The Girlfriend: A Josie Cloverfield Detective Novel

by Jack Carteret

  “No, I don’t think so. She just seemed like she normally seems, you know?” Liam shrugged a little. “The problem is, I’ve only been seeing her for about five weeks, so she might not even tell me if there was something upsetting her.”

  “True enough. So, you guys hadn’t rowed about anything? She couldn’t have stomped off somewhere, trying to frighten the life out of you?”

  “To be honest, I don’t think we know each other well enough for that sort of thing yet. I dunno, it just seems to me that people don’t start arguing about stuff until they’re really comfortable with each other and, like, taking each other for granted and what-not. We weren’t really there yet, you know? We’ve been out on a few dates and stuff, and I’ve even been round to her house, but I’m still on my best behaviour, you know, minding what I say and everything.”

  “How do you get on with Hannah’s family?” Dale chipped in.

  “How do you think? They weren’t exactly thrilled, were they? I mean, I’m at the same university, doing the same courses, getting better grades than Hannah, but I’ll never be good enough, you know?” Liam shrugged again, and it hurt me to know that sometimes this stuff did get through. I would have to stop assuming that his apparently nonchalant appearance meant that he was impermeable to hurt.

  Betty was smiling at us both in a way that made me like her even more. It wasn’t a patronising smile, it was a smile that said I know what you’re going through, guys, but you’ll get there in the end. In truth, Betty was my new hero.

  Chapter Two

  Liam and I got off the bus on the edge of the estate. There was no bus stop in the heart of the Moss Park estate, and where we were dropped off was right over the other side from where we actually lived. Still, we were well used to it. The twenty-minute walk at the end of the bus journey was nothing new to me and Liam.

  “It’s weird, I keep trying her mobile, expecting her to answer it. But Dude, it’s not even ringing. It’s been switched off since last night.”

  “Have you ever known Hannah to switch her phone off?” Betty’s nifty line of questioning had not only impressed me, but it had made its mark.

  “No, not in the time I’ve known her. I mean, I’ve text her almost in the middle of the night before now and still got a reply. So, I don’t suppose she ever really turns it off. Most people don’t, do they?”

  “No, I don’t suppose so. Unless she ran out of battery.”

  “But where could she be that she doesn’t have electricity to charge her phone up with?” Liam looked suddenly horrified.

  Ever since Dale and Betty had left us, with a promise to keep us informed if they found anything out, Liam had been a different person. It was clear that he now realised that Hannah really was a missing person.

  Even for me, a person who, as I’ve already said, did not like Hannah one little bit, the whole thing felt pretty surreal.

  “Don’t think like that, Liam. She might have even just left it somewhere, you know?”

  “Dude, I know you trying to help, but everything you say is making me feel worse.”

  “Alright, I’m sorry. I’ll stop speaking, Liam.” I linked my arm through his, and we walked silently along through the Moss Park estate.

  I should have had a better night’s sleep than I did. My mum had hardly been around for the last two weeks, mainly because she had a new boyfriend.

  She had met Snatcher Harris in the Dalton Arms, and they had seemingly been inseparable ever since. Don’t ask me why he’s called Snatcher; I really don’t want to dwell on it.

  At that point, I’d only met him once, and that solitary meeting was enough to have me hoping that it would be the last time I ever set eyes on him. I could tell almost immediately that his addictions ran to a little more than simple booze.

  He was a good ten years or so younger than my mum, and when I’d found him sprawled on my couch one day, watching my telly, he barely even spoke. I had just come in from uni, and was looking forward to a nice cup of tea and five minutes of quality late-afternoon viewing on the box.

  Mum had been nowhere to be seen, and this greasy heap who looked like he’d accidentally wandered into the wrong house, just smiled at me as if he’d always been there.

  The smile had been something I would never forget. In amongst the brown and rotten mess, there was clearly only one good eating tooth. Such a set of gnashers I had never seen in all my life, and hope never to see again. Not for the first time I had wondered why it was that so much of what orbited around me was so very grubby.

  Anyway, if Snatcher Harris had one redeeming feature, it was this; my mum spent a lot of her time around his place. It’s hard to explain exactly what it is I feel for my mum, so might just leave that one for a bit.

  Anyway, after I’d left Liam and gone home, I felt oddly restless. I kept wondering where Hannah might be, and if she really was a missing person. I mean, I knew she was missing, I just didn’t know if she was missing against her will.

  The thought of it suddenly whacked me; what on earth must it feel like to be taken away, and realise that nobody knew where you were and who had taken you? I was in the realms of imagining all sorts of awful things and, what was worse, I was putting myself in the shoes of the victim. It freaked me out so much that I set about doing some serious housework.

  Restoring order and cleaning up always made me feel like a real, normal person. Since my mum had been out of the way for a couple of weeks, I had actually managed to make the place look quite nice. I had, of course, been here before. I couldn’t count the number of times I had made the place look nice, only for mum to return, bringing her special brand of chaos and grubbiness with her.

  I spent almost two hours scrubbing shelves and rearranging stuff in the kitchen. By the time I had finished, I was very much in need of a shower. I had managed to put the nutcrackers on my imagination for a little while, but as soon as I stopped the cleaning, the morbid fantasy-land returned. In the end, I gave in and sent Liam a text.

  “How you doing?” As I waited for a response, I sat perched on the edge of the sofa, almost as if I wasn’t in my own home.

  “Not good. I feel sick, Dude.”

  “Mum is still gone. Do you want come over?”

  “Normally I’d say yes, but I’m feeling really bad. Just gonna go to bed Dude.”

  My heart sank a little bit at his response. I hated the idea of Liam being at home and feeling so worried. His home life was even noisier than mine at times, and I very much doubted that he would be getting any kind of support from either his three rotten brothers or his careworn mum.

  However, I also wanted the company, and for that I felt really selfish. I had this weird kind of creepy feeling, and I couldn’t really get to the bottom of it. I think it was the idea that whilst I was at home scrubbing shelves, Hannah was out there somewhere, possibly suffering in some way. I know it was a morbid way to think, but I guess that’s the way we all go when something like that happens and it’s unexplained.

  “Ok Liam. Get a good night’s sleep and see you tomorrow. Phone’s on, so call if you need.”

  “Thanks dude. I’ll see you in the canteen about half ten.”

  In the end, I decided to go to take a quick shower and bed myself. I sat up in the dim lamplight reading An Introduction to Thermodynamics. The sheer weight of the book alone was enough to tire you out and make you ready for bed. However, that night, sleep seem to be totally elusive.

  What was worse, I wasn’t taking in a thing of what I was reading. It was funny, I had managed to study through some of the noisiest parties and most appalling domestics you can imagine.

  I barely had any sort of peace for studying, and I had always managed to block out everything. And yet, that night, for the first time ever, I found myself unable to study. In the end, I put down the book, shut off the light, and stared at the patterns which the streetlamps made on the ceiling of my bedroom.

  Fortunately, I had gathered myself enough by the next day that thermodynamics was ma
king sense again. I was tired, yes, but I was still firing on all cylinders.

  Having been struck by the idea that there was absolutely nothing I could do to help find Hannah Davenport, I had come to the conclusion that to pay attention in my lecture wasn’t exactly blasphemy. However, that’s not to say that I didn’t have niggling doubts.

  At the end of the lecture, I wasted no time in gathering up my stuff and speeding away to the canteen. Liam was already there, nursing another polystyrene cup of coffee, and looking like hell.

  “I take it there’s no news?” I don’t know why I said it; I think it was more or less the first thing that sprung into my brain.

  “On the contrary, Dude, Hannah’s sitting in her art history class, and all is right with the world. What do you think?”

  “What I think is that you shouldn’t bite my damn head off for asking a simple question. I’m a human being; I say the wrong things. Get used to it.” As I dropped my rucksack down onto the table with a bang, I realised that I was actually pretty tense myself.

  “I’m sorry.” We both apologised at exactly the same time, and then smiled at each other. Little spats like that were nowhere near being deal breakers in our lifelong friendship. Usually, by the time we got to apologising, any argument we had was already over, and mostly didn’t come up again.

  “How did you manage in art history? I can’t imagine it was easy to focus.”

  “No not really. Especially when people kept turning round to have a little stare at me.”

  “Stare at you?” Another question I wished I hadn’t asked. I already knew what was coming.

  “Yeah, seriously. Fliss gave me a couple of looks that could have curdled vinegar, and didn’t say a single word to me the whole time. Anyway, the way she went about it got everyone else doing the same sort of thing, you know? It’s like she was determined to have everybody think that I’ve had something to do with Hannah going missing.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No, Dude, I’m not. Honest to God, she made me feel like Rose West or something.”

  “Maybe Fred West?” I smiled at him as I reached out patted his hand. Liam was thoroughly miserable, and it gave me physical pain to see it.

  “Oh, cheers Dude!”

  “Without even seeing what happened, Liam, I know what Fliss is up to. Already, she is working out how she can get the most amount of attention out of this. It’s not even about Hannah going missing, it’s all about Fliss. It’s not about a young woman’s safety, it’s about poor Fliss, and how her best friend’s sudden disappearance is affecting her. Just ignore her.”

  “A bit hard to ignore her when she’s silently turning everyone against me.” Liam looked at me, almost helplessly. “Nothing changes, does it Dude? Something goes wrong at school, and the council estate kids get the blame.”

  “Don’t add that to the list of things to worry about, Liam. Leave all the social inadequacy stuff to me, you know I’m much better at it.”

  “Thanks Dude. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Liam reached out and took my hand.

  “I don’t know what I do without you either. We’re a team, Liam, and we’ll work this out together. We always do, right?”

  “Oh Christ. Here comes Rich Richard. Well, I wonder what he’s got to say for himself.” Liam said, miserably.

  I looked up and Richard was, indeed, approaching. Richard Allencourt was studying economics, like any good stockbroker’s son. He was effortlessly good-looking, in a kind of irritating way and, as much as he always tried to dress down, Rich Richard couldn’t help looking well… rich.

  I was just gearing myself up to tell him to get lost when he surprised me by smiling at us. Obviously, he hadn’t spoken to Fliss or Amelia that morning, for why else would he be making his way over?

  “Hey, Liam, how are you doing?” Richard dropped his bag down onto the table next to mine, and took one of the empty seats.

  “Not brilliant, to be honest. But thanks for asking, Richard.”

  “Do either of you want a tea or coffee?” Richard stood up again, and thrust his hand into his pocket looking for change.

  “I’m ok, thanks, I’ve got this.” I tapped my finger gently on my flask.

  “I’ve still got one here, thanks Richard.” Liam added.

  Since we were sitting so close to the serving counter, Liam and I couldn’t even have two minutes’ surreptitious conversation about why Richard had come over to us. Instead, we sat in silence and waited for him to return. In the end, I just needed to be upfront.

  “Have you spoken to your girlfriend this morning?” I barked. Without even looking at Liam, I could actually feel him wincing.

  “Yes, I have.” Richard looked down for a moment, clearly indicating that he knew what was going on with Fliss. “Look, Fliss is just a drama queen, and she loves the attention. Sooner or later everyone will get bored with her and realise what her motives really are. Anyway, I’ve pretty much preferred to have lunch and stuff with you guys these last few weeks, rather than be stuck with Fliss, Amelia, and Han…..” Richard went scarlet and I felt really sorry for him.

  He’d put his foot in it big-time, but I’d had some experience of that myself, and I had a certain empathy for him.

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. The three of them can get a bit much when they get going.” And that was why I loved Liam so much; there was no way he would capitalise on a simple human error.

  Almost everyone I’d ever met would have felt duty bound to leap on that one and make the most of it. Liam was just cut from better cloth than everyone else.

  “You know what, Liam, I didn’t really mean that.” Despite the fact that Liam had let him off the hook, Richard seemed determined to apologise nonetheless. Something about that made me actually like him. “I just wasn’t thinking. It kind of popped out. I mean, Hannah’s your girlfriend, and you must be really worried about her.”

  “I am, Richard, but that doesn’t mean you need to turn yourself inside out worrying about a slip of the tongue. Seriously, I’m just grateful that you’re not looking at me as if I was some kind of serial killer. Everybody else here seems to be.”

  “They won’t for long. Look, it will blow over. I’ll have a word with Fliss and get her to rein it in a bit.”

  As I saw two suited men striding towards our table, my belly did the sort of flip which told me that this was not about to blow over. If the two guys coming towards us weren’t plain clothed police officers, then I was a belly dancer.

  “Liam Attwood?” The taller of the two said, whilst they both flashed their warrant cards.

  Liam, who had been about to take a sip of his coffee, almost dropped his cup. My heart was thundering like the hooves of twenty charging horses, and I felt sick.

  I just knew what was coming. Their whole demeanour just screamed you’re coming with us, son.

  “Yes?” I could tell by the look on Liam’s face that he was thinking exactly the same thing.

  My hands were shaking so badly that they felt like they belonged to somebody else.

  “You’re going to need to come with us.” The taller officer raised his eyebrows, as if to say up you get.

  Despite numerous encounters with law enforcement, neither Liam nor I had the wherewithal to ask if he was actually under arrest for a crime.

  “Oh, ok. I’ll just get my stuff together.” Liam looked at me desperately, and I’m ashamed to say that my eyes had filled with tears.

  I would have given anything for him not to have seen that; I felt as though I was sending him off to the gallows.

  Liam got to his feet, put his jacket and woolly hat on and picked up his rucksack.

  “I’ll call you when I get out.” Liam said quietly, his face flaming red and his eyes showing the purest shock.

  Despite being one of the infamous Attwoods of the Moss Park estate, Liam had never been taken into a police station in his life, and it showed.

  “As soon as you get out.” I replied, not even acknowled
ging the CID officers.

  I couldn’t even look at Rich Richard; all I could do was watch helplessly as my best friend in all the world was led away from me.

  The way they did it was totally unnecessary. Liam was flanked on either side by the burly officers, making it very much look like they had him covered if he decided to make the big guilty break for it.

  For a few moments, I was left wondering why it was that some people went through their whole lives trying to prove themselves. I mean, it was clear that Liam wasn’t under arrest. Looking at the two goons who came to collect him, I’d say that if he was under arrest, they’d have made a big deal out of hand-cuffing him.

  So, just to make themselves feel like real men, they had behaved in a way which might very well ruin a young man’s university career, and therefore his life. I was so unutterably tired of people using the lives of others to prop up their own damned egos that something inside me snapped.

  It wasn’t like a big, noisy snap. No, it was a little, internal one. It was a quiet snap, but it was profound. I wasn’t going to sit around helplessly waiting for the Grantstone Constabulary and Fliss Hardcastle to ruin the life of one of the best humans on this crappy planet.

  I’d find that damned Hannah Davenport if it was the last thing I did. I’d lie, cheat and break all the rules if I had to, because I realised at that point that the rules are only in place for the people who meekly keep them. People like me and Liam. Well, not anymore.

  “Uh, Josie?” Richard’s voice was tentative, as was his little pat on my forearm.

  If he hadn’t been uncommonly nice for a man who was dating Fliss Hardcastle, I would have swatted his hand away and loudly told him to go to hell. As it was, I just looked at him impassively.