Belle - Lesley Pearse [123]
Jimmy asked if he could recall Braithwaite bringing a young girl here back in January. Tad did remember his employer and his friend coming late one night and leaving early the next day, for that was the only time in January they were there. He said if there was a girl with them, he didn’t see her. But he added there had been girls there in the past. He couldn’t remember dates, and had only seen the girls from a distance, so he was unable to describe any of them, but he recalled feeling Braithwaite and his friend were up to no good as they hadn’t let him into the house during this period as they normally did.
Because Jimmy remembered Colm and Kent talking about Sly turning yellow-bellied, he suggested to Connor that maybe he should report his employer missing to the police. Connor didn’t seem to think that was necessary, but he said he’d consider it if he still hadn’t heard from Braithwaite in another month.
Shortly after Jimmy and Garth had returned from Aylesford, Noah had told Jimmy he didn’t think there was anything further that any of them could do to find Belle. At the time Noah thought Jimmy was in agreement. But looking at him now, it seemed as if he wasn’t ever going to let it go.
‘You did really good with the story in the newspaper about all the missing girls,’ Jimmy said sadly. ‘I really thought that would shake up the police. But they haven’t done anything.’
Noah reached out and ruffled the lad’s red hair affectionately. His story earlier this year about the missing girls had been an all-out attempt to get some kind of action and justice. While it appeared to make no difference to the police, who still maintained they had done everything possible already, the newspaper received hundreds of letters from people from all over England. The story clearly touched a nerve as along with all those offering sympathy to the parents of the missing girls, some of the letters were from people who had also had a daughter who had disappeared. Some were from people who offered advice, though mostly that was impractical. And a few letters were from those who thought they knew the perpetrators of the crime; Noah handed those names over to the police for investigation.
The irony of writing this article was that while it didn’t really help Belle, Noah began to get far more journalistic work, all good investigative stuff he could get his teeth into.
‘The police did do a great deal,’ he reminded Jimmy. ‘They brought Kent and Colm in for questioning, and I really believe they tried hard to nail them. But those two are practised villains, and there was absolutely no hard and fast evidence to link them to the missing girls. Even Annie’s statement about Kent killing Millie doesn’t really hold water, Mog wasn’t there that night to corroborate it. All they’ve got is hearsay, which came from a young girl who is now missing. If Annie had only told the police the truth on the night it happened it might all be different now.’
‘Isn’t there anything else we can do?’ Jimmy asked plaintively.
‘Our best hope is that one of the missing girls turns up and tells us where she’s been and who captured her.’
‘If only that could be Belle,’ Jimmy said, his voice cracking.
Noah had known Jimmy now for over a year and a half, during which time his eighteenth and nineteenth birthdays had come and gone. But it was only now that he suddenly noticed the physical changes in the lad. He’d grown at least three inches, muscles in his shoulders and arms were straining the fabric of his shirt, and he had a shadow of stubble on his chin. He’d shown his maturity in the way he’d resolutely done everything in his power to find Belle, and worked so hard for his uncle, but now he was looking like a man, and while hardly classically handsome, with his red hair and freckles, he had a good, strong face.
‘You should be getting out and meeting other girls,’ Noah said gently. ‘You only knew