all the times the twins had caused concern with their games. Susan told her that this was not the same, that they had never been gone for such a long time. Sophie knew she couldn’t leave her side, and she had already been through four cups of coffee of her own.
“I should have known this town isn’t safe anymore,” Susan said to anyone who cared to listen, knowing she was repeating herself but not caring. Elbow and Two-Tooth were seated as far from her as they could get, but she still looked at them
when she spoke. “That poor Longbottom man, being killed by some crazed driver. Then we went and let that detective from the city leave. Did he find the killer? I don’t think so. Decided it was some accident and left us to it, to live with a murderer. This town isn’t safe for anyone, let alone children. What is Handisides doing, besides eating and drinking?”
“I don’t think that’s fair,” said Sophie. “There are many nice people here. Sheriff Handisides was sure the driver was from out of town. The same for the city detective who came up here. Didn’t everyone agree that the speeding drivers were a nuisance and someone would be hit sooner or later?”
She had told no one about her close call a few nights back, but she was tempted to, just to reassure her grandmother. The same thought nagged at her, however, that the driver and car were not from out of town, or a city driver in a hurry. The car seemed to be trying to hit her, to scare and intimidate her.
“That doesn’t change anything about my boys,” said Susan. “No, it’s not safe here, I’m sure of that, regardless of what two fat cops have to offer. What evidence did they have, anyway? The word of Kenny Coffins?”
“I’m sure it wasn’t anyone in town,” said Sophie.
“You’re always so nice, my dear, trying to see the nice side of people, and every situation.”
“I’m not as nice as you might think,” she confessed. “The fact is, I’m afraid I might have contributed to the boys’ disappearance. I encouraged them to follow Craigfield.”
Susan was horrified. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Craigfield’s gone back into the city for a day or two, I think he said.”
“I hardly think they’d follow him to the city …”
“No, that’s all right, you don’t need to say that,” Susan said with a sense of relief. “I can see now, he must have taken them with him, to do some sightseeing. I wouldn’t be surprised if they talked him into it. Such a nice young man, that Craigfield, how could he have not wanted to help them? Sophie, you should have told me earlier.”
“I wouldn’t say he was that nice …” Sophie started, not wanting to say what she wanted about him, since her grandmother was beginning to smile again.
“Of course he is. There are bad people in this world but he would not be one of them. Yes, I can see what’s happened. He’s taken the boys on a sightseeing trip. Those two probably told him how they’ve never been to the big city, and that I told them they could go. They make for very convincing liars, those two.”
“I don’t trust him and I don’t think you should either.”
“Why do you say that? He’s a nice man.”
“No, he isn’t.”
“What do you know, you’re not telling me?”
Loud tooting of a car horn made them look outside. Andy Handisides’ police car was cruising slowly down the street, trying to attract onlookers. The back window was down and two pairs of arms were waving. The car stopped in front of Sal’s and Craigfield was the first to get out, from the front passenger’s side. He quickly opened up a back door and the twins sprang out, both with big smiles. Susan stumbled out of Sal’s and put her hand to her mouth in disbelief. Andy took his time getting out, and when he did he rolled his eyes at the scene.
“Look what I found!” announced Craigfield.
“Kerry and Jerry!” Susan gushed.
“They wondered a bit far from home,” he explained to the small group that was gathering around.
“You took them to the city?” Susan asked him and she hugged them both at the same time.
“It’s not for me to go telling tales,” Craigfield said with a sly grin. “I best leave that to your boys.”
“I don’t want to hear a story about how sorry you are,” she told them with a stern voice. “You wouldn’t scare your mother by going to the city alone, I know. Do you know how worried we’ve been? We’ve been searching for you, turning Gendry inside out. Sheriff Handisides himself was handling the investigation.”
“Handisides? Wow!” the twins said together.
Craigfield smiled at Sophie as she stood in the doorway, and then walked up to her like he thought she should be impressed with him
“Exactly how did you find them?” Sophie asked him, not hiding her accusing tone.
“It’s not hard to miss two fighting boys in the middle of the train station. Made quite a spectacle of themselves. I thought they looked familiar, and I was right. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I pulled them apart. Very strong for their size, they are too. They had the strangest story to tell. Apparently someone had given them a top-secret assignment to follow after me and report anything illegal I may be doing. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“Why would I?” she asked defensively, not able to retain eye contact.
“I think you do,” he smiled, still expecting a thanks. “I brought them back safe, doesn’t that count for anything?”
“I just don’t trust you, sorry.”
“What is there not to trust?”
“Exactly. What is it about you I don’t like?”
Craigfield started laughing. “I’m not understanding you. Just ask, anything you want to know about me, I’ll tell you. Whatever you were trying to find out, just ask.”
“No thanks.”
“You know,” he said as he realised she wasn’t going to talk to him, “I didn’t have to bring them back.”
“Sure you did. You want us all to like you, don’t you?”
Craigfield glanced around to the people who were congratulating Susan and the Sherriff. “I think they all do. All except for one.”
After a day of trying to recover from the stress, while listening to the twins repeatedly tell everyone what happened, and how Craigfield had helped them, both Susan and Sophie felt drained. Craigfield himself was nowhere to be seen. Sophie hoped that his absence was a sign that he was actually planning to leave town for good. The twins were left watching television, with Rebecca under strict orders to watch them and not let them out of her sight. Susan needed a break and she sat in her kitchen with a small glass of brandy, which she left untouched. Sophie sat with her, wondering if her dream of spending time writing was nothing more than a dream, since nothing had been written for the last two days. She felt like more had happened in the town during this visit than had happened the entire time she grew up there.
“You need to think of finding a good man and settling down,” Susan said to her sombrely after a few minutes of silence. It was without warning that she was going to change the subject so dramatically. Her voice was deep, a sign that she was serious and was putting thought into her words
“You didn’t just say that to me?” Sophie responded, and began to feel humiliated.
“This world is too harsh to go it alone. Men like Craigfield are rare. Men like Handisides are all too common. Men such as the one who killed Longbottom are common. Men like Longbottom are common too; they’re the victims of the other men. Find yourself a Craigfield, not a Handisides or a Longbottom.”
Sophie didn’t want to hear any more and she walked out of the kitchen without a word. She began to think that it would be a good idea to pack her bags and go home. On the dark stairs up to her room she thought she saw a figure sitting there. When she saw it was Craigfield it was too late to avoid him. She chose to walk around him like he was just some annoyance she didn’t need to bother with, and hopefully he wouldn’t ruin the moment by speaking.
“I know it was you who sent them,” he said with a low voice.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said dismissively as she climbed up the stairs behind him. The stairs creaked under their combined weight.
“The twins, they talk a lot, don’t they? Say some funny things.”
That made her stop and look back. He remained facing the other way like he was expecting her to stop.
“What’s this to do with me?” she asked.
“They told me everything,” he said without looking her way.
“Just feed them whatever they want and they will talk until they can talk no more. Tell them you love their favourite TV show, that’s all it takes and you’ve got a trusted friend. And I’ve never heard of Animal Matters. They don’t know that, but it didn’t matter.”
“Know how to take advantage of children, do you? That’s interesting.”
“You think I’m a bad guy, do you? You think I’m the murderer? That’s why you had them follow me, right? If I wasn’t so offended I’d laugh it off. Just tell me why. That’s all I want to know. Did I do something wrong? Did I say something wrong? Do you not like the way I dress? The way I walk? What is it? What is it that makes you do such a thing? You endangered members of your own family. What’s with that?”
“Guess what, Craigfield: You’re not the only man in the world. Now, leave me alone,” she said as she resumed climbing the stairs.
“Your grandmother likes me,” he called.
“Then marry her. Oh, you can’t, since you’re already married.”
“I’m not married.”
“Grandmother thinks otherwise.”
“Truth is, I told her that to get her to back off. Not that it worked.”
“Now you’re really going too far, if you expect me to believe that.”
“Why would I be married? You know my opinion of marriage.”
“I know your opinion and I don’t care for it. You’re the type who likes to go through girlfriends, aren’t you. Have you ever had a long term relationship?”
“That would be telling.”
“No, on second thought, don’t tell me; I don’t want to know.”
“You know the boys told me about your book.”
Again she stopped and this time she was angry. “They told you what? For your information, they know nothing about my writing.”
“Because they wouldn’t sneak into your room and read it? They wouldn’t do that, right? Not those two. It’s not like they ever play at being spies, sneak into every part of this town, especially where they’re not allowed. Such well-behaved young men, are they?”