The Anita Waller Collection

by Anita Waller

  ‘But there is more, sweetheart,’ Claudia said. ‘I have something to tell you.’

  She paused, not sure where to start. In retrospect, it had been easy to talk of James’s disappearance.

  ‘About six weeks ago I had a little operation to remove a spot from my shoulder that was situated where my bra strap went, and it was causing me some irritation. They took it off and tested it. It was malignant melanoma. I had to have a much bigger operation, with some pretty major surgery involving having lymph glands removed, and that operation revealed the cancer had spread into the lymph glands. My consultant was optimistic that it wouldn’t have spread further, and he referred me to Weston Park for scans and X-rays and stuff.’

  She stopped speaking and looked around at the others. Nobody spoke.

  ‘I found out last Thursday that it has spread to my liver and elsewhere.’

  ‘No!’ The cry came from Emma, and Zoe rushed towards Claudia, hugging her.

  ‘So now you have chemo and radiotherapy?’

  ‘I should have had my first chemo on Saturday. This is hard to say to you all, but I won’t be having any treatment other than palliative. They will keep me as free of pain as possible, but I have turned down the aggressive drugs it entails. I have been given six months, without it, and maybe nine months with. But having any therapies means I will be ill, sick all the time, headaches… I can’t do that for the sake of an extra three months with no quality of life. It’s my decision, guys, so please don’t try to talk me out of it.’

  Nobody could speak, initially. And then it seemed as if everyone spoke at once.

  ‘But…’

  ‘How…’

  ‘It can’t be right…’

  ‘N-o-o-o…’

  The last was from Zoe.

  Claudia held up her hand, and tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘I’m sorry, my darlings, but it is right. And my decision to have no treatment is right. I’m going to Paris on Wednesday for a few days, because I must see it before I die. When I come back I intend seeing as much of all of you as I can before… well, before.’

  Emma moved to kneel by her side, and Zoe laid her head on her mother’s knee. ‘I can’t take this in,’ Zoe whispered.

  ‘I’ve had a few more days to get used to it than you have, and believe me, it doesn’t get any easier, the taking in. Heather’s been amazing. She does all the driving, all the chores around the flat, and we’ve sat and worked out a healthy diet. She makes sure I stick to it. We’re fighting it in whatever way we can, but don’t think there is hope, because there isn’t.’

  The silence in the room became intense as they tried to absorb what they had just been told. Eventually Harry spoke.

  ‘Mum, let me take you home. I think we need to talk. But we also need to know where you’re living. You’re not going through this with just Heather for backup, she will need time out as well. We promise, all of us, that Dad won’t find out from us.’

  ‘You have no more questions?’ Claudia looked at them all.

  David sighed. ‘Not at the moment, no. We may have some later. Do you feel okay?’

  ‘I’m just a little tired, and I think that’s mostly because of the operation. And it could also be because I now have a compromised immune system. I handle it by sleeping, so don’t worry. I’m not actually ill.’

  ‘Can we tell Dad when he shows up?’ Zoe had red eyes, and she turned them on her mother.

  ‘You can, but I don’t want to see him. He must not know where I am. I can’t stress that enough.’

  ‘We understand,’ Harry said. ‘Text Heather and tell her I’m bringing you home.’

  Claudia stood and kissed them all. ‘I’ll be in touch, so don’t worry that you can’t trace me. I just needed time.’

  Harry settled her in the passenger seat, and the other three stood watching as the car disappeared down the street.

  ‘Keep an eye on Zoe for me, Harry. She’ll not handle this very well.’ Claudia wiped away a tear that was threatening to roll down her cheek.

  ‘Stop worrying, Mum. She’s tougher than you think. We’re all here for you, for anything you want. You know that.’

  ‘I do. Turn left here, and then second right.’

  Harry followed her instructions and pulled up outside the bakery. He saw Heather wave from a window above the shop.

  ‘This looks good. Wish I lived near a bakery.’

  ‘It is good. It’s a beautiful flat and we’re happy here. When we get back from Paris I’d like the four of you to come over for a meal, see properly where I live.’

  He helped her up the stairs, noticing she was climbing them slowly, and with a slight limp. He said nothing. He didn’t know what to say.

  Harry returned her to Heather’s care, and then she followed him back down the stairs.

  She kissed him and whispered, ‘I’ll look after her for you. And I’ll contact you if you’re ever needed.’

  He nodded and went outside to his car. He’d never felt so bad.

  Chapter 19

  Liam Norwood picked up the typed reports of the conversations he had had with Will Monroe, Claudia Bell and Heather Gower, and re-read them.

  His gut feeling told him James Bell wasn’t on holiday, or at a conference to do with his job; instinct said he had disappeared involuntarily. The information that had come from the Councillor had suggested it was a happy relationship, long term, and there had been no reason at all for James to walk away.

  Liam couldn’t see the blame being laid at the feet of the two ladies; they had enough to handle and getting rid of James wouldn’t benefit Claudia. So he had three people on his suspect list and all seemed unlikely candidates. He had to look further afield.

  Work colleagues? He would approach them and find out if anyone had seen him since that Saturday morning when he had left Leeds. His children? Liam would need to speak to Claudia and get their addresses. He checked his watch, then dialled Claudia’s number.

  It was Heather who answered. ‘She’s in the shower. Can I get her to ring you back?’

  He explained that he needed her family addresses, and Heather picked up her mobile. ‘That’s easy. Hang on while I go into my phone.’ She then read out the addresses and full names, explaining that it was Harry and Zoe who were Claudia’s children. Heather also gave telephone numbers.

  ‘Be gentle with them,’ she said. ‘Claudia spoke to them last night about her diagnosis. They’re not in a good place at the moment, and it will be very raw today.’

  ‘I understand,’ Liam said. ‘But I have to check every avenue, try to find what has happened to Mr Bell. I also need to check out Mr Bell’s house. Does Claudia have a key?’

  ‘Yes, she does. Do you need us there while you look? Don’t forget we’re going to Paris very early Wednesday morning and then won’t be available until Monday.’

  ‘No, you’re fine. If we’ve not managed to track his movements by the end of today, we’ll probably go through the house tomorrow. I can ring you or call down to see you if anything crops up. I am aware that Mrs Bell doesn’t need stress in her life, and if it can wait until after your Paris trip, then it will. I’m going to speak to Mr Bell’s work colleagues this morning, so will pop around to yours later to get the key.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Heather said, and disconnected.

  Heather felt sick. She had to pray that she had wiped every scrap of blood from that car; even one smear would be enough for them to take it in for forensic testing.

  ‘Did I hear my phone?’ Claudia was towelling her hair with one hand, still having to be careful of using her right arm.

  ‘You did. It was DS Norwood. He wanted your key to check out James’s house. Norwood’s coming by for it later. I also gave him Harry and Zoe’s addresses; the detective wants to check with them to see if they’ve had any contact.’

  ‘I could have told him they hadn’t.’

  ‘I know, but this is a police investigation, Claud. He would still have had to ask them himself.’

&nb
sp; She sighed. ‘Sorry, this is making me tetchy, isn’t it?’

  Heather smiled at her. ‘Be as tetchy as you like. Now come and sit down and I’ll dry your hair for you.’

  Liam didn’t spend long at the Labour Party Sheffield headquarters. Six members of staff all spoke highly of their colleague, expressing concern at his disappearance, but they all knew his wife had walked out on him and assumed he’d taken himself off for a break.

  When being interviewed, they all said virtually the same words, and Liam came away with the distinct impression James was a much-liked friend as well as co-worker. So it was only his wife he abused, Liam reflected. He could imagine the conversation when he had left them.

  He went back to the office, looked through the very brief notes he had made from the morning interviews, and knew he needed to take this further. It was seemingly out of character for James Bell to disappear.

  It took Liam ten minutes to the get to the flat, and Claudia handed over her bunch of keys. ‘You will let me have them back when you’ve finished, won’t you? There are one or two bits I didn’t bring with me that I’d like to give to Zoe, and when James comes back I don’t think I’ll ever be in the house again. If he is on holiday, and I really suspect this is all a storm about nothing and he is on a beach somewhere, this will all seem very silly, don’t you think?’

  ‘Yes, I do,’ he smiled. ‘But he’s not left the country, either by boat or plane.’ Rosie had handed him confirmation of her check at ports and airports earlier. ‘We have a request in with his bank to see if he’s used any debit or credit cards since the day he went missing, and we’re waiting for those results. If he hasn’t used them, then that puts a whole new slant on it. He can’t holiday without money.’

  Liam looked at the bunch of keys. ‘Is this for the front door? And I need the code for the burglar alarm please.’

  She took the keys back and went through them. ‘Front door, back door, shed, garage, Heather’s back door, and the spare key for James’s Sportage.’ Claudia handed them back to him. ‘The code is 0223 for the alarm, unless he’s changed it.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Liam said. ‘You go early tomorrow?’

  Claudia and Heather nodded. ‘Very early, around half past three.’ Heather felt a little uneasy that Norwood had the key to her house.

  ‘Then have a lovely time. Paris is wonderful at this time of the year, and make sure you go on a bateau on the Seine.’

  Heather escorted him downstairs.

  ‘Is she okay?’ Liam asked.

  Heather shrugged. ‘So so. All this with James isn’t helping, and it maybe would have been better to wait a couple more weeks, but in that time the cancer could start to make her feel ill. I don’t know what to do for the best. Anyway, we’re off tomorrow, and I’ll look after her. Simple as that.’

  Liam walked to his car. ‘I’ll see you when you get back. Have a good time.’

  Liam called Rosie over to his desk and shuffled some papers around to make it look a bit tidier. She tutted as she sat down. ‘You want some polish?’

  ‘No,’ he grinned. ‘You can do it later.’

  He picked up a sheet of paper and handed it to her. ‘This is what we need to know and do. Tomorrow, we’re taking a small team to James Bell’s house, and going through everything. We’re not looking at that location for a body – if there’s one there the smell will be obvious by now. No, we’re looking for something that will suggest where he is, if he has indeed disappeared of his own free will.’

  ‘You think he has?’

  ‘No. That scenario doesn’t feel right. I can only go on how other people see him, but nobody has suggested he would do anything like that. He’s either been taken for some reason, or he’s dead. I can’t think why he would have been taken; I didn’t get the impression he was well off, just comfortable. I think we’ll find a body at the end of this, but we were off to a bad start with it, because he’d been missing for two weeks before we found out.’

  DC Neil Evans walked across to his colleagues and handed them several pieces of paper. ‘From the bank, boss. And he hasn’t used any cards since he was last seen. The final payment was to the Travelodge where he was staying. Stays there a lot so it’s a regular transaction. There’s nothing else showing up as untoward, just ordinary stuff. Petrol, restaurants, that sort of thing.’

  ‘Thank you, Neil. Sit down with us, will you?’

  Neil carried his chair across and sat next to Rosie.

  ‘Okay,’ Liam continued. ‘This is what I want to happen tomorrow. I’m going to clear everything with the DI first – she may want to become more involved now we’ve confirmed he’s definitely missing. Neil, I want you to sort out three PCs and head up the door-to-door. I particularly want you to focus on when they last saw James Bell. All the reports from interviews are already done and available to read, so can you make sure you’ve read them before we go. We’ll head out at nine tomorrow, people should be up and about by then. Rosie, I want you to get a couple of PCs for searching the house. I will be with you as well on that one. If there’s anything at all suspicious, we move out of the way and get forensics in. Right, go and read the reports, tell me who we’re taking, and Rosie, can you organise cars please? I want us to be a visible presence.’

  They moved back to their own desks, and began the detailed work Liam had requested.

  Heather packed suitcases for both of them. Claudia looked on with some amusement; she had never had someone to do her packing before. Heather had said first class all the way, and it was clearly starting right now.

  ‘I’ll set the alarm for three, and we’ll just have a cup of tea and a biscuit, take any medication we need to take, and head off by half past three. You okay with doing that, or do we need to get up earlier?’

  ‘That’s fine. Stop worrying about me. I’m feeling so much better now that I can talk to the kids openly.’ Harry and Zoe had called earlier to wish them bon voyage and had kept the conversations light as if by mutual agreement. ‘I’ll nip downstairs and remind Jade we’re going and won’t be around until Sunday. She’ll keep an eye on the place. I imagine Michelle will be back next week. I’ve missed her.’

  ‘Okay. These pjs or this pair?’ Claudia indicated the pale green ones, and Heather folded them neatly, then zipped the suitcase.

  Jade was at the point of closing the shop when Claudia and Heather went down to see her.

  ‘Hi, you two, everything okay? There’s not much left if you’re wanting anything.’

  ‘No, we’re good thanks,’ Claudia said. ‘We just want to remind you we’re off to Paris early tomorrow morning, so won’t be around until Sunday afternoon.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Is everything okay?’ Claudia sensed something wasn’t right.

  ‘Yes, it’s fine.’ She gave a slight shrug. ‘It’s just that dickhead has been hanging around all day, and he must realise I’m not Michelle.’

  ‘Tell the police. Just explain he’s your sister’s ex, and he’s stalking her, but he won’t leave you alone either. I’m sure they’ll do something, warn him off or whatever.’

  ‘No, he’s not my sister’s ex, he’s his brother, Craig Ullyat. George has been missing for ages, and he’s convinced our Michelle knows something about it. She doesn’t, obviously, but he’s around here constantly.’

  Claudia frowned. Michelle had said the man was her ex, she was sure. She had even told them that the man standing opposite the shop was George Ullyat, using his actual name.

  ‘Will you be okay walking home?’

  ‘I’m fine. I’ve brought my dog Elsa with me. She’s not massive, but she’d go for anyone who tried to hurt me. She’s fast asleep in the back at the moment.’

  ‘If you’re sure you’re okay… you here next week?’

  ‘No,’ Jade responded. ‘And I’m quite glad. Michelle’s starting to get around a bit better, so by next Monday she should be good to go.’ Jade laughed. ‘It’s not my natural thing to be polite to people all the time. It�
��s been very stressful this week.’

  ‘Oh, I do understand.’ Claudia’s tone was heartfelt. ‘Don’t forget we’re not here to help if you have a problem.’

  ‘I’ve a bit of a problem at the moment,’ Jade laughed. ‘I had my keys in my hand and now I can’t find them. Can you see them? It’s a big bunch.’

  ‘Would it be these on the bread stand?’ Heather moved across and picked them up. ‘Good Lord, these are heavy!’ She handed them to Jade.

  ‘It’s because the shop keys are always on them, Michelle’s backup in case she loses hers. There are two front door keys because it has two locks, and the same for the back door, which I suppose we don’t really need now. Michelle boarded it up after she was burgled. They’d got in that way.’

  Heather had seen the boarded-up door when she was digging the grave for James. It was a relief to know that access was never used.

  Jade walked them to the front door and locked it after the two women had left. She didn’t want dickhead forcing his way through while she was doing the last bits of tidying up.

  Claudia and Heather were asleep by nine o’clock, but swore at their alarms at three o’clock the next morning. Heather put on the kettle, handed Claudia a breakfast bar and some painkillers, and then a mug of tea.

  ‘I don’t think I need the painkillers,’ Claudia said.

  ‘They’re preventative rather than necessary. It could be a long day, so take them and hope they stop any lurking pain.’

  Claudia nodded and swallowed the two tablets.

  They left home at exactly half past three and by four thirty were checking in at Robin Hood airport. They moved to the VIP lounge where they enjoyed breakfast and were seated comfortably in first class by quarter to seven.

  At almost nine o’clock, three police cars pulled up outside the Bell family home, and police cordon tape was fixed around the property. Neil Evans organised his three-member team, and they began their house-to-house enquiries. He had worked on the questions the night before and handed each of them a clipboard with the relevant questions attached.