Family Secrets (18 page)

‘I’ll
ask you Dad. It’s quite a journey isn’t it?’

‘I’m
afraid so. You can use my car. There’s plenty of petrol in it.’

‘Okay.
Hang on a mo.’

‘He
isn’t happy but he says he’ll come. Where will you be?’

‘I’ll
wait outside the stadium area. If he follows the signs, the traffic shouldn’t be too bad by now. It’ll take an hour and a half, I expect.’

‘I
think we’ll both come. See you later.’

‘Bye
Mum. And thanks.’ She switched off her phone and then tried Joe again. Still his voice-mail. It really was bizarre. He must be home by now, she thought and dialled his parents’ home number.

‘Hallo?’

‘Hi. It’s Rachel. Is Joe there?’

‘What?
No, I thought he was out with you.’

‘He
was. We got separated and I wondered if he’d got home yet.’

‘No
love. We haven’t seen him since he left first thing this morning. Are you all right?’

‘I’ve
been better. My parents are coming to collect me. Tell him to ring me when he gets home will you? Thanks.’ He’d had plenty of time to get home. She shivered. It was beginning to get cold. Her anorak was in Joe’s car. She walked towards the entrance to the stadium and tried to warm up. She stamped her feet and hugged herself. What had started as a suitable outfit was rapidly deteriorating. A car came out from the car park and stopped.

‘You
all right love? Want a lift somewhere?’

‘I’m
fine thanks. Just waiting for someone.’

‘Please
yourself.’ He drove away.

Why
ever did she think Joe was going to be The One? He was a bastard. Fancy driving away and leaving her here. What was he thinking? How could he do it to her? Angrily, she stamped along the road, trying to keep warm and willing her parents to get here before she froze to death. At long last, she saw them approaching and waved. She opened the door as the car stopped.

‘Thanks
so much for this. I’m just about frozen to death. Shall I drive?’

‘If
you like. I don’t mind.’ Her father seemed less grumpy than she was expecting. ‘I’ll drive for a bit. We thought we might stop for something to eat if you’d like to.’

‘That
would be great. Thanks. We did have a burger but that was for lunch, hours ago.’

‘So
are you going to tell us what happened?’ her mother asked.

‘I
wish I knew. We both went to the loo and when I came out he’d disappeared. Gone.’

‘But
had you had a row or something?’

‘Nothing.
As far as I know, we were fine. We talked about the race and watching it tomorrow on television. I really can’t believe it. I’ve been looking round everywhere for him but no luck. The car’s gone too.’

They
drove back towards home, each one speculating on why Joe had disappeared. Her father was quite angry and suggested she kick him into touch. Once she was safely on her way home, Rachel felt much more tolerant.

‘There
must be a good reason for his behaviour,’ she told her parents. ‘This is so unlike him. And he hasn’t contacted his family yet.’

‘Will
they let you know? If he comes back, I mean.’

‘I
expect so. I’m starving. Can we look for somewhere to stop?’ Rachel suggested.

Soon,
they saw a pub offering food. Her father stopped the car and they went inside. It was warm and friendly. He bought drinks for them and came over to their table with some menus.

‘Everything
and chips, it seems. I’ll have fish and chips, I think,’ said Jemima.

‘Me
too, Rachel added.

‘Might
as well go for the same, then we shouldn’t have to wait too long.’ Her father went to the bar and seemed to be arguing with the barman. At last he came back to the table. ‘Evidently they usually stop cooking at nine and didn’t want to take our order. The barman went to check with the kitchen and they’ll do it as a special favour. Bastards. At least it’s something easy for them.’

‘I
suppose it is well after nine. God what a mess. I’m really sorry.’ Rachel suddenly felt teary and very tired. ‘What on earth has happened to Joe?’

Her
parents were concerned about him and what had happened but didn’t really believe it was anything more than some sort of tiff between the two of them. Her father was angry but unusually, said nothing against the man that had left his daughter. He’d certainly have something to say to him when he saw him again. Jemima said nothing either and was worried that Rachel was so concerned.

It
was getting close to midnight before they were home. Rachel decided she’d better not phone his home but would wait till morning. She fell into bed, thinking she would fall asleep instantly but she didn’t. She lay awake, wondering. At last, she decided to phone Joe on his mobile. It was still his voice mail that answered. At least he still had his mobile and it still seemed to be working.

‘I’m
home now and safe. Please call to let me know where you are.’

She
switched off her phone and turned over, trying again to sleep.

Chapter Three

Sunday morning. Rachel awoke to hear the phone ringing downstairs. She ran down to hear her mother answering it.

‘No.
He’s not here. Rachel’s just come down. I’ll hand you over to her. It’s Joe’s Mum.’

‘Hi,
any sign of him?’

‘No.
He never came back last night. I was ringing to see if he’s stayed over at yours.’

‘The
last I saw of him was when he went into the gents at the race track. He seems to have disappeared off the planet since then. Something must be wrong. I never thought he’d just leave me without some good reason. Do ... do you think I should call the police?’ she suggested hesitantly.

‘I
don’t know. Maybe he met some friends or something? I don’t want to cause a bother.’

‘I
know what you mean. Let’s wait till lunchtime and see if anyone hears anything. I’ll call if he rings me.’

‘What
a mess. Okay. Let’s wait till lunch time. Bye now.’

‘Bye.’
She hung up. ‘We’re going to wait till lunchtime and then call the police,’ she told her mother.

‘I’ll
go and put some coffee on. What do you want for breakfast?’

‘Just
some toast. I don’t really feel like eating.’

It
seemed a long morning, waiting for the phone to ring. Rachel put on her laptop to see if there were any messages, not that she thought there would be. She looked at the news but there was nothing. She went on the race track’s website, hoping there might be some message on there but it was full of news for the impending race. Her mother was busying herself with cooking Sunday lunch and was listening to the radio. At noon, the phone rang. She dashed to pick it up. It was Joe’s mother again.

‘We
haven’t heard anything. I’m going to phone the police. I wanted to tell you as they’ll no doubt be in touch with you.’

‘Fine.
I’ll phone them if you like?’

‘No.
It’s all right. I’ll do it. Bye now.’ She hung up and Rachel sat waiting, for what, she had no idea. She was eating, or rather picking at lunch, when the phone rang.’

‘That’ll
be the police I expect. I’ll answer it.’ Her parents looked at each other and continued to eat. ‘Hallo?’

The
police questioned her again about the events leading up to her being left behind. They asked about his state of mind and whether they were happy together.

‘Of
course we were,’ she replied angrily. ‘I thought he was about to ask me to marry him for heaven’s sake.’

‘Do
you think he was feeling trapped?’

‘Trapped?
How do you mean?’

‘I
wondered if he felt he was getting into something he didn’t want?’ the officer suggested.

‘Of
course not. He doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to. I take it you haven’t heard anything?’

‘We’re
investigating. Thank you for your time. We’ll be in touch again soon.’

‘That
was certainly worthwhile,’ she said sarcastically. ‘They think he’s taking a break from me. That’s about it really. Asked me stupid stuff about him feeling trapped. Ridiculous.’

‘I’ve
put your lunch in the oven.’

‘I’m
sorry. I can’t eat any more. You carry on with yours. I’m going out. I have to do something.’ She went out to her car and set off to drive towards the stadium. She then decided it was a ridiculous idea and turned round. She went to his house and knocked at the door.

‘I’m
sorry to bother you but I’m getting desperate.’

‘Come
in love. The police have just left. I think they may be on their way to see you.’

‘Really?
I’d better go home again. Did they have any hopes of finding him?’

‘Not
really. Suggested he may be taking a break and that was the best they could come up with.’ Joe’s mother was looking very worried and his brothers were unusually quiet.

‘I’d
better go back home,’ she said, ‘or I’ll miss them.’ When she arrived back at her own home, there was no sign of anyone being there. ‘Have the police been here yet?’ she asked anxiously.

‘I’m
afraid not. Can I get you something to eat?’ her mother asked her.

‘No
thanks. Please don’t fuss Mum. They’re supposed to be coming here any moment. I went to Joe’s home but they know nothing.’

At
last the police arrived. A man and woman, both in uniform. They came inside and began to question her about the last time she had seen Joe. She tried to be exact in all the details. Had she seen anyone hanging round the gents? Were there any people around who knew Joe? What was his car like? Where was it parked? All the usual stuff.

‘Okay,
Miss Sumner. We’ll keep you posted if we find anything.’

‘Thanks
officers. Please do. Is there anything I can do to help?’

‘Not
really. We’ll put out a call for anyone seeing his car initially. It usually works. Once we find his car, he probably won’t be very far from it.’

‘I
hope you’re right. Okay. I’ll stay here and await your call.’

It
was a long dreary afternoon and evening. Rachel was scratchy with her parents and unwilling to think about work the next day. At ten-thirty, she decided to go to bed. There was nothing else she could do. She tried his mobile for the umpteenth time, wanting to hear his voice once more, and this time there was no reply. The battery must have run out. She sighed and settled down to try and sleep.

Her
mind was racing round in circles. She varied from being angry at being left to worrying about where he’d gone. He would never have just left her at the race track, she reasoned. But who on earth could have made him go with them? He’d never have done it if he hadn’t wanted to. Or would he? The saga went on, round and round. Once she knew she wasn’t going to sleep, she got up and went downstairs. She made some tea and sat drinking it, her laptop beside her. The warmth of the mug was transmitted to her icy cold hands as she hugged it close.

‘Joe,
where are you?’ she murmured. She knew she couldn’t face going to work the next day ... today. She wanted to stay here in case he was found. The police would have to get in touch again. If they didn’t contact her, she would have to chase them. Nor was she taking any of their stupid comments about him needing a break from her. If he wanted a break, he’d have said so. But he’d been lovely all day, excited by the race and atmosphere. She wondered who’d won in the end? She looked it up on her laptop. Joe would be pleased ... one of his favourites had pulled it off, despite the odds. She smiled, thinking of his happy face. She closed her eyes and finally fell into a deep sleep. She was awoken by her mother’s worried call.

‘Rachel?
Where are you?’

She
jumped and looked round, trying to work out where she was.

‘Down
here Mum. I couldn’t sleep so I got up. I must have fallen asleep down here.’

‘Oh
my gosh, you gave me such a shock.’

‘Sorry.
Still no news. I’m not going into work today. I really can’t face it.’

‘You
must ring and tell them then. I’ll go and start on breakfast. And no arguments, you are going to eat today, young lady.’

‘Okay
Mum. I’m going up for a shower now. It might make me feel slightly more human again.’

Once
she had showered and dressed in clean clothes, Rachel felt better. She went down to the kitchen where her mother had cooked scrambled eggs.

‘You’re
going to eat this,’ she said, in a voice that brooked no argument. Rachel sat down and dutifully ate the eggs.

‘Thanks
Mum. They were good. Do you think it’s too early to call the police?’

‘I
think it may be. You could call your work though. Let them know what’s going on.’

At
nine o’clock, she dialled the police station. They had no news for her.

‘What
can I do? There must be something I can do to help.’

‘I
don’t think so ma’m. You could make a list of all his friends. Anyone he might have gone to stay with. Places he liked and may have gone to. Spend some time on thinking. Meanwhile, we’ll continue our search.’

‘Have
you tried the hospitals?’

‘Well,
we get a list of unexplained admissions. He wasn’t on yesterday’s list. Okay? I’ll be in touch later.’

‘Thanks
officer.’ She hung up the phone. ‘Nothing new. He asked me to make a list of his friends. I suppose I’d better do that next.’

She
sat at her laptop and began to make a list. She included people from work she knew about and several friends they met often. Then she began to list places he liked to go to. They spent so much of their time together, this was easier. Once she had finished, she went to print them off.

‘I’m
going to take these to the police station. Then, I’ll go and call on Joe’s parents. They must be going frantic by now.’

‘Take
care, dear. And give them my love won’t you?’

‘I
will. See you later.’

She
drove to the police station and gave them her lists of friends, saying she’d done her best. Nobody seemed terribly interested and she felt extremely frustrated.

‘Doesn’t
anyone care? He’s been missing for getting on for two days.’

‘He’s
an adult Miss. He’s entitled to go off on his own if he wants to. We are looking. I promise you,’ said the sergeant.

‘But
he drove away and left me at the race track. He’d never have done that willingly. Don’t you understand? He’d never do that.’ She found herself crying as she was speaking. ‘He’d never have done it,’ she sobbed.

‘Now
then, now then. Come on dear. We are looking and your lists will help us a lot. Come on, cheer up. Crying isn’t going to help.’

‘I’m
sorry. Someone has to do something though. I’m going to the hospital. Perhaps he’s there. Perhaps he’s lost his memory. Yes, that must be it. He must have lost his memory and that’s why he drove away.’

‘Did
he show any signs of that? I mean, from what you told us, you were only separated for a few minutes.’

‘Yes,
we were. Oh I don’t know. I didn’t sleep much last night.’

‘Then
go home and go to sleep now. We’ll call if we find any trace of him. Go on.’

She
turned and went out of the station. She got into her car and drove round to see his parents. They seemed remarkably calm.

‘We
think he may have gone to stay with one of his mates. I’ve called some but not everyone yet. I have to say, I do feel a bit silly. He’s a grown man for goodness sake.’

‘But
he would never have left me at the race track. Not like that,’ protested Rachel. ‘He loves me and would never just abandon me.’

‘Perhaps
he doesn’t care as much as you think, love.’ His mother looked slightly diffident about saying it. ‘I’m sorry to put it like that but perhaps you’re seeing more into it than there really is.’

‘I
don’t understand. You’re agreeing with the police? You think he’s taking a break from me? From all of us?’

‘He
might be. He wouldn’t be the first one now, would he?’

‘Well,
I hope you’re right. If he wanted a break from me, all he needed to do was to tell me. I’d never have stopped him from doing whatever he wanted to do. I’d better go home then. Let me know if you do hear from him. Whatever he says I want to know.’

She
sat in the car outside his house. She could scarcely believe what she’d heard. His own mother felt the same way as the police. They didn’t seem to be worried that their son was missing. That he had driven away from the race track and left her standing there? Surely they must realise it was out of character for him to do anything like that?

Another
day went by and still she heard nothing. No trace of his car and no trace of him. She felt it was distinctly odd that nobody had seen his car. Someone must know where it was and therefore where he was. Dear Joe. She felt herself growing teary again as she thought of him. He was so good looking. His blond hair curled like crazy, especially when it was wet. He had pale blue eyes, eyes which went well with his blond hair. He was tall and very slim. They fitted together beautifully. But now, he was missing and everyone thought he was merely taking a break from her. She knew they were wrong.

Rachel
had decided she must go back to work the next day. If nobody was willing to help her, she needed something to keep her busy. After another restless night she got up and was ready to leave for her job in an office.