She's Gone (A psychological thriller)

by M A Comley

  She’s Gone

  A psychological thriller- featuring DI Sam Cobbs

  M A Comley

  Copyright © 2021 by M A Comley

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Also by M A Comley

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Keep in touch with M A Comley

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you as always to my rock, Jean, I’d be lost without you in my life.

  Special thanks as always go to @studioenp for their superb cover design expertise.

  My heartfelt thanks go to my wonderful editor Abby, my proofreaders Joseph, Barbara and Jacqueline for spotting all the lingering nits.

  Thank you also to my amazing ARC group who help to keep me sane during this process.

  And a special thanks to Dee for beta reading this novel for me.

  To Mary, gone, but never forgotten. I hope you found the peace you were searching for my dear friend.

  Also by M A Comley

  Blind Justice (Novella)

  Cruel Justice (Book #1)

  Mortal Justice (Novella)

  Impeding Justice (Book #2)

  Final Justice (Book #3)

  Foul Justice (Book #4)

  Guaranteed Justice (Book #5)

  Ultimate Justice (Book #6)

  Virtual Justice (Book #7)

  Hostile Justice (Book #8)

  Tortured Justice (Book #9)

  Rough Justice (Book #10)

  Dubious Justice (Book #11)

  Calculated Justice (Book #12)

  Twisted Justice (Book #13)

  Justice at Christmas (Short Story)

  Justice at Christmas 2 (novella)

  Justice at Christmas 3 (novella)

  Prime Justice (Book #14)

  Heroic Justice (Book #15)

  Shameful Justice (Book #16)

  Immoral Justice (Book #17)

  Toxic Justice (Book #18)

  Overdue Justice (Book #19)

  Unfair Justice (a 10,000 word short story)

  Irrational Justice (a 10,000 word short story)

  Seeking Justice (a 15,000 word novella)

  Caring For Justice (a 24,000 word novella)

  Savage Justice (a 17,000 word novella Featuring THE UNICORN)

  Gone In Seconds (Justice Again series #1)

  Ultimate Dilemma (Justice Again series #2)

  Shot of Silence (Justice Again #3)

  Taste of Fury (Justice Again #4)

  Crying Shame (Justice Again #5)

  To Die For (DI Sam Cobbs #1) Coming Dec 2021

  Clever Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)

  Tragic Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)

  Sinful Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)

  Forever Watching You (DI Miranda Carr thriller)

  Wrong Place (DI Sally Parker thriller #1)

  No Hiding Place (DI Sally Parker thriller #2)

  Cold Case (DI Sally Parker thriller#3)

  Deadly Encounter (DI Sally Parker thriller #4)

  Lost Innocence (DI Sally Parker thriller #5)

  Goodbye, My Precious Child (DI Sally Parker #6)

  Web of Deceit (DI Sally Parker Novella with Tara Lyons)

  The Missing Children (DI Kayli Bright #1)

  Killer On The Run (DI Kayli Bright #2)

  Hidden Agenda (DI Kayli Bright #3)

  Murderous Betrayal (Kayli Bright #4)

  Dying Breath (Kayli Bright #5)

  Taken (Kayli Bright #6 coming March 2020)

  The Hostage Takers (DI Kayli Bright Novella)

  No Right to Kill (DI Sara Ramsey #1)

  Killer Blow (DI Sara Ramsey #2)

  The Dead Can’t Speak (DI Sara Ramsey #3)

  Deluded (DI Sara Ramsey #4)

  The Murder Pact (DI Sara Ramsey #5)

  Twisted Revenge (DI Sara Ramsey #6)

  The Lies She Told (DI Sara Ramsey #7)

  For The Love Of… (DI Sara Ramsey #8)

  Run For Your Life (DI Sara Ramsey #9)

  Cold Mercy (DI Sara Ramsey #10)

  Sign of Evil (DI Sara Ramsey #11)

  Indefensible (DI Sara Ramsey #12)

  Locked Away (DI Sara Ramsey #13)

  I Can See You (DI Sara Ramsey #14)

  I Know The Truth (A psychological thriller)

  She’s Gone (A psychological thriller - coming August 2021)

  The Caller (co-written with Tara Lyons)

  Evil In Disguise – a novel based on True events

  Deadly Act (Hero series novella)

  Torn Apart (Hero series #1)

  End Result (Hero series #2)

  In Plain Sight (Hero Series #3)

  Double Jeopardy (Hero Series #4)

  Criminal Actions (Hero Series #5)

  Regrets Mean Nothing (Hero #6)

  Prowlers (Hero #7 Coming July 2021)

  Sole Intention (Intention series #1)

  Grave Intention (Intention series #2)

  Devious Intention (Intention #3)

  Merry Widow (A Lorne Simpkins short story)

  It’s A Dog’s Life (A Lorne Simpkins short story)

  Cozy Mystery Series

  Murder at the Wedding

  Murder at the Hotel

  Murder by the Sea

  Death on the Coast

  Death By Association

  A Time To Heal (A Sweet Romance)

  A Time For Change (A Sweet Romance)

  High Spirits

  The Temptation series (Romantic Suspense/New Adult Novellas)

  Past Temptation

  Lost Temptation

  1

  “Daddy, let’s sing it again.”

  Martin glanced sideways at Louise, the new love of his life, then looked in the rear-view mirror and smiled at his adorable five-year-old daughter. “Darling, we’ve already sung it ten times. Why don’t we let someone else choose a song instead, eh?”

  Adele stared at her father and pouted. She swiftly turned her head to look out of the window at the passing scenery—The Lake District in all its finery and an abundance of vivid landscapes, which they intended to explore over the coming week, were on show ahead of them.

  Martin had his little girl back with him after months of battling her mother, Deborah, through the family court system. He had to prove he was willing to give his daughter the attention she deserved, instead of ploughing all his devotion into his newly formed family. It was all nonsense; Deborah had sullied his name during their mind-numbing trips to court. He was a far better person than she’d portrayed him to be. He loved his daughter, more than life itself at times.

  When none of the children could come up with a suitable song to sing, he asked, “Come on, kids, we’re almost at our destination, tell us what you want to do during the holiday. We’re open to suggestions.”

  “Play football in the park,” Jake was quick to shout.

  Martin laughed. “Hey, that’s a given, mate. What about you, Matilda and Adele, is there anything in particular you girls want to do?”
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  Adele’s pout deepened, which upset him. He swallowed down the twinge of hurt which had surfaced, not allowing her to see she had won. In that respect, she was the opposite of her mother who was usually easy-going. Matilda, on the other hand, beamed and said, “Beach! I want to build lots of sandcastles with the sand.”

  “Again, that’s something high up on our agenda. Adele, what about you, honey?”

  “I don’t care. Do whatever.”

  Louise’s hand squeezed his thigh. He faced her, keeping one eye on the winding road ahead of them. “Let her be, we’ll sort something out during the course of the week.”

  “Okay, here we go, kids. We’re climbing now. I think this song will be appropriate, join in if you know it.” He winked. “She’ll be coming around the mountain when she comes.”

  He quickly looked in the rear-view mirror. The children were all staring at him, as if he was singing in a foreign language. Louise burst out laughing. “You’re kidding me. That’s as old as the damn hills surrounding us.”

  He turned to her and shrugged. “It’s the best I could come up with in the circumstances. At least, it made you laugh. Hey, do me a favour, you try and think of something more suitable, then.”

  “That’s easy, we’re all going on a summer holiday…”

  He glanced in his mirror at the back seat and all the kids were swaying and singing along. All right, some of the words were out of place or perhaps missing, but at least they joined in. Not for the first time, he was grateful to have her in his life, a woman who he had come to cherish and love over the past few months. He couldn’t imagine his life without her steadying and loving influence.

  He rounded the corner at the top of the steep hill and everyone gasped. He spotted a lay-by up ahead and decided to pull over to admire the breathtaking view.

  “Wow, it’s even better than I remembered,” Louise said in a hushed voice. She seemed mesmerised by the scenery ahead and all around them.

  “I’m really disappointed,” Martin muttered.

  Louise’s head snapped around to face him. “What? Are you crazy?”

  He grinned at the horrified expression distorting her beautiful face. “If you’ll let me finish, I was about to say, I’m really disappointed I’ve never ventured up this way for a holiday before. It’s magical. Spellbinding. I’d even go as far as referring to it as hypnotic. Or would that be going over the top in my appraisal?”

  “No, I think you’ve got it just right. I’ve been coming up here for years with my parents and the view never fails to impress.” Louise peered over her shoulder at the children. “What do you think, guys?”

  “It’s wonderful, Mummy. I want to climb every mountain, can we do that?” Jake asked enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together.

  Martin chuckled. “It would probably take us all week to climb one, let alone all of them. But it’ll be an incentive to visit the area again later on in the year, won’t it, pal?”

  “Yay, I was hoping you’d say that. Coolio, I’d be up for it. What about you, Matty?”

  Matilda seemed a little distracted, too awestruck by the view to reply. After her brother dug her in the ribs, she said, “Yes, I’d love that. Magical, isn’t it, Adele?”

  Adele stared out of the side window, her mouth gaping open. She leaned forward in her seat a little to gain a better view past Jake and Matilda. “It’s wonderful. Thank you for bringing me, Daddy.”

  His hard heart softened. Every time she uttered the word Daddy, she significantly melted his insides. He’d missed his daughter so much. Life wasn’t the same without seeing her every day. Deborah had known that, and he predicted it was why she’d insisted on dragging him through the court. Like most women in a marriage breakdown, she had the upper hand regarding the children’s welfare. The court failed willing fathers most of the time; always siding with the mothers, discounting any feelings the father may have and ditching a father’s abilities to care for a child, in favour of giving the primary custody to the mother. Most of the time that was a good idea, but there were occasions when the law was an arse, and something serious happened to the child in the wake of such a decision.

  He had never faulted Deborah’s capabilities in caring for his daughter, not one iota, but there was an underlying niggle within him that she sat at home every night, virtually twisting the knife in his back, making Adele wary of him. As she’d proven so far on the trip. He had to set that aside for now. Concentrate on the here and now, appreciate the fact that Louise and her two children had welcomed him into their home after knowing him for less than a year. His life had been enriched beyond anything he could have imagined, since he’d met Louise.

  This trip wasn’t just about getting away from it all, no, Martin had every intention of going down on one knee to pop the question, this evening, if the opportunity presented itself, maybe after the kids had gone to bed.

  “Are you all right, love? You seem a bit distant,” Louise whispered.

  He smiled and leaned over to kiss her. “Enjoying being here with you guys, as a family. Thinking how lucky I am right now.” A flock of swallows darted past the vehicle.

  “You’re such a softie. Come on, let’s go, we’ve still got half an hour’s drive before we find the cottage. I hope I can remember the way.”

  “You will. You’ve never let me down yet.”

  “Charmer. Hey, there’s always a first time.”

  The engine started up, cutting through the magical experience they had all encountered. “The final leg now, kids. Shout out when you can see the highest sheep up on the hills, okay?”

  The game kept the kids amused until Louise pointed at the road they needed to take up ahead. “It’s that one, I’m sure it is. It’s quite narrow, but that means we won’t get disturbed by any traffic passing by, plus I thought it would be an ideal place for the kids to play.”

  “Okay, let’s see if we can find this cottage.” Martin indicated right and began the climb up the small hill. As they reached the top, there stood an old stone cottage.

  “Yes, I was right. That’s it. Isn’t it adorable?” Louise gushed, her face lit up with excitement.

  “It sure is. One question. Is it really big enough to take the five of us?”

  Louise sniggered. “Of course it is. I wouldn’t have booked it otherwise.”

  “Fair enough.” He pulled up outside the front of the cottage and unlocked the doors. The kids bolted from the car as soon as they saw the swing and slide in the back garden. “Don’t go wandering off. Stay right there until we’ve unloaded the car, got that?”

  “Yes, Daddy,” Adele shouted back, her demeanour changing in an instant to what it had been like in the car.

  He sighed and watched the kids playing for a second or two. Louise slipped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his back. “They’re going to have a blast. My two love Adele already.”

  “I hope you’re right. Thanks for inviting her along, it meant the world to me.”

  “Hey, we’re a family, buster, whether you like it or not; and that includes Adele. Come on, let’s get this lot inside. You take the cases and I’ll ferry the groceries in.”

  “About that… why bring so much? We’ll be eating out most days, won’t we?”

  “You’ve clearly never been around three kids before, they’re constant grazers from the minute they wake up to the time they go to bed.”

  “No way! Why aren’t they the size of this cottage then?”

  “Because I don’t allow them to sit in front of the TV all day, playing computer games. I make sure they burn off all that excess energy and calories. We’ll probably need to top up the cupboards again before the week is out, too.”

  He shook his head. “I had no idea. Maybe I’m doing Deborah an injustice then, she’s always begging me for more maintenance for Adele.”

  Louise shrugged. “It’s always easier to feed an extra adult than a child, in my experience anyway, especially if the child turns out to be a fussy eater. What�
��s Adele like?”

  “Pass. Out of practice, I’m ashamed to say. I’ve never really been around at mealtime. I’ve always worked exceptionally long hours, which meant I missed out on the adventure of mealtimes and having to feed a five-year-old.”

  “It’s okay. We’ll play it by ear then.”

  They began to ferry the cases, overnight bags and carrier bags full of shopping into the tiny cottage.

  “What do you think of upstairs?” Louise asked, packing the tins of baked beans into one of the lower cupboards in the quaint galley kitchen, which was characterful with a flagstone floor and an exposed stone wall at the rear.

  “It’s as small upstairs as it is down here. I suppose we’ll be out most of the time and we only sleep in the bedroom, don’t we?”

  Louise straightened with a twinkle in her eye. “If you say so. I was hoping for more this week, but I’ll go with the flow.”

  He grabbed her and kissed her deeply. “I meant… the kids will only be sleeping, not us. This week, I intend showing you just how much you mean to me, every which way possible.”

  “I think I know how much you love me, there’s no need for you to go the extra mile on my account.”

  He released her and glanced over her shoulder. “Get you. Are you all done in here?”

  “Not quite, one more bag to go. Why don’t you check on the kids? Do me a favour, discreetly inspect the fence and make sure it’s intact while you’re out there. The last thing we need is one of the kids attempting to explore the surroundings on their own.”

  “I was just about to do it. Great minds. Join us when you can.”

  “I will. Want a coffee?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He ducked out of the way with a chuckle, doing his best to dodge her playful slap.