CHAPTER FIVE
It was a week into the new year and Cristy and Connor were at Quinns’ Podcast Studios on Bristol’s harbourside.
They’d already been given clearance from the company’s owners, Harry and Meena, to move back into the once elegant and airy drawing room of a vast converted Georgian property at the heart of Spike Island, which was now a spacious ground-floor office reserved for prestigious productions.
If Hindsight’s success continued, it was possible they’d soon outgrow this, but for now they were more than happy to be here.
With such illustrious neighbours as the world-renowned SS Great Britain, only yards from their front door in its restricted dry dock, and the internationally loved and highly acclaimed Aardman Animations, home of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, just across the cobbled walkway outside their car park, it was a pretty desirable place to be.
CRISTY: ‘Hi, I’m Cristy Ward …’
CONNOR: ‘And I’m Connor Church. Welcome to a brand-new series of Hindsight.’
CRISTY: ‘Before we get into the curious and compelling mystery we’ve chosen to investigate over the following weeks, we’d like to thank you all for the amazing support you gave our last series Nothing to See Here …’
CONNOR: ‘Which, for those who haven’t yet heard it, can still be found wherever you get your podcasts. Also, all the usual extras – photographs, video and extended versions of interviews featured in the series – remain available on our website.’
CRISTY: ‘As our next story develops we’ll be posting a lot more for you to view or interact with, and you’ll soon understand what a vital role you might play in helping to solve this highly unusual case.’
CONNOR: ‘We’re going to begin by admitting that we aren’t yet sure what the crime is here – bear with us and you’ll see what we mean as the mystery unfolds. It begins with a written story, or an extract from one, that has its roots, we’re sure, in some pretty strange facts.’
CRISTY: ‘It was brought to us by a young woman called Sadie Winters who has no idea of who she really is, where she came from or what actually happened to her when she was just under two years old. But something certainly did.’
CONNOR: ‘It’s important to say now that so far we’ve found no reports of a missing child from around the time Sadie was found on a deserted beach on the west coast of England.’
CRISTY: ‘Obviously, we’ll be carrying out a much deeper dive into police files and missing persons registers as we move on with the investigation, and we’ll let you know what we find as more details come to light.
For now, here is Sadie reading two extracts from the written story she found amongst her aunt’s papers after the aunt died suddenly in early 2020.
Just keep in mind as you listen that the child she’s telling you about is almost certainly her. ’
As they ended the series intro Cristy sat back in her chair to listen once again to the audio file Sadie had painstakingly recorded over the past couple of days.
It included everything from the moment Mia had spotted a child on the beach, right through to Lottie’s suggestion that Mia should end her marriage if they wanted to keep the child they’d begun to call Sadie.
There was now a third extract, found only yesterday, that was due to be recorded later today via a live link from Guernsey.
By the time they’d finished listening to Sadie’s earlier recording, Cristy had brewed a fresh pot of coffee in their corner kitchenette and Connor was standing back to survey the headshots he’d just lined up across the top of the whiteboard.
Mia’s and Lottie’s had been taken from old photographs provided by Sadie, while the one of Sadie herself had been sent by Jasper this morning.
Though she wasn’t smiling, it still managed to show just how lovely she was.
‘I don’t think Sadie should be between them,’ Cristy observed. ‘There are almost certainly going to be two separate backstories here, so the sisters should have one half of the board, and Sadie the other.’
Seeing the logic of that, Connor quickly rearranged the small gallery, giving space for two threads, before taking the coffee Cristy was passing him and returning to his desk.
‘So Harry and Meena are due back at the end of the week,’ he commented. ‘Which reminds me, have you contacted Clover and Jackson yet to get them on board for the duration? I reckon we’re going to need our crack research team at full throttle for this.’
‘I spoke to Clove at the weekend,’ she assured him, ‘and lucky for us neither she nor Jacks have any conflicting assignments, so they’re already familiarizing themselves with what we have so far. They’ll join officially as soon as we have a budget fixed.’
‘I say let’s pull them in right away. We’ll get what we want, no doubt about that, definitely enough to cover their contracts – and maybe to up our own a little? Have you crunched any numbers yet?’
‘I have. I’ll send my suggestions over so you’ll see that I’ve built in an increase for us all. What we don’t know yet, of course, is how much has to be greenlit by this new Sponsorship Liaison Group after consultation with the chosen sponsors. I’d say probably all of it.’
Connor was immediately hostile. ‘Bollocks to that,’ he grunted. ‘If kow-towing to idiots is what success brings then let’s live without it.’
‘Or let’s carry on the way we intend to right now. With any luck, by the time they make their minds up about anything, especially content, we’ll be too far down the road to change course. Now, back to Sadie and the aunts – does that sound like a pop group?’
‘A what? No one says that any more.’
Laughing, Cristy said, ‘Listen to you, pushing thirty and still getting down with the kids? You’re a father now, a grown-up producer and early-nighter …’
‘Your point being?’
‘I’m not sure, but those youthful good looks of yours could be under threat if your little darling starts depriving you of sleep. Then what will all your fans do?’
‘I expect move on to Superman, from whom I stole them in the first place.’
She laughed again, for Connor did indeed resemble a young Christopher Reeve with his inky dark hair, large black-rimmed glasses and devastating smile.
Cristy checked the time and finished her coffee.
‘We’re due to connect to Sadie in the next ten minutes,’ she alerted him.
‘So, just to be clear, we’re definitely up for this in spite of having no idea where it might take us, or what kind of trouble it could end us, or anyone else, in? ’
He grinned. ‘Isn’t not knowing the best part of it? And this latest extract she’s found has really got me going.’
‘Yeah, me too. I just hope she’s tracked down more by now, because it’s definitely raising more questions than it’s answering.’
‘Sorry to disappoint,’ Sadie grimaced when Cristy put the question to her a few minutes later, ‘but don’t worry, we’re still looking.’
‘There’s got to be at least another page,’ Connor declared, as if his determination could somehow make it appear.
On his screen Sadie grimaced helplessly.
‘OK,’ he said, ‘let’s go with what we have so far. Are you OK to read?’
Sadie nodded eagerly. ‘It’s so short I almost know it by heart.’
‘Excellent. There are a few rays of sunshine falling over your face, so if you could change angle slightly …’
As she adjusted, Cristy could tell that in spite of her bravado she was nervous, so she said gently, ‘Don’t worry if you stumble or lose your place, we can always do it again, just know that you have a great voice for podcasts.’
‘As opposed to face?’ Sadie quipped.
Cristy laughed. ‘The video’s only for the website, and we won’t use anything you’d rather we didn’t.’
Sadie nodded, and her eyes moved back to Connor as he released one ear from his headset and gave the thumbs up.
Before Cristy could speak Sadie said, ‘This is the first time I’ve actually seen you, Connor. Did anyone ever tell you you look like Clark Kent?’
As Cristy sniggered, Connor refrained from saying, Only about a million times, and peered meaningfully through his glasses. ‘Just don’t put me near a phone box,’ he cautioned.
‘Or he’ll get his knickers in a twist,’ Cristy explained.
Sadie burst out laughing and Cristy ducked as Connor aimed a pencil at her head.
‘OK, I’m going to disappear from the screen now,’ he told them, ‘it’s just you and Cristy, Sadie, and she’ll lead you in.’
After his habitual, though unnecessary, countdown Cristy began.
CRISTY: ‘So, Sadie, you’re going to read a third extract from what appears to be the same story, written by your aunt?’
SADIE: ‘That’s right. It’s another scene, or part of a chapter, set in the hillside house. It’s only a couple of pages that we found mixed in with other papers at the back of a drawer.’
To Connor, Cristy said, ‘We need to get some footage of Lottie’s rooms to put on the website so everyone can see just what a monumental task Sadie is facing. Is there any chance you can shoot that for us on your phone?’ she asked Sadie.
‘I should think so,’ Sadie agreed. ‘You might have to talk me through how to do it to make sure I get everything you need, but it shouldn’t be hard. Provided Mia isn’t watching.’
Cristy frowned at the reminder of what else she had to say during today’s call. ‘We’ll come on to that,’ she said. ‘For now let’s carry on with the reading. Are we still recording?’ she asked Connor.
He gave a nod and she said, ‘OK, in your own time, Sadie.’
SADIE: ‘It starts mid-sentence, and this is what it says: … when Mia came into the room and shook Lottie awake. “What time is it?” Lottie asked groggily, as she turned onto her back, blinking at the blaze of sunlight trying to stream through the curtains. “Just after seven,” Mia whispered. “Sadie’s still sleeping. Someone’s knocking at the door. ”
‘Registering the words Lottie came suddenly awake. “Have you looked out to see who it is?” she asked worriedly.