Bad Things Happen: when a child goes missing

by K Leitch

  ‘Yeh I suppose so, although if I’m honest I only saw her a couple of times. But my grandparents will be able to help you I’m sure; or anyone else in the camp. She was gone by the time I came here remember?’

  They were approaching Martha and Joe’s caravan where Ted was waiting; and Carla quickly explained to him all that Duncan had told her and then went inside the van to talk with Martha and Joe. It was decided not to mention this new development to Poppy yet, she had just lost her son she didn’t need to be faced with the prospect that he had been involved in the abduction of a child as well. Martha was able to produce a picture of her and Joe with Mary standing behind them smiling happily as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  ‘It’s a good likeness,’ Martha said tearfully, she couldn’t quite believe that the sweet girl that had taken such good care of them might have done this terrible thing.

  ‘She was so kind and gentle,’ Martha went on, ‘nothing was ever too much trouble. I was a little bit disappointed when she started seeing Terry; not that he was bad or anything, it’s just that she seemed to get a bit distracted once that started. I’d come across her sometimes just staring into space; and she’d be so far away that it would take me calling her a couple of times to get her attention. And then she started to get sad; I found her crying a few times, but she wouldn’t tell me why… I just presumed she’d had an argument with Terry so I didn’t pry.’

  ‘Can you think of any reason she would have to take a child? Did she know the Marshalls do you know…maybe she’d been a nanny for them before coming to you?’

  ‘Oh no, I don’t think so dear; she had only just come over from Ireland when she applied for this job, running away from a terrible life over there too by the sounds of it. She had lived with her Gran, I do know that, because she referred to her a couple of times, but not with any happy memories I can tell you. Seems like she was a hard woman, staunch Catholic you know, of the old school where any sort of pleasure or softness is a sin! Mary always seemed to be harbouring some tragedy, I never knew what it was but it followed her around.’ Martha’s voice broke as she wept, ‘I just can’t see her harming a child…I just can’t.’

  Carla left the camp an hour or so later and went straight to speak to Susan and Gordon Marshall. She had left it to Ted to distribute the photograph of Mary and also to make enquires about the strange man that had wanted to speak to her. Now she needed to find out from the Marshalls if they had ever had any dealings with Mary Brown. She had also contacted the Garda headquarters in Cork, Southern Ireland, in case they had anything that they could tell her about Mary or the Brown family.

  She was convinced that the killing of Terry Dobson was in some way connected to the abduction of Owen Marshall, it was just too much of a coincidence, but finding little Owen and finding him alive was her first priority, hopefully all the rest would fall into place.

  CHAPTER 25 - 2008

  ‘It’s all set,’ she shouted before he’d even got through the front door. ‘I’ve cleared it with Trish, told her that Mum needs me during her chemo sessions and that I might be gone a few months. She was fine; really supportive actually…made me feel a bit guilty if you must know. But then I thought about what we’re getting out of this, and I realised that if it takes a few little white lies to get what we want then I can live with that!’

  ‘Yeh well that’s all very well as long as no one finds out the truth…that might be harder to live with let me tell you.’ He grumbled as he moved around the kitchen, putting the kettle on and taking out the makings of a sandwich.

  ‘Oh stop worrying grumpy pants,’ she said too excited to be brought low by his pessimistic mood.

  ‘It’s all going to go like clockwork, I can feel it in my bones. After all why would anyone suspect anything? People believe what you tell them…I mean there’s no reason for them not to is there?’

  He didn’t answer just sat there munching at his sandwich. He’d known for a long time now that nothing he said would turn her from her purpose. Who did she think was going to lose everything if this plan went belly up? Not her that was for sure; he’d be the one going to prison for embezzlement; he’d be the one that would have to explain to his nearest and dearest why he had cheated them. He wished with all his heart that he’d put a stop to this nonsense months ago…but it was no good wishing, the wheels had been set in motion now and there was no going back. He just prayed that she was right and that they could pull this off without anyone being the wiser.

  ‘I’ve booked the ticket for next Monday,’ she was saying happily, ‘that’ll give me time to get all the stuff ready, I mean I know we’ll get most of it over there but it won’t hurt to have a few little thing waiting for us for when we get back will it? And I will need that extra money for the other passport don’t forget, can you make sure you get that out of the bank before the weekend, I won’t have time on the Monday?’

  He watched her buzzing around and soon her excitement began to rub off onto him. Oh god please let this work out okay, it was the one thing that might make her happy, and when she was happy she was like the girl he had fallen in love with all those years ago. Not the nasty foulmouthed sadistic creature that lashed out at him whenever she felt like it, undermining any self confidence he had ever had; and he hadn’t had much to begin with, no …this had to work, this was his last hope.

  CHAPTER 26 - HELEN

  Helen sketched quickly before Maya noticed her standing there.

  Maya had been picking some herbs from the garden; and had then stood hands on hips looking around her, so obviously appreciating the beauty of the day that Helen had felt the urge to draw her. Her pencil flashed across the paper trying to capture the look of complete happiness on her face, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she looked upwards, the beautiful full lips parted in the pleasure of the moment. She warmed to her subject, capturing her slender neck and throat, the small swell of her breasts and her tiny waist, until at last she was spotted and Maya blushed at being caught unawares.

  ‘How long do you do this, I did not see you there?’ she said wagging her finger at her, as she came over to the French doors that opened out from Helen's studio.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Helen with a smile, ‘I couldn’t resist; you looked so carefree and happy I just had to draw you.’

  Maya tried to look at the sketch, but Helen danced away holding it just out of reach.

  ‘Oh no you don’t, not till I’ve finished it,’ she said laughing, she was so much taller than Maya that all she had to do was hold the picture up and there was no way she could reach it.

  ‘You don’t play fair,’ said Maya after a few unsuccessful attempts, ‘but don’t think I give up, oh no I will find when you are not looking… mmm maybe when you take nap, yes that is good plan no?’

  She laughed and wagged her finger at Helen again, as she went back up to the kitchen to prepare lunch. Helen went back into her studio and tried to concentrate on the canvas that she should have been working on, but her eyes kept wandering over to the sketch she had done of Maya, and after a while she gave up and picked up the sketch pad, finishing the rest of the image from memory.

  Life had become good again for Helen; and there was only one person that was responsible for that and that was Maya. She looked forward to her coming and missed her when she went away. She had asked to look after Helen and she had been as good as her word. Not just by cleaning and cooking but by talking to her, asking her about her work. Listening to her when she needed to unload or even if she just wanted to share trivial things, like how good the book she was reading was, or did you see that dreadful woman on X Factor at the weekend. She also enjoyed sharing a smile with her, as she put a hand on her tummy and felt the baby moving. Helen didn’t mind now that Maya knew her secret, in fact in some ways it had made everything so much more exciting. Maya had even started making a few little baby clothes for her; exquisite little jackets covered in the most beautiful embroidery, typical of her Polish roots.

  He
len was aware that she was starting to have very different feelings for Maya; she was drawn to her, and had started noticing how beautiful she was. She would watch her face as she became animated in conversations, loving the shine in her gorgeous green eyes and the pout in her sensuous mouth…she was far too aware of her physically and it was unnerving. No matter how strong and loving her friendships were; and they were pretty strong, not least with the witches, she had never felt this sort of attraction before, not for another woman anyhow.

  She wasn’t going to do anything about it; she would never do anything that might jeopardise this wonderful budding relationship, so she kept all this to herself. To be honest she didn’t know what she would say anyway, Maya would probably be horrified if she knew that her middle aged pregnant employer was having lustful thoughts about her. Anyway who said anything about lustful, she was just being appreciative of a beautiful woman, in an artistic way of course!

  Helen was jolted out of her daydream by the house phone ringing; but by the time she had lifted her bulk up off the chair Maya had answered it. She picked up her empty coffee cup and headed up to the kitchen in anticipation of Maya calling her to the phone, but when she got to the hall way she could hear Maya talking to someone. Obviously the call was for her, and she was not too happy about it by the tone of her voice.

  ‘I tell you not to call me here…I know and I am sorry you have trouble, but I can’t help you Mary…ok ok calm down, I have little money…I will give you, for ticket…yes…£200! No I don’t have…sorry…I can get, um… £50 maybe…well it’s all I have, if you don’t want? Ok…yes I know where…ok bye. Maya jumped as she realised that Helen was standing behind her, she blushed and said, ‘Sorry Helen that was my friend Mary; she has troubles I say I try and help her…but sorry she phone here, I tell her not to.’

  ‘Oh don’t be silly, I don’t mind your friends calling you. Um… was she ok I couldn’t help overhearing, sorry.’

  Maya smiled, ‘You are so kind Helen, no she has troubles, but I can’t help her…only I give her money. I meet her tonight…she wants …so I go.’

  Helen felt a spurt of jealousy at this mysterious friend that Maya was willing to help at the drop of a hat.

  ‘Where did you meet her; is she from your country?’

  Maya walked into the kitchen and started getting pots and pans out of cupboards ready to prepare lunch before she answered Helen.

  ‘No…she not from Poland; she come from…um Ireland, we met when I first come to this country…she is first time here too…um we were in same lodgings in Birmingham. Then I get job and she gets job and for long time I don’t hear from her. Then I see her here in village, I was shocked…um surprised to see her and we chat and she asks to call me and I give her this number…sorry.’

  ‘Look I’ve told you it isn’t a problem; what sort of trouble is she in, can I help?’ Helen said as she started putting plates and cutlery onto the table, Maya looked up from the soup she was stirring.

  ‘No! It’s not your problem Helen. She say she needs money for ticket back to Ireland, I wlll give her…you don’t get involved.’ She came over and squeezed Helen's hand, ‘She is trouble Helen, she has…um I don’t know how you say… um…issues. She had very bad time, and it make her a bit crazy you know?’

  ‘Well I don’t like the idea of you getting mixed up in her problems if she’s crazy,’ said Helen looking worried, ‘maybe you shouldn’t meet her. I mean, what if she’s dangerous, what if…’

  ‘Please Helen,’ interrupted Maya as she sat down opposite Helen. ‘I have to meet her…please don’t talk about it anymore…now let’s eat,’ and she started to serve out the delicious soup that she had made, handing one bowl to Helen and making it very clear that the subject was closed.

  CHAPTER 27 - CARLA

  Carla and Ted could hear raised voices as they approached the front door of the Marshall home; obviously Millicent and Bernard Marshall were there and a full blown family row was going on. Ted knocked loudly on the door and the voices inside promptly stopped; a few seconds later the door was opened by a red eyed Susan, who looked as if she might faint at the sight of Carla and Ted standing there.

  ‘Oh god…oh god…please don’t tell me…’ she began to wail, in anticipation of some awful news.

  ‘Susan it’s ok,’ said Carla quickly, ‘we just need to ask you some more questions.’ She put her arm around her. ‘It’s ok love, come on let’s go into the living room and then I can speak to all of you at the same time,’ she shepherded a distraught Susan back into the living room and sat her on the sofa. Gordon came and sat next to her and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly even though she would have pulled away. Millicent Marshall was sitting at the dining room table looking belligerent and Bernard was standing with his back to the room staring out of the front window. You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. Carla looked enquiringly at police woman Irene Watkins, who had been assigned to the family, but she just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head slightly before going into the kitchen to make teas and coffees. Carla sat on one of the chairs opposite the sofa and came straight to the point.

  ‘Susan I need to ask you if you have heard of, or had any dealings, with a young woman called Mary Brown? We believe she is Irish, more specifically we think she comes from the Cork area of Southern Ireland.’ Susan was shaking her head, Carla pressed her, ‘Susan please think hard it could be really important. What about you Gordon; have you ever heard of her, she hasn’t been a client of yours…maybe a dissatisfied client, or someone that would harbour a grudge against you and your family?’

  ‘What on earth does this girl have to do with my grandson,’ bellowed Bernard Marshall, ‘and if there was anyone out to get this family we would have already told you Detective Inspector. We don’t know any Mary Brown, who is this girl?’

  ‘We have reason to believe that she is the one that has kidnapped Owen, Mr Marshall. She has been spotted on a couple of CCTV cameras around the village, specifically the one outside the community hall, where she can be seen heading in this direction at about 1.30am on the night of the kidnap. And then again half an hour later carrying what looks like a bundle of clothes. Does Owen have a pair of ‘Disney Cars’ slippers Susan?’

  ‘Yes! I bought them for his birthday, he loves that film….Oh god it’s him isn’t it you’ve seen him!’ Susan shouted wringing her hands together in her distress.

  ‘We noticed a slipper like that in amongst the bundle that was being carried; we are assuming it was Owen, yes.’

  Susan broke down into noisy sobs and Bernard Marshall shakily sat down in the chair opposite the sofa.

  Millicent Marshall who had been quiet all this time spoke up. ‘So how exactly does this help us find Owen, Detective Inspector?’ she said scathingly. ‘He is still lost, still out there somewhere afraid and alone.’ Susan started sobbing even louder.

  ‘Millicent!’ said Bernard sharply, ‘this is not helping anyone, if you can’t say anything useful then be quiet,’ he turned to Carla, ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got any sort of picture of this girl that might jog our memories have you?’

  ‘Actually we are just having some copies made of a recent photo that was given to us of Mary. Mandy should be here soon with one; I thought I would talk to you first whilst we were waiting. You see it has always bothered me that Owen was targeted specifically, and that he was able to be taken out of the house without waking the family. I would have to assume that the kidnapper knew this house well enough to be able to get in, and take Owen in a matter of a few minutes. Which also leads me to believe that she may have been here, in this house, at some time in the recent past? As to why she chose Owen…well I haven’t figured that out yet, I was hoping you might have had some ideas.’

  Both Susan and Gordon sat silently shaking their heads; Carla sighed and got up to help Constable Watkins bring in the teas. There was a knock at the door and Mandy came in with a big sheaf of photocopies, she handed one to the Marshalls and they looked
long and hard at it.

  ‘Actually she does seem strangely familiar, I’m sure I’ve seen her somewhere before,’ said Millicent, ‘I just can’t place it.’

  ‘I know what you mean, but when would we have had anybody in the house? Other than friends and family, we not the type of people to have any organised events here, we leave that to you two,’ said Gordon to his mum, whilst concentrating on the picture.

  ‘Think hard was there any time when you would have brought someone in from outside,’ said Ted, ‘to help with cooking for instance, you haven’t had a dinner party catered or anything like that? I remember my wife brought in a couple of cleaners after we had our silver wedding party…’

  ‘Oh, my god that’s it!’ shouted Susan, ‘We had a cleaner; she came in after Hannah’s birthday party last October, remember Gordon? When I was laid up with my sprained ankle, she was recommended by that prissy mum at the school…um Gloria; you know the one, blonde hair, dodgy eyes. She actually did a really thorough job; even did the upstairs for me….Oh god that was her wasn’t it, she‘s taken my baby, all the time she was planning to steal my baby…but why? I don’t understand.’

  ‘Well hopefully we are a little bit closer to finding out,’ said Carla, ‘can you let me have the full name of this Gloria, the woman that recommended Mary to you I will need to go and speak to her. Meanwhile if you remember something, anything more about this girl I need to know straightaway, you have mine and Ted’s mobile numbers…this is good news, at last we know who we’re dealing with.’