Red like a warning.
Red like Isobel’s hair.
Chapter 15
“How’s the business?” Andy asked when they were seated around the table later that evening. In the background a TV sports channel continued to drone on as it had all afternoon.
“Yeah, it’s pretty good,” Leo said, watching Emma open the cartons of the Indian takeaway which had just arrived. “Been keeping really busy. A new case up in Scotland at the moment and a few smaller bits and bobs.”
“You got really lucky with all that media exposure,” Andy said. “When I started my business, I didn’t have anything like that. Had to do it through hard work alone. And I’m doing alright being able to provide a home like this for my family.”
“Yes, you are,” Leo smiled. With the help of my parents paying most of the deposit and Emma’s well-paid job in marketing.
“How are things at the moment?” Leo asked.
“Really, yeah, really good. Never better.” Andy turned to face Emma who had finally sat down. “In fact, we don’t think you should go back to work, do we babe?”
“Well, we’ve not really decided. I like work. I worked hard for that job.”
“Yeah but you’re a mum now. Frankie is the most important thing. A child of mine needs to be the number one priority.”
Emma, who had just put Frankie to bed after the whole day of feeding, changing and stopping him from doing dangerous things, looked exhausted.
“Get us another lot of drinks, babe,” Andy said as Emma took her first bite of the meal. “You still in the bedsit?” he directed towards Leo.
“Yeah for now. The flat…” Leo emphasised the word, “does the job now while work is so busy. When the business is more established, we may look for something else.”
“It’s a nice flat,” Allissa said.
“I’ve got a mate that’s an estate agent round here. He’s got a few places on the market you might like. I told him you were half-looking to make a move this way.”
“Then you could really take a part in Frankie’s life,” Emma added, putting her knife and fork down and getting to her feet. “Do you need another drink, Chloe?”
Across the table from Leo, Chloe answered with a long slurp of the vodka and coke. She had quietened down after the third or fourth drink. Leo calculated she must now be approaching double figures. Catching Leo’s eye across the table she crunched a poppadum into her mouth, spraying crumbs across her exposed cleavage.
“I’m alright,” Leo said finally, looking at Allissa. “I like it in Brighton and if I move anywhere, I’ll sort it myself. Thanks though.”
“Alright,” Andy said, emptying a carton of chips onto his plate, “just tryna help.”
Chapter 16
“What are you doing?” Allissa said, watching Leo remove one of the many blankets from the giant bed in Andy and Emma’s spare room.
“Making a bed down here,” Leo indicated the space on the floor, “you know… so you can get a good night’s sleep up there.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Allissa said, already beneath the duvet but still fully clothed. “This bed is massive, there’s loads of room.”
“Are you… are you sure?”
“Yeah, course,” Allissa met Leo’s stare. “Unless you wanna spend the evening with Chloe. I bet she’s got room for you.”
“I… well…”
Allissa smiled, enjoying Leo’s discomfort.
“There was definitely some animal magnetism there, didn’t you think?”
“No, course not. Totally not my type.”
“Oh what, you didn’t think she was attractive? All those curves?” Allissa held her hands in front of her chest in mockery of Chloe’s figure.
Leo, realizing he was now staring at Allissa’s chest, looked away.
“It’s not that she’s not attractive,” he said, busying himself by pulling a bag of toiletries and some tracksuit bottoms from his ruck sack. “It’s just, she’s not really my… my type.” Finding what he needed, Leo crossed the room and opened the door. “I’ll go and get ready.” With an awkward look back towards Allissa, Leo crossed the hall to the bathroom.
Smiling to herself, Allissa nestled into the bed. It had been an interesting day and now she felt the warm fuzz of multiple beers.
Closing her eyes, Allissa thought about how funny it was that Leo and Emma could grow up together, have almost the same lives and yet be completely different. Then she thought about her own brother and sister. Although they were only half-siblings as Allissa had a different mother, they had turned out very differently too. For a moment she thought about what they would be doing now. Where were they living? She doubted it was in the box room of shabby top floor flat. As sleep started to soften her senses though, Allissa knew she wouldn’t change it for anything. And as she heard Leo cross the landing and open the bedroom door, she felt herself smile.
“I’m sorry that was hard work,” Leo said in a whisper. He’d changed into his jogging bottoms in the bathroom to negate any awkward undressing in front of Allissa. “They’re nice people, but sometimes I don’t know what…” Seeing Allissa snuggled beneath the duvet, he stopped talking. Watching the gentle rise and fall of the covers with just a tuft of Allissa’s hair visible, Leo found himself smiling. Silently, he put the bag of toiletries down, folded his jeans, lifted the duvet and slid into the bed.
Sharing his flat with Allissa for the last few months, Leo had got used to spending time with her. He’d come to expect her late rises and monosyllabic morning greeting before the first coffee of the day was poured. He knew her routine and had grown fond of seeing her toothbrush in the holder and her clothes on the drying rack in the hall. He had lain awake on more than one occasion and thought of her sleeping in the next room. Just a few feet away, curled up on the bed they’d bought together. But then, as though in penance, he thought of Mya. She was still out there. Still unfound. Still unknown. Sure, the maps and charts had been moved from the wall in the front room to a drawer in his bedroom, but that didn’t mean she didn’t still occupy his thoughts. He probably didn’t think of her every hour, as he had a year ago, but a few times a week she still clawed her way back into his consciousness.
But now, lying next to Alllissa in the big bed, Leo was glad of it. Mya gave him some boundaries. He and Allissa were just colleagues and friends. Close friends, yes, but he was still looking for Mya. Maybe not physically, but emotionally part of him was still looking for the girl with the wide smile and the large eyes.
Switching off the light, Leo lay rigidly on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Friends, that’s all they were, that’s all they could be.
Chapter 17
Leo woke with what felt like an electric shock. He stared blankly around for a moment until the memories of the previous evening began to seep into his mind. He was at his sister’s, in the guest room, with Allissa.
Looking around in the light from the crack beneath the door, he recognised the room and the sleeping figure of Allissa next to him. In a moment of fear, he checked he hadn’t rolled across the bed and crossed any invisible lines in the process. All was good. He was fully clothed. On his back. As close to the edge of the bed as possible without falling out.
Feeling the furry mouth of alcohol, Leo reached across for the glass of water he knew he’d left by the side of the bed. That’s when he heard it.
Shouting. Raised voices. Indistinct but obvious. Andy and Emma. He couldn’t hear what they were arguing about; the words were faint from another part of the house. Raised but also clipped in an attempt to go unnoticed. But to Leo, the anger and resentment was obvious.
Leo lay in the darkness for a few minutes without knowing what to do. Part of him wanted to go down and intervene. If he could hear the voices, then Frankie could too.
The sound of breaking glass made him sit upright in the bed.
Then the voices went quiet. Angry footsteps.
One set came upstairs while the other stayed down.
Gone was the relentless composure she had shown all day. Stepping forward, as though operating on instinct, Emma buried her face in Leo’s shoulder. At first Leo was taken aback. He hadn’t seen Emma like this, ever. Then, realising what he should be doing, Leo closed his arms around her and pulled her in tight.
As Allissa slept, Leo held his sister in the darkness of the landing. For a moment they were children again and he, the older brother, was protecting her from the playground bully. Doing what an older brother should.
Looking over Emma’s shoulder, Leo saw light from the kitchen glowing out into the darkened hallway. What had gone on down there?
Somewhere in the house Andy moved, then settled. The only sound was Emma’s quiet sobbing.
Was this something that happened often? How could anyone treat his sister like this? Leo felt anger start to drum in his chest. His breathing tightened. His arms dropped to his sides.
Letting Emma go, Leo pushed past her and began to descend the stairs. Andy had been a dick for as long as Leo had known him. Sure, he had no idea what Emma saw in him, but you couldn’t go around treating people like this. Andy couldn’t treat his sister like this.
“Leo, no, leave him,” Emma said, still sobbing as Leo reached the middle of the staircase. “He’ll be fine in the morning, don’t…”
Pausing, Leo looked back up at her. The serene glamour of the women who had opened the door earlier was gone.
“No,” Leo said in a whisper. “He’s not treating you like that.”
The kitchen looked as it had a few hours earlier. The only difference, the floor was strewn with broken glass.
“It was an accident,” Emma said, walking up behind him. “I shouldn’t have wound him up when he had been drinking. I know what he gets like.”
“This is not your fault. This is in no way your fault,” Leo said, turning and holding her by the shoulders.
Crossing the hallway, Leo pushed open the lounge door. The lights were on and the insipid smell of stale beer hung over the room. Andy sat in his armchair snoring loudly. His head lolled forwards and a pool of dribble collected on his shirt.
“Leave him, don’t wake him up now. He’ll be fine in the morning. It’ll all be fine in the morning.”
Saying the words brought a fresh wave of sobs to Emma’s fragile body.
Leo considered the sleeping man. He was out of it. Nothing would wake him now. Even if they did, what use was a conversation with an angry drunk?
“Fine,” Leo said, “but we need to talk about this.”
Emma nodded, Leo put his arm around her and led her back to the kitchen. While Emma sat at the dining table, Leo filled and clicked on the kettle. While it rumbled to the boil, he swept up the broken glass and put it in the bin.
When he and Emma were sat with steaming mugs of tea, she began to speak.
Chapter 17
On Monday morning Jamie calls the Managing Director to explain everything. It had been weighing on his mind all weekend. He’d thought about making something up, something elaborate and convincing, but had decided the truth was best. He’s done nothing to be ashamed of. He just can’t see Isobel again.
With only a week of his notice left to serve, he hopes it will be met with understanding. Calling especially early, Jamie hopes that Isobel won’t be in yet. He needs to tell his side of the story first.
Tony answers sleepily and Jamie explains. There’s a curious silence on the line, like the M.D. is thinking of ways to make it difficult for him.
These MD types can be arseholes. Doesn’t matter, I’ll be in Hong Kong soon.
Behind him there’s a knock at the door. Jamie’s still on the phone, but he answers it. It’s probably just a parcel. The cold air makes him wince and stings his cheek.
Instinctively, Jamie runs his fingers across the red scratch beneath his left eye.
Two police officers stand in the morning gloom.
“Are you Jamie Price?” the taller one of the two asks.
Jamie nods, and without thinking disconnects his call. His arms drop to his sides.
“We’d like to ask you a few questions about the disappearance of Isobel Clarke.”
From his coat, hanging limp in the hall, a strand of red hair falls to the floor.
Chapter 18
When Leo woke, the light of the morning was streaming through the window and Allissa was sitting up next to him. Opening his eyes, he felt as though someone had poured grit beneath his eyelids. He and Emma had stayed up talking for over an hour. She’d said that Andy’s moods had deteriorated since Frankie had been born. They now had less money than before, so he wasn’t able to do the things he was used to and took that out on her. Emma had promised Leo, convincingly, that Andy had never been violent towards her, despite getting angry. She’d thrown the glass at the wall in her own frustration, then broken down in tears.
Leo had made her promise that she would call someone if she needed help. Call him, call their parents, call a friend. Anyone. Just so long as she wasn’t suffering alone.
“You’ve got tea there,” Allissa pointed at the steaming mug on the bed side table, “Emma dropped it in.”
Rubbing his eyes, Leo reached for it.
Downstairs, Emma was as cheerful as usual. Having already cleared away the signs of the previous day’s food and drink she was about to start making breakfast. Frankie played on the floor, quietly picking up each of his toys and examining it closely.
“Morning,” Emma said, as Leo and Allissa came down. “You want coffee, or breakfast, or something?”
“No thanks, it’s okay,” Leo said. “We need to head off soon, got to get back to Brighton as soon as possible.”
Leo and Allissa had agreed to leave early. but with the conversation he and Emma had shared the previous night still burning in his mind, Leo felt unsure.
“Yeah, sorry,” Allissa said, “we’ve got a mad week ahead and sorting through some things this afternoon will make it all so much easier.”
“Sure, yes, no problem,” Emma nodded, busying herself with the dishwasher. Leo felt a pang of guilt as he noticed a dozen eggs and a packet of bacon on the counter.
“We’ll stay if you’ve prepared something…”
“No, honestly, it’s all good,” Emma said, clanging a pan into a drawer.
“I’ll go and check we’ve got everything,” Allissa said, turning back towards the stairs.
“Stop for a moment.” Leo took a stack of bowls from Emma’s hands. “Are you ok?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”
“It was just, last night. I’m really worried about you.”
There was so much more he wanted to say – come with us now – you deserve so much better – let’s get you away from here – but he just couldn’t. In many ways this was the life Emma had always wanted, the house, the baby, the husband – even if cracks were forming beneath the wallpaper.
“He was just drunk, we both were. He’s under a lot of stress at the moment. It’s nothing.”
“It didn’t sound like nothing.”
“Look, he had a lot to drink. He’ll be up soon, and it’ll be forgotten. It always is.”
“He doesn’t know how lucky he is,” Leo said looking around the kitchen, trying not to be concerned about it always being forgotten.
On the floor, Frankie dropped the toy he was examining and crawled over to the plant in the corner. Reaching behind the large pot, he pulled up something that had lain hidden and studied it carefully.
“You deserve so much better,” Leo said, before he really knew what he was saying.
“He’s my husband,” Emma replied sharply. “He is a good man.”
“Make sure he is, because you and that little boy deserve it,” Leo said looking towards Frankie. Frankie, who was about to put a long, glinting shar
d of glass in his mouth.
Chapter 19
“Just explain, in your own words, what happened,” asks one of the police officers across the table from Jamie. He can’t be any older than Jamie himself. On the table next to them a recording system hums. A reminder that they’re not in private.
“Where do you want me to start?” Jamie asks. He’s being helpful, just helping the police with their enquiries.
“When did you first get to know Isobel in a non-professional capacity?” the other officer says. He’s older and looks as though his years in the force have drained the colour from his face. He is the same monochromatic hue as the interview room they’re in.
Jamie clears his throat and begins. The night of the staff party, the balcony, the drinks, the hotel. The conversation in the office the following morning. The younger officer sits back. He looks relaxed, his posture suggests understanding.
There’s a knock at the door. It opens.
“You’ll want to see this, Gov.”
“Excuse us for a moment.” Both officers stand and leave the room.
Just helping the police with their enquiries. Nothing to worry about, it’ll all be cleared up soon.
Sitting alone, Jamie finds himself staring into the single black eye of the camera on the wall, the only feature in the grey room.
A room without windows. He’ll become used to that.
“I’m afraid,” says the younger police officer, taking his seat again, “that what we’ve just learned changes things a little. I do wish you’d told us this.”
“What?”
“Just to remind you it is within your rights to have legal counsel. If you don’t have a solicitor, we can arrange one for you.”
“What? I’m just here to help you, I’m not under arrest, am I?”
“No.”
“Not yet,” adds the older officer.
“We’ve just learned from your employer that Isobel made a complaint about you.” The officer pulls a piece of paper from a file and lays it on the desk. “Almost a month ago. I’ll read part of it now. ‘He just keeps following me and trying to talk to me, it’s really unsettling. I’ve said no. I’ve told him I don’t want anything to do with him, but he just won’t listen. He’s asked for my number three times. I’ve blocked him on social media. I don’t want to cause trouble, but I want him to leave me alone and don’t know what else to do.’”
Hong Kong Page 4
