Sins of the Father

by David Harrison

  “Long story. Too long for tonight.”

  “Seems nice.”

  “She is.”

  Nick handed him a coffee and they went through to the living room. To ease the silence, Nick put the TV on and they both stared at a poker game for a while.

  “I used to play poker a bit, at uni,” Pat said, and snorted wistfully. Nick took it as a signal that he was ready to talk.

  “So what happened?”

  Pat shrugged. His eyes lost focus and he shivered, as though he’d looked inside himself and didn’t like what he saw.

  “Emma Slade. She was a potential client, wanting a place in Sussex. Half a million to spend. Great looking, professional woman. Divorced. Available. Seemed to be offering it on a plate.”

  “And you took it?” Nick tried to sound harsh, but he knew what a hypocrite it made him.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt Diana. But we’ve got Chloe sleeping in our room, Ryan playing up during the day… Our sex life is bloody non-existent.” He gave Nick a pleading look. “Honestly, mate. I thought it was just a fling.”

  “How many times did you see her?”

  “Maybe half a dozen. Couple of meals out. Usually just a drink in her hotel and then, wham!”

  “So why ring you at home and leave a message?”

  “I don’t know. The last time we talked about how dangerous it was becoming. Sending texts, all that silly stuff. I knew I was being drawn in deeper, and it was time to get out while I could.”

  “Did you suggest that to her?”

  “Not in so many words.”

  “But that was her interpretation?”

  “Could be. I don’t know.” Pat cupped his hands around his face and blew through his fingers. Then he drew in a breath, opened his mouth to speak but evidently thought better of it.

  Nick yawned and said, “Why don’t you get off to bed?”

  “The couch is fine.”

  “Don’t be silly. There’s a spare bed.” Thereby confirming the status of his relationship with Caitlin, he thought.

  Pat nodded sheepishly but didn’t refuse the offer. He finished his coffee and tramped upstairs. Nick followed him, feeling like he was running a boarding house. Diana would no doubt view his hospitality towards Pat as the worst kind of betrayal. He still intended to visit her in the morning, but maybe he wouldn’t mention where Pat had spent the night.

  He got into bed, turning away from Caitlin so as not to disturb her, and fretted that he’d be unable to sleep for hours. In fact he was out within seconds.

  It was twelve-twenty-five.

  ***

  Diana stood on the threshold of her son’s room and peered sleepily into the gloom. Behind the door, Alex held her breath and kept absolutely still, poised to strike the instant Diana came into view.

  After a few seconds Diana shuffled round and went back to bed, satisfied that Ryan was sound asleep. It was another five minutes before a low, throaty snore came from the bedroom, and Alex judged it safe to move. She lifted the unconscious child from his bed and carried him against her shoulder on to the landing.

  The stairs were a challenge; at one point she nearly lost her balance, almost dropping Ryan in the process. As it was she stepped off the bottom stair with an audible thump. She took the envelope from her pocket and propped it on a narrow shelf by the front door.

  She had to make a noise to shut the door behind her, but by then she didn’t much care if Diana woke. A minute later she was driving through Seaford, Ryan concealed under a blanket on the back seat.

  It was done. She was flying now, soaring above the world, all her plans drawing towards a beautiful conclusion.

  She glanced at the clock on the dashboard: 12:30.

  The last day had begun.

  TH IRTY

  Later, Diana would say she knew something was wrong the moment she woke, at exactly six in the morning. At the time she put it down to Pat’s absence, the memories of yesterday’s events flooding back. He was an early riser, eager to get on with the day, while she tended to struggle against sleep for a while.

  She checked the clock again. Usually Ryan came running in around now, and one of them would take him downstairs to stop him waking Chloe. Maybe he’d sleep late this morning. After Pat left yesterday he’d been grouchy and difficult, and last night it had taken her nearly an hour to settle him. She had been tempted to let him share her bed, but decided she couldn’t jeopardise the long months they’d spent coaxing him to stay in his own room.

  She lay back, listening to the tiny noises that Chloe made in her sleep, and thought about dozing off again. After a couple of minutes she knew she couldn’t, but she didn’t exactly know why.

  The first thing she noticed was that Ryan’s door was nearly shut. She remembered checking on him during the night and was sure she’d left the door open. Maybe a draught had caused it to swing.

  When she saw the empty bed, her initial reaction was to laugh. He must have heard her coming and decided to hide. And yet a part of her knew this wasn’t the case. Four-year-olds tend not to conceal themselves very well: usually you saw a foot poking out or heard a muffled giggle. This room felt empty.

  She searched it nonetheless, preparing the delighted smile for the moment he leapt out with a shout of “Boo!”, all the while trying to ignore the growing anxiety.

  Next she looked in the spare bedroom, the big airing cupboard on the landing, and then the bathroom. Maybe he’s sneaked into my room, she thought. She noticed her hand was shaking as it rose to push the door open.

  He wasn’t in the bedroom. Chloe was still asleep, but stirring, her tiny face twitching as she dreamed of milk and cuddles. It was irrational, but Diana suddenly knew she couldn’t leave her here while she searched downstairs. She lifted the baby into her arms and rocked her a few times. Better if she stayed asleep.

  The real fear kicked in when she reached the bottom of the stairs and the alarm failed to bleep. The system was always set at night, and Ryan understood that he couldn’t come down without waking Mummy or Daddy.

  She hadn’t forgotten to set it. Not with Pat gone. She knew she hadn’t forgotten.

  “Ryan!” she cried, her voice breaking with panic. “Ryan, come out! Please, darling.”

  But the words seemed to echo back at her.

  Then two things happened: Chloe woke up and started to cry, and Diana spotted the envelope by the front door.

  ***

  The bedside phone dragged Nick awake. He felt like he’d been asleep for about five minutes. Beside him, Caitlin groaned and turned over.

  It was ten past six. He swung his legs out of bed and sat up, grabbing the phone midway through the second ring.

  “Nick he’s gone Ryan’s gone she’s taken him she’s taken him!” It wasn’t so much speech as a hysterical scream.

  He recoiled from the blast, jumping to his feet and almost dropping the phone. The noise woke Caitlin, whose mouth opened in a wordless question. Nick shook his head, trying to concentrate on Diana, trying to make sense of what she’d said.

  He had to shout to be heard. “Diana, calm down! Breathe. Breathe. That’s it.”

  She made a huge effort, still speaking in gasps, and with a longer pause between each word he just about got it.

  “Ryan. He’s gone. She took him. That woman. Alex.”

  “Oh Jesus, she can’t. She can’t have.” He was willing himself not to panic, not to go the same way.

  “Left. A note. I can’t… I can’t…”

  “Di, have you called the police? Have you called Melanie Pearce?”

  More gasps. “No.”

  “Right, I’m going to ring her, and then I’m going to call you straight back.”

  “No,” Caitlin said, reaching for the phone. “Use your mobile to call the police. I’ll talk to her.”

  He thought about it and saw she was right. This way Diana wouldn’t be left alone.

  Caitlin took the phone and immediately began making the kind of soothing noises that Nic
k would have found impossible. His phone was in the kitchen and he was taking the stairs three at a time when he remembered his other houseguest.

  Pat.

  He grabbed the mobile, rang Pearce and woke her. His explanation was a garbled rush, but she agreed to go round immediately.

  Pat was standing in the doorway, rubbing at a smear of dried saliva on his cheek. “You always get up this early?” he asked irritably.

  “Sit down,” Nick said.

  “What? Why?” Pat’s eyes were still glassy, inebriated. “I feel lousy.”

  “Listen to me, Pat. Diana’s rung. She says Ryan is missing. She’s saying that Alex Jones has taken him.”

  It was as if he’d hit Pat with a sledgehammer. He didn’t say anything for ten seconds, then he started flailing. “What? Taken…? But why?”

  “I don’t know, but Caitlin’s still got her on the phone. I think you need to speak to her.”

  Pat balked at the suggestion, and something else crept into his expression, not just fear and confusion, something darker and meaner, something more personal.

  Guilt.

  And suddenly Nick listened to the questions running through his head. How did she take Ryan? For Diana to ring now it must have happened during the night, but his sister would have made sure the house was secure, especially with Pat gone. He’d warned her to be careful, hadn’t he? There was a burglar alarm. How did Alex do it?

  Pat said, “Fucking hell,” and buried his face in his hands.

  “What?”

  “No, it can’t be,” he whined. “This can’t be happening.”

  “Tell me. Quickly.”

  Pat raised his head and said plaintively, “I was going to mention it last night. It just seemed so ridiculous…”

  In his helpless silence, Nick found the answer. “The woman you slept with?”

  “When you gave Diana the e-fit the other day, I thought… it looks a bit like Emma. But it seemed a mad idea.”

  “And it meant you’d have to admit to the affair.”

  Pat was distraught. “If I’d known Ryan was in danger, or any of them, I’d have owned up. I put it down to coincidence. I mean, why would she sleep with me?”

  “Because this is what she does, Pat,” Nick said quietly. “This is how she hurts us.”

  “Oh God, if anything happens to him…” Tears rolled down his face and dropped unchecked on to his lap.

  “We have to stay calm,” Nick said. “However difficult, we mustn’t panic. That’s what she wants.”

  Pat nodded, but Nick wasn’t sure if his advice would be heeded. He could feel valuable seconds ticking past.

  He said, “How did she get into the house? Did she take anything from you?”

  Another sledgehammer moment. “One time I left my keys at the hotel. She rang me when I was back at the office. Said they must have fallen out of my trousers.”

  “What about the alarm? Diana would have set it.”

  “I keep… I have so many damn codes to remember, I keep them on a card in my wallet.”

  Nick said nothing. He couldn’t add to the punishment Pat was meting out to himself.

  “Talk to Diana,” he said at last. “Talk to your wife.”

  ***

  Alex spent the night dozing fitfully in the back of the Renault, Ryan lying next to her, both of them covered by the blanket she’d bought for the occasion. She’d driven what she judged was a safe distance and finally decided on a quiet spot next to some parkland on the coast between Worthing and Ferring. She was just off the main road, less than a hundred yards from the shore.

  In the grey dawn she woke and checked on the child, who appeared to be sleeping soundly. Her legs had gone numb and she shifted, trying to stretch out. Ryan made a snuffling noise and reached for her, throwing an arm across her waist. Alex was momentarily horrified, then she gently lifted the boy’s arm free and tucked the blanket around him.

  She got out of the car, shivering despite her jacket. The grass was thick with dew and the light was softened by a misty layer of cloud. Crows drowned out the sweeter birdsong in the trees around her, but she could hear the cry of gulls far out at sea. She locked the car and walked the short distance to the beach.

  For half an hour she stared at the water, watching it turn placidly from grey to blue as the sun rose and burned away the cloud. She thought about the long day ahead, the day in which months of planning would be brought to fruition. The day in which Ryan would, in all likelihood, become an orphan.

  It was getting on for seven o’clock when she returned to the car. Ryan was still lying on the back seat, but now his eyes were open. He seemed to have suffered no ill effects from the sedative, and he studied her curiously, without fear.

  “Hello Ryan,” she said. “Did you sleep well?”

  He thought about it, and shook his head. “I feel poorly,” he said.

  “I’ll see if I can get you some medicine later. My name’s Auntie Alex. Your mummy wants me to look after you today.”

  Again he digested this information. “Where is she?”

  “She and your daddy have some important things to do.”

  “They had a big fight.” His bottom lip quivered at the memory.

  “I know, but don’t worry. Would you like a drink?”

  He nodded, and she helped him sit up. He’d been wearing short-sleeved pyjamas and his arms felt cold, so she arranged the blanket around his shoulders, reminding herself that she was simply protecting a valuable asset.

  There was a rucksack on the front passenger seat containing some cartons of fruit juice and a bar of Galaxy. She gave Ryan a juice and showed him the chocolate.

  “Do you want some of this?”

  “I’m not allowed that for breakfast,” he told her. “I have to have something healthy.”

  She snorted. “Today’s a special day. Today you can.” She broke off a strip and handed it to him, then ate a couple of squares herself. “Later we can go to McDonald’s, if you’re a good boy.”

  Ryan nodded, but not as gratefully as Alex expected. She fought an urge to slap him.

  “Do you know how old I am?” he said, dribbling a little chocolate on to his chin.

  “Four,” she said, and then realised he’d wanted to tell her himself.

  “I’m going to big school in September.”

  “Very nice. Now eat your chocolate.”

  He did as he was told, but without wiping the dribble from his chin. Alex shuddered. The next few hours would be a huge test of her self-control.

  ***

  Diana was too upset to speak to Pat, so Nick suggested they drive straight over there. While Pat threw on some of Nick’s clothes, Caitlin asked if Nick wanted her to come.

  “I’ll spare you this one.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. Thanks, though.”

  A couple of minutes later Nick was driving fast along the seafront in light early traffic. Pat kept wiping his face with his hands and muttering to himself.

  Nick’s phone rang as he was touching eighty on the dual-carriageway past Roedean school. Melanie Pearce.

  “I’m at your sister’s,” she said. “Where are you?”

  “On my way,” said Nick, adding, “with Diana’s husband, Patrick,” in case there was anything he shouldn’t hear.

  “Okay. Diana’s very upset. I’ve seen the letter from Alex and it warns against calling in the police. But I came alone, in an unmarked car.”

  “Oh Christ, we can’t risk…”

  “Don’t fret,” Pearce told him. “She won’t know we’re involved.”

  It took another fifteen minutes to get to Seaford. He screeched to a halt behind the detective’s car and ran to the front door. It was opened by Pearce, who offered them a grave smile. “She’s in here,” she said.

  Diana was pacing up and down, Chloe on her shoulder. She stopped when Pat entered the room, Nick and Pearce hanging back. They eyed each other cautiously, and then Pat opened his arms.

 
“I’m so sorry,” he said.

  They embraced, both in tears, with Chloe between them. Nick nodded at Pearce and said, “We’ll give you a few minutes.”

  They headed into the kitchen and stood like guests at a party nobody wanted to attend. Nick told her about Pat’s affair, and its implications. “Alex probably has a copy of the door key, as well as the alarm code.”

  “She’s really been planning this, hasn’t she?”

  “Diana and Pat haven’t been getting on lately, but I just put it down to stress. It never occurred to me that she’d target him.”

  “Is he explaining all this to your sister?”

  Nick nodded. “I don’t envy him.”

  “Look at this,” said Pearce. The letter was carefully laid out on the table. “We’ll need to run some tests on it, so don’t touch.”

  He quickly read the letter.

  Ryan is with me. He’ll be perfectly safe, as long as you obey my instructions.

  FIRSTLY, no police! Any sign of them and you’ll never see your son again.

  SECONDLY, I intend to leave you alone very soon, but only when my demands have been met. This will include a financial settlement, the rightful compensation for my father’s murder.

  THIRDLY, I will need to speak to you, Diana, and your brother. Make sure you are both here at your home by 4.00 pm today. I’ll explain what you should do next.

  LASTLY, a message for Nick: I know you’re trying to track me down, but you were too late with Franks, too late with Wheeler, and you’ll be too late with Ryan. Be patient. Wait for my call at 4.00pm.

  Ryan is well-hidden but safe. No harm will come to him, but you must follow instructions.

  Alex.

  Nick collapsed into a chair, his shoulders slumping. He’d been completely outwitted at every turn, and now she was taunting him for his failure to anticipate her next move. Ryan’s life was at stake and there was nothing he could do about it.

  He thumped the table in frustration and turned to Pearce, who looked almost as angry. “What do you suggest?”

  “That you involve the police, for a start. I don’t think she’d risk keeping a watch on the house, but plainclothes officers can check the area. We need to set up a trace on the phone, and get the helicopter and armed response on standby.” She checked the time. “There’s a lot to do. I need a go-ahead pretty quickly if I’m to get this authorised.”