Cherringham--Killing Time

by Matthew Costello

  “Deal,” said Sarah. “By the way, another early start tomorrow — for both of us.”

  “Oh yeah, seeing Chloe, that right?”

  “Chloe and Megan — in my office at nine.”

  “Megan, the girlfriend?”

  “Yep. One or two of the others might turn up too.”

  She stood up and started to gather plates. As Jack helped her, she saw him pause for a moment.

  “Sarah. You think this is a case?” he said.

  “I really don’t know. Not yet.”

  “Okay. Let’s see what Megan has to say. Think I’m still going to take a bit of persuading.”

  “Sure.”

  “Meanwhile, a nice gentle row back home is bound to set me thinking. Then maybe I’ll power up my old computer, see what I can learn about this urban exploring.”

  “Chloe’ll be impressed. Coolest barge owner on the river.”

  “You mean, I wasn’t already?” he said, smiling.

  And together, dishes piled high in their hands, they headed up the lawn in the darkness to do the washing up. Even that was part of this perfect evening.

  But now with the hint of a mystery floating in the night air.

  4. Megan

  Jack climbed the narrow stairs to Sarah’s office, cup of Huffington’s coffee in hand, and tapped on the door when he reached the top floor.

  “It’s open,” came Sarah’s voice, and Jack went in.

  He saw straight away that the layout of the office had been changed in the few weeks he’d not been up here.

  Some of the big computers had gone, and the old desks had been replaced with slim Scandinavian-looking tables.

  The whole office looked more spacious, more … modern.

  Chloe’s influence already, thought Jack. And maybe a good thing too.

  He saw Sarah and Chloe sitting at a big new meeting table, and across from them a young woman in jeans and a newly minted Ramones T-shirt, purposely faded to look vintage.

  A couple of nose studs glinting in the light, a small tattoo on one hand.

  The young woman looked up at him and smiled.

  “This is Megan,” said Sarah, then as Jack put down his coffee, “and this is—”

  “You’re Jack,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “You have?” said Jack. “Hope it was good.”

  “You helped my nan, a few years ago,” she said. “And then that stuff at school, remember? That was amazing.”

  “Just trying to help,” said Jack, remembering all too clearly the case they’d solved at Cherringham High School. “And don’t forget, Sarah and me work as a team. It’s Chloe’s mum here who’s the real brains of the outfit.” He looked around the room. “And … I thought there was going to be someone else?”

  “Ella, yes,” said Megan. “Guess she’s been held up.”

  “Jack, I thought we’d get started anyway,” said Chloe, opening a laptop on the table in front of her. “Megan, tell Mum and Jack what you told me.”

  Jack saw her look over at him and Sarah. “Oh, sorry, I don’t want to interfere, really, you should be saying what—”

  Jack smiled. “No problem, Chloe, you’re right. Megan — why don’t you just tell us about Zach, and why you think there may be more to his death than people seem to think?”

  He looked directly at her, smiling encouragingly, while he took out his notepad and pen.

  “Maybe from the beginning.”

  And Megan began

  *

  Sarah listened as Megan described how she and Zach had been at school together in Cherringham, but not really noticed each other much until they’d ended up at the same university, and both got into exploring.

  “We did some really cool trips together, and I helped Zach get his blog and his YouTube channel up and running. And then, well, I guess we kind of became a thing.”

  “Then … you came back here to Cherringham?” said Sarah.

  “Well, I had to really,” said Megan. “Couldn’t get a job, so, back to stay with Mum and Dad.”

  “Tell me about it,” said Chloe.

  Sarah glanced across at her daughter and smiled.

  Good girl, she thought. Keeping it light.

  “So — what about Zach?” said Jack. “He move back in with Mom and Dad too?”

  “Didn’t need to,” said Megan. “His YouTube channel just took off — he had so much money. He bought a flat in Cherringham Crescent.”

  Sarah caught Jack’s eye: they’d both visited the crescent, the village’s only Georgian terrace, and she knew that flats there didn’t go for less than half a million.

  “And you two carried on exploring?” said Sarah.

  “Yeah. We hooked up with some other friends, kinda all supported each other, going off on trips.”

  “Just remind me — who’s in the group?”

  “Oh, Tom, Luke, Ella.”

  “All in the village, yeah?” said Jack.

  “Um, yes. We’re really good mates.”

  “Luke — he was with you when you found Zach, yes?” said Jack.

  “It was his idea to go to Blackwood House — look for him.”

  “And that was last Monday?” said Sarah, making a note to ask about Luke and how he knew where to go.

  “Yes,” said Megan, and Sarah could see her eyes beginning to water at the memory. She leaned forward and touched Megan’s hand.

  “You okay with these questions?” she said.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m cool. Gotta be done.”

  Sarah peeled back the pages in her notebook.

  “Just want to make sure we have the timeline here,” she said. “So when did you last see Zach?”

  “Well, it was seven, eight days before. On the Saturday. We all went down to Reading to check out this big old abandoned office block. When we got back we went to the Ploughman’s, played some pool, had a few beers. Closing time, I went back to Zach’s. Sunday we just chilled, binged Netflix. Just hanging out, you know?”

  “Got it. And what kind of mood was Zach in?” said Jack. “You remember?”

  “Zach? He was good. Always good. Steady, you know? We even talked about going to Japan together. Doing some live feeds.”

  “But he didn’t mention Blackwood House?” said Sarah.

  “No. In fact — I don’t ever remember him talking about the place.”

  “And that Sunday evening … did you stay at his flat again?”

  “No, I had to go home that evening. Work next day — stuff to sort.”

  “Okay. So what happened Monday?” said Jack.

  “Nothing,” said Megan. “But that’s just it. He never got in touch. Same next day. And then I didn’t hear from him the whole week.”

  “Was that unusual?”

  “Oh yeah, it was. Zach could be a bit of a loner sometimes. Just shoot off, get on a plane. But — sooner or later — he always messaged me to say where he was.”

  “This time — nothing at all?”

  “No. That was the really spooky thing. He always kept in touch.”

  “Megan. That had to worry you. So what was the last communication you had from him?” said Jack.

  “That Sunday night, after I’d gone to bed. Usual night-night text.”

  Sarah saw Megan look away. She glanced at Jack — perhaps noting that as well.

  “Okay. Let me see if I got this right,” said Jack. “He was totally off-grid — no messages, nothing — starting on the Monday morning. And the police say he died on the Thursday?”

  “Yes,” said Megan.

  “You have any idea how they can be so sure?” said Sarah.

  “Oh yes. From his GoPro,” said Megan.

  “His helmet-cam?” said Jack.

  “Yeah. See, you always have it running when you’re exploring. Police told us his cam video shows him exploring Blackwood House that Thursday night, right up until—”

  Sarah asked another question quickly, before Megan had time to react.

  �
��You mean the time-stamp locks him into the house on that Thursday night?” said Sarah.

  “Totally.”

  Sarah looked at Jack. He was clearly thinking what she was thinking.

  Exactly where was Zach from the Sunday night when Megan left him to the Thursday that week?

  She looked down at her notes again, then remembered another question.

  “You said Luke suggested the two of you go look for Zach at Blackwood House?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What made him think that Zach might be there?”

  “He said he just remembered. A few weeks before, the two of them were hanging together, got talking about haunted houses. Luke said Zach was really keen to explore one.” Megan took a breath. “Never told me though.” She forced a sad smile. “Guess, he thought I’d worry.”

  “And Blackwood House? Supposedly haunted?” said Sarah.

  “That was the word on it. Bad stuff happened there. If you believe all that. That’s what Zach apparently said to Luke. Said it would be great to get it on his channel. I mean, if it was haunted? Get his numbers way back up.”

  Sarah caught the implication of what Megan had said.

  “So Zach’s numbers — his viewers, followers, whatever — were going down?” said Sarah. “That mean his income too?”

  The girl shrugged. “So much competition from other explorers,” said Megan. “Can’t stand still or the people just go somewhere else. And the money goes with them. Always need something new — something exciting.”

  She saw Jack look over at her, the slightest of nods.

  “Maybe something dangerous? Tell me about this Blackwood House,” he said, picking up the questioning. “You surprised he went in on his own?”

  And Sarah knew — Jack had picked up on something. She saw Megan again turn away, the loss still so raw, and then that added horror: of discovering the body herself.

  Sarah, with Jack and Chloe huddled close by, simply waited.

  Megan slowly turned back.

  “Totally,” she said. “We never went urbexing alone. Was like an unbreakable code for us. A buddy system.”

  “And yet — he did?”

  Megan nodded at that reality.

  “Why don’t you tell us about what happened when you went there with Luke,” said Jack.

  Sarah listened carefully as Megan went through her visit to the house, the downstairs rooms, then the upstairs corridor, the door, the shock.

  Then she saw Jack lean forward, keeping his voice low as he said: “And somehow, Zach came to that exact same spot, just like you, and fell?”

  But at that, Megan shook her head

  “No. That’s the thing! You see, we’re talking about Zach Woodcote here. He’s the best of us. Maybe, the best of any of the urbexers anywhere.” Another determined shake.

  “Zach could never just fall. He wouldn’t have just walked into that room like I did.”

  Sarah paused a moment. Megan’s words meaning only one thing.

  “You think something happened to him, Megan?” said Sarah. “That maybe somebody deliberately harmed him? Somehow made him fall?”

  She saw Megan frown, almost as if she hadn’t thought through the dire implication of her words.

  “I guess so. I mean—”

  Sarah lowered her voice. Big question coming. “Do you have any idea who?”

  Silence.

  Does Megan really suspect someone, or is this all just a way of avoiding the reality of Zach’s death? Sarah thought.

  “I mean, did Zach have any enemies? Or could he have been in some kind of trouble?”

  Sarah gave a quick look to Chloe to see how she was taking this. Did Chloe share that steadfast belief that it simply couldn’t have been a terrible accident?

  Chloe caught the glance, but Sarah couldn’t tell what her daughter was thinking.

  Thank God Chloe was not an urbexer.

  Sarah was thinking of the next difficult questions when she heard a door open from below, then footsteps coming up to her office.

  And another member of the group that invaded abandoned places hurried in. Dark curly hair, clear blue eyes even from feet away, the girl’s face set, grim.

  “Sorry. I’m Ella. Got caught up by a bunch of things.”

  Without looking at Megan, Ella grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the table.

  Sarah caught, for a second, a look on Megan’s face as she looked at her friend, arriving late to the conversation.

  A displeased look, maybe even angry; surprising Sarah in its intensity.

  And then the look faded and Megan smiled, touched Ella’s hand.

  But Sarah had seen it.

  5. Ella

  “Ella,” Sarah said, “we were just talking with Megan about how you guys have a buddy system. So why would Zach go to Blackwood House alone, and—”

  But Sarah paused.

  Because as soon as she said the words, she caught something in Ella’s eyes. And then Sarah had the thought, Maybe Ella doesn’t agree with Megan.

  If so, that could be important to hear.

  Jack asked the question: “Ella, it’s strange for someone to go in alone, yes?”

  A bit of hesitation.

  “Well, yeah, we have a code. Never alone — in case, well you know, something like what happened to Zach happens. You have someone there. Kind of a rule.”

  “Which,” Jack continued, “Zach in this case ignored. First time that happened?”

  Megan nodded. But again, Sarah was drawn to Ella’s face.

  Not agreeing.

  “Ella — do you know if Zach ever did something like this before?”

  “Well, there is one time everyone knows about,” said Ella with a shrug. “All over the bloody internet.”

  Megan had meanwhile turned to her friend, perhaps not sure she wanted Ella to reveal what she was about to reveal.

  “Up in Aberdeen. Big, abandoned electrical power station. Talk about a dangerous place. And Zach did that all by himself.”

  Now Sarah was confused. If the group had a code, a generally recognised way these things were done, then why solo?

  A question to ask. But first, “Megan, you also knew Zach had done this before?”

  She shrugged as if it wasn’t important but then added, “He knew he shouldn’t. We had even talked about it. He promised me, that those days were over.”

  When, Sarah thought, they apparently weren’t.

  “So, a question for both of you. Why would Zach do it?”

  At that, a shake of the head from Ella.

  “The obvious reason. Did it on his own, so he could pull in views, for his channel. A solo house invasion. No back-up. I’m surprised he didn’t livestream it. People like that kinda stuff. You see, as good as Zach was, he was all about the money.”

  Megan came back fast at that. “Not true. Not true at all.”

  Which made Ella spin.

  “C’mon, Megan,” said Ella. “I know you cared for Zach. We all did. But you also know this was more like a business for him. A solo invasion? Pure gold.”

  That seemed to silence Megan.

  Jack kept his voice low, clearly sensing emotions were running high here. “Well, we know he was alone. Been told no one else on the GoPro video. And — based on what you’ve both said — we have a pretty good idea now why he did it.”

  “Good,” said Ella. “Glad we cleared that up.”

  It occurred to Sarah that Ella seemed almost angry at the dead Zach. Odd reaction, but then grief can do strange things.

  Definitely something to talk about with Jack.

  “Okay, Ella,” said Jack, “one thing Megan mentioned. Zach was good. A mistake like that? A fall like that? How does that happen?”

  “Guess even the best have their bad nights.”

  Sarah paused. She also felt her daughter’s eyes on her, locked on. Sarah thought, Chloe’s never seen me and Jack do something like this.

  And certainly not with someone that Chloe knew — was e
ven friends with.

  “That what you think it was? Just a ‘bad night’?”

  Ella took her time answering.

  “What else could it be?”

  Sarah slowly looked over to Megan. Who had her own question.

  “You’ll still look into things, won’t you? Please. Tell me you will.”

  Sarah looked at Jack. A near imperceptible movement of his head in agreement as he closed his notebook.

  “Yes. Of course, it may turn out to have been just a terrible accident. But it can’t hurt if we look into how it happened.”

  At that Ella stood up.

  Her next words, a bit surprising. “Good. Zach would have wanted that. I mean, with his reputation and all. So, thank you.”

  Megan joined her, standing.

  A look to Jack then Sarah.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Sarah thought, Meeting over. But as she stood, Jack spoke.

  “Oh, Ella. Sorry. Just one last question.”

  “Sure,” said Ella, with a frown.

  “Thanks,” said Jack, flipping open his notebook again, pen hovering. “I was wondering, when was the last time you saw Zach?”

  “Me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Um …”

  Sarah could see that Ella was thrown by the simple question. She stood frozen.

  And Sarah saw Megan was frozen too — but maybe for a different reason?

  “Sorry,” said Jack. “I know what it’s like. When something like this has happened, your memory just kinda goes blank. Not to worry if you can’t quite recall—”

  “No, no, it’s fine,” said Ella.

  And now she blurted out the answer as if relieved that it made sense. “It was that Saturday night, a few days before he … At the pub. The Ploughman’s. We played pool. Together. All of us. Didn’t we, Megan?”

  Sarah saw Megan nod, not saying a word.

  “Great,” said Jack, then he put his notepad away and smiled at Ella and Megan. “You two take care, now,” he said.

  Sarah watched as the two girls turned and headed back down the rickety staircase, down to the village square, waiting until she heard the door shut behind them.

  “Well. What do we make of that?” she said.