Abigail's Mission

By James Goldfinch

A family holiday develops into a nightmare, with the principal protagonist Ben Chase in search of his daughter, the feisty Lisa and her new companion Abigail. Can he find her in time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483553047

Book preview

61

Chapter 1

Ben Chase hit shutdown and slid the keyboard away across his desk. The screen went through the usual procedures and faded to black. With a deep sigh he pushed back in his worn black leather chair and clasped his hands behind his head. Stretching his legs and arching his back, he gazed blankly for a moment at the dark screen.

With his latest assignment completed and safely filed, he could finally relax and look forward to an eagerly anticipated vacation with his family. It was some considerable time since they had enjoyed a family holiday together and so he was looking forward to the forthcoming trip to the South of France. Nice to be precise or a small villa in the hills to the North if he were being pedantic.

He reached down and slid open the base drawer in the right pedestal of his battered teak desk, reached in, and pulled out a half empty bottle of his favourite whisky, Edradour. It had been a favourite since he had stumbled upon the picturesque distillery set in the hills above Pitlochry during his honeymoon some 20 years ago. A fine crystal glass was next out of the drawer. Drinking whisky, even in this environment, demanded certain standards be maintained. He held the glass up to the desk light and then polished away a smear on the sleeve of his shirt. Perhaps his standards weren’t as high as he thought. Pouring a good measure, he punched quick dial on his mobile phone. He was greeted by the soothing voice of his wife.

‘Hi honey, you gonna be a while yet?’ She questioned.

‘Nope, just finished up here and clearing my desk. Should be on my way soon. Can’t wait to see you and the kids.’

‘We still meeting at the airport or are you coming home first?’

Ben took a sip of his whisky and savoured the word home.

‘Mmmmh, have everything I need here, packed and ready to go. Just get the team together and I’ll meet you there.’

‘See you in Departures around 5.00am then. Remember the flight is 7.15am. Drive safely. Love you.’

‘Love you too honey.’

As he closed the call he reflected on recent events and the sense of satisfaction and wellbeing that the short conversation gave him.

He and Rachel had gone through a bad patch over the last few years. He had been struggling to make a name for himself as an investigative journalist, working God knows what hours with bases in various offices mainly throughout the UK. The money hadn’t been great. In the meantime, Rachel battled with the demands of family life back in Manchester. Not a recipe for a good marriage and the inevitable had happened. They had been separated for eleven months, two weeks and two days. Not that he had been counting. He had lived in London for most of that time in a bedsit forming part of a Victorian terrace within five minutes walk of Clapham Common tube station. It wasn’t huge, but it was neat and tidy and more importantly convenient for local amenities. A good café was important as he had never been a great cook, and there was plenty of variety here.

For various reasons he had seen little of his family during the separation. The pressures of publishing deadlines, the attempts to forge a new life, to try to forget the arguments that had kept him away from his home. His true home. He knew he could never completely distance himself from Rachel. He would always care deeply about her. The break up wasn’t her fault. After all, she put up with him being away for months at a time in his previous career in the Forces. His role often resulting in there being no contact for weeks at a time. She had therefore been the major influence on his children’s development. Their guiding light. At the same time she had held down her own career.

Then just a month ago they both saw some sense, finally deciding how much they truly missed each other. They arranged to meet one weekend at a small hotel in the Lake District. During a relaxing lunch one rainy Sunday, they arrived at a series of compromises which seemed likely to make the whole thing work again. This holiday was to be their first as a family since the reconciliation. Ben sincerely hoped it wouldn’t be their last. He had seen Rachel a couple of times since that discussion but he was looking forward to seeing his children Lisa and Matt.

Draining the last of his Scotch, he examined his glass and momentarily considered a second shot. Then he remembered the drive ahead. Better not. After all, he tried his best to be a law-abiding citizen.

Picking up his bag of camera gear, he slung it over his shoulder, hit the switch on the desk light and kicked back his chair. Glancing around the semi darkness of the office, he could see one or two of the staff writers still at their desks, but no one looked up from their work. As a freelance photojournalist still building a name, he had never really had time or cause to strike up many real friendships. A bit of a loner, was often the phrase he heard himself described as. This was in part due to his former background, which dictated he should to some extent be self sufficient. He knew he could still be a team player if the need arose. In any event, he had found that in most instances, by the time he had completed a commission, he had barely broken through the veneer of privacy which surrounded most peoples lives these days. There were only a few people he could call in a favour from, and these went way back. He could possibly count them on one hand.

Taking the elevator down to the sub basement, he ran through a checklist in his head again. As far as he could see, he had hit all the bases and the last three month assignment could be tidied away and forgotten. On reflection, he suspected he would make some more enemies on its publication but that was nothing new. Drug running was hardly an honourable profession, and it’s exposure was important to him. He was looking forward to a four-week break to get his life back on track, doing little more than enjoying good food and even better, French wine. Taking photos for pleasure rather than profit.

He threw his gear into the trunk of his ageing BMW and climbed behind the wheel. The tyres squealed on the smooth concrete of the ramp up to street level and the rain hit the windshield as he broke into the yellow glow of the streetlights. He pushed the button on the radio but then remembered it had given up working three weeks ago. The rhythmic thud of the wipers would be his accompaniment for the next three and a half hour journey North. That, and the constant glare of headlights in the smeared glass.

Traffic wasn’t too heavy and despite the weather he made the journey faster than anticipated. Pulling into the long stay car park at Manchester Airport, he glanced at his watch, an Officine Panerai Radiomir Chrono, another legacy of his past life. His family should be here by now, probably grabbing a coffee and burger if his son Matt had anything to do with it, whilst Rachel and Lisa would be hitting Duty Free.

Ben slipped the car in the first available space, jumped out and grabbed his black holdall and gear bag from the back seat. He hit the central locking and made his way to the shelter to await the courtesy bus. The weather had gradually cleared on the journey up and although the clouds still raced across the sky, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to rise, glinting off the endless rows of parked vehicles. He often wondered at times like this, just where their owners were right now, and what they were doing. Curiosity came with the territory in his line of work.

Chapter 2

The doors of Departures slid open to reveal a mix of excited children and tired, weary parents in an assortment of garish holiday clothing. Most pushing mountains of baggage through the hall towards the snaking queues at check-in. He glanced up at the board. The flight was on time and the desk due to open in five minutes.

He scanned the crowd for signs of his family and at the same time hit quick dial on his Blackberry. He waited for the ring tone to return from Rachel’s phone. To his surprise, a loud rendition of a section of Carmen echoed in his ear, swiftly followed by a familiar voice.

‘Thought I’d get into the French lifestyle with a bit of the old Bizet on my phone.’

He turned to see Rachel, Lisa and Matt all standing in a line grinning at him. Lisa rushed forward to give him a hug, followed by Rachel with Matt bringing up the rear, still wiping away the telltale signs of ketchup from around his mouth.

Ben had first met Rachel on a drink fuelled night in a pub in Poole close to the Royal Marine base where he had been stationed. She was a trainee nurse out celebrating a friends birthday. Ben had just returned from a particularly intense period of training. The first thing he had noticed were her striking green eyes. It was good to look into those eyes again after so long apart. From the embrace he could feel that equally, she had missed him. He nuzzled his head into her long blond hair and breathed in her perfume. He had missed that so much. He stepped back and cupped her face in his hands tracing the line of those perfectly defined cheeks with his thumbs. A tear developed in her eyes and a tract of mascara ran down her face. He wiped it away.

‘Now look what you’ve done,’ she said, pulling away and dabbing at the corner of her eyes with a tissue. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this so much Ben.’

‘Me too honey. I think we have things straight now. We’ve wasted too much time already.’

Ben turned his attention to Lisa, who had her arms wrapped around the both of them. At close to six feet, Ben dwarfed Lisa’s petite frame and stature.

‘Hello Princess?’ He said, giving her a kiss to her forehead. ‘And how are you?’ he continued. He held her by the shoulders at arms length. ‘Love the outfit. Not entirely sure I approve of the length of that skirt though, young lady,’ he added, with a wink.

Lisa screwed up her nose in pretend disapproval, threw her arms back around him and squeezed even more.

Ben had last seen Lisa shortly before she had started university. At that time she had been a pretty petite blonde with a mane of hair which she constantly kept scraped back into a ponytail. She had her mothers’ eyes. Seldom wearing makeup and spending most of her time in baggy jeans and loose fitting T-shirts, Lisa had always been more focussed on her studies than her appearance. In her time at university, she had blossomed into a beautiful young woman.

Her hair was shoulder length styled into soft curls, parted to one side and pushed back over one ear. An exquisitely made up face complete with smouldering eye make up and false lashes now gazed up at him. He stepped back to take a better look at her. The transformation was completed by the small print black short skirt complementing a white figure hugging blouse open at the neck, lower than he thought ideal for his little baby. She seemed to have grown taller. Or was it the four-inch heels she was teetering around on.

He was very aware that he hadn’t seen as much of either of his children as he perhaps should have over the years, and even less during the separation. That was partly down to his career choice and partly as a result of both Lisa and Matt having been to boarding school. Lisa was now 19 and living away at university. Matt, twelve months younger was due to start a University Officer Training Corps course later that year. It was inevitable that with Ben’s own background and Matt’s experiences of Cadet life at school, his son had a fair chance of pursuing a career in the military.

‘I’m soooo looking forward to this holiday,’ Lisa chirped, bouncing up and down and clapping her hands like an excited youngster. ‘It’s going to be so cool.’

‘Hi Dad,’ interrupted Matt, striding forward his hand outstretched.

‘How you doin’ son?’ replied Ben, accepting the firm handshake. ‘Wow! That’s quite a handshake Matt. Someone else growing up too quickly. You been getting yourself in shape for the new career, I guess.’

It was clear that he had. Matt had still been a fairly skinny tousle-haired kid some eighteen months earlier when Ben had last had an opportunity to take time out from his previous assignment and seen him. Now the young man who stood before him, matched him in height and had bulked out with broad shoulders and defined muscles structure under his black T shirt that wasn’t a million miles from his own. He had his fathers dark hair, but now cropped short in a typically military style. Dark eyes with a hint of mischievousness peered out from beneath heavy brows.

Matt grinned, secretly flattered by his father’s comments.

‘Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?’ he said, gathering up his oversized backpack.

‘Any chance of finding some help from a big strong man round here?’ Lisa said, directing the comment pointedly at her brother.

Matt took the bait and swept up his sisters pink holdall over his other shoulder. Lisa gave him a little squeeze and hug of his arm, before he led the way towards the check-in desks. Ben was pleased by what he saw. Despite the difficulties he and Rachel had encountered of late, Lisa and Matt were still a tight unit. This was going to be a great holiday.

The family joined the queue behind a rather flustered looking larger lady and a young woman who on first glance was perhaps a similar age to Lisa. Closer consideration suggested that she was possibly considerably younger than her appearance first suggested. As the queue shuffled towards check-in, the conversation between the two became more animated. Eventually the older lady turned to face Rachel.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she exclaimed, ‘But I wonder if you could do me a tremendous favour?’

She glanced across at the young woman next to her, who was stylishly dressed in a pair of worn, tight blue jeans, an equally tight white tee-shirt and short jacket, all topped off with a silk scarf effortlessly draped around her elegant neck. She had blonde hair cut into an chic style style, short at the back and longer to frame her face at the sides. She certainly seemed to have caught Matt’s attention.

‘This is my daughter Abigail,’ the lady continued, with a nod towards the young woman. ‘She is going out to stay with friends in the South of France. Unfortunately, the invite only extends to her, so she will be travelling alone. She is only sixteen and hasn’t travelled much abroad … never mind on her own.’

The young woman flushed slightly, flicked back her head and rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, obviously embarrassed by her mothers outpouring of information and anticipating what was coming next.

‘I’ll be fine mother,’ she attempted to interject. ‘The Richards are going to meet me at Nice Airport and …’

‘That’s all very well but it would give me considerable peace of mind if these nice people would ensure that they do,’ her mother said before she could go any further. She smiled at Rachel.

Lisa joined the conversation, clearly seeing the young woman was uncomfortable with the situation.

‘It would be lovely to have a travelling companion who actually speaks to me, as opposed to the occasional grunt.’ She teased, firing a glance and a knowing smile towards her brother.

Matt clearly wasn’t offended by his sisters observation, but nevertheless made a dramatic show of responding, with a sniff and by jamming his headphones firmly over his ears. Abigail looked visibly relieved despite her former protestations and she smiled at Lisa in thanks for her interjection.

‘That would be amazing, if you could. It would give me such reassurance,’ continued the mother. ‘Oh! I’m sorry, my name is Beth by the way, Beth Roberts.’

Rachel, who had been silent until now, shook her outstretched hand and Ben did the same. Inside however, he was reeling. His plans for a peaceful family holiday were already starting to become more complicated. It was only the look of delight on Lisa’s face that stopped him from suggesting that this may not be such a great idea. Then again, if the situations were reversed … well it was only for the flight, for heavens sake. It wouldn’t be that great an imposition.

‘I’m sure everything will be fine when she meets the Richards, but Abigail has never been the best of air travellers. If you know what I mean.’ Beth said with a wink in Rachel’s direction.

Abigail flushed again as her mother continued.

‘The family are friends of ours from the village. Paul Richards, the father, is a lawyer. Property law I think. Can’t be sure. Anyway, Abigail went to school with Charlotte Jayne and her parents were always very sociable. You know the type, involved themselves in everything. Members of this and that. Seemed very settled to village life.’

Beth barely took a breath.

‘I was fairly close to Jenny, the mother,’ she continued, ‘But Paul always seemed a little less approachable. A little more aloof. Anyway, about three years ago the big flash cars started to arrive, followed by a move up to renovate the old Manor House. Their income seemed to go stratospheric. Money was no object. Didn’t seem to change them personally though. Well Jenny at least.’

‘Maybe they just won the Lottery.’ Ben suggested, attempting to stem the flow of information pouring forth.

‘Noooo, we thought of that one. You know how it is … nosy neighbours,’ Beth continued, furtively looking around as if someone was listening to their conversation. ‘We thoroughly investigated that one,’ She said. ‘No, it definitely seemed to coincide with Paul spending more time away with work, until whoosh … they just upped sticks and off they went to France.’

‘Mother says I’m on a mission!’ Abigail interrupted at last, with a touch of sarcasm in her voice,

‘All the village would love to know more.’ Beth added.

Ben glanced at Rachel. She knew exactly what he was thinking. This was just what he had hoped to get away from. Not the best way to ease into a much anticipated holiday. He raised his eyebrows as an acknowledgement of defeat.

Chapter 3

The situation was resolved. As they shuffled towards the desk, Rachel and Beth exchanged mobile phone numbers. Rachel made a note of the contact number and an address for the Richards family. Abigail and Lisa chatted excitedly, in a huddle to one side. Matt was in a world of his own with his iPod and so it fell to Ben to coordinate check in.

Departure was on time and when boarding the flight, Matt had very gallantly surrendered his seat to allow his sister and Abigail to continue their conversation. After all, he was happy enough with his own company and the flight wasn’t long. With the time difference they should be landing around 1.00pm. Ben and Rachel didn’t talk much during the flight. They didn’t need to. They were just comfortable and content to be in each others’ company again. Ben scanned through the newspaper he had collected at the airport, whilst Rachel caught up with the celebrity gossip in one of those overpriced glossies. They both enjoyed a glass or two of champagne.

The flight was uneventful and by the time they had landed at Nice, the girls had become firm friends and had already exchanged mobile phone numbers, addresses and Facebook links.

The passage through passport control went smoothly, and so within fifteen minutes, Ben stood with Matt by the luggage carousel waiting for it to start. He was feeling a little weary now. The long drive from London, the flight, and the alcohol had all taken their toll. He certainly wasn’t aware at first of someone calling his name.

‘Ben … Ben Chase?’ They called a little louder.

Ben eventually caught on, and turned to his left. The guy calling him was shorter than him with a stocky build and almost verging on overweight. He had a round unshaven face with a healthy ruddy complexion. His head was closely shaven, and he was dressed in knee length khaki shorts, a yellow polo shirt and a multi pocket cotton beige body warmer.

‘Hell,’ Ben exclaimed, ‘If it isn’t Joey Crook you old sod! What brings you to these parts? I mustn’t have seen you in … what is it … seven or eight years.’

The two shook hands and then embraced. Much back slapping followed.

‘I’m still messing about with security, Ben. You know how it is, just never could get away from the buzz. Tried a sensible trade but just couldn’t settle, so …’ he trailed off. ‘What about you Ben?’

Ben spent the next minute or two giving Joey a brief resume of his more recent life, right through to the reason for their presence in Nice. Then turned to introduce his family. Joey Crook shook hands, first with Rachel, then Lisa and Matt.

‘And this is Abigail,’ Ben concluded, ‘Abigail has a mission!’

Joey made a gesture of tapping the side of his nose. ‘No questions asked then,’ he laughed. He nodded in Abigail’s direction before turning back to Ben.

‘Look, I’m around Nice on a job for the next three months or so. It would be good to meet up for a beer before you end your holiday. I wouldn’t want to impose on your family time though,’ he continued with a smile in Rachel’s direction, ‘But it would be good to have a longer catch up, and rake over old times. You never know Ben, I may tempt you back to a proper job.’

There was no doubt about it. There were times when Ben still longed for the highs of his former career. The Navy had been good to him, from his early service in the Marines through to his last missions with Joey in the SBS. But there were the lows too. He had lost a number of good friends over the years.

But no, on balance, looking at his kids and Rachel, he had made a good choice when he left the Service. You can only push your luck so far, irrespective of how well you plan and how careful and well trained you may be. Even in his subsequent career, he had had cause to use some of the more clandestine skills he had learned in completing his assignments. It was perhaps as a result of this edge that he had risen through the profession so quickly, and was now in demand by a number of journals.

‘That would be good Joey.’ Ben said finally.

‘As long as he can still talk sensibly and walk in a straight line when I get him back. I know what your reunions can be like,’ joked Rachel.

They swapped mobile numbers and returned to the search for their respective bags whilst continuing to exchange casual banter. When all bags had been identified, the two men said their farewells and the family, with Abigail still in tow, made their way to the arrivals hall. Next task. To find the Richards and see Abigail safely on her way.

It was a blessing to see the sunlight already streaming in through the steel fabrication of the glass walls at Nice airport. Ben could see the clear blue sky beyond and just couldn’t wait to get out there. There was that notable temperature difference from the rainy UK, which always seemed to prelude a good sunny holiday break.

Abigail scanned the hall for signs of her friend Charlotte and her family. With no success, she punched a number into her mobile phone.

‘I’m sure they won’t be long,’ Lisa said, trying to offer some reassurance to her new friend as the number continued to ring out. Abigail didn’t look too upset as the call went into answerphone and she closed the phone.

‘I’ll give them a minute or two before I call again,’ Abigail said, ‘But if you want to get on and do stuff, then please don’t let me stop you. You’ve been soooo good to me already.’

‘ Well I guess I could go and sort out the car rental, if that’s OK Abigail?’ said Ben.

‘I’ll come with you,’ ventured Rachel, ‘They’ll need my details if I’m going to do some of the driving. And with your friend Joey around, I can see that may be the case! She continued. ‘Matt? You and the girls going to be OK here for a spell.’

‘We’ll be fine,’ responded Matt, ‘Just make sure you pick a vehicle with a bit of class. Not a basic box, please. I have standards to maintain. Go on! Go, I’ll keep the predators off these little diamonds,’ he joked.

With that Lisa pressed her hands to her chest and raised her eyes to the heavens. ‘My hero.’ she said before collapsing in fits of laughter with Abigail.

Ben and Rachel made towards the Hertz desk on the next level, leaving Matt and the girls guarding the bags. It was some twenty minutes later when they made their way back, with Ben clutching the keys of a sporty black Citroen. At least Matt would be pleased.

As they returned, Ben could see only Matt standing by the pile of bags looking more than a little annoyed.

‘Where are the girls, Matt?’ asked Ben as he approached.

‘I really don’t know,’ said Matt with a touch of exasperation, ‘I just left them for a minute to go to the loo and Hey Presto! When I return, they’re gone. Just the luggage sat here. Anybody could have lifted it. Typical women …’

‘That’s not like Lisa to be so irresponsible,’ interjected Rachel, with a look of increasing concern.

Ben secretly agreed that this was a little out of character for his generally responsible daughter, but the giddiness of her alliance with Abigail and the excitement of the holiday may have had some influence.

Rachel went off to check the nearest toilets. Matt stayed by the luggage whilst Ben attempted to find some vantage point to view a wider picture of the arrivals hall. On her return to Matt after a fruitless search, Rachel awaited Ben’s return. In the interim, Ben had scanned the hall and took a detour of the shops as he returned, just in case.

Thirty minutes had passed when he returned to an agitated Rachel.

‘Any sign?’ Matt questioned.