‘So, tell me too. Why did you go after Alfie in the car park?’
Richard studied her face and then grunted. ‘He didn’t tell you who was with him in the car park, did he?’
Kate’s shook her head. ‘Who?’
‘I thought he’d be too spineless to admit what a cheating scumbag he is. I lost it because I saw him in the car park walking with his arm around Georgie Barclay. When he leaned in and kissed her, I saw red.’
‘Alfie and Georgie…?’
‘And before you start giving him all the benefit of the doubt bullshit, I think it was going on long before my sister disappeared.’
‘How did Georgie react when she saw you attacking Alfie?’
‘She ran off in tears; I’ve never seen her look so upset. When he scarpered from the car park, I followed behind and saw him drive back to her house, to try and catch up with her, but she must have taken a different route as I didn’t pass her.’ He sighed in frustration. ‘Look, I know I shouldn’t have hit him, but I can’t stop thinking that this is the reason my sister ran away that night. She was at Georgie’s house and maybe she’d found out about the fling and felt she just needed to get away.’
‘You’ve changed your tune. When we first met you were adamant that some pervert had snatched her. If it’s because her Facebook profile was accessed, you should know we don’t believe your sister did it. Whoever accessed her profile was using software to mask their IP address, but we’re tracing it back to the source.’
The blood drained from his face. ‘I suppose I might as well admit it was me, then.’
Kate coughed as the spittle caught in her throat. ‘You?’
He shrugged sheepishly at her. ‘I’m sorry. I thought if you had proof she was still alive it would encourage you to make more effort to find her.’
Kate looked away so she wouldn’t be tempted to tell him what she really thought. ‘Do you realise how much time that wasted? Where did you get the software from?’
‘A friend of mine uses it to download movies and games and stuff. He swore it was impossible to trace, so I didn’t think it would be a problem. Are you going to arrest me for wasting police time too?’
Kate looked at him, and for a split second recognised the frightened child beneath the shaved head and muscles. ‘I ought to, but that wouldn’t do you, your parents or my investigation any good, would it? Can you see the trouble a little lie can cause?’
‘I’m so sorry. Are you going to tell my parents what I did?’
‘No, Richard, but you are. I’ll drop you back there in a minute, but first I think you owe someone else an apology too.’ She nodded at Alfie’s house.
‘I’m not going to apol—’
She raised her hand to cut him off. ‘If you don’t want him to press charges, you’d better apologise. And I’d make it good if I was you.’
38
‘Richard Emerson is our mystery Facebook liker,’ Kate concluded, and she echoed the groan that emanated from the team members who were in the office. ‘I know, I know, but at least we can draw a line under the surreptitious activity. Ewan, can you pass on our thanks to our Dutch colleagues?’
Freeborn raised his thumb in the air.
‘I’m going to go and speak to Georgie Barclay this afternoon and find out whether Daisy knew about her fling with Alfie. My money is on that she did, and it adds weight to the theory that she did run away, but doesn’t help us pinpoint where she is. Humberidge, where are you with confirming Barry Emerson’s movements on the Friday night?’
‘Mast activity puts his mobile phone in the vicinity of Lordswood. I’ve been digging into his list of former employees, and have found a Cheryl Oliphant, who lives in Lordswood, and I believe is the woman he’s been seeing on the side.’
‘Have you spoken with him about it yet?’
‘No, ma’am, you said he was off-limits. Besides, I’m pretty sure he’ll deny the affair, and put pressure on Cheryl to keep her trap shut as well.’
‘What are you suggesting, then?’
‘I’ll go and speak to her first, tell her what we believe to be true and see if she confirms it. One way or another, I’m sure she’ll tell Barry about the visit, and then he’ll come to us.’
‘How long was his phone in Lordswood?’
‘From seven that night until approximately eleven.’
‘That puts him in the clear for picking up Daisy, then.’
‘Not necessarily, ma’am. Just because his phone was there, doesn’t mean he was. Let me keep digging.’
Kate really didn’t believe that Barry could be involved in his daughter’s disappearance, she’d learned never to make assumptions. ‘Fine, but I want something solid by tonight, or you’ve got to let this go.’
He nodded his understanding, but scowled all the same.
‘Patel, any word from the guys up at the university?’
‘We finally have a possible sighting,’ he said, smiling for the first time in a week. ‘Vicky said when she showed Daisy’s picture to one student, he said he thought he might have seen her at a bus stop in Portswood crying.’
Kate’s mouth dropped. ‘When?’
‘Well, that’s where the problem lies, the student reckoned he saw her on the Friday night, but couldn’t give a precise time as he was already drunk when he passed the bus stop, but he remembered she was definitely crying. Vicky has got him to show her the bus stop and she’s now trying to get hold of traffic-camera and private security-camera footage, and will check it. It may be nothing, but it could also be a huge break.’
‘But we’ve checked the on-board footage of every bus in the Portswood area that night and at no point did she get on a bus,’ Ewan said.
‘Just because she was at a bus stop doesn’t mean she got on one,’ Patel corrected. ‘She wouldn’t have caught a bus to get home, because it was quicker to walk. We know her phone was switched off after she left Georgie’s house, so she couldn’t have used it to phone for a taxi, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t have flagged down a passing one. I’ll keep you posted, ma’am.’
‘Let’s keep our fingers crossed then,’ Kate finished. ‘Thanks, everyone.’
The team returned to their desks, but Kate’s attention was caught by the sight of Olly Quinlan rushing past the incident room door and along the corridor.
Kate called Patel over. ‘I thought Olly was up at the campus with Vicky.’
‘He is,’ Patel nodded.
Kate left the room without a word of explanation, spotting the door to the viewing suite closing up ahead. She walked quickly, not wishing to draw unwanted attention to her movements. The blind was drawn shut, but as she pressed her ear to the door, she could just make out Olly’s voice on the other side, and he didn’t sound happy.
‘I told you not to call me again… I don’t care… oh please, do you not remember what I do for a living? Making idle threats isn’t going to—’
As Kate continued to listen to Olly’s side of the conversation, the anxiety gripping her tightened.
‘Where the hell do you think I can get that kind of money from?’
She’d known something was off about Olly, ever since he’d turned up late on Saturday morning. But had there been signs before that? She tried to remember back to before the discovery of Maria’s foot at the school. Had he been withdrawn? Lack of sleep and too many hours in the office meant the days were blurring into one.
‘Listen, you don’t have to remind me what will happen if this gets out,’ Quinlan half shouted.
Kate’s fingers brushed the door handle as her hand hovered above it. She’d already confronted him about whatever was going on outside of work and he hadn’t been willing to discuss it with her. She’d tried the soft approach and the firm approach, so would barging in on him produce a different result? Although she felt overwhelming responsibility for her team members, she was in danger of overstepping the mark. But if he was having money troubles, had he succumbed to leaking information to Zoe Denton?
/> ‘Okay, okay,’ Quinlan continued, quieter now. ‘I’ll sort something… no I can’t afford that much… no, wait, don’t do that… please, leave it with me, I’ll sort it.’
‘Ma’am?’ Kate jumped as Patel touched her shoulder to get her attention.
Peeling herself away from the door, Kate inhaled deeply.
‘I didn’t mean to startle you,’ Patel continued. ‘What were you doing?’
Kate pressed a finger to her lips and ushered for him to move further along the corridor.
Patel eyed her suspiciously. ‘Everything okay?’
She nodded. ‘You wanted to speak to me?’
‘Laura just phoned and asked me to pass on that she’s spoken to the administrators at the school, and they confirmed Jackson still fits the image she printed off. She said she’s on her way to the courier depot now to show his picture around.’
‘Great,’ Kate said, as the door to the viewing suite flew open and Quinlan hurried down the corridor. Kate called out to him, but he was already tearing down the stairs.
‘I guess Olly wasn’t at the school, then,’ Patel concluded. ‘Is everything okay with him? He doesn’t seem right.’
With too many balls to juggle already, Kate waved away Patel’s concerns. ‘He’s just dealing with some personal issues. It’s all in hand.’
39
‘Wondered when you’d be round here,’ Georgie Barclay said, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.
‘You won’t mind me coming in, then, will you?’ Kate said, keeping the disapproval out of her tone.
‘My mum won’t be back until six, so yeah, you can come in.’
Kate wiped her feet on the door mat as the light dusting of snow began to settle on the ground outside. Taking a final look up at the clouds, Kate could only hope the imminent blizzard would be short.
Georgie grabbed her smart phone, as she settled into the cushion of the sofa in the back room. ‘Alfie said you’re not planning to charge Daisy’s brother.’
Kate’s heart went out to her. With her legs curled under her, cheeks puffy from crying all afternoon, and undoubtedly the stress brought on by the revelation of her guilty secret, Georgie looked every part the frightened child, and not the young woman she professed to be.
‘How long have you and Alfie been seeing each other?’ Kate asked delicately.
Fresh tears filled Georgie’s eyes as she raised her head and looked straight at Kate. ‘About three months. We got together just before Christmas. Neither of us meant for it to happen, but it just kind of did. The first time we kissed, I knew it was wrong, and I told him that we’d both betrayed Daisy, but as much as we tried to fight it, the attraction was too strong.’
‘When I spoke to you on Sunday, and you said Daisy wasn’t sleeping with Alfie, was that the truth?’
A tear escaped as Georgie nodded. ‘I know she wasn’t sleeping with him, because… Oh God, I might as well tell you… I’m sleeping with him.’
‘How old are you, Georgie?’
‘I’m sixteen, and we didn’t hook up until after my birthday. Daisy was one of the youngest in our age group. So, before you start accusing Alfie of doing anything he shouldn’t have—’
Kate raised her hands defensively. ‘My intention is just to make sure you’re okay. When individuals have sex under the age of consent, our concern is only for the safety of the minor. You are old enough to give your consent, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still feel pressured into engaging in activity that you don’t want.’
‘It isn’t like that. Alfie isn’t like that! He would never pressure me into having sex. The first time we slept together it was because we both wanted to.’
Kate’s relief was genuine. ‘I’m pleased you’ve told me that, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still concerned about you, Georgie. Can you tell me how the two of you first realised you liked each other?’
‘It was after my birthday party. We’d gone bowling in Millbrook, and there must have been a dozen of us there, just hanging out, bowling, playing on the arcade games. Daisy asked if Alfie could come along too and I said that was fine, and he gave us a lift home. He dropped me first, and then went on, but messaged me to say I’d left my jacket in his car and did I want him to drop it off. I came out to meet him and thanked him for being so nice. I leaned in to kiss his cheek, but we both lingered and then kissed properly. I felt so guilty all the next day when I was with Daisy, and every time he replied to one of her messages I just wanted to tell her what a terrible friend I was. But she seemed so happy, and I didn’t think it would happen again, so I kept quiet. I didn’t see him again for a week, but the following weekend we were both at a party and we couldn’t keep our eyes off each other. Daisy wasn’t at the party as she’d gone to an aunt’s birthday meal or something. I kept looking over to see if he was still watching me dancing, and when I went to use the bathroom he followed me upstairs, and one thing led to another.’
‘Did you sleep with him that night?’
‘God, no! What do you take me for?’
Kate chose not to answer the question.
‘No, when we were in the bathroom I told him that we shouldn’t have kissed; that it was wrong and we should put it behind us. He agreed it was wrong, but said he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about me all week, and to be honest I’d been thinking a lot about him as well.’ She shrugged apologetically. ‘I don’t know what else to say. We both gave in to temptation and made out in the bathroom.’ She paused as her phone beeped. She read the message and then looked back up. ‘It’s from Alfie, asking if you’ve shown up yet. Should I reply?’
‘That’s up to you.’
Kate watched as Georgie quickly typed a message, before lowering the phone again.
‘Neither of us meant for this to happen. After that party, we arranged to meet up on the nights when Daisy wasn’t allowed out because she was studying. I really got to know him, better than any other guy I’ve ever known. Most of the time we’d just hang out and talk. He’s a really nice guy, I swear.’
‘So why carry on behind Daisy’s back? If he’s so decent why not come clean and tell her the truth?’
‘He wanted to, but it was me who told him to keep quiet.’
‘Why?’
‘Because she’s my best friend. Even if he broke up with her, there’s no way she’d ever be happy with me then dating him. I didn’t want to lose her friendship, and the only way I could see that I could keep her as a friend and him as a boyfriend was if she never found out.’
Kate scratched her head. ‘That doesn’t make sense. Why couldn’t he end it with her and you continue to see him privately?’
‘Because if she was single again, she’d want to hang out with me all the time, and then I wouldn’t have time to see him too. This way, he would hang out with her a couple of nights a week, I’d see him a couple of nights a week, and we’d see each other at school and hook up on a Friday night. Then at the weekends I’d get to see them both.’
‘It sounds like Alfie was the one getting the best of both worlds: stringing Daisy along while sleeping with you behind her back.’
‘No! I told you: if he’d had it his way, he’d have come clean after that party. He only kept seeing Daisy to please me.’
Kate studied her, trying to determine whether Georgie genuinely believed she was in control of the relationship or whether she was being a naïve teenager. ‘And Daisy never suspected? The whole time the two of you were carrying on behind her back?’
Georgie bit her lip. ‘We were so careful, but on the day she disappeared, she confronted Alfie.’
‘The argument in the café: that’s what that was about.’
Georgie nodded. ‘I think she suspected he was seeing someone else. She had no idea it was me, but she accused him of cheating; said his behaviour had changed. Something about him being less affectionate towards her. She hadn’t mentioned any of these suspicions to me or Hannah, but it must have been playing on her mind. Alfie denied anythi
ng was going on, but she raced out of the café in tears. When she turned up at mine later, I had no idea what had happened at the café.’
Kate sat forward. ‘Tell me about that night, and for once, please tell me the truth.’
Georgie’s hand subconsciously rose up to her mouth and she chewed on a nail. ‘My parents had gone out for dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary, leaving me babysitting my little brother. Daisy came round as planned at six, and we were just going to drink some wine and watch a film. But about an hour into the movie, I went to the toilet, and that was the moment Alfie decided to text me and tell me what had happened at the café. Daisy saw the message and when I returned she’d put two and two together and laid into me. I guess she saw through my attempts to lie and cover it up.’
‘What time was this?’
‘About half eight, I think.’
‘But she didn’t leave here for another forty-five minutes?’
‘I tried lying at first and denying that anything had been going on, but she didn’t believe me, so I came clean and told her what had happened. We were both sobbing our hearts out, but I was crying because I was worried she’d never speak to me again. She eventually stormed out, saying she was going home. I begged her to stay, to let me explain, but she was so upset. I’d never seen her look so hurt. And it really hit home what a terrible friend I’d been. I wanted to go after her, but I couldn’t because my brother was asleep in his room. I called after her, and tried phoning, but she turned her phone off. I tried calling her a couple of times on the Saturday, but figured she was ignoring me. And it wasn’t until her parents called and said she hadn’t been home that I realised something must have happened.’
‘What do you think did happen? Where do you think she is now?’
‘I have no idea. I genuinely thought she’d run away, but if she had, you lot would have found her by now.’ Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. ‘I don’t know what happened to her, and it kills me to think that what we did led to whatever it is. I would give anything to see her again and beg her forgiveness.’
Kate moved forward and, crouching down, wrapped her arms around Georgie’s shoulders. Having been on the receiving end of a cheating partner, Kate had never considered the stress and upset it could cause the other parties. ‘Do you know if she made it to the end of the road on Friday night, or whether she hung around for a lift from anyone?’
Cold Heart: Absolutely gripping serial-killer fiction Page 19