Chapter Twenty-Five: Mystery Unravels
"I can't even find him online! What lad his age doesn't have an online profile? Why wasn't he in Canada like he said he was?" Jenny asked Daisy in disbelief the following morning.
"I don't know, Jenny. But I do know you are in shock and the police wouldn't lie. If they say Leo's dead, he's dead. I'm sorry" Daisy answered as gentle as she could as she put one arm around her.
"And I can't find Teddy either. I don't understand. Stephen told me that he saw Teddy getting into the taxi and that he's going to try and find Leo. Why isn't he answering me? Why isn't Teddy answering?"
"What about Leo's mum?"
"She died a long time ago"
"Oh. That make sense why she wasn't here...Does he any brothers or sisters? Any friends?" Daisy began to ask.
"No. I don't know about friends...This is awful. Why does nobody but me care? Even his own dad doesn't care enough to answer me or even accept me back on Facebook. It just doesn't make sense" Jenny cried.
Daisy having to give her another cuddle. Though something didn't add up in the young woman's mind. Stephen was the only person who seemed to know what went on. Surely he knows something about Teddy or Leo, he was so invested in the drama.
"Stephen was the last person to see Teddy. Wasn't he? Maybe we need to talk to him about it" Daisy suggested.
"Yeah. You're right...He cared, didn't he? Let's go round to Audrey's and talk to him" Jenny replied.
"Yeah. Let's go...Come on"
Thus the two women made it to 'Grasmere Drive', taking a determined drive over. Daisy knocking on the door first, Audrey looked through the blinds and saw who it was. She kept thinking the police would be round too. She quickly pulled them back on seeing it was Jenny and Daisy, she felt guilty but she couldn't talk to them. Knowing that her son killed Jenny's boyfriend, her fiancé. Daisy knocked again before looking through the letterbox, not seeing anything.
"Maybe they have both gone out" Jenny spoke up sadly.
"Maybe. This isn't fair though...You deserve answers. We will speak to him by the end of the day" Daisy insisted.
"Do you think he knows something I don't?"
"I don't know but he saw him last. He has a few more minutes of information at least. You deserve answers, Jenny. We can ask around and get to the bottom of this. And the police will be back round, won't they? So you tell them everything, right?"
"Right. Thank you...It's just heartbreaking. I feel like the only person who cares. Leo deserves closure. I just don't understand, he was just a normal lovely bloke. Why would anyone do this to him?"
"Wrong place, wrong time. A mugging gone wrong...It could be anything, Jenny. Some people just don't care. Come on, let's go home. Get somebody to look after the pub for a bit. I reckon Glenda will be up for that"
"I can't even think about the pub. I just want Leo...My head is all over the place" Jenny spoke with more tears falling down.
The two women finally began walking away from the house. A guilt-ridden Audrey sitting quietly but nervously in the living room. She heard some of that and it made her feel dreadful. All Jenny wants to do is find out the truth and she can't imagine how she will feel if she discovers the person behind his death. Audrey just felt so guilty for having the answers and not being able to give them.
...
The news of Leo's body being found spread around the street. Daisy found herself being the one having to say thank you for to the odd few offering condolences to Jenny. Ed Bailey and Paul Foreman having worked with him at the builder's yard were the other two who shown an interest. As they spoke to Daisy on the street, asking her how Jenny was and what they knew about their old colleague. Billy wasn't far behind as he stood besides Paul.
"He was a good man. I didn't know him for long but he was a good man and a good worker. I did like him and hoped everything was going to work out, Jenny must be in bits" Ed was saying to Daisy outside the pub.
"She is. She's been trying to contact Teddy but it's difficult. We don't know where to even start. The police are going to be looking though and we hope they can get to the bottom of it. Jenny needs answers, she won't rest until she gets them. She loved him" Daisy replied with a sad sigh.
"Teddy was really hopeful last time I spoke to him. I don't know if it's my place to say, maybe I should tell the police because they want information, don't they? It was a while ago but I remember speaking to Teddy in the cafe. He said the text he and Jenny got from Leo was from this area. But I don't want to give out false hope, we don't know how long he was dead for" Billy piped up nervously.
Daisy however didn't think this was false hope. This was a lead (as the police would call it).
"He told you that?" Daisy questioned Billy in shock.
"Yeah. He told me that before he left, he said he had something to do. I don't know what that something was though" Billy answered.
"You should tell the police, Billy. Once they start asking about for information...Seriously, that's odd. But what if he died before he could make it to the airport? It's freaking me out a bit" Daisy admitted.
"Poor guy though. He just been left to rot for God knows how many weeks. Who could do that to another person? I'm so sorry for Jenny, not knowing must be hard. And he was a laugh too, I hope she knows that he was a good mate for a while" Paul interjected.
The four of them gave each other a look of agreement. Daisy excusing herself as she took the sympathy card that Ed and Paul wrote for Jenny. It wasn't much but it was better for her to have something to show people do care about Leo and do want justice like she does. Daisy went into the backroom, giving Glenda a quick pat as she walked past her. Jenny was crying again as she wiped away her tears with a box of tissues. Daisy passed her the card...
"It's from Ed and Paul. They really liked him and give you their love. He was a good friend to them for a while" Daisy assured her.
"Anything from Stephen?"
"No. I haven't seen him but I did speak to Billy. He's got some information that he's going to tell the police. He saw Teddy after Stephen we think, he said that the text you and Teddy got from Leo's phone came from this area. And that Teddy went to go and do something" Daisy explained as she pulled up a chair besides her.
"What? The text about him never wanting to contact me again? That was sent from this area?"
"That's what Teddy told Billy"
"Oh my God...And then Teddy had to go and do something? Billy has no idea what that something was?"
"No"
"I can't wrap my brain around this. I can't stop thinking about him all alone in the same area. While I been acting as if nothing was going on...And where's Teddy? Why isn't he here? Surely he knew months ago that he wasn't in Canada"
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying what if Teddy did something to Leo? I mean, he didn't seem the type but it's the only thing that makes sense. Leo's dead and Teddy's missing. What if he did something to him?"
"No. Teddy loved Leo, it was his son. He wanted to find him as much as you did"
"Then why isn't he here? Where is he?"
...
The police returned to the street. Jenny found herself being questioned a lot more seriously now. Leo's body was still being looked at by professionals, he has been dead for months and was highly decomposed. Daisy was being questioned a second police officer. Jenny was highly emotional as she went through the final days they spent together. She told them everything, Stephen's name was brought up a lot as expected. His name was written down alongside Billy Mayhew, Teddy Thompkins and Gemma Winter-Brown's. A couple people who saw him on that final day but it was only pointing towards two people. Daisy found herself as equally full of things to answer...
"Did he have anybody who would want to hurt him? Did he have any links to Sharp Lane Industrial Estate?" the police officer began to ask her.
"I really don't know. I don't think so but he was Jenny's boyfriend, not mine. The only person who had something against him was Stephen Reid. He kissed Jenny when she was still with Leo and they had a fight. But a killer? He helped his dad Teddy, he was invested. A little too invested if you ask me" Daisy answered with her arms crossed.
"What sort of fight?"
"Stephen told Leo he kissed Jenny. Leo punched him but Stephen left afterwards. Leo kept going on about Stephen sleeping in his car and that he's hiding something. It doesn't make total sense though"
"You say he was invested. How was he invested?"
"You know. Always hanging around, Leo's dad Teddy came looking for him after a week or so. I don't remember exactly but he came looking and Stephen got involved with him a lot too. Leo wouldn't answer his phone or texts to us or his dad. He took his bags though. Not like we saw that"
"Leo took his own bags?"
"Yeah. His suitcase and passport were in the pub but then they were gone. He didn't even leave a note. I thought it was odd but I just thought that he was a coward who didn't want to dump Jenny to her face. Now I don't know, it seems odd"
"But you didn't see him take his suitcase and passport?"
"No. Never saw him do it"
"Did anybody see him do this?"
"I don't know. Gemma...She's one of the barmaids, she was the one who told us the bags are gone but she didn't say she saw him do it"
"Okay. So you say you haven't saw his father Teddy for months, do you remember the last time you saw him? Because we would love to track him down but he seems to be nowhere"
"Last time I saw Teddy. He was going to Canada by cab but I haven't heard anything since. That was in January. The local archdeacon, Billy Mayhew; he saw him in the cafe last"
The police officer wrote down more notes, including Billy's name. A name that came up again. Something wasn't adding up, the police were still keeping Jenny, Daisy, Teddy, Stephen and Billy in their heads. His colleague came out of the other room with Jenny. Both officers were done for now and both had the same story from both Jenny and Daisy.
...
"Excuse me Audrey, I'm closing up soon. So if you could finish your tea, that would be most useful" Roy spoke up.
Audrey looked up from her now cold cup of tea. Her eyes looked red from all the tears she had shed these last couple of days. She didn't end up having that nice hot tea at Gail's as she didn't want to face David (and he didn't want to face her back). She ended up having tea and food at Roy's instead on her own. The news had spread around about Leo's death but thankfully, Jenny or Daisy hasn't seen her yet so she had a lonely but quiet lunch.
"Oh. I see...What did you want, sorry?" Audrey asked as she has been miles away from reality.
"I just said that I'm closing up now. Everybody else has left you see" Roy responded softly.
"Okay. Sorry...I'l just go home I suppose. Away from everybody for a long while, it's a scary world, Roy. And it's not getting eaiser" Audrey spoke sadly.
Getting up at last as she put her coat back on. Roy went to ask what was wrong but couldn't get the words out. He just felt like she wasn't going to tell him anything anyway as she looked serious. The older woman made her way out of the cafe and into the light summer late evening. 'The Rovers' was still bustling with life as she briefly glanced over. Glenda and Daisy have taken over from Jenny while she was in grief for Leo. Audrey walked towards the bus stop, sitting down and waiting for the next bus to come. Everything was too much for her as more tears came when she thought no more were left. A couple of footsteps were heard after a few moments or minutes, time felt still for her at the minute...
"Gran. I thought you were with mum...What's wrong?" Sarah asked as she walked over with her husband Adam.
"Just leave me alone, Sarah" Audrey replied coldly but sadly.
"Gran, please. I don't want to fall out...You know I love you and would never want to hurt you. I know you think I overreacted and cost him a good job. But we couldn't have carried on the way we were"
"Just go away. And figure out your own problems. You cost me enough already, quite frankly; I can't bear to look at you" Audrey admitted.
Adam squeezed Sarah's shoulder as he could see her tearing up herself. She just wanted her grandmother to look at her. Audrey knew it wasn't Sarah's fault about Stephen losing his job and going into debt. Though she felt committed and chained to this response as it would look suspicious if she suddenly changed her mind now, wouldn't it? And quite frankly, she couldn't deal with the fallout from that. She was the only person who was defending Stephen from further bad judgement right now.
"You know I'm pregnant again. You're going to be a great-grandmother again" Sarah confessed as she tried to make peace.
"Okay"
"Okay?"
"I said okay. It's your fourth time, Sarah. I think it's past excitement for you...Now if you excuse me, I got to get the bus back" Audrey spoke without glancing at her.
She secretly wanted to hug her and say well done but didn't. Sarah just watched her with great sadness as Audrey walked onto the bus. She sat down and looked down, not daring looking out the window at her. Audrey let more tears down as she seemed to be isolating herself to protect her one and only son from further speculation.
...
Stephen himself faced his third night on the street. He found a small alleyway somewhere in Manchester. He took a piece of cardboard and this was even worse than the homeless shelter he slept in on the first two nights but he couldn't risk going to another one and being seen. He did plan to call his mother on a payphone but decided it best if he did it in the morning. Let another night pass by, he planned on settling down for the night but he still looked well-dressed. Which caught some attention as he suddenly heard a couple footsteps come over, clearly he had been followed. He got up as three young twenty-something men approached...
"Wallet!"
This was the demand. Stephen just shook his head as he went to walk past but found himself being given a quick shove. One of them pulled out a knife which stopped any defence being possible for Stephen right now.
"Please. Okay...You can have most of it. I just need a few coins, that's all" Stephen tried to plead.
Though the third man with the knife just shoved it closer. Stephen giving away his wallet with a sigh. They however remained standing as they demanded his watch, his ring and his jacket. Stephen felt he didn't have much to lose by this point so he attempted to snatch the knife. Which resulted in a scuffle as he chanced them not having the bottle to actually stab him. He yelled out in pain as the knife went into his leg, he thus collapsed. A beating soon followed as he tried to cover his face which resulted in his fists and hands getting the most damage. His jacket was dragged from his body. Along with his watch and ring, he felt more kicks and shoves during this struggle. The sound rushing footsteps did nothing as he was in deep pain, he could barely move. More footsteps were heard and he was scared they were back for round two or worse. Though it wasn't them, it was a man on his own. He heard him ring for an ambulance before he fainted from blood loss on his gushing leg.
...
TBC