Cold Monsters_No Secrets To Conceal

by Simon J. Townley

  A group of women watched him, conferring like vigilantes.

  “Ben, let’s go."

  The boy forced his way through the stream of children. Mark put an arm around his shoulder protectively and steered him towards the side street where he’d left the van.

  “Where’s grannie?” Ben asked.

  “She couldn’t make it."

  “How’s my mother? What happened? Is she at home?”

  Mark quickened his pace. He opened the passenger door and lifted Ben into the seat. “Put your belt on."

  He pulled out into traffic, forcing a hatchback to brake sharply, its horn blaring.

  “There’s grannie!” Ben yelled. He wound the window down and called out. Mark leant across and dragged the boy away.

  “But she’s here, looking for me."

  “It wasn’t her. You’re wrong. Someone who looks like her."

  Ben took out his mobile phone but Mark snatched it. “It can be tracked. There are bad men searching for you."

  “What men?”

  “I’ll explain it later.” A gap opened in the traffic and he sped up.

  “Where are we going? This isn’t the way home."

  “I’m here to keep you safe. It’s important that you trust me.”

  “What happened to her?”

  Mark shot away from a set of lights, eager to put distance between himself and the school. He glanced over his shoulder at the back of the transit van, piled high with his bags, Ben’s stuff, camping gear, food and booze and books for the boy.

  “Did she go to jail?”

  “We’ll talk about it later."

  “She did, didn’t she?” Ben’s voice crackled with emotion. “I want to see her. Is that where we’re going?”

  “Read a book. Or sleep. We’ve got a long drive."

  “Where’s my uncle? That was grannie. Take me back."

  “We can’t, Ben. Trust me. We must get away, somewhere no one can find you."

  But where was that? Outside London, that was certain.There were too many cameras in the city. Too much surveillance. Out to the wilds. To the woods. To the hidden places. He turned the radio up loud so he didn’t have to argue with the boy. He’d choose carefully, pick the right time and place. And then he would swap out his identity and disappear from view.

  Chapter 51

  Alarm Bells

  Tom glanced at his phone: it was his mother calling. She’d want to know how it went for Emma, to be reassured that her baby girl wasn’t going to prison. This would go hard, but he had to tell her.

  “Oh, Tom, I can’t find Ben or get through to Emma. Did she pick him up do you think?”

  “No, I’m sure she didn’t."

  “Oh…”

  Alarm bells rang in Tom’s subconscious. “Where are you? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m outside the school. She asked me to collect him but he hasn’t come out yet and it’s late. Unless he used a different gate, or I missed him, but how could I? I was hoping, maybe... What happened?”

  “We’ll talk about it later. He should be out by now. Find a teacher, make sure he’s not in detention."

  His thoughts whirled with possibilities. Ben might have gone home on his own. Who was closest? Most of her friends were here, outside the courthouse, still chanting about injustice. He’d have to go himself, take the bike. “I’m on my way. I can be at her house in thirty minutes."

  “What should I do?”

  “Alert the other mums, and the kids. Keep searching the school."

  “Shall I call the police?”

  Fat good that would do. If Ben had been taken, the police were the chief suspects. “Not yet,” he said. “We’re on our way. I’m bringing the others. We’ll start a search."

  He hung up, dragged Ruby away from the chanting, told her to head for Emma’s.

  “What’s happening?”

  “It’ll be Shepherd, he’s grabbed Ben. Get help, look everywhere."

  He ran for his motorbike, fumbled with the lock and kicked her into life. He accelerated hard, heedless of speed limits and safety, his or anyone else’s, desperate to get there before the trail grew cold.

  Chapter 52

  In Transit

  Mark stopped the van in a lay-by on the A1 north of Watford. The Transit was hidden from the road by a bank of earth and a line of trees. “Stay here."

  “What are we doing?”

  “Read or something."

  “Can I have my phone?”

  “No."

  “Why not?”

  “We’ll be living without them for a while."

  “No one lives without phones."

  Mark went to the back of the van and got out his toolbox. He changed over the registration plates to the ones he’d had specially made. He had checked the police database for a suitable vehicle, one that was fully legal, properly insured and unlikely to be stopped or to set off any alerts if picked up on the camera network.

  He slipped the SIM cards from his own phone and Ben’s into a plastic bag which he buried close to a hedge. He searched underneath the van for tracking devices. It was still clean as far as he could tell.

  As he turned right, to retrace their steps and head south once more, he sensed Ben look up from his book.

  “Are we going back?”

  “That was a diversion."

  “Why?”

  “Never mind. We’ve got a long journey. Sleep, if you can. We’ll drive through the night."

  “I want my mother."

  “You won’t be seeing her for a while. It can’t be helped."

  “Did they send her to prison?”

  “Twelve months."

  “No! No."

  “She might get out in half, if she’s lucky."

  “They can’t do that."

  “Accept it. She may not be lucky.” He didn’t mean to scare the boy, but he needed to know the truth. He had to face a life without his mother, maybe indefinitely. Shepherd enjoyed a lot of influence in DarkReach. And DarkReach operated private prisons. If they had the power to nobble a magistrate, they’d get their hands on Emma without much trouble. And then they could make up any lie they wanted. Frame her for new offences while inside. They might never let her go. Not if Shepherd got his way.

  Ben had put down his book. He was staring into the darkness outside. Staring at nothing. That was a bad sign. But the boy would have to grow up fast. They would live on the run, in hiding, for as long as it took. This would make amends. Emma would see that, in time. He’d keep Ben safe, and out of the clutches of Bob Shepherd and his men.

  Chapter 53

  Denial

  Tom sat in the driver’s seat of the beaten-up, rusting Volkswagen Polo that Ruby had borrowed from a friend. It had no insurance, no MoT, not much tread on the tyres and it wasn’t registered with the DVLA. There was no record of the vehicle anywhere. The false number plates would throw off surveillance cameras though there was a severe danger of being pulled over by a police patrol.

  At least it was dry, even if the heater didn’t work. Rain poured down the windscreen, blurring their view of the north London community centre where Bob Shepherd, in his role as a serving member of the Met, was giving a talk to local dignitaries about improving relations with ethnic minority groups. Capgras had been tempted to infiltrate the meeting but decided any confrontation needed to happen outside. Without witnesses.

  “Is that him?” Ruby slouched in the passenger seat, clutching a camera with a long lens. A photo of Ben with Shepherd would make valuable evidence for the lawyers.

  Tom leaned over to his left for a better view. That was Shepherd all right, but alone. No sign of the boy. “Wait here."

  Ruby grabbed his arm. “It’s not safe…”

  He pulled away from her. “Take the wheel. If anything happens, get out of here.” He strode towards Shepherd who turned, alarmed. For a moment, Tom saw the truth of how the man had aged. He’d become frail. Perhaps he feared a mugging in this part of town, or being recognised by
an ex-convict he had sent to prison. His expression relaxed as Capgras loomed at him out of the dark. “What do you want?”

  “My nephew. Hand him over."

  “My son, you mean? I don’t have him. I assumed you’d hidden him away.”

  “So you went looking for him?”

  “I’m interested in his well being. He is my son. And his mother is clearly unfit…”

  “You framed her. Is that why? You consign her to prison so you can take custody?”

  “I do not have the boy."

  Capgras stared at the man, trying to work out if he was lying or telling a sliver of truth. “If you’ve taken him… if you harm him, I swear…”

  “Don’t threaten me. I’m a police officer. Here on duty.”

  “Where’s Ben? Who has him?”

  “I told you, I’ve no idea. One of his mother’s hippie friends, I expect. Or perhaps he got fed up of living among drug addicts and ran away from home.”

  Tom’s fingers twitched. They formed a fist. He longed to smash the man in the face. But that wouldn’t help his cause. Or Ben’s. Or Emma’s.

  Shepherd opened his car door and slid in behind the wheel. “I have no idea where he’s gone but I suggest you track him down. Don’t worry, I’ll tell my lawyers that his family lost him. None of you are fit. I see that now."

  Tom stormed back to the Polo, got in beside Ruby. “Let’s go. There’s nothing here."

  She demanded more, so he told her all that Shepherd had said.

  “You believe him?” she asked.

  “Maybe."

  “Then who has Ben? Where is he?”

  Tom shrugged. “Would he run away? He’s been stressed out over this court case.”

  “That would hurt his mother,” Ruby said. “He’d never do it.”

  “Taken by a stranger?”

  “But it happened on the day Emma was sentenced. It’s too much of a coincidence.”

  “You’re right,” Tom said. “Someone acted at that moment, knowing it might be their best and only chance. Mark. It has to be."

  “Why? Ben doesn’t even like him."

  “I don’t know but it must be him."

  “So where are they?”

  “Hiding.” But how, in a world where you couldn’t sneeze without the state’s spies being aware of it? Somewhere with no surveillance. Did such a place exist? With no technology, no police, no authority? “We need your network,” he told Ruby. The environmental groups, the travellers, the hippies living in the hills and the woods. Those in quarries in Wales and on crofts in Scotland, gone to ground in the New Forest and touring Ireland in their battered vans. “We send a message, far and wide, ask them to look for Mark. You know his tattoos?”

  She nodded.

  “We’ll write a description, circulate it."

  “It’ll take a long time to reach them."

  “We have to start somewhere.” No matter what it took. Nothing else mattered now. Finding Ben was his only thought.

  Chapter 54

  Rogue

  Detective Superintendent Bob Shepherd summoned his forces. It was time for the boy to be with his father. But who had him, if not Emma’s clan? There was only one logical answer. Mark Waterstone had gone rogue, lost all sense of perspective, abandoned his tribe, his colleagues, his post and absconded with Ben, his direct superior’s only son. His only family, since his wife left, and his daughters wouldn’t speak to him.

  Ben would be his heir, his son, his friend as he grew old.

  First, he had to find him. Luckily, the resources of the Metropolitan police remained at his disposal. And DarkReach. And through them GCHQ. Why possess so much power if you couldn’t use it? He dialled Owen Naylor’s number. “I have a little job for you."

  The man grunted. “Try someone else. I’m busy."

  “Not any more."

  “Tailing Tom Capgras. Orders from above."

  “This takes precedence,” Shepherd said. “There’s a better way to get at the reporter and make him come to us, begging for a deal. We find his nephew and put him somewhere secure.” With Ben and Emma under their control, Capgras would give in. He would return what had been stolen. And then he would die.

  Chapter 55

  Inside

  After two weeks of waiting and phone calls and letters, emails and protests through lawyers, finally the gates opened and Capgras stepped once more inside one of Her Majesty’s prisons.

  He held his breath as he crossed the threshold. The guard barked an order with a voice purged of emotion, human connection, or any semblance of caring what the listener might think or want or need.

  Capgras followed. Cause no trouble, don’t answer back. This was for Emma. And Ben. Get to see her. Help her. Give reassurance, despite bringing bad news. The worst possible news.

  “How is Ben?” was her first question.

  He ignored it, asking about her own suffering, how she had coped so far. “This place is clean, at least. Not like the shithole I was in."

  “They’re moving me, next week."

  “Why?”

  “They don’t tell us anything."

  “Just order you around?”

  “It’s like I’m not human anymore."

  “Like cattle? I remember that."

  “They’d be nicer to animals."

  “Not by the look of the guards. They tortured puppies in childhood. It’s in the job description."

  She didn’t laugh, or pretend to raise a smile. “How is he? Couldn’t you bring him?”

  “It’s no place for a boy."

  “Did he send me anything? A drawing?”

  “Emma, I have news. I need your help."

  She stared at him, her bottom lip quivering, eyebrows furrowed. She looked terrible. Scared. Tired. Emotionally drained. And he had no choice but to make it infinitely worse. “Ben’s gone missing."

  “What?”

  “He disappeared, the day you were sentenced."

  “That’s over two weeks. Eighteen days. What do you mean he disappeared?”

  “Mum went to meet him at the school gates. He wasn’t there. He hasn’t been seen since."

  “It must be Rob. Bob. Whatever his name is. He took him. Oh god…”

  “I thought that too. But I went to see him. He hasn't got him. I believe him, though god knows why."

  “Who then? He wouldn’t run away…”

  “It’s someone who knows you. It must be Mark. No one’s seen him. We can’t find him anywhere. I found his wife and kids…”

  “He’s married? He has kids?”

  “They haven’t seen him, not in a long time. She kicked him out."

  “Good for her."

  “Even Shepherd doesn’t know where Mark’s gone, and they work together. He has men out looking for him, asking questions. They went to see the wife. Seems as if Mark has gone to ground. Most people head somewhere they’ve been before. Can you think of anywhere? Anything he said?”

  “Most of it was lies."

  “Stories he might have told? A clue? Anything."

  Tears streamed down her face. Tom glanced across the room to where the guards stood, barely bothering to watch the inmates or their visitors.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve no idea."

  “It’s really important…”

  “I know it’s fucking important,” she hissed at him. “He’s my son. Oh god. Couldn’t you look after him, between you? It’s the only thing I asked…”

  “Please. Concentrate. Think. Anywhere.”

  “I can’t. I need to get out of here, to look for him. They have to let me go…”

  “They won’t."

  “Compassionate leave…”

  “They’ll not let you out, not even for this. We’ll find him for you. Everyone’s working on it but we need a breakthrough. We reckon Mark might have friends among the travellers or environmental groups, people who haven’t heard about any of this. They would be out of touch, no contact."

  “Shangri-La,”
she said. “It’s a valley in Wales. Remote. He met people at a demo in Somerset. He went to stay with them, shortly after. They were off grid, no vehicles, no phones. They didn’t allow computers or anything. People go on retreats. It’s a mystical thing. They’re into this spiritual stuff. A mix of it all, you know. But it’s hidden away, hence the name."

  “Kinda corny…”

  “They don’t care. He might be there. If he’s anywhere."

  “You didn’t go?”

  “No. He went on his own. Said he wanted to find out more. It surprised me because he’s never into that stuff."

  “More into his beer."

  “Yeah. Guess I should have known, looking back."

  Tom glanced at the clock. They didn’t have long. “Where is this place?”

  “It was near Llandeilo he said."

  “That’s a big area to search."

  “Ask around."

  The guards toured the tables, telling people to finish up.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll find him. Stay safe. I’ll come and see you in the new place. I’ll bring Ben."

  A guard stood over Emma. “On your feet."

  “I’ll find him,” Tom called out as they led her away. “I swear.” She disappeared through a doorway and was lost to sight.

  As he wound his back through security, heading for the freedom of the outside world, Tom couldn’t help feeling he might have seen his sister alive for last time. That was stupid, he told himself. Don’t get maudlin. She’d be fine. Concentrate on finding the boy. Ignore the nagging pain in the pit of your stomach. That’s just gut rot or bad beer, or the milk in the coffee. It didn’t mean anything. They couldn’t hurt her. They wouldn’t. He’d see her again, real soon.

  Chapter 56

  Outside