by D. E. White
‘Did you notice anything about the attacker that might identify them?’
‘It was dark, and they were silhouetted in the streetlights, but there wasn’t enough light to make out their face. First impressions are that it was a man, average height and build, and obviously strong. Whoever it was swung that bat with enough force to break the windows.’
‘Anything about the bat? Logos?’ Karen asked, tapping on her iPad.
‘No. I don’t think so. I’ve never played baseball, but I could see it wasn’t a rounders bat.’ She tried to smile, but her mouth felt too stiff. Her heart was still beating in jerky palpitations, like a pump with a faulty valve. She coughed and took a sip of tea. Holly didn’t want tea, she wanted to down a couple of bottles of wine and drink herself into oblivion, and then she wanted to wake up with a fucking awful hangover and Milo safely in his bed. As that clearly wasn’t going to happen, she needed to get a grip.
A PC came in and had a quick chat with Karen, whilst she nodded and took notes. Finally she looked back at Holly and Lydia. ‘We’re speaking to your neighbours at the moment, but the general consensus seems to be that the intruder ran off down the road and then into the alley that leads to the woods. We’ll get the dog team out and see if we get anything. It is interesting that whoever it was smashed your windows, creating a lot of noise and alerting not only anyone inside the house, but also the whole road, but then took time to smash up your car as well.’
Holly looked at her, blinking. ‘So?’
‘So it wasn’t a well-planned attack. This was a violent, passionate and almost a spur-of-the-moment thing. The intruder wanted to inflict damage and didn’t care that they would be heard. But they weren’t interested in stealing anything or even hurting you by the looks of things. One of your neighbours chased them as far as the gate to the woods, and they didn’t turn and retaliate, despite being armed.’
‘You mean that this was just to scare us? Well, it worked,’ Holly said softly. ‘And how does this connect to Milo’s disappearance?’
‘It may not, although obviously we are considering that,’ Karen said, frowning at her iPad. ‘If it was Jayden, for instance …’
‘Jayden wouldn’t hurt Holly or me,’ Lydia interrupted. ‘And he wouldn’t have taken Milo. I told you this before.’
‘But how do you know, Lydia? He stole your money, and now he seems to have come back to cause bloody chaos. How do you know he wouldn’t hurt us?’ Holly was shouting at her now.
Lydia glanced down at her hands, which were clasped together, shaking slightly. Her face flushed a deep red. When she looked up her mouth was set in a hard line. ‘I knew Jayden wasn’t dead this time too. He’s been sending me emails. About six months after the memorial, you know when he was legally declared dead, they started then. Just a couple of times a year to say he was safe, and before you ask, I don’t know where he’s been and he never mentioned a kid.’
Holly stared at her. ‘Why didn’t you tell me? Or rather why didn’t you tell me when you told me the rest?’
‘I couldn’t … It just seemed wrong. We’d as good as buried him, and you had moved away, were getting on with your life.’
Karen interrupted, ‘Mrs Wyatt, I need to take a statement from you, and I need to see all the emails. This could be extremely important information.’ She was glaring at Lydia, who had recovered enough to scowl back.
‘Fine. I’ll get my tablet and show you. Don’t look at me like that, Holly. You got your life sorted and when I heard from Jayden, I knew he was safe too. You didn’t need to know, because you would have been upset that we were back in contact. He’s still family no matter what he’s done.’
‘I thought he was dead, for fuck’s sake!’ Holly spat out, furious, directing her boiling emotions across to her aunt, like scalding-hot water. But it wasn’t just fury at her aunt, it was pain that Jayden hadn’t trusted her, hadn’t thought that she might like to know he was safe …
The radio crackled and an officer reported to Karen that the dog team had arrived and was being deployed immediately.
Lydia returned with her tablet and began to scan through her emails, ‘Look, this is all of them. There is nothing that could help, and if I thought this had anything to do with Milo I would have shown you ages ago.’
The police and Holly peered at the email conversation. The first one was dated four years ago:
Hi Lydia,
Just wanted to let you know I’m alive and safe. I’m really sorry you had to go through all that.
Jay x
Lydia’s emotional response included lots of questions about where he was, and why he had run away, but he didn’t send a message back until six months later:
Hi Lydia,
I’m doing okay still. I’ve made a good life here. Holly looks like she’s doing all right, too.
Jay x
There were only eight emails in total, and despite Lydia’s long replies, and questions, Jayden’s were only the briefest, non-personal updates. His last email was dated in January this year:
Hi Lydia,
It’s all going well and I’ve made plans to come back. Hopefully I’ll get to see you but if I don’t, remember that I love you and everything happens for a reason. Don’t worry about me, like I say, I’ve got plans.
Jay x
‘It doesn’t help at all,’ Holly said, trying to read something into Jayden’s words, to pick out some kind of subliminal message. She could hardly look at her aunt now. Yet another person she trusted had been keeping secrets from her, and it hurt. ‘Nobody has actually seen him properly, not even Donnie. Only had texts and emails. When Dev and I thought we saw him, it could just as easily have been someone physically similar.’
‘I told you, if I thought it was important I would have shown you ages ago. But it was just enough that I knew he was safe.’ Lydia put a hand on Holly’s and Holly moved hers away.
Karen was silent, still reading the emails. She pushed back a strand of blonde hair and glanced up at Lydia. ‘We’ll need to get one of our tech team to have a detailed look at these and see if we can find out where Jayden has been for the last eleven years.’
Steph nodded, and added, ‘Holly is correct. There is a possibility that these emails might not be from Jayden at all.’
Lydia looked stunned. ‘You mean someone impersonating him? Why would anyone do that?’
Karen answered her. ‘To make you think he was still alive, to set him up to take the fall when whatever plans were being made were actually carried out. We’ll get out there now, but you’ve got our numbers. Steph, can you get some temporary boarding arranged for those broken windows?’
Steph nodded and they departed, leaving Lydia and Holly with the uniformed officers. Holly found she couldn’t even look at her aunt, and busied herself clearing up, before announcing she was going to have a shower. Lydia said nothing.
Holly scrubbed bits of glass out of her hair, letting the hot water beat down on her tense neck and shoulders. Even with her eyes closed she saw Milo’s face. Who had been here tonight? Was it a warning? Her aunt’s betrayal was fresh and raw. Holly just didn’t see how she could have kept such a secret. Sure, Holly would have ranted at her to make sure Jayden wasn’t trying to get more cash, but she would have known he was alive, not at the bottom of the sea somewhere.
Her brother must still think she betrayed him. It was the obvious answer. He didn’t trust her because he blamed her.
After her shower she pulled a brush through her long hair, tied it in a knot and put on jeans and a thick jumper. Almost without thinking she picked up her phone and, alone in her bedroom, called Devril.
He answered after two rings, alert and worried. ‘Holly? What’s wrong? Have they found Milo?’
‘No, they haven’t, but someone smashed up the car and the windows of my house a few hours ago.’
‘Fuck. Are you all right?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Who was it?’
‘I don’t know. I couldn�
��t see them clearly. Could have been Jayden, could have been Niko, or a Nicholls’ family member. Or you. The police will probably be round later to ask where you were last night and this morning.’
He sighed. ‘Well, that’s fair enough I suppose. I take it you don’t think I popped over and smashed your windows?’
‘No, Dev. But there’s more. Lydia has been in contact with Jayden for the last few years. She has emails from him saying that he’s fine and he was planning to come back at some point.’
‘Holy shit! She kept that quiet, didn’t she?’
‘Well, so did you! I wonder who else he’s kept in touch with … But the police suggested Jayden might not have sent them. It keeps coming up that even if he came back with his kid, nobody has actually seen him since. What if someone’s framed him?’
She could almost hear him thinking, brain ticking over, reaching the same reluctant conclusion she had, that the police had. ‘Pretty bad luck if he’s come back here and been taken out you mean? On the other hand, how easy for a dead man to take the fall. It would be a smart move, because it’s distracting us all, going round in circles with the, is he/isn’t he still here.’
‘So if it isn’t Jayden then who? Tom may or may not have anything to do with Milo’s disappearance, but he sure as hell wouldn’t give a shit about the Balintas and Larissa’s murder. He was never very interested when I told him, and if anything he was concerned that my “council estate background” might not be suitable for a lecturer’s wife.’
‘He actually said that? What a knob.’
‘Yeah he is. Anyway, my point is that it still points towards the Nicholls. Bloody DI Harper had better get his finger out.’
‘Listen, I called Gareth, and he was busy, naturally. After he’d finished chatting with the coppers, he rang and we set up a meet for this afternoon.’
‘I’ll be there.’
‘Fine. See you at three. I reckon they won’t try anything with all this Bailey stuff going on, so we should be all right, but tell Donnie, won’t you? As back-up … Do you want me to come over now?’
‘No, I’m going to get cleared up and sort out some new windows for my house. Oh yeah, and a new bloody car too,’ Holly said bitterly.
She ended the call and walked back into her kitchen, nerves jangling. What if Gareth was setting a trap? The washing up was still on the counter. Almost without thinking she picked up a vegetable knife. It was small and sharp, and she ran her thumb gently across the blade. A tiny drop of scarlet appeared in the white sink, spreading, blossoming and swirling slowly towards the plughole.
Chapter 33
Karen called just after 10 a.m. ‘Holly, I just wanted you to know that we’ve arrested someone for the incident last night. Tom.’
‘What?’ She dropped the mug she was holding and it shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering across her kitchen floor. ‘He came and smashed everything up? Why would he do that?’
‘We don’t know, but we have him in custody now. And his girlfriend, sorry his ex-girlfriend, Beth who called us. She said that he called her late last night, and they had a row. Apparently, she’s left him and he was ranting on about Milo, and you, threatening her and their baby. She was scared of what he might do.’
‘I see. Good for Beth,’ Holly once again felt that twinge of reluctant admiration.
‘Yes.’
Holly’s brain was whirring. ‘Are you going to ask him if he took Milo again?’
‘We are. Believe me, I’m doing everything possible to get Milo back. I’ve got to go, Holly, but if we get any news either Steph or I will contact you.’
Holly put her phone down, nausea rising in her belly. Tom had come over here on a rampage. He had lost everything already, she supposed: the new girlfriend, maybe his job once word got out, and after a few lines of coke he probably thought it might make him feel better. If he didn’t have anything to do with Milo’s disappearance, he was also probably, like Holly, going crazy with worry.
Dev finally called again and simply told her he was coming over, refusing to discuss anything on the phone. Cathryn turned up at the same time, and Holly sat them both down in the kitchen. The windows were boarded up with chipboard, awaiting emergency repairs, and although she’d swept and hoovered the living room, tiny shards of glass still glinted, scattered across the bookshelves, decorating plant pots and along the top of picture frames. Not to mention an icy breeze crept between the boarding and the masonry.
‘Fuck me, at least none of my exes turned up and smashed my house up,’ Cathryn said eventually, as she and Dev studied each other, not entirely friendly but aware that Holly needed them both. ‘Haven’t seen you around in ages, Dev. You’re looking good.’
He smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘Thanks. How’re the kids?’
‘You know, little buggers but I love ’em. You haven’t got any kids, have you?’
He shook his head.
Holly brought them both up to date on Tom’s arrest and told Cathryn about Jayden’s emails. Then she turned back to Dev.
‘Dev, why are you here, anyway? I thought we were meeting later to go and see Gareth.’ Holly glanced at Cath, waiting for the explosion.
‘Fuck.’ Cathryn’s mouth popped open. ‘Have you got a death wish? It’s hell over at the yard. It’s practically on lockdown and half the drivers have been sent up north to the other yard, to get them out the way.’
Dev was clearly reluctant to speak in front of Cathryn but Holly was adamant. ‘Okay. So Joey called me, said he knew we were meeting up with Gareth later, but he wanted me to think on something before the meet.’ Dev paused. ‘He offered me twenty grand to go back and run a new operation. Wouldn’t say where, but he hinted it wouldn’t be in Westbourne. Despite everything going down at the moment, he was pretty confident about his offer. He said he and his brother were devastated about what happened to Bailey and he made a big thing about how his nephew was dead.’
‘Like he gives a shit. Probably watched him die, the bastard,’ Cath commented.
‘So when we see Gareth later, I’m pretty sure he’s going to ask Holly again about the Hughes business and try and haul us both in together. It’s all business to them. Doesn’t matter that Rohan is still in hospital, or that Bailey had to take a fall, as long as they’ve got the money coming in and the respect for the family,’ Dev said.
‘We’ll just spin a story ourselves, about how I might be thinking of agreeing to the offer but only if I get Milo back, maybe?’ Holly said quickly. She was still fidgeting with her phone, smoothing a thumb across the screensaver, which was Milo on the beach. Every second he was missing was tearing her apart but she was getting good at hiding it.
‘Right, well I gotta go soon because I’m working later and we’re short again so I’m going in early.’ Cathryn pushed her chair back. ‘Three people left last week, but Sara’s still there. Ruby’s got her now because Noah’s gone too.’
‘Noah quit? I thought he was great.’
‘I know, but you can’t tell, can you? Apparently he said he was starting to get migraines from the night shifts. Carol and Bex left too. The wages aren’t enough if you gotta pay someone for night childcare, are they?’
‘No. Shame though, they were all going to be good.’ Holly wasn’t really listening. Work was another world and thinking about it required too much effort.
Cathryn’s phone rang, and she glanced quickly at the screen. ‘Oh shit, it’s Colleen. I hope she’s okay to babysit tonight. Sorry, I gotta take this …’ Speaking rapidly into her phone she wandered into the hallway.
‘Now tell me what else happened,’ Holly demanded softly of Dev. ‘Because I can tell there’s more.’
Dev glanced towards the hallway but Cathryn was still deep in her rather loud conversation with her sister. ‘I dropped in at the transport café on my way here, and I managed to get a conversation going with one of the drivers. He works for another firm, but he knows the Nicholls. And he knew Bailey. He said Bailey ment
ioned Gareth once when they were talking, and he was scared of him. We know that, but this bloke also said that Gareth still has that smile. The one he has when he’s up to fucking evil.’
Holly knew what Dev meant. She’d seen the flick knife switch between sanity and madness in both Gareth and Joey, and remembering made her shiver. Holly’s phone rang and she clutched it tightly to her ear, trembling. ‘Karen? Have you found him?’
The other two were silent and Cathryn, returning from her own call, was holding two crossed fingers on her lap, staring fiercely at Holly throughout the conversation.
Holly rang off and stared at them, licking dry lips before she could speak. ‘They found … They found Milo’s clothes on Highton Downs. A dog walker said her dog was scrabbling for rabbits on South Hill and his clothes were in a Tesco bag, shoved in a hole.’ Holly dropped the phone, her eyes wide as the pain hit somewhere in her chest, and she only just made it to the toilet, heaving over the bowl until bile burned her mouth. And all the time the tears kept coming.
She heard voices but was unaware of anything else, unable move from her position, hugging the toilet bowl, the coldness pressed against her cheek.
Eventually Cathryn pulled her bodily to her feet, heaving her into the spare room and onto the bed. They lay side by side, hands entwined as they had so often on childhood sleepovers. At some point, exhausted, she must have dropped off, because when she woke, an hour later, it was to the sharp pain of loss, and a cold space where Cathryn had been.
Inching her body off the bed, Holly sat up too quickly and the room spun around. She closed her eyes and then opened them again. On the mirror scrawled in red writing in her mum’s lipstick read:
‘I love You Babes. We’ll Find HIM.’
All around the words Cathryn had drawn hearts and flowers and a smiley sunshine face. Blinking back tears, Holly made her way to the kitchen and found Devril and Steph sitting at the table.
Steph smiled gently at Holly. ‘Your friend Cathryn is a force of nature, isn’t she? She said to tell you that she’s made you enough soup to feed the whole street, and she’s put a casserole in the slow cooker for tonight.’
