CHILDHUNT: A Mystery & Suspense Thriller in the Bestselling Diana Rivers Series (The Diana Rivers Mysteries Book 5)

by Faith Mortimer

  Adam came out of his reverie and once again got out his phone. Never one to spend a long time dwelling over something, he made a quick decision. The Yvonne Brookes case had played on his mind for some time after it was turned over. He still regretted the unsolved crime. She had suffered, and it was indirectly his fault. He would pay a visit, and he knew exactly how to make it look like a coincidence. He and Clare, an old theatre friend of Diana’s, were seeing each other on a regular basis. Clare had an open invitation to visit Diana and Steve, and Adam thought it was about time she should take them up on the offer. But because he was certain the invitation wouldn’t extend to him, they intended to find alternative accommodation in the area. Roger told him there were plenty of places to choose from when he first arrived there, and with the present economic situation, there were sure to be many empty holiday homes.

  Chapter 3 A week before Christmas

  Diana pressed ‘send and receive’ on her laptop email button and waited for new mail to appear. She saw there were only twenty-eight messages that morning and hummed while she waited for them to download. The internet was even slower than usual that day. She suppressed a sigh and glanced outside at the gathering clouds, giving an involuntary shiver. The weather forecast said it would snow, and it looked like it was right for once. Weather was an inaccurate science after all. Diana didn’t mind cold, snowy conditions; in fact, she loved nothing better than a good walk in the countryside whatever the weather. But, being Cyprus with its out-dated technology and lackadaisical infrastructure, she knew that if and when it snowed, hailed or simply came down in torrents, everything ground to a halt. She even remembered one power cut due to a snake which had slithered into the power plant. Whatever the reason, the island inhabitants would often lose electricity for half a day, which was very inconvenient. Steve, Diana’s husband, said she was impatient and needed to relax a bit more, but she remembered how he would create merry hell whenever a lack of power hit them.

  She quickly processed the emails, skimming the unimportant or boring ones and deleting half. Some were nice chatty notes from her readers, and she smiled as she read one particular long letter from a devoted fan. Although Diana had been writing for over ten years, she still found it amazing and gratifying knowing her work pleased many people. She hoped she would never take anything for granted and always found the time to respond to fan mail.

  As she read through the remainder she saw the last one was from a good friend in England. She opened it to find what Clare had to say and gave a hoot of laughter as she read through her message. Steve wouldn’t believe her when she told him. Diana read the email again and sat back as she thought what it meant to her. When they last saw Clare, it had been during the summer months. She and Steve had been staying on the outskirts of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire in England. They, together with many old friends, were guests at Havershall House with hosts Duncan and Isabelle Macpherson. It had been a visit that proved to be one of the most frightening and upsetting times in their lives. Two people were murdered, another died after an accident, and Diana was subjected to a period of particular terror. Her friend, Clare, was also a guest during that dreadful interval, although she hadn’t suffered nearly as much as Diana.

  Diana looked at Clare’s words again. ‘…so I thought it would be great fun for the two of us to come out for Christmas and stay in Cyprus for a while.’

  It would be fun, wouldn’t it? Diana mulled it over. She needed to get this straight in her head before she mentioned Clare’s email to Steve. She had to be calm and matter-of-fact about it all. It transpired that Clare and Diana’s ex-fiancé, Adam Lovell, were now an item. Did Diana care? Did she?

  ‘…I know you invited me to stay at your own house in Agios Mamas, but I truly think it will be better if Adam and I rent our own place. That way we can come and go as we please, you won’t have to cook and put up with our erratic hours, and I appreciate you might feel odd having an ex-boyfriend around the place with me as his new partner.’

  Diana thought it all made jolly good sense for Clare and Adam to stay in a different place. She hoped Adam had finally got the message and suggested the arrangement. When they last met, Adam had deliberately gone out of his way to flirt with Diana, and she was as mad as hell. Even though she loved her husband with all her heart, it disturbed her to know that the handsome police superintendent could still needle her. Adam always liked to see how far he could go, and although Diana resisted, she remembered how persuasive he could be. If she had given him one hint of being interested, she knew he would have whisked her knickers onto his bedpost before she had time to blink. Did she mind? Diana thought not and mentally congratulated Clare on tying Adam down. They were both strong characters, and Clare played the field as much as he. It would be entertaining having them around over Christmas. Diana was planning events with various friends during the festivities; Adam and Clare would be just two more.

  Christmas in Cyprus was nothing like Christmas back in England. For one thing, the Greek Cypriots didn’t celebrate the birth of Christ nearly as much as they celebrated his death at Easter. Consequently, there was little of the razzmatazz and the usual Christmas frenzy seen during December back home. A typical Cypriot Christmas of old involved fasting for forty days; it was fifty days for Easter. Basically, this meant eating no meat or dairy produce for the allotted time. The Cypriots went to church on Christmas day and then returned home to eat barbequed souvla—normally pork. Seeing as this was the meat they ate ninety-nine per cent of the time, Diana couldn’t see that they had a lot of fun during the period.

  Although at times she abhorred the amount of money wasted on seemingly trivial items when they lived in the UK, Diana sometimes missed it in Cyprus. She thought about the carol-singing, midnight mass, mulled wine and the pretty decorations…as well as watching friends and family opening their presents on Christmas day, which was why she liked to make sure the holiday period in Cyprus was as good as it could be. When she had time, she copied her mother and made her own cake, plum pudding, mince pies and sausage rolls—and that was just for starters. She usually roasted either turkey or goose on the big day, and they invariably had friends dropping in for drinks and nibbles during the week of festivities. She made sure Steve and Poppy didn’t miss out on anything.

  She read further and realised Clare had done her research on the island. However, she was surprised to learn they had already booked their accommodation and were renting a small house in Agios Mamas. Good heavens…they didn’t hang about! They were arriving almost immediately.

  Diana decided to go and find Steve and tell him the news. She wondered what he would think about Clare and Adam hooking up. Diana hadn’t mentioned Adam to Steve since their return to Cyprus, but she knew he missed very little.

  *****

  During that morning, there was a light dusting of snow, and Diana looked excited as she gazed out of the kitchen window. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if it really snowed hard? Just imagine…it’s mild back in the UK right now, with no forecast of snow for Christmas, but if it snowed here, it would be our first white Christmas abroad.”

  “Apart from when we were skiing,” Steve pointed out. “We had a few white Christmases then.”

  “I know that, but it doesn’t count.”

  Raising his eyebrows, Steve gave a slight shake of his head. “Of course not.”

  Diana peered at her mate, wondering if he was being sarcastic, but he just smiled at her.

  “Anyway, I hope it does.”

  “Why? The inconvenience will be incredible. We’ll have no power, and you’ve invited half the island to your parties.”

  “Don’t exaggerate, and we’ll be okay even if it did. We have tons of logs for the wood-burner and plenty of bottled gas for the cooker. Self-sufficient I say. By the way, fancy a walk after we’ve finished?”

  Steve didn’t look impressed. “I don’t know about snow, but it might rain. I don’t relish the thought of getting wet. Where do you want to go?”

 
; “I want to invite Debbie and William over for drinks sometime. I appreciate we don’t know them well, and they’ve always refused our other invites, but I think we should make the effort.”

  “They’ll refuse to come, or at least she will. William’s friendly enough, but I always get the feeling he does what Debbie wants.”

  “Maybe, it’s just—well, I don’t think she has any friends. She’s stuck there on her own while William goes to work. The only time she goes out is to the supermarket. I know because I can see her house clearly from my study window, and she comes back laden with grocery bags. The children don’t even go to school—she’s home-schooling for some reason. She’s very young, and it must be lonely being all by herself for so long with only small children for company.”

  Steve studied his wife. “I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think she’ll accept an invite. She’s very shy, or perhaps she’s just plain stand-offish.”

  “That’s no reason to ignore her. Look, let’s just ask. We can say it will be nice for the kids to get together. Poppy’s nearly three and loves other children. They have a little girl who looks roughly the same age, and I thought perhaps they could play together from time to time. I know what…I’ll take her one of those pretty face masks I bought last week. Poppy loves hers, and Debbie’s daughter might like to play with one, too. It’s a good excuse.” Diana paused for a moment. “Anyway, Debbie intrigues me.”

  Steve looked puzzled over her words. “In what way? She’s a pretty ordinary housewife as far as I can tell.”

  “I don’t know…there’s just something about her. The few times I’ve bumped into her and spoken, she’s been very polite but almost distant. It’s as if there’s something on her mind. She’s what you might call fey. I feel I want to get to know her.”

  Steve gave what sounded like a snort of disbelief. “Are you sure you’re not on one of your nosey-neighbour inquisitive missions?” He stopped when Diana glared at him. “Okay, only joking. We’ll call in and ask. Have you finished? Let’s go before I change my mind and spend the afternoon sitting in the snug before a blazing log fire.”

  Outside, it was far colder than they realised, and Steve commented that Diana might well have been right. Perhaps she would get her wish for a white Christmas. It was only days away. A chill wind was blowing down from the Troodos Mountains, and they were in its direct path. Before they left the house, Steve looked at the webcam recording on the ski slopes and found there was a good solid base of snow already.

  “It’s freezing! Let’s just visit our neighbours and then come straight home. Slippers and a bottle of red wine with a good film on television seems a much better idea to me,” Steve complained as they left their house.

  “Stop moaning. You’re becoming a right old fuddy-duddy just lately. Stay at home if you want to, but I’m going to ask them.”

  Diana strode out in front, while Steve followed with Poppy in the child carrier secured to his back. He smiled at Diana’s bottom snugly covered by her tight trousers. He hoped she wouldn’t be too long on her mission. A bottle of wine and an hour in bed seemed like a much better proposition.

  Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the foot of the short drive leading to the house across the valley from theirs. Years ago, somebody must have loved trees because they had planted the surrounding fields with dozens of olive, almond and soft-fruit trees. Diana looked around.

  “I never realised there were so many trees all together. They’re actually thickly planted in places. You can’t appreciate it now, as some have lost their leaves, but there must be lots of shade in the summer.”

  Steve nodded. “You’re right. From us, you can see their house and garden but not all these trees in the dip.”

  Diana shivered and blew on her fingertips. The cold had brought colour to her face, and her cheeks looked pink and fresh. “It’s actually a bit creepy down here. Perhaps it’s because it’s so dark and dismal today. Okay, let’s scoot up there and ask them. I promise we won’t stay out any longer than necessary. Your idea of a film on the telly is sounding better every minute.”

  The house they approached was a modern villa typical of the island. Diana thought back to when Debbie and William had first arrived and realised she had never seen anyone else visit the house apart from another neighbour, Roger, who left a newspaper in their mailbox on most Saturdays and some eggs from the chickens he kept. She found the whole set-up mystifying.

  Steve reached up and pressed the button for the bell on the front door. They heard it echoing throughout the house followed by a child’s call. Diana stared at the holly wreath pinned to the wooden door; it was made with artificial holly, real pine cones and a brightly coloured tartan bow and ribbon which fluttered in the breeze.

  She could hear footsteps approaching and smiled as the door was flung open.

  Chapter 4

  Debbie leaned against the door frame, watching her children playing. Charlie enjoyed painting and told his mother the current masterpiece was a picture of Santa with all his reindeer. He had certainly captured a likeness of the rotund white-bearded old fellow with a large sack on his shoulder, but the reindeer resembled a cross between long-legged elk hounds and cattle. She smiled fondly at her older child. With his mid-brown hair and hazelnut eyes, he was almost a replica of his father, William. Just then Hannah looked up from her Lego and gave her a dazzling smile.

  “I’m building a houth wiv a chimney, tho Farver Cwithmuth can vithit it. Do you like it, Mummy? Look, thee it?” she lisped.

  Debbie leaned forward, her short blonde hair shining as it caught the light above her. “It’s lovely, darling. I’m sure Father Christmas will definitely visit the children in that house.” She caught Charlie’s eye with a conspiring wink before taking a sip from her cup of coffee.

  William had already kissed his family goodbye before leaving for work that morning. Dragging a woollen jacket on over his shirt and tie, he said he would much rather have stayed at home in the warm. He worked in Limassol for a finance company named De Vere and dealt mainly with their large contingent of ex-pat customers. He tousled Charlie’s hair and promised to play football with him on his return that evening, if he got home early enough, and gave Hannah her customary toss up in the air making her squeal with delight.

  “Be good for Mummy, you two,” he said as he made for the kitchen door. Debbie followed him, giving him her usual slightly hesitant smile. William paused and draped an arm around her shoulders. “You look a bit peaky this morning, darling. Take it easy and don’t do too much.”

  “I’m fine,” she replied. “Try and make it home early if you can. Charlie looks forward to you playing with him.”

  William hugged her close and kissed her cool cheek. “I’m trying to wind everything up before the Christmas holiday, so it’ll be tight, but I’ll see. Debbie, will you please have another think about Diana and Steve’s invitation? Diana said it was only going to be us, Roger, and a couple of friends from England. It’s hardly going to be arduous.”

  He watched as the colour drained from her face.

  “Will…no.’ Debbie’s voice was low and appealing.

  “Yes,” he whispered, lest the children overheard. “Remember, you promised that you would make an effort. It’s been six years…you have to make a start.”

  Debbie felt sick as she listened to his words. She had agreed, and she knew it was time to try and start afresh. At first she had been completely withdrawn, but earlier in the year, she finally began to talk about them. “Everything about that time is so hazy…I can’t even see their faces clearly. They’d be so much bigger now…nine and eleven, no longer babies. I try to imagine how they’d look, but it’s so muddled. I can’t get the nightmare from my mind,” she murmured.

  William held her tightly in his arms. “Darling, it’s okay. It’s only natural for you to feel like that. But it’s time to put all those thoughts behind you. Please, for the sake of our family, stop wondering how it happened.”

 
That morning, Debbie looked up at her husband and heard the cajoling words. She knew he was being both protective and strong. “I’ll think about it,” she whispered.

  William smiled. “Good girl. Now I’d better be off down the hill before I’m late. There are bound to be some idiotic drivers out, who can’t handle their vehicles in this weather, and an accident before I reach Limassol is a foregone conclusion.” He kissed her, feeling her lips tremble under his. He wondered if he had upset her about the lousy drivers or about being more sociable. As he opened the door and felt the cold creep inside, he paused as some instinct made him want to stay at home in the warmth and safety of his family. Shaking the feeling aside, William got into his car, reversed it onto the drive and with a quick wave left for work.

  Debbie closed the door behind him and returned to the cosy kitchen where the children were. He’s right, she thought as she made herself a fresh cup of tea. It was time to forget the past. She had to make an effort to stop remembering and look forward to a bright and happy future with her new family.

  She stood and watched her children while she savoured the hot drink. They were her entire being. But she still returned to that dreadful period in her life and knew a part of her was still frozen. Over the years, her body provided a safety net, where a section of her mind helped her to reject the painful memories. She thought about her past life with Claude and how most of it was veiled with distortion. Debbie had to really think hard about where they lived during that time. She could only vaguely recall the small house in the quiet leafy lane. Claude’s face was a blur and thought she sometimes heard his voice; it was a soft voice, quiet yet confident. Sally and Stuart…my, God, what did they look like? A chill gripped her heart as she fought to remember. They were dark-haired like both their parents, and Sally had inherited her mother’s soft curls. They framed her tiny little elfin-shaped face. They were quiet children—she remembered that. They were well-behaved and never raised their voices. Was it she who insisted they played quietly? She thought back to when they played in the house. Was it a figment of her imagination that they were quiet and subdued at all times? Had she affected them in some way?