From my strange position, all I could see was the edge of Sutty’s frayed trouser leg and a small rectangle of the lower part of the open door which I bet nobody had ever looked at. It said, ‘Sutantu Faasil and Sons’. My heart sped up. S.F.
‘Is that you?’ I asked, startling Sutty. His dark, bushy eyebrows shot up.
‘What’s me?’
‘That,’ I repeated, pointing to the sign. ‘Is that your full name?’
‘Oh! Yes, that’s me for sure. Unless I’ve stolen someone else’s shop.’ He laughed, and then stopped, maybe thinking it was inappropriate in the circumstances.
Could it be possible that the key was meant for Sutty? I would never have guessed it, but then, as I’d learned from Jack, the answers to riddles often came from the most unlikely places.
‘Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?’
‘Anything,’ he said, wiping his beard with his hand.
‘Can you tell me about when you first met my brother?’
‘Ah,’ he said, and I noticed a grin playing across his lips. ‘Now, that is a question that requires a long answer. Tell you what, wait here.’ And for such a tall man, he jumped up quickly and was back moments later with his huge, green rain mac.
‘I’ve asked Miranda to look after the shop. I think I’m due an early lunch. I’ve been working extremely hard today,’ he said, winking at me and pulling me to my feet.
He took me to the greasy spoon cafe across the road.
‘They do great hot chocolate in here,’ he said. ‘Do you want one? You can even have a shot of mint.’
We parked ourselves next to the misted-up window. A small child must have sat there recently, because outlines of handprints and crooked letters were scrawled on the glass. I had an image of Jack playing noughts and crosses with me on the window of the car on the way to France.
‘You want me to tell you about when I met Jack?’ I liked the way that he said Jack’s name, the ‘k’ short and snappy, almost a clicking sound.
‘Yes, exactly. Thank you.’
‘It was when the shop first opened. My cousin arrived with a big delivery and we were unpacking boxes all day. Your brother turned up on his skateboard and said that he would help us out.’
‘He just turned up?’
‘Out of the blue, yes. A happy coincidence of the right person in the right place at the right time. He spent the rest of the day unloading stuff with me. It was more than sixty boxes. I offered to pay him of course – I’m not one to get people to work for free, oh no. But he wouldn’t take any money. Nothing at all. He said he enjoyed it and it was his way of saying “welcome to the hood”.’
I had no idea that Jack had done that for Sutty.
‘He was looking at that same sign on the door – the one that says “Sutantu Faasil and Sons” and he came up with a great riddle. It went, “Tell me a sentence in which the word ‘and’ is used five times consecutively and it still makes grammatical sense”. Do you know the answer?’
I mulled it over as Sutty went to collect our drinks. It was a strange riddle for Jack. I’d always thought he was terrible at grammar.
‘I didn’t know either,’ he said, looking at my expression. ‘It seemed impossible. But he told me eventually. Imagine you had a sign-maker who made that sign for you. You’d paid some decent money for it, but they managed to mess up the spacing between the words. So you’d have to tell them, “You didn’t leave enough space between ‘Faasil’ and ‘and’, and ‘and’ and ‘Sons’.”
‘We talked about all sorts that day,’ Sutty continued. ‘He asked about my family back home, so I told him about growing up in the Punjab. Then he told me about his sixth form trip to Kerala in India and the amazing experience he’d had there. He’d felt inspired to travel the world. But there were so many countries on his list, you see, and I don’t know which one came highest. Then he started to talk about his plans for his gap year…’ Sutty trailed off and coughed awkwardly.
‘Anyway, the second time we met was a day that I will carry with me for ever. It was the day that those horrible boys tried to steal Mick Morgan’s wallet.’
The tiny drummer began beating his insistent rhythm. I couldn’t bear to hear about Jack getting into trouble.
‘They attacked him just after he left the shop. Two of them, probably in their twenties, although you couldn’t tell because they had their hoods up. I hadn’t even seen them come in. Mr Morgan always pops in late for his milk and bread, usually as we’re about to close. I think he forgets to buy the essentials he needs. His dementia is getting bad. They got him on the side of the road, just there,’ he said, pointing out of the window.
‘I was about to run out, but I had a customer and in truth, I was scared. You never can tell with these people. They might have had weapons. I’m ashamed to say I got out my phone to call the police instead. But then I saw Jack come from across the road with Simon. They were heading back from tennis when they saw what was going on. It was amazing – they were onto those thugs in seconds. Jack pinned one of them to the floor. He didn’t shout, but I could see that he was saying something to him. Then I saw the other one hand back Mr Morgan’s wallet. I couldn’t believe it – then they legged it.
‘The poor man was shaking and they led him back into the shop to recover. The police arrived and Jack gave a statement. I hope it led to those idiots being caught. He’s a brave man, your brother. And he has a calm way about him. His voice makes you stop and listen.’
‘Jack? Jack and his friend helped Mr Morgan get his wallet back?’
I still couldn’t process what Sutty was saying. It felt as if I was listening to a story about a stranger.
‘Absolutely. I asked him what he’d said to the attackers to make them give back the wallet, but he wouldn’t tell me. But you must know this whole story already?’
‘No. He never told me,’ I mumbled. I’d been certain that Jack told me everything, and included me in all of his secrets and plans, but it seemed this wasn’t true. I wondered if he’d told Mum and Dad, but I doubted it. It was the sort of thing that Dad would have had a strong opinion about. Either he would have been incredibly proud or mad at Jack for taking the law into his own hands.
Without me even having to ask, Sutty had answered my first and second question, so the only thing left was to lead him to the final one. I wasn’t sure how to drop it subtly into conversation as I’d intended, so I decided to come straight out with it.
‘Do you know anything about a pendant that Jack used to wear?’ I asked Sutty.
‘A pendant?’ he asked, not understanding.
‘Like a necklace.’
He shook his head. ‘I didn’t realise he wore a necklace. Why do you ask?’
I looked into Sutty’s deep brown eyes, and I could see that everything he’d told me was the truth. I also knew that he wasn’t the one the key was meant for. But maybe he could be trusted to help?
‘He left a pendant with a key on it meant for somebody with the initials S.F. and I’m trying to find them.’
‘S.F? Wow. That’s why you wanted to speak to me, eh?’
‘You’re the only person I’ve found with those initials, other than Simon.’
‘Ah yes, Simon. Well they were – are – great friends, so you should speak to him. He is very likely the person it is meant for, no? Unless it could be Manfy?’
‘Manfy?’ I asked, not understanding, and then I recalled the girl we’d met at Sutty’s shop the first day I went in with Jack.
‘Her full name is Samantha. I can’t think if her surname begins with an “F” but it is worth a try, no? Your brother liked her very much, and he helped her get a job when she was struggling.’
‘Really? How do you know that?’ I asked. My head felt as if it was about to burst with all the new information I’d found out about Jack in the last half an hour.
‘She’s a regular customer. She was so excited when she came in to tell me about it. She works at Gilmore’s down the road. I rememb
er now, she’s Samantha Fabri – she has an unusual surname. You must speak to her.’
‘Gilmore’s? The estate agent?’ Uncle Michael, Dad’s brother, had been running Gilmore’s since I was a baby. Would Jack have asked him to give this girl a job? It sounded so unlikely that I couldn’t quite believe it.
‘I’d better head back,’ said Sutty, checking his watch, ‘but you could always go and speak to her? She’s a nice girl. She will be worrying about your brother too.’
I followed him out of the cafe in a daze, and slowly began to make my way home. Around me, the world had taken on a grey hue and the streets that I’d walked down thousands of times seemed somehow unfamiliar. I told myself that I was being silly – it was only the rain clouds gathering, casting everything into semi-darkness. But deep down I knew it came from something locked deep inside the treasure chest of my thoughts – the realisation that perhaps I didn’t know Jack as well as I thought.
Six
‘Your brother and Simon battled two thugs to get an old man’s wallet back?’ asked Keira, her dark eyes widening.
‘That’s what Sutty said.’
I had told her the whole story from start to finish.
‘And he managed to get this girl a job with your uncle?’
‘Yep.’
‘And you never heard about any of this?’
Keira had known Jack almost as long as she’d known me. Our parents were good friends and she was always staying over – it was pretty much her second home. She knew the full story of Jack’s detentions and his arguments with my dad.
‘No, never.’
‘Well, at least we’ve got a lead in our case. We need to speak to this girl, Manfy, don’t we?’
‘Yeah, but how? We can’t just go in there and talk to her. The only time I met her, I got the impression that she was much more interested in Jack than me.’
‘We could go undercover?’
‘D’you think she’ll believe that we’re going to buy a house? She’s not stupid.’
‘I meant more like hanging around outside and waiting until she goes on her break. It’s Saturday. Most estate agents are still open, aren’t they? Let me check Gilmore’s website.’
She brought the details up on her phone and gave me a thumbs up. ‘Open until 4 p.m. There’s a good chance she’s working. We could at least try. Come on.’
‘I suppose, but isn’t that a bit weird? What would we do? Hang outside?’
‘It’s on the high street so we could look in the shops next door and keep half an eye on their front door.’
I didn’t have any better ideas, so in the end I agreed with Keira. We spent half an hour pottering around the card shop, making the owner increasingly suspicious, and then we walked up and down the high street several times, pretending to be window shopping. I was ready to give up and go home when Keira nudged me in the ribs. A car had pulled up outside Gilmore’s. The driver, who was a woman, parked and stepped onto the pavement. She was wearing a pencil skirt and suit jacket.
‘Is that her?’ Keira whispered.
I shook my head, but then I looked closer and saw the dark hair and pale skin. I’d barely recognised Manfy without her leather jacket. She must have felt our gaze, because she turned and I could see a glimmer of recognition in her eyes.
‘Flick?’ she called over, and her face rearranged itself into a look of concern.
‘How do you know my name?’ I blurted out.
‘Oh… We met before, didn’t we? I have a good memory. And your brother told me a lot about you. Have you… have you had any news?’
‘No, nothing yet,’ I said. I was beginning to dread the question, and I guessed I would be hearing it repeated, over and over. I wondered if this had been a bad idea after all.
I must have had a pained expression on my face, because Manfy asked, ‘Are you all right?’
‘Actually, d’you mind if we come in to have a glass of water?’ Keira asked her, linking her elbow through mine.
‘Course,’ said Manfy. ‘I’m on a half day today and I’ve finished, so I can make you a cup of tea.’
This was only the second time that I’d been inside Gilmore’s. The first was many years ago, when Uncle Michael had set up the agency and I’d gone along with Mum and Jack to take a look at the office. We’d gone for a trip to a cavernous furniture warehouse to get the place kitted out. The navy leather sofas that we’d chosen were still there – now looking very battered. I could still visualise Jack sitting on them in the shop, checking for ‘bounce factor’. ‘If you get the level of bounce right, then people will know that you mean business,’ he’d told Uncle Michael, who had nodded seriously.
The place looked the same as it had back then. The only difference was that somebody had painted one of the walls bright blue, and on it, had drawn a huge, old-fashioned house with loads of windows, and pillars framing the front door. I paused before it, mesmerised. It was the kind of house that I imagined Lady Abigail and Margot living in. I could see them eating in the dining room with Henry, the servants busy at work in the kitchen, making bread for the following morning’s breakfast.
I wanted to ask Uncle Michael who had painted the house, but he wasn’t there. The only other person was a bored-looking young man with a goatee beard, who glanced at us before turning back to his screen. Manfy led us into the staffroom, which was tiny, with a round table, chairs and a shelf with a microwave and kettle. I noticed that the place was spotless and Manfy took great care in making the tea, even arranging a little fan of biscuits onto a plate.
‘I’ll be back in a sec. Going to get changed,’ she said.
She disappeared into the loo with her rucksack and re-emerged a couple of minutes later resembling the girl I’d met at Sutty’s – in ripped black jeans and a T-shirt with a skull on it.
She sat cross-legged on one of the chairs opposite us.
‘I couldn’t breathe when I first saw it on the news,’ she said quietly. ‘But that must be nothing compared to how you’re feeling. I tried calling him straight away – bet you did too.’
I had. Fifty-three attempted calls so far. Fifty-three times I’d reached the recorded message in Jack’s joking tone, ‘What never asks questions but is always answered? Ha, that one’s too easy. I’ll try to answer the phone one day, promise. In the meantime, leave a message. Cheers.’ I had lost hope of him answering. I just needed to hear his voice.
The drumming in my head began to build. It was an angry beat – fast and heavy. How dare this girl who I hardly knew have done exactly the same thing as me when she found out about Jack? I’d spent a lifetime with him – he was a part of my earliest memories, and his name, according to Mum, was the first word I’d said. Manfy had known him for what seemed like five minutes. My fists clenched and I had to sit on them to try to calm down.
‘Sutty said that Jack helped you to get this job?’ said Keira, glancing at me anxiously.
‘Oh, he did a lot more than that,’ she said. ‘I was a right mess when he met me. I was pretending I wasn’t, of course, but it was awful.’
She stopped talking and began fiddling with the leather strap on her key ring, as if embarrassed by the memory.
‘Why was it so awful?’ Keira asked insistently.
‘I didn’t have a job, or a place to live, and I had £12.45 in my pocket to last me for ever. I’d been trying to save it, so I’d been eating rice cakes for a week. There were these guys at the hostel I was staying at who were always fighting. I’d be woken in the middle of the night by people being beaten up and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay there for much longer. I felt as if I was drowning.’
I looked at her to see whether she was making this up. Jack always said I have a great knack for knowing if someone is lying, but she was deadly serious and looked me straight in the eye.
‘Why were you homeless?’ I found myself asking. My fury fell away and I was glad that I hadn’t said anything.
‘I’d had a massive row with my mum. We’ve never got
on and we were always arguing. We lived in this tiny flat in Grimsby. She’d had it with me when I dropped out of college and then her boyfriend moved in. He’s a nasty piece of work. The less I tell you about him, the better. Anyway, I couldn’t stand it any more, so one day I took all the money that I had saved up – about a hundred pounds – and I caught a coach down to London.
‘Mum didn’t even call after I left and I didn’t call her either. The trouble was that I didn’t have a plan. I knew that I needed to get away. I got in touch with a friend’s brother who owned a pub in Vauxhall. He said I could work there in return for a room upstairs, but when I turned up, well – let’s say that things didn’t work out on any level, and I was stuck.’
‘Why didn’t you go home?’ Keira asked.
‘I couldn’t. One of the guys at the pub had found me this hostel and I kept trying to get work at the Job Centre, but I had no qualifications, only my driver’s licence. I managed to get an interview for a retail role, but in the end, they took on someone else who’d done it before. That was with Jamal, Sutty’s brother. He did get me a couple of cleaning jobs at Sutty’s which is where I first bumped into Jack.’
‘I remember that day. I thought you were a customer. You seemed so – you know…’
‘Confident? Chilled?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I’m a good actress. Your brother came after school the next day and found me in tears outside the shop after my shift. I was so hungry. He bought me fish and chips. I hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days… Then he asked if I wanted to talk about whatever it was that had made me cry. I thought he was trying to chat me up but I ended up blurting it all out because I felt so lonely. We sat together on a wall on Kavanagh Street and I talked and talked.’
‘And did he, you know – ask for your number?’ asked Keira. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was getting impatient. She was itching to get to the real questions that we wanted to ask.
The Key to Finding Jack Page 4