by Carla Kovach
As she pulled away, Clare barged through the kitchen door, earphones on as she opened the fridge door and pulled out a can of pop. Mary took note that Clare had done her hair and had even put on a smear of lipstick – understated but pretty. ‘He’s late. Shall I call him?’
‘No. He’ll be here soon.’ Silence filled the air. ‘I bet Rory’s looking forward to seeing Jasmine, aren’t you?’
He shook his head. ‘Want to stay with Nanny.’
Clare tensed up. ‘Any news on Phoebe?’
Mary shook her head. ‘Howard’s joined the search party. I have to stay here, in case she turns up. I don’t know why they’re going out there with dogs. She can’t be out there, she can’t…’
‘She won’t be, Mum.’
Mary glanced at her watch again. It would certainly make things easier with Harrison when Rory had gone home but Mary didn’t want him to go. When she looked in his huge dark eyes, all she could see was Susan when she was two. His curly locks always fell over his forehead just like his mother’s had. ‘Your daddy is missing you.’
‘Okay, Nanny. But I can come again soon.’
She nodded and kissed his forehead. ‘Always. Nanny loves you.’
There was a knock at the door and Clare placed her can on the table before dashing to open it. Susan knew her daughter and flirting with her sister’s not quite ex-husband wasn’t on and Mary would make that known even though she knew Clare would think she was having a go at her.
‘Clare,’ Ryan said as she let him in and he headed towards the kitchen. ‘Hello, little man. I’ve missed you so much.’
The boy stood in front of the patio doors, oblivious to the heavy raindrops that were tapping the glass. ‘Want to stay with Nanny.’
A wail filled the air as Harrison began pattering along the hallway, awoken by the knock. He was now awake, just when Mary was preparing for an afternoon of peace. Clare hurried out of the room to keep an eye on him.
‘Everything okay?’ Ryan began buttoning up Rory’s coat.
Mary shrugged. ‘Is there something going on between you two?’
‘What?’
‘You and Clare.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘I think Nanny’s lost the plot, son.’
‘Answer me.’ She had to know. The phone calls. Clare making sure she was well preened for his arrival.
‘Just shove off. My daughter is missing and all you can do is accuse me of sleeping with Clare. Haven’t you got more pressing things to think of?’ He dropped his hands in frustration.
As he turned, Clare was standing in the doorway, holding Harrison in her arms as he tugged at her hair. Clare turned and fled to her room, slamming the door behind her. Harrison’s yells once again filled the house.
‘Now look what you’ve done.’ Mary tucked her hair behind her ear.
‘What I’ve done? You just blatantly asked if Clare and I were having it away together. The mother of my children is missing, my child is missing and the bastard I caught her at the pub with all those months ago has been murdered. I’ve got bigger things on my plate than all your petty little dramas.’
A tear welled up in Mary’s eye. She’d only asked him a question but he was right. As always, she’d put her foot in it. She should have asked Clare but she knew her daughter wouldn’t tell her the truth. Maybe Clare simply had a crush on him. He was handsome in a rugged way and he was about to become single.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘I can tell. Until next time. You never did think I was good enough for Susan and that rubbed off on her. She obviously went looking for someone you’d approve of, being a mummy’s girl and all. You should take a good look at yourself.’
‘Is that why you followed her?’ Mary snapped.
They stood in silence. The veins in his neck pulsating as he ground his teeth. She’d pushed him this time. Maybe that’s what he’d been like with Susan when she challenged him. If he couldn’t have her any longer, maybe he’d hurt her or said something that had driven her away.
‘She was lying to me.’
‘Did you follow her the day she went missing?’ She wasn’t sure whether to push much more but her grandchildren were now in his care and he’d already lost one of them. If he was abusive in any way, she had the right to delve deeply in order to protect them. It mattered to her and she had doubts. She didn’t buy Clare’s version of events, that Susan was just attention-seeking or that she dramatised some of the things she mentioned in the divorce papers.
‘Daddy, look at the birdy.’ Rory pointed to the sparrow bobbing around in the garden with a dried mealworm in its mouth.
‘Come on, son. Time to go. I’ve got you some chocolate buttons in the car. I have all of ten minutes before the bloody family liaison woman comes back.’ He stared into Mary’s eyes as he gripped Rory’s hand and led him out into the hall before slamming the front door and leaving.
Mary’s shoulders dropped as she exhaled. Something about the intensity of his gaze fixed on hers had made her hold her breath, not wanting to let him see how tense she’d become. He’d left without giving her an answer. Had he followed Susan the day she went missing? Her body crumpled as she fell onto the stool and sobbed. Her arms ached to hold Susan and Phoebe again.
Clare thundered down the stairs, Harrison screaming with every step. She burst into the kitchen. ‘Here, have him. I need to pop out.’ She thrust the wriggling child at her, his arms waving dangerously as he yelled.
‘Wait…’ Before Mary could continue speaking, Clare had slammed the door and left. Harrison accidentally whacked her in the eye.
‘Nanny crying as well.’
She placed him on the floor and his whimpers calmed down.
‘Nanny hug.’
She looked at the rosy-cheeked child, tears glistening all around his eyes and a trail of snot leading from his nose to his ear as he held his arms out for a hug. She stood up, unable to feel the same connection with him as she did with Rory. She grabbed a dishcloth and began wiping his face, causing him to sob again.
‘Nanny, hug. Harrison sorry,’ he bawled.
What had she done? Her heart should be melting and she should want to hold him and comfort him. He was her grandchild, but she felt no connection to him at all. She had simply been lumbered with him. He cried as he held his arms up, pleading with her to pick him up.
‘What’s going on?’ Howard entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes and picking the child up. ‘Come here, sport. What’s with the tears?’
The child instantly calmed down and hugged Howard. She’d failed and she knew it. This is exactly why Clare was so resentful. She was doing the same with Harrison and Rory as she did with Susan and Clare. She reached out to stroke Harrison’s cheek, just like she often did to Rory and he turned away from her. She’d lost him too and now it was too late. She’d lost them all, her daughters and her grandchildren.
‘How’s the search going?’
‘I suppose it’s good news that nothing has been found. I thought I’d just pop back to see how you were holding up. I’ll head out there again after a drink. Where’s Clare?’
At least her husband still loved her despite all the drama that had descended upon them. For once, she wanted him to make tea and hug her. ‘I don’t know. She virtually threw Harrison at me and ran out the door. I have no idea. She didn’t say a word. I’m worried about her. Something’s up.’
‘What do you mean?’
Mary shrugged her shoulders and blew her nose. ‘I don’t know but I think it’s to do with Ryan.’ She watched as the rain fell harder and bounced off the greenhouse roof as she pondered over where Clare had run off to.
Fifty-Seven
‘Susan, Susan, Susan. You naughty girl,’ I say as I grip her throat. Tears fall down her face as she snivels in the same way Dale did. I rip another piece of gaffer tape with my teeth and cover her mouth. ‘You couldn’t leave the past where it belonged, could you? It wasn’t hard to find out everything I needed to know about you, what you did, an
d your whereabouts. Susan the little bookkeeper, you always were a swat at school, better with numbers than some of the others. Susan with the lovely house and family, you always wanted everything to look perfect from the outside. Look at her, she’s the only thing you created that is perfect.’ The child remains in a deep sleep, just as I intended her to.
Her stare bores into me. Look at her, do it, I wanted to shout. I want her to see what she was about to lose and then she’d understand what I had lost. The girl began to murmur, she’d need another dose of ketamine soon. Tears slide down her cheeks as I grab her face and turn her head. If she won’t look, I’ll make her look.
I grab the rope from the floor and flex it in front of her. She knows what’s coming, we both do. There will only be one other loose end to tie up then it will all be over. I will have the girl and I can start again. I will take what they took from me and they will have paid the price. I check my watch. He will be here soon and so will she. He has one job to do and I trust that he will do it well. It’s his mess to clean up, after all.
Come on Stephanie, your fate awaits you. Come on Snow White.
Fifty-Eight
Clare sat on the bench, water seeping in through her jeans as raindrops bounced off her hood. So grey and dark, it was as if morning hadn’t broken that day. Soon the afternoon would turn to evening and it would be night again. What she had to do couldn’t wait. The timing wasn’t good, she knew that. She closed her eyes as she thought of Phoebe.
She gasped several times as she regained control of her emotions. The arguments, the noise, her mother, her son – it had all got on top of her. Then there was Ryan. She pictured Susan, her slim frame. Three children and she didn’t have a blemish on her body. Clare had looked at herself in the mirror – it was as if they weren’t related. Her body sagged and her frame was thickset. Her hair didn’t have the same glossy look as Susan’s had. She’d watched Susan with her perfect life and children, craving all that she had. Time had been ticking and she still hadn’t had the child she so desperately wanted. Watching Susan be mum to her two beautiful nieces had torn her apart, then Harrison had come along. Now she was alone with him, bankrupt, jobless and no one respected her. All this while her favoured sister had everything. Susan had even been blessed with Rory at the same time she became pregnant, once again stealing Clare’s limelight and grabbing all of Mummy’s attention. Clare, the single parent without a father to declare on her son’s birth certificate or respectable mother and wife, Susan. She clenched her fist and hit the bench. Even Rory had turned out perfect, just like Susan. Now who was getting all the attention again? Susan was. Beautiful little Susan. Perfect little Rory. Bloody handsome Ryan.
She tried to call him again, frustrated that he wasn’t picking up.
Her phone buzzed and her hands began to tremble. It was Ryan.
She knew he’d been avoiding the call but it was finally going to happen. The tension between them had to air and it was going to happen right now. All this time, she’d stuck up for him, painted him to be a half-decent guy. She had nothing to lose any more and he was going to pay. Their lies were no longer going to be swept under the carpet. ‘Stuff you, Susan and stuff you, Ryan,’ she whispered before she finally accepted the call.
Fifty-Nine
Gina ran her fingers through her damp, tangled hair as she left her office. ‘Sir,’ she said as she bumped into Briggs.
‘I really enjoyed last night, at the pub. Hope the hangover’s not too bad.’
In truth, she’d barely slept and the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins had sobered her quickly. Phoebe and Susan had consumed her thoughts to the point where sleep had become impossible. ‘I’ll live.’
‘Guv.’ Gina flinched as Wyre caught up with them both. ‘We’re ready for the briefing. O’Connor and Jacob are waiting. Smith left an hour ago, he still gets tired easily but he’s been getting through all of Susan’s paperwork, slowly but surely.’ She continued past them.
‘I suppose we best go and have this catch-up.’ Gina led the way and Briggs followed. ‘Chris?’
He made a light grunt under his breath.
‘Thank you for being there, last night. I’m sorry too that I waffled on about my mother and other silly things. I know I don’t say much, but thank you.’
‘They’re not silly and like I’ve always said, any time. I’ll join you in a minute,’ Briggs said as he glanced at his phone. ‘I just need to attend to this email.’
She burst through the door and hurried towards the boards. Updates had been added, especially those involving their new person of interest, Stephanie Baxter.
‘Any news on Phoebe? She is our priority right now. The appeals have gone out on radio and local news. The nationals are getting wind of it too. I want her found before the whole thing blows out of proportion. Once the media begin to speculate, as we know, the investigation could be in jeopardy.’
‘No news on Phoebe as yet. We have patrols everywhere, they are speaking with her school, her friends. The family liaison officer is reporting back but she has nothing of any relevance as yet. Neighbours have been interviewed. A bit of CCTV loses her two roads away.’
‘Any information on Stephanie Baxter? We need her. She holds the key to all this.’
Wyre pulled out a file and removed a sheet of paper. ‘I’ve updated our system. Thirty-six years old, single, never married, no children. Lives on a small upmarket estate just on the edge of town. Twelve Bramble Crescent.’
‘Nice area,’ O’Connor replied as he swung back and forth on the swivel chair while he munched on a slice of Battenberg.
‘Where does she work?’ Gina was trying hard to zone out of O’Connor’s annoying chomping noises.
Wyre smiled and continued. ‘Altecca Security Systems in Studley. They are a multinational company specialising in top spec security alarms. She works in business development. High level sales management.’
‘Did a background check bring anything up?’ Gina gazed at the notes on the board.
‘No, guv. No record at all. Council records show us that she has lived in Cleevesford most of her life except for when she was at university. She’s a local. She went to school in the area.’
‘Was it the same school as Dale or Susan?’
‘Same as Dale, Saint John’s High School. She was in the year above him though.’ Wyre shivered as she did up the buttons on her jet-black suit.
‘So she and Dale would have known each other better than they knew Susan. When we spoke to Dale’s mother, she recognised Stephanie but couldn’t remember her name. The way she described Stephanie, it seemed she was a little scrawny and timid. Anything on record going back over the years, maybe reports to social services?’
‘Not a jot, guv,’ O’Connor replied as he pulled his chair under the main table.
‘Let’s move on to the search so far.’
Jacob cleared his throat. ‘I’ve just got off the phone from PC Kapoor. She has been keeping us updated from the field. As you know we started where Dale’s body was discovered and we’ve been informed that a small piece of material was found. Mary gave uniform a scarf that belonged to Susan and the dogs sniffed it out. It’s definitely more than a coincidence that this was found close to the scene. The piece of material has since gone to the lab and been added to Bernard’s pile. As is stands, he’s still analysing some of the items from Dale’s house and other items found at the scene of Dale’s body, there’s a real backlog happening. All staff are working round the clock to clear it. He did mention the liquorice and the serrated knife that we spoke about. Find the knife, find the killer. An exact match can be made. He also mentioned that there was a little dent in one of the serrations, this will make any matches even more definite.’
‘Thanks, Jacob. So we are almost certain that we can match Susan to the riverside where we found Dale’s body. Susan was there.’
Wyre twiddled her pen. ‘Are we still thinking that Susan could be person number two in all this? We did f
ind a section of red liquorice amongst her personal items, linking her to Dale.’
‘I know on the surface that this could still be the case, but no. Things have changed with Phoebe missing. Why would she put her daughter through that?’
‘We have a confirmation on the tracker, the one found in Susan’s car. Wyre, you’ve been looking into this.’
Wyre nodded. ‘I do, guv. We can now confirm that Susan had the tracker fitted. It’s a company that locates your car should it be stolen. Nothing sinister in it. I called them up and they remember her bringing the car in herself. One of the guys there remembered her as she was so pretty, can you believe it?’
‘Did the data download reveal anything about her whereabouts?’
‘Only what we already know, the appointments she had that day. Leading up to the day she disappeared, it seems she did spend a lot of time at Dale’s house. No trips to Beech Street, the postcode written in her notes. Maybe she never attended that appointment.’
‘Okay, good work. I know we have a big list of persons of interest building up, but I don’t want anyone brought in until we have something concrete. The case we present to the CPS has to be tight. Anything from any of the appeals?’
O’Connor looked up. ‘Nothing as yet, sorry, guv.’
Briggs entered, passing Gina a wad of paper. ‘Susan Wheeler’s phone records. Check out the last message.’
Gina glanced at the printout.
He’s coming.
‘Who’s coming?’
‘That’s the good bit. This message came from a phone registered to our Stephanie Baxter. Bring her in now. From that message and the call she made to us from the phone box, I’d say she was in danger. Given what has happened to Dale, you have to go now.’
‘Anyone fancy coming with me to Stephanie’s house? We need to find out who he is.’ Gina could see that they would all like to get out for a while and ditch the paper-sorting but Wyre beat them to the mark.