Chapter 27 #3
I leave the green room with my laptop tucked under my arm, pushing thoughts of murder and psychopaths away with a new mantra: Luce’s okay. Beth’s safe. Over and over, I repeat it while I find somewhere quiet to access the full device system.
And after that?
Well, hopefully my work will distract me until my girlfriend and sister finally show.
Half an hour later, they’re still not here.
With every passing minute, I find it harder to concentrate.
I brief my staff, but pause mid-sentence every time another possibility crosses my mind.
I can’t continue talking to them until I’ve pulled the idea apart.
The device management system was fruitless.
Their phones are either still out of signal or turned off.
Security at IKEA didn’t see them, although it’s hard for them to pinpoint anyone in the reams of people who visit in a day.
A cough returns my attention to the door staff, who stand in a circle around me, watching. Someone to my left shifts on their feet, while two others share an uncomfortable look. I stopped again. Bollocks.
‘All right. You all know the drill, and nothing I’m saying to you is new. Off to your positions. Let me know if you see Lucy or my sister. Stay alert. We open in ten.’
The team spreads out, and Gethin steps closer.
Didn’t spot him lingering, and it’s not like him to hang about with us plebs.
He’s usually already in the control room by now so he can lord over everyone via walkie talkie.
The sight of him here sinks my stomach though a tiny voice in my head suggests maybe he has good news. Un-fucking-likely.
If he witnessed the moment all my brain cells gave up, he doesn’t say. ‘Have you heard anything?’
‘Was about to ask you the same thing.’
‘After you left the green room and Cai went to his dressing room with Bryn, I called the car company.’
‘And?’
‘They picked the girls up from the house a little after ten. But five minutes into the journey, the tracking system went offline. Bethan had an appointment with a personal shopper, but the store was confused when I reached out because, apparently, someone who sounded like me rang and said the girls couldn’t make it. I rescheduled for next week.’
Gethin pauses. He looks like shit. Face pale, his tie skewiff. The lines on his face seem deeper, his bald head less shiny. Even his moustache looks sad, not glossy and neat like it normally is. Looks like he’s been messing with it.
What the fuck’s going on?
‘I’ve tried the driver a few times,’ I tell him.
‘I’m worried something serious has happened, Rhys. I think it’s time we get the police involved. With everything else going on, I…’
The corridor grows darker with every beat. Copper fills my mouth. A vague feeling of nausea bubbles low in my belly.
It’s too much.
The list of all the bad things that could have happened return to my brain, and I struggle to keep check on my breath, my rage. If there was an accident, we would have been told. Who the fuck’s ringing shops on Gethin’s behalf and changing appointments? That’s all Lucy’s job.
I swivel my head left, right, searching for a solution or a sign to tell me what to do next. If the girls have been hurt, I’ll never forgive myself. Someone should have been there. I should have been there looking after them.
‘Rhys? Rhys!’ Gethin’s voice brings me out of my spiral, but the edges of my sight remain dark.
I shake it all away the best I can. ‘Sorry. What did you say?’
‘What do you think has happened?’
Like I fucking know. I don’t have a spy line to the girls. I’m not there with them, and I’m not a god damn fortune teller. There’s no crystal ball in my pocket.
It takes every ounce of my remaining effort to swallow my snap at him. ‘I don’t know, but I agree with getting the police involved. I’m not sure how, but there must be a link between this and everything else.’
‘That’s what I was worried about.’
I have nothing to go on. No leads, and no hope of finding them.
‘What about the show?’ With me and Gethin distracted, surely we can’t let Cai on stage.
‘Nothing changes.’ What the fuck? ‘The doors will open in two, and Cai doesn’t like disappointing his fans.
Especially not this late. He suspects something’s up, so I’ll need you to stick by his side.
Keep Bryn with you, too. Cai will be annoyed at us if he finds out, but he’d hate it more if we terminated the show when we don’t know the full story.
The girls could still turn up. Go get Cai ready. I’ll call the police.’
He turns and leaves, his shoes marching a staccato across the cement floor, accentuating my anger.
He’s made the wrong fucking call. The show should be cancelled because how the fuck am I supposed to look after Cai when he’s standing in front of thousands of people?
It’s a fucking impossible task, maintaining the stupid status quo.
I’m gonna pull it. Fuck the PR. Fuck the fans. Fuck the job. I’m not losing the two people I love most in the world because I’m distracted with a fucking pop concert.
I spin in the opposite direction to Gethin. The head of operations should be around here somewhere, and I’ll call Luce’s phone one more time while I look for him. If she’s in signal range, she’ll pick up, and everything’ll be sorted.
Each step is like walking through treacle. I bring up her contact card, my fingers trembling with each click on my screen. I keep it on speakerphone, her picture smiling at me. She must be safe. She has to be.
This time it rings. Yes! Each repeat of the dial tone raises my hope. Her phone’s on. But it continues five, six, seven times. She never waits this long to answer, especially for me.
The call connects before it clicks over to the answering machine, and my heart lurches. It was all a misunderstanding. They’re on their way to us. They got caught up.
‘Hello, handsome.’ The greeting’s a deep grunt. Instead of Luce’s posh proper English, a bloke speaks, voice laced with a thick accent that sounds way too Welsh to be real. The sharpness of the h cuts through me, and I shudder. I know that voice.
‘Who the fuck are you?’
‘If you want to find out, Rhys Pritchett, you’d better listen very carefully.’