Gone (8 page)

He’d been thinking about Ben ever since Emma’s dad mentioned him. Wondering what he knew, how hard it’d be to keep him quiet. But after talking to the dykey copper, he wondered if Ben was the least of his worries. He had to admit, seeing the photo had rattled him. Brought it all back. But he couldn’t get his head around it. Couldn’t work it out at all. He was in trouble and he knew it, but as long as he stayed one step ahead of the coppers maybe things would work out fine. Maybe finding Ben was the only way to go after all. Find out what he knew. He was always lurking around Emma, poking his nose in. He’d even tried to get his claws into Jenny – that’s how desperate he was. Always hanging around. So it was likely he knew something about how the body ended up in the ground. And Lucas needed to know what it was.

Chapter 14

10 February 1999

Lucas glanced around at all the crap – the teddy bears, the knick-knacks, the half-used make-up from Boots. The cans of Impulse scattered about the place, uniting to create a smell that stuck in his throat. She wasn’t bringing all that shit.

He tossed the red velvet box towards her and leaned back on her bed. He could see she was tense, expecting her old man to burst in at any moment. It was the first time he’d been in her room. The first time he’d been in her house. It’d probably be the last time. They weren’t coming back after this. Get what she needed and they were gone.

She was scared about what her dad would say if he caught her packing her bags. Lucas wasn’t stupid. No matter how much Emma tried to act like the bad girl he could see her for what she really was. Daddy’s girl. Her mum had died not long back. That’s what all this was about.

Emma picked up the box. She looked over at him but didn’t seem that grateful. The girl barely cracked a smile, rarely spoke either. Suited him. The less they said the better, as far as he was concerned. But sometimes he did wonder what was going on in her head. There was something different about this one. The other slappers he usually hung around with were all the same. Desperate for attention, couldn’t keep their gobs shut or their knickers on. Emma was different.

She opened the box and took out the necklace.

‘Real silver, that,’ he said, nodding at the chain in her hand. She turned it over. ‘Silver plated, anyway.’

‘Thanks,’ Emma said and put it back in the box.

‘Put it on.’

Emma rubbed the heart-shaped pendant between her fingers and Lucas moved behind her. He started to take off the gold piece of tat from around her neck but she pulled away.

‘What?’ he said.

‘Nothing,’ Emma said, her fingers clutching her neck. ‘It’s just this was my mam’s.’

‘So? This one’s off me. Put it on.’

She stared at the worn pink carpet and said nothing. He could see her hands were balled up. She was in one of her moods. She didn’t want it. Ungrateful cow.

‘Put it on,’ he said again, walking up to her, holding the necklace in his open palm. Emma reached out to take it. ‘Take that one off first.’

‘I can wear both,’ she said.

‘I don’t want you to. Take that one off.’

She was silent again, staring at the floor. Lucas took hold of her chin, forced her to look at him. He waited for her to do as she was told. Kept waiting.

‘Well fuck off then,’ he said, throwing the chain against the window. Emma flinched and Lucas pushed her away.

‘I’m sorry.’ She tried to take his hand. ‘Don’t be in a mood with me. I love the necklace but this is my mam’s.’

Lucas ignored her and opened the bedroom door. ‘Just get a shift on.’

Emma started to collect things together from drawers and shelves. Lucas watched her and wondered if he’d been wrong. If she was just like the rest of them. She was doing his head in. How long did it take?

‘Just leave it,’ he said eventually and took the bag from her hand. ‘You don’t need any of this shit.’

‘But—’

‘Let’s just go, for fuck’s sake.’ He pulled her out of the room by her elbow. She could say goodbye to all the teddy bears and knick-knacks. That life was over.

Chapter 15

14 December 2010

Lucas finished his cigarette and stomped it out, glancing behind him, expecting to see Detective Freeman hanging around. When she’d approached him outside the bedsit his first thought hadn’t been ‘cop’. She looked more like one of the Goth kids he used to torture at school. Long black hair with a streak of blonde at the front, and head-to-toe black clothes with a pair of dykey boots too. But as soon as she opened her gob he could hear it. Had that way of talking down to him like all coppers do.

Lucas watched people dribble in and out of the clinic. He didn’t recognise any of the faces. He supposed the junkies he’d known were either dead or had no intention of quitting after all this time. He’d known a few people in the past who’d come here, who reckoned they were going to quit and make something of their lives. He knew better. None of them ever did it. Most were back on the smack or whatever was their pleasure within weeks, if not days, and the ones who did give up had either topped themselves or were living an existence as crappy as when they had been addicts – but minus the bubble of comfort the drugs gave them. It was pointless. People like that never changed.

He wondered if any of the scumbags would recognise him. The staff wouldn’t know him, he’d never set foot in the place. He started walking towards the door. A young girl was leaving and he held the door open for her. She didn’t even look at him.

‘You’re welcome,’ he muttered and walked through the reception area. The middle-aged woman behind the desk didn’t look up as he approached. They might teach sobriety but they didn’t teach manners.

‘Hang on,’ she said and scribbled something on a notepad. Lucas said nothing but continued standing over her, watching as her thin hand shook.

The woman finished her note and sighed, ‘Yes?’ She looked up and did a double take. Lucas knew what it was. The shirt and tie. No one wore a shirt and tie in these places. The woman looked over her shoulder as if dealing with a shirt and tie was something she was incapable of, not in her job description. ‘Can I help?’ she asked, possibly more to herself than him.

‘I’m looking for Ben,’ Lucas said with a smile.

The woman frowned and shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, who?’

‘Ben. Sorry, I can’t remember his surname. He works here.’

The woman looked at him blankly. ‘
I
don’t know him,’ she said.

‘Well, it was a while ago. He helped me get my life back on track.’

The woman looked behind her again, starting to get flustered.

‘I just wondered if he was here, or if you knew where I could find him?’

The woman shook her head. ‘I couldn’t tell you that, even if I knew. I could ask and see if anyone knows him. What was it regarding again?’

Lucas smiled. The woman had probably been on a week-long training course in customer care. ‘I just wanted to thank him. He saved my life. I wanted him to see what he did for me.’

The woman nodded slightly. Maybe that was too much. He doubted many of the customers here actually were a success, never mind came back to thank anyone. That wouldn’t have been in the training.

‘I’ll go and have a word with my supervisor,’ she said and opened a door that connected the reception to an office behind. Lucas saw two more members of staff sitting drinking coffee: a young man who looked like he was on something stronger than coffee and was wearing sandals in December, and a blonde woman with tight jeans on. From behind she looked quite fit but as she turned around he could see she must’ve been at least late forties. Either that or the drugs had hit her hard.

The woman from the desk had left the door open. The pair were discussing something that’d been on TV the night before. Something about fat people. The receptionist stood, hovering until they noticed her.

‘What’s up, Catherine?’ the blonde woman asked.

‘Where’s Jessie?’

‘She’s gone out. She won’t be long,’ the blonde replied.

‘Something
personal
,’ Jesus-sandals said. ‘Andrea reckons she’s gone to the clap clinic.’

The blonde shoved him. ‘I never said that.’

Catherine stepped forward, interrupting their flirting. ‘Well, there’s a man here who wants to speak to someone called Ben?’ She shrugged. ‘I don’t know who that is.’ Lucas smiled and gave a little wave as they all turned and looked at him. ‘I said I couldn’t give any information anyway,’ Catherine continued. ‘He said Ben got him clean and he wanted to thank him.’

‘Well, Ben doesn’t work here any more,’ Jesus-sandals said. ‘He left ages ago.’

‘Oh, Ben! Ben Swales. I remember him. Aw, he was so lovely. Went back to take care of his mum, didn’t he?’ the blonde one said and received a silencing look from Jesus-sandals, who stood up and walked out to the reception area.

‘Ben doesn’t work here any more,’ he said to Lucas. ‘I’m sure he’d appreciate your coming, though.’

‘Do you know where he went?’ Lucas asked, glancing back at the blonde with the big mouth.

‘I can’t tell you that,’ Jesus-sandals said.

‘I only wanted to thank him,’ Lucas said. ‘Your colleague mentioned his mum.’

‘Yeah, well, Andrea shouldn’t have said anything,’ said Jesus-sandals, and crossed his arms.

Lucas nodded. He knew he wasn’t going to get anything else. ‘Well, thanks anyway,’ he said and turned to leave. As he got to the door he stopped and looked at the blonde, who’d come out of the office. ‘And thank you too, Andrea,’ he said and walked out.

He booted an empty can across the road, thinking about the twat in the sandals. Smug bastard. He shoved his hands into his pockets. He supposed it hadn’t been totally pointless. At least he knew his full name now. There had to be another way of finding Ben Swales. He wondered what time the library closed. And where it was.

Chapter 16

14 December 2010

Freeman rolled her eyes and played the third message. ‘Nicola, it’s me. Again. I know you told me not to call you and I know you’ll be threatening to send one of your colleagues round to knock me about a bit. But I miss you. Just please call me back and we can talk about it. We can go out for dinner. My treat. I just want you back. Call me.’

She deleted the message. ‘Prick,’ she said under her breath. How come she hadn’t noticed how irritating Brian’s voice was when they were together? They say love is blind but apparently it’s also deaf. Ugh. As if she’d ever thought she’d been in love with Brian. She barely even liked him. There’s a lot to be said for standards during a dry patch. In the future if she was stuck for a little male company she’d hire someone from an escort service and have done with it in a few hours. It had to be better than six months with some loser you didn’t even like who then had the gall to cheat on you. If he kept up the constant phone calls, then he
would
be getting knocked about a bit. Except it wouldn’t be a colleague doing it.

She walked through into the office to find a pile of notes on her desk and DC Colin Lloyd loitering behind it.

‘What’s all this?’ she asked.

‘That,’ Lloyd said, ‘is everything you ever wanted to know about Emma Thorley but were afraid to ask.’

Freeman raised an eyebrow. ‘I already know quite a lot about Emma Thorley, but go on.’

‘Okay,’ he said, ‘that is everything
else
you wanted to know about Emma Thorley but were afraid to ask.’

‘Such as?’

‘Such as a list of known associates of Emma’s and, probably more relevant to a murder investigation, associates of Lucas Yates.’

‘Okay,’ Freeman said and pushed Lloyd aside so she could sit down. ‘Tell me what I don’t know.’

‘Right.’ Lloyd perched on the edge of her desk. ‘James Thompson. Known as Tomo to his mates. He was expelled from school for taking heroin into his maths class. Clever little bugger. Nothing on him for a long time but no doubt he just hasn’t been caught. Dirty little skaghead.’

‘Just because he’s a heroin addict doesn’t mean he’s a criminal,’ Freeman said.