“You’re fine right there. I’ll be over by the rose garden for most of the morning. Baby will be safe here,” he laughed at the affectionate name for the motorcycle.
“I best get started then. See you later.”
As the rider made to head for the building, something niggled.
“Hey, Liam, are you okay? You seem a bit nervous this morning.”
“No, Sam, I’m fine… think I might be coming down with a cold; nothing to worry about. You enjoy your visit.”
Each week the residents of the care home had a visit from a lively, enthusiastic hair stylist. Sam’s time with them was special; they looked forward with anticipation to seeing her colourful outfits and weird hairstyle, her ever-increasing tattoos and body piercing. The charismatic girl brightened their day with her chat about her latest boyfriend, her dog, and her passion for motorcycles and cooking. But her real skill was her rapport with the elderly. She had a genuine interest in the tales they told her of their life before old age took such a hold, and had endless patience when they repeated their stories week after week. She was indeed a tonic and often stayed longer than her allotted time and joined in an impromptu sing-a-long session. Staff too adored her.
“Sam’s a breath of fresh air,” commented one staff member, “a real find.”
“That’s you for another week Sal, we’ll go and have a cup of tea and I’ll collect Peggy, she’s next on the list,” said the stylist as she finished cutting Sal’s hair. She held Sal’s arm and guided her towards her place at the tea bar where staff fussed over her hairstyle as they served her morning tea and biscuit.
“Here’s your favourite, Sal, lots of chocolate for you this morning.”
Peggy was not in her usual place for morning tea break. Sam went off to fetch her from her room thinking perhaps she had nodded off, but the frail lady was not there.
“Anyone seen Peggy?” she called as she returned to the tea lounge. No one recalled seeing her since breakfast. The residents often had hospital appointments and such like so Sam was not unduly concerned. A member of staff announced that Peggy had earlier gone for a walk in the grounds with her son.
“It’s a lovely sunny day. Joe came for her; perhaps they are sitting in the garden or gone for a stroll to Great West Road to the ice cream shop. Joe often takes his mum there. Peggy likes her ice cream. I’ll pop out and see if they are sitting in the garden. Peggy won’t want to miss having her hair and nails done.”
GWR was an excellent care home that had recently been visited by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission, the body responsible for regulating such residential establishments. It had been commended for the high standards of care it offered the elderly, its good leadership and security of residents. It sat in a large estate on a corner site, a haven of peace where the trees provided quietness from traffic from the nearby road. It met all standards of care. The home had a strict policy of signing in and out of the building.
“I’ll check the book,” said a staff member. “If Peggy is out, her son will have recorded it in the book; her family is faithful at using our security system. Ah, yes, it says here that Peggy went out at 10:15 with Joe for a walk in the garden and they returned at 10:35. That’s about normal. Peggy gets agitated now if she is out for any length of time. She must be in the building somewhere. Sam, come and help me look, Peggy’s getting a bit confused, and she could be sitting in another room.”
Peggy Bryson could not be located anywhere in the building. A search was made of the garden. Liam, the head gardener, helped the distraught staff in the search of the garden and outhouses.
“I spoke to her and Joe around 10:20. We chatted about the flowers and the weather. They were heading for Great West Road, probably going to the ice cream parlour. I can’t recall seeing them after that, but I was busy over by the rose garden.”
Panic was beginning to set in. All available staff were called to help search for Peggy Bryson. Someone went to the ice cream cafe, but Peggy had not been there. Sam abandoned her planned motorbike ride and remained to help with the search.
A call was made to her son, Joe. Unusually, his phone was switched off.
“Maybe he’s taken his mum for a drive,” began a member of staff who quickly changed her mind. “No, he signed her back in, so she has to be here. Joe might be driving and has his phone off.”
Every area of the house and gardens was searched, outhouses, garden shed and greenhouses, nothing was missed in the search for the missing resident. After several attempts at trying to contact Joe, the senior nurse put a call through to Bobby. He did not pick up. Lydia had no option but to call Alex Bryson in Scotland, only to be be told by his wife that he was unavailable.
“Alex’s gone for the weekend on a team-building course with the firm he works for, to a remote mountainous area. They are very strict about phone calls; calls can’t be made until evening, and even then the signal isn’t always reliable. If I get through I’ll let him know later about his mother. I’m sure there’s a simple enough explanation. Have the boys dropped her off at a friend for the day? If they aren’t answering they may well have gone fishing. Alex seldom manages to make contact with them as there’s no signal where they fish.”
Alex Bryson was not, as his wife thought, at a team-building weekend. He had flown to London and joined his brothers to discuss his plan for their mother.
“It’s a crazy idea,” said Bobby when he finished listening to the senior Bryson.
“Not half as crazy as your stupid idea to tell her about Barry Jones; it’s tipped her over the edge and we have to take her away from GWR. There’s no way she is going to that hospital. I’m sure the staff do their best but there are not nearly enough of them. Mum will be even more confused. Now, here is what we do… listen up both of you.”
Bobby hung his head in total despair. “I’m scared Alex, I’m bloody scared.”
“Get over it, bro. Man up.”
CHAPTER 28
Joe, quietly, and virtually unnoticed by busy staff, had collected his mother from her care home. He packed a few essential items in her handbag and his pockets. The rest will just have to stay until we send for it.
“Let’s have a walk in the garden, Mum. Wrap up well.”
He signed out in his usual way and casually escorted Peggy out of the building. So as not to arouse suspicion he stopped from time to time to allow her to admire the flowers. He met Liam at a prearranged spot in the garden and handed him an envelope. He had confided in the gardener whom he had got to know well over many years of visiting.
“You know what to do. Just pop in and sign her back in when the place is quiet. We are grateful for your help, Liam; we have to do this for our mum.”
“You can rely on me. I’ll miss the old dear and you guys too; always enjoyed a bit of banter with you and they will have to drag information from me. I’ll play dumb. Can’t fault you for not wanting her to go to the hospital, she wouldn’t like it, not after here. Good luck, Joe.”
Peggy, totally oblivious of the escape plan for her, held her son’s arm, her fingers never relaxing as she felt the smooth material on his jacket, and strolled to the back of the garden shed where Alex and Bobby waited patiently in a car, ready to whisk their mother as far as they could from the threat of hospital admission.
“What kept you Joe?” cried the nervous Bobby. “We thought you were never coming.”
“Patience, bro, Mum walks very slowly, as you will be finding out for yourself.”
As they drove away, Liam, who did not require permission to be in the building, signed the book stating that Peggy Bryson returned from her walk at 10:35 a.m. No one paid any attention to him. Residents and staff were used to him popping in and out to refresh flowers.
“We’re going on holiday Mum, to the seaside. You’ll like that, won’t you?”
Peggy smiled and promptly
nodded off. Bobby sat beside her, clasping her withered hand, willing that human contact would help restore her to her former self. Her hand felt as cold as ice. Every vein protruded from the transparent skin.
“Stop sniffling Bobby. How can I concentrate with you sobbing?”
After several hours they stopped to change drivers and pick up coffee. A plaintive voice from the back whispered: “I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Oh heck, who is going to take her?”
When no one volunteered, Alex escorted his mother to the area of the garage bathroom, instructed Joe to fetch the coffee and Bobby to sit still. A woman entering the bathroom and aware of the man’s predicament, offered to take Peggy with her. She returned to Alex.
“Sorry, but she seems to have had an accident; does she have clean underwear?”
“I think so, in her bag. Look, I’m really grateful to you, you don’t have to do this you know.”
“It’s no problem. I care for my elderly aunt. I saw you were uncomfortable about this. She’ll be sorted in a minute. What’s her name, by the way?”
“Peggy, her name is Peggy.”
“Hello Peggy, I’m Rebecca.”
Peggy went willingly with her and was soon ready for the remainder of the journey. It slowly dawned on Alex that perhaps he and the others had taken on a bit more than they could cope with.
“We will just have to make the best of it,” he reported to his brothers as they took off on the next part of their journey. “There won’t always be a kind Rebecca around to help out.”
Alex had rented a holiday cottage by the sea. It was midsummer, the area was busy with holidaymakers; families played on the beach, children screamed in delight as they ran into the sea attempting to jump over waves without being knocked down, couples strolled arm in arm along the promenade, sea-front cafes were busy, making the most of the season. The scene unfolding in front of them belied the anxiety felt by Peggy’s sons. The family sat in the car, eating fish and chips, cajoling their mother to eat and savouring the sea air. Peggy had no interest in food. The boys hoped to merge in with the holidaymakers. The world looked normal but in Peggy Bryson’s life, normality had long been lost.
“You’re enjoying this Mum, aren’t you? You always like the seaside,” commented Bobby.
Peggy Bryson could have been anywhere; she was totally unaware of her surroundings.
***
Peggy Bryson was indeed missing.
Several hours had passed since Peggy had last been seen. There was no reply from any of her sons. Panic spread through the care home. Where was Peggy? Nothing like this had happened before. Staff, due to go off duty, remained to help search every corner of the building and grounds. Sam cancelled her plans for the day and remained to help. A search of her room showed nothing was missing. The staff member who saw her go off with Joe remembered she was dressed in her warm coat and had her handbag over her arm as usual. ‘Peggy, you are just like the Queen,’ the staff would comment to the elderly woman who always carried her bag with her as if it held treasured memories.
“There was nothing out of the ordinary. They didn’t see me; I was in the office and glanced up just as they left the building. If we don’t hear from her sons within the next hour, I’m calling in the police.”
Alice Bryson, Alex’s wife, eventually made contact with her husband, still believing him to be in a remote mountain area with his workmates. He did not enlighten her. She told of the care home’s concern for Peggy and insisted he phone them at once.
“You know I don’t like to be contacted about anything to do with your family. I was in the middle of an important ceramic plate for a customer when I was interrupted; most inconvenient for me, Alex. Get things sorted with your mother, once and for all.”
He assured her he would deal with it immediately. “I’ll be home Sunday evening, as planned,” said the scheming man as his wife ended the call. He sighed as he thought how much easier life would be if his wife was not so adamant about contacting her in-laws. I’ll never change her attitude to them.
The boys settled their mother for the night and sat together on the sun deck drinking beer and discussing their next move. There was a calmness about the beach now that it was empty apart from the occasional couple strolling by the water’s edge, a calmness that none of the boys were experiencing at that moment. Alex’s plan seemed to fly in the face of logic.
“I’m going home tomorrow evening. You guys have to take care of Mum and never leave her alone. It won’t be easy as we saw today, but there’s no alternative. I don’t know when I can get back down. I’ll phone every day. If it gets too much for you, we’ll have to regroup and rethink.”
Bobby piped up, “They must be panicking at GWR. I thought you said you would phone and tell them she’s safe. They are nice folks and we don’t want them to worry anymore than necessary or get into trouble over this.”
He promised to call the care home immediately.
“I’ll do it now,” said the elder brother as he walked down by the shore to a private spot, where he spoke to Lydia. He could hear the relief in her voice.
“Mum’s safe with us. We couldn’t have her put in that hospital so we’ll look after her ourselves. She won’t be coming back to GWR.”
The senior staff nurse berated Alex for his thoughtless actions.
“We could have discussed this more. There was no need to do that. How are you boys going to cope with her personal needs, her medication, and her confusion? She requires medication which can only be prescribed by a doctor. Are you sure you have thought this all out? It would be better all round if you brought her back here and we will have a rethink about her placement. Nothing is set in stone, Alex.”
Alex was silent for a moment knowing full well he had acted from the heart and not the head.
“She’ll be okay with her family. We will cope. She’s our mum. We have some medication here. We’ll follow the instructions.”
“And when you run out of it, what will you do? Alex, I have to tell you, the police are now involved. We held off contacting them until we heard from you or your brothers, and when that didn’t happen, I called in the police an hour ago. They are interviewing staff as we speak. Where are you?”
Lydia realised she was speaking to herself. Alex had ended the call.
***
Alex checked in in time for his flight north.
“We are experiencing a slight delay, sir, for this flight, due to fog. We will keep you informed. Check the departure board for updates.”
Alex groaned inwardly. This was the last available flight that evening and if he was delayed it would be disastrous for him. Alice still believed him to be with his workmates and expected him home soon. He became anxious knowing that he would be late for work next day and his wife would discover that he had lied to her. He took himself off to the bar hoping a few drinks might calm him down; instead, he became more agitated. An announcement was made that no further flights would depart that evening. There was nothing for it but to phone home and come clean. He held the phone some distance from his ear as his irate wife berated his foolishness. He would have to listen to it all again when he returned home. He spent a restless night in the departure lounge, cursing the weather, cursing his youngest brother, and generally feeling out of sorts with the world.
“I’d no choice, Alice; they were going to send Mum to hospital, to a ward for patients with dementia. She would be away from everyone and everything she’s known for the past decade, it would not be fair to her.”
“And you think you’ve done her some kind of favour by doing exactly that, taking her out of her comfort zone to an unfamiliar holiday place? What’s the next part of your crazy plan, or haven’t you boys thought beyond the present day?”
“We’ll work something out, she needs us Alice. I don’t suppose she could come…�
��
“Don’t even go there, Alex, we’ve had this conversation before. There is no way your mother can come here to live. It is out of the question. Get her back to the care home where she can be looked after properly. They know what’s best for her, and if it has to be hospital, surely that won’t be the end of the world. Anyway, from what you tell me, she won’t know where she is.”
“But Alice, they tell me that routine and familiar surroundings are essential for people with dementia.”
“Like the seaside you’ve taken her to, you blind fool. What’s familiar about that?” For all his bravado in settling scores with people who crossed his path, Alex Bryson was no match for his wiry Scottish wife who dominated him and kept him from straying back to what she often referred to as, ‘his old London ways’.
“You live here now in a respectable area, so wise up,” was the mantra of his resolute wife.
CHAPTER 29
At GWR care home, the head gardener, Liam, was becoming more and more uncomfortable as police interviewed members of staff. He was basically an honest man, a hard-working chap who was nearing retirement. He succumbed to the temptation of accepting cash from Peggy’s family for what he thought was easy money for a few minutes of work. He was worried sick in case they searched him and found him with a wad of money. With the frenzy of staff running here and there all day, he had no time to think about a safe place to conceal it. Spotting Sam’s motorcycle, he quickly placed the large envelope in one of the panniers. When called for interview he was unable to conceal his extreme nervousness: he was excitable and sweated profusely; his forehead and neck and his palms became moist, his heart raced. He felt ill. Suddenly, the enormity of the enquiry struck him; the stupidity and recklessness of Peggy’s sons’ action and his own part in it took on a more serious note. The detective interviewing him had many years of experience in police work and spotted the nervous man’s demeanour.
Scamper's Find Page 17
