Rory

Rory was about to go and buy some dinner when he received a hysterical phone call from Rachel. Something about a book club and someone called AJ.

‘Slow down, Rach. I can’t understand you.’

She repeated herself, the second version more coherent but still a long way from her usual succinctness. The end message: their daughter might have been groomed by someone she’d met online.

‘Let me check with Emmet,’ he said, trying to quell his own panic. He turned to his son, who was listening intently. ‘Did Bridie mention someone called AJ to you?’

‘No, never heard of him.’

‘Any mention of friends she met through book club?’

‘No.’ Rory saw regret on Emmet’s face as he mumbled, ‘Bridie and I don’t really confide in each other about that sort of stuff.’

‘Who would she confide in?’

‘I guess you could try Imogen?’

He relayed Emmet’s suggestion before asking, ‘Are you home yet, Rach?’

‘No.’ Her voice sounded heavy and faint at the same time. ‘I took a detour past Nico’s place … Detective Mani called while I was dithering outside. I feel like puking. Just the thought of an older man targeting our beautiful girl …’

He felt the same way but, for Rachel’s sake, he tried not to jump to the worst conclusion. ‘Bridie is smart. We shouldn’t assume that she fell for this AJ guy.’

‘But why was she being so secretive?’ Rachel didn’t wait for an answer. ‘Why not mention the book club, at least? I thought we were close. Now I’m starting to think I don’t know my own daughter …’

‘Rach, don’t start blaming yourself. You didn’t tell your mum everything at that age. None of us did. Let’s trust in Bridie’s judgement until we know different. Okay?’

A long silence before a reluctant ‘Okay.’

‘Are you alright to drive?’ he asked.

‘Yeah.’ She sighed. ‘I’ll wait a few minutes, get my head together.’

‘Let me know when you get home.’ He almost added ‘Love you’. Instead, he pressed his lips together, killing the words and the sentiment in one go.

~

Dinner was burgers and chips, purchased from one of the restaurants at the Entertainment Quarter. The restaurant was three-quarters full, voices and laughter rising above the music: a parallel universe where people dined out and enjoyed each other’s company. Rory’s gaze bounced from table to table as he waited for their order. He felt like an alien here, even though twenty-four hours ago his own family had dined out, sharing pad thai and fried rice, talking just as
animatedly.

‘Can’t believe I can eat when something so terrible is happening,’ Emmet said ten minutes later, biting into his burger.

Rory agreed. He consumed the burger without tasting it. Couldn’t stomach more than a handful of chips.

‘You finished with those?’ Emmet asked.

‘Yeah, you can have them.’

‘Nah, I’m full.’ Emmet used a napkin to wipe tomato sauce from the corner of his mouth. ‘There’s a homeless guy who sleeps under the footbridge. I’ll see if he wants them.’

He was being kind, thoughtful. Rory felt a flare of pride and resisted the urge to accompany him: Emmet had already spoken to the man and perceived him as safe. He watched him circle the base of the footbridge, holding the carton of lukewarm chips as an offering.

Had Bridie eaten today? Did she have enough water? Had this AJ person tricked her into trusting him, and then kidnapped her?

Rory wanted to have faith in Bridie’s judgement, but the truth was she – like Emmet – was kind-hearted and essentially trusting of strangers. Furthermore, she was lonely, socially adrift and perhaps, for these very reasons, less discerning than usual.

His phone pinged in his pocket. He hastily retrieved it, his breath catching when he read the new message.

What the fuck were you doing at my house today? I have you and your friend on camera. You’re going to pay for this.

Fuck. So there had been a security camera and now Matias Cabrera was on the warpath. What to do? Call him back? Tell him why he went to the house? Potentially tip him off that police were investigating him for kidnapping as well as drug trafficking? Tip off the man who had gone ballistic when he’d suspected – wrongly – that Rory had been instrumental in his arrest? The man who seemed to have uncanny intuition when it came to how Rory’s mind worked? The man who had drawn Rory into his twisted criminal world only because he’d been unfortunate enough to find himself in that dark, dusty attic?

Rory’s ongoing niggle: why abduct his daughter when abducting him – or maiming or killing him – would be a more effective way to ensure silence? The answer just came to him, moments ago. Keeping Rory quiet wasn’t the only thing Cabrera cared about. He also cared about retaliation, revenge, dominance. The drug world operated on aggression as much as money, with brutal retaliation for the smallest misbehaviour, and revenge sometimes taking precedence over the risk of being caught. Organised crime gangs seemed to love the drama and statement of crimes committed out in the open, if the news reports were anything to go by. The crimes might look random but were, in fact, planned with a great level of detail. The concert was the perfect environment to abduct someone: the crowds, the noise, the general chaos – who was going to notice a girl being manhandled away?

Rory put his phone back in his pocket. The devastating truth was that any response to Cabrera’s text only had the potential to make things worse.