Dark Service

by Linda Coles

  “Sorry, Jack, I hope this isn’t private stuff but I could do with the bag,” she said aloud to the empty room. She began emptying the bag onto the bed, setting each item in turn on the bedspread, and finally pulled out the heavy box.

  She smiled then, realizing, and patted the lid.

  It was Jack’s lawn bowls gear.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  “I’m not kidding you, Ruth, the place was like time had stood still – about ten years ago. Even Janine’s clothes were hanging on the front of her wardrobe, like a shrine. Slippers too. And it needed a bloody good clean. Jack looks like he could use a little help.”

  “What are you thinking? Going in and sprucing the place up? He might not appreciate it, you know, proud man and all.”

  Ruth had a point, Amanda knew. “Well, when I turned up with his things and he saw the leather bag, he looked a little embarrassed.” Amanda was thoughtful for a moment then added, “And sad too. And I think I might know why.”

  “Why? Did he say something?”

  “No, he wouldn’t but I felt I’d intruded in something sacred. No, change that: I have intruded in something sacred. After he thanked me, I put the bag on the floor as instructed and he kept staring at it from time to time, like someone was going to jump out of it. On the set of drawers with all the other pictures were a couple of him with a small group, a team maybe, all dressed in white. Several women and a couple of men. I reckon he and his wife played in lawn bowls tournaments. There was a box of lawn bowls in that bag, and all his bowling clothes, as well as some smooth-soled white shoes. I nearly keeled over when the smell hit me, though. I bet they’ve been in that bag the whole ten years.”

  “That’s sad, don’t you think? Something they both did, and then she died and he probably hasn’t played since.”

  “I know.” Amanda fell very quiet in thought. “I put his reaction down to being unwell, but I’m sure there is more to it than that. He misses her terribly, I know that. He probably lies awake in bed at night staring at her nightclothes wishing she was next to him.” Amanda felt her eyes well up with tears and blinked them away before they spilled over. “So tidying his place might be a bit intrusive.”

  “Then let’s do the next best thing.”

  “And what’s that do you think?”

  “Let’s organize for a cleaner to go in once a week. That way, if he doesn’t want it, he can cancel and nothing would get disturbed without his say-so. We can get someone in while he’s in hospital to do the main things like his bathroom and kitchen and a quick dust of his bedroom. In fact, do you think it would be better if we both did it?”

  Amanda knew Ruth was trying to be helpful, but she shook her head. “I think that would be worse. Well, having me involved would be, at any rate. He’d hate for his direct boss to have cleaned his loo – as would you or I. No, he’d be annoyed with that idea. Sorry. Nice thought, though.”

  The two of them sat quietly, their minds busy while they rattled the ideas around, trying to come up with a solution. Finally, Amanda spoke again.

  “One thing is for sure: he can’t go back to the house as it is, so I say we get someone in to do the main stuff. Call it a get-well present from us. There. That’s it, done.” Amanda stood with authority as the last words left her mouth and Ruth could only smile and nod her approval. As Jack’s work colleague, Amanda knew best. “I’ll make the call first thing.”

  “How long are they keeping him in?”

  “Surgery went well. If he carries on with his meds without a hitch, he’ll be there for three days so there’s not much time to get his house sorted. But right now, I’m off to bed. I’m knackered. You coming?”

  Ruth mock-saluted in reply, then gathered their mugs. Without turning the kitchen light on, she placed the mugs on the drainer and, looking up at the window and the dark night sky beyond, she caught her half-reflection looking back at her. After all the talk about Jack and his home being a shrine to his wife, her thoughts drifted sadly to her own father, who had been widowed just over a year ago. He too now rattled around the family home on his own and, while she saw him regularly, at times like this Ruth realized it wasn’t enough. Tomorrow, she’d call him and arrange to meet for lunch and give him a hug. She’d not given him nearly enough over the handful of years she’d known him; she’d shown up late in his life, the surprise daughter he had never known he had, and she felt like she was making up for lost time.

  Amanda’s voice broke into her thoughts, calling her to come to bed.

  “Coming,” Ruth called back.

  Ruth was annoyingly wide awake. She lay in bed thinking about her own family situation and how hers had changed since she’d been a teenager. Her new dad, Gordon, her biological father, had been shocked at her existence but gentle soul that he was, he had warmed to her quickly and they now got on well. Her stepmother, Madeline, on the other hand, hadn’t been quite so easy.

  Of course, that hadn’t all been Madeline’s fault, she thought guiltily, not for the first time. When she was younger, Ruth had taken every opportunity to snipe at her, demean her in some way, through subtle digs here and there. Gordon had encouraged her to give Madeline a chance, but Ruth had behaved that way for so long that she’d found it hard to stop.

  Until one day, quite by accident, she had discovered Madeline’s secret, and had found herself admiring the woman. At last she’d warmed to her, and Madeline had welcomed the blossoming of the affectionate feelings between them, but their new relationship was to be short-lived. Ruth would give her back teeth to have her time over with Madeline again, and if given the chance she knew she’d behave very differently the second time around. But that was never going to be.

  She sighed and turned over in bed. Her father was now on his own, and all the talk of Jack being on his own and not coping with his domestic responsibilities too well made her feel maudlin. Amanda lay next to her, little snoring noises coming from her mouth as she navigated through a dream, and Ruth turned to watch her sleep in the slight light of the room. An orange glow from the street lamps outside shone through the crack in the curtain, and it cast an eerie glow that was just enough to get either of them to the bathroom during the night if need be. She hoped both her dad and Jack were peacefully asleep and not lying awake, like her, looking up at the ceiling and thinking about how fragile life was.

  One minute the person you love the most in the world is by your side, she thought gloomily, then the next minute, they’re gone – forever. Soon Amanda would be her wife. What would the future hold for them both? Would they start a family like Amanda wanted, even though she was in her early forties? If Amanda never came home from work one night, was killed on a job – a very real possibility – how would Ruth cope without her close by and fully in her life?

  Ruth had no idea. Sighing heavily, she realized she wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon. Rather than sink deeper into ‘woe is me’ thoughts, she lifted the bedclothes and went back down to the kitchen and her laptop. Griffin had asked her for a favour and she still hadn’t done anything about it. Now seemed the perfect time to do something.

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Downstairs in the kitchen, Ruth put milk in the microwave to heat up for another mug of hot chocolate. It was about the only thing she used the machine for, even though she bitched about the unhealthy microwaves it emitted into food every time she pressed start. Still, it was quicker than heating milk in a pan. The turntable slowly moved the mug around in a circle, and Ruth followed it with her eyes, transfixed, like it was the most interesting thing in the world. It was almost hypnotizing. The microwave pinged and stopped turning. In the quiet of the kitchen, it sounded like a frantic bicycle bell behind something slow and Ruth mentally ‘shushed’ it. The last thing Amanda needed was to be woken up after a tough day.

  Taking her mug and laptop into the lounge, she curled up on the sofa and sipped at the hot chocolatey liquid in thought. But this time her thoughts were on Griffin’s friend’s problem rather than the two men in her
life. She mused to herself, “So Griffin has a friend, a woman friend in his life. About time, too, young man.”

  There was no malice in her thoughts but she knew that few people warmed to Griffin, with his eccentric and somewhat OCD ways. To many people, he was just weird, pure and simple. How many folks were as precise as Griffin at everything? How many folks broke routine down into fifteen-minute slots and found new adventures almost impossible to deal with? That was the norm for Griffin. But he’d found someone, it seemed, and Ruth was pleased for him.

  She opened the laptop and the screen sprang to life, the bright blue-white light illuminating her face in the near darkness. Opening the TOR browser, she started digging, putting what she thought would bring back results into the crude search box. There were a lot of misconceptions about the dark web, and many newer users confused it with the deep web. In fact, they were two different things entirely. She pulled up the video file and photo Griffin had sent to her, as well as a new window with the software she needed open ready.

  Two locations, the results informed her. She clicked on the first link and saw the same video that she already knew to be Griffin’s friend. A quick note of the address, a few knowledgeable keystrokes with the other search result and she was about done. She could go no further. The whole idea of the TOR browser was anonymity, and that meant for those on both sides of the screen – the user and the poster. Unless she had elaborate hacking skills or worked in one of the top cybercrime intelligence agencies around the world, she could only look to a point; and she had neither.

  The good news was there were only two records of the video – on the dark web, anyway. Next, she did the same search on the ordinary surface web. That threw up a different result altogether, but at least she could do a little more tracking of its origin. Finally, she had twelve results listed in total across the dark and the regular. She knew she could eliminate ten of them reasonably easily without attracting too much attention. The sites that dealt in revenge porn, whether they knew it was such or not, wouldn’t notice one video clip going missing; there were plenty more for their visitors to look at and get excited about. She had done what she could and that would have to do. Being a ‘grey hat’ online, her morals were solid, though she couldn’t say the same about her law-breaking antics. Still, who’d be looking and ready to report her?

  What had started as a local community online group to help solve petty crimes, watch out for missing cats and the like, had piqued her interest in going deeper. Literally. Now it was long past an interesting pastime. Having used the community site to discover a dog-fighting ring as well as a local sex offender, Ruth knew what the web in general and her little bulletin board in particular had done for the safety of the local community. Since then she’d invested time in learning the ins and outs of the deep and the dark web; she already understood coding with her day job building apps and websites. Hacking, she reasoned, was a natural progression, and doing it all in the name of good was now one of her prime interests. After running, of course.

  Reaching for her phone, she tapped out a quick message to Griffin to update him.

  “Links to video on reg web all gone. Two on dark I can’t get to. Hope that helps a little. Ruth.”

  She clicked send and it whooshed along the airwaves to Griffin’s phone. Hopefully this late it wouldn’t wake him up; hopefully he’d see it first thing in the morning. Draining her mug of chocolate, she checked the time on her screen and even though it was past midnight, she knew she still wasn’t ready for sleep yet even if she tried. The TOR browser icon glared at her.

  “What the hell. Ten more minutes,” she said under her breath. “Let’s browse a while. Then I’ll go.”

  Then maybe sleep and sweet dreams would take her too.

  On the other side of town, Griffin was far from sleep. When his phone pinged with the incoming text and he saw it was from Ruth, he quickly scanned its contents. Relief for Vee filled his veins. Even though the other two links existed, the chances were minimal of anyone on the surface web seeing the video and Vee being embarrassed any further. He tapped a message back.

  “Thanks heaps, Ruth. I owe you.”

  Then he went back to his own search. Finding just what he needed at the right price had proved difficult, but after researching as meticulously as he had, and for as long as he had, he was almost ready to proceed. Soon, his problem would be sorted and he could get some of his lost confidence back again. His next problem was getting the time away to get it done, both from work and from his new friendship. He didn’t want Vee thinking the worst of him. The man had said he should allow a couple of weeks, so he’d have to come up with something plausible, and soon.

  Griffin certainly couldn’t confide in her yet; he couldn’t risk the ridicule.

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Ellen’s heart sank when the caller identified himself.

  “What can I do for you, Dr. Badell?” She was used to his calls by now, knowing he never rang her with any good news. The last time she’d spoken to him had been a week ago, when he’d informed her of the cannabis that had been found in Danny’s room. Since then he’d been punished by the loss of extracurricular activities, and he’d suffered for it. She supposed today’s message would be no different.

  “Actually, Mrs. Millar, I have some news for you I’d like to pass along.”

  “Oh?” Ellen said wearily. “What’s Danny got himself involved in now? What do you need to tell me this time? To come and collect him and his bags?” She couldn’t keep the sarcasm from her voice.

  “Actually, Mrs. Millar, like I said, I have news, good news for a change. Danny has been cleared of any wrongdoing in regards to the cannabis. Three other young men have admitted they set Danny up, and have also been setting him up with many of the pranks he’s been in trouble for over the past months. All three boys have been expelled.”

  Ellen couldn’t believe her ears. Surely she was dreaming? Danny had been set up all along?

  “I don’t understand, Dr. Badell. You’re saying my son is not responsible for all the trouble he’s been in, that the incidents were all a set-up to point to him?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying Mrs. Millar, precisely.”

  Ellen fell silent, thinking. She hadn’t been prepared for such news. Part of her brain sang out in elation that her son wasn’t a trouble causer after all; he’d simply been a victim of pranks. She was also a little bit suspicious.

  “What made the boys decide to fess up and come clean? It seems a little unusual to me that, after all they’ve put Danny through, they suddenly find their consciences and own up. What happened, exactly?”

  The air on the line was deathly quiet. Dr. Badell chose his next words wisely. “I really can’t tell you that, I’m afraid. Let’s just say the young men involved are no longer at the school, and Danny’s record has been updated to show he wasn’t involved in any of the incidents. I’ll have to leave it at that, Mrs. Millar, except to say I’m deeply sorry for the stress it’s undoubtedly caused you and Danny during this time. Please, I hope you can accept my apologies.”

  Ellen was stunned but grateful. “Of course. And thank you for letting me know. Does Danny know yet?”

  “I’m just about to tell him. I wanted to share the news with you first. I’ll get him to call you later if you like?”

  “Yes, I’d love to speak to him. And thanks again.” She hung up and stared at the disconnected phone for a few moments. Thoughts rushed through her head as the news sank in, and her face broke into a grin, something that she’d almost forgotten how to do for the last couple of weeks. Danny had been raised fairly, to be honest and respectful at all times, and she’d found it difficult to comprehend the troubles he’d ended up in at school. Now she knew the answer: it had been other boys all along.

  Ellen stood in the lounge where she’d been sat reading when the call had come in. Sun streamed in through the front bay window, and she moved to where the reflection hit the carpet and looked outside. The sky was
as blue as a cornflower, and wispy white clouds sauntered slowly across a windless sky. A couple of young children played with a ball on the street, their giggles just audible. So, Danny hadn’t been causing stress and havoc; it was some other boys, boys who had then placed the blame on her Danny. Why? For fun? For a bet? What? Her shoulders relaxed as she realized they didn’t need to be tense and up around her ears anymore. Danny was innocent of stashing drugs, and innocent of other wrongdoings he had been accused of. She hoped that now the pressure was off him, too, his grades would get back to where they should be, where they had been heading, before it was too late. They’d both suffered with the stress, but it looked like it was all over, thank god. Though in the back of her mind, she wondered why, and how it had all come to an end so rapidly.

  Still, she had a foot job to get to. She headed upstairs to get ready.

  Thirty minutes later, she checked her Uber app to see where the driver was and, with her prized possessions firmly encased in socks and protective boots, she gathered her bag and went to wait outside on the pavement. Her ride was just turning into her road. She always took a ride rather than her own car or public transport when it came to work. Being a foot model meant that on workdays, walking was almost forbidden. Having a driver pick her up at her door and drop her at the client’s door was the most convenient and safest way to arrive in perfect condition. The agency’s clients were paying for perfection, after all.

  Slipping onto the back seat, Ellen relaxed a little as the driver gave her the quiet she needed. He didn’t speak until they arrived at the studio. Stepping out, he opened the rear door and held it wide for her. He smiled at her warmly.