J & P Book 1 - Say You Need Me

Chapter 7

Claire was still missing when Paul arrived at her house in a state of panic. Jenny was at the house too but at that moment she was in another room. Paul knew this because he could hear her soft voice coming from upstairs.

"Thank you for informing me, Mr. Joseph," said Paul politely to Claire's father, "I hope I can be of some help to you. But why did you contact me? Claire and I are not close friends."

"Well," said Mr. Joseph, fidgeting with his matted beard, "As you know, I was a close friend of your father. I didn't really know who else to contact."

"I see," said Paul, feeling a surge of grief run through him.

"We knew that you used to go to school with Claire. We also know that you were out last night, as your mother told us when we rang you. We wondered if you knew anything, and if you don't, could you help us contact Claire's friends, to see if they have any idea where she might be. I don't want to call the police yet. It's not as if she's a little girl any more. But she's never done anything like this before."

Mr. Joseph's eyes were cold and scared. Paul often had the ability to tell how a person was feeling just by looking into their eyes. However, he could not read the eyes of the man's wife, which were red with tears, as she came downstairs.

"Hello Paul," she said.

Paul had not spoken to her since he was about nine, yet when he was young she had been so familiar, and it pained him to see her upset.

She went on. "Claire's gone.... I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon.." she sobbed. "She went out with Elizabeth... have you seen Elizabeth?"

"Yes.. I saw them both last night, at the Hideaway pub," admitted Paul, shifting about.

"We knew she went out last night," said Mr. Joseph. "Claire told us she would come back at the end of the night. She took a front door key, and we expected her home when we woke up this morning..."

"... But she wasn't there!" continued Mrs. Joseph, bawling. "She had no clothes or anything with her.... What's happened to my Claire! This is so unlike her!" The woman sat down at the table, sniffling into a handkerchief.

Mr. Joseph gestured to the telephone. "Claire's a very private person... I don't have access to her friend's telephone numbers, because they're all on her mobile phone, which she has with her. Can you find me Elizabeth's number, and Zamian's, and do you know anyone else I could ring to get information?"

Paul was not totally convinced of the seriousness of this disappearance.

"I can think of two... maybe three people who might know where Claire is," he said. "Can I borrow your phone book?"

He told Mr. Joseph Zamian's number, while Mrs. Joseph passed a telephone directory to him from a high shelf above where her husband was dialling. Mrs. Joseph was tall, blonde and slim, just like her daughter. Paul took the book through into the hall where he sat on the stairway. The staircase spiralled upwards and was wooden. It looked very grand. Paul felt out of place in this beautiful house. He heard the tapping of feet further up the flight of stairs. Descending.

He felt Jenny's hand touch his right arm as he looked under the letter K.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked, tenderly.

"Where have you been?" asked Paul.

"Bathroom," she smiled. "I'd only just got here. I felt awkward. I thought you'd have been here already."

"I'm sorry. Maybe we should have met at the corner."

"Not with Deny keeping watch," giggled Jenny. "So, who are you looking for?"