Page 22

THEN

July 1983

Kimberly

Hotel Miramar, Barcelona, Spain

As soon as she returned to the hotel after the press conference, Kimberly felt a shift in people’s moods. Their faces changed from suspicious to sympathetic. Strangers would call out their support, offer their love and tell her that Robert was in their prayers.

And that helped.

Over the next forty-eight hours, Jason’s interview was shared on all Spanish TV channels, but then disappeared from the headlines as new stories unfolded worldwide.

There were some further leads, with sightings of Robert in Alicante, seen in the arms of a dark-haired man, crying and distressed. A false alarm. Then, several sightings of a young blond boy in Barcelona matched Robert’s description. It was a rollercoaster as hope soared and fell; a lead was investigated each time, and it came to nothing.

Kimberly folded Lily’s clothes that she’d had laundered by the hotel into neat piles in the chest of drawers. Lily sat on a mat in front of the window, playing with a Fisher Price toy. A rap on the door made them both start. Kimberly opened it to Kevin, who stood with a newspaper in his hand.

‘I thought you were with Jason,’ she said to her father-in-law as he walked in.

‘He’s talking to a journalist from a local radio station in the lobby. Do you have a minute to chat?’

‘Sure,’ Kimberly said. They took a seat beside each other on the edge of the bed.

‘How are you?’ Kevin asked.

‘Okay.’

‘Jason says you’ve not been sleeping.’

Kimberly shrugged her shoulders. ‘It’s hard to switch off.’

‘I get that. For me too. Would you take one of your sleeping pills?’

Kimberly looked at Kevin sharply. Was he giving a dig? No, she didn’t think so. She only saw concern on his face.

‘I’ll never take one of those ever again,’ Kimberly said flatly.

‘Have you seen today’s newspapers?’ Kevin asked. He had an Irish tabloid in his hands.

Kimberly shook her head. ‘I don’t read the papers. It’s too hard to relive it constantly. Jason tells me if there’s anything I need to know.’

Kevin nodded, then flicked open the pages until he came to a two-page spread with several zoomed-in photographs of Kimberly and Jason in the lobby of the hotel, and of Jason at the press conference.

‘This paper paid a body-language expert to review footage of you both,’ Kevin said. His tone was cold, and Kimberly’s heart began to accelerate.

‘Jason does not come off well.’ Kevin pointed to the first image, which zoomed in on Jason’s face. His jaw was clenched, his lips tight and thin. Kevin read a few lines from the article: ‘ The tightened lips and clenched jaw is often an indicator of anger and annoyance .’

Kimberly felt a flash of fear run down her spine. Kevin pointed to a series of photographs that captured Jason placing his hand on Kimberly’s back and her shrugging it off. Kevin continued to read: ‘ In these photo sequences, we see Kimberly is hunched forward, which is often an indicator of great anxiety. Although her face is half covered with large sunglasses, and a sunhat, when Jason places a hand on her back, she clearly winces. And her head drops downward. Which could be a sign of fear. When she shrugs her husband’s hand off, once again, Jason’s lips compress, and his jaw tightens. Another sign of anger. ’

‘This is n-nonsense,’ Kimberly stuttered.

Further photographs were zoomed in at the most unflattering moments for Jason. She hardly recognised her husband in the stills shared.

Kevin continued to read from the newspaper, his voice clipped.

‘ From a nonverbal perspective, there are questions about how the parents have acted. Kimberly seems extremely subdued. She covers her face, never showing her eyes, which indicates that she is wearing a mask. Why? Jason is in pain, but also appears frustrated, which you can see from his clenched jaw and the curl of his lips as they compress. He’s defensive. He could be innocent and feel attacked, which is why he’s defensive. But he could also be guilty and trying to cover it up .’

Once he’d finished reading, Kevin dropped the paper between them on the bed as if it were on fire.

‘I don’t understand,’ Kimberly began, feeling confused by the comments. ‘I’m not scared of Jason. He’s a gentle and kind man.’

Kevin nodded. ‘They want a villain. And they’ve decided that it’s my boy. But I won’t have it. You and I know that he has done nothing wrong here.’ His eyes flashed, and Kimberly felt his hostility move towards her.

‘You sound angry with me, Kevin. I’ve not done anything wrong here either.’

Kevin watched her closely and nodded slowly. ‘You need to think about when you will return to Dublin.’

Kimberly was surprised by the change in subject. ‘We can’t go yet. What if Robert is returned to us?’

Kevin scoffed. ‘Do you believe whoever has him will bring him back? There’s been no ransom . . . We have to accept the possibility that we may never find out where he is or what’s happened to him.’

‘Why would you say that?’ Kimberly said, her voice raising. ‘Inspector Ortega said Jason’s plea could bring the abductor forward.’

‘If they were going to do that, they would have by now,’ Kevin said sadly. ‘It’s time to go home. If we stay here, I’m worried that the Spanish police will try to stick this on Jason.’

Kimberly felt as if she’d been given an electric shock.

‘Do you think Jason had anything to do with Robert’s disappearance?’ Kevin pushed further.

‘No!’ Kimberly replied instantly.

Kevin visibly sagged beside her. ‘I needed to hear you say that out loud. Thank you.’ He reached over and clasped her hands between his own. ‘Will you talk to Jason? Persuade him that it’s time to go home. The business is beginning to suffer. A tenant has complained about a leak in his bathroom, and another has given his notice to leave. Mortgages still have to be paid. Life has to continue on.’

Kimberly felt the room shrink around her; the air became dense, and she took several rasping breaths.

‘Kimberly? Are you okay?’ Kevin asked, his forehead now furrowed and creased.

Kimberly shook her head. She needed to escape, to leave this hotel where she’d spent days doing nothing but waiting for the phone to ring.

‘Can you watch Lily? I need to go out, to think.’

Kimberly wasn’t even sure where she was going. She pulled her sunhat and sunglasses down low, and sneaked out of the hotel, careful not to let Jason see her. He was still deep in conversation with the journalist, waving his arms around as he made whatever point he was saying.

Kimberly walked along the narrow, cobbled Spanish streets. She passed a lady selling flowers from a basket, and an ice-cream cart, with kids gathered around, waving their money to buy a Cornetto. She kept going until she found herself at Portside, at the water’s edge, looking out to a cruise ship that sat in the harbour.

The Carousel had long gone, but another group of tourists had arrived on another liner. Carefree, cameras hanging round their necks, faces sun-kissed and sunburnt as they explored.

Kimberly closed her eyes and remembered their first port call in Villefrance. Robert was on Jason’s shoulders, Lily in her pram, and the four of them were happy, safe and carefree, unaware that they were days away from this nightmare.

She damned herself for ever agreeing to go on this trip. They should have stayed at home in Ireland. Safe. Hidden from danger.

‘I wondered where you were heading,’ a voice said, interrupting her thoughts.

Kimberly whipped round to find Inspector Ortega standing behind her, watching her quizzically.

‘You followed me?’

‘I saw you leave the hotel. I was on my way to speak to you as it happens. You walk fast, Kimberly.’

‘What do you want?’ She was irritated by his presence. What good was he to her? He couldn’t bring Robert back to them.

Ortega gestured towards an empty bench a few hundred feet away. She fell into step beside him, and they both took a seat.

‘Do you mind?’ Inspector Ortega asked, pulling out his cigarettes.

Kimberly shook her head, then surprised herself by asking, ‘Can I have one?’

‘I didn’t know you smoked,’ he replied as he passed her a cigarette, then flicked his lighter on to light it for her.

Kimberly inhaled her first drag, closing her eyes to savour the nicotine. ‘I don’t. But I had a boyfriend once who did. I used to have the odd one with him,’ she answered eventually. ‘Thank you.’

They sat silently for a moment as they smoked, watching the tourists move back and forth to and from the cruise ship.

‘How are you coping?’ Ortega asked.

‘I honestly feel like I’m hanging on by a thread.’

‘And Jason?’

Kimberly thought about that for a moment. ‘You’d need to ask him. I’ve barely spoken to him in days. He’s out searching for Robert practically twenty-four hours a day.’

‘Yes. I can see that he’s become a little obsessed, even manic. Has he changed?’

‘I don’t understand the question,’ Kimberly said. ‘From what?’

‘From the man you married? Is this behaviour normal for him?’

‘I don’t know. We’ve never had a child taken from us before. He’s trying to cope with this like I am.’

Ortega gave a Gallic shrug. ‘His actions are interesting to me. This over-the-top and zealous need to search.’

‘Surely that’s normal for any parent?’ Kimberly replied with a frown. Over the past couple of days, she’d seen a new side to Jason – one that was relentless in his need to find Robert. And Kimberly had realised that she didn’t know her husband at all.

‘Yes, I believe all parents would search the earth for their child. But Jason’s behaviour feels almost deranged. Perhaps it’s his need to divert attention from the fact that Robert died on the ship.’ Ortega’s voice was ice cold as he uttered his damning words.

‘Jason could never hurt Robert. I told you that already.’

Ortega’s eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped until it was almost a gentle caress. ‘I believe that you believe that, but something doesn’t add up for me.’ He paused, then said, ‘I think you’re scared.’

Kimberly’s stomach plummeted at his words.

‘Of course I am. I’m terrified you won’t find Robert. That he’s hurt. That he needs us, and we can’t get to him.’

‘Maybe,’ Inspector Ortega said, but she could see he didn’t believe that. ‘I have an alternative scenario to put to you.’

‘Go on, then. Tell me,’ Kimberly said, biting her lip until she felt blood.

‘I think you are afraid of Jason. That you suspect he did something wrong.’

Kimberly’s mind raced. Her only thought was of Lily back at the hotel. She was safe with Kevin. But then a wild thought snaked its way into her mind. What if Jason took Lily from her? It was clear that Kevin blamed Kimberly for this situation. She could see it in his eyes when he regarded her. Had he turned her husband against her? What if Jason and Kevin were packing their bags right now, ready to leave?

‘I want to get back to the hotel. To Lily,’ Kimberly said, standing up to leave.

Ortega grabbed her arm, stopping her. ‘I want to show you something.’

She flopped back down to the bench.

Ortega reached into his linen jacket pocket and pulled out a photograph. ‘We asked everyone on board the Carousel to hand over their cameras, and had their photographs developed at our station. This one interests me.’

It was of their family, the day that Robert went missing. He was in her arms, crying, and Jason had Lily in his. His dark eyebrows were knitted together as he glared at Kimberly and Robert.

‘You know what I see when I look at this image?’ Inspector Ortega said.

Kimberly shook her head, unable to speak.

‘I see a woman who is afraid, but also bravely protecting her child.’

Kimberly remembered how she’d felt that day. And she couldn’t deny Inspector Ortega’s words.

‘It’s my fault . . .’ Kimberly whispered, her eyes never leaving the image of Robert. ‘I knew something bad was going to happen. I should have taken the children and run that day.’

Ortega touched her arm again. ‘We can help you. I can keep you and Lily safe.’

Kimberly stood up, shaking his hand off her arm. ‘I need to get back to Lily. Thank you, Inspector Ortega, sincerely thank you. But I need to go now.’

‘Remember, you can trust me, Kimberly . . .’ his voice called out to her.

Kimberly ran back through the streets, all the while thinking of Lily. Sweat dripped down her spine and stained her T-shirt under her arms. She ignored the warm well-wishes of an Irish couple staying in the hotel who had been kind to the family during the week. She pushed the button in the lift and saw it was on an upper floor. The need to see her daughter was overwhelming; she couldn’t wait, so she ran to the stairwell and climbed the two floors, her body protesting the assault on her lungs.

When she got to their room, she pounded on the door, praying to a God she wasn’t sure she even believed in any more that her baby girl was safe in the room.

Her father-in-law opened the door, but she pushed past him to the bedroom, where she found Lily in Jason’s arms.

‘Give her to me,’ she demanded, tears mixing with her sweat, stinging her eyes.

‘What happened?’ Kevin demanded from behind her.

‘I saw Ortega,’ Kimberly said. Then she turned to her husband. ‘You were right. He does think you killed Robert.’

Kevin sank to the bed beside his son, a look of horror on his face. He placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder. ‘It will be okay,’ he said, but his face was drawn and grey with worry.

‘Do you have the number of that lawyer that the embassy recommended?’ Kimberly asked Kevin as she cradled Lily in her arms.

‘Yes, I’ve got his number,’ Kevin replied.

‘Call him. Find out if there’s any reason why we have to stay here. Because, unless they won’t let us leave, we have to go back home to Ireland.’