Echoes of the Past (17 page)

“Sure,
Sarge.”

*****

Tom pulled up outside the café and pressed the horn. Lee appeared with a box of cakes.

“Thanks,
Tom, Dad’s been asking after you lately. You’ll have to take Jess up soon; he has been really missing her.”

“I
know, I just got caught up with this case.”

“I
was asking Elsie if she found any of the older men in the village strange, but you don’t want to know how that conversation went.”

Tom
always played his cards close to his chest, although he was close to Lee, she was still a civilian. “Be careful what you say to Elsie, this is an active investigation.”

Lee
continued with idle chitchat as they drove down the hillside toward the nursing home in Arrochar.

Jimmy
had been living there for three years since his stroke. Apart from a slight mobility problem, he had made a remarkable recovery for a man in his 70s. The home afforded him the freedom of living alone, but the safety of having someone on call at all times.

Tom
pulled into the car park at the back of the home. A row of small bungalows backed on to it, each with their own small garden. The main building lay to the right of the bungalows and housed the patients that were unable to care for themselves.

Jimmy
was in his garden planting bulbs in a large tub. His face lit with delight when he saw his daughter and only son in law.

“Good
to see you, come on in.” Jimmy led the way into his small bungalow. There was one large room that doubled as a bedroom and a living room. At the bottom end there was a door leading to his wet room and off to one side was a small kitchen area with a kettle and a sink, other than a toaster, there were no cooking facilities. All meals, were brought to you, or served in the dinning room.

Lee
kissed the old man on the head as he cleared newspapers from the couch. “I brought you some cakes, Dad; I’ll put the kettle on, shall I?”

Jimmy
went on about how he missed seeing Jess and made Tom promise to bring her down for a visit.

“I’m
glad you and Jess are living in the old place. It’s good to have new life in it again. I still miss it you know, Tom. Having said that, I don’t miss the upkeep or the maintenance.”

“Jess
likes it there, Jimmy, and it is good to be close to family again.”

“So, what are you working on, Tom, I hear you’re up for retirement?”

“Well,
it’s not finalised yet, I still have a little time left,” Tom replied.

“He’s
been looking into the Angela Harrison case, Dad.”

The
old man looked over his glasses at him. “Have you indeed.” He took a sip of his tea. “That was an awful time.”

“You
remember it?”

“Yes,
I was frightened to let my girls out of my sight.”

“Why,
she disappeared in Aberdeen, there was never any suggestion that she came back to Coppersfield.”

“Well,
firstly, they did suspect her boyfriend at the time. But those of us, who had been around the block a bit, knew that this was not the first time a pretty young girl had disappeared from around these parts.”

Tom
looked over his mug questioningly. “What from Coppersfield.”

“Yes,
we used to have a youth hostel next to the old church. They would normally be back packers or the like and they would just disappear. There would be an investigation and so forth, but nothing would turn up.”

“When
did this happen, Jimmy?”

“Oh,
the girls were just babies, maybe the fifties I guess.”

“I’m
not that old, Dad; I wasn’t even born in the fifties,” Lee said, faking umbrage.

The
old man thought about it, but Tom could see the confusion setting in.

“No,
your right, love, must have been the early to mid-sixties, but when Angela disappeared, well, a lot of us thought it was happening again.”

“Angela
disappeared in 1978, Jimmy,” Tom said.

“That’s
about right.”

“So
you’re saying women had been going missing up this way for as many as fifteen years before Angela Harrison?” Tom found this thought very disconcerting, this was going back to a time when he lived and played here.

“You
have to remember, son, back then, it wasn’t uncommon to lose someone in the hills around here. Not to mention the lochs. But some of us had our own suspicions as to what had happened.”

“Do
you remember the names of any of the girls?”

“No,
son. Most didn’t even make the papers. They were back packers stopping off to pick up a couple of days work and the likes. There was one that caused a bit of a stir. She worked in a bar in Arrochar. She was pretty much a local, not a back packer. After that, things went quiet until Angela. Anyway, too long ago now.”

“Did
you have any suspicions at the time?”

“We
all had suspicions, son. Nevertheless, that was all they were. You don’t ruin a good mans reputation with suspicion.”

“Who
was it?”

Jimmy
looked at him.

“Well,
Jimmy, who did you suspect?”

Tom
could see the vein’s on the old mans head standing with frustration as he tried to recall a time long since passed.

“Too
long ago, son, don’t remember. Anyway, what are you planning to do with yourself when you finish up?”

Tom
could feel the frustration building. He attempted to push a little more but Jimmy had moved on to other things and would not go back. Tom considered the possibility that the old man simply could not recollect, he had suffered a stroke. Nevertheless, he could not shift the feeling that Jimmy was trying to protect him from something.

As
the conversation moved on, Tom made a mental note to check for missing persons that varied from their perceived profile and dated back further. However, it did not add up that a man of that age could still be active, not unless he had a much younger accomplice.

*****

At 3.15pm, Jess and Gemma laughed and giggled their way to Ingaldean house. The magnificent building towered at the end of the long gravel drive.

“Wow,
I wouldn’t mind living in a place like this Jess. I don’t suppose your uncle has a son?”

Jess
laughed. “Come on, there’s Uncle Matt.”

Matt
was just leaving the house to meet them. “Hi, girls, ready to meet your new friend, Jess.”

“My
new friend?”

“Yep,
follow me.” Matt led the girls around to the back of the house to the courtyard where the horses where stabled. A large block on the east side of the estate.

“Now
this is important, girls. The horses are kept in the stalls on the north wall; supplies are on the south wall in the empty stalls. We don’t use the stalls on that side ok.” Matt led the girls to the first stall. “This is Harvey, 17 hands high, coat of silk. An Arabian, only I ride him, got that.” The girls nodded mesmerized by the intimidating beast. The next stall held a much smaller horse. She was fawn with a white main.

“Oh,
she is beautiful. What’s her name, Uncle Matt?”

“Well,
Jess, that is up to you, this is my other little surprise. I know you have always wanted a horse, this way, she can be stabled up here and be taken care of like the others and you can visit and exercise her anytime you like. However, you have to be responsible for her though. Visit regularly, muck out and so on.”

Jess
gasped in disbelief. “Really, she’s really mine. What about Dad?”

“You
leave him to me, love.” Matt had always spoiled Jess, but a horse? Even Jess did not see that coming. She opened the stall and stretched out her hand to the beautiful creature. The horse shook her head and nuzzled at Jess.

“What
are you going to call her?” asked a grinning Gemma. Although a slight twinge of jealousy lay deep, she was not averse to basking in Jess’s good fortune. The two girls thought while they stroked her white main. Matt looked on feeling proud at the delight.

“How
about Shadow or Snowball.” Gemma rhymed off name after name.

“Rain.
I think she suits Rain.”

“What,
as in pouring down with?” Gemma asked, a little disappointed.

“Yeah,
I like it.”

“Don’t
worry, Gemma, I haven’t forgotten about you.” Matt walked to the next stall. An equally attractive horse stood nuzzling the hay; he was grey with white spots. “This is Apollo.” The horse shook its main and straw hung from its mouth and lay tangled in its main. “Granted, he doesn’t look as sophisticated as the others at the moment, but he is a fun boy, great character, anytime you come up with Jess, you can ride him.”

Delighted
with the generosity, Gemma fell over herself thanking Matt.

Matt
went through the safety instructions of the stables and showed Gemma how to saddle up. She had only ridden a horse a handful of times and was not familiar with all the technicalities that had to be checked before taking one out.

“Now,
Gemma, do you need to be guided.”

“No,
Mr Ingles, I think I can manage.” Saddled and ready to go Jess and Gemma led the horses out in to the yard. They were under strict instructions not to leave the estate where the land was flat and had no traffic.

Matt
stood back and watched as the girls rode out of the courtyard and on to the field beyond.

*****

At 6.30pm, Tom drove up to Ingaldean to pickup the girls. Two very excited fifteen-year-olds meet him in the drive. Matt stood back and smiled as the girls explained the great deal they had struck with Matt.

“Rain
will be stabled here with Uncle Matt’s horses, so all I have to do is come up and exercise her and muck out. And Gemma is going to help me with it.” Tom threw a chastising glance at Matt. He ushered the girls into the car and walked round to speak to his friend.

“A
horse? Really, Matt?”

“She
has always wanted one. Why not. She hasn’t had the easiest time the last few years.”

“But
a horse?”

“Look,
you didn’t want the responsibility of one, not when you were working. Not only are you going to be retired soon, but you still do not have to be concerned with it. The animal will be cared for here along with my own. That way Jess gets all the fun, and you don’t have any of the work.”

“What
will the stabling fees be?” he asked resigned to the situation.

“My
gift, my bill. And I will not hear anything else on the matter. Anyway, how are you doing with that Angela Harrison case?”

Tom
rubbed his hand over the back of his head. “I tell you, Matt, I think I may have opened a can of worms.”

“What’s
the problem?”

“Uch,
just the more I dig the more I seem to find. I don’t think that Angela Harrison is a one off disappearance.”

“Do
you want to grab a pint and talk about it?”

“I
can’t. Not until I speak with the DI anyway. Once he tells me it’s not a case, then I can talk about it.”

“You
know what I think. You are this close to your retirement. Put the files in a box and dump it at the station and leave it till some other poor sod stumbles on to it, and enjoy your retirement, enjoy your daughter.”

Tom
pulled the door of the Jeep open. “I wish it were as simple as that, mate, I wish it were.”

Tom
drove down the High Street and dropped Gemma off before driving back to Hill House with Jess.

“Just
you and I tonight, so do you want take out?” he asked Jess.

“Aunt
Lee left a lasagne in the fridge for us, Dad. She said you have to stop eating out or you’ll have another heart attack.”

Tom
smiled and drove home.

When
they arrived at Hill House, Tom turned on the lights and heating and Jess set the table for dinner.

“I
wish Olivia could see my horse, she would love her.” Jess could not contain her excitement. “You know, Dad, I think Olivia and Gemma would get along great together. I wish they could have met.”

“That
would have been nice, love,” Tom answered absently as he served the dinner.

“Olivia
and Mum used to get a long really well you know.”

Tom
put the tea towel over his shoulder and turned to Jess questioningly.