He's Gone

by Alex Clare

  Still in the cardigan and skirt she’d been wearing that morning, Gillian’s hair was now back in a bun, secured by crossed pins. In the main room, she sank into the one armchair, reaching for the woollen throw covering the chair’s arms.

  At Gillian’s gesture, Robyn lowered herself down onto a spindly chair with a thin, hand-stitched cushion. Her knees were higher than her hips and she winced as the tape between her legs tightened with protest. Fortunately, Gillian’s eyes were turned to the window: they were level with the rusting roofs of the warehouses. Janice had taken a solid chair from under the small dining table and got out her notebook.

  ‘Thank you for seeing me again, Mrs Green. This is DC Janice Warrener – you met a few months ago.’ There was no reaction from Gillian, just her fingers twisting at the fringe of the throw. ‘We wanted to ask a few more questions.’

  ‘You haven’t found him yet?’ Gillian shuddered.

  ‘I’m afraid not. Would you like someone with you, a neighbour maybe?’ Robyn wondered if it was her appearance making Gillian uncomfortable then decided the woman must be short-sighted because she seemed to look through things rather than at them. The interview had to be handled with care to avoid losing any shred of memory.

  ‘Mrs Green, can you think of anyone who might have a reason to take Ben?’

  ‘No. No one.’

  ‘Do you know who Ben’s father is?’

  ‘No.’ Gillian showed no inclination to continue.

  Robyn gritted her teeth. From somewhere in the building, there was the sound of a toilet flushing. ‘Mrs Green, has anyone mentioned Ben’s father?’

  ‘No. Ms Chivers never speaks about him and Benjamin’s too young to ask any questions.’ Gillian’s voice sounded weary.

  ‘Does Ms Chivers have regular men she sees? A boyfriend, perhaps? I’m asking these questions because the first step in an investigation is to eliminate the family.’

  ‘I took a message for her once. A company rang with a deal to restart her subscription to something. I hadn’t heard of the company so I looked it up.’ Gillian gave a guilty look. ‘It was a dating agency.’ She pressed her lips together, then raised her chin. ‘I’m supposed to take messages, I wasn’t snooping.’

  There was a crisp noise as Janice turned a page of her notebook. ‘Of course not, Mrs Green, no one’s suggesting you were.’

  Thumps from the floor above rattled a cluster of photographs on the side table: Gillian stretched out to steady them. In a silver frame, a young woman wearing glasses and a skewed mortar board held up a scroll. A toddler looked into the camera with a grave expression – Ben, taken maybe six months before. Finally, there was one of Gillian herself, holding flowers, surrounded by young children.

  ‘You were a teacher?’ Robyn tried to imagine her keeping order.

  Gillian’s face lit up for a moment, then sagged. ‘All my life.’

  ‘So how did you end up working as a nanny?’

  ‘Schools were changing, lots of tests and pressure. I didn’t enjoy it any more. So I took the opportunity for early retirement. I thought we could use the time to travel and …’ There was a hesitation. Gillian leant back against the cushion.

  Robyn wondered why she hadn’t already spotted the bare ring finger, despite the ‘Mrs’. ‘You said “we” – was there someone else?’

  ‘I was married. Thirty-seven years. Then he left me, just after I’d retired. I don’t even think there was another woman. He just didn’t want to be with me anymore. My pension wasn’t enough and I didn’t want to go back to a school.’ Gillian was rocking herself in the chair, eyes unfocused.

  ‘How did you get the job with Ms Chivers?’

  ‘I’d signed up to a couple of agencies, thinking I could do private tutoring. Ms Chivers wanted someone who could teach. I’ve been there since Benjamin was six months old.’

  ‘Can such a young child be taught?’

  ‘He is part of a programme for gifted children. The lessons started before he was even born, with material played when he was in the womb. Ms Chivers values education.’ Gillian’s voice sounded prim. ‘We get packs sent through for home study, supported with spiritual and nutritional advice and he goes to school for group work.’ Robyn glanced at Janice, whose expression said ‘I told you so’.

  ‘So this is Ms Chivers’ way of giving Ben a good start in life?’ Robyn eased her position on the chair, hearing it creak.

  Gillian’s face was now in shadow. She nodded, once, twice. ‘You don’t know how hard she had it growing up. She never complains though she often talks about how nobody ever expected anything of her, how she had to ask for homework and stay behind to learn. Now she’s giving Benjamin the education she didn’t have.’

  Janice spoke from the window. ‘And is Ben happy?’

  Gillian tilted her head. ‘Happy? He does his work.’ She blinked. ‘Sometimes he doesn’t apply himself enough but he’ll learn. The programme says he’s getting all the training and guidance needed to be a leader.’

  ‘Even without a father?’ Janice had put down her pad. Robyn cast her a warning glance.

  ‘He must be happy; he hasn’t known anything else.’ Gillian’s voice was getting stronger, becoming a voice you could imagine reaching the back of a classroom. ‘Just like his mother. She’s so strong and she helps others. I’d only just started working for her, when my ex-husband tried to stop a payment and she sorted it all out.’

  Robyn raised her voice. ‘What kind of mother is Ms Chivers?’

  ‘Ms Chivers knows what she’s doing. She’s got a career and she earns enough to bring up a baby on her own. And the programme does wonders. I wish more parents kept up discipline like her, it’d make life much easier for teachers.’

  ‘And you do a lot for her?’

  ‘To help Ms Chivers, I do everything around the house, the chores …’ Gillian paused, the shadows on her face deepening.

  Robyn shifted her weight as her leg was beginning to cramp. ‘And Ms Chivers works hard?’

  ‘She works long hours and goes to seminars in the evenings, then there’s church and voluntary work at weekends. I feed and bathe Benjamin and put him to bed.’

  ‘What are you going to do when Ms Chivers moves to Switzerland?’

  ‘I’m hoping to go with her. I’ve never been there.’

  ‘It’s not decided yet, even though she’s going in a month?’ Robyn and Janice exchanged a glance.

  ‘No. She asked me how I’d cope when I didn’t speak German.’ Gillian sounded defensive for the first time. ‘If I don’t go, I don’t know what she’ll do.’

  ‘Gillian, please think. Where do you think Ms Chivers met Ben’s father? This could be critical.’

  ‘I’ve wondered myself.’ Gillian quickly touched each hairpin. ‘I can’t imagine where she’d meet someone good enough for her. I don’t know.’

  Robyn decided it was safest to agree. ‘Neither do we and we have to find out. You’re sure Ms Chivers never mentions anyone? Are you aware of any payments Ms Chivers receives or people who give Ben presents?’

  ‘Nothing.’ Gillian dabbed at her nose with the tissue.

  Robyn had wondered how to phrase the next question without setting off too many emotions. ‘Do you think Ms Chivers planned to be a mother on her own?’

  ‘Well I didn’t know her then.’ There was a small flap of the spotted hands. ‘Ms Chivers always seems to have everything under control.’

  ‘And does she love Benjamin?’

  Janice looked up from her notebook waiting for an answer but the question seemed to puzzle Gillian. After a moment, she reached down to her handbag and rummaged before pulling out a car key. ‘Ms Chivers bought a brand new car for me to use when I’m driving Benjamin when she decided my car wasn’t safe enough in a crash.’ She closed the bag before setting it on the carpet. ‘And she bought me the mobile so she always knew where he was …’

  ‘Has Ben wandered off before?’ Robyn hadn’t got what she wanted but needed to keep Gillia
n talking.

  ‘Never. We usually go to the shopping centre on Mondays and I think he finds it a bit overwhelming because he goes out so little, apart from school.’

  A gull screamed outside the window. ‘We’re aware of the recent dispute you had with a builder. Might Ms Chivers have any other enemies?’

  Gillian answered without pausing. ‘No.’

  ‘What makes you so certain?’

  ‘Because she helps everyone. Unless …’ Gillian tightened her grip on the throw. ‘I hear about the cases she deals with for the advice centre – some of the things those landlords try to do is appalling. Maybe one of them?’

  A clock chimed the half hour. Robyn swallowed. Ben had been missing for eight hours. Feeling her legs cramping, Robyn stood up, grateful to stretch her muscles. ‘Thank you, Mrs Green. I know this must be hard for you. If you think of anything, however small, please call us – time is important.’

  Gillian remained in the chair, face turned towards the picture of Ben.

  ‘Oh, by the way, have you spoken to Ms Chivers today?’

  ‘Yes. She phoned to ask me when I was bringing round the dry-cleaning.’

  9

  Janice had been silent as they left and sat in the passenger seat worrying at a mark on her trousers.

  ‘So?’ Robyn pulled out into the traffic. ‘What did you think?’

  ‘Gillian’s position seems pretty precarious and she’s obviously worried about losing her job. With Ben gone, Ms Chivers can’t go to Switzerland.’ Janice’s voice didn’t have its usual warmth.

  ‘Come on.’ Robyn glanced at Janice, who was staring straight ahead. ‘Can you imagine Gillian kidnapping anyone? And the pharmacist’s statement confirms she was in the shop when Ben vanished.’

  They were back on the ring road before Robyn ended the silence. ‘I suppose Gillian could have introduced Ben to a friend and sent her to take Ben. What do you think?’

  ‘I’ll check it out. I can’t see Gillian hurting Ben – she’s more of a mother to him than Ms Chivers.’

  ‘Everybody has their own ways of managing stress. Gillian thinks she’s a good person, even though Ms Chivers does sound like a pushy parent. The landlord angle sounds worth following up. We didn’t get much else new, though.’

  ‘There was the dating agency. I’ll see whether Ms Chivers met – oh.’ Janice broke off and sneezed.

  ‘Bless you. Can you also check with Graham, see whether he’s spoken to Ms Chivers’ mother and sister? They don’t seem a close family …’ There was a snort from the passenger seat. ‘… but we need to check everything.’

  Janice made a fuss of getting a tissue out of her handbag. ‘I wonder whether Ms Chivers bought Gillian a new car because she loves Ben or because she’s just protecting her investment.’ She blew her nose.

  ‘Oh hell, I forgot about the roadblocks.’ Robyn slowed the car, dreading how long it would take them to get through the queue of traffic in front.

  Janice’s phone rang. She took the call, with a quick look towards Robyn. ‘Hello, love. No. Is everything all right? Yes, OK.’ The phone went back into her bag and she folded her hands in her lap. Robyn turned up the air-conditioning.

  ‘How’s Martin enjoying retirement?’

  ‘He’s fine, thank you.’

  They moved forward. Robyn opened the window as a red-faced constable in a stab vest approached, holding out a leaflet with Ben’s picture. Robyn tried to remember the officer’s name.

  Janice leaned over from the passenger seat. ‘Hello, Donna. Got anything?’

  ‘Hello, Janice, ah, DI Bailley. Nothing on the boy, just a few minor offences.’

  ‘How’s your boy doing at the new nursery, Donna?’

  ‘Better, thanks, Janice. Best get on with this queue. Everyone’s being pretty good though, they all want the lad found.’

  As Robyn parked at the station, Graham’s Vauxhall pulled in beside them. He looked pleased with himself and started talking as Robyn was still struggling to free her handbag strap from the gear lever.

  ‘I’ve got something. The development at the Docks Ms Chivers is working on – you know who owned the warehouses before the current owner? The Dearmans.’

  The three of them walked together across the car park. There was no hint of the temperature dropping, even as the low sun cast long shadows across the pitted tarmac.

  ‘Guv, this could be big.’ Graham wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. ‘There was a time when the Dearmans were involved in every crime in Meresbourne somehow or another.’

  Robyn nodded for Graham to continue.

  ‘Kenny Prentiss got made DI because he spent his whole career locking up the Dearman family and their crew. One of his last gigs was to put Gabriel, Eddie Dearman’s son and heir, away for ten years for multiple counts of assault, fraud and general nastiness. So then baby of the family, Micky, took over from his father and things changed a bit.’

  Janice nudged Robyn. ‘All this was about a year before you came back to Meresbourne.’

  Graham grunted at the interruption but held the main door open. ‘Yeah. Things calmed down a lot with Micky in charge, because he was more like his grandfather, Old Man Dearman, who called himself a “businessman”.’ He mimed tipping a cap.

  ‘Now Gabriel was always Eddie Dearman’s blue-eyed boy because they were both thugs. But Micky was clever, didn’t want to go into the beating-up business and I think his grandfather funded him early on. When the Council sold land in the Docks, Micky bought a couple of warehouses, started holding raves. Probably kept his old man happy by giving him a quiet place to do people over or store things out of sight.’

  Reaching the stairs, they all turned for the canteen. Graham kept talking. ‘The problem came when Micky thought there would be easy money in property development. He gets a local consortium together and puts in a big application for a new casino and club. So when, after lots of wrangling, the planning application gets turned down, young Micky’s lost a pile.’

  He paused, letting this sink in.

  ‘How long have the Dearmans been in Meresbourne?’ Robyn had read multiple files on the Dearmans but there had been no crimes she was aware of in the last two years.

  ‘Since the Norman Conquest, if you believe them. That’s why they think they own the place. Maybe we should put them on the “Marvellous Meresbourne” heritage trail – number six, Croft’s Jewellery, scene of a Dearman hold-up …’ Graham laughed at his own joke.

  Robyn bought a selection of buns for the team, even though they appeared a bit stale. They walked to the lift. Janice turned to Graham. ‘So how does this link to Ben?’

  Graham began holding up the fingers of his free hand. ‘One, if Micky was forced to sell the warehouse at a low price, then he’s going to want to make the loss up now the site’s expected to get planning permission. Two, if the owners aren’t around, who’s involved and local?’ He didn’t wait for an answer. ‘Our Ms Chivers. Three, Micky doesn’t have fancy lawyers – if he wants to persuade someone to do something, he goes back to the old ways. Four, she’s off abroad soon, they have to act fast.’ Graham held up four fingers, then swore as he spilt his tea.

  Janice held out a tissue to Graham, taking his cup.

  ‘Taking a child would be a big departure from their previous work.’ Robyn pushed the button for the lift. ‘And if Ben had been kidnapped to get a cut from the land sale, why hasn’t a demand been made?’

  Graham was mopping his fingers and didn’t seem to hear the question.

  ‘Where did you get all this?’ Robyn stepped into the lift.

  ‘If you buy a man a pint after his horse lost, it’s amazing what he’ll tell you.’ Graham sounded smug.

  ‘How reliable do you think he is?’ Robyn wondered whether sweat was showing through her blouse and if she dared take her jacket off. The second floor corridor was stifling with unmoved air.

  Back in the incident room, Robyn called the team together for the six o’clock news. Ben was still onl
y a line in the national news but the local report seemed to be enjoying the drama. A long bulletin covered the press conference and shots of search teams in the park, before cutting to a dim room. A lean man, captioned as Reverend Lewis declared his church was praying for Benjamin’s safe return to their sister Melissa. The camera panned around a circle of people on plastic chairs, their heads bowed. The reporter then appeared live, standing outside the shopping centre on the footbridge over the muddy trickle of the river Gadd. ‘No one knows where Ben is now.’ He paused dramatically. ‘And, as the day passes, time may be running out.’

  Robyn turned off the television. ‘I hate the way everything gets dramatised. OK, everyone, let’s review what we know.’

  The team clustered around the evidence board to go through leads. Robyn listened, trying to maintain a distance and avoid getting bogged down in details. The investigation seemed to be going by the book – the team was working together well; everyone was now paying attention to Ravi as he summarised information coming in through social media. Robyn didn’t notice she was spinning a pencil in circles around her fingers until it dropped to the desk with a clatter. They had plenty of lines of enquiry but not one she could point to and say there was the strand she could follow to Ben. She forced herself to confront the fact that it might be her that had changed and she was too busy focusing on herself to see anything else. As she picked up the pencil, she noticed one of her nails had a chip in the polish. She’d have to redo them tonight, assuming she even got home tonight. And she had to call Becky.

  There was an expectant pause. In the background, a phone rang. Robyn realised Ravi had sat down and the team were waiting for her. She stood, conscious of being pinned between the team’s rapt stares and Ben’s steady gaze from the board behind which seemed to reproach her for not paying attention. She shoved her own problems to the back of her mind.

  ‘Right. It’s nearly ten hours since Ben was taken. These next few hours are critical because we have no sightings and no leads. We need to fix that.’ Robyn paused, making sure everyone acknowledged this. ‘Four lines of enquiry. Number one: we still don’t know who Ben’s father is. He could have found out about Ben and arranged a female accomplice to take him. Number two: Melissa Chivers’ work is linked to a controversial planning application in the Docks area and Ben may have been taken in connection with this. Three, direct attacks on Ms Chivers. We know a builder made threats when she stood up to him and a landlord may have a grudge because of her voluntary work defending tenants. Finally, we have a couple of known sex offenders in the area.’ Robyn became conscious of Janice’s gaze. ‘Oh and it’s worth keeping in mind Ms Chivers hasn’t reacted in the usual way to a child’s disappearance, which may mean something or nothing. We haven’t got a lot to go on so we’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way and be detectives. I want an update from all of you in an hour.’