THEIR LOST DAUGHTERS a gripping crime thriller with a huge twist

by Joy Ellis

  ‘I wonder if he’s as certain about that in the cold light of day,’ muttered Jackman.

  Marie snapped her book shut. ‘Maybe we should go find out?’ She looked across at Gary, ‘Will you be our local tour guide, Constable?’

  The man rubbed at his close-cut greying beard with surprisingly slender fingers and beamed. ‘Oh yes, Sergeant. Best job I’ve been given since there was break-in at the brewery. As long as we can take your car, that is. The duty car is off the road and we are precious short of wheels.’

  ‘No problem.’ Jackman was about to say more, but stopped abruptly.

  A tall, ramrod of a man in an immaculate uniform stood in the doorway, silently surveying them.

  ‘Oh, good morning, sir.’ Gary straightened up. Jackman noticed that his smile had disappeared.

  ‘DI Jackman, Sergeant . . . this is Chief Superintendent Cade.’

  ‘We’ve already met.’ Jackman’s tone was cool.

  ‘Good of you to come so quickly, DI Jackman.’ The words seeped from the man’s thin lips and Jackman felt a hint of revulsion tug at his gut.

  Cade smiled coldly. ‘I do realise that this is probably nothing, but her father is such a generous supporter of our police charities . . . well, what could I do?’

  ‘We fully understand the situation,’ said Jackman sourly. ‘And whereas we will do all we can to assist you, we do have pressing cases of our own running, and we are anxious to get back to them.’ He paused, then added a clipped, ‘sir.’

  ‘Naturally. I wouldn’t expect such a talented team to be lounging around doing nothing.’ Cade raised his eyebrows. ‘So, as time is obviously of the essence, I’ll let you get on. And thank you, Rowan. I knew I could count on you.’

  Jackman was bitterly offended at this use of his first name. The only person who called him Rowan was Ruth Crooke. By using it, Cade implied that they were buddies, and Jackman wouldn’t choose him for a friend if he were the last man left in Lincolnshire. Plus, he had totally ignored Marie!

  As Cade moved away from the door, Jackman murmured, ‘Oh, our pleasure, I’m sure,’ then added, ‘I don’t think.’ He stared at Marie. ‘Well, he really loves you, doesn’t he?’

  ‘I’d have it no other way,’ growled Marie.

  * * *

  Marie drove, while Jackman fired questions at Gary.

  ‘You know this girl, Gary. In your opinion, do we have cause for concern?’

  ‘Funnily enough, sir, for some reason I am worried. Maybe I’m just being a bit oversensitive, but it doesn’t feel right.’

  ‘How come?’

  ‘Well, when they told us to back off, I decided to have a quick word with her mother about Toni’s previous escapades.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Even though on each occasion she had had the most dreadful set-to with her parents, her escapes were all carefully planned.’ He paused to give Marie some directions. ‘She had taken the time to pack a bag, and get herself to a cash machine before she left. Once she even took her passport. That wasn’t the case this time.’ His voice was sombre.

  ‘So she hadn’t intended to run away?’ chipped in Marie.

  ‘She’s a clever girl and quite calculating. I reckon if she’d been doing a runner she would have prepared better.’

  Jackman nodded. ‘So by going out of the window she was just defying her father’s curfew? Just off for a night out, sticking two fingers up at her parents?’

  ‘Exactly. I’m certain that’s how it was.’

  As they passed through the gates of Cameron Court, Jackman felt inclined to agree with him. For the first time, he felt a frisson of real fear for Toni Clarkson.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Neil Clarkson turned out to be nothing like Chief Superintendent Cade. Neil and Ellen Clarkson’s concern about their wayward daughter’s disappearance was undoubtedly genuine. They admitted their faults, blamed themselves for pandering to her and apologised repeatedly in case they were wasting police time.

  ‘We lost a child, Inspector Jackman, killed in a road accident. He was only four.’ Clarkson ran his hand through his thick iron-grey hair. ‘It’s wrong, I know, but Ellen and I have totally overcompensated with Toni.’

  His wife gave a sad smile. ‘And look where it’s got us. We love her with all our hearts, but she’s turning into a nightmare.’ Ellen Clarkson was too thin, and looked like someone who didn’t sleep enough.

  ‘We are not dealing with it particularly well,’ added her husband wearily.

  Jackman felt for them. He had no children of his own, but he often looked after his seven-year-old nephew, Robert. There were times when he was certain the boy must be an alien, a being from a planet that bore no resemblance to the one he lived on, but he loved him.

  They took the names of friends, and places Toni frequented. Jackman was mostly interested in a recently ditched boyfriend called Ethan Barley. Hurt, rejected or angry, he may have been looking for payback.

  ‘What sort of boy is Ethan Barley?’ he asked.

  ‘He’s the son of the vicar of Fendyke Village, a student, and a bit of a rebel. We met him once and weren’t very impressed.’ Clarkson looked at his wife.

  Ellen nodded. ‘Not our cup of tea. I got the impression that he was born at the wrong time. He was very passionate about causes.’

  ‘We commented at the time that he should have been leading the miners’ strike, or distributing copies of Che Guevara’s manual on guerrilla warfare.’ Neil Clarkson shrugged. ‘Not that he was a thug or anything like that. He clearly came from a decent home and his manners were surprisingly good for such a driven young man.’

  Marie asked about Toni. Was she easily led? Impressionable? Her parents both laughed at that one. Apparently Toni would argue about anything, including the weather, let alone be persuaded to do something she didn’t want to.

  Jackman was just about to bring the meeting to a close when his phone rang. He made an excuse and went to the hallway to answer it.

  ‘Sir? It’s Rosie here. I’m in the A&E department of Saltern General Hospital. I thought you should know that a teenage girl has been admitted, and she’s in quite a bad way.’

  ‘Rosie? How come you’re at the hospital? And what makes you think it’s our missing girl?’

  ‘I overheard a call come in about a youngster found wandering around on the outskirts of one of the fen villages. She had no ID on her and she was well out of it. Then I remembered what the sarge told me, about you checking out another missing girl from the Harlan Marsh area. I decided to come down and take a look for myself. Can you give me a description of the girl you are looking for?’

  Jackman glanced at his notebook. ‘Brunette, shoulder-length hair, slim, brown eyes, and wearing a yellow skinny T-shirt and boot-cut jeans.’

  ‘Then I think you should get over here ASAP.’

  ‘I’m with her parents right now.’ Jackman bit his lip. ‘You say she’s in a state. Can you clarify that, before I frighten the life out of her family?’

  ‘Battered and bruised. Possible broken ribs. Nothing immediately life-threatening, although she’s pretty unstable. The medics are working on the supposition that she’s taken, or been given, a drug of some kind.’

  Jackman thought of Shauna. ‘What? A hallucinogen, or a Rohypnol-type drug?’

  ‘They don’t know yet, it’s too early to say, although thankfully there are no signs of sexual interference.’

  ‘That’s one blessing. Now, Rosie, are you sure enough about the description to allow me to bring the parents to the hospital?’

  ‘It’s close enough, sir. I’m almost certain. The clothes, the hair colour and her build all seem to tally, but please don’t get their hopes up, just in case I’ve found a lookalike.’

  Back in the lounge, Jackman carefully rephrased what DC Rosie McElderry had just told him. ‘Now this may have nothing to do with Toni, but I do need one or both of you to come with us. And please forgive us if this turns out to be another girl, and not your daughter.’


  Husband and wife both jumped to their feet. ‘We’ll take our own car, Inspector Jackman. We’ll follow you.’ Marie travelled with them.

  Gary with Jackman discussed the case as they sped towards the hospital.

  ‘Looks like the lass finally came up against someone tougher and nastier than she expected,’ mused Gary. ‘You can only push your luck so far before it runs out.’ He glanced worriedly at Jackman. ‘There’s something else you should know, sir. For the past year, we’ve been trying to trace an underground drinking club. Sounds innocuous, but it’s far from that. Someone is supplying underage youngsters with alcohol and God knows what else. It seems that the kids get in free and get free drinks as long as they party themselves silly, and socialise with the paying members.’

  A wave of nausea hit Jackman. ‘Socialise?’

  Gary’s face drew into a dark frown. ‘Mmm, we’re not sure exactly what form that takes, and no one is prepared to talk about it. Whoever runs it is damned clever. They’ve been one jump ahead of us for months.’

  ‘So why can’t you locate the venue?’

  ‘That’s the clever part, sir. It moves around. We suspect that members are sent a text with a time and location just a few hours before it kicks off, a bit like the old acid-house parties?’ Gary shook his head. ‘We’ve been close, but so far we’ve discovered zilch. And hell, wouldn’t I like to get my hands on the men behind it!’

  Jackman slowed down for a red light. ‘Gary, at the moment we are investigating a drowning. A fourteen-year-old, with both alcohol and Foxy Methoxy in her bloodstream. We suspect she was taken to a deserted beach and dumped. The fact that she drowned must have been an added bonus for whoever drugged her. Any chance there is a connection?’

  Gary nodded. ‘I’d say so. If this new girl turns out to be Toni Clarkson, and she has a date-rape drug in her system, that could be connected too.’

  ‘Then we’ve got to find this club and get inside it.’

  ‘Easier said than done.’

  Jackman accelerated towards the town. ‘No offence, but we have better resources than you, Gary. I’m willing to bet we can crack this. What would you say if I managed to swing a temporary transfer? Get you on our team for a while?’

  ‘I’d welcome it, Inspector Jackman, really I would.’ Gary sat back and took a deep breath. ‘Actually things have been pretty shitty over the last year. I lost my sister a few months back, and although the guys at the station are not a bad bunch, the atmosphere and the working environment is bad. I’ve been thinking about a change of scenery, but I need that club to be closed down and our kids safe from their clutches before I consider my next move.’

  ‘Then I’ll put some wheels in motion. I think Saltern-le-Fen Division could do with a man like you, PC Pritchard.’

  Gary gave a broad smile.

  They drove the rest of the way in silence. Jackman feared that this was turning into something far nastier than he had ever imagined.

  * * *

  They found Rosie waiting for them in the hospital foyer. After a brief introduction she rushed them through to where the teenager was being treated. A doctor greeted them and they waited anxiously while he made sure that she was ready to be seen.

  ‘She’s still very confused, and we are concerned because we have no idea what she has taken.’

  The doctor looked about twelve. His shirt was untucked and he appeared exhausted.

  ‘Toni doesn’t take drugs,’ said Ellen Clarkson in a very small cracked voice.

  And neither had Shauna. Jackman wondered how many times he’d heard that empty statement. The parents were always the last to find out.

  ‘That’s as maybe,’ said the doctor gently, ‘but there are drugs in her system, and some pretty powerful ones from the symptoms she is presenting.’ He turned towards the door of the examination room. ‘Let’s just see if you recognise her first, shall we?’

  They stood back as the Clarksons tentatively approached the trolley on which the agitated girl lay.

  Jackman realised that he was holding his breath. Then he heard a low cry from the mother.

  ‘Darling! My God! Whatever has happened to you?’

  ‘Bingo,’ whispered Rosie. ‘Game over!’

  Jackman didn’t answer. Something wasn’t right about all this.

  Marie and the others moved away, talking animatedly, but he remained looking through the observation window.

  The young woman was still hallucinating. One moment she seemed almost comatose, and the next she was throwing herself around, fighting, screaming at anyone who went near her. Her eyes were wide, her pupils contracted to little more than pinpricks. She obviously did not recognise her parents. For that reason, and to spare them further upset, a nurse quickly led them out and took them to a nearby relatives’ room.

  ‘May I go in?’ Jackman asked the doctor.

  ‘Sure. But keep well back. We’ve already had a syringe of sedative aimed like a dart at the far wall!’

  ‘I just want to observe her.’ He looked at the trolley and a large plastic bag beneath it. ‘Her clothes have been bagged for forensics?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, they are all there. Although the shoes are separate. They were covered in thick mud.’

  As Toni yelled and cursed, Jackman stared at the clear plastic bag holding her footwear.

  ‘She was alone when she was found?’

  The doctor looked across at him. ‘Yes.’

  Alarm bells rang in his head.

  Toni’s bare feet thrashed and kicked out at the nurse closest to her. Her feet were narrow, very slim with long toes, but clearly no more than a size five. Jackman looked again at the plastic bag and the pair of mud-covered, chunky wide trainers.

  ‘These are not her shoes,’ he said softly. ‘Why is she wearing someone else’s shoes?’

  The doctor blinked. ‘Pass. Although she does keep calling out for someone called Emily. Maybe it’s connected.’

  As if on cue, Toni screamed the name several times and whimpered, “Where are you taking her?” Then she began shivering violently and curled into the foetal position.

  An icy trickle of fear coursed down Jackman’s spine.

  They’d found Toni, and thank God she was alive, but who the hell was Emily?

  Jackman left the room, took Toni’s father to one side and asked him if he knew of a friend called Emily. The man looked blankly at him, then shook his head and returned to his distraught wife.

  Jackman’s mind was spinning. What did Toni mean by “where are you taking her?” Did they have another girl to find? He swallowed hard. He believed that they did, and considering what had happened to Shauna Kelly, whoever Emily was, she was in grave danger.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  They could do little more until Toni was able to talk. Gary offered to stay with her at the hospital, while Jackman and Marie drove back to Saltern.

  Jackman said very little during the journey. Marie knew that his mind would be working overtime. They had no choice but to take seriously Toni’s anxiety for this Emily, even though she was still high as a kite.

  ‘Neither the parents nor Gary Pritchard can place a youngster called Emily in Harlan Marsh, and Gary’s been working that patch long enough to know most of the little yobs and tearaways around there. Which makes this one devil of a situation. I’m not sure where the hell to start.’ Jackman sounded tired.

  Marie slowed down as they approached a roundabout. ‘All we can do is start running the usual checks, hoping that this mysterious girl is known to us in some way.’

  Jackman nodded. ‘My first job will be to wire Max up to his beloved computer and let him do his stuff.’

  Marie agreed. Max was by far the smartest of the team when it came to IT. She pulled up in front of the station security gates and swiped her card through the machine. ‘Let’s hope we have more luck than Harlan Marsh, because if we hit a brick wall too, I guess we’ll have to go back there and take to the streets.’

  ‘I have an awful f
eeling that’s exactly what we’ll be doing.’ Jackman got out of the car and slammed the door. ‘Oh well, nothing for it. We’d better get started on some basic checks.’

  * * *

  Max came up with over twenty girls with the name Emily. Mostly teenagers, they were either missing persons or petty criminals that had crept onto police files via a variety of misdemeanours. A barrage of phone calls to private homes, prisons and young offenders’ institutions eliminated all but three names. One of them had died of an overdose and the other two were long-term mispers with no connection to the area.

  Marie ended her last call and pulled a face. She really didn’t fancy traipsing the streets of Harlan Marsh, but they needed more information and that was most likely where they’d find it.

  Jackman called out from his office door. ‘Marie, finish up there! We’re going back to the hospital. Gary Pritchard has just rung and Toni’s more or less ready to speak to us. I’ve told him to stay with her and not to let her talk to anyone else, not even her parents, until we get there.’

  Marie pulled on her jacket and felt around in her pockets for the car keys. If Toni could say something specific about Emily, it would save them a whole load of shoe-leather.

  They arrived at the hospital in seven minutes, and in another two they were standing looking down at Toni Clarkson’s bruised and tear-stained face.

  ‘Toni, this is DI Jackman and his sergeant, Marie Evans. Like I said, they are here to help you.’ Gary sounded warm and reassuring, like a favourite uncle. He’d clearly used the time before their arrival to try to gain the girl’s confidence.

  Marie looked at Toni and saw a touch of belligerence in her eyes.

  Jackman drew up a chair close to the bed and placed himself on a level with the girl, so as not to intimidate her. He assured her that she was not in any trouble, and all they wanted to do was find whoever had hurt her and punish them.

  The belligerence in Toni’s eyes slowly disappeared, and only fear remained. ‘I don’t know anything,’ she whimpered.

  ‘Well, let’s start when you left your friends at the war memorial, shall we?’ asked Jackman softly.