Behind Closed Doors (13 page)

Twenty minutes later Leo was ringing the bell of number eight Patch Elm Lane. When a small boy inched the door open Andee gave him a friendly smile.

‘Hello?’ she said softly. ‘Are your mummy or daddy at home?’

‘Anton, what have I told you about answering the door,’ an accented female voice scolded. ‘You never know who it might be.’ As the speaker came into view Andee was immediately struck by how lovely she was. She almost seemed to glow, and though Andee wasn’t given to fanciful observations, the first word coming to mind about this woman was angel. Funny how some people exuded the very essence of who they were, while others, mostly, were all but impossible to read.

‘Can I help you?’ the woman asked, looking puzzled.

‘We’re looking for Tomasz Sikora,’ Andee explained. ‘I believe he lives here?’

Frowning, the woman said, ‘Yes, he does, but I am afraid he goes to Poland to see his mother. She is unwell. Perhaps I can give him a message when he rings?’

Andee smiled as she held up her badge.

The woman’s eyes widened with alarm. ‘You are the police? Is something wrong?’

Andee looked down at the boy’s wide, inquisitive stare and caught a glimpse of Luke at that age. How long ago it seemed, and yet almost like yesterday. ‘Is this Mr Sikora’s son?’ she asked.

‘No, he . . . My husband he is . . . Tomasz, he takes care of us now. He is like a father. He is a very good man.’

Andee’s eyes returned to hers.
Why had she felt it necessary to add that?
‘May we come in for a few minutes?’ she asked politely.

Seeming uncertain of how to refuse, the woman pulled the door wider, and taking her son’s hand, she pointed down the hall towards the living room.

‘Do you mind if we ask your name?’ Leo began when she joined them after sending the boy upstairs.

‘I am Kasia Domanski,’ she told them. ‘I don’t understand . . . Why do you want to speak to Tomasz? Is it about Sophie from the caravan park?’

Intrigued by the assumption, Andee said, ‘Yes, it’s about Sophie. Do you know her?’

Kasia shook her head. ‘Not really. I see her around sometimes, if I am there, but I don’t go often.’

‘So you don’t work at Blue Ocean?’

‘No. I am a nurse at the Greensleeves Care Home. Sometimes, if it is not too late I take the children to watch Tomasz sing at the club. He is a very good singer.’

‘Was he singing last Sunday?’ Andee asked.

Kasia fiddled with her necklace as she thought. ‘Yes, I am sure that he was.’

‘Do you remember what time he came home?’

She shrugged. ‘A little after midnight. The same time as he usually comes when he has been singing.’

‘Did he say if he’d been anywhere else that night?’

‘No.’

‘Did he mention seeing Sophie Monroe?’

‘No, he say nothing about her.’

‘Does he ever talk about her?’

‘No, never. Apart from to tell me the day before yesterday that she is missing and the police are helping to find her.’

Andee nodded. ‘When did he leave for Poland?’

‘This morning on the early flight from Bristol.’

‘To where, exactly?’

‘Krakow.’

‘And when are you expecting him back?’

‘I am not sure. It depends what happens with his mother. Maybe a few days.’

‘And you’re absolutely sure he’s gone to Poland?’

Kasia blinked, and appeared offended. ‘Yes, I am sure. He would not lie about his mother.’

Allowing Leo to take over, Andee spent the next few minutes watching Kasia’s changing expressions as she was asked if it was possible Tomasz had finished early on Sunday and not come straight home; if she was sure Tomasz had gone to Poland
alone
; if she had met many of Tomasz’s friends.

By the time Leo had finished tears of anger and confusion were shining in Kasia’s eyes. ‘I don’t understand why you come here saying these things. Tomasz is a good person. You can ask anyone. Everyone they tell you, he is a very good person.’

Knowing she truly believed it, and hoping, for her sake, it was true, Andee smiled reassuringly.

‘Perhaps you can give us his mother’s number before we go,’ Leo suggested.

Kasia immediately looked uneasy. ‘I am not sure,’ she stumbled. ‘She is not . . . She does not like that Tomasz is with me, because I am married to another man. So when he is with her, I always call him on his mobile.’

‘Would you mind trying him now?’ Leo prompted.

Noticing how she was shaking as she connected to his number, Andee found herself willing the man to answer, if only to restore this trusting young woman’s faith in him. It was evident though, when her eyes came to Andee’s, that she had been pushed through to voicemail.

‘Tomasz,
to ja
,’ she began.

‘Please speak English,’ Leo quickly interrupted.

With her eyes on him, Kasia whispered hoarsely, ‘Tomasz, the police are here and they want to speak to you. Please call me.’

Andee waited until she’d rung off before saying, ‘Does the name Tania Karpenko mean anything to you?’

Looking more puzzled than ever, Kasia shook her head. ‘I don’t think so. Why? Who is she?’

‘She’s someone who worked at the camp until about a month ago. We’re not quite sure where she is now.’

As Kasia’s hand went to her mouth, Andee looked down at her mobile to check an incoming text.

Mum, you have to call me. Axx PS: If you can’t get me try Luke.

Wondering what it could be about, Andee pocketed her phone and said to Kasia, ‘If you speak to Tomasz before we do, please ask him to get in touch right away.’

‘Of course,’ Kasia promised. ‘I know he will want to help in any way he can.’

Once they were back in the car, Leo said, ‘Funny that she doesn’t have the mother’s number. Who would she call in an emergency?’

‘I was wondering the same.’

‘Do you think she was lying?’

‘No, I think it’s more likely he’s never given it to her.’

‘Because whenever he says he’s going to Poland, he’s actually going somewhere else?’

‘Possibly. Or he’s going there, but not to see his mother,’ and taking out her Airwave she point-to-pointed one of the DCs back at base. ‘Terry, find out if there were any flights to Krakow from Bristol today,’ she instructed, ‘and if there were, whether Tomasz Sikora was on it. Oh, and check for any fourteen-year-old girls too. We know Sophie’s passport is at home, but that doesn’t mean she’s not travelling under another name.’

‘He could be too,’ Leo suggested as she disconnected.

‘We have to start somewhere,’ and going through to Barry Britten she said, ‘Have you picked up Gary Perkins yet?’

‘Afraid not,’ he replied. ‘No sign of him at the camp, and the sister’s adamant she doesn’t know when he’s coming back.’

Andee’s expression darkened as she said, ‘OK, I’ll be in touch,’ and after disconnecting she went through to Gould. ‘Sir, both Gary Perkins and Tomasz Sikora seem to have disappeared. According to Sikora’s wife, girlfriend, Sikora left for Poland first thing this morning to visit his sick mother, but now she can’t get hold of him. Perkins we’ve got no idea about, and the sister’s saying she hasn’t either.’

‘OK,’ Gould replied. ‘The incident room’s already being set up. I’ll contact Polsar now to get them on the case.’ At last, the specialist search unit. ‘You know I ought to remove you, given your history,’ he added abruptly.

‘But we’re driven by performance targets,’ she reminded him, ‘and you don’t have the resources . . .’

‘Don’t quote my own lines at me. There are still . . .’

‘Sir, I promise you, this won’t be the first time I’ve been involved in a missing-person case since joining the force, so I know what I’m letting myself in for.’

‘It’s not only you I’m worried about,’ he informed her, ‘it’s the rest of us, if you end up letting personal issues get the better of your judgement.’

‘It won’t happen, you have my word.’

‘Where are you now?’

‘Just coming into Kesterly, we should be there in about five. If you could . . .’ She stopped suddenly as she spotted a familiar figure at a table outside the Seafront Café. Her mouth turned dry as her head started to spin.

‘Are you still there?’ Gould demanded.

Without answering she ended the call.

Glancing over at her, Leo said, ‘Are you OK?’

‘Yes, yes, I’m fine,’ she assured him.

And she would be, any minute now. She just needed a few moments to get over the shock of seeing Martin with a woman at a table outside the café. Actually, not just with, but holding her hand and laughing at whatever she was saying.

Laughing? When his father had just died?

This, she realised as the shock of it turned to something much deeper, must be why he’d asked if they could talk – and no doubt what Alayna and Luke were trying to warn her about. Their father had met someone else, who was here in Kesterly, presumably to lend Martin her support at this difficult time.

‘
I THOUGHT YOU
might like some company,’ Marian Morris said tentatively as Heidi opened the front door.

As Heidi looked back at her, Marian felt she was watching her collapsing in on herself. It was clear she hadn’t slept in days; the circles under her eyes were like bruises, the ashen hue of her skin made her seem like a ghost. Marian could only begin to imagine the fears chasing around in her head, particularly now they were looking for this paedo lifeguard who’d upped and disappeared as soon as the police had started asking questions.

Marian knew she’d be beside herself if she was in Heidi’s shoes.

Estelle was still swearing on her own life, her mother’s and the Holy Bible that nothing ‘like that’ had ever happened during the couple of times she and Sophie had been at Perkins’s flat, but even if it hadn’t – and Marian desperately wanted to take Estelle’s word for it – they shouldn’t have been mixing with a man of his age in the first place. So, for that alone, Estelle was grounded at least until Sophie was found.

Poor woman, she reflected sadly to herself, as Heidi led her along the hall to the kitchen. She must know that the police were combing the entire cove now; every shop, pub, amusement arcade and fairground ride was being turned inside out. Then there were the pathways snaking from the main road down through the dunes, the mile stretch of beach with all its seaweed and debris, and the rocks around the headlands where heaven only knew what sort of marine life was hanging out.

Overnight, the situation seemed to have gone from a running-away to some kind of abduction. At least that was what they were saying on the news, so Marian could only think that the police were combing the area for some signs of a struggle.

‘I saw Gavin out there helping with the search,’ she said, as Heidi gestured for her to sit down at the cluttered table. ‘It must make him feel better to be doing something.’ Should she have said that? What on earth could make him feel better about digging around in ditches and hedgerows for signs of his missing daughter? Marian knew it would tear her to pieces. ‘Some of the punters are joining in,’ she ran on, ‘which is really sweet, isn’t it, considering they probably don’t know her. And it’s disrupting their holiday.’

Heidi didn’t answer; Marian wasn’t even sure she was listening.

‘It can’t be easy for you,’ Marian sympathised, ‘all this waiting, not knowing. It must be terrible.’

Heidi nodded and pushed a hand through her messy hair. ‘I keep thinking she’s going to walk through the door,’ she admitted hoarsely. ‘Sometimes it’s like I even see her.’

As she swallowed hard Marian squeezed her hand.

‘I need to tell her how sorry I am about the silly rows we’ve been having,’ Heidi ran on brokenly. ‘I want us to go back to the way we were, you know, friends and everything. Actually, I wouldn’t even mind if she didn’t want us to be close again, just as long as she was here and we knew she was safe.’

Which was all any parent wanted, to know their child was safe. ‘Have the police been to see you today?’ Marian asked.

Heidi nodded. ‘Someone came first thing to explain what was happening and why.’ Her breath shuddered as she tried to inhale. ‘She said I made her want to kill herself,’ she whispered, almost to herself, as though she couldn’t quite believe it.

‘But kids say stuff like that all the time. You can’t take any notice of it.’

Heidi seemed not have heard, clearly trapped by her inner hell, so to try and distract her Marian said, ‘Where’s the baby? I expect this has all been quite disruptive for him, hasn’t it?’

Heidi looked at her blankly, almost as though she’d forgotten his existence. ‘He should be waking up any minute,’ she finally managed. ‘If it weren’t for him I’d be out there looking too. Sitting here, waiting and worrying like this . . . It’s doing my head in. And then there’s the office. I keep telling myself I should go over there, but how can I think about anything else? It would look like I don’t care if I try, and that’s just not true.’

As her face crumpled Marian grabbed a tissue and put an arm around her. ‘No one thinks that,’ she lied on behalf of others rather than herself, since she did believe Heidi cared. In fact she knew it, and she wished everyone else would keep their malicious, uninformed gossip to themselves. ‘I’m sure no one’s expecting you to go over there.’

‘The Poynters are on their way back from Spain,’ Heidi announced, her voice thick with tears. ‘They’re being really nice about everything, but if they start losing business over this . . .’

‘You mustn’t worry about that,’ Marian insisted. ‘They understand it’s not your fault, and Sophie’s going to turn up safe and sound any time now. You wait and see.’

As Heidi looked at her Marian could feel her hopelessness as if it were emptying her own heart. ‘Oh, sweetie, you mustn’t give up,’ she urged. ‘It’s going to be fine. I promise.’

‘The police were asking about Tania yesterday,’ Heidi told her. ‘Do you remember her? The pretty blonde one from Romania? Or was it the Ukraine?’ She jumped as the landline rang. Her eyes went to Marian, showing how scared she was, until hope seemed to whisper from the wings and she lifted the receiver to say a cautious ‘Hello?’

Seeing how she was bracing herself for bad news, while praying it might be Sophie, Marian put a supportive hand on her arm.