Clayton’s grim face swirled in front of her. His eyes softened as if he realized how close she was to losing it.
“Keep your chin up, Cooper. I know you can do it. Besides, it’s the least we can do for them. And for Sally.”
She gulped in some much-needed oxygen, conveying her gratitude with her eyes. Reaching out, she touched the back of his hand with her fingertips. “Thanks. I needed that.”
She watched, mesmerized, as his eyes darkened with emotion. It took him a moment to reply.
“No problem, partner.”
A minute passed. Then two. It felt like a lifetime.
Then Clayton cleared his throat. “I…uh… I guess we’d better get in there.”
She snatched her hand away, unaware until that moment that they’d still had contact. Heat flared across her cheeks and she looked away, flustered. “Yes, yes, of course.” We-we should go in now.”
He held the squeaky screen door open for her. Cautiously, she made her way down the darkened hallway toward the sound of quiet sobbing.
Robyn Batten was enormous. She lay spread-eagled in a recliner armchair, with much of her body hanging out over both sides. A huge floral nightgown enveloped her, stretched taut across her massive breasts.
Her eyes looked oddly tiny in the soft, fleshy face. They peered at Ellie in pain and anguish.
A large-screen plasma TV took up most of one wall. State-of-the-art surround sound speakers were set up around the room. A Saturday morning sports commentary show filled the screen, its volume muted.
The room was cozy with a fire burning low in the fireplace on the far side of the room, incongruous with the thick air of devastation. Although it was almost too warm, Robyn Batten had at least three woollen blankets draped over her knees.
The woman brought her enormous arms up to her face and scrubbed at her eyes with her hands. The flesh on her bare arms flapped with her effort. Ellie tried not to stare.
She turned away, refusing to catch Clayton’s eye. She was having a difficult enough time holding it together as it was. The woman was a heart attack waiting to happen. Thank God her husband had broken the news first.
Ellie forced herself closer and spoke to the woman in the chair. “Mrs Batten, we’re so terribly sorry for your loss. If there’s anything we can do—”
A huge shudder passed through her massive frame. A moan of pure agony rumbled out of the woman’s belly as her grief renewed itself.
“I want my baby back. I want my baby back.” She gulped and sobbed and wobbled. Tears flowed from her tiny eyes and down her cheeks before disappearing into the folds of her neck.
Ellie watched, helpless and transfixed. George Batten stood off to one side, seemingly at a loss as he struggled with his own grief. She swallowed a sigh of relief when Clayton stepped forward.
Kneeling close to the woman’s chair, he clasped one of her fleshy hands. Understanding and compassion filled his eyes.
“Mrs Batten, we’re going to do everything we can to find the man responsible for Sally’s death. But we need your help. We need you to tell us everything you can remember about the day she disappeared.”
His eyes stayed fixed on her face. “It’s very important, Mrs Batten. Do you think you can help us?”
The woman drew in another shuddering breath, but continued to hold his gaze. Clayton waited her out. A few moments later, the wailing quietened to a gentle sobbing.
Ellie knew how important it was to speak to her. The majority of mothers knew more about their teenage daughters than their fathers did. It was a fact of life.
As the sobs eased to an occasional sniffle, Clayton gave the fleshy hand another squeeze.
“Mrs Batten, I understand you’ve already spoken to my colleague here when you filed the missing person’s report, but I need you to tell me again. Can you tell me about Sally’s movements the last day you saw her? I think it was about June nineteenth, a couple of days before you contacted the police. Is that right?”
Robyn Batten hunted down the neck of her nightdress with her hand. Pulling out a tissue, she blew her nose noisily.
“Yes, that’s right. Tuesday, June nineteenth. The day’s remained scorched in my memory for the last two months.”
Clayton’s voice remained calm and low. “What can you remember from that day?”
A huge sigh sent mountains of flesh rippling beneath her clothes. Her eyes closed and her head dropped forward. More chins than Ellie cared to count rested heavily on the woman’s chest. It was a few moments before she spoke.
“My baby went to university like she usually does. She’s studying to be a dietician, you know.” For a moment, pride found a home on the woman’s face and then memory reasserted itself and the pain returned. Her eyes fluttered open. It was terrible to watch the light fade as the reality hit her again and her gaze turned bleak.
“She…she also works as a shop assistant at Target in the Westfield Mall at Penrith. A part-time job.”
“How did she get to Uni?” Clayton asked.
Robyn paused to wipe her nose. “She usually catches the train.” Her gaze flicked to Ellie and back to Clayton. “We don’t live far from the station. An easy ten-minute walk.”
Ellie kept her gaze planted firmly on the notebook opened in her hand.
As if reading her mind, Robyn sighed. “Not that I’ve ever done it, but that’s what Sally said.”
“You said ‘usually,’ Mrs Batten. Did she catch the train on the day she went missing?” Clayton asked.
The woman shook her head. “No, she didn’t. It was raining, you see. Pouring, actually. I could hear it pelting down on the roof.” She looked across the room to her husband who listened in silence. “George was at work. He starts early.” Her gaze came back to Clayton’s. “I gave her some money to catch a cab.”
“Did Sally know a girl by the name of Josie Ward?” Clayton asked. “She was a young girl with Down’s syndrome. She was studying art at the university.”
Robyn Batten shook her head. “Not that I remember.”
“What about Angelina Caruso?”
Again, the woman shook her head.
Clayton posed another question. “Did Sally work that Tuesday after class?”
“Yes, I spoke to her at lunchtime, during her break. She told me she’d be going there. She sounded fine, although I remember I could barely hear her over the rain. It was really coming down.”
“So, you called her on her cell phone?” Ellie asked.
“Yes, she always has it with her, although she usually switches it off while she’s in class.”
Ellie filled the taut silence with another question. “Mrs Batten, what time did Sally finish?”
Her voice, now dull with pain, came out in a low monotone. “Her shift finished at five thirty. When she wasn’t home by eight, I called her. It went straight through to voicemail.” She shrugged, setting off another avalanche of movement. “I thought she might have gone over to Rick’s place.”
Clayton spoke up. “Who’s Rick?”
“Her boyfriend.” George Batten’s voice shook with anger and disgust.
Ellie lifted her head in surprise and stared at him. He hadn’t spoken since they’d entered. She suddenly recalled the dingy flat she’d gone to with Luke all those weeks ago when the call about the missing girl had first been made.
Rick Shadlow.
“I take it you and Rick didn’t get on?” she asked, now directing her attention to the man on the other side of the room.
His lips twisted into a sneer. “That’s puttin’ it politely. He’s a scumbag. A loser. A low-life crim. I dunno what she sees in him.” His gaze was defiant as it met hers. “We raised her better than that.”
“I’m sure you did, Mr Batten. Tell me,” Ellie added, “what is it that you don’t like about him?”
George’s face twisted in disgust. “Everythin’. He’s twenty-five and I don’t think he’s ever held down a job in his life. Apart from sellin’ drugs. He’s a dope-head. He even tried to push some onto Robyn when he found out how much pain she gets in her legs.”
Ellie and Clayton exchanged a glance. “Did Sally ever do drugs?” Clayton asked.
Robyn shook her head vehemently. “Of course not! Sally hated anything to do with drugs.”
“Why do you think she liked Rick?” Ellie asked. “She obviously knew of his drug usage. What kept her with him?”
He snorted in disgust. “Oh, I know what kept her there. He’s a pretty boy, isn’t he, Robyn? She’s always sayin’ how he looks just like that kid off that
Twilight
shit. What’s his name…?”
“Rob Patterson?” Ellie supplied.
“Yeah, Rob Patterson. That’s the one.”
“I seem to recall one of Sally’s girlfriends told us she thought they’d broken up. Did Sally mention anything to either of you?” Ellie asked.
Robyn Batten look bewildered and her husband just shook his head. “Sally never said anythin’ to us. She would have known how pleased I’d be.”
“How did they meet? He’s a few years older than Sally. I take it they didn’t go to school together?” Clayton asked.
George looked over at him. “No, they didn’t know each other from school. He was too old for her. We tried to tell her that. She wasn’t havin’ none of it. They met at the local TAFE college. Sally was doing a woodworkin’ course a couple of nights a week. She was really lovin’ it.”
His lips twisted in disgust. “That’s where she met him. He was doin’ the same course. Only thing I ever saw him put his hand to. Besides the drug dealin’.”
Ellie sucked in a breath. It felt like she’d been punched in the gut. Her gaze clashed with Clayton’s and she could see he’d also made the connection. She tried to get her heartbeat under control and strove for a casual tone.
“So, Rick was learning about woodworking, too?”
“Yeah, I guess that’s why he was there. His old man’s a pretty good machinist. He’s got a shop a few miles away, over in Pemberton. He sure as hell must be disappointed in how that kid’s turned out.”
“He was pretty good with his hands though, George,” Robyn sighed. “He gave Sally some really beautiful things he’d made out of wood.”
A pulse pounded in the side of Ellie’s neck. Her voice came out strangled. “Really? Do you think you could show us some of them?”
Robyn fluttered her hands helplessly. “I’m sure George can find them. Sally kept them in her room near her bed. Said she wanted to keep them close.”
Ellie turned to George. “Would you mind?”
A disgruntled
humph
was her only answer, but he grudgingly lumbered forward and left the room, returning a short while later with a handful of carved, wooden ornaments.
Turning them over slowly in her hands, Ellie marveled at their detail. A tiny horse with each hair of its mane painstakingly defined. A dolphin so life-like, she could almost see it leaping out of the water. A starfish. A mermaid. A heart. One thing Robyn said was definitely right. The pieces were truly beautiful.
She handed them over to Clayton, knowing their significance was not lost on him. He looked at them for a few moments before turning to encompass both of the Battens.
“We’d like to keep these, if we may. They might be of some use to us finding out what happened to Sally.”
Robyn struggled against the chair, moving her bulk into a more comfortable position as she peered up at him.
“You don’t think Rick had anything to do with it, do you? For all his failings…” She stared defiantly at her husband. “That boy really loved her.”
Ellie looked down at her notebook. “Mrs Batten, you said you called Rick when you couldn’t reach Sally. Did you end up speaking with him?”
Her eyes clouded over. “Yes, he told me he hadn’t seen her for almost a week. They’d had a fight and she hadn’t called him.”
Ellie exchanged another look with Clayton. So, they could have broken up after all, just like the friend had said. Her pulse continued to pick up its pace. It could be the break they were waiting for. They had to find Rick Shadlow.
Clayton stood and stretched to his full height. Ellie didn’t know how he’d managed to stay squatting for so long. She mused about the strength of his thigh muscles.
Refusing to allow her thoughts to wander anywhere down that path, she favored the Battens with a slight smile, mindful of their grief, but unable to completely contain her excitement.
“Thank you so much for talking with us. We know how tough it is for you and we really appreciate it.” She offered her hand to both of them.
Clayton did the same before turning to usher her toward the door. As they reached the doorway, he turned and posed a final question.
“Mrs Batten, do you know if anyone saw Sally leaving work that afternoon?”
“Yes, Colleen Mayger, a girl she works with, said she saw her getting into a cab.” She shrugged. “It was still raining.”
* * *
Ellie was
already on the phone by the time Clayton made it to the car. She paced up and down the sidewalk. He could feel the excitement pulsing off her in waves.
“Yeah, Rick Shadlow, the boyfriend we checked out when Sally went missing. He lives in that dump on the southern side of Mt Druitt. Can’t tell you his date of birth, but he’s around twenty-five. There’s a chance he’s got a record. Can you run a check for me?”