Bring Him Back

4

While Jessica stayed downstairs, pacing and agitated, Ben followed Mike to the boy’s bedroom. It was at the very top of the house, two floors up.

‘Jessica can’t bear to come near this room,’ Mike said. ‘Nobody’s been in since the forensic people. It didn’t take them long to find the DNA evidence that proves Drew was here.’

The door was slightly ajar. Ben swung it open a little wider and stepped into the large bedroom. He walked around, careful not to disturb anything. The bedclothes were rumpled. Drawers had been left lying untidily open where clothes had been pulled out. A lone sock lay strewn on the carpet.

‘What do you see, Mr Hope?’ Mike asked.

‘After he closed you and Jessica in the cellar, Drew brought Carl up here to pack his things up. Looks like it was done in a hurry.’

‘Why would that be?’ Mike asked. ‘He had us locked up good and proper down there. No way could I have smashed my way out, and he knew it.’

‘Maybe he had an appointment to make,’ Ben said.

‘Such as?’

‘Such as whoever he paid to take him and Carl off the island that night. With sixty grand in his pocket, there’d be a lot of people willing to help him, and no questions asked.’

Ben went on walking around the room, taking in details. Apart from its size, it was a more or less a typical room for a kid Carl’s age. Posters were clustered all over the wall around and above the single bed. A bookshelf was filled with books a twelve-year-old boy would read. There were model kits of fighter aircraft hanging on threads from the ceiling. A carefully painted plastic Tyrannosaurus Rex stood on a table next to a Sherman tank. Nearby was a collection of miniature enamel paints and some fine brushes standing in a pot.

‘He likes models a lot,’ Mike explained.

Spotting a small black object lying on the carpet, Ben crouched to look at it. It was a chess piece, a rook.

‘That’s from his chess computer,’ Mike said sadly. ‘I’d just fixed it for him, the night he was taken.’

‘You won’t mind if I hang onto this for now,’ Ben said, picking up the rook and dropping it into one of the small polythene evidence bags he carried in his pocket.

‘No, but any particular reason?’

‘I like to have something of the victim’s. So Carl’s into chess?’

‘Loves it, and he’s an excellent player. Thrashes me every time. Even beats the machine. He’s a very gifted boy. Very gifted indeed.’

Ben noticed the pride in Mike’s voice. It could have been the real father talking. ‘How do you and he get on?’ he asked.

‘He’s a great kid,’ Mike sighed. ‘I’ve tried my best to be a proper dad to him, but it’s hard. I know he resents me. I can’t really blame him for that. It’s normal in a situation like this. It’s always tough on the kids when their parents split up, isn’t it?’ He glanced at Ben, then went on. ‘I was hoping that in time he’d get to know me better. Now I don’t even know if I’m ever going to see him again.’

‘Don’t think that way,’ Ben said.

‘I’m counting on you,’ Mike said with sudden emotion. ‘We have to have Carl returned to us. He’s the most important thing in our lives. And I want that piece of shit Drew caught. I want him—’ Mike swallowed whatever he was going to say next, as if he’d been going to say too much. ‘What now?’ he asked instead.

‘I’ve seen enough,’ Ben replied, and headed for the door.

‘Where will you go from here?’

‘Give me Drew’s address.’

‘The police have already—’

‘I’m sure they have,’ Ben said. ‘I’d still like to take a look around the place.’

‘Carl had a key,’ Mike said. ‘I think Jessica’s got it somewhere.’

‘Then I’d like that too,’ Ben said.

‘I can do that.’

As Ben was leaving a few minutes later, armed with the things he’d asked for, Jessica appeared in the hallway. She’d been crying again and her eyes were puffy and red.

‘Take care. I’ll be in touch,’ Ben said, heading towards the door.

‘Ben?’ she said, and he stopped and turned.

She stepped up to him, reached out and clasped both his hands tightly.

‘Please find him. Find my son. Bring him back.’