“But I...”
Fiona took a hold of Kate’s shoulders. “Kate, nothing else matters now. What matters is finding Joe.”
Jack had leant against the worktop for support and looked positively white. “I’m sorry Kate,” he whispered. She moved across to him and took his hands in hers.
“You’ve nothing to apologise for Jack.”
“I have Kate. I knew Ryan was trouble the minute I met him and I should have warned you. I should have tried harder to get you to see him for what he is.”
“He’s many things Jack but he wouldn’t hurt Joe.”
“I don’t know lassie, I just don’t know.”
Kate turned and looked at her sister. “He wouldn’t, would he?”
“I really think we need to call the police,” was all Fiona said.
But Kate was resolute. “No!” It came out louder than she expected, pulling Jack up short.
“That wee laddie could be in all kinds of danger. Fiona’s right, we have to phone the police.”
“It’s not that straightforward. I don’t want the police involved.”
“What do you mean? Joe is missing! Why can’t you see that?” Fiona was trying desperately to keep calm.
“Ryan wouldn’t hurt Joe,” said Kate, somewhat lamely and to herself.
“I’ve heard the rumours Kate. I know why Ryan had to leave Leeds.”
“That’s all it is Jack, rumours. He was set up by… someone. Ryan may be a lot of things but he would never hurt a child, and certainly not Joe.” Kate had regained some of her composure and was now pacing the floor.
“Set up... by who? I know you know more than you’re letting on.”
Fiona felt like a spare part. She silently left the room with her mobile in hand.
“It’s best if you don’t know Jack. Trust me.”
“Then for God’s sake, phone the police or I will.”
“Just give me a minute.” Kate half walked, half stumbled into her bedroom and reached to the back of the dressing table for a piece of paper that she hoped she would never need. There was a phone number and name on there that was firmly part of her past and she knew that once she rang it, it would all come crashing violently into her present. Just as she was about to dial, Fiona came into the bedroom.
“Do you still have the contact number?” she asked.
“Yeah. Never thought I’d need it though.” Tears started falling. Fiona sat on the bed next to her.
“You know you have to do this, right? ”Kate took several deep breaths and dialled the number.
“DC Ziggy Thornes,” announced the voice on the other end.
“Ziggy, it’s me. Kate Walker, or Kathryn Ward as was.” Kate’s hand was shaking, Fiona took her free hand in her own.
“Hell, this must be serious.”
“It is. Joe’s gone missing and I think he’s in danger.” Ziggy stood up from his desk and raked his hands over his head.
“Shit. Right. Where are you?”
“Same place but I’m in the flat above Harbour Café.”
“I’ll contact the local force, then I’ll kick things off here. Keep this phone with you. Kate, do you have any idea who might have taken him? ”
Kate hesitated and looked at Fiona for reassurance. For the sake of protecting her son she had to give up Ryan’s name.
“Kate? You still there?”
“Yes, sorry Ziggy, I’m still here.” She exhaled loud and slow, feeling the breath in the pit of her stomach. “He’s with Ryan Albright,” she almost whispered into the mouthpiece.
“What the hell? What has he got to do with anything? Don’t answer that. Right now we need to find your son. Jesus, this is a disaster.” She could hear Ziggy tapping away frantically at his keyboard, probably pulling up Ryan’s extensive criminal record. “Look keep this line clear and I’ll be back in touch. And Kate? Stay right where you are.”
The line went dead.
40
“What do you mean you’re going to be frigging late Ryan?” Daz spat into the phone.
“Chill. I was late setting off. I’ll be there about 11pm.”
“For fuck’s sake Ryan man, this had better not be a fuck up.”
Ryan could hear Sean kicking off in the background. “What difference does it make, you’re still getting your kid back.”
“Is he there, put him on the phone.”
“Nah bro, you’ll have to wait until we get there. Have you got the money ready?”
“Yeah. It’s all here.”
“Cool, see you soon then.”
Ryan chuckled to himself. He was nearly out of this unholy mess once and for all. Getting the kid had been easier than he thought. He’d spotted Fiona dropping Joe off at Cubs, and boom, there was the perfect opportunity delivered right into his hands. At least something had gone right. He knew he’d gone too far with everything else but once he set off down the road of violence he’d had no choice but to continue.
‘Ah fuck it,’ he thought, ‘I won’t be around for much longer anyway.’
He was pretty sure that Kate didn’t suspect anything. She might have put a few of the pieces together but he was confident that she didn’t have the whole picture. He couldn’t believe how easy it had been to win her over. He figured that living in relative isolation for two years would do that to any woman. She’d been starved of affection and he’d had her eating out of the palm of his hand. He smiled to himself; Kate had lapped up every scrap of affection he had thrown her way.
Ryan checked in the rear-view mirror to see that Joe was settled in his seat. Joe had always been an easy target. He’d won the boy over the old-fashioned way; illicit sweets when mum said no and of course the shared secrets that unwittingly tied Joe into a conspiracy with him. One threat to expose the lies Joe had told had soon put him in his place.
Renting the hire car had been a doddle. He’d taken a detour via Inverness on his way back, hired an Audi S Line and driven back to Gairloch. He’d used his real name, there was no need to hide. He’d soon be on a plane out of there. He pictured himself maybe working in a beach bar, getting friendly with the tourists. The thought excited him massively. A fresh start, leaving all this shit behind him and starting again.
A little voice popped up from the back seat, “Where are we going?”
“It’s a secret and we like our secrets, don’t we?”
“Is it another one I’m not to tell mummy?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Whose car is this?” asked Joe, playing with the middle armrest.
“It’s my new car. Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it’s cool. Does it go fast?”
“It does. I’ll show you how fast when we get to the motorway.”
“Have you got any sweets?”
“Course I have, here.” Ryan reached onto the front passenger seat and threw a bag of sweets over his shoulder. It just missed Joe’s head. The boy grabbed the bag from where it had landed on his lap and pulled it open. A rainbow of coloured wrappers spilling everywhere.
“Sorry,” he murmured, glancing cautiously up at Ryan in the mirror. Joe hastily gathered together as many as he could and stuffed them back into the torn bag.
“No worries mate, just make sure you put them all back in. And put the empty wrappers in the bag too.” Ryan didn’t want to waste any time clearing up after the kid once he’d dropped him off.
“Are we nearly there yet?” came the predictable question.
“Not yet. Let’s have some tunes on, shall we?” He was sick of speaking to the kid now. Ryan turned the radio on and some inane pop music started. He glanced in the rear-view mirror again and saw that Joe was nodding away to the music. He seemed happy enough.
Ryan’s mobile rang. “What now?”
It was Daz again. “How long will you be?”
“Jesus, I’ve already told you. A couple of hours.”
“Is he OK?”
“Yeah. He’s got sweets and I’ve put some tunes on
. He’s well happy.”
The call ended and Ryan checked in with his passenger. “Alright in the back?”
“Who was that? Was it mummy?”
“Nah, someone much better than that.”
“Really?” Joe couldn’t think of anyone else.
“Well it was going to be a surprise but we’re off to see your dad.”
“My dad? I thought I wasn’t allowed to see him?”
“Well you can today.”
“Will mummy be there too?”
“No, not today sunshine. This is a special treat just for you.”
Joe didn’t answer straight away. “It would be nice to see him,” mused Joe. “Mummy never really said much about him.”
“Remember when I told you that me and your dad used to be mates? Well, he phoned me and said that he would like to see you so that’s where we’re going.”
“Oh, OK.” said the ever-trusting Joe.
‘Kids are so accepting of lies,’ thought Ryan.
“Are we nearly there yet?” asked Joe, again.
“No. Why?”
“Cos I need a wee.”
“I’ll stop soon enough so we can get a drink and go to the loo.”
Ryan turned the music back up and headed towards the motorway. His mind was already on that flight to Australia. Just the small matter of delivering Joe and he would be on his way.
41
Molly had had enough of being kept in the dark. She didn’t trust a word that came out of Ryan’s mouth, and now she knew that Dad hadn’t been staying at Sheildaig Lodge she was confused and worried about exactly where her dad was and what the hell Ryan had done to him.
She pulled up outside The Kingfisher. It had been a couple of years since she had been back to her childhood home. Molly had left home when she reached 17 and met her husband Michael shortly afterwards. They had moved in together and married as soon as Molly found out that she was pregnant. Once mum had passed away, she really had no reason to visit. Relationships with her dad had never been great. He’d been a hard taskmaster, and although she had stuck it out longer than Ryan she jumped at the chance of a fresh start as soon as she could. That wasn’t to say she didn’t care about her father. He was still family after all but apart from running the pub he very rarely wanted to leave Gairloch and was content enough to live a quiet life.
Bracing herself before entering the pub, Molly took a couple of deep breaths and opened the double doors that led into the main bar. It was fairly quiet now, just the few autumn walkers scattered around. She looked at her surroundings and noticed that the old place hadn’t changed much at all since she had last visited. There was still the same wallpaper that had a yellow tinge from the smokers, and the floor was still the cheap vinyl that became gradually stickier as beer got spilt throughout the evening. She glanced behind the bar and saw Janice cleaning pint glasses. She approached and noted that the barmaid seemed to have aged since she last saw her.
“Hiya Janice, you alright?” asked Molly, leaning against the bar.
Janice looked up, “Well look what the cat dragged in! Molly hen, how lovely to see you.”
Molly laughed, noticing that Janice’s eyes had a sparkle in them, waiting for gossip no doubt. “Hi.” Molly decided to cut to the chase, “Is Ryan around?” Molly had been trying his mobile constantly since she’d spoken to Hamish at Sheildaig but it continued to go to voicemail.
“Ryan? No lovely, he’s never here. He’s supposed to be looking after this place whilst your dad’s away but I rarely see him. Is Len coming home then?”
Molly knew she had to be careful how she played this. She wanted to find out what Ryan had been telling people before she went into full-on panic mode.
“Do you know how I can get hold of him? His mobile’s turned off.”
“No, he wouldn’t tell me. You can check in the flat though if you like?”
“That would be great Janice, thank you.”
Janice lifted the bar access and let Molly through.
“Here, here’s the key. I don’t go up there, don’t want him to accuse me of interfering with his stuff.”
Molly took the key and thanked Janice again before heading upstairs. She unlocked the door and let herself in. The place looked as though it had been ransacked. The sparse furniture was tipped over, cushions removed from the battered old sofa, the kitchen chairs pushed onto their sides. Molly moved carefully through the debris and opened the bedroom door. If she didn’t know better she would think that there had been a break-in. All the bedding was stripped off the bed, the wardrobes were open and empty and all the drawers on the dressing table were laid bare. The room was as empty as it could be.
Taking stock of everything around her, it was clear that Ryan had left, and in a hurry. She pushed the creeping anxiety down and tried to make sense of what she was looking at. She had no idea what to do next. She felt tears creeping into her eyes, but she was determined not to let them fall. She had to get to the bottom of what was going on. She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Oh my, what a mess.” Janice appeared behind her. “Looks like he’s gone then?”
“Yes,” said Molly slowly. “Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”
“Nah, he wouldn’t tell me. Could he have gone back to Leeds, though I doubt he’d be welcome there after all those stories I heard.”
Molly turned quickly on Janice. “What stories?” she demanded.
“Oh I’m sure they’re not true. I don’t want to upset you. Why don’t we go back into the bar?”
“What stories Janice?”
“Those about the kiddies, why Ryan had to leave.”
“What?”
“I don’t know the whole thing, just what I heard but he had to leave Leeds after something to do with kids. I mean I’m not saying they’re true but...”
Molly interrupted. “Janice I have no idea what you’re talking about or suggesting so I suggest you keep your mouth shut. I need to find Ryan urgently. Do you know who he might be with?”
Janice was taken aback with Molly’s tone. “Your best bet is that café owner Kate. He’s been as thick as thieves with her recently. I’m not one for...”
“Gossip, yes Janice I know. Do you have a number for her?”
‘How rude,’ thought Janice at being interrupted. “Yes, it’s downstairs.”
Janice turned to head back into the bar. Molly took a last look around and left the flat, locking the door behind her.
Once downstairs, Janice scrolled through her phone.
“I don’t have Kate’s number, she works at the Harbour Café. I say works, it seems Jack is handling the place...”
“Janice!” said Molly sharply, running out of patience. “Whose number do you have? What about Jack?”
“Oh did you hear about him? He had an accident recently. Fell down his cellar steps.”
“It’s OK, I’ve got Jack’s number.” Molly turned from the bar and fished her phone out of her bag. She rang the number that he had left her when he had visited him but it was his house number and there was no answer. Reluctantly she turned back to Janice who was looking highly pissed off at being cut off mid-sentence.
“I’m sorry Janice, I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just under a bit of pressure so if you can help that would be appreciated. Do you have a number for the café, or can you get it for me please?” Molly realised that she needed Janice onside if she stood any chance of getting to the bottom of everything.
Janice’s expression shifted slightly, appeased by Molly’s feeble apology.
“Yes, here’s the number. But listen to me first.”
Molly breathed deeply and let Janice continue. Sensing that she had Molly’s attention again, Janice continued with her tale.
“So, as I was saying. Jack took a tumble down his cellar steps and ended up in hospital. He was in a bad way, it was touch and go for a while I think. Anyway, just before he had his fall he was in here asking about Ryan. Now I’m not one to
put two and two together but it makes you wonder doesn’t it?”
Molly was confused and thought she’d missed something. “What do you mean?”
“Well, is it coincidence that not two days after Jack’s in here asking questions, he goes and has a fall? Jack’s lived in that house for years, why would he suddenly fall?”
Molly took on board what Janice was hinting at, but she didn’t have time for that now. She had to find out where her dad was. She dialled the number Janice had given her. To her surprise, Jack answered the phone.
“Jack?”
“Aye, Harbour Café, who’s that?” questioned Jack.
“Jack, it’s Molly, Len’s daughter.”
“Oh hello hen, how did you know I was here?”
“I didn’t. I’m at The Kingfisher and Janice said Kate might know where Ryan is.”
Jack went silent.
“Why would Kate know?”
“I have no idea, Janice said he’d been around there a lot recently and I need to find him.”
“You’re not the only one Molly, we’re looking for him as well.”
“Why, what’s happened?”
“Kate’s son Joe has gone missing and he was last seen with Ryan.” Jack’s voice was low and he was almost whispering.
“Oh hell. Jack I’m sorry but I think Ryan is behind more than that.” Molly felt an icy vein of fear wash over her. She tried to get her thoughts in order but she was overwhelmed. “I have no idea where dad is, and I think Ryan has done something to him.”
Silence again.
“Jack, are you still there?”
“Yes, yes I’m still here. Look, we’re waiting for the local police to turn up about Joe. Why don’t you head down here and you can tell them about Ryan at the same time?”
Molly hesitated, unsure what to do. She wanted to wait at the pub in case Ryan showed up but she also wanted to find out more about Jack’s fall. Could Janice’s suspicions be right? Could Ryan have pushed Jack down the stairs? And if he could do that to Jack, someone he hardly knew what the hell else was he capable of? And why had he taken Kate’s son.
The Lie She Told: All Kate wanted was a peaceful life, all Ryan wanted to do was destroy it. (Thornes series Book 1) Page 16
