by D. S. Butler
“I’ve come to visit Marjorie Parsons. She sent me a text message saying she had something to tell me.” I didn’t mention the fact that she’d sent it last night.
“I see.”
“There’s no answer. I think she’s still asleep.”
Yesterday had been stressful. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if Marjorie overslept this morning, but something about this situation made me nervous. I kept thinking about Daniel’s shadowy figure lurking outside the cottage last night.
The officer looked up at the closed curtains upstairs. “You might have to come back later. Mrs Parsons is coming into the station to answer some questions this morning.”
“Oh,” I said. “I didn’t realise. Have you spoken to her this morning?”
The tall officer narrowed his eyes. He had either picked up on my concern, or he thought my behaviour was suspicious. “The interview was arranged yesterday. When did you get the text message from Mrs Parsons?”
The shorter officer stepped around me and pressed the doorbell himself, obviously not taking me at my word.
“It was last night,” I admitted. “But I didn’t get it until it was too late to visit her, so I decided to come first thing this morning.”
The shorter man took his thumb off the doorbell and walked around me again, this time heading across driveway to the side of the house and then disappearing around the back.
I turned back to the taller PC. “Is there any news on Dawn Parsons? Has she said anything yet?”
The officer’s expression tightened. “I’m afraid I can’t talk about an ongoing investigation. Perhaps you should go home now, and call on Mrs Parsons another time.”
From his cold tone, I guessed he’d assumed I was a nosy neighbour.
“My name is Beth Farrow. Dawn Parsons has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of my niece, Jenna Creswell.”
His face softened a little. “Oh, sorry. I thought…” He gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you anything about Dawn’s interview, even if I knew something, which I don’t. I’m sure your liaison officer will be in touch, as soon as there is some news.”
“Right. Thanks.” I turned to walk back home when I heard a shout.
The officer who’d gone around the side of the house had rushed back to the driveway. “Signs of a break-in,” he said to his colleague. “A glass panel on the back door has been smashed.”
Both officers sprung into action, seemingly forgetting about me. They radioed in, and then both of them went around the back of the house.
I stood there not knowing what to do. Someone had broken in?… Christ, I hoped Marjorie was okay. Was this some odd coincidence? Daniel Creswell had been outside last night. Could he have broken in and demanded answers from Marjorie? Had there been an altercation? My mind was running wild with theories of what could have happened when I heard more shouting from upstairs. The police officers had obviously gone inside.
The lane remained strangely empty despite the commotion. It wasn’t until I heard the peal of sirens that the neighbours began twitching curtains and poking their heads out of their doors.
I watched the commotion as I stood on the edge of the driveway, trying to keep out of the way of the paramedics and the police who had taken over the scene.
I knew something bad had happened, but when I saw Marjorie carried out of the house on a stretcher, her face grey and her eyes closed, I feared the worst.
I rushed to her side. “Marjorie! Can you hear me?” I turned to one of the paramedics. “Is she going to be okay? What happened to her?”
There was no sign of blood or any trauma to Marjorie’s face, which was the only part of her I could see.
“Are you family?”
“I’m a friend. I live just over there.” I pointed to Mum’s house.
“She’ll be taken to the John Radcliffe. The best thing you can do is get in touch with her family and contact the hospital for information.”
I nodded. The only family member of Marjorie’s I knew was Dawn, and she wasn’t going to be able to get to the hospital in a hurry.
With a shaking hand, I clutched my mobile ready to dial Mum’s number. I needed to tell her about Marjorie before she came outside to find out what was happening herself.
Before I connected the call, the tall officer I’d been speaking to earlier walked past me, and I reached out to grab his arm.
“Can you tell me what’s happened?”
At first, I thought he was going to tell me he could only discuss the situation with family, but then he seemed to relent. “It looks like Mrs Parsons took an overdose. I imagine she was devastated after learning her daughter might be involved in something criminal.”
“But Marjorie would never do that. She goes to church.”
The officer raised a fair eyebrow. “Does that make a difference?”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “Marjorie would never try to take her own life. She considered it a sin.”
“Well, forensics will be here soon, and I’m sure they’ll tell us if it was a suicide attempt or anything else more nefarious.”
“I thought there was a break-in?”
“There was a broken window pane in the back door. Could be unrelated, but we’ll look into it.” He turned and began to walk away.
“Wait! There’s something else.”
He turned back to me. “Yes?”
“Daniel Creswell was outside this house at two AM this morning. I looked out of my window and saw him.”
The officer’s confident expression wavered, and then he said, “Are you sure about this?”
I nodded. “Absolutely positive.”
Daniel may be Jenna’s father, but as far as I was concerned, I owed him no loyalty, at all.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
When I got home, Mum had lots of questions for me, but there wasn’t much I could tell her. She was understandably concerned about Marjorie and looked shocked when I told her Daniel had been lurking outside last night.
Before she could ask me any questions about Daniel, the telephone rang. Mum rushed over to the phone, almost tripping in her haste. From the way she gripped the handset, I guessed it was the police on the other end of the line.
After listening for a moment, she looked over at me and shook her head. I took that to mean that Dawn still wasn’t talking.
After a moment, Mum held out the phone to me. “Sergeant Parker wants to have a word with you.”
I took the phone, wondering whether this had something to do with Marjorie, or whether Sergeant Parker wanted to tell me off for trespassing on Robin Vaughan’s property yesterday.
“Hello.”
“Beth, this is Leanne Parker. We’ve told Dawn the news about her mother, and she is very upset.”
“I suppose that’s going to delay your interview?”
“I’m afraid it’s inevitable. She will be visiting her mother in the hospital, but I think this shock might force her to open up to us.”
I stared at the floor and didn’t respond. Why wasn’t Dawn talking? Was she frightened? Had somebody threatened her? Or was she just scared of getting in trouble?
“Would you be able to come into the station this morning, Beth? It’s nothing serious. I’ve just got a few questions to ask you to help me with some forms I need to fill in.”
“Yes, I can do that. What time?”
“As soon as you can make it. I’ll send a car to pick you up. Could you come in now?”
I hesitated. Sergeant Parker had said this wasn’t urgent, but for some reason she wanted me to get to the station quickly. I was about to ask more questions when I realised I was being paranoid. No doubt, she just wanted to get the paperwork off her desk.
“Yes, I can come in now.”
“Great. I’ll see you soon.”
After I had hung up, I explained to Mum I needed to go to the station to answer some questions. It wasn’t a hardship. I’d been planning to go to the station anyway to deal
with the fallout from yesterday.
I opened the gate and got myself organised, grabbing my jacket and making sure I had everything I needed in my handbag, and then I walked into the living room to wait beside the window and look out for the police car that was coming to collect me.
But before the police car arrived, I saw we had another visitor. Daniel Creswell had walked through the open gate and was striding up the driveway. I flung open the front door and stepped out onto the path, closing the door behind me.
“What are you doing here?”
He looked furious. His face was flushed, and his eyes were wild as he stood in front of me and thrust a finger in my direction. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
I swallowed nervously. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t deny it. Somebody told the police they’d seen me outside the Parsons’s cottage last night. It had to be you.”
I took a step back and put my hands out in front of me to try and ward him off. I’d seen Daniel riled up plenty of times, but never like this.
He loomed over me. “You selfish cow. You didn’t stop to think how it would affect me, did you? Or maybe you wanted the police to be banging on Pippa’s door. Is this some sort of game to you?”
“Hang on. You’re not the victim here. I saw you outside Marjorie’s house. Don’t try to deny it. I haven’t done anything wrong. I only told the truth.”
“Why couldn’t you have asked me for my side of the story before you went to the police? You owe me that much at least.”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
He clenched his jaw and looked down, spotting the fact I was clutching my jacket and my handbag. “Where are you going?”
“The police station. I have an appointment with Sergeant Parker. I don’t want you talking to Mum when I’m not here.”
“That’s nothing to do with you.”
“Yes, it is. I’d be concerned for Mum’s safety if you visited her when I wasn’t there.”
Daniel looked as though I’d slapped him. “Is that really what you think of me?”
Right now, I didn’t trust him at all. “All I know is that something happened to Marjorie last night, and I saw you hanging around outside her house. I also know that you’ve taken a loan from my mother and refused to pay it back, putting her at risk of losing her home. So I don’t think very highly of you, Daniel. Surely that can’t come as a surprise to you?”
His anger seemed to leave him like evaporating steam. He bent forward at his waist, as though staggering under the weight of grief. His face crumpled.
“I couldn’t sleep. I was staying at Pippa’s, but I needed to get out and think. After the news we had about Dawn, I was drawn to the house. I didn’t do anything though. For God’s sake, Beth. You have to believe that.”
“It doesn’t matter what I believe,” I said, walking past him as I spotted a police car coming down the lane. “I’m going to the police station now, and I’m going to tell the officer in that car you’re bothering us if you don’t leave now.”
Daniel’s shoulders slumped, and he scowled at me as he shook his head. Then he turned and stalked off up the lane without another word.
I took a deep breath and walked towards the police car. Just before I reached the car, a man in his fifties, walking a Jack Russell, passed me. He looked at me and beamed.
I tried to remember whether I’d spoken to him before. He looked vaguely familiar, but I didn’t know his name.
“Good for you, love. I hope you put the frighteners on that dirty sod.” He walked past me, grinning.
I stared after him, and it dawned on me that word must have spread around Woodstock. People had heard about me confronting Robin Vaughan yesterday. Great. First, I was known around the town as the woman with the missing niece, and now, I was known as some kind of vigilante, crusading agent against paedophiles.
I didn’t reply and instead turned to face the police officer who’d just climbed out of the vehicle.
“Beth Farrow?”
I nodded. “That’s me.”
“I’ve got instructions to take you to Thames Valley headquarters.”
“That’s right. I’ve been expecting you.”
I slid into the back of the police car and buckled up, closing my eyes briefly. As the car pulled away, I tried to forget about Daniel.
Was Sergeant Parker right when she suggested Marjorie’s misfortune might help to persuade Dawn to open up? I hoped so because if she didn’t talk soon, it could be too late.
Maybe Dawn would talk to me. After all, she sent the photograph to me. She must have wanted to help and to let me know Jenna was still alive. So why hadn’t she sent the photograph to Daniel? As Jenna’s father, he was the logical choice.
I could confront her at the hospital. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t dream of using Majorie’s misfortune to my advantage, but all bets were off now. All I cared about was finding Jenna, and if I had to apply pressure to Dawn when she was emotionally fragile, I would do it without hesitation.
I rested my head against the cool glass of the window as the police car pulled out onto the A44. The Oxfordshire countryside flashed past as I began to formulate a plan.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
My plan fell apart the moment I stepped inside the police station. I was shown inside by the officer who’d driven me there.
Just as we passed a line of blue visitors’ chairs, a door opened on my left, and Dawn Parsons appeared. I stopped walking abruptly, causing the officer to stumble into me and mutter an apology I barely heard. All my careful planning on the car journey had been for nothing. I’d planned to confront Dawn at the hospital later, but now she was standing in front of me, I was too shocked to say anything.
My surprise was reflected on Dawn’s face. Her eyes widened as she stared at me. She wasn’t alone, but at first, I didn’t notice the police officers escorting her. When I came to my senses, I walked quickly towards her, before anybody could stop me.
I thought the police would have some reason for keeping us apart while she was being questioned, but I had questions of my own, and I couldn’t wait any longer.
Before I even asked my first question, Dawn was shaking her head and stepping back away from me, as though I was the monster and the person to fear.
“What did you do, Dawn? Where is Jenna?”
Dawn’s mouth hung open, making her look gormless and stupid. Was it all an act? Was there an evil, scheming mind going on beneath that slow, lumbering exterior?
“Dawn! You have to talk to me. Tell me what you know.”
I’d planned to talk to Dawn calmly. She might confide in me if she thought I was her friend. I was still holding out hope that she really did want to help me find Jenna and that was why she had sent the photograph. But I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice. If she knew where Jenna was, why didn’t she just tell me?
My plan to confront her at the hospital might have worked. I thought Dawn would be emotionally fragile after visiting her mother and when I showed up, under the guise of visiting Marjorie, Dawn would be overcome with gratitude and confess everything to me.
But everything was spiralling out of control. Dawn was looking at me as though she were terrified, and the officer who’d been escorting me had now reached my side and put a cautioning hand on my elbow. At any moment, I expected him to pull me away.
“You sent me the photograph,” I said and gripped the sleeve of Dawn’s blouse. “I know you are trying to help. Please, tell me. Help me find her.”
Dawn’s eyes were stormy and conflicted as she stared at me, opening and shutting her mouth like a goldfish. She looked behind her, and that was when I saw Detective Sergeant Leanne Parker watching the two of us. I hadn’t even realised she was there.
I tugged on Dawn’s sleeve to get her attention. “Please. Your mother wants you to help me.”
I was clutching at straws, but it was all I had.
“You should…g…go and see Mrs Taverne,” Dawn
stuttered.
“Mrs Taverne?” I stared at Dawn not understanding what on earth Mrs Taverne had to do with any of this.
Dawn nodded and then Sergeant Parker stepped forward. “This way, Dawn.” She looked at me. “I’ll be with you in just a minute, Beth. Dawn is going to visit her mother now.”
I stared after them in confusion as Sergeant Parker led Dawn outside. Had Dawn just fed me a load of nonsense to shut me up? Or did Mrs Taverne really know something about Jenna’s disappearance? The old woman was legally blind and almost deaf. She was also in her eighties, and the idea of her being involved in a child’s abduction was absurd.
She was a sweet, kindly woman who had been involved with the local church and had played the piano for our recitals when I’d attended Woodstock Infants’ School.
“You can wait here,” the officer by my side said. “She won’t keep you waiting long.”
I sat on one of the blue chairs he pointed to and waited. From where I sat, I could see through the large glass windows and watched as Dawn got into a marked police car to be taken to the hospital. Sergeant Parker didn’t come back inside immediately. Instead, she paused to talk to two uniformed officers. I tried to guess what she was saying by reading her lips, but I was hopeless at it. The only word I thought I recognised was Mrs Taverne.
Sergeant Parker walked back into the police station and greeted me with a smile. “Sorry for keeping you waiting. Follow me. It won’t take long. Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
“No, thanks,” I said as I got to my feet. I was still feeling off kilter from my run-in with Dawn, but I knew I had to keep my wits about me. Sergeant Parker said she wanted to ask me some routine questions so she could finish off some paperwork, but I wasn’t about to let my guard down.
I followed her through a door locked with a security number pad, and we walked along a narrow corridor, bright with artificial lights.
“Do you know what Dawn was talking about? Have you any idea why she mentioned Mrs Taverne?” I asked.
Sergeant Parker turned to face me and cocked her head to one side. “Do you?”