Behind Closed Doors (21 page)

After closing them too she sat quietly for a moment, not really listening to anything now, or even thinking specifically. She was simply feeling, as though by some process of osmosis she could work out why she’d wanted to come and do this. What was she really expecting to find that hadn’t yet come to light?

She’d done this in Penny’s room on countless occasions and it had never worked, but that wasn’t to say it couldn’t now.

Getting up, she went to browse through the hanging rail and shoes piled in a jumble at the bottom. ‘How do you know she took clothes with her?’ she asked Gavin.

His head came up, almost as though he’d forgotten she was there. ‘Uh, I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘I suppose we assumed she’d taken some because her holdall was gone, and her toothbrush and make-up things.’

Andee nodded and turned towards the neatly made bed with the rag doll on the pillow. After pulling back the sheets she lifted the mattress, not expecting to find anything, and indeed nothing was there. However, when she let it fall back into place she heard the sound of something sliding down the wall.

Glancing at Gavin, she dragged the foot of the bed into the middle of the room and stepped round it to see what had fallen. Intrigued, and conscious of Gavin watching her, she picked up a tatty A4-size book with the single word
Sophie
in large yellow letters on the front of it.

She turned to Gavin. He’d gone almost yellow with shock.

‘We searched this place,’ he muttered hoarsely. ‘When we couldn’t find that book we thought . . . we assumed she’d taken it with her.’

Andee began flicking through it. Not only was it filled with Sophie’s girlish writing, but with all kinds of cuttings, pressed flowers, ticket stubs, photographs, drawings . . .

‘Her mother gave it to her,’ Gavin told her. ‘They started it together, just after Jilly found out she wasn’t going to make it. They filled it with memories and hopes and dreams . . .’ Putting a hand to his head, he sank down on a stool.

Giving him a moment, Andee quickly scanned the final entry. Though it offered no insight into where Sophie might be now, it did tell her that this wasn’t for a father’s eyes. Not yet, anyway.

‘I’ll have to take it with me,’ she said gently.

He nodded. ‘You’ll take care of it though, won’t you?’ A sob escaped him.

‘Of course,’ she promised.

She was back in her car before she opened it again and stared at Sikora’s name printed carefully inside love hearts, through the margins and throughout the text.

Kasia hated calling in sick, she’d never done it before when it wasn’t true, but she was so worried about the way things were going that she hadn’t wanted to leave the children, not even with Olenka. Keeping them safe from the press and away from the Internet was all that mattered when people were saying such terrible things about Tomasz. She could hardly believe it. Even some of their neighbours were turning against him. She wanted to shout at them to remember all he’d done for them without ever charging a penny.

Just because his name had been linked to Gary Perkins they were calling him a paedophile, a child-molester, some sort of monster. It was even said he was part of a gang that trafficked young girls. It was as though they really believed he was involved in Sophie’s disappearance and it just wasn’t true.

‘But you have to face the fact that it might be,’ Olenka kept insisting as gently as possible. ‘I know it’s not what you want to hear. I swear, I don’t want to believe it either, but Kasia, admit it, you don’t even know where he is.’

‘He’s in Krakow,’ Kasia cried. ‘He called me. He says he is coming home soon . . .’

‘I know what he said . . .’

‘Stop! Please stop,’ Kasia begged, bunching her hands to her ears. ‘You are not going to turn me against him. He has done nothing wrong. Do you hear me? He is with his mother in Poland, and soon he will be home.’

Watching her sister pace and inwardly pray, Olenka let a few moments pass before saying, ‘OK, convince yourself of that if you want to, but at the same time you must ask yourself . . .’

‘No! I don’t care what you say. Tomasz is a good person. He would never hurt anyone . . .’

‘Maybe not you, or the children, but Kasia, you don’t really know what he’s doing most of the time. He says he is with his mother, but you don’t know that for certain. And when he tells you he is working at the campsites, I know of at least one time that he wasn’t there.’

Kasia’s face was ashen, her hands were shaking as she wrung them together. ‘I know why you’re saying these things,’ she cried angrily. ‘It’s because you are jealous that he is paid more than Glyn. You want me to believe bad things about him, so you make up lies . . .’

‘I am
not lying
. I didn’t want to tell you before, because I knew it would upset you, but Kasia, Tomasz is the one who lied about where he was at night. Not every night, but some . . . ‘

‘I am not listening to any more,’ Kasia broke in furiously, ‘you must leave my house if you do not stop saying these things,’ and praying with all her heart that it would be Tomasz on the phone, she snatched it up and managed a ragged ‘Hello?’

‘
Kotek
, it is me.’

Sinking to her knees in relief, she said, ‘Tomasz. Where are you? Are you on your way home yet?’

‘Soon, there are still a few things I need to do here, then I will be back.’

Keeping her head down, so she didn’t have to look at her sister, she asked, ‘What sort of things?’

‘I won’t go into it now. I just need you to understand that what they are saying about me on the Internet, it isn’t true. None of it.’

‘I know. I know, but Tomasz, the police want to speak to you again. They rang here this morning . . .’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll call them back. Have you heard from Mr and Mrs Poynter?’

‘No, but Olenka says they have returned from Spain. Tomasz, did Gary Perkins leave the campsite in your van that night? That’s what they’re saying, and that you . . .’

‘Kasia, you must ignore it. None of it is true. Now tell me, how are the children?’

‘They’re OK. They are upstairs playing. There are people from the press who keep trying . . .’

‘The press? Kasia, please do not speak to anyone from the press. They will trick you into saying things you don’t mean . . .’ He broke off suddenly. ‘
Kurwa!
’ he muttered, shocking her because he never swore. ‘I must go,’ he said, ‘but
kotek
, remember, everything will be fine. I promise,’ and without saying goodbye he abruptly rang off.

Remaining on her knees with her head bent, Kasia clicked off her phone and tried to make herself breathe more steadily. Tomasz had been in such a rush, had sounded so stressed and afraid that it was as though his adrenalin had whooshed down the line into her veins. She needed to think more clearly, allow God to guide her, because she had no idea what she should do next.

Andee was on her way back to the station when Leo rang. ‘How did it go with the Poynters?’ she asked, before he could speak.

‘Surprise, surprise, they’ve got no idea where Sophie might be, and they’re saying the reason they came back is to do everything they can to help find her.’

‘Very obliging.’

‘Apparently Sikora does have keys to the place and takes care of it while they’re away so they’re assuming he did come in, but everything was as they’d left it when they got back. Plenty of cameras around the outside of the property, but apparently they’re all dummies, so no record of who’s been going in and out.’

‘What about an alarm?’

‘They have one, but it doesn’t work with a digital clock, so nothing to say when it’s turned on and off.’

‘Great,’ she muttered. ‘Did they let you have a look round?’

‘Absolutely, and you’ve never seen a place like it. Think Middle East,
Geordie Shore
and fountains. They’re very big on fountains. Got them in the kitchen, the bedroom, all the way down the side of the stairs and even in the bathrooms, or one of them anyway. When we got to talking about Perkins she, the missus, went off on one about how disgusted she’d been when she’d found out about his record. Apparently they never employ anyone without carrying out a CRB check first so she’s got no idea how it happened, but once Sophie is home safe she’ll be speaking to Heidi, whose job it is to do these things.’

Passing the buck, but sensitive enough to hold on to it until Heidi’s current troubles were over
. ‘Did she say if Perkins has ever been to the house?’

‘Not to her knowledge. Apparently they don’t usually mix with employees.’

‘What about Sikora?’

‘Nothing but praise for him. Good worker, reliable, honest, a joy to have around. They know he’s in Poland at the moment, on compassionate leave, as they put it.’

‘Are they in touch with him?’

‘They say not.’

‘Mm. Anything else?’

‘Not really. They look as crooked as Boycie and his missus, but as we know, looks aren’t everything. How’s it going your end?’

‘I found a diary under Sophie’s mattress.’

‘No way!’ Barry shouted down Leo’s phone. ‘I looked under there myself.’

‘It had got trapped between the bed and the wall, probably by the bottom sheet. I guess moving things around for a second time dislodged it. Anyway, no time to read it yet, but Sikora’s name is featuring large towards the end.’

‘In what context?’

‘She had a crush, that’s for sure. What I don’t know yet is how far it went, or what kind of role Perkins played, but he’s mentioned too. I’ll have it copied as soon as I get back.’

Suzi was sitting at the salon’s reception desk with the window blinds closed and the door locked when Jackie Poynter turned up. She was a tall, large-boned woman in her mid-fifties whose natural Slavic beauty had faded a lot more than her accent.

‘It’s a circus out there,’ she complained as Suzi let her in. ‘If it’s not the press it’s the police and if it’s not the police it’s some punter wanting to have a go about his holiday being ruined.’ She sighed heavily, as though concerned about how to deal with that. Then assuming a breezy smile, she enquired, ‘So, where is he?’ She was looking around the room as though Gary might be hiding under the desk or behind a pot plant.

‘I don’t know,’ Suzi replied timidly. Despite her shows of friendliness Jackie Poynter wasn’t a woman to cross, and everyone knew it. ‘If I did, I swear I’d tell you,’ she added with conviction.

Seeming to accept that, at least for the moment, Jackie said, ‘OK, then tell me, did he have something going with Sophie Monroe?’

Sensing it was best not to lie, Suzi said, ‘I’m not sure. Possibly.’

Jackie sighed again and gave herself a moment to think. ‘You know the police came to see us this morning?’ she asked, fixing Suzi with her harsh amber eyes.

Suzi flinched.

‘They were asking if your brother and Tomasz Sikora might have used our house while we were away.’

Suzi still said nothing.

‘Well?’

‘If they did I knew nothing about it.’

Jackie regarded her carefully, as though deciding whether or not to believe her.

‘He doesn’t tell me what he’s doing,’ Suzi insisted.

‘But you knew, when you recommended him to me, that he had a criminal record?’

Since she was in no position to deny it, Suzi simply mumbled a sorry.

Jackie’s eyes narrowed, as though she were intrigued. ‘I’m guessing from looking at you that he never told you it’s the reason I hired him,’ she stated.

Suzi blinked, not sure she’d heard right.

‘Of course, I never expected
this
,’ Jackie continued, throwing out her hands, ‘but perhaps I should have, given the other girl was the same age as Sophie. He clearly has a thing for teenagers.’

‘The other girl was fifteen, sixteen by the time they pressed charges,’ Suzi corrected.

‘The point is, she wasn’t a child, or not in the sense I would mean it. If he’d been one of those creeps who go after small kids he’d never have got through the door.’ She shook her head, as if exasperated with herself. ‘Jimmy said I was making a mistake when I took him on, and it doesn’t please me to prove my husband right.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Suzi said. ‘Why would you hire him if you . . .?’

‘He had good references as a lifeguard, and we needed one. And
I
needed someone I could trust to carry out . . . other business. I discussed it with him, he understood what a very big favour I was doing him and was happy to take on his extra duties.’

Knowing she still wasn’t following this well, Suzi said, ‘Do – do you mean growing cannabis?’

‘No, I do not mean that. I had no idea about that until the police found it in his flat. It’s a shame, but he’s turned out to be quite a liability, and Jimmy is telling me I have to sort it out. Of course, I will, but it’s left me with a lot of explaining to do. Not that I’m especially worried. The police aren’t anywhere near as clever as they like to think.’ Her eyes suddenly widened. ‘I’m not saying the fallout won’t cost us some business for a while,’ she admitted, ‘I’m sure it will, but the main thing is that no one learns about the other more private matters your brother has been involved in.’

Suzi didn’t know what to say.

Jackie stared at her hard. In the end she said, ‘Let’s not talk about how I helped you turn your life around by setting you up in this salon, or how I willingly gave your brother a second chance. It would only embarrass me. You too, I’m sure. On the other hand, if you’ve ever wondered how you might thank me . . . It’s a small thing really, because all you have to do is keep to yourself anything your brother might have told you concerning his extra duties here.’

‘He’s never told me anything.’

‘That’s good, but if he ever does . . . It wouldn’t be good for anyone if the police were to find out, and there’s really no need for your brother to go down for anything more than breaking his protection order.’ She threw out her hands in a gesture of incredulity. ‘Why on earth would he want any extra time added to his sentence? And why would you want to lose all of this when you’ve worked so hard to build it up?’ She smiled pleasantly. ‘Do you hear what I’m saying, Suzi?’