Rachel adored Christmas with a childlike excitement and this year was no different. Never normally one to let anything get her down, she was a bit bothered that she wouldn’t have much money to spend on presents, as she hadn’t had a job for a good few months. I had always helped her out in the past but this time Vanda came to the rescue. She took her into town and paid for all Rachel’s gifts to the family – and to Mark. We never let on that we knew this, of course!
As was the norm, she came round about a week before the event and decorated the Christmas tree for us, making sure that everything was just so. I was a bit behind schedule as I was working up until Christmas Eve, finishing at 12.30pm that day. Rachel came to work to meet me and we had a small party: she had helped us to get it all prepared and laid out. After about an hour we left for home. I stopped off to buy a few last-minute presents and we got back to our house mid-afternoon, I to cook and Rachel to relax!
Mark had left for Preston that morning to spend Christmas with his family, which left Rachel on her own. Other years, she had stayed with us during Mark’s absence, but this year was different. She had acquired a kitten about three months previously, or so we thought. Unbeknown to me, she had actually got two kittens and she had no intention of leaving them alone overnight.
We enjoyed a happy, busy afternoon until the time came for me to visit some of my relatives to deliver the Christmas cakes I always made for them. Rachel came with me and our final call was to my aunt, who lived very near Rachel. I told her to hop into the car and I would drop her off but she said she would cut across the grass and be at her front door quicker than if I took her. There were security doors at the front and back of her property and she didn’t have a key for the back one, which was where the car would take her. Both my aunt and I said she shouldn’t do this, as it was after 10pm, very dark and we were concerned for her safety. But she just laughed it off and said she always used that route. We parted having arranged that her dad would pick her up quite early the next morning, Christmas Day, and she would bring her presents for us then.
Ray collected both Rachel and her sister Vanda early on and we spent a quiet but pleasant day, much as other years. Her brother John had bought Rachel and Mark a unicycle as their present, and she thought this very funny. I can see her now in my mind’s eye, doubled up in mirth on the floor. She said that she really must get a house with a garden now, so that she could practise riding it. She had wanted to move for some time now, but she kept getting turned down by the council because she had no children.
The next day Rachel came round to us again, having spent Christmas night alone with her kittens. Mark was due back that afternoon, so her dad dropped her off home before nightfall. Even though Ray, John and myself were all back at work between Christmas and the New Year, Rachel still appeared at some stage every day during that week. On Saturday, 29 December, I took her out shopping as there were already a lot of sales on. As usual, bits and pieces caught her eye and, as usual, I indulged her! How ironic that one of the things I bought her that day was a case full of hair accessories – scrunchies in bright colours of red, green and white. When some of her belongings were fished out of the water two weeks later, I was able to identify one of these as hers. It was a green one; I remember it well.
In the days leading up to the holiday period, Rachel had texted John to ask about his plans for New Year’s Eve, with a view to joining him and his friends for a night out. This was quite unusual as they rarely went out together and, in fact, Rachel had hardly ever spent New Year anywhere except at home. John had arranged to go to the National pub that night, it being more or less his local, and he told Rachel she was welcome to join him. Mark was also invited but he declined as he didn’t know any of their acquaintances and he had no money, and he didn’t want John to have to pay for them both all night. Apart from that, Rachel had stayed in to mind the cats over Christmas, so he was more than happy to keep an eye on them at home while Rachel went out and enjoyed herself for a change.
On Tuesday, 31 December, New Year’s Eve, both Ray and myself were at work. John had a day off and so wouldn’t be up too early! I left work at 12.30pm and called into a few shops on my way home. I remember looking at the car clock and seeing that it was just after 2pm when I finally set off for home, thinking that I would be back before Rachel arrived. John was upstairs listening to music when I got home and Rachel had not yet appeared. I put my shopping away and then sat for a few minutes to relax.
Very soon afterwards, Rachel came in, full of high spirits and looking forward to the night out. She was wearing her jeans, trainers and a jacket I had bought her as a pre-Christmas present. She was also carrying a large bag containing various items. She had actually brought two dresses with her, as she wanted my opinion on which one I thought she should wear on the night. She had brought a change of clothes for the following day as she was to sleep over in her old room that night and she had a second new jacket with her, one that she’d bought the day before and intended to wear to the pub. It was fake black suede with a fur lining and trim, and she’d considered it a real bargain in the sales. She was absolutely thrilled as it was just her size and she’d used some of her Christmas money to buy it.
She hung around for the rest of the afternoon and I prepared the evening meal. She and John listened to some music and had a bit of banter. Ray arrived home and there was a nice air of excitement around the place. They all had some of the food I had prepared, then around 5.30pm Rachel wanted to start getting ready, as it was to be an early start. As it was New Year’s Eve, the pub was expected to fill up quickly and the intention was to get there by 6.30pm. I asked Rachel if she wanted to have a bath, but she said she’d already had one at home and washed her hair.
While John was getting ready to party, Rachel came downstairs in her finery. In the event, she had decided herself which dress to wear and it was one which, although she’d had it for a year, had never worn before. Her friend, Saoirse, had given her a gift voucher for her 21st birthday and Rachel had used it to buy this claret-coloured, sparkly party dress (in a size eight!). It hadn’t fitted her then but she had recently slimmed into it and looked a real treat. It had shoestring straps and a handkerchief skirt – quite high-cut on one side but longer on the other. She was also going to wear the new jacket. I told her to be careful not to leave it lying around the pub as it might get stolen, and she replied that she didn’t even intend to take it off.
Her hair, which was naturally dark, was quite blonde at this time. She had started with highlights and had gradually got lighter and lighter in the months leading up to December. More often than not, she wore it pinned up, but that night, because of the occasion, she wore it loose and it hung past her shoulders. I remarked on how light it was now and she told me that she intended to dye it back to its natural colour in the New Year. She normally wore a lot of jewellery, but that night she wore only a pair of gold hoops in her ears, a gold clown on a chain that Mark had given her for Christmas, and a gold crucifix round her neck. She had left her watch in her room upstairs along with all her other things.
Just before they left, John had a phone call and shouted out to ask me if I was willing to babysit for a couple of his friends who wanted to join them in the pub. I had never met the child and I was rather tired, but I didn’t want to seem mean so I agreed. It would only be for a few hours and I had no other plans for that night. Ray and I are invited every year to our next door neighbour’s house for their annual New Year’s Eve party, but we had decided not to go this year, as we were both feeling the after-effects of Christmas and were tired.
John went off in his car at around 6.30pm to pick up a few of his pals and drop them at Steve and Sandy’s, where I would later be babysitting. The plan was for everyone to congregate there and then walk the short distance to the pub. While Rachel was waiting for John to come back, she, for the first time in her life, asked her dad if he would lend her some money. She had never had to ask, as Ray always offered it voluntarily! As he was short, he went out to the nearest cash point and got her what she had asked for, which was only £10. She never spent it that night, but it was never found either.
John and Rachel said they would walk up to Steve and Sandy’s but Ray was having none of it and insisted on driving them, a distance of a quarter of a mile at the most! On his return, we sat around until it was time for him to drop me off for my babysitting duties at around 8pm. I had agreed to watch the child until around 10.45pm, at which time Ray would pick me up and take me home. I know that I was a little apprehensive at meeting their child, Alfie, for the first time, as his reputation preceded him! He was five years old and very precocious but I enjoyed being with him for those few hours. His parents arrived back at the appointed hour and I rang Ray to ask him to collect me. I hadn’t driven myself as parking was a problem near their house but I didn’t want to be out too late, as Ray had been up since 4am and would be very tired by now.
Unbeknown to John and Rachel, it was fancy dress in the pub that night and the couple for whom I was babysitting had gone all out – he dressed as Austin Powers and she as Liz Hurley. They had won a bottle of champagne for their efforts and were very happy when they got home. I asked especially if Rachel was enjoying herself when they left and they said she was. The whole crowd of them were to see in the New Year at the pub and then call in at Steve and Sandy’s on their way home, to celebrate with them for a time. I chatted with them until Ray arrived but we didn’t linger, as I just wanted to get home. It had been a long day, especially for Ray.
As soon as I got in, I went up and had a bath and changed into my nightclothes. We are not a couple who normally go out socially, but we are in the habit of having a few drinks most nights and this night was no exception. Ray had a couple of vodkas while I was in the bath and normally I would have joined him. However, because I had eaten practically nothing all day, I decided that vodka on an empty stomach might not be a good idea! Instead, I had a glass of Bailey’s Irish Cream, by which time it was around midnight. We saw in the New Year and then went into the back garden to watch the fireworks being set off all around us. By now, the party next door was in full swing and, judging by the noise, they were all having a good time.
We went back inside and I rang Kerry, our oldest daughter, in Southampton to wish her a Happy New Year. As usual when the two of us start talking, the conversation went on for longer than anticipated and it was more than half an hour later when I put the phone down. Ray, who had been hovering around and waiting to go to bed, called out his greeting to Kerry and then went upstairs at exactly 12.40am.
I didn’t expect to see John and Rachel for quite some time and thought I would be long asleep before they came home. I decided to have a final glass of Bailey’s and then retire to bed, but instead I picked up a book and started reading. I lost track of time so it was quite a surprise when I heard the door being unlocked and the two of them bounded into the room. It was only 1.20am.
They were both in good spirits and John was very merry, having had quite a few drinks. He went upstairs at once and came down soon after, all ready for bed. Rachel chatted for a while and said she’d had a good time although she’d drunk very little, only a few glasses of lager. She was keen to get to bed herself but said she would first ring Mark and used the phone in the kitchen to do so. It soon became apparent that Mark was not at home as Rachel had expected. He’d received a last-minute invitation to a party, which was where he was when she reached him on his mobile. Rachel became very upset when she realised he’d left the kittens alone at home and said so in no uncertain terms. John and I were quite bemused by it all and John went up to bed laughing. I didn’t see it as a big deal either, as the kittens were inside, could come to no harm and would not starve overnight!
Rachel sat in the kitchen and lit up a cigarette while I stayed in the back lounge. There is an obscure glazed window between these two rooms and through it I could see her outline quite clearly. I was waiting for her to finish her cigarette and go to bed, so that I could do so as well.
I suppose I must have been dozing off when I heard the back door closing, as her words didn’t register at all and, by the time I had roused myself, I heard her unlock the door and come back in again. She went upstairs and I was relieved that she had decided to stay and go up to bed after all. Instead, she came back downstairs, having changed from her strappy evening shoes into her trainers. I realised afterwards that this was why she had gone out and then returned – she didn’t want to make the journey home in high heels. She moved towards the door again and this time I jumped up and went after her.
By now it was around 1.45am on a very cold and windy night and I was worried about her intentions, but she said she was going home to her own place. I followed her outside on to our drive and tried to reason with her, begging her not to go, but she was adamant. At one point I looked at our cars with the idea of driving her home, but, having had a few drinks, I knew there would be a risk if I were to be stopped by the police. I said this to Rachel and she said it didn’t matter, as it wasn’t far and she would be OK. She would telephone me when she arrived home anyway.
I followed her a little way along the street, still very worried and asking her to reconsider. She became quite irritated with me for making a fuss and said that she must go home as the kittens were alone in the dark and would be hungry. I tried all kinds of arguments to make her stay, the final one being that her father would kill me when he found out I had let her go on her own at that hour, but it was to no avail. She was determined to go.
Even though it was New Year’s Eve, the road was strangely deserted, but there was one person around. A young man was approaching as we went out of the driveway. He drew level with us during my final conversation with Rachel and so must have heard much of what was said. At one point, I was so desperate that I considered shouting after him and asking if he would walk her home, but then I realised how unwise that would be. He was a stranger and in any case, when I looked up, he seemed to have disappeared. I had to force myself to get a grip and stop worrying – Rachel was almost 22 years old, a fit girl, well used to walking distances and, after all, it was only about three-quarters of a mile home along a busy, well-lit road. On top of that, it was New Year’s Eve when all the world was happy and enjoying itself. I was just being a stupid mother and Rachel’s final words to me were,‘I’ll be OK, don’t worry,’ and that she would ring when she got home. What was to happen next was a nightmare from which we will never wake up, and one from which we will never, ever recover.