Close To Home (aka The Summer That Never Was)

“Kids put up with a lot worse,” said Banks.

“Indeed they do. The family was well-off and Luke never lacked for material comforts. I’m sure that both his mother and his stepfather loved him very much. He was a sensitive, creative boy with a boorish stepfather and an empty-headed mother.”

Banks wouldn’t have said Robin Armitage was empty-headed, but perhaps Lauren was making the sort of assumption people often make about models. “What about Neil Byrd?” Banks went on. “Did Luke ever talk about him?”

“Hardly ever. He got very emotional when the subject came up. Angry, even. Luke had a lot of unresolved issues. You just knew to back away.”

“Can you explain?”

Lauren’s brow furrowed. “I think he was angry because he never knew his father. Angry because Neil Byrd abandoned him when he was just a baby and then went and committed suicide. Can you imagine how that would make you feel? You don’t even mean enough to your father for him to stay alive and watch you grow up.”

“Was there anything in particular that might have been bothering him recently, anything he might have mentioned to you?”

“No. The last time I saw him, at the end of term, he was excited about the summer holidays. I assigned him some reading.”

“A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Crime and Punishment?”

Her eyes widened. “Those were two of the books. How do you know that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Banks. “How did you go about tutoring him?”

“Usually I’d assign him some reading, maybe a novel or some poetry, and then we’d meet here and discuss it. Often we’d move out from there and discuss painting, history, Greek and Roman mythology. He was very advanced when it came to understanding literature. And he had an insatiable appetite for it.”

“Advanced enough for Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Verlaine?”

“Rimbaud was a mere boy himself. And young teens are often attracted to Baudelaire.”

“‘Le Poete se fait voyant par un long, immense et raisonne dereglement de tous les sens,’” Banks quoted, in an accent he hoped wasn’t too incomprehensible. “Does that mean anything to you?”

“Why, of course. It’s Rimbaud’s description of the method he used to make himself a seer. ‘A total disordering of all the senses.’”

“It was written on Luke’s bedroom wall. Did it involve taking drugs?”

“Not that I know of. Not in Luke’s case, anyway. It was about opening oneself to experience of all kinds. To be quite honest, I didn’t approve of Luke’s fascination with Rimbaud. In so many cases like that it’s a fascination with the romantic ideal of the tortured boy-poet, not with the work itself.”

Not wanting to get lost in the realms of literary criticism, Banks moved on. “You felt very close to Luke, am I right?”

“In a way, I suppose. If you really could be close to him. He was slippery, chameleonlike, often moody, quiet and withdrawn. But I liked him and I believed in his talent, if that’s what you mean.”

“If Luke had come to you for help, would you have given it?”

“That depends on the circumstances.”

“If he was running away from home, for example.”

“I’d do all I could to discourage him.”

“That sounds like the official line.”

“It’s the one I’d follow.”

“You wouldn’t harbor him?”

“Of course not.”

“Because we don’t know where he went the day he disappeared. Not after about five-thirty, anyway. But he was last seen walking north on Market Street. That would eventually have brought him to your neighborhood, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, but… I mean… why would he come here?”

“Maybe he trusted you, needed your help with something.”

“I can’t imagine what.”

“When were the two of you next due to meet?”

“Not until next term. I’m going home next week for the rest of the holidays. My father’s not been well lately and my mother’s finding it hard to cope.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Where’s home?”

“South Wales. Tenby. A sleepy little place, but it’s by the sea, lots of cliffs to walk on and think.”

“Are you sure Luke never came to see you the Monday before last?”

“Of course I’m sure. He had no reason to.”

“You were only his tutor, right?”

Lauren stood up and anger flashed in her eyes. “What do you mean? What are you trying to insinuate?”

Banks held his hand up. “Whoa. Wait a minute. I was only thinking that he might have considered you as a friend and mentor, someone he could go to if he was in trouble.”

“Well, he didn’t. Look, as it happens, I wasn’t even home the Monday before last.”

“Where were you?”

“Visiting my brother, Vernon.”

“And where does Vernon live?”

“Harrogate.”

“What time did you leave?”

“About five. Shortly after.”

“And what time did you get back?”

“I didn’t. As a matter of fact, I had a bit too much to drink. Too much to risk driving, at any rate. So I slept on Vernon’s sofa. I didn’t come back here until about lunchtime on Tuesday.”

Banks glanced at Annie, who put her notebook aside and pulled the artist’s impression out of her briefcase. “Have you ever seen this girl, Ms. Anderson?” she asked. “Think carefully.”

Lauren studied the drawing and shook her head. “No. I’ve seen the look, but the face isn’t familiar.”

“Not someone from school?”

“If she is, I don’t recognize her.”

“We think she might have been Luke’s girlfriend,” Banks said. “And we’re trying to find her.”

Lauren shot Banks a glance. “Girlfriend? But Luke didn’t have a girlfriend.”

“How do you know? You said he didn’t tell you everything.”

She fingered the collar of her V-neck. “But… but I’d have known.”

“I can’t see how,” said Banks. “What about Rose Barlow?”

“What about her?”

“I’ve heard she and Luke were pretty friendly.”

“Who told you that?”

“Were they?”

“I believe they went out once or twice earlier this year. Rose Barlow isn’t anywhere near Luke’s league. She’s strictly a plodder.”

“So it didn’t last.”

“Not to my knowledge. Though, as you pointed out, I wouldn’t necessarily be the one to know.”

Banks and Annie stood up to leave. Lauren walked to the door with them.

“Thanks for your time,” Banks said. “And if you do remember anything else, you’ll let us know, won’t you?”

“Yes, of course. Anything I can do,” Lauren said. “I do hope you catch whoever did this. Luke had such a promising future ahead of him.”

“Don’t worry,” said Banks, with more confidence than he felt. “We will.”