Beyond Here Lies Nothing - By Gary McMahon Page 0,57

certainly bastardised toys and model kits; the tiny people were plastic toy soldiers that had been moulded and altered by the application of heat and a sharp craft knife, then dressed in perfect little clothes that Harry had fashioned from scraps of material.

The grass, when he touched it, felt like pieces of Astroturf. White lines had been painted by hand onto the road surfaces; drainage gullies and gutters had been fitted into the kerbs. No detail had been missed. Marc had no doubt that Harry’s model matched the real thing down to the tiniest detail. He could tell by the painstaking work the man had put in that there was little margin for error. It was obvious how much love, dedication, and sheer hard work had been carried out in this room.

Then he noticed the flags.

They looked like minuscule versions of the kind of flags found on a golf course, the ones used to mark the holes. Or football corner flags. A cocktail stick topped off with a triangular cutting from a sheet of cotton had been used for each pole. As he looked closer, he saw that each of the flags had a name and a number written onto the material.

Connie 7

Alice 8

Fiona 9

Tessa 10

He knew what these were immediately. They were the names and ages of the Gone Away Girls, and each flag was positioned in the place from which they’d vanished. He made a mental note to look up the information, just to collaborate his hunch, but he knew he was correct.

Connie’s flag was stuck in the grass at the sorry excuse for a children’s playground the locals called Seer Green.

Alice’s flag was in the car park of the small supermarket to the east of Grove Lane.

Fiona’s flag had fallen over and lay flat inside the skateboarding park.

Tessa’s flag stood forlorn and lopsided on the pavement outside a sweet shop near Grove Corner.

“What does this mean?” Marc turned and looked at Rose.

“I’m not sure. I think I’m too scared to even think about it.”

“You noticed the names?”

Rose nodded.

“Do you know what they are? Do you know who those flags are meant to represent?”

“I do. It’s those poor little girls, the ones that went missing.”

Marc licked his lips. He didn’t even want to think about this too deeply, but he needed to ask the question. “Do you think... do you really think that Harry could have been involved in their disappearances? Is there any way that he could have been responsible, or at least that he might have known who was?”

Rose didn’t speak for a few seconds. He stared at Marc, then looked quickly away and examined the model. When he looked at Marc again, his eyes were moist. “In all honestly, I don’t really know.”

BACK DOWNSTAIRS, IN the small, neat kitchen, they drank coffee and stared at each other across the table.

“Here.” Rose reached into his jacket pocket and took out a key. He placed it on the table in front of him, alongside the keys to the attic rooms. “It’s for the front door. Use this place as you please. I have a feeling all that stuff upstairs might help you with your book, and if you can shine any light at all on Harry’s possible involvement with those kids, I’d be grateful. I can’t stay here – can’t even come here. It feels... wrong.”

Marc nodded and sipped his coffee. He reached out and took the keys, making a fist around them. “Thanks. I’m not sure what your brother was into, but I’ll be honest – my muse is sitting up and begging for more.”

“Just keep me posted. Let me know what you find out. I... I can’t stay here. It’s too much for me. I’m not a young man. I need to get out and breathe.”

Marc nodded. “I understand. And I appreciate this, I really do.” He opened his hand and looked at the keys. “I’ll find out what I can and keep in touch.”

Rose didn’t take his eyes off Marc’s face. “Let’s just hope you find out that Harry wasn’t involved.”

“What do we do if... well, if he was involved? How the hell do we tackle that situation?”

Rose set down his cup. He placed his hands, palms down, on either side and made them into fists. “I don’t know. Let’s just see what you dig up first, eh? We’ll face that problem if it is a problem.”

“Okay. We’ll see where the wind blows us on this. I’m pretty sure Harry wasn’t doing anything bad.