Echoes of the Past

by Mailer, Deborah

  “Oh yeah, I know Jim, he’s a pretty private sort. You’ll see him at the coffee shop most mornings for breakfast. He must have been a good bit older than Angela though. Do you think you have enough to take to your DI? Maybe get them to look at it again?”

  “Doubt it, Danny, but I certainly don’t mind checking it out, shake the tree and see what falls so to speak.”

  “Well, Sarge, my station is your station.”

  “Hey, my time isn’t up yet, Sonny, but I do appreciate the gesture.” Tom knew working from home would be a lot warmer and more comfortable. On the other hand, here he could do spec searches and have full access to the police database.

  “I found something else, Danny.” Tom spread the pictures of the three missing women on the desk. “Any of these look familiar to you?”

  Danny scrutinized the pictures. He was certain he had not come across any of them. “Where did you find these?” he asked flicking through the pictures.

  “Believe it or not, it was Lee that brought them to my attention; she thought they all looked a bit like Angela Harrison.”

  Danny nodded slowly in agreement. “Wait, do you think that there may be a connection to the Harrison case?”

  Tom rubbed the back of his neck. “My gut is telling me to take a look.”

  “What makes you think they have a connection?”

  “Tell you what, Danny, I’m going to finish up here and get back and see how Jess is doing. But if you want to come round later tonight, I should have sorted through what I’ve found here, maybe it will interest you.”

  Danny shrugged, he didn’t sense any intrigue, he would be happy to spend a little time going over cold cases with Tom, he found he never got tired of soaking up all his experience. “See you round eight then, Sarge.”

  Tom finished printing off the information he had found online and on the police computer about the three missing women before heading home to see Jess. The more he found, the more convinced he was that they were all connected.

  *****

  John Caulder watched the Jeep drive up the high street passed the door of his hotel. The rumour in the village was that Tom Hunter was waiting on a retirement date due to his health, but he was spending as much time at the station as he had before, if not more.

  It was going on to 4pm; it was time for his usual call to Samantha. He had to be sure she was taking her meds, looking after herself. He pulled a metal chair out from the table that sat just outside the hotel, only smokers sat here in the cold months. He fished around under his apron for the mobile phone in his pocket and punched in Sam’s number.

  “Hi, Honey, its Dad.”

  “Hi, Dad.” The voice was slow to respond on the other end of the phone.

  “How you been?”

  “Not so good, Dad, I’ve been having some bad dreams.”

  “You taking your meds?”

  No reply.

  “Sam, have you been taking all your medication?”

  “Yes, Dad.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’ve been taking everything I’m supposed to. It’s not helping.”

  John was silent. He rubbed his eyes with the fat knuckle of his index finger. He had been down this road so many times, he was tired. So tired. “Have you spoken to your counsellor about these dreams?”

  “No.”

  “Well maybe you should talk about it.”

  Silence. “Sam?”

  “It’s not the type of dream I can talk about, Dad.” She lowered her voice to a whisper as though someone might over hear. “The dreams are about Angela.”

  John felt as though he had just been punched in the gut. He had not heard her name for over thirty years and now she seemed to be every bloody place he turned. “Now why the hell would you be dreaming about all that again, Sam, I thought all that was behind us.” John could barely keep the anger from his voice. Everything he had done and now the crap was all starting up again.

  “Sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to make you mad. I just, I just …”

  “Stop stuttering, Sam! Stop and think about what you want to say and say it. Don’t stutter.”

  There was a long pause. “I’m sorry, Dad. I don’t know why, she just seemed to be in my head a lot lately. I sometimes miss having a best friend. I’ll speak to my counsellor; see if maybe she can help me with it.”

  John thought for a moment. “That maybe the best thing. But, Sam, be careful of what you say now, you don’t want to be getting into any trouble.”

  “Yes, Dad.”

  John did not feel any better after hearing his daughter’s voice. He usually felt good after a chat with Sam, but nothing seemed to feel right now. He knew he had been short with her. He should have asked her about the dreams, but for over thirty years she had been having the same dreams and John did not really want to know what happened in them. Some things were better off left unsaid.

  He watched Tom get out of his jeep and go in to the coffee shop across the road. He did not know why but he was feeling uneasy. Detective Hunter made him feel that way.

  “What are you looking at?” Peter appeared at the doorway. “Did you call Sam? You know how she gets if your late with the call.”

  “I called her.” John still did not look away from the coffee shop.

  “Is she ok?”

  John considered whether to tell Peter. “No, she’s having dreams again.”

  Peter let out a sigh and pulled the chair out across from his Dad. The metal was cold, he hated sitting outside in this weather. “What did you tell her?”

  John tore his eyes away from the coffee shop and looked at his son. “I told her to take it up with her counsellor.”

  Peter looked at him confused. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “To be honest, son, I’m too tired to care. Just remember, you know nothing about nothing should anyone ask.”

  “Well, I don’t know anything much.”

  “Remember that.” John watched as Tom left the coffee shop with a bag and climbed into his Jeep. As he watched him pull away, he realized what it was about Tom Hunter that made him nervous. They had never had a detective up here before; none of his predecessors had ever looked into cold cases, certainly not Angela’s case. They had for the most part, been rookies starting out, or old men waiting to retire. None of them had the fire that Tom Hunter had, and that was what made him uneasy.

  He stood up and flattened down his apron. As he walked past Peter to go into the hotel, he patted his shoulder gently. “Yes, you remember that, son.”

  *****

  Tom noticed Matt’s car in the drive as he arrived home. He entered the house to the sound of laughter and chatter.

  “What’s this?”

  Gemma and Lee were on the floor by Jess’s feet playing with a ball of white fur. Matt stood up to greet him.

  “Good to see you, mate.”

  “Dad, look Uncle Matt bought me a kitten, she is sooo cute.”

  Tom realized that the fur on the floor was alive. He threw a stare at Matt. “Oh he did, did he?”

  “Well, Tom, I remember when we were growing up the cat at one of the farms had kittens and you were desperate for one.”

  “I was thirteen, Matt, and as I recall neither your parents nor mine was willing to indulge us.” Tom had by now, placed the coffee shop bag on the chair and was wiggling his fingers in the carpet as the tiny kitten jumped and danced in an attempt to attack. “What have you called her, Jess?”

  “Topaz. Gemma and I thought it went well with her blue eyes.”

  “And who is going to look after her when you go back to school may I ask?”

  “Well, won’t you be here, Tom?” Matt asked.

  “Not all the time.” He knew even if he wanted to, he would not be able to get rid of the kitten. She was adorable. “Well, I must thank you, Uncle Matt, for such a thoughtful gift.”

  “Now, now, Tom, I detect some sarcasm in that.”

  “We can keep her can’t we, Dad?”

/>   Tom nodded defeated. “But you have to be responsible for cleaning up after her and feeding her and so on.”

  Jess promised the earth as long as she was keeping Topaz.

  “Anyway, Elsie gave me some lasagne from the diner so let’s eat.”

  “Sorry, Mr Hunter, my mum will have dinner on already.” Gemma said standing to leave.

  “Yeah, I have to go to, mate, but I will see you guys up at the house next weekend. Maybe have a barbeque or something?”

  “It’s a bit chilly for a barbeque, Matt.”

  “Yeah, well we can sit indoors, I told Jess I want to show off a new horse to her.”

  The date agreed the house emptied out and Tom, Lee and Jess were left with Topaz.

  They all ate dinner in the living room to save Jess the trouble of moving, although she now found she was able to limp around without her crutches, and the pain had reduced greatly.

  Topaz slept peacefully on Jess’s knee. Her white mane giving her the look of a tiny lion.

  “Do you think you will be able to make it up to bed tonight?” Tom asked.

  Jess thought about it, it did not seem as frightening now that she had Topaz with her. and the fear of what had happened in the days before were fading, making her question just how much of it was real, and how much was down to very fertile imaginations.

  “If you can bring up the litter tray for Topaz and some food, I probably could go up.” Jess said.

  “So the cat sleeps in your room now does she?”

  Jess laughed, she knew there was no real point in answering, it was not up for discussion.

  By half past seven, Jess was carried up to bed with a small bundle of fur in her hands.

  “I can walk a bit, Dad,” Jess said.

  “Yes but I don’t want you straining your good leg going up stairs.”

  Her bedroom had lost the ominous feeling. It seemed still, empty almost. The fact that Topaz seemed undisturbed by the room made Jess feel more comfortable. Settled down with the TV remote in hand and the kitten on the bed beside her Jess snuggled under the quilt, feeling reassured by the hum of her fathers voice in the kitchen below.

  Tom carried his white board from the study to the kitchen, where he set up a tripod stand. He placed the pictures of the four missing women on to it, under each picture he wrote the date of their disappearance and the circumstances.

  Lee put on the coffee pot and they waited on Danny. “Have you found any concrete evidence that they are connected yet?” Lee asked.

  “Not so much concrete. But it was you that brought them to me Lee.”

  “I know, but, do you think they are connected?” The front door bell rang and Tom led Danny through to the kitchen. Lee plied him with coffee and cakes and Tom flicked through his files organizing them.

  “You’ve been busy, Tom.”

  “I want you to have a look at what I’ve found and then maybe we could bounce ideas off each other.”

  “That sounds good.” Danny said.

  Lee settled in a chair beside Danny to allow the best view of the board and Tom began.

  “You shouldn’t be here, Lee,” Danny said half mocking.

  “Tom said he would deputise me.”

  Tom looked at Danny. “Lee was the one who brought the other women to my attention, so she should probably be here in case we have any questions for her. Now, you asked me to look into Angela Harrison, Lee checked her out for me on line and in the process she stumbled onto a missing persons site where she found some other cases that she felt merited some investigation. Now all these cases are inactive. They suspected at the time that something was not quite right, but the absence of any evidence rendered the cases cold. Now back in the 1960s and 1970s, missing persons were, as you probably know, Danny, not taken as seriously as they are today. After Tobin and West, we learned that a missing person could lead to something far more sinister. Now, in this case, I think the absence of evidence may be evidence in its self.”

  “How’d you mean?”

  “For one thing, they are all too clean. We’ve got, Susanna Wheeling, in August 1968. Angela Harrison in August 1978. Jenny Phillips in August 1979. and Jill Paterson in August 1984. I spoke with witnesses of the Susanna Wheeling disappearance; they said she was excited about a job offer someone had made her in the hotel she worked. Jenny Phillips was also excited about a job offer someone had made her on the train on the way up from London. She was working in the refreshment carriage. Nevertheless, no one remembers whom she spoke with, it was during the school holidays and the train was busy. I cannot get hold of any family yet for Jill Paterson, but I am willing to bet she was given a job offer too. The last day that the girls were seen was the day they disappeared; there was never another sighting of any of them. There was no activity on the bank accounts or credit cards. And the ones that had cars left them behind. My gut tells me that these girls all met the same man.”

  The box.

  Danny and Lee looked at the board in disbelief. He had connected all four women successfully and logically. Now it looked as though one man may be responsible for all their disappearances.

  Find me.

  “There was something else,” Tom said, “the last copper up here, David South. He was looking in to Susanna Wheeling when he was killed. But there was no update on her file. I think he was doing what we are, working under the radar. I can’t help but think that at some point he would have been in touch with the intelligence officer to update something on the files, yet I can’t find anything.”

  “I knew him,” Lee said. “He was killed in a car accident a little over a year ago. I used to work with his fiancée in the coffee shop.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “Oh, no idea. She moved away after David was killed.”

  “Do you know how it happened?” Danny said. He had been familiarizing himself with every thing in Coppersfield and did not recall a fatal car accident.

  “He was driving up here from Arrochar and his car went off the road at Miners Drop.”

  A thought crossed Tom’s mind. “What was the weather like at the time, Lee?”

  Lee could feel the hairs on the back of her arm begin to stand although she was not entirely sure why.

  “The weather was fine. Now you come to mention it, he was familiar with the road. He had worked here for years. He came from one of the villages near by.”

  Tom looked at Lee and Danny. Every question seemed to raise another ten.

  Find us!

  Danny dropped the iced doughnut he was eating on to a plate in front of him. “So to sum up, I’ve just started in a small village with almost zero crime rate and you’re telling me that four women are missing and the last copper may have been run off a cliff?”

  Look at me.

  “Don’t panic, Danny. For one thing, the only women that had any connection to Coppersfield are Angela Harrison and Susanna Wheeling. It is only looking into them that the others showed up. And the road up to here is notoriously treacherous. He would not be the first experienced person to miss a bend. Are you all right, Lee?”

  Lee was leaning forward in her chair frowning at the board.

  “Tom, look at all these women. Apart from Susanna Wheeling, they all look very much alike.”

  Tom looked at the board behind him. All the girls were small and blonde except for Susanna, who had red hair.

  “Yes, you pointed that out when you first brought them to me; they could all be sisters.”

  “Yes, Tom, but they look like Olivia.”

  “Olivia went missing in December, and she was only 14. She doesn’t fit the profile.”

  The lights in the old house began to flicker only slightly. Again, Lee began to feel uneasy; her head was beginning to pound again. She reached into her bag and popped another couple of painkillers, something that was becoming more of a habit now.

  “I’m sorry, Tom, but I think we should take this to the chief inspector.”

  “Take what, Danny. A gut instinct and an ac
cidental car crash?”

  Danny shook his head. He knew Tom was right. He did not know what was driving Tom or how his instincts were leading him down this road, but he felt that he was right. There was a case here, he just wasn’t sure what.

  *****

  The girl was touched by envy as she watched Jess sleep. The comfort of the kitten by her side.

  As the dreams invaded her slumber. Jess began to toss and turn restlessly moving around the bed, as images she could not control spilled into her mind.

  The smiling face of a young woman climbed into a car. She leaned over to kiss the driver, flicking her long red hair over her shoulder.

  Suddenly the darkness around her smelled of damp earth. She could feel a dirt floor beneath her as she choked and coughed at the dead hands pulling at her throat.

  Jess began to yell, praying someone could hear her cries in the darkness. She could see Olivia, damaged, broken. A red headed stranger watched mercilessly as Jess fought for her life. Panic began to take over her as the darkness swallowed her up.

  *****

  “HELP ME!” The bedroom door opened and Tom followed by Lee rushed in like fresh air. Topaz stood in the corner of the room puffed to twice her normal size. Jess thrashed around in the bed, mumbling and shouting.

  “I’ve got you, it’s ok, Jess.” Tom cradled her as he did almost every night now. He was aware of the frequency of the dreams. Lee sat at the other side of the bed stroking her hair. As usual, Jess woke with sobs, not able to speak of the horrors that she was witnessing in her sleep.

  Lee lifted the cat from the corner of the room and placed her on the bed. “Look, you scared Topaz.”

  Jess looked down at the tiny kitten and half laughed between sobs. Her fur standing on end, and her eyes as large and round as she could possibly get them.

  “It’s ok. Do you remember what you were dreaming about?” He asked tentatively. Jess shook her head. A combination of fear and not quite being able to recall what she had seen.

  “Come on down stairs and I’ll make you some hot chocolate,” said Lee. Jess glanced over to the far corner of the room. There it was; not a hint of something there any more. It was not a subtle movement. It was clear, the outline of a person in the shadows watching. Watching her. Jess stared at the corner in disbelief.