by Sally Rigby
‘Are you keeping them abreast of your findings?’
‘No. If they ask I’ll tell them, if they don’t, I won’t. Is dinner ready, yet?’ she asked, not wanting to dwell on her parents or her subconscious any longer.
‘Yes. Follow me through to the kitchen.’
The table had been set, and she sat at one end watching as Seb dished up the meal and placed it in front of her.
‘Mmm. Smells delicious,’ she said, picking up her fork and having a mouthful.
‘I bought some cider. Would you like a bottle?’
‘Please. I’ll have to come round more often with this sort of service. It’s lovely, by the way.’
‘I’ll give you the recipe, if you like. It’s very easy.’
‘Thanks, but no thanks. It would be wasted on me with my total lack of culinary skill. The most I can do is bake fairy cakes.’
‘You could always learn. I’m more than happy to teach you,’ he offered.
‘One day, maybe. In the meantime, I’ll let you continue cooking for me.’
After they’d eaten, she picked up the plates and headed for the sink.
‘Leave that. We’ll look at the CCTV footage,’ Seb said.
‘Where’s your laptop? I’ll forward it to you.’
‘It’s in the study.’
She followed him, with Elsa leading the way. How did she know where they were going?
The study was huge and there were more bookcases than she’d ever seen in a single room. They were filled with books. A large desk was in the middle with a view of the garden from out of the French windows. On the desk was an open laptop, a photo in a frame of Sarah, Donald and their children, and what looked like an inkstand.
‘I could work in here. It’s so much better than the station with our basic, no-frills, offices.’
‘I agree. It’s a lovely environment.’
‘Even if what you’re doing is boring?’
‘It helps to take the edge off,’ he said smiling.
‘Has the email come through yet?’
‘Yes.’ He uploaded the footage to the laptop and pulled over a second chair so they could look at the screen together.
‘Where was this taken?’ he asked, as the pair of them peered at the activity in front of them.
‘These are the cameras in High Street, and we came out of this shop here.’ She pointed to herself and Lacey. ‘There we are standing on the pavement outside.’
‘Oh, yes, I can see you now. It was a busy day, which won’t make it easy for us to find out what it was she saw.’
‘Look at Lacey now. She’s peering diagonally opposite and down the road a bit. What has she seen?’ She squinted, but still wasn’t able to work it out.
‘A person?’
‘If it was then did they see her?’
‘Not necessarily.’
‘You’re right. And if they had, they might have reacted, which we should be able to see on screen.’
‘There are no people looking in your direction, only cars going up and down the street.’
‘So, let’s assume that if it was a person they didn’t notice Lacey. But what if it was a car, she was looking at? It would have been moving very slowly for her to spot it.’
‘The cars aren’t going fast because of the amount of traffic. Would she have recognised a number plate?’
‘I don’t know. She can read, but that’s different from remembering a registration plate number. I think it’s more likely that she recognised a person. But who?’
‘Don’t dismiss it being a car, yet. Rewind the footage so we can see which cars were around and check them.’
‘If only we could ask her, it would make this so much easier. But we can’t.’
Birdie rewound the footage, and they stared at all the cars going past in both directions.
‘It would be a good idea to record them. It’s a shame we can’t see the registration plates from this angle. Are there other cameras we can look at which might give us a better view?’
‘There’s one on the opposite side of the road but it might not help because it doesn’t capture everything. The joys of living in a small town. We don’t have cameras like you get in London where no one can hide from them.’
‘There are still ways of avoiding them, if you know what you’re doing. Note down the make, model and colour of these cars and ask your aunt if she’s noticed any of them hanging around before. In case they were being followed.’
‘Do you think that’s likely?’
‘Anything is likely.’
‘Yes, but if that was the case then why hasn’t Lacey reacted before?’ She clenched her fists. ‘This is so frustrating.’
‘It’s a needle in a haystack so we shouldn’t exclude anything. Talk me through the investigation.’
Birdie picked up the thick file and opened it. ‘There was a case conference and Lacey was placed into temporary foster care while they were trying to trace her family. Copies of reports from the various agencies involved are in here.’
‘I remember the national appeal. It was on TV, on social media, in the papers. You couldn’t have done more.’
‘I know. But it all came to nothing. Officers went into the shops in the area to see if anyone had spotted anything. But no. Loads of interviews were taken with people in the area, but they all came up blank. Missing persons databases were checked, and international agencies involved, but it’s almost as if Lacey appeared out of nowhere. Which we know is nonsense.’
‘Was Lacey’s DNA taken and checked against the PNC?’
‘No, it wasn’t. It couldn’t be done without a judge for the Family Court signing off on it, and we didn’t go down that route because of the cost implications. You know how expensive DNA testing is. Budgets are stretched enough as it is.’
‘It’s the same in all forces. Were there any other leads?’
‘As I’ve already told you, people came forward pretending to be her parents, the sick bastards, but we knew straight away they were lying because of the sign around her neck.’
‘I assume that was dusted for prints.’
‘Yes, and there were no forensics we could use.’
‘I’d like to speak to Catherine, away from her home and any distractions. Will she come here, do you think, so we can have an undisturbed in-depth conversation?’
‘Why can’t you do this at her house?’
‘I’d rather do it without Lacey being there.’
‘Okay, that makes sense. It’s easier to get my aunt to come to you, than take Lacey out somewhere because she’s much better in her own surroundings. I’ll offer to look after her in case my uncle won’t be around.’
‘We should also interview some of those involved in the original case conference. I’m assuming names and contact details are in the file.’
‘Yes, I’ll leave them with you.’
‘Perfect. You make the arrangements with Catherine and we’ll go from there.’
Chapter 9
‘Lacey, I’m going out for a while and Birdie’s going to look after you. Is that okay?’ Catherine crouched down beside the child, who was sitting quietly reading.
The little girl looked at her and smiled. ‘Yes.’
Catherine stood and turned to Birdie. ‘I might be gone for a couple of hours.’
‘We’ll be fine. I’ve got lots planned for us to do. To start, we’ll do some baking. We’ll make those little cakes with sultanas in them which we both love. What do you think, Lacey? Would you like that?’
‘Yes, please.’ Lacey’s eyes lit up. Birdie was the only person to elicit such a response from her. Catherine had no idea what magic her niece possessed, but she’d love to bottle it.
‘You know where everything is. Don’t forget to clean up after you’ve finished,’ she said, knowing that her words would fall on deaf ears. She didn’t mind, if it kept Lacey entertained and took her mind off whatever had happened.
‘You know me too well,’ Birdie said, laughing.
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‘You’ve been the same your whole life,’ Catherine said.
‘After we’ve made the cakes, we’ll read or watch the telly, so take as long as you like. I’ll make Lacey some tea if you’re not back.’
‘I don’t imagine Mr Clifford will want to spend much time with me, as I won’t have a lot to tell him.’
She had to admit, and this was only to herself, she was a little nervous going to visit him.
‘That’s what you think. Seb will have plenty to ask you. He’s very thorough.’
‘We’ll see. Take care, the pair of you. I’ll be back later.’ She grabbed her coat from the peg by the front door and left the house.
While driving to Rendall Hall, she thought about the strange relationship Birdie had with Sebastian Clifford. Despite only meeting him once, it was obvious how different they were from one another. Being an aristocrat she’d have expected him to be more aloof and uncaring than he clearly was. He must have been the exception. Either that or she was stereotyping. Considering she hadn’t met one before, it wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility. That said, she agreed with Birdie, that he seemed a genuine person, and the fact they were going to reopen Lacey’s case and hopefully discover her past, had to be a good thing.
She hoped.
Catherine turned onto the drive that led to the house and when it came into view, she let out a low whistle. The grounds. The house. Everything was spectacular. Birdie hadn’t been wrong.
After parking, she walked up the steps and knocked on the door. She waited a while and was about to knock again, when Seb opened it.
Despite having seen him the other day, his presence still took her breath way. He was huge. And commanding. A very handsome man. Would Birdie and he … no. There was nothing like that between them.
He looked down and smiled.
‘Good to see you, Catherine.’ He held out his hand, which she shook. She didn’t have small hands, but his enveloped hers.
‘You, too.’
‘Thank you for agreeing to see me. I thought it would be better if we could talk freely away from your home and Lacey.’
‘That was a good idea. Even if she was in another room, she might have overheard.’
‘I also want to show you some CCTV footage that Birdie has accessed, to see if there’s anything of note on there from your perspective. Would you like some coffee, I’ve made a fresh pot. And then we’ll go through to the study and talk.’
‘Thank you, that would be lovely.’
She followed him through to the kitchen, admiring everything on the way. It really was a lovely house. Although awful circumstances for him to be there. She’d read about the Donald Witherspoon case and had felt sorry for his family. According to Birdie, they knew nothing about him swindling so many people out of their money.
He poured them both a mug of coffee and passed hers over. Then they headed to the study, where he gestured for her to sit on one of the easy chairs which looked out onto the garden.
‘How’s Lacey holding up following the incident?’ He placed his mug on a coaster on the low coffee table and she did the same.
‘She’s okay. Still a little more reserved and withdrawn but we’re getting there.’
‘It’s obvious you care for her a great deal. Could you give me some background, if you don’t mind, on how you came to be fostering Lacey?’ He sat back in the chair, steepled his fingers, and looked directly at her, his whole demeanour relaxed.
Was this his interview technique when in the police? Make someone feel comfortable so they’d tell him exactly what he wanted to know? Or was she overanalysing? It wouldn’t be the first time.
‘My husband and I couldn’t have children, so we fostered. And have done for many years. It was fortunate when Lacey was abandoned that we had space for her.’
‘I imagine it was a tough time for everyone as Lacey wasn’t communicating.’
‘Yes, it definitely was. We’d successfully fostered challenging children in the past, but Lacey was very different. We hadn’t encountered a child so uncommunicative before.’
‘Birdie is full of praise regarding your success with her.’
She felt the warmth rush up her cheeks. For goodness’ sake. She was a grown woman and nearly old enough to be his mother, so why was she blushing at the compliment? She coughed and raised her hand to her mouth trying to hide the colour in her face.
So embarrassing.
‘From the beginning I established a rapport with her, even though it wasn’t much, so they asked if we’d carry on taking care of her. We did so for six months until the second case conference. We then agreed to foster her permanently.’
‘How is Lacey with your husband?’
‘She was uncertain about Pete at first. The same as she is with everyone. She accepts him now, but won’t interact in the same way she does with me. Or Birdie. Lacey idolises my niece. There’s a connection between them that is quite extraordinary.’
‘How long did it take for the bond between them to be formed?’
‘When we first had Lacey, Birdie visited most days and was very patient with her. It developed from there. It took a little over two months for them to become very close.’
‘Perhaps being adopted, Birdie felt she could relate to her,’ Seb said.
‘Yes, that could be a reason.’
They must be close if Birdie had confided in him. She tended to keep details regarding her adoption private.
‘Has Lacey’s future been discussed?’
‘For the time being she’ll remain fostered by us as she needs the stability. There are no plans for her to be put up for adoption, it’s far too early for that.’
‘What can you tell me about her schooling?’
‘She’s not at school yet, but I’m a qualified primary school teacher, so I’ve been teaching her. Her reading’s very good and so is her maths. Way above what you’d expect for someone of that age. Wherever she came from, someone taught her well.’
‘Does she enjoy learning?’
‘That’s an interesting question. It’s difficult to know, to be honest. One thing I’ve noticed, is that if she gets anything wrong, she tenses as if expecting to be punished. I always reassure her that making mistakes is a part of learning, but … whatever happened in her life to silence her like that, we don’t know.’
‘What else can you tell me about her? Anything which might give us a clue as to where she came from.’
Catherine paused for a moment, thinking through everything about Lacey. ‘She likes her routine and gets upset if things are out of sync and not as she expects them to be.’
‘Her previous life was likely to have been ordered, and disciplined, I suspect.’
‘Yes, I agree.’
‘Do you stick to routines outside of the house as well?’
‘We go to the library on Thursday. Swimming at the leisure centre on a Sunday morning. And do the food shopping on Tuesday. Any other bits we’ll usually buy on a Saturday. So, yes, we do.’
What was he getting at?
‘Have you noticed recently anybody following you?’
Now she knew.
‘No, not at all. But, I haven’t been looking. When we’re out my eyes are on Lacey. Not that I think she’ll run away, because she always keeps very close to me.’
‘With your routine it would be easy for someone to discover what you do regularly.’
‘Yes, you’re right. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. Should I have been varying our activities?’
‘We don’t know if you’ve been followed, but after what happened last Saturday, it’s something to consider. We’ll look at the CCTV footage that Birdie accessed and you can see if there’s anything, or anyone, familiar to you.’
He walked over to the desk and opened the laptop. He then pulled up another chair, and they both sat and stared at the screen.
‘There’s Birdie and Lacey,’ she said pointing to the screen.
‘Yes. Look at the direc
tion Lacey is facing. Can you see anything familiar? A car. Or a person.’
She stared at the footage, but nothing stood out. ‘I don’t recall seeing any of those cars before. Or any of the people caught on camera, either.’
‘Have you asked Lacey what she saw that was so upsetting?’
‘I mentioned it to her, but she tuned out and wouldn’t answer. I told her that I knew she was very upset and asked if she wanted to talk about it. She shook her head. There was no point pushing it. I knew she wouldn’t say anything and it would only end up upsetting her even more.’
‘I understand. It sounds like you did the right thing. I’ve seen the reports from all the participants in the case conference. How successful did you view their interaction with Lacey?’
‘Not very, to be honest. They weren’t to blame. Lacey wouldn’t respond. It made it very difficult for them to assess her properly.’
‘I’m planning for Birdie and me to speak to the psychologist and the social worker. It might help gain further insight into the case from a more professional viewpoint.’
‘That’s a good idea. The more information you can glean the better. Dr Miranda Watkins is the psychologist and I’ve taken Lacey to her a few times. Stephen Shaw is the social worker, and he’s very nice, too.’
‘Going back to Lacey, is there anything that you can think of, any routine that she goes through herself, that might give us any clues about her history?’
‘I’ve often thought there was something religious in her past because of the way she sometimes mumbles in her sleep.’
‘In what way is this religious?’
‘It’s the sounds she makes, rhythmic and very much like she’s praying, although the words are indecipherable.’
‘Have any children you’ve fostered in the past done this?’
‘No. Never. That’s why it stood out.’
‘Is there anything else about her that comes to mind?’
‘Lacey always places her cutlery in a certain way and acts fearful if she does it wrong, or forgets to do it. I would definitely say that wherever she was brought up, she had a strict routine. She wasn’t undernourished when we found her, but she wasn’t overweight either. Initially, she wouldn’t eat sweets or biscuits. Nor did she understand what we meant by having a treat. If anything she feared them. She’s much better now, but she doesn’t get excited about sweets or chocolate in the way most children do. Make of that what you will.’