Sara Foster - Beneath the Shadows

‘No,’ Grace said miserably. ‘It can probably wait.’

She felt incredibly frustrated as she hung up. However, she had one more option. She searched around for the scrap of paper Niall had given her, and dialled the number.

‘Hello?’

‘Niall, it’s Grace – Grace Lockwood.’

‘Grace! How are you?’ He sounded surprised to hear from her.

‘Fine. I’m sorry to ring you over the holidays, but I need your advice.’ Her foot began tapping out a nervous tic as she talked. ‘I just tried to ring Constable Barton but he’s away till after New Year, and I don’t want to sit on my hands till then. A few things have happened over the last few days, concerning Adam’s disappearance…’

‘Go on.’ Niall sounded intrigued.

‘Well, first of all, I went to the Christmas Eve ball at Freeborough Hall – and an old friend of Adam’s came up to me and said she had seen him in the library at Ockton, the day before he disappeared. Apparently he told her he was looking for his dad. Adam’s father was a man called Jonny Templeton – he abandoned Adam’s mother when she got pregnant and moved overseas with his family. So I thought that might be significant…’ She took a deep breath. ‘And then I found his passport. Down in the cellar. Adam had put some boxes there when we moved in, and one of them had his passport in it…’

‘Didn’t the police search there last year?’ Niall asked.

‘It was locked, and I thought it was only a cupboard back then. I think one of the men that conducted the search asked me for the key, but I didn’t know where to find it.’

‘Well, I’m amazed. They shouldn’t have overlooked that.’

Grace furrowed her brow – surely that was beside the point. ‘It doesn’t matter now. I just want to know if this changes anything, with the investigation.’

She was acutely aware of the silence on the other end of the line. ‘Doesn’t this give us some new leads…?’ she begged. There was a tiny note of hysteria in her voice; she could hear it.

‘I’m not sure. Look, you need to talk to Barton. And if the woman you spoke to can come down to the station too, and tell them the same thing she told you, that’d be the best way of getting their attention.’

Grace’s optimism disappeared. ‘I’m not sure she will. She said she hadn’t come forward earlier because she doesn’t want to be involved…’

‘Is that right? And did she say why?’ The suspicion was clear in his voice.

‘No.’

‘Grace, perhaps you should have a think about your loyalty to this woman. She can talk to the police in confidence. No one else needs to know.’

‘In that case I’ll speak to her again, see what she says.’

‘Right then.’ Niall sounded as though he were about to hang up.

‘Isn’t there anything else we can do?’ Grace was aware of how desperate she sounded, and she hated it. Against her will, she was getting sucked back into the emotional turmoil of the last year.

She heard him sigh. ‘Remind me of Adam’s father’s name again?’

‘Jonny Templeton – I think he grew up on a farm around here.’

‘Well, I’ll see what I can find out – might not be for a few days, mind.’

‘Fine,’ Grace said dejectedly. ‘Thank you.’

When she came off the phone she headed downstairs to rejoin the others. Millie was playing with her favourite stacking blocks, while James and Annabel were bickering about what to watch on television. Being cooped up wasn’t suiting them very well.

‘I just asked Niall’s advice about the passport,’ she said. ‘He didn’t sound that interested… which was pretty much what I expected.’ She sat down, trying hard to suppress her exasperation. ‘Adam didn’t simply disappear, I’m sure of that. But I have no idea what happened… How am I ever going to get to the bottom of it?’ With fumbling fingers, she angrily wiped away the tears before they had a chance to fall.

‘Now listen to me, Grace,’ Annabel said, coming across and putting an arm around her sister. ‘This place is no good for you. It’s going to drive you insane. You can’t spend your time obsessing about Adam – because, for whatever reason, he’s gone, and there’s no sign at all that he’s about to come back. James and I will have to head off soon…’

Annabel hesitated and looked at James, who nodded.

Grace sat waiting for the inevitable.

‘We think you should come with us,’ James said. ‘We can’t leave you up here all alone, Gracie. It’s not right at all. It would feel like abandoning you, and this place is far too… well… remote,’ he finished.

‘Mum and Dad are really worried about you,’ Annabel added.

Grace ran a hand through her hair. ‘Look, I know you’re saying this because you love me, but I need to finish what I’ve started. It won’t take long.’

Annabel leaned back and blew out a long, frustrated breath. ‘Grace, this village is sucking the life out of you – you’re so serious all the time.’

Grace had had enough. She stood up. ‘I don’t think it’s this place, actually. I think I sobered up a bit when my husband disappeared on me and my child.’ She went across to Millie and picked her up to cuddle her, upset when Millie screamed and struggled until she was put back down.

‘Grace, listen to us,’ James insisted. ‘You and Millie need looking after, and there’s no chance of that while you live up here. Annabel’s right, this isn’t good for you. Where’s the fun-loving girl we used to know, who could barely stand a day without going somewhere different or trying something new? Just look at yourself right now.’

‘I wouldn’t be feeling like this if you two could start supporting me instead of antagonising me,’ Grace retorted. ‘And I think you have forgotten that I have a baby now – much more has changed in my life than just my location. Besides, you live in Switzerland – I’ll never see you, James, even if I do move back to London. What kind of support is that?’

‘I’m thinking of moving back,’ he replied.

‘Oh.’ She looked at him, unsure what to say – they were getting completely sidetracked.

‘Listen, I’m not isolated…’ she said testily, trying to get the discussion back on course. ‘I’ve got Ben, and Meredith, and Claire, and Emma…’

Annabel threw her hands up in the air. ‘For God’s sake, Grace. You hardly know any of them!’

They all glared at one another.

‘I’m going for a walk,’ Grace told them defiantly.

Annabel shook her head then turned away. ‘Of course you are, Grace. That’s your solution for everything nowadays.’

Grace was already on her way out. ‘Just mind Millie for me,’ she called irritably over her shoulder. ‘I won’t be long.’

By the time she reached her front gate, she could feel the tears streaking down her face. Why did everyone she loved want to make things so much harder? James and Annabel’s attitude was really getting to her. Life wasn’t always about taking the easy option: sometimes there were things that needed to be done.

She stomped up the road, the hardened snow crunching under her feet, until she reached Feathery Jack’s place. The chimney was puffing as usual, and in the front garden two small barn owls sat together on one perch. They barely moved, only the occasional twist of their heads signalling that they were alive. Sturdy leather straps were looped around their legs, and Grace felt sorry for them. She walked closer to the fence, glancing at their heart-shaped faces, their speckled breasts, the sharp hooks of their talons. The pure white among their dappled feathers stood out against the greying crust of snow.

‘Come on over, then, lass.’

The voice came from the doorway, and then a gaunt old man appeared, beckoning her closer. His face was a scrunch of wrinkled skin beneath tufts of white hair. He wore a tweed jacket a few sizes too big for him, and his trousers were tied tight around his ankles with string. A pipe dangled from his mouth, jiggling up and down as he moved. He came across and opened the gate for her, and she followed him towards the owls. ‘Stroke her on her belly, like.’ He looked expectantly at Grace. She tentatively touched the owl’s soft feathers. Its beak looked razor sharp, but the owl sat stoically and didn’t move.