‘So nothing. You?’
‘Bugger all. I recognised the mask, but not with any sort of connection. Why would I recognise a mask? I’ve seen it somewhere, and we’re months away from bloody Halloween. That’s why I leaned forward, but I wasn’t telling that DS, figured she didn’t need to know. We did.’
Graham took out his phone and clicked on the Amazon app. ‘Let’s see if we can see it on here, then at least you’ll have a picture that’ll hopefully jog a brain cell. Get it on yours, in case I miss it.’
They sat at the table, and both scrolled through the app, occasionally pausing to drink from the can.
‘Got it!’ Kenny slammed his hand down on the table.
Graham jumped. ‘For fuck’s sake, man. A heart attack’s the last thing I need. Let’s look.’
Kenny passed his phone across, and Graham widened his thumb and forefinger to enlarge the picture.
‘I’m right, aren’t I? It is that one?’
‘I would say so. I’ve seen one or two of this sort while we’ve been scrolling, but this is the only one I’ve thought the same.’ Graham handed the phone back, and Kenny took a screenshot of the enlarged picture. He then sent it to Graham’s phone.
Graham stared at the image. ‘They must have been shit-scared, being faced with this.’
Kenny nodded. ‘That’s why we’ve to find him. He needs to be shit-scared as well. And he will be, ’cos he’s not coming out of this alive.’
‘So how does this help?’ Graham tapped his phone.
‘Absolutely no bloody idea. Let’s sit on it for a couple of days, and then maybe we’ll show it to our pretty DS Jones. I’ll give it a bit of thought. For a start, I’ll leave a question about it on Amazon. They forward questions on to customers who’ve bought them. It’s a start, maybe something will come of it. We’ll not lose anything by trying it anyway.’
Although his wife had been more than proficient in buying things from the giant retailer, Graham couldn’t remember ever buying anything from them. He had no idea about the idea of asking questions about the products, and bowed to Kenny’s greater knowledge.
‘You use them much?’ Graham asked.
‘A fair bit. Most things are cheaper online than in a shop. Auction sites are good also. Give me a second, I’ll fetch Isaac’s little printer down and do you a copy of that mask, then you can ask around if anybody knows anything about one like it.’
Kenny disappeared upstairs and returned with a small rectangular piece of technology that Graham didn’t recognise at all.
Kenny laughed at Graham’s expression. ‘One day your kids will be sixteen and want everything in the world that’s technological. This was the twins’ latest must-have, got them one each for their birthdays.’ Kenny went into his phone, found the picture of the mask, and clicked print. The little machine churned out a picture and he handed it to Graham before printing a second one for himself.
‘Bloody hell,’ Graham said as he studied the picture. ‘Never mind the kids wanting one, I do.’
‘You can take the paper off the back and it’s adhesive. You can stick it in an album or something then. Works on a heat system, no ink needed.’
‘Bloody brilliant. Yeah, definitely want one.’
Kenny laughed. ‘Guess where I bought it from.’
‘Amazon?’
‘Got it in one.’
8
Graham left Kenny’s house and headed over to his mother’s, where the kids went wild to see him. He was missing them as much, and wanted them back home with him, but knew it wasn’t the right time yet.
Even the dog seemed pleased he was there, twining around his legs, asking to be petted. He reached down and ruffled her ears, then headed towards the kitchen.
‘Any food, Mum?’
‘Might have.’ Glenys smiled. She could have guaranteed those words would be spoken within ten minutes of his arrival. ‘What do you fancy?’
‘Bacon and egg sandwich?’ Graham said hopefully, and his mother nodded.
‘I might be able to manage that. How’s things going?’
‘Not too good. I miss her, it’s odd without her. Cold. Everything seems flat. I don’t think Kenny’s taking it quite the same way ’cos he’s got the boys at home, but our house has never been empty, not like this. We’ve been to look at the CCTV from the shop, but we didn’t see anything that would help.’
Glenys’s eyes widened. ‘You didn’t see…?’
‘No, they stopped it before that.’ He sat down at the table and stared, remembering everything about the scene that had played out in front of them.
‘They must have been so scared, Mum. That fucking mask…’
‘Don’t swear, Graham, the children might hear.’
‘Sorry, but it was like something from a horror film, something Stephen King would have thought up. They’d not only got the gun poking out of a black bag, they’d got this white mask that must have been more terrifying than the bloody weapon. So many times I asked her to pack in that job, and she wouldn’t. Said there was no danger in that little shop. She was wrong on that one, wasn’t she?’
His voice rose; the anger was evident.
‘Calm down, Graham. Don’t frighten Kelly and Daniel. They’re going through enough. Kelly was heartbroken last night, she wants her mummy, and she’s scared she’s not going back to live with you. I’ve tried to reassure her, but you need to do it also.’ Glenys turned the bacon over in the pan and buttered a breadcake. ‘Spend some time with them, lad,’ she said gently. ‘You know they’re safe here, but they need their dad.’
‘I will. I’ll take them up to the swings after I’ve had this, and I’ll reassure them, don’t worry. They can’t come back yet though, Mum. I don’t want them to see anything of this investigation. They’re too young.’
Glenys cracked the shell and dropped an egg into the pan. ‘I know. What a damn mess it all is. They’ve not said anything about when we can start making arrangements?’
‘That’ll be some time, I think. I’m not ready yet anyway; while she’s in the morgue, she’s still with us.’
Glenys flipped the egg for a few seconds then placed it on top of the bacon. She handed the sandwich to her son, and folded her arms around him. ‘Love you,’ she said. ‘Now eat that up while I’m making us a cup of tea. I don’t doubt your dad will want one.’
Graham bit into it and felt the egg run down on to his hand. He licked it off.
‘I hope your hands are clean,’ his mother said.
‘Tastes all the better for a bit of muck,’ he responded, and winked at her. ‘Love you, Mum.’
Jack and Isaac sat in Jack’s room watching as Leo walked across the large playing field, heading for their house.
‘He’s limping,’ Jack observed.
‘Certainly is,’ his brother agreed. ‘I’ll go and let him in.’
Isaac headed down the stairs, and opened the kitchen door. ‘Leo.’