Watching the Dead

by Wendy Cartmell

  He told Jill of his worries.

  ‘You mustn’t think that, Osian,’ said Jill. ‘If the Watcher was determined to have the child, nothing any of us could have done would have stopped him.’

  He approached Abbey, who saw him and stood and clung to him. ‘Oh, Osian, someone’s got Damien! What will I do without him? You have to help me.’

  ‘We’re all here to help, Abbey. Please try not to worry, I’m sure the police know what they’re doing.’

  ‘You’ve been such a good friend, all through the pregnancy and afterward and here you are now when I need someone more than ever.’

  ‘Come on, sit back down, Abbey.’ He gently took her arms to remove her hands from his jacket.

  She sat but then stood again, gabbling, looking from Osian to Jill and back again. ‘Please help find my baby!’ she shouted. Tears shone in her eyes but hadn’t yet escaped.

  Desperate to calm her, Osian sat on the steps and pulled Abbey down and held her hands. ‘Would it help if we prayed.’ He hoped it would help for her to focus on something positive instead of her spiralling anxiety.

  Abbey nodded. ‘I’ll do anything, if you think it might do some good.’

  Osian thought it might just do him some good, help to ground him. Jill, Osian and Abbey held hands. Osian began, ‘Oh Lord we come to ask for your mercy. To ask for you to save Damien, one of your little children. The little children that came to Jesus to be blessed.’

  As he continued with the prayers, Osian remembered that Damien hadn’t been christened yet, but that was of no matter. For God was surely stronger than the evil Watcher. Just because Damien was spawned of the Devil’s seed shouldn’t mean that God would turn his back on an innocent child.

  After drawing the prayers to a close Osian said, ‘Seek peace and solace for yourself, Abbey. Many parents find comfort in their faith and use it as a powerful incentive to survive this nightmare. The loneliness of grief diminishes somewhat for people who believe that they are not alone. Your faith can give you the support and encouragement you need at this critical juncture in your life.’

  Abbey nodded and squeezed Osian’s hand. Before she could speak, the paramedic wanted her back for a moment to check her vital signs. She was suffering from shock and needed to be kept stable.

  Jill and Osian moved away to the front of the vehicle, where they were shielded from the others.

  ‘Hey you,’ said Jill. ‘Feeling a bit better now?’

  He smiled, ‘Yes, at least if I’m here I can help if needed. Be a friend to Abbey. Try and calm her down if she hears the worst possible news.’ Osian couldn’t bring himself to say if they found Damien dead.

  ‘You’ve been very good to Abbey.’

  ‘Since the first day I saw her I could sense she was like a fledging bird, learning to fly, getting ready to leave the nest. You know she’s had a chequered past?’

  Jill nodded. ‘Drugs and such. She told us. She thought this might be a punishment for all the years of debauchery.’

  ‘Oh, goodness, poor thing. There was always one thing about her though that I never understood until now.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘She could never go back into the Cathedral. She only managed it once, the first time we met. After that, it was like she had a panic attack every time she tried. She used to sit outside, she could do that, but never come in.’

  ‘The Watcher,’ said Jill.

  He nodded. ‘Anyway enough talk about me, what about you? Are you okay?’

  She smiled. ‘Despite today, yes, I’m good.’

  ‘We’re good,’ and put his arms around her, drawing her into a kiss.

  Pulling back, she blushed, ‘Osian, not here!’

  ‘Why not here?’

  ‘Because her boss is here,’ said another voice.

  Jill looked as if she wanted to die on the spot. ‘Hi, Boss,’ she croaked. ‘Um, I was just coming to see you.’

  ‘Really?’ Jo arched an eyebrow. ‘Osian, Abbey’s asking for you.’

  ‘Oh, yes, of course, thank you,’ and he went towards the back of the ambulance trying not to trip over his feet as he inched around Jo.

  He heard Jill say, ‘Um, Boss, um…’

  And Jo’s reply, ‘It’s okay, Jill, but for the moment could you keep your mind on the case and not the curate’s assets.’

  He smiled at Jo’s words. As Abbey was still being worked on by the paramedics he sat on the steps and thought about his relationship with Jill. What kind was it, he asked himself? The thing was he didn’t know. Looking to any future that they might have; well he wasn’t a Roman Catholic priest where he couldn’t marry. They had a lot in common and both had a quirky sense of humour. They were both graduates, and Jill was now studying for a second degree in psychology, in her own time. He didn’t know how she fitted it in. He was of Welsh extraction and they found out that so was she. They weren’t intimate yet, for he wouldn’t have sex before marriage. But they were becoming closer and closer as the months went by and Jill was attending the Cathedral for the services on a Sunday morning, work permitting. They had a lot in common and all in all he had a good feeling about them and hoped that Jill felt the same way.

  He’d decided he didn’t want to become a parish priest as he was happiest in the Cathedral environment, which was intellectually stimulating as well as being at the heart of a community. Jill was also wanting to stay in a city environment in her career. She loved the hustle and bustle, the focus on the criminal mind and finding ways to defeat the most hardened criminals. He smiled to himself. Yes, things were going well. Then he immediately felt bad for feeling happy. After all they were there for Abbey, none of this had anything to do with him and Jill. He felt guilty for being happy in the face of poor Abbey’s sorrow and banished any romantic thoughts from his mind and turned to Abbey as she was finished with the medic.

  ‘They say I’m OK now,’ she told Osian. ‘Do you think we can go back inside? After all Damien wasn’t snatched from there, was he?’

  Osian thought she had a point and said, ‘Let’s check with DI Wolfe, shall we?’

  Chapter 39

  As Jo walked back towards Abbey’s house, Byrd caught up with her.

  ‘I’ve not had any luck tracing this Edith. I know Abbey gave us a description of her, but with just a first name it’s not much to go on. We’ve checked with the neighbours and Abbey’s housemates, but no one remembers seeing anyone looking like that.’ He looked at his notebook. ‘A girl called Penny who lives with Abbey says she often heard Abbey chatting and thought she must be talking to herself as she worked. Or later on, talking to the baby, like you do. She never saw a visitor.’

  Jo frowned. ‘And that’s it? No one else has seen her?’

  ‘I can’t find anyone, Boss, sorry.’

  ‘Right, back to Abbey I think.’

  ‘Abbey,’ Jo squatted down to Abbey’s level as she was still sitting on the steps of the ambulance. ‘We’re trying to trace Edith. Do you remember anything about her home life? The people she relied on? Friends? Neighbours?’

  ‘Only the women from the charity shop.’

  ‘Which one?’

  ‘My favourite. The first one you come to as you walk into town. A children’s charity, I think.’

  ‘Great, thanks, Abbey. Come on, Byrd.’

  ‘Before you go…’

  Jo turned back, ‘Yes, Osian?’

  ‘Abbey wondered if she could go back inside.’

  ‘Oh, yes, of course,’ Jo replied, and she hurried off. ‘Just as quick to walk, I think,’ she said to Byrd.

  Within a few minutes they were at the shop. It looked bright and welcoming with good quality stock. The window was attractive, with several dresses on mannequins, surrounded by matching shoes and handbags. No wonder Abbey liked this, Jo thought, whoever runs it knows what they’re doing.

  Pushing through the door, they approached the woman on the desk.

  ‘Good afternoon, I’m DI Jo Walsh and this is DS Eddie Byrd. Can we h
ave a word? In private?’

  The police identification appeared to flummox the woman. Her hands fluttered like sparrows, her cheeks reddened, and she silently opened and closed her mouth.

  ‘Perhaps through there?’

  The nervous volunteer nodded and followed Jo and Eddie into a stock room. Shelves stacked three sides of the room, filled with every type of clothing imaginable. Coats hung from rails, shoes and boots paired up underneath and in the middle was a large workbench that reminded Jo of the huge areas used by fabric shops and the like. A dry musty smell pervaded the area, reminding Jo of why she disliked charity shops. But for other people they were a mecca, happy to root around for hours for bargains. There were two women working sorting clothes when the three of them entered. Jo introduced herself and Eddie again and asked for their co-operation in the hunt for a missing child.

  ‘We wondered if you had any information on Edith, one of your volunteers.’

  It was the younger woman who answered. ‘Hi, I’m Liz, the manager. You’re looking for Edith? I’m not sure I know anyone by that name. Do you?’ she asked the other two women.

  They both shook their heads and the nervous woman edged towards the curtain separating the stock room from the shop.

  Byrd moved to stop her. ‘Are you sure? You don’t know her?’ he asked.

  ‘No, sorry, I mean yes I am, sure that is. I need to get back outside. Customers, you know?’

  He nodded and let the woman pass, who by now was wringing her hands, clearly upset.

  Jo frowned at Liz. ‘Is she alright?’

  Liz nodded. ‘Yes, but she suffers from anxiety. Any break in her routine can have her flying into a panic. She’s alright. I don’t think she’s hiding anything if that’s what you are worried about.’

  Jo considered this, then nodded. The last thing they wanted to do was to upset a vulnerable member of the public.

  ‘You said there’s a missing child?’

  ‘Yes, a baby called Damien. His mother, Abbey, said her friend from this shop, Edith, had taken him for a walk and never returned.’

  Byrd showed them a picture of Abbey. ‘Do you remember this girl?’

  ‘Oh, yes, that’s Abbey. She’s such a lovely girl. I remember being told she’d had her child. She always used to come in and get clothes and fabrics. I hear she’s doing well with her clothes business.’

  ‘But you don’t know anyone called Edith?’

  The two women shook their heads.

  ‘Elderly lady, retired, steel grey hair, on the small side.’ Jo said. She was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this. How could they not know Edith? Abbey said this mysterious woman had helped her a great deal when she’d just started out with her business.

  ‘To be honest that describes most of us,’ Liz said, and Jo had to smile at that one. The woman had a point.

  ‘And no one of that name has ever worked here?’ Byrd was frowning and Jo could see he was perturbed also.

  ‘No, I’ve been here five years and I’ve never had a volunteer called Edith. I’m really sorry.’

  ‘Thanks for your help,’ said Jo. ‘If you do think of anything that might help us locate this mysterious Edith, please give us a ring,’ and Jo handed out her card.

  ‘Of course,’ Liz said.

  Once outside, Jo and Byrd looked at each other.

  ‘Well that was weird,’ he said. ‘They’ve never heard of her? It doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘Nothing about this case makes sense,’ said Jo. ‘Come on, let’s get back to Abbey.’

  Chapter 40

  Approaching Abbey, they tried again for any more information about Edith.

  ‘We’re so sorry, no one seems to know how to contact her.’ Jo thought this was a better approach then telling Abbey the woman who had her baby doesn’t seem to exist and they can’t find any trace of her. ‘Did she ever tell you her surname?’

  ‘You know, come to think of it she didn’t.’

  ‘Can you show me a picture of her?’

  ‘Yeah, sure, I think. We snapped some in the park last week,’ and she passed her mobile to Jo.

  Jo flipped through the pictures but not one of them had an elderly woman with steel grey hair playing with the baby. Jo suppressed her mounting panic, that had started while in the shop. She carefully said, ‘Sorry, Abbey, there’s none with Edith in.’

  ‘How strange,’ said Abbey taking the phone back. ‘Maybe they got corrupted or something.’

  ‘Yes, or something,’ Jo agreed but kept another possible explanation of the missing photos to herself.

  ‘Shall I draw her?’

  ‘Really? Can you do that?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Thank you for this, Abbey,’ said Jo.

  ‘It’s okay, it gives me something to focus on, you know?’ and once more tears threatened, but she reached for a soft pencil and her sketch book after wiping her eyes.

  While Abbey sketched, Jo looked around Abbey’s work area. Even though Jo didn’t have much interest in clothes, it was easy to see that Abbey was a talented artist and designer from her sketches that were stuck all over the wall. She then thumbed through the items on the rail.

  ‘Abbey, I love these clothes,’ said Jo.

  ‘Thanks. But I can’t see myself doing any work for a while.’

  ‘Of course not.’

  ‘All I can think about is the baby.’

  ‘Naturally. I take it you have lots of pictures of him.’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  ‘Can you look through them and send me any recent ones. The more appealing the better.’

  ‘Why? You already have one of him.’

  ‘Yes, but that’s for the police officers. I’d like a really cute one of him.’

  Abbey nodded. She handed Jo the sketch of Edith and then picked up her phone.

  Fairy God Mother, thought Jo as she studied the sketch. Right out of a Disney movie. Too good to be true, she decided, and her heart went out to Abbey. She wondered what Edith really looked like, it was possible Abbey saw what she wanted to see. A close friend taking the place of family. Edith, or whatever her name really was, had clearly seen a need in Abbey and taken full advantage of it.

  ‘I just want to say that we are doing all we can to find Damien. If you hear from anyone about the baby, or even from Edith, let me know immediately. Or let the liaison officer who’ll stay with you know. OK?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Promise?’ Jo didn’t want Abbey to go running off to try and get her baby back on her own.

  Abbey nodded. ‘Yes, I promise. Oh before you go, Edith took me to hospital in the car, not sure if that helps.’

  Jo stilled. ‘When?’

  ‘When Damien was born. About three months ago.’

  ‘We might not be able to find CCTV from that far back, but it’s certainly worth a shot.’

  ‘Oh, well the midwives saw her.’

  ‘The midwives?’

  ‘Yes, Edith was with me the whole time.’

  ‘And that was on the 31st October.’

  ‘Yes, his date of birth. Oh, he was born late at night, just before midnight, I think. At least that’s what I was told, I was pretty much out of it myself.’

  ‘That’s great, Abbey,’ said Jo. ‘I’ll go to the hospital now. So just sit tight, yeah?’

  Abbey nodded.

  As Jo left, she sent in the family liaison officer, Cherry. ‘Keep an eye on her, she’s only just hanging on. Oh and make sure she sends through pictures of Damien to my mobile. We’ll need them for a television appeal, but for God’s sake don’t tell her that.’

  Chapter 41

  ‘Hi, Abbey,’ said Cherry as she entered Abbey’s room. ‘Did Jo tell you I was coming?’

  Abbey managed a small nod. She was sat on the only sofa in the room, legs folded underneath her, picking at the cuff of her jumper.

  There was an office chair sat at a desk and Cherry pulled it over. ‘How are you doing? Do you think you could tell me
?’ she asked, taking Abbey’s hands.

  ‘How do you think I am? I’m a complete and utter wreck. I’m not eating, I am constantly crying and I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.’ Abbey was whispering, but the words flooded out of her as though pushed out of her mouth from somewhere deep inside her.

  ‘Oh, Abbey, not knowing where your child is or how he is being treated is one of the hardest things to deal with. One minute you will feel a surge of hope, the next, a depth of despair that will threaten your very sanity. Life will become an emotional roller coaster that won't really stop until we’ve found Damien.’

  Abbey nodded, tears streaming down her face.

  ‘But there are things you must do. You must force yourself to eat and sleep. Your body needs food and sleep in order to endure this ordeal. Although eating and sleeping may seem incredibly difficult, you must try. If eating regular meals feels like too much just have healthy snacks. I’m here to help you with those. Why don’t we make this sofa a place to relax and nap when you need to? I’ll find you some cushions and a blanket. I’ll make sure you are doing everything you can to take care of yourself. You need to be healthy for when Damien comes back.’

  Abbey nodded. ‘OK, if you say so. I’ll try. I promise.’ Her eyes were threatening to close and Cherry decided to take advantage of that.

  ‘Look I’ve got some things here,’ and Cherry grabbed a large bag she’d placed by the door. ‘Here, put your head on this pillow.’

  Abbey complied and as Cherry wrapped a blanket around her, Abbey grabbed her wrist and said, ‘You’ll wake me if there’s any news?’

  Abbey nodded. ‘Of course, Abbey, I promise. I’ll stay with you while you sleep, so you can let go now and rest.’ She rubbed Abbey’s back as the poor girl drifted off to sleep. Cherry’s heart went out to her, what an awful thing to go through all on your own.

  Chapter 42