by Mel Sherratt
‘No, I haven’t seen Jess this morning for her to tell me.’
‘He was beaten up.’
‘Oh no, is he okay?’ Laura paled. ‘What happened?’
‘Someone set on him as he walked the cut-through from Railton Drive.’
‘But Railton Drive is nowhere near our house. And Jess said she was seeing him last night but then sent me a text message to say she was staying over at Stacey’s house. I just thought she and Cayden had had a tiff or something.’ Laura caught her breath. ‘Are you saying that Cayden hasn’t seen Jess at all last night?’
‘Yes. Do you—’
‘But that can’t be right.’ Laura ran a hand through her hair. ‘Sarah said Jess had a text from Cayden to meet her at Shop&Save. Oh God, I never thought to check that she wasn’t there! And Stacey was attacked last night too.’
‘There’s something else you need to know.’
‘What?’ Laura snapped impatiently.
‘Cayden sent Jess a message to say he’d been admitted to A&E. Apparently Jess replied to say she was on her way to see him.’
‘She never arrived, did she?’ Laura’s voice came out as a half sob.
‘I’m sorry, but neither Cayden nor his mum saw Jess last night.’
Chapter Thirty-Five
In a fit of panic, Laura rang Sarah asking her to come home. She paced the room as she waited for either her or Eden to arrive.
Why the hell hadn’t she thought to speak to Jess directly to make sure she was okay? She should have tried the Goodwins’ landline. All that talk about grounding her because she was being stroppy made her break out in a sweat. If anything had happened to her, and she had been hurt more because Laura hadn’t acted sooner, she would never forgive herself.
Eden owned a white Mini Cooper with a black and white chequered roof. As soon as she spotted it pulling up outside the house, Laura raced to the door.
‘She’s missing and I didn’t know,’ she said. ‘I tried to call her, but she sent me a text message, and I thought she was okay. I should have rang Sandra Goodwin and asked to speak to her, but it was late when I got home from work and—’
‘Let’s go inside,’ said Eden, guiding her back to the front door. Her eyes were full of concern as they went through to the living room. ‘When was the last time you saw her?’
‘Yesterday evening before I went to work for six. We had a few words.’
‘About anything in particular?’
‘The usual teenage stuff. Watch her attitude mostly. She thinks she can act up whenever she likes, and I was just trying to knock her down a peg or two. You know she can be a bit fiery, especially when I’m at work and there’s only Sarah at home.’
‘What happened?’ Eden moved her along.
‘She stormed off upstairs. I did have a chat with her before I left, and I thought everything was okay between us.’
‘So she has contacted you?’
‘Yes.’ Laura reached for her phone. ‘I tried to ring her a couple of times, and she didn’t answer. But she did send a few text messages. She seemed fine. And then she sent a message to say she was going to stay with Stacey. I thought nothing of it as it happens regularly.’ She looked up at Eden again. ‘I should have made certain that I spoke to her this morning. I was going to ground her because I told her not to stay out. I thought she was going to be with Cayden. I didn’t think that she—’
Laura felt Eden’s arms around her as she burst into tears.
‘Can you remember what she was wearing?’ Eden asked once Laura had stopped crying.
‘Blue jeans, a black jacket and a black and white top. That’s if she didn’t get changed again after I left. Sarah’s on her way home from shopping. She’ll be able to tell us more.’
‘Apart from the attack on Cayden,’ said Eden, ‘which was pretty brutal, the three girls seemed to have been attacked to be humiliated.’
Laura drew away from her. ‘So you think whoever did that might have attacked Jess too?’
‘It’s something we need to look into.’
Laura began to cry again. Then she sat up. ‘Is anyone else missing?’
‘Not that we know of at the moment, but we obviously don’t know for definite.’
Laura’s heart sank. ‘Why didn’t I insist on speaking to her last night? At least then I would have known she was missing and I could have rung you.’
‘You weren’t to know.’
‘But what kind of mother am I not to check?’
‘I don’t think you would have been the only one. As far as you were aware, Jess had told you she was staying at Stacey’s. Did she send any more messages?’
‘Yes, a few. And she said goodnight. But it wasn’t her, was it?’
‘We can’t be sure yet,’ said Eden.
‘But the fact that Jess has been gone overnight and none of the others are missing doesn’t look good.’ Laura sat upright. ‘Do you think it could be anything to do with the trial next week? Or has someone attacked her too? Then something went wrong?’
Eden held her hands. ‘Try not to panic too much yet. Claire Mornington was dumped miles from her house and they took her money and phone so she had to walk home. If whoever took Claire has taken Jess, then she might be on her way home too.’
‘But Jess is Katie Trent’s best friend.’ Laura ran a hand up and down her arm, as if trying to warm herself up. ‘This can’t just be a prank.’
‘It can,’ said Eden. ‘You just have to sit tight. Either she will come home of her own accord, or we will find her.’
‘Oh I have every faith in you,’ said Laura. ‘But I don’t have faith in everyone else. These attacks must have something to do with the trial.’
‘Can you give me a recent photo of Jess,’ Eden brought her back to the job in hand. ‘Do you have any printed out?’
Laura rushed off to find one, leaving Eden with her thoughts. Her niece was missing. She could be anywhere, but at least they might have a line of enquiry to work with. Jess could be another victim of the pranks from the night before.
Chapter Thirty-Six
When Sarah arrived home, Eden checked the details with her. ‘Can you confirm what Jess was wearing the last time you saw her?’ she asked her eldest niece.
‘She had her jeans on and a checked blue shirt under a navy blue V-necked jumper.’ Sarah sat on the settee, Laura by her side. ‘She had a black jacket on too,’ she added, ‘and black Chelsea boots.’ She turned to Laura. ‘The ones you bought her for her birthday.’
‘And she told you she was going to see Cayden?’ Eden took notes as she stood in front of the fire.
‘Yes.’
‘But when I got a text from her, she said she was staying over at Stacey’s,’ said Laura.
‘So if she didn’t go there and we know that she hasn’t been with Cayden, then where is she now? She’s been missing all this time and we didn’t know?’ Sarah turned to Laura. ‘Why didn’t you check up on her earlier?’
‘There’s no need to blame anyone, Sarah,’ said Eden.
‘But she should have—’
‘I’m sorry, all right!’ Laura shouted. ‘I didn’t know this would happen.’
‘And you’re sure that Cayden wouldn’t do anything to harm Jess?’ Eden ignored them both.
‘I don’t think so.’ Laura shook her head.
‘He is a bit full on at times,’ said Sarah.
Eden and Laura looked at her.
‘I like him, but sometimes he can be a bit cocksure, like he’s God’s gift to women, you know? Our Jess is a good-looking girl – she can have anyone. She told me he gets jealous of other boys looking at her.’
‘You don’t think he’d hurt her?’ Laura questioned, her brow furrowing.
‘And then beat himself up?’ Eden raised her eyebrows. ‘Anything is possible but those injuries weren’t self-inflicted. Revenge is one line we will follow however. It could very well be someone getting even for something.’
‘You mean the Barker family?
’ said Laura defiantly.
‘I didn’t say that!’ Eden replied.
Sarah and Laura began to speak at the same time. Eden raised her hand. ‘None of this makes sense to me at the moment.’ She paused. ‘I need to have a look around Jess’s room.’
Laura stood up. ‘I’ll come with you.’
‘I’d rather you didn’t.’
‘She’s my daughter!’
‘And she’s my niece,’ said Eden, ‘and I’m going to do everything within my power to find out where she is as quickly as possible. But she might have things in that room that she doesn’t want you to see, and I’d rather see them first and then warn you if I have to. Okay?’
Laura sat down again with a thump.
Eden took the stairs two at a time. On the landing, she flicked on a pair of latex gloves, left her feelings at the door of Jess’s bedroom and went inside.
The room was decorated in silver and white, with the odd dash of lilac and magenta. The bed was made, three teddy bears sitting on the pillow at the headboard and there was a pile of clothes at the bottom.
Eden got down on her knees and looked underneath it. There was a pair of socks rolled into a ball, a festering mug of something sitting on top of a plate and several magazines. She pulled out a pair of slippers, checked inside them but found nothing. She lifted the mattress hoping to find a diary that might give her a clue but dreading doing so, because she didn’t want to read about her niece’s antics. But there was nothing there.
To her right there was a small set of drawers, its top littered with make-up, toiletries and perfume bottles. Hair straighteners were on the floor, the wire wrapped around them. A tall mirror rested on the wall beside the drawers, and a can of hairspray sat next to it.
Eden opened the drawers, searching through the contents one by one. She stood up to open the wardrobe, checking through pockets of clothes hanging on the rail. At the bottom there was a drawer full of flat shoes, shoved in haphazardly. She pulled them all out to feel around the top of the drawer above. There was nothing stuck to the inside of it.
As she put the shoes back, something dropped out of the toe of a trainer. It was a wad of notes wrapped tightly with an elastic band. Eden flipped off the band and counted out the money. Then she sat back and frowned. Satisfied there was nothing she had missed, she went downstairs again.
In the living room, she held up the bundle. ‘Any idea how Jess came across this?’ she asked.
Laura shook her head. ‘How much is there?’
‘Five hundred and forty pounds.’
‘But. . .’ Laura’s eyes widened. ‘She wouldn’t be able to save that kind of money. She only ever has money for birthday and Christmas.’
‘You do give her money, Mum,’ said Sarah.
‘Yes, occasionally, for doing jobs around the house, and you,’ Laura looked at Eden, ‘give her some every now and then, but it always burns a hole in her pocket. She could never save anything. She would be off to the shops to buy something new to wear.’
‘She would never be able to save that much money,’ agreed Sarah. ‘Do you think it could be Cayden’s?’
Laura shook her head. ‘How would he have come across it?’
‘We need to look into it,’ said Eden.
‘I suppose it must be,’ Laura changed her mind, ‘because it can’t have anything to do with Jess.’
‘We’re not certain of that.’
‘I am certain!’ Laura shouted. ‘Where would Jess get it from?’
Eden said nothing. She could suggest lots of ways but none of them would be legal, and she wasn’t about to upset her sister any more than necessary.
‘I’ll see to it that we talk to Cayden about it,’ she said finally, making another note in her pad. ‘If it is his and she’s keeping it for him, he’s hardly going to cough up, because he knows we’d be on to something. But we will ask him if he knows where it came from.’
Laura looked at her with so much pain in her eyes that Eden almost heard her heart snap in two.
‘Find her for me,’ said Laura. ‘She’s out there somewhere! Please find her.’
‘I will. Do you have a notepad? It will be useful to list everyone that Jess knows. And you, Laura. You too, Sarah – whatever information you have stored on your phone as well as anything else you can think of. I’ll get Amy to list all the numbers and emails and go through your recent contacts, text messages, et cetera.’
‘What do you need our contacts for?’ Laura frowned.
‘It’s standard procedure. We need to find out the last person to see Jess and figure out her whereabouts in-between leaving the house and wherever she is now.’
Eden went outside to use her phone. Sean’s line was engaged so she rang Amy while she waited for him to become free.
‘I might need to come off my shift, for personal reasons,’ she said after she had given her an update on the situation.
‘Are you sure that’s necessary, Sarge?’
‘I want to work the case, but I might not be allowed, even if this is just a prank.’
‘I think you’d be far better suited to stay close to it.’
Eden paused. Amy was right. She needed to speak to her DI.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
‘Hi, sir,’ said Eden when Sean answered his phone. ‘I’m really sorry to interrupt your weekend, but I need some advice.’
‘Fire away. You’re saving me from a shopping trip. With any luck Lucy might go without me.’
Normally Eden would have laughed when she heard Lucy in the background giving Sean some lip. Sean and Lucy had the kind of marriage that she had shared with Danny in their earlier years. They were a dependable couple – one you would never dream would split. People had thought that of her and Danny too once.
‘It’s personal, sir,’ she told him, trying to keep the emotion in her voice from erupting. ‘I have a family matter to deal with.’
Sean had been laughing as he waited for her to continue but his tone became serious. ‘What’s wrong?’
Eden filled him in on what had happened overnight. ‘I was wondering if I would be allowed to work on the case, sir? I’m hoping that Jess has been a victim of a prank and that she’ll walk through the door any minute, and I can give whoever did it a bollocking. But until I know for sure what’s happened to her, I suppose I have a personal interest to declare.’
‘In a way, yes, although,’ Sean replied, ‘I hate to say this, but the case isn’t serious enough for you to step down from yet. I really hope it doesn’t escalate, and if it does we’d need to evaluate your position then, but for now you’re fine.’ He paused. ‘Wait a minute, will you, while I have a word with Lucy?’
Eden did as she was told. She could hear muffled speech while he talked to his wife. There was none of the laughter from earlier but neither were there any raised voices.
‘I’m coming in,’ said Sean when he spoke to her again.
‘But, sir, your weekend!’
‘I’ve cleared it with Lucy. She’d never forgive me if I didn’t help you out. Besides, I want to help. I can lead the investigation, and you can do what you always do best. Find out information.’
‘Well, if you’re sure.’
‘I’ll be there in half an hour.’
Eden disconnected the call, a huge weight off her shoulders. Having Sean looking into things would make it easier for them all. Even outside of the force everyone knew that people weren’t reported missing until they had been off the radar for at least twenty-four hours – unless there was criminal involvement. Even though she wasn’t quite certain of that yet, she was going to ignore that fact and get onto everything as soon as Sean came in.
Before she returned to the station, she called to see Cayden again. He was lying on the sofa where she had left him.
‘Any news?’ He sat up as soon as he saw her.
Eden was surprised to hear concern in his voice.
‘Did Jess ring you or send you any messages?’ she asked him. ‘I ass
ume she was waiting for you to turn up to meet her.’
‘No,’ he replied. ‘I was on the way to call for her.’
‘So you didn’t send her a text message to say that you would meet her at the back of Shop&Save, in the car park?’
‘No! Are you saying that someone else did?’ Cayden stood up. ‘Was it from my phone?’
‘We’re not sure,’ said Eden. ‘Sarah said that Jess received a text message from you to meet her in the car park at Shop&Save, and then she went out.’
‘But I didn’t send it.’ Cayden reached for his phone. ‘Look, if you don’t believe me.’
Eden scrolled through his messages. She stopped at one in particular from Travis Barker, opened it up and closed it again quickly after scanning its contents. But there seemed to be nothing that he had sent to Jess since before he had been attacked.
‘Could someone have sent the message and deleted it without you knowing?’ she asked.
‘I guess he could have sent it after he attacked me and then wiped it.’
‘You’re certain it was a he?’
‘Yes. Do you think he has something to do with Jess going missing?’
‘It seems possible. Have you any idea who we could start to question about it?’ She looked at him pointedly.
Cayden suddenly went all quiet again.
‘When was the last time that you saw her?’ Eden wanted to know.
‘I hope you’re not suggesting Cayden had anything to do with her disappearance!’ Andrea’s tone was one of indignation.
Eden didn’t reply to her. ‘Cayden?’ she asked.
‘It was at school yesterday. We walked home together, and I said I’d see her later.’
‘And you didn’t go anywhere else before you were due to meet her?’
Cayden gulped.
‘If you’re afraid of getting into trouble, please don’t be. Kidnapping someone will outweigh anything you tell me.’
‘You think Jess has been kidnapped?’ Cayden sat forward.
‘We’re not certain yet,’ said Eden, still looking at him purposely.