Don't Tell Meg Trilogy Box Set

by Paul J. Teague

  Oh no, a talker. I’d hoped he’d leave us in peace. I looked at Alex to help me out.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘There’s been another death. They’re not saying it’s a murder, but if you ask me it’s all connected.’

  My ears pricked up immediately.

  ‘There,’ he said, pointing to an A-board outside a corner shop.

  Third Woodlands Edge Death Shock it read.

  ‘Who is it?’ I asked.

  ‘That lollipop man. Bob whatever-his-name-is.’

  I skipped a breath, and felt a sickening feeling in my stomach.

  ‘You’re kidding.’

  ‘No, they just flashed it on the radio news. You’re that Peter Bailey fella, aren’t you? I recognised your voice straight away. I have the radio on in here all day. I knew it was you as soon as you started speaking. And you’re that Alex Kennedy off the telly, aren’t you? I recognised you too. I love that Crime Beaters show.’

  ‘What happened?’ Alex asked. She was as shocked by the news as I was.

  ‘Hit-and-run driver!’ came the reply. ‘Don’t you listen to that radio station of yours, Peter? They had all the details on the one o’clock news. It was early this morning that it happened, before the kids started coming to school. Poor bugger got hit while he was getting ready for work. Killed instantly he was.’

  ‘I was only talking to him yesterday,’ Alex whispered. ‘You know this involves us now. Do you think it was an accident?’

  ‘Normally I’d say yes, but with my track record recently, I’d say it’s connected to the murders. You saw Bob yesterday, he’s on and off that road all morning. If you wanted to knock him down before the traffic picked up for the morning rush, it’d be easy.’

  ‘Are the police linking it to the other murders?’ Alex shouted over the crackling radio.

  No!’ the driver replied. ‘They’re saying that he used to work at the home, but it’s an accident they reckon.’

  We were only a few minutes in the car. Alex paid our fare and tipped the driver.

  ‘I will pay you back for all this,’ I said. ‘When I get sorted with Meg and the money is flowing again, I’ll treat you to something to say thank you. I appreciate it.’

  We’d been dropped outside the zoo. We didn’t have to pay to get in, I’d arranged to meet Hannah at the cafeteria by the entrance.

  ‘I’m not really up for a walk around. Are you okay if we sit here?’ I asked Alex. ‘I’m shocked at Bob’s death. There’s no way that’s a coincidence, not with Tony Dodds and Ray Matiz dying too. Someone has been settling old scores. The police must know that. I’m going to text Kate Summers and see if she knows anything.’

  I sent a message to DCI Summers, hoping she’d pick it up and play ball with us. It wasn’t her case, so perhaps she’d be willing to talk more freely about it.

  ‘Is that Hannah?’

  Alex tensed suddenly. She’d been resting her legs too. She’d been looking along the long walkway which served as a way into the zoo, watching for somebody who might be Hannah.

  ‘Yes, that’s her. Who was she talking to?’

  ‘I can’t see. Some older guy by the look of it. Probably asking her where the loos are. They seem quite chatty.’

  Hannah approached us. She recognised me straightaway. I greeted her and then introduced Alex.

  ‘This is my friend Alex Kennedy,’ I said. ‘She knows all about you – it’s high time you two met.’

  Hannah sat opposite us at the table.

  ‘What brings you back to the UK?’ I asked to get the conversation going.

  ‘I had some, er, money things to deal with. I still bank over here. The exchange rate has been suffering a bit recently. I needed to sign some paperwork to shuffle a bit of money around. You know how it is.’

  I nodded, but I didn’t know how it was. I had no money to shuffle around. Hannah looked paler than usual. The last time I’d seen her, she’d clearly been benefitting from the brightness of the Alicante sun.

  ‘You look like you’ve just suffered through a British summer,’ I observed. ‘You’re barely more tanned than I am.’ I laughed at my own joke, but it appeared to annoy Hannah.

  ‘I’ve heard from Meg at last,’ I said to break the awkwardness. ‘I’m finally going to get the chance to catch up with her. You’ve come here at the right time. I’m certain she’ll want to see you.’

  Hannah perked up at this news. Have you met with her yet? What did she have to say?’

  ‘We missed her,’ Alex chimed in. ‘Pete got the postcard too late and we’re trying to rearrange a meeting. He saw her too. That’s how he messed himself up like that.’

  ‘I can see you’ve been in the wars,’ Hannah replied. ‘Though to be honest, Pete, you don’t seem to be able to stay out of trouble.’

  I decided to venture onto delicate territory.

  ‘Have you seen the murders that have been taking place? You must have spotted the story: Tony Dodds, Ray Matiz, and now Bob Taylor. They’re all connected with the home that you and Meg lived in, aren’t they?’

  I watched as Hannah’s face changed. There was still pain here for her, and anger too by the look of things. She modified her expression and tried to look calm.

  ‘I’ve seen it, yes. It’s a terrible business. Bob Taylor particularly. He was a nice guy. I didn’t know the others. He must have been quite an age.’

  ‘What do you think is going on?’ Alex asked.

  ‘Who knows?’ Hannah answered, keen to get off the topic. ‘I’ll be pleased if I never hear of that place again. When do you think you’ll see Meg?’

  ‘As soon as possible. I’ve left my details at Ivy’s coffee shop in town. It was – is – a favourite haunt of Meg’s apparently. She’s in there quite regularly, so in the next day or two, I hope. Are you around long enough to catch her?’

  ‘I’ll stay as long as it takes,’ Hannah replied. ‘I haven’t seen Meg in years and I’m desperate to catch up with her again. She just disappeared off the face of the earth. I’m as excited as you are to see her again.’

  ‘Where are you staying?’ I asked. ‘So I know where to find you when I finally reach her.’

  Hannah shifted her weight on the plastic seat.

  ‘I don’t remember the name of the place, but it’s ten minutes’ walk from here. This seemed the best place to meet. Blackpool has changed so much, but you can always rely on the zoo as a landmark. Skype me if you hear anything. I’m always around.’

  ‘What are your plans now you’re here?’ Alex asked.

  ‘I’ve done what I needed to do, so as soon as I find Meg I’ll be out of the country again. I’ll fly from Manchester to Alicante.’

  ‘The minute we hear from Meg, I’ll let you know,’ I promised. ‘Are you sure you can’t remember the name of your hotel? Is it part of a chain?’

  ‘No, I’m sorry, I just checked in off the street. It’s got some weird name, something like Seaside Retreat. I’m sorry, I didn’t even notice the name of the road. I lived here long enough, I ought to remember things like this a bit better.’

  ‘Okay, look, it’s good to see you again, Hannah. I’m sure that it’s going to give Meg quite a shock to find out that we’re all gathering here on her behalf. As soon as I hear anything, I promise I’ll be in touch.’

  Hannah said her goodbyes, and then headed off back into the zoo.

  ‘You know the exit is this way, don’t you?’ I asked.

  ‘Oh yes, I know. I’m going to have a look around. I … um … used to know somebody who worked here. I want to see if he’s still here.’

  ‘Okay, see you later,’ I said, getting up to leave.

  ‘Mind if we get home now, Alex?’ I said. ‘I want to spend the evening sitting on the sofa watching TV.’

  ‘She dyes her hair, you know,’ Alex said suddenly.

  ‘What?’ I asked. ‘Does it matter? That’s a bit catty for you, isn’t it?’

  ‘Just an observation. You’d never notice s
omething like that. I bet you can’t even tell that I dye the grey away either, can you?’

  I looked at Alex’s hair.

  ‘I hadn’t got a clue,’ I replied. ‘I don’t notice that sort of thing unless it’s done badly or is a weird colour. We’re all getting on a bit – she’s entitled to dye her hair, you know.’

  My phone rang.

  ‘Can you call a taxi while I’m answering this?’ I asked. ‘It’s Kate Summers.’

  Alex nodded and stepped well away from me so we wouldn’t interrupt each other’s conversations.

  ‘Hi, DCI Summers. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. Are you back home now?’

  ‘Hi, Mr Bailey. No, I’m still in Blackpool. If my kids ever see me again it’ll be a miracle.’

  ‘Mr Bailey, that’s a bit formal. Is something up?’

  ‘Yes, Pete, it is. I asked you to keep out of trouble, didn’t I? And yet here I am calling you on police business again. It’s a good job I was down here or you’d have every bobby in the place looking for you.’

  ‘Oh hell, what have I done now? It’s nothing to do with jumping from the tram, is it?’

  ‘If only!’ Kate replied. ‘It’s nothing to do with that. Have you seen that there’s been another death related to the children’s home? They only just released the information to the press. They’re not officially calling it a murder ... yet.’

  ‘I know about it, yes. What’s it got to do with me?’

  ‘I said I’d call you in for questioning. You don’t half land yourself in it sometimes. Every person on the street has pointed the finger at you. Your car has been parked near June Dodds’ house for the past two days. You were spotted talking to Bob yesterday. They’ve got you marked out as a potential suspect.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  1993 It was Meg who provided the opportunity that Tom was looking for. It didn’t arrive in the way that he would have liked, but it gave him the result he wanted.

  Tom was working on the gas heater in the living room. Full central heating was something they still aspired to in their terrace, but much of the downstairs space could be kept at a tolerable temperature by leaving the gas heater on during the day. He was used to getting his tools and fixing household appliances. He’d do anything to avoid having to replace them from new.

  He could tell that Meg wanted to say something. Mavis had gone to the corner shop and Hannah was upstairs in her bedroom listening to music on her headphones.

  ‘That was Mr Taylor on the phone earlier, wasn’t it? Why do you keep talking to him?’

  ‘That was a private conversation, Meg. How did you hear what was being said?’

  ‘I was sitting at the top of the stairs listening. The phone woke me up. What did he have to say?’

  ‘Nothing much. He was calling for a chat.’

  Tom busied himself with the repair. He could see that the pilot light was causing problems again; he’d patched it up several times now. Eventually the heater would need to be replaced, but if he could just nurse it through one more winter.

  ‘I could tell from the tone of your voice that it wasn’t nothing!’ Meg shouted at him. ‘Don’t lie to me. What did he say? You’re backing down, aren’t you? They got to you too and you’re backing down!’

  ‘What do you mean, they got to me too? Have they spoken to you? What have they been doing?’

  Tom felt a sharp burst of anger and helplessness. He was taken aback by the sight of a furious teenager screaming at him. He’d seen the girls in sullen moods before, and sometimes they could be offhand, but he’d never had to deal with this.

  Meg quietened. Her eyes began to redden as she fought back her tears of frustration.

  ‘Of course they threatened us! It’s what they do, it’s what they always do. That’s how it works. Don’t you get it? We can’t touch them. They do what they want to us and we can’t touch them!’

  Tom put down his screwdriver and stood up. For the first time he saw his fiery daughter for the vulnerable young girl that she was. The girls had developed a cocksure way about them in the home. It was a defence mechanism, geared to pushing everyone away and keeping a distance. It was the natural consequence of never knowing what changes were going to disrupt your life next.

  ‘They’ve messed up my life. They took my baby. They did those ... they did those things to me. I hate them. They’ve got to pay for what they did. They can’t get away with it!’

  It was Tom’s eyes which teared up now. Meg had never opened up to him like this. As he watched her standing at the bottom of the stairs, he knew that these had been no harmless parties. He’d hoped that perhaps it had only been a bit of fun – underage drinking and maybe some gambling. But as he looked at his adopted daughter, her face flushed and tears now streaming from her eyes, he finally understood the gravity of the decision that he would have to make.

  ‘Come and sit on the sofa with me, Meg.’

  She moved over from the stairs and they sat on the settee, one at either end.

  ‘We’re going to have to withdraw our claims. Bob Taylor was scared off. I ... I was threatened too. They’re powerful people, Meg. They can take you and Hannah away from us. Russell Black has the power to do what he wants, and he’s got the back-up of that bastard Tony Dodds. I don’t know what to do, Meg. Tell me what you want me to do.’

  She stood up again and shouted at him.

  ‘You’re supposed to be my dad! You’re supposed to protect me! What can I do? I’m just a bloody child – nobody has ever listened to me. I want you to kill those men. I want them dead. That’s what I want!’

  Tom considered trying to calm her down, but thought he’d probably exacerbate the situation. She needed to let this out.

  ‘Don’t just sit there. I know you saw what was going on. I know you heard Gary Maxwell that night when you were shuffling around in the store cupboard. And you let them take us. You watched them as they took us. I’ll never forgive you for that. You could have done something and you just watched!’

  Meg was screaming now. Tom had known that teenagers could be a handful – they’d been guided through the issues before they adopted the girls – but he’d never seen anger like it. She moved over towards the heater and began to kick at the tools and parts that were scattered on the floor.

  ‘Meg, I need you to calm down. Look, there’s a way out of this. I need to know about Gary Maxwell. Is there anything you can tell me about him? I think we can make him pay, at least.’

  ‘I want all of them to suffer! They took my baby, they did those horrible things to us – they killed David. They didn’t hand him the rope, but they might as well have. I loved him! We didn’t have much to love in that bloody place, but he made it better. He made it bearable for me. And they killed him!’

  Signs of affection were still rare between Tom and the girls. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel a growing love for them every day, but they were young women, and he was still uncertain of his place as their father. He desperately wanted to put his arms around Meg, to hold her tight and to help to take the pain away. But he couldn’t. He feared she’d reject him. If he’d been their natural father, he’d know the girls, they’d trust him, and they’d have grown up knowing him as point of safety in their lives. But as it was, they were still learning to be comfortable with each other.

  He tried again.

  ‘Meg, what can you tell me about Gary Maxwell? Is there anything that we can say to get him permanently removed from the home?’

  She kicked the pipework by the heater several times. It was as if she were exorcising some demon which had taken residence in her body: the shame, the powerlessness and the inability to even begin to express what had happened to her. She thumped the wall and her knuckles began to bleed. She quietened, the physical pain distracting her from the agony that she had bottled up inside.

  ‘Come here. Sit down and let me look at that.’

  Meg grew calmer and sat closer to Tom this time. She held out her bloodied hand. Tom went into
the kitchen and returned with some cotton wool which he’d soaked in cold water. He dabbed gently at the broken skin. She let him take her hand as he tended to her wounds.

  It was a small thing, but he cherished that moment. She was letting him in, just a little way, but she was allowing him to help her. She wasn’t ready to treat him as her father yet. She didn’t know what that was like, she’d been in care so long, but she was sore and upset and in that moment she accepted his help.

  As Tom applied antiseptic cream gently to the broken skin, Meg began to speak.

  ‘Don’t ever talk to Mavis – to Mum – about this. It would kill her. This has to stay between you and me. But I want you to get Gary Maxwell. I hate that man. He took my baby and he drove my boyfriend to his death. He made our lives miserable. He was the one who let them take us. Without that monster, they couldn’t have done anything. They couldn’t have harmed us. I want them all dead, but I want him punished most of all.’

  Tom let her speak. He hoped that Mavis would not return home. If she did, Meg would clam up once again and this moment would be over.

  ‘I can’t talk about this. Please don’t make me tell them what happened. I’m too ashamed. I hate myself. I should have fought back. I could have done more, but I let them take me. I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do.’

  Tom squeezed her hand now. Meg let him.

  ‘When I was sharing a room with Debbie Simmonds, Gary Maxwell would come in at night. I’d have to pretend to be asleep while they ... while they ... did what they did. She wanted it. But she’s a child, we’re all just kids. It’s not right. Debbie Simmonds was the one that he liked. Everybody else thought she was fat and a bit ugly, but she and Gary Maxwell ... it was horrible. I can’t speak about the other stuff, but if I have to, I’ll tell them that. I’ll tell them what he was doing with Debbie Simmonds. That will hurt him, won’t it? They can sack him for that?’

  Tom wanted to cry for his daughter. She wasn’t ready to think of him as her father yet, but as he held her hand he knew that he loved his adopted children and that he would do what he could to protect them and keep the family together.