Echoes of the Past

by Mailer, Deborah

  “Hi, Tom. What do I owe the pleasure to?” Matt said with his arm out stretched.

  Tom walked over and hugged him.

  “Hi, Matt. It’s been too long.”

  “Come on in, how’ve you been, and Jess. I take it she has settled in by now?”

  “Yeah, she’s doing great. How was your trip to Singapore? Last time we talked you were getting ready to go out there?” Matt led Tom through the impressive hallway to the snug. A comfortable room leading into the kitchen. Tom remembered playing here as a boy.

  “Singapore went well. The IT industry is booming we’re branching out there in the next couple of months. It was well worth the journey. Coffee?”

  “Sure.” Tom could never resist a good cup of coffee. “I’ve got a couple of questions I hope you can help me out with.”

  Matt placed a cup of coffee on the breakfast bar and poured another.

  “Sorry, Officer, is this a business call?” he joked.

  Tom smiled. “No, just a cold case I’m looking into.”

  “I thought you were about due to hang up the old night stick?”

  “Yeah. I think it will be coming. You know me, I’ll keep busy until then. Do you remember Angela Harrison? She went to school here around the same time as you?”

  Matt handed Tom his coffee. “Remember her. I went out with her. She was gorgeous. And a nice person to boot. What do you want to know?”

  “Anything. I just want to get a better feel for her. When did you go out with her?”

  “About 18 months before she disappeared. We didn’t go out long; it was a casual thing. A few months after I stopped seeing her, she took up with a farmer’s boy from the village.”

  “Patrick?”

  “Yes, I believe he became the top suspect in her disappearance.”

  “I take it she was popular. No enemies, no falling outs, nothing like that.”

  “God, Tom, this is going back a long time. I didn’t move in the same circles as her. In fact, after we split I don’t think I saw her again. I left and went to Cambridge, so I couldn’t really tell you how she got on. I do know that she was a popular girl when I went out with her.”

  Tom sipped his coffee and thought for a moment. “Do you know anyone who was close to her? A best friend perhaps.”

  “Couldn’t tell you, mate. You know what I was like back then, I went from one girl to another.”

  Tom laughed, recollecting his best pal’s ability to charm. “Not much has changed.”

  “Now, now, Tom. Let’s not get personal.” Matt rose to his feet.

  “Here, I’ve got a present from Singapore for little Jess.” He lifted a bag from the corner of the room and handed it to Tom.

  “You spoil her.”

  “Well, I don’t have any of my own to spoil.”

  Tom took the bag. “That reminds me, Jess asked if she could come up and help out with the horses?”

  Matt laughed. “She knows she doesn’t need to ask, anytime.”

  Tom had forgotten just how comfortable he felt in his friends company. Matt was a couple of years older than him, but growing up in Coppersfield he had been more like his older brother, he had taught him to fish, and more importantly, how to chat up girls. He hadn’t realized just how much he had missed the friendship while he was in Singapore.

  *****

  Jess pulled her coat tight around her as she walked home down School Wynd with Gemma. She was beginning to wish she had taken her Dad up on the offer of a ride home from school. The weather had turned back to a wintry chill with a wind that cut through her.

  “Doesn’t your uncle live up there in the big house?”

  Jess turned as they passed the private road that led to Ingaldean. “Yeah, but he’s in Singapore or China or something like that. When he’s home I usually go up and go horse riding. He’s got stables up there.”

  “I heard he’s got acres of land and a huge swimming pool.”

  Jess laughed. She knew the house was grand but not that big a deal.

  “No, just stables and a bit of land. He does have the most beautiful contemplation garden. It’s a rose garden with a pond in it and a little bridge and bench.”

  “The next time you go up to see the horses, could I tag along?” Gemma said.

  “Sure, I didn’t know you were into riding”

  “I quite like it, but I would really love to see the house more.” Jess and Gemma laughed.

  At the bottom of School Wynd, the girls said goodbye and parted company. Gemma headed down the High Street to her home and Jess headed up a hedged path to Hill House.

  Jess walked up the gravel drive; a sense of foreboding came over her as she noticed neither her Dad nor Aunt Lee were here. She had become less and less comfortable being in the house alone, especially when it was dark. She had the feeling of being watched. The sensation of dread. She turned the key in the lock of the old farmhouse, which, much more resembled a manor house in Jess’s opinion. Stealing herself against the cold and fear, she pushed the door into the large hallway. The stairs curled around in an arch leading up to the second floor. She rushed passed them into the kitchen. It was here that she felt most secure. She closed the door and lit the fire, giving the place a homely feel. Jess made herself some tea, and opened up her Physics books.

  “Damn it.” The realisation that she had left her calculator in her bedroom sent a chill down her spine. She would have to leave the safety of the kitchen to retrieve it. Glancing at the window, she realized it was now getting dusky. It got dark here so much quicker than in the city. She considered for a moment the excuses she could make to her teacher for not doing her homework. Pushing against the ever-growing fear developing from somewhere deep in her stomach she turned and pulled the kitchen door open.

  “Hi, honey, how was school?”

  Jess let out a half-swallowed yelp as she saw her Dad standing in the hallway hanging up his jacket. He walked over and kissed her head.

  “Sorry, love, didn’t mean to scare you. When you are home alone, Jess, do me a favour in future, lock the front door. Anyone could walk in.” He walked passed her and set a chip shop bag down on the table. “Got dinner.” He gave her a wink.

  Relief swept through Jess. “You serve it up, I won’t be a minute,” she said as she ran upstairs to her bedroom looking for the calculator.

  Jess picked the clothes from the floor were she had hung them the night before. Just under the front of her bed lay the missing calculator. She quickly retrieved it and stood up. The sensation of dread swept through her followed by a banging sore head.

  Shake it off, Jess, shake it off, she thought as she turned to leave the room.

  Silently, the girls pale face and dark eyes stared from the shadowy corner of the bedroom, her frustration growing as she watched Jess close the door behind her.

  *****

  Lee lifted the loose paper her printer had spewed out at her. She could feel an excitement building at the information she had found. She switched off the lights in the study, but left the living room and kitchen lights burning. Lee knew how dark the back of Potters Lane was. Even though it was next to Peel Street, and the police house, she still did not want to return home to complete darkness. She opened the icy cold iron gate at the bottom of her back garden and headed up to the lock up at the bottom of the lane. Unlocking her garage, she climbed in, reversed her blue mini out, and headed down the High Street to Hill House. The clear sky promised frost and a cold start tomorrow. There was already a sparkling of glittery frost on the narrow roads that lead through the small village. Winter was always bad here. A small price to pay for the breath taking scenery that surrounded the picturesque village. A small brick bridge was the only road in or out, which opened on to one of the most treacherous hillside roads in that part of Scotland.

  Lee turned on to the dirt path that led to Hill House. It was only a five-minute drive from her house, but the hedges and dirt road made the old house seem more remote than it really was. Even when Lee was a you
nger girl living here, both she and her sister Sarah, would race up this part of the path. They would not stop until they had reached the safety of the front garden and the light that spilled from the porch on to the lawn.

  Lee climbed out of the car and walked up to the front door. With a ring of the bell, she pushed the door open calling out for Tom.

  Tom and Jess had just finished their film and were clearing away the last of the pop corn.

  “Hi, Aunt Lee. Come on in.”

  “I have got a load of stuff to tell you, Tom, about Angela.” Lee walked over and kissed Jess on the head. “Hi, sweetie, do you know, I don’t think there’s anything you can’t find online today.”

  “Look what Uncle Matt got for me in Singapore.” Jess pulled back her hair to show a set of dragon stud earrings sitting in her ears. “And look.” She picked a blue silk robe from the bag. “It’s real silk.”

  Lee admired the gifts. “I wish Matt was my uncle.” She laughed.

  Tom rose and led Lee through to the cosy warmth of the kitchen and filled the kettle. Lee cleared the last of the chip wrappers off the table, the scent of vinegar wafted up her nose making her mouth water.

  “See you’re taking great care of the arteries around here.”

  Tom laughed as Lee emptied the papers from her bag on to the table.

  “Boy, you’ve really gone to town with this detective thing. Haven’t you.”

  Lee gave a smile that promised a secret would be revealed.

  The kettle boiled and Tom made two coffees. “I spoke to Matt today. He’s back from Singapore. He remembers Angela but he had already left for university by the time she disappeared. So he couldn’t tell me much.”

  “Did he tell you about her friend Samantha?” Lee smiled.

  Tom pulled the chair out and sat across the table from her. Half amused at her amateur detective act.

  “No, who’s Samantha?”

  Lee cleared her throat and settled herself in the wooden dining chair. She handed a picture of a plain looking dark headed girl.

  “All right,” Tom said looking at the printed picture, “Give me everything you found, I can see you’re desperate to.”

  Lee smiled. “Ok. Samantha was Angela Harrison’s best friend. That is until she threatened her with a knife.”

  “What? You are joking.”

  “Nope. When Angela began dating Patrick, Samantha got jealous. Apparently, she also liked the young farmer. And, of course, sparks began to fly.”

  “I don’t recall her name in the case file. Was she ever a suspect?”

  “No, a short time after Angela disappeared; Samantha was committed to the Dale. Obsessive, compulsive behaviour apparently.”

  “The Dale Psychiatric Hospital? Is she still there?”

  “No, she was released back in the 80s. I found her through her face book page. Her parents own the Deer Lodge Hotel on the High Street.”

  “And are they still there?”

  “Yes. Her Dad is John Caulder. You know him.”

  Tom did not have to think about it. John Caulder had owned the Deer Lodge for as long as Tom could remember. Back when he and Sarah were dating, he used to take her there for lunch on special occasions. He squinted again at the picture.

  “I don’t think I can ever remember her. Not at school and not at the pub.”

  “No, her parents were strict. She was not allowed in the hotel bar. Even when she turned eighteen, having said that, she would have barely been eighteen when she was committed. As for school, Angela was pretty, intelligent and popular. Samantha, not so much. I think a lot of people thought they were a bit of an odd match as friends, but they had gone all through school together, since nursery. Angela didn’t care what other people thought, she liked Samantha.”

  “Yes, till she assaulted her with a knife.”

  “She didn’t assault her, she only threatened to, Tom.”

  “Oh, that’s all right then.” He smiled mockingly at Lee. “What put you on to her in the first place?”

  “I had forgotten all about her. I was just trying to find out who Angela’s friends were at the time. Here, I’ve written down her Facebook page. In case you want to check her out.”

  “I think I might pay John a visit. Find out what happened back then and why he couldn’t get his daughter out of dodge quick enough.” Tom perused the pictures and face book printouts for a moment. He rose from the chair feeling a little impressed with what Lee had found.

  “Wait. There is something else.” The excitement from Lee had turned more to apprehension. She squinted a little in her chair as if deciding whether or not to share something with Tom. Tom sat back down and waited.

  “Look, Tom. I don’t want you to laugh at me, but I have a feeling about something and I just want to run it past you.”

  Tom reached for his sister in laws hand and gave it a pat. “Lee. You can tell me anything.”

  “All right. There was a barmaid who worked down in Arrochar in the late 1960s, she disappeared, and the police said she just took off. A bit like Angela. Only there wasn’t much of a missing persons investigation with this one. And another girl who worked on the London train in the refreshment carriage, she disappeared in the late 1970s. Then again in the 1980s, another young woman disappeared from the Lands End pub in Edinburgh, not a trace.” Lee began to speak faster and spread papers all over the kitchen table, with faces of lovely young girls from all different eras. Tom started to pick them up one at a time and look at them.

  “What makes you think any of these are connected, Lee?”

  “I don’t really know. I think it’s because they all look so alike. Not only that, but the police didn’t do a great deal at the time to find them, there was no suspicious circumstances to investigate and they were all adults. Their cases are all still open. Their families are still looking for them. Another thing, all three of theses cases are like Angela. They all left their cars behind.”

  Tom thought for a moment. She did have a point. They all looked very alike, allowing for the fact that there were years between each case. And the fact that they all left their cars behind. If they had run off with someone, they would surely have taken the car. If they had moved down to Glasgow or London, again, having a car would be advantageous to them. Normally there is something before the case goes cold. For a second Olivia popped in to Toms mind. Just disappeared, no trace. He pushed her from his head, knowing only too well what can happen when a case you are too close to becomes an obsession. Tom didn’t understand why, but he too had a gut feeling about some of these girls.

  “Well, Lee. I’m certainly not laughing. In fact, I think I might have to deputise you.”

  Lee let out a breath that she had not realized she was holding, and laughed.

  “Are you going to look into them?”

  “Yes, were did you find them?”

  “There’s a web page where people post pictures of their loved ones that are missing. Thousands of them. But these three stood out. What do you want me to do?”

  Tom smiled. “Absolutely nothing. If you can continue to keep an eye on Jess when I’m working late, that is plenty. If I need any more snooping done you will be the first person I call.”

  *****

  Olivia dug her fingers into the hard dirt floor as she pulled her broken body toward the stairs. Hopelessly, slowly, only one goal in sight. To survive. She turned to look. Her face unrecognizable with bruising and swelling. Her neck black, where oversized hands had almost squeezed the life from her. Blood ran down the side of her once so pretty face.

  *****

  Jess let out a scream as her bedside lamp crashed to the floor. The noise saving her from the rest of the dream. Her dark hair lay limp and soaked on her scalp, her pyjama top was sticking to her body as the sweat rolled down her back. She took a moment to catch her breath.

  Tom opened the bedroom door. He knew what had happened. Another dream.

  “You’re all right, Jess. I’m here.” He sat on the edge of the be
d pulling her close. Still raw from the dream, Jess sobbed on to his shoulder.

  “Can you tell me what it’s about?”

  Jess shook her head unable to put into words the fear and panic that she felt each time this dream disturbed her sleep. Tom gently stroked her long damp hair and rocked her back and forth, as though she were still a baby.

  “Jess, if you can’t tell me about this dream, maybe you could talk to Aunt Lee. Sometimes talking about something can make it seem less frightening.”

  Jess swallowed hard her eyes continuously flicking back to the dark corner of the room over Tom’s shoulder. A slight movement, almost imperceptible.

  “Jess?”

  “I’m fine Dad. It’s just a dream.”

  “Is it about Olivia?” he asked.

  Jess nodded. “I feel closer to her here, and I don’t understand why. But the dream. At first I couldn’t remember it. It was just a feeling of dread when I woke. Now, I’m remembering more and more of it, and it scares me.”

  “What happens in it?”

  Jess swallowed hard. “I don’t know, I just want to forget it.”

  Tom knew that Jess could remember but didn’t want to talk about it in detail.

  “I think you should talk to Aunt Lee, Jess. I know she can be a bit wacky, but she is good with this kind of thing.”

  Jess wriggled back down under the cover.

  “Do you want a hot drink?”

  “I’m all right, Dad.” Tom, reluctantly, stood to leave. “Dad, leave on the light please.” Tom smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

  “Sure, angel.”

  It was after 5am. Tom knew he would never get back to sleep, instead, he headed downstairs to the kitchen. He was almost relieved when he remembered he had the Angela Harrison case file to look over, for a cop, this was a welcome distraction. A cup of coffee and an early start he thought. The file from the night before was still lying on the table. Tom lifted it and began to look through it. He knew Lee was right. There was something about the girls that just did not sit well with Tom. After almost thirty years as a cop, he had developed an instinct for some things. He was, if nothing else, a hell of a copper. He opened his laptop and put in the web page Lee had told him about. Countless faces came up. Missing people from all over the world. He put in the name of the first girl on the list.