9. Cassian
NINE
Cassian
“ T here’s talk of a town hall meeting to look at security across Puffin Bay.” Roe Holland watched sadly as the ball left his foot in the wrong direction and his attempt at beating his record for keepy-uppies was ended at forty-three. “If I’d known that a six-year-old could break into Romy’s house, I’d have sent a team round earlier.”
“You were at Romy’s house?” I wasn’t sure why I was surprised at this. I’d heard Romy’s friend Liv mention something about Roe Holland going round to look at security. It was only Tuesday evening, football training for the team I was now an official member of – the hazing process was putting your card behind the bar, which was happening once we were in the Puffin Inn.
There’d been a strategy meeting this afternoon with school, the police and social care, where information had been shared and a plan formed. Mia was to stay with Romy under a special guardianship order. She’d be considered a child looked after for now, and probably long into her future, given what information had been pieced together about Cara.
There were a couple of misdemeanours for theft, possession, another for solicitation, and an older charge for fraud, most before Mia was born. Her name was linked to Mia’s dad and other people associated with the organised crime group he was involved with.
There was also some shock as to why this hadn’t been picked up before, the wider picture not pretty and it became clearer that Mia had probably needed support for some time, although that wider picture hadn’t been known.
“Romy’s house had a back door you could unlock with a toothpick,” Roe said, sitting down on the bench and yanking off his sweaty training top then wiping his face with it. “No locks on the windows, too many places in the back garden where someone could hide for ages – great for Heidi to play hide and seek, but not great if you might have someone stalking you.”
“You think that’s the case?”
Roe shrugged and picked up a water bottle, pouring the water over his face. “Judging off what I’ve read about the ex, I’d say so.”
“You don’t think Cara’s had a breakdown and disappeared to pull herself together?” I was still holding onto this being the correct scenario.
“Unlikely. I think we’ve picked up an image of her at a petrol station near Conwy, where she’s a passenger in the front seat. It was a fill up and run – they didn’t pay for the petrol, which was how we found the CCTV footage. The station owner posted it on social media trying to get a name of the driver so he could name and shame them. I think Cara’s alive and trying to run away from someone.” He started to unlace his boots.
“Why wouldn’t she take Mia with her? If she’s scared someone’s after her, why leave her daughter. She’s effectively abandoned her.” It wasn’t resonating with me.
“She could’ve left under duress. She might’ve figured that someone would take care of Mia and that was easier than taking her with her, and probably better for Mia as well. People do strange things that rarely make sense.” He stood up. “I need to shower. If Freya turns up and smells me like this, she’ll figure out a way to hose me down. Again.”
I’d briefly met Freya, Roe’s wife, at the weekend when she’d been talking to Mavis about the benches along the promenade. I hadn’t gotten involved in their debate, because that seemed like stupidity, but I had been surprised when I realised she was married to the town’s techie.
“I thought you worked designing apps.” One of the teachers at school had mentioned that Roe could design an app for us to enable better communication with parents, but a system where parents could only contact us via it at certain times of the day and not during school holidays or weekends.
“I do. That’s what pays the bills. But I have a couple of family connections that have a big security firm and I help out with the cybercrime side. We sometimes work as civilians for the police and for my sins, I’ve ended up being an expert witness a few times. I like helping to lock up the bad guys.” We wandered into the changing rooms, the smell not exactly fresh.
The sports club facilitated cricket and football, as well as lacrosse, a crown green bowling team, pickleball and tennis courts. It was situated just outside Puffin Bay, but within walking distance, which in theory would be good for a cool down after the match. The cricket season was at its peak, the football teams just starting pre-season training, albeit early given the first match wasn’t until mid-August and we were only in mid-June, but given most of the team were away during the summer on holiday, and there were times in late July and August when the club was booked out for festivals and funfairs as well as cricket matches, we needed to get some practice in when we could.
Today both the football team and the cricket first eleven were training, so the changing room was particularly fruity, more so than on Sunday which had been my first practice. I played cricket too, brought up in a sporty family that’d produced a couple of professionals, but for now I was just going to stick with football. That and sorting out where I was living.
I showered, shot the shit with my new teammates, which included Roe’s two brothers, both of whom were here, although Finn hadn’t trained because of a hamstring pull. Caleb was there too, our keeper, and a couple of others who I recognised from walking round the town with Romy on Saturday.
It was hard not to think about Romy.
I’d had an email from my solicitors this morning, just after I’d spent an hour with the school’s chair of governors, so it was akin to having bleach poured on a freshly scraped cut. Bryony didn’t want the furniture or the house we’d shared, claiming she needed a fresh start. I had no idea how things were between her and Jason, but it sounded like it was souring.
It didn’t surprise me. Bryony was high maintenance, with false lashes and nails, an inability to get ready to go out in less than ninety minutes and she had a savings account for tweakments as she got older. I’d been okay with this – she was also a good laugh, kind, great with my family and friends (too good as it happened) and the good stuff about her outweighed the bad. Plus I was no angel to live with and she’d seemed happy to put up with my quirks and general weirdness, including my obsession with sport.
Jason was the opposite to me. He was a workaholic, wasn’t massively keen on exercise, was teetotal – no issue with that but Bryony definitely wasn’t – and in all honesty, he was a bit boring. I’d known him since we’d taught together at a school in Liverpool and we’d both been newly qualified teachers, the job creating a friendship that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.
How he and Bryony would work out together I didn’t know, but I wished them well. It was better for me if they were happy, at least while our divorce was going through, so she didn’t try to stall things, or make decisions that would make my own path less smooth.
I just wanted done with it. Bryony didn’t want to be with me anymore and as much as that had stung at first, my ego battered like a boxer who wasn’t prepared, I’d accepted it.
It wasn’t meant to be.
We didn’t have kids, our shared memories would either fade or be forgotten and maybe we’d both learned something about ourselves that would help for the future, even if that was me knowing it was a bad idea to tell a woman she had too many shoes, and Bryony realising that the bins didn’t put themselves out.
New town. New job. New home. New start.
One that had a lot of surprising elements.
Like Romy.
“Is that house safe for Romy and the girls to stay in?” I was walking with Roe and Finn down towards the Puffin Inn, where I’d be enjoying a pint of lime and soda, and dinner, obviously. I was yet to cook anything in my own kitchen and there was every chance I was going to end up living like a student.
Finn looked at his brother, frowning, which Finn did a lot. “Is it?”
Roe pulled a face. “Do you really think I’d let her stay there if it wasn’t? It is now, anyway.” He listed a load of equipment that’d been installed.
I didn’t even pretend to understand. “What does that mean?”
“Motion sensors outside, the camera goes straight to the team I work with, so any movement and whoever’s on duty will be notified. Sensors on the windows and doors, any tampering will get picked up. We’ve installed panic buttons in most rooms and secured the windows in all the bedrooms. It bothers me that no one overlooks the house and the house next door is empty for the summer because Beryl and Albert have gone on a cruise.” Roe was obviously thinking what else he could do. “Empty houses aren’t great. They’re a target for OCG’s – move someone into the house, so ‘cuckoo’ it, and set up business from there. Often teenagers will live there who are being used to run county lines. I’ve asked Beryl whether she’d be happy for me to get someone to house sit for the summer, and she was thinking about it. I wish she’d think quicker.” Roe switched his kit bag to his other shoulder.
“When did you ask her?” Finn bent down to pick up a bag of dumped rubbish. “Why do people do this?”
“Because they’re wankers. There’s even a bin over there.” Roe pointed. “I asked Beryl at lunch time, She said she’d check with Albert and if he agreed, the back bedroom was out of bounds. I didn’t ask why.” Roe took the bag of rubbish off his brother and put it in the bin.
“Wise. I know one of their orders turned up at the pub once. It was from some online sex shop and it wasn’t discreetly packaged. How old are they?” Finn rubbed his hands against each other. He probably needed to disinfect them now.
“I think they’re late sixties. I think I want to be Albert when I’m that age.” Roe upped the pace we were walking at.
“I bet Freya doesn’t agree.” Finn checked his phone, sent something of a response to whatever and shoved it back in his pocket.
“Freya’s not speaking to me at the moment.”
“Why’s that?”
I was looking forward to this.
“I locked her out. Long story but she thinks I did it on purpose. I didn’t. Back to the house next door to Romy – even if Beryl says someone can stay, I don’t have anyone lined up. It needs to be someone I can trust, who doesn’t mind a short-term stay – a few months or so, and doesn’t have kids or a pet.” He looked perturbed. “I’ll sleep better knowing that someone’s not going to be in the house next door while all this is going on.”
I thought about the school house, which had been occupied by the longest servicing headteacher ever, or that was how it felt. He’d done nothing to it, even though there was a budget for bringing it up to date from an old trust that’d been set up when the school was founded and added to throughout the years. The kitchen was just about usable, the whole place needed decorating and new flooring, and there was definitely damp on one of the walls which I’d figured was from a faulty hopper. It needed workmen going in, and then it needed decorating, which I’d rather not live through.
“I can stay next door to Romy.” It would be a practical solution, plus I’d be closer to town than the schoolhouse which was slightly away from the main stretch, and felt a bit isolated.
Roe frowned at me, his usual expression. “What about being the headteacher in residence?”
“It needs modernising and I’d rather not live there while it’s being done. I really don’t like the place as it is.” It was the truth but the first time I’d said it. “I’ve not even properly unpacked.”
Roe studied me briefly and gave a short nod. “I think Beryl would be happy with the new head teacher staying there. Are you sure about that?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.” It hadn’t taken me long to make my mind up, but I knew I was best to go with my gut most of the time. “When are they back?”
“October. It’s a six month round the world cruise. Sounds great if you like being cooped up in a cabin.” Roe had his phone out and was sending a message, I suspected it was to Beryl.
It rang straight afterwards and he stepped across the road to take it.
“How are you finding the town?” Finn rubbed at his stubble.
I’d figured he saw himself as being something of a guardian for the town. He’d seemed invested in it, keen to work with other businesses, believing that a rising tide floated all boats.
“I like it. It’s different to where I was before, and I can’t lie and say this was a planned move years in the making, but it feels right, being here.”
“You might feel different when our eldest starts at your school. You’ll probably want to run for the hills.” He rubbed his face, looking exhausted. “I should’ve known that Ruby’s kids would be wild.”
Ruby was his wife – I’d gotten to the point of making a list of Puffin Bay families with my deputy head to get some idea of who was who and what the local politics were like. I knew Ruby was also Thane’s sister, and Thane was with Fleur, who’d mainly grown up in Puffin Bay, and they had twin daughters who were at the school in the nursery department.
“Your kids too.”
He nodded, looking even more exhausted. “Which means they’re related to Gulliver and he’s certified insane so they’ve got no chance. You think you’ll be here for a while then? In the town?”
“I think so. It’s a sea change, but I like it. I’m not homesick or fighting the urge to run to the nearest city. After that training session, I’m not planning on running anywhere.”
He laughed, the Puffin Inn sign in the distance a siren’s call. “Yeah, I can identify that. First round’s on you, I believe.”
I grumbled something but this actually felt right. It was starting to feel like it could be home.
I met Romy at the gate again on Wednesday morning. She had hold of each girl’s hand and she looked like she’d had more sleep than the night before.
“You really don’t need to wait for us every day, you know.”
Her smile told me that she was happy I was there though.
“All part of the service.” I watched as Heidi tried to pull away from her mother. “They can walk in with Miss McGregor.” Their teacher was outside already, probably trying to grab five minutes of sunshine. “There’s a surprise for them in the classroom.”
“Okay.” Romy crouched down letting go of Heidi’s hand to straighten Mia’s hair. “I’ll be here after lunch so we can see Liv again and her friend, okay?”
Mia nodded. Romy gave her a kiss on her head and Mia flung her arms around her. If I was a betting man, and I wasn’t, I’d put money on Mia not leaving Romy. I hoped she didn’t have to leave Romy. The chances of her being able to go back to Cara were slim; the social worker and her supervisor had started proceedings for a Section thirty-one, a full care order, and the social worker had said at the strategy meeting they were hoping that Mia could stay with Romy and Heidi, as that was in her best interests.
“Okay, Heidi,” Romy said, capturing her daughter’s hand. Heidi was watching her teacher, clearly wanting to go and investigate the surprise in her classroom. “Be good. Try not to come home covered in paint.” She gave her a kiss and stood up, the two girls running over to Miss McGregor, only Mia looking back to see if Romy was still there.
“She’ll come home covered in paint.” Romy focused on me, looking a little apprehensive like she’d done yesterday.
I got why, there was a lot going on, a lot of change and a fuckton of worry. “She probably will. She attracts it like a magnet. Her class wasn't even painting yesterday but I noticed she was slightly purple in places.” There was something I needed to tell Romy. “How’s the new security system?”
“Complicated and scary. I feel better with it in though I’m still hoping that Cara’s just gone for a break somewhere.” She tightened the ponytail her hair was in. “Although I’ll never understand how she could just leave Mia. There’ve been countless times I wanted to leave Heidi somewhere, maybe to be brought up by wolves, but I would never do it.” She sighed and looked forlorn.
“Do you ever get downtime?”
“I’m a parent. What’s downtime? She stays with her gran, which is when I usually clean the house or catch up on work and then fall asleep before nine o’clock. I have this fantasy about staying in a fancy hotel with six billion thread count sheets and room service, but I’ve never booked it.”
“Can you get thread count that high?”
She laughed at me. “Bless you. No. I was exaggerating. Has Mia been okay in school?”
I’d seen her briefly yesterday afternoon when she’d come to pick the girls up but not to speak to, as I was dealing with a parent whose son was thinking it funny to use his classroom as a free running space.
“Quiet, but I don’t think that’s much different from what her teacher’s said. I need to tell you something and I don’t want you to think I’m being a stalker or anything.” I suddenly felt uncomfortable.
I had a feeling Romy had a crush on me, mainly because of what her friend Liv had said on Monday night. I was flattered because she was hardly unattractive, clearly intelligent and had her shit together, even if she thought she didn’t.
“Go on. This is making me nervous.”
I tried to smile and hoped I didn’t look like a cannibal. “I’m housesitting for your neighbour Beryl while they’re on their cruise.”
“Oh. Okay. Roe was flapping about that house being empty. But what’s up with the schoolhouse?”
I went through the list of issues.
“I won’t get in your way though, but equally, I’m around if something’s making you nervous or you want something checked out.” I pushed my hands in my pockets, realising I wanted her to need something checked out.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ll make sure the girls don’t drive you mad shouting for Mr Caddick all the time.” She gave a rueful smile. “I’ll try to make sure. I don’t think the social worker would be happy if I started gagging Heidi.”
“Heidi’s a good kid. She’s bright as anything.” Her vocab was exceptional for a child of her age, but that might be a curse for Romy rather than a blessing.
“Let’s hope she uses her powers for good.” Romy stuffed her hands in her pocket and bit her lips together. “Look, you’ve been really kind with everything that’s gone on with Mia and I know you’re settling into town, so I wondered if you wanted to grab dinner with me one evening, just as friends, the girls would be with Heidi’s gran - ”
I wanted to say yes. I really wanted to say yes. I liked Romy; she was good to talk to, she was pretty and all that, and I liked her laugh and how her eyes crinkled when she smiled. There was a lot to be said for someone who would take on another child at a moment’s notice and not even question whether someone else could do it.
But I couldn’t say yes. I could tell she liked me, which I guessed was a big thing for her. I knew from staffroom gossip that she hadn’t dated anyone since Joel had died. I couldn’t imagine how it was, getting over the death of your partner and staying in the town where everyone remembered him. She’d be forever Joel’s widow.
“Thank you for the offer – it’s really kind. I really need to sort my life out before I start socialising – maybe we can grab a drink again at the Puffin Inn when you’re there with the girls.” I felt like a tool and it wasn’t the answer I wanted to give.
I wasn’t sure if that was relief on her face or maybe disappointment, she still had a smile so maybe she was just being kind and feeling sorry for me.
“Sounds good. I’ll get you a pint, if you’re allowed to accept drinks from parents in your role.”
“I think it’s allowed.” The chair of governors had encouraged me to be part of the community. Part of the reason I’d been appointed had been because I wanted to live in Puffin Bay. The other part was because I was the only viable candidate though. “I’ll see you later though, no doubt, neighbour.” I flashed my best smile, not sure if she had kind of asked me on a date or not and hoping I hadn’t offended her.
“You’ll definitely hear us. See you then.”
I watched her walk away, talking to one of the other parents as she headed off, but she did look back and gave me a quick smile, noticing I was still watching her.