The Well (15 page)

“Do you have their full names?”

“Some of them. Hannah’s her best friend, Hannah Davis.”

A look of recognition passed over Stephen’s face. “I know Hannah,” he said. “Her Dad’s on the force. Works with me. He’s been a policeman in Bankside all his life, you must have seen him around?”

Sarah nodded, “Yes, dropping Hannah off at school, but I didn’t know he was a policeman. I don’t really know him.”

Sarah listed Becca’s other friends, although she couldn’t remember how to spell Nisha’s surname.

“What about Matt’s friends?” asked Stephen.

“As far as I know,” said Jim, “Matt’s not made any real friends since we moved here.” He saw Stephen’s eyebrows furrow and realised that they’d missed out a key part of the story. “Matt and I only moved in with Sarah and Bec-
Rebecca
a few months ago,” he said.

“Everyone calls her Becca,” interjected Sarah.

“I used to live on the other side of Manchester. When Sarah and I decided to live together, this seemed a nicer place to live.”

Jim looked uncomfortable and Sarah shot him a glance:
go on
.

“Er – and we thought it would be better for Matt to get away from some of his friends. He’d fallen in with a bit of a bad crowd and had started getting into trouble. Nothing serious. He’s been so much better since we moved here.”

“I’m sorry to have to ask,” said Stephen, “but what kind of things?”

Jim flushed. “Bullying at school. Smoking. That kind of thing. He’d had a warning from school.”

“You’d be amazed how many upstanding people have a bumpy start in life,” said Stephen. “As you said, nothing serious, or relevant.”

Stephen paused. “What about Becca’s father? Are you separated?”

Sarah nodded. “Yes. Why?”

“Have you told him that Becca’s missing?”

“I doubt that he’d care,” said Sarah, knowing it not to be true. She softened a little. “I guess I’d better call him.”

“Is there any chance that Becca would have gone to him?”

Sarah shook her head emphatically. “Not in the slightest, trust me. Neither of us have seen him for years and that’s the way we both like it.”

“All the same –”

Sarah sighed. “I’ll call him.”

The doorbell rang. Sarah ran to answer it and was dismayed to find that it wasn’t Becca – and concerned to see two more policemen at the door.

Jenny Greenwood went to Sarah and led her back to the sofa and sat down beside her. “I know this is frightening,” she said. “But most missing children honestly turn up pretty quickly once we start looking – especially when there’s more than one missing.”

“Why’s that?” asked Sarah.

“Well, it’s fairly rare that more than one child is abducted at the same time, especially if one of them is an older boy. From what you’d said, it sounds like Matt can handle himself. We can’t rule it out, but it makes abduction less probable. Very likely we’ll find them before long.” Jenny paused and looked Sarah directly in the eye. “But we take this
very
seriously. That means a lot of police are going to be involved very quickly. That in itself can be frightening, but we’re just doing what you’d want us to do.”

Sarah nodded. Jim noted that they’d singled Sarah out as the one most in need of support.

“You’ll be assigned a liaison officer,” said Jenny. “Just so you’re only having to talk to one person. That person will tell you whatever we find out, whenever it happens.”

“Will it be you?”

“I don’t know, but it’s likely to be me or Officer Carter – Stephen.”

“So what’s the first step?” asked Jim.

Stephen, who had been talking to the other two policemen, stepped in again.

“We’ll start by talking to her friends. As soon as we can organise it, we’ll search along their normal route home. We’ll need you to show us where you think that is. Then we’ll start checking CCTV footage along the route: shops, petrol forecourts, banks, pubs – you name it. You’d be amazed how many cameras there are even in a small town like this. We’ll also be requesting help from neighbouring forces – what you see here is nearly half of Bankside’s finest.”

Stephen saw the panic on Sarah’s face.

“Don’t worry, Mrs Richards. We have procedures for events like this. We may not have the manpower out in the sticks, but we can soon draft it in. That includes CID as well as bobbies. We’ll set up an incident room – probably at the school or the community centre, since our station isn’t big enough. And someone will be put in charge – what we call a SOCO, a scene of crime officer.”

“Oh God,” said Sarah, breaking down, feeling that she was now at the centre of something unstoppable and massive. Jim went to comfort her, but he was now feeling tearful himself.

“I know it sounds scary,” said Jenny.

Sarah nodded, tears streaming down her face.

“What if they turn up in half an hour?” asked Jim.

“No one will be more pleased than us,” said Jenny. “Honestly. But we can’t assume that will happen. So we have to get moving and apply as much effort and resources as we can.”

“Don’t worry,” said Stephen. “I’m sure we’ll find them.”

11

Becca sat in the chilly water, watching the daylight fading slowly above her.

She was truly worn out; every single part of her body was aching and tired. She’d also started to cough, her body shaking against the cold.

For the last few hours, she’d forced herself to stay awake, hoping to hear the mobile phone chime with an incoming text or, better still, ring. Even though she couldn’t possibly answer it, it would be comforting to know that people were starting to look for them. But she’d heard nothing and now the idea was growing inside her that somehow, for some reason, her call had failed. Her elation had slowly turned to despondency, like a weight that dragged her heart down.

Now, tired beyond measure, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep and much-needed sleep, beyond caring about the possible terrors of the night ahead.

12

“Hannah?”

There was a gentle knock on the door.

“Hannah? You awake? It’s Dad.”

Edward Davis slowly pushed the door open, as Hannah struggled to sit up, rubbing her eyes.

“What time is it?” asked Hannah.

“Half past late,” said Ed. “Sorry to wake you, Han, I thought you might still be up.”

“What’s up?”

Ed sat on the edge of Hannah’s bed. She noticed that her Mum was standing just inside the door. Her father’s breath smelt of beer, as it often did. She hoped that he wasn’t in a bad mood. Although she wasn’t sure if her father had hit anyone when he was drunk (since he had never hit her), he and Hannah’s mother did have some epic arguments. All the same, when he had been drinking, she tried to keep out of his way.

“What’s up?” she asked again, her voice now alert and worried. “Is it Grandma?”

“No, Han,” said Ed. “It’s Becca.” He paused. “She’s missing. So’s Matt.”

“Shi – sorry, Dad.”

“It’s OK. I think when your best friend goes missing it’s OK to say shit.”

Hannah tried not to blush. “Did Becca’s Mum call?”

“Well, no,” said Ed. “Sarah’s called the police. Steve was on duty. He said you were one of the last people to see her.”

Hannah nodded.

“Well, look. We’ll need to interview you properly, tomorrow. You understand?”

Hannah nodded again. “Yes, Dad.”

“But when someone goes missing, it’s important to move quickly. Do you mind me asking you some questions?”

Hannah shook her head. “No.” She didn’t sound convinced.

“Look,” reassured Ed. “I know it could be a bit embarrassing. I’m your Dad, and normally I wouldn’t interview you. But I want to speed things up. It’s important. And there’s nothing –
nothing
– you can tell me that will make me angry. Becca and Matt are missing and we have to find them. OK, Han?”

Hannah pulled her quilt to herself, glanced down and then looked her father in the eye. “It’s fine, Dad, honestly.”

“Good girl. Now, when did you last see Becca?”

Hannah reiterated what she’d said to Sarah – but more thoroughly. Her father quizzed her on every sentence, gently teasing out all of the detail.

“Why do you think Becca lied to you?” asked Ed, his eyes watching her carefully.

She dropped her gaze. “Dad –”

“It’s OK, Han. I don’t care what it is. We just need to find them. Anything could help.”

Hannah swallowed. She’d turned bright red.
Shit
, she thought,
this is not a conversation you want to have with your Dad.
Her mother came into the room and sat down beside Ed. She reached for Hannah’s hand; Hannah grasped hers and held it tightly.

“Julia –” Ed began. Julia shot him a glance and he gritted his teeth. After fifteen years on the force, he was a good interrogator, but when it came to Hannah he knew (but resented) that Julia would probably get answers more readily than he.

“It’s OK, Hannah,” said Julia. “I know this is hard. I know you don’t want to tell on your best friend. But anything you know could help. Please.”

“Mum,
please
.” Hannah took a deep breath. “I think that Becca and Matt were – you know –
doing it.
”

Ed and Julia looked at each other.

“I know it sounds icky,” said Hannah. “But they’re not proper brother and sister.”

“Hannah,” said Ed, more sternly than he’d intended. “Becca’s only fourteen.”

“
Daadd!
”

Julia quickly tried to smooth things over. “What makes you think that Becca and Matt have been sleeping together, Han?”

Hannah explained as best she could, but the more she explained, the less likely it seemed.
It’s just a random collection of little things
, she thought. But her mother and father didn’t seem to doubt her.

“Hannah,” said Ed, “do you think they would run away together?”

Hannah shrugged. “I dunno. It doesn’t seem like Becca.” She hesitated. “
And not like Matt
.”

Julia stroked her daughter’s hand. “Don’t you like Matt?”

“He’s OK. Well, not really. He keeps himself to himself. I don’t really know him.”

“Did you notice anything different about him on Friday?” asked Ed.

“I didn’t talk to him,” said Hannah. “Becca was waiting for him and we left when he turned up.”

“And did Becca seem normal?”

“Yes. Well, I’ve not seen her much since Matt moved in, like I said. But she seemed – better. She was in a good mood.” Hannah hesitated.
It’s not important
.

“Is there something else?” asked Ed.

“Not really. It’s just that Becca was a bit freaked out by the crossing guy. She said he kept looking at her.”

“Is that what she said? Her exact words?”

Hannah furrowed her brow. “I think she said he
creeped her out
. Not freaked her out: creeped her out.”

“Does he creep you out?”

“Nah. He’s nice. Friendly.”

Ed thought that he recalled the crossing attendant from when he’d dropped Hannah at school, but wanted her to confirm it. “What does he look like?”

“Oldish. Older than you, not as old as Granddad. He’s pretty big though, not fat-big, but like a fighter. He has a beard. He wears glasses and walks with a –”

As she said it, the memory came back to Hannah.

“Hannah?” asked Julia.

“A limp. He walks with a limp.”

Ed nodded, remembering Randle. “Is there something else? What made you hesitate?”

“Yes. I’d forgot. Oh God. When I went round to Becca’s, I think he was there.”

“What was he doing, Han?”

“I don’t know. Hanging around the house. I think maybe he was coming out of their drive. Maybe.”

Ed was silent for a moment. “OK, Hannah, I think that’s enough for tonight. You’ll probably have to answer some more questions tomorrow, I’m afraid.” He leaned forwards, kissed her forehead and stood up.

“Dad – will Becca be OK?”

“I hope so, Han. We’re already looking for her.”

Julia kissed her daughter. “If you can’t sleep, come and get me,” she said.

“OK, Mum.”

Julia followed Ed from the room and pulled the door closed.

“This is serious, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Hopefully not. Give me a few minutes, I need to call Steve.”

“Ed –”

“Yep?”

“You shouldn’t really have done this, should you? Talked to Hannah?”

“Not really. But it won’t be a problem. I couldn’t really have left it, could I?”

She hesitated. “No, I guess not. But don’t do anything rash.”

Ed scowled, but he knew as well as Julia that he often acted first and thought second. “I won’t. But I think we should keep Hannah off school tomorrow. Maybe for a couple of days.”

“Because of that man?”

“Partly. But also so she can help out without everyone knowing about it.”

“Wouldn’t it look more odd if she’s off?”

“That’s true,” said Ed, reflecting. “But we won’t let her walk in.”

Hannah lay in her bed, listening to her parents talking, but she couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. She lay awake, restless, for what seemed ages, thinking about Becca and Matt – but her principal recurring and terribly uncomfortable thought was of Randle, glancing over towards her.

13

It was late, but not yet midnight, when Becca was wrenched back from her deep sleep by the sound of a bird cawing. She shifted her position, her buttocks aching. She rubbed her stiff legs with numb hands and her shoulder protested under the effort. She looked up. Sitting on the top of the well was the big black bird.

She coughed loudly, then stretched her legs under the water and wriggled her toes to try to get her circulation going.

The bird cawed again. “Oh shut up,” said Becca. “Go and bother someone else.”

“He’s not here to bother you,” said a woman’s voice in the dark. “He’s here to guard you. To keep others away.”

Becca leapt to her feet in absolute terror, screaming. The bird joined in with her cries, shrieking loudly. She pressed herself back against the wall of the well. Becca desperately didn’t want to look in the direction of the voice, but she was drawn to it. At the other side of the well, she could see the dark shape that was Matt. Next to it was the vague shape of another person.