Missing

by Charlie Gallagher

  ‘I knew it would be you. You said you was the only one who did Sundays.’

  Shaun cursed silently to himself. He could remember saying it. He had been a little annoyed and had vented. In his training he had been told that it was okay to talk about yourself a little: it was apparently a way of sounding natural, of forming bonds. But perhaps the fact that he had been stitched up with two months of weekends on the negotiators’ rota hadn’t been the best topic of choice. He had made Bobby smile at least, joked that Bobby thought he had problems. He should definitely have kept that to himself. Now Bobby was timing his cries for help around his shifts. Shaun put both bottles of water on the ground at his feet.

  ‘You told me that you worked on your own too,’ Bobby continued. ‘You said that you lot normally pair up but you always keep the second one back until you’ve struck up a bit of a dialogue like. You don’t like to make anyone feel like they’re getting surrounded.’

  ‘Your memory is sharp as a tack right there, Bobby. I forgot I even told you any of that.’

  ‘I’m right though, aren’t I?’

  ‘Yeah, you’re right. Sometimes I don’t get a choice anyway. We’re all on the end of a phone and we come from all over the county to where we’re needed. I’ve got someone else coming but they’re from a lot further away. Lucky for me, I’m kinda local.’

  Bobby turned to face Shaun, a sudden intensity in his gaze. ‘Tell them to stay away! It’s just you and me up here.’

  Shaun nodded. ‘Okay, Bobby, no problem. I don’t need anyone else up here anyway. I know you’re a man who can see what he has. There’s a future for you, Bobby, and I don’t reckon you’re the sort to give up because it’s getting a bit tricky.’

  ‘I’m old, Sarge, you know? Not old compared to some — fifty ain’t fuck all these days. But I’ve been around a bit. Seen a lot in that time. I’ve learnt a bit too, and I’ve learnt that you got to pick your battles. I can’t win this one, Sarge. That’s just the truth.’

  ‘Maybe not, but there’s never been a fight more worthy. I didn’t have you down as the sort to chuck in the towel first sign of trouble.’

  Bobby let his eyes drop towards the gravel. He shook his head.

  ‘I’m so sorry it had to be you.’

  ‘Don’t do it on a Sunday then! I get the impression this was always meant to be me!’

  ‘I don’t mean like that. I knew you would come out today. But so did they.’

  ‘They? Who’s they?’

  ‘I don’t know, Sarge. You gotta believe me when I say I don’t know. But they know all about you — everything.’

  ‘What are you talking about, Bobby?’

  ‘They’ve got your kid. It’s Tyler, right? Your ex-wife too — I don’t think they had a choice. They were together like.’

  Shaun felt as if he had been kicked in the chest. It took several seconds to compose himself just enough to ask the question. ‘Who has? Bobby, what are you talking about? How do you know my son’s name?’

  ‘You gonna need to do some things for them, Sarge. I’ve got some instructions — some stuff you need to do and then you get them back. They’re gonna be fine . . . but you do need to do what they want.’

  Shaun could hear his own pulse singing in his ears. His mouth was suddenly dry, opening and shutting; he couldn’t find words. It was his feet that moved first, slowly backwards, edging away.

  ‘Yeah, you go for now, Sarge,’ Bobby said. ‘Do some checking, some calling around. It’s a bit of a change of pace. You don’t believe me, I know. But when you come back, make sure it’s still only you. I see anyone else and you won’t get another word from me. And no word to anyone about what we talked about. They’ll know. I’ll see you in a minute, okay?’ He turned and faced out over the drop.

  Shaun spun away. He strode back quickly towards where the sides of the viaduct met with a steep bank. He’d walked up this way via a hole already cut in the chain fence and a winding footpath shaded by trees. He stopped where he could keep Bobby in sight. He dialled his ex-wife and put the phone to his ear. Their son was with her. He used to have his boy most weekends but the on-call rota had scuppered that, too. They were probably out and about in Canterbury right now.

  The phone rang and rang. No one answered.

  Chapter 3

  ‘What do you want from me?’ Shaun moved back over to where Bobby was stood up straight, still looking out over the town, facing the sea. Shaun could just make it out in the far distance as a glittering line of bluey grey with big container ships hanging in mid-air where the horizon furred the sea with the sky.

  Bobby was still stood up on the thin wall — three bricks wide and hip height. He paced along the edge, jittery and uneasy. Far below, looking ant-like, a crowd of jeering urchins had gathered. Shaun heard one of them shout, ‘Jump, ya cunt!’

  Bobby Leonard’s demeanour had changed; he was a lot more agitated now and it had nothing to do with the shouting. But then, Shaun was agitated too.

  Bobby turned to face Shaun. ‘Look, this isn’t me right . . . Fuck! Okay, okay . . . They’ve been watching you a while, Sarge. Like I said, I don’t know who — so don’t even bother. They sent me out on this ledge to get you isolated. To get you in the picture. They want you scared.’

  ‘Who? Why?’

  ‘I already fucking said, Sarge! Fuck . . . You got to get better mate — do you understand? These people . . . I know their sort. They’re fucking ruthless, but they don’t want to hurt people. Causes too much of a mess, like . . . makes a real noise. You just have to play by the rules.’

  ‘What rules Bobby? What is this all about?’

  Bobby slumped to a sit on the wall. His legs hung towards Shaun, his back facing out. ‘The rules are simple, Sarge. You will stay up here on this level until you are told otherwise. You don’t speak to anyone out of my earshot again and you make it clear to your police buddies that no one else comes up here. Is that clear?’

  ‘Or what? You hurt my boy?’

  Bobby shook his head. ‘I don’t, Sarge.’ His voice was now meek, his whole persona had weakened, and it made Shaun all the more angry. Bobby’s chin dropped and his lank hair fell forward. It covered his face and wafted in the breeze. He might have been sobbing.

  ‘So who does?’

  ‘I told you already, Sarge. I don’t know! And, let’s be honest, right now, does it really matter? Does it make a jot of difference? Probably not, really. You are where you are and you can’t leave and you can’t tell anyone either.’

  ‘So what do I have to do?’

  ‘What you’re told. Follow the rules. Don’t come any closer either, Sarge. You have to realise that I’m all you have if you want to get back to your kid. If I jump, then you’re starting from nowhere.’

  ‘You’re not going to jump. This is all a ruse to get me out here and isolated. You said it yourself.’

  Bobby rubbed his face. Pulling his lips into a distorted smile, he became more animated.

  ‘Fucking THINK, Sarge! You have to start thinking. You have to be better than this or you are going to lose. And losing means everything. These people identified you as being right for the job. Fit for purpose, as they say. They worked out that you would respond to a call today and they knew you would work alone. You told me last time that you don’t like bringing two people out straight away. It could have been anyone walking out here today and waiting for you to rock up. Could it not?’

  ‘Okay, Bobby. Okay. So you told them all about us meeting.’

  ‘They chose me just like they chose you. Because I’m fit for purpose, too. I want to die, Sarge — have no illusions about that. I’ve been dealt a shit hand, I know how I’m supposed to die and it ain’t something I relish. Well, I reckon fuck that. I reckon it can be on my terms — how I want and when I want — that’s how I’ve always been. Some shitty disease that’s been sneaking up on me my whole life ain’t gonna take someone like me out. I want some control of my life and I want it to be for something.’

/>   ‘So your something is to deliver a message to me? To take part in the kidnap of a ten-year-old boy? That makes you worth something does it?’

  ‘Maybe not, Sarge. But maybe I can help. I didn’t take no willing part at the start, but maybe I can make you see that you have to listen . . . that you have to follow the rules and we can get this all sorted. Maybe if it was someone else up here they wouldn’t be able to do that. This was always going to happen and maybe I can be a part of putting it right.’

  ‘Without you this wouldn’t be happening, Bobby. Jesus! Who are you kidding?’

  ‘Wrong! You’re wrong, Sarge. They would have found someone else. They found me. Fuck, I wish they hadn’t.’

  ‘Tell me what you know.’

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘Who found you?’

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘They ain’t here, Bobby, that’s for sure.’

  ‘They’ll know.’

  ‘I’ll be clever. I just want to know what there is. I can still act like I don’t. I’ve done it before.’

  ‘They’ll know, Sarge!’

  ‘And you’ll be dead anyway! What the fuck do you care?’

  ‘I care because all I have to do is get you to play by the rules. Second guessing these cunts and then chasing them with your arse on fire, now that ain’t playing by the rules is it? Then it gets all fucked up and you don’t get your boy back or your happily-ever-after. They will know and you will pay for it.’

  ‘Like hell they will! Trust me. You put me here. Now you can trust me to get us out of this.’

  ‘They were very clear, Sarge. I need to give you a very strict set of instructions and I have to convince you to follow them.’

  ‘What instructions?’

  ‘Are you ready to listen Shaun? No more questions. Just listen.’

  Shaun reached down for one of the bottles, his throat suddenly running dry. ‘Tell me what you have.’

  Bobby took a second, his eyes to the ground. Then he started. ‘You have a contact at the port. Your girlfriend. They need you to call her and you need to get her help. Right now, there’s a lorry on a passenger ferry bound for Dover. She needs to make sure it gets through the customs people. It might already be marked up for a stop.’

  ‘What makes you think she can—’

  ‘Don’t even bother, Sarge! I told you, these people — they know it all mate. They know you, they know her, they know she runs the show down there when it comes to what goes through and what don’t. This is nice and simple for her, and that’s a good thing, right?’

  ‘Nice and simple? How is it nice and simple when I call her out of the blue and suddenly ask her to start letting traffic through or my boy gets hurt. What do you think she does from there? I can’t control her any more than you can.’

  ‘You can’t tell her that, Sarge. You can’t tell her nothing about your boy, about me — about any of this.’

  ‘This won’t work. This doesn’t work. You don’t know her — she’s a clever girl.’

  ‘You need to be cleverer, Sarge. You need to make this happen. Call your girlfriend . . . get that lorry through.’

  Shaun took a few seconds to try to digest the information. It wasn’t making much sense to him. Who were these people? How could they know about his personal relationships — his boy?

  ‘So you know my boy’s name. It caught me out a little. And you challenge me to call my ex and she isn’t picking up her phone. That doesn’t mean you’ve got him or her. If you’re messing with me, Bobby, you will wish you had just come up here and jumped silently to your death. Now, how about you tell me what is really going on?’

  Bobby had been swigging at his flask. He lifted his eyes. They streamed with tears, his face flushed red. He looked exhausted and terrified all at the same time.

  ‘I have to make you believe me, Shaun. It’s all I have to do. I thought you would have called up on that thing.’ Bobby gestured at the radio that was gripped in Shaun’s right hand. ‘I thought you would have done some checks? Do your checks, please! They were in Canterbury — they got them from there. They always go into the city on a Sunday, right? It wasn’t a quiet snatch, Sarge. They wanted to be sure that your people knew it had happened — so you would know it had happened. Just don’t go any further away. If you talk to someone else I need to know.’ Bobby’s eyes lingered on Shaun. They still streamed with tears and he did nothing to wipe them away.

  Shaun lifted the radio to his mouth. ‘Control from Alpha One.’ It was a croak; his lips and mouth still felt so dry.

  ‘Go ahead Alpha One.’

  ‘Control, do you have an eye on the Canterbury area? Is there an abduction job running over there? Or anything like it?’

  The controller took a few seconds to come back.

  ‘Canterbury are running a major incident in the city centre, which may involve an abduction. Are you away from the suicide risk at Langthorne? I didn’t get an update is all.’

  ‘I can’t hear it!’ Bobby interjected. ‘That’s one of the rules, Sarge.’

  Obediently, Shaun pulled the headphone jack out so the radio could be heard through the speakers and then spoke back into his radio.

  ‘No, no, control. I’m not away. I was just getting an update. Do you know the names for the persons abducted?’

  Another pause.

  ‘No, no. I can only see a description on the log at the moment. A female and a young boy. Witnesses are saying he was around eight to ten years old, brown hair. Not much on there at the moment. There’s no suggestion on here of anybody making contact or any request for a negotiator. I’ll let you know if that changes but for now you are free to deal with your Langthorne job.’

  ‘All received.’

  He pushed the radio back into its clip on the side of his belt. He twisted the bezel to turn it down. He took a moment to steady himself, his eyes scrunched tightly shut.

  ‘I’m telling the truth. You’re going to have to do what I ask you, Sarge. We both know it. Get in touch with your girlfriend down the port. She’ll have access to the customs manifest for the Spirit of Britain passenger ferry. There’s a lorry that’ll show as being registered to a company called Manesco. It’s refrigerated. The manifest will show as if it’s carrying pallets of tomatoes from Spain. You need to make sure they get through the port without any issues.’

  ‘This is a lot of bother for tomatoes,’ Shaun said quietly.

  ‘You need to make the call where you stand. And, Sarge . . . I’m sure I don’t need to say it, but a big part of your job is to make it clear that she can’t be telling anyone else what she’s been asked to do.’

  ‘She might not be at work today. I don’t know her—’

  ‘She went on at three. Handover takes around half an hour. Now’s the perfect time, Shaun. I still don’t think you understand your situation fully . . . how much these people have got stuff worked out.’

  ‘What if this Manesco lorry is already marked? What happens then? If the lorry has been marked to be stopped then it will be stopped from what I know.’

  ‘She’ll need to find a way.’

  ‘And I can’t tell her why?’

  ‘No. Let’s hope she trusts you, Sarge. She’s going to need to.’

  Chapter 4

  As she walked into the rest area, Jess Norris rolled her eyes at Alice Young. Alice responded with a wry smile; she was being regaled by their work colleague Simon Johnstone, and he was in full flow.

  ‘So, I dropped it on the new springs — it’s just about as low as it can go,’ Simon enthused.

  Alice was filling a large teapot. Jess raised an eyebrow at her.

  ‘Simon dropped his Volkswagen yesterday, Jess.’ Alice said.

  Jess looked over at Simon. He looked very pleased with himself.

  ‘Careless,’ she offered.

  ‘Golf Anniversary,’ Simon said. ‘Brilliant red. Absolute mint it is.’

  Jess sat down at the table and thanked Alice for the tea. ‘Simon, these are
all words that I know and understand — just not in that order. Don’t be offended. If I had the remotest idea of what you’re talking about, I’m sure I would be very impressed.’

  Simon was leaning against the work surface with his arms crossed. ‘Well, your boyfriend would be. Trust me, anybody who knows their cars would want her.’

  ‘Oh it’s a car!’ Jess exclaimed. ‘Shaun’s not into cars, actually.’

  ‘Not into cars! What do you see in someone like that?’

  ‘Well, the fact that he’s not into cars for starters. So I don’t have to hear him describing lumps of metal as a her.’

  Simon grinned. ‘I’m glad you didn’t make me a tea now.’ He walked towards the door. ‘I cannot take the blatant rudeness any longer.’

  ‘I don’t make tea for the early shift!’ Alice called after him. ‘You people get to go home!’

  Jess pressed her mug against her lips. ‘He definitely fancies you, you know.’

  Alice blushed a little. ‘Well, it’s all harmless. We both know I’m taken.’

  Jess remembered suddenly. ‘Oh, yeah! How was the night away with Dean?’

  Alice bit her bottom lip and stretched her left hand towards Jess. A diamond engagement ring sparkled under the strip light.

  ‘Oh my god! He didn’t?’

  ‘He did.’

  ‘Six months together! You don’t mess about, do you?’

  ‘Nope. If it’s right, it’s right. We haven’t finished unpacking the house yet!’

  ‘Good Lord. How did he do it? Tell me everything.’

  Alice chuckled behind her mug. ‘It was lovely actually. He was just a little unlucky. We had a delightful lunch, a bit of a walk around a few shops and that, and then he suddenly said that he wanted to go on the London Eye. You know . . . the big wheel over the Thames.’

  Jess laughed out loud, ‘I’ve not heard it called that before!’

  ‘Anyway, we turn up and he’s already sorted tickets, he must have booked ahead because he just scanned his phone and we got into a pod with loads of other people. It was really lovely. I’ve not done it before, but it takes off and we’re moving. Is takes off the right way to describe it?’