‘Everything okay, Mum?’ Richard Emerson asked, standing at the kitchen door behind Kate.
Val wiped her eyes with a tissue and forced as big a smile as she could manage. ‘The detective was just telling us about your sister going on Facebook.’
Richard stepped in and wrapped his arms around his mother’s shoulders, allowing her to bury her head in his broad shoulders. ‘Even more reason for your lot to double their efforts,’ he said, glaring at Kate, clearly still angry about their earlier exchange.
‘We’re doing everything we can,’ Kate said, standing, suddenly feeling like an intruder in what was a family situation. ‘I’ll call you, Val, as soon as we know more.’
But Val wasn’t listening as she gently sobbed into her son’s arms.
25
Holding the takeaway bag in her hand, Kate’s mouth began salivating as she closed the door to her flat with her bottom. She hadn’t felt hungry when she’d called in at the drive thru, but now her stomach was grumbling as the smell of the food filled the room.
Flicking the kitchen light on, she dropped her bag and coat on the breakfast bar and removed a plate from the cupboard. Eating the burger and fries out of their packaging would have saved washing up, but she wanted to eat in the living room, and a plate was the safest option. Squeezing more ketchup into the burger and splashing a dollop of mayonnaise on the edge of the plate, she carried the feast through to the living room, turning on the lamp on the coffee table.
She screamed when she saw the figure dozing on the couch.
Tara rolled over and blinked against the sudden light. ‘Oh, Kate.’
‘Tara, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you’d gone back to your mum and dad’s.’
Tara sat up and let out a yawn. ‘I did, but the second I walked through the door Mum started having a massive go at me.’
Kate remembered the version of events the supe had painted earlier, wondering how much of what Tara was about to tell her would be factually accurate. Kate decided she would give her the benefit of the doubt. For now.
‘How did you get back in here?’
Tara sheepishly reached into her pocket and pulled out the set of spare keys Kate kept in the drawer of the unit nearest the door. ‘Sorry, I borrowed them… just in case.’
Kate narrowed her eyes as she picked up the chips that had scattered to the floor in her shock. ‘So you knew that things wouldn’t go well at home? I can’t help you if you lie to me, Tara.’
‘You don’t understand what she’s like and I figured you wouldn’t mind. You said yesterday that you wanted to help.’
But Kate wasn’t buying it. ‘I do want to help you, Tara, but not by becoming a wedge between you and your parents. I said last night you could spend the night as it was too late to get you home. You told me that they knew you were staying out, but your dad says differently.’
‘You promised you wouldn’t speak to him.’
Kate sighed. ‘I didn’t… what I mean is he spoke to me. What do you expect? We work in the same building and I report to him. This is why you staying here isn’t a good idea. Don’t you see the position you’re putting me in here?’
Tara began chewing the sleeve of her jumper. ‘What did he say?
Kate put the plate down on the coffee table. ‘He claimed they were up all night, worried sick about what had happened to you. They said you hadn’t told them you wouldn’t be home.’
‘I sent Mum a text, but she never has her phone on. I don’t know why she has it, to be honest.’
Kate cocked an eyebrow. ‘Why not just call the house phone, then?’
Tara’s cheeks reddened, and although she opened her mouth, no words came out.
‘Staying here last night was part of something else, wasn’t it?’ Kate continued. ‘You wanted to make them worry?’
Tara scowled at her. ‘Not worry, but I wanted them to accept that I’m not a little girl any more. I’m supposed to be going off to university in September, and they won’t have a clue where I am or who I’m with when I’m there. I certainly won’t be phoning every night to let them know I’m safe.’
Kate recognised the rebellious streak from her own adolescence, and could recall having a similar disagreement with her own mother. She could empathise with Tara’s feelings, but as a mother herself, she knew whose side she was really on.
‘If you want to be treated as a grown-up, you need to behave like one,’ Kate said, without judgement. ‘Believe me, I understand what you’re going through, but you need to try and see it from their side too. There’s a fifteen-year-old girl who disappeared from the city just over a week ago. Your dad and I are working night and day investigating what’s happened, and so when you suddenly didn’t come home, you can’t be surprised at how your parents reacted. Can you? Of course they were going to fear the worst. I know I would if my little girl went missing.’
‘So why have a go at me? If they were that worried, she should have been pleased to see me, not go ballistic at the first opportunity.’
‘Maybe not, but it all comes from a place of love. Until you have a child of your own…’ Kate’s words trailed off, as she remembered the reason Tara had turned up originally. ‘Did you tell your mum about…?’
Tara shook her head. ‘She didn’t give me the chance. She accused me of not taking my studies seriously, as if I’m not under enough pressure already.’
Kate turned back towards the door. ‘Get your coat on, and I’ll take you over there now. I’ll stay with you and make sure they hear you out.’
Tara squirmed awkwardly. ‘No, I’m not going back there tonight. I don’t need the stress. Not with…’ she gestured to her belly. ‘Besides, your dinner will get cold.’
‘I can warm my dinner in the microwave after. You need to speak to your parents about what is going on with your body. They’re the best people who can offer you the advice and guidance that you need right now.’
‘Mum needs to cool off a bit first. Please? It’s late and I’m exhausted, and if they were up all night, I’m sure they’re tired too. I have college first thing, but only until lunchtime, so I’ll go back then.’
Kate stared her down.
‘And I will tell them everything,’ Tara added. ‘I promise. Please, Kate, just let me crash here for one more night and then I’ll break the news to them.’
Kate sighed, taking a seat on the sofa opposite her and resting the plate of food on her lap. ‘Do you want to share this?’
Tara turned up her nose. ‘Just the thought of a burger is turning my stomach, to be honest. I had some toast earlier, and I’m fine.’
Kate took a bite. ‘Have you had any contact with the father?’
‘He was just some guy I met in a club. All you need to know is he’s out of the picture.’
Kate sensed there was more to that than Tara was prepared to say, so she let it pass. ‘And have you decided whether you want to keep the baby?’
Tara collapsed back into the cushion. ‘I don’t know. When I think about bringing a baby into the world, and the disruption it would cause to my life, my education, my parents’ lives… I just think I should have an abortion. But then I think, how can I kill a living baby, my child? Would I one day regret the choice? I don’t know what to do for the best.’
‘This is why you need to talk to your mum and dad.’
‘What would you do in my situation?’
Kate finished the burger, buying herself time before she had to answer. ‘I can’t tell you what you should do.’
‘Yeah, but that’s not what I’m asking. I mean, you’re a mother, do you regret having your baby?’
‘Absolutely not! There was a time… I suffered with post-natal depression after my daughter was born and I was gripped with fear that I’d never be good enough to be the mother she needed and deserved, but I can hand-on-heart say I don’t regret having her for one moment. What I regret, is not being a better mother. But I’m working to improve that every day.’
Ta
ra yawned again.
‘But I wasn’t pregnant when I was seventeen,’ Kate continued. ‘I was married, had a good job and a mortgage on a house. Our situations are quite different and you shouldn’t allow my personal experiences to guide you. Can you not speak to the father and see what he thinks? Maybe he would want to support you through this, regardless of the decision you make.’
‘I told you: it’s nothing to do with him. Please can we change the subject? I’ve spent all day thinking about nothing else. All I want is a moment of normality before sleep.’
Kate nodded. ‘Okay, but I want to see you phone your mum and dad and let them know you’ll be back tomorrow. They deserve that much.’
26
TEN DAYS MISSING
‘I made you a cup of tea,’ Tara said, startling Kate as she emerged from the steam-filled bathroom with a towel wrapped loosely around her.
‘Oh, thanks,’ Kate said, accepting the mug.
‘I didn’t know if you’d have sugar in it or not, so I didn’t put any in.’
Kate took an enthusiastic sip. ‘It’s great, thanks. Do you want me to drop you at college on my way into work?’
Tara shook her head. ‘My bus goes past the end of your road, so it’s fine. Thanks, though.’
An awkward silence fell between them.
‘I’d better get dressed and on my way,’ Kate eventually said, nodding towards her bedroom door.
‘Oh, yeah, I should get out of your hair too,’ Tara said, heading towards the door and then stopping. ‘I really appreciate you letting me stay again. And I’m sorry if my being here has made things at work difficult for you.’
And in that moment, Kate recognised the fear in Tara’s eyes; facing an impossible choice, with life-changing repercussions. Kate wanted to hug her, but felt too self-conscious with only the towel on. ‘Will you let me know how you get on? When you talk to your mum and dad, I mean.’
‘Sure, and I promise I won’t drop you in it with my dad.’
Kate offered her a warm smile, and waved as Tara showed herself out of the door and disappeared from view. Kate remained where she was for a moment, picturing how the supe and Judith would react to the news, and hoping the three of them would remain patient with each other.
Kate headed into her bedroom, and threw on her clothes, but as she finished her tea, she reached for her phone, unable to shake the unbearable need to make a call.
‘Hi, Rob,’ she said when the line connected.
‘Kate? Is everything okay?
‘Fine, sorry, I just wanted to say hi to Chloe. Is she still there? She hasn’t gone to school already, has she?’
‘You’re in luck, I’ll just get her. Don’t be long, though, we need to go in a minute.’
‘Mummy?’ Chloe said, taking the phone from him.
‘Hi, sweetie, how are you?’
‘I lost another tooth last night,’ she said proudly.
Kate felt her eyes filling up. ‘Did you? Well, I hope you’re going to put it under your pillow tonight so the tooth fairy can collect it.’
‘I will. Are you coming up this weekend?’
‘Just you try and keep me away.’
‘Mum? Dad says we have to go.’
‘That’s okay, sweetheart. You’d better do what he says, because you don’t want to be late for school. I love you, Chloe.’
‘Love you too.’
Kate couldn’t stop the tears escaping her eyes as the line disconnected.
*
‘Holland?’ Kate exclaimed, exasperated by DC Freeborn’s latest update.
‘Amsterdam to be exact.’
Kate still couldn’t believe what he was saying. ‘Daisy Emerson is in Amsterdam? Are they certain?’
He nodded, showing her the email the Facebook team had sent, on his screen. ‘They finally managed to pull out the IP address that had accessed her profile, and it came from Amsterdam. Might explain why we can’t find her anywhere local.’
Kate frowned. ‘If anything, this lends itself to the likelihood that she hasn’t run away. I’m sure her mum said they still have her passport. Do we have an exact address for where the IP originated?’
‘Working on that now,’ Quinlan piped up. ‘I’m waiting on a call back from our Dutch counterparts. They should be able to narrow the search and let us know what they find.’
‘Good, but if you haven’t heard back from them in ten minutes, call again.’ She turned back to the rest of the team. ‘While those two work on that, let’s have your thoughts on what Daisy could be doing in Amsterdam, and how she got there.’
‘Choosing the path of least resistance,’ Laura piped up, ‘maybe she borrowed a friend’s passport and hitched a ride on a boat. If she wanted to disappear, she’d know we’d check her passport, but probably not one of her friend’s.’
‘In that case,’ Kate countered, taking on the role of devil’s advocate, ‘how did she pay for her ticket?’
‘Borrowed the money from someone?’
‘Who?’
‘Maybe the same person who loaned her the passport, ma’am.’
‘Hmm, maybe,’ Kate mused, considering it. ‘But if she wanted to disappear, why log in to Facebook where she could be traced?’
‘Maybe she didn’t think she could be traced,’ DC Rogers suggested. ‘Or maybe it was her way of letting her friends know she’d made it there safely.’
Not a bad theory, but Kate’s gut wasn’t buying it. ‘Wouldn’t she just message them privately, though? Nobody would have been any the wiser if she had. By liking the post, she’s making her reappearance public. And it still doesn’t tell us how she got to Amsterdam.’
Laura raised her hand. ‘Could Daisy pass as either Georgie or Hannah? In the image she liked, they all look so similar. In the dark and with a bit of makeup, would passport control be able to say for certain that one wasn’t the other? I know it seems a bit of a stretch, but probably worth checking out. We could ask the other girls to bring in their passports, and if one can’t, that would be pretty damning.’
Kate pointed at Laura. ‘Follow that up for me. Anybody else? What’s she doing in Holland?’
‘Maybe she was grabbed by someone and taken there,’ Patel offered, picking up the baton. ‘She wouldn’t be the first one.’
‘Do me a favour, Patel, and speak to Hendrix’s Organised Crime Team. Float the theory and see what they suggest. Find out if they’re aware of any groups actively involved in trafficking in this county and beyond.’
Rogers coughed. ‘Ma’am? If someone did snatch her with the intention of selling her on the black market, why would they let her log in to Facebook and like a picture?’
‘You have an alternative theory?’
Rogers looked nervously at her colleagues’ faces. ‘Maybe DS Humberidge is right, and this is just a killer’s way of toying with us. While we’re chasing our tails trying to discover whether she’s alive or if she’s in Amsterdam, he’s secretly laughing at us.’
‘Vicky, if that is the case, then Daisy’s body is probably still in the UK, possibly in the city. So get out there and find her.’
Rogers lowered her eyes and nodded.
Kate wrote the word ‘Amsterdam’ on the board in bold letters, and dismissed the team. Something didn’t feel right. The IP address being linked to Holland just didn’t fit with the picture.
‘Ma’am?’ Laura called over. ‘Ben’s on the phone. He says he’s ID’d the owner of the heart.’
27
‘Talk to me,’ Kate said, when she’d signed in to SSD, and been escorted to the lab Ben was once again working out of.
Ben slid the laptop over to her. ‘His name was Petr Nowakowski.’
‘Polish?’ Laura asked, joining them.
‘Parents were,’ Ben confirmed, ‘but both Petr and his younger sister Ana were born in the UK.’
‘How did you identify him?’ Kate asked, trying to skim read the report in front of her.
‘DNA matched his profile in the sys
tem, and I did a bit of extra digging to be certain: as a teenager, Petr was fitted with a pacemaker after being diagnosed with bradycardia.’
‘So, it’s definitely him, then.’
Ben removed his latex gloves and protective suit, depositing them in the sanitary bin. ‘I’m afraid so. Good news for you is you have a name and last known address.’
‘Anything to indicate how he died? I’m doubting it was natural causes.’
‘I wouldn’t be so certain. Given his medical history, I wouldn’t rule anything out. There was sufficient damage to the muscle to suggest it had come under recent strain. That could indicate that he was in a stressful situation immediately prior to death, or that his pacemaker was starting to fail.’
‘Fail?’
‘Pacemakers run on batteries, and they don’t last forever. In fact, most pacemakers are replaced every seven years, and it had been almost that long since he’d last been under the knife according to his medical records.’
‘You seriously think he had a heart attack and what, removed and posted me the heart himself.’
‘Don’t be facetious, Kate. All I’m saying is you shouldn’t rule out natural causes. Who and why someone sent you the heart as a souvenir is beyond me.’
She nodded her understanding; it wasn’t his fault there wasn’t more to go on.
Ben sighed. ‘I’m going to get myself a drink; do either of you want anything?’
‘No, thanks,’ Kate said for them both, returning her eyes to the screen.
Laura, who had been reading the screen over Kate’s shoulder, suddenly gasped. ‘I remember this guy. I interviewed him with Patel… must be three years ago maybe… yeah, that’s him, charged for his involvement in an armed robbery.’
‘Armed robbery? And out already?’
‘From memory, he was given a reduced sentence for cooperating and giving up the rest of the gang. His evidence helped secure convictions against the other five members.’
‘Revenge attack, then?’ Kate suggested. ‘One of the other gang members?’
Cold Heart: Absolutely gripping serial-killer fiction Page 13