Schoolgirl Missing

by Sue Fortin

  They sat in silence as they both digested what Neve had said. Kit felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for his wife. She had been broken, not once but twice and each time she hadn’t really ever been fixed. And as much as he loved Neve and realised he could forgive her for all these things, there was still one question he hadn’t asked. He could barely contemplate it, let alone voice it – had Neve been involved in Poppy’s disappearance and was Farnham’s appearance on the scene really just a coincidence? He couldn’t yet bring himself to consider this further, it was too horrific to deal with right now.

  Chapter 35

  It wasn’t until the following morning that the doctor agreed to let Neve go home with Kit. He’d be sending his report to her GP and strongly suggested she seek further counselling. Both Neve and Kit had assured him they would, although Neve suspected Kit did so with rather more conviction than herself. She wasn’t sure if she could face talking about this with someone again. She was sure they’d confine her to a mental institution. Seeing dead people wasn’t something a sane and competent person did.

  ‘I’ll get someone to bring your car back in the week,’ Kit said, as they drove out of the hospital grounds. ‘I know a couple of drivers who deliver for the firm, they’ll do it for a bit of cash.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Neve. She reached her hand out and covered Kit’s. ‘Thank you for being here. I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

  Kit took his eyes off the road for a moment, just enough to give her a reassuring smile. Her heart swelled as she felt a surge of love for him.

  ‘Gareth is going to keep an eye on it anyway. I’ve left the keys with him,’ said Kit, as he returned his attention to the road ahead.

  ‘He’s been very kind in all this,’ said Neve.

  ‘He’s your brother,’ said Kit.

  ‘I don’t know if Lisa is quite so ready to call a truce.’

  ‘I think she’ll thaw eventually,’ said Kit. ‘I suspect she’s never really had closure, as they say. That’s why she sent the notes. She was still so angry about it, probably fuelled by the fact that you left all those years ago and she never got a chance to confront you in the cold light of the aftermath.’

  Neve gave a small snort. ‘You’ve been reading too many psychiatry books.’

  Kit smiled. ‘I had a long chat with Gareth last night. The fact that Lisa was OK with me staying the night can only be seen as a good sign. She said herself that after having a go at you yesterday, she went to bed thinking she’d feel satisfied, but she actually felt it was an anti-climax.’

  ‘What are you getting at?’

  ‘She harboured all this anger for all those years and now she’s vented it all, she’s nothing left in the tank. Sometimes the thought of something is enough to keep a person going and then the act doesn’t live up to expectations,’ said Kit. ‘I definitely got the impression that she was genuinely sad about it all.’

  ‘I did use to get on with Lisa really well,’ admitted Neve, thinking back to the evenings out they had shared before Lisa had become pregnant. Shopping days spent together, keep fit classes and trips to the cinema. ‘I would like to again, but I just never thought it was a possibility.’

  ‘Give her time.’

  Neve rested her head back against the soft leather upholstery and allowed herself to drift off to sleep. It was a safe place to be right now.

  The journey from Wales back to West Sussex was uneventful and Neve was glad when she opened her eyes and the familiar sight of the South Downs came into view. Not long after that, they were crossing the bridge into the village and pulling onto their driveway.

  Kit stopped the engine and checked his phone. ‘Message from Mum. Poppy was fine. Went into school without any problems. Do you need me to pick her up?’

  Neve noted that Cheryl hadn’t enquired about her and although it hurt a little, she knew she didn’t really deserve Cheryl’s sympathy right now.

  ‘We can get her,’ said Neve.

  As she said that, the sound of another car pulling onto the gravel driveway interrupted them. Kit looked in his rear-view mirror. ‘For fuck’s sake,’ he muttered.

  Neve turned in her seat to look over her shoulder. ‘What do they want?’ she said with a deep sigh. ‘I don’t know if I can face them right now.’

  ‘Wait there.’ Kit got out of the car and with his hands in his pockets, Neve watched him wait for Pearson to come to a stop and wind down his window. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but from Kit’s expression she gathered her husband wasn’t impressed with the response from Pearson. Kit trudged back to the car, coming around to her side. ‘Sorry. They are insisting they need to come in and talk to us now.’

  ‘Did they say what about?’ asked Neve, unbuckling her seat belt and accepting Kit’s hand to climb out of the Mercedes. She looked over to the car, where Pearson and Sally remained. Pearson gave a nod of acknowledgement but there was no smile.

  ‘Nope. I’ve told them to give us five minutes to get in and make a cup of tea.’

  ‘Do they know I’ve been to Wales?’ asked Neve.

  ‘I just said you’d been to see your brother and had been taken ill,’ said Kit, ushering her into the house. As he closed the door, his mobile rang. ‘Kit Masters speaking. Oh, hello Edward. Yes, we’re home now. She’s not too bad. Tired but otherwise well, thanks.’ There was a long pause as Kit listened before he spoke again. ‘Right. That changes things. Yep.’ Another pause, longer this time. ‘The police are actually sitting on my driveway as we speak. Yes. They’re waiting to come in and talk to us. No, I don’t think that will be necessary. I’ll call you afterwards. Thanks, Edward.’

  ‘What did Edward want?’

  ‘Just letting me know the police wanted to speak to us.’

  ‘Oh, how does he know that?’

  ‘I think he said that someone from the station had been on the phone to him. He asked if I wanted him to come over, but I said no for now.’

  ‘Do you think that’s wise? I mean, I’m still under caution.’

  ‘We’ve nothing to hide.’ He gave her that look which she couldn’t quite read. ‘He’ll be there if they want us down the station for formal questioning. Now, don’t be worrying, it’s all under control.’

  Neve replayed Kit’s side of the conversation with Edward over in her mind. ‘Is there something you’re not telling me?’

  Kit walked over to her and cupped her face with his hands. ‘Everything is going to be just fine. Trust me.’ He planted a small kiss on her forehead. ‘Now, go and sit down, I’ll bring in a cup of tea.’

  Neve settled herself in the living room. Both her body and mind exhausted from the last twenty-four hours. She had a flock of emotions wheeling around like screeching seagulls when someone has tossed breadcrumbs onto the beach. She was finding it hard to think straight through all the noise in her head. If she could just harness one thought and focus on that, maybe she could get through the meeting with Pearson.

  Kit had barely put the cup of tea down in front of her when the doorbell sounded out, followed by a firm knock.

  ‘Just keep calm,’ said Kit, as Neve jumped at the noise. ‘Let me do most of the talking. You’re not really in a fit state and I’ll point that out to him if necessary.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She seemed to be thanking Kit an awful lot. She was so glad he was here fighting her corner.

  Kit answered the door and showed Pearson and Sally into the living room, indicating for them to sit on the sofa, while he perched on the arm of Neve’s chair, giving him an elevated position over the unexpected visitors.

  ‘So, what can we do for you?’ asked Kit. ‘You only came around yesterday. I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.’

  ‘Need to ask some more questions,’ said Pearson. He looked over at Neve. ‘How are you, Neve? I understand you were taken ill.’

  ‘I’m fine now, thank you,’ said Neve.

  ‘You went to Wales to see your brother,’ said Pearson.

  ‘That�
��s right,’ replied Neve.

  ‘May I ask why?’

  Neve resisted the urge to glance up at Kit and instead maintained eye contact with Pearson. ‘It’s personal but seeing as you ask—’

  Before she could continue, Kit spoke. ‘After everything that’s happened, it made Neve realise that life is too short to waste time not speaking to people you actually care about. She always assumed she had time on her side and that one day she probably would speak to her brother again. But these past couple of weeks have been a wake-up call. Neve realised she needed to make peace with her family before it was too late.’

  Neve was impressed with Kit’s little speech. It was fairly accurate too.

  Pearson nodded. ‘And was your brother of like mind?’ He made sure he addressed Neve with the question.

  ‘As a matter of fact, he was,’ said Neve. ‘Granted it took a bit of negotiating but we’re good now.’

  ‘Neve’s been under a lot of pressure lately, we both have. I personally think after clearing the air with her brother, she was emotionally and physically spent. It all caught up on her at once and the relief of resolving a family rift, well, it all has to come out somehow,’ finished Kit, making it sound all very simplistic.

  ‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said Pearson. ‘Now, as you know, we’ve been trying to track down Lee Farnham. We had a report of him being seen down by the river at the beginning of the week, Monday to be precise. He was seen talking to a woman walking her dog.’ He looked pointedly at Neve. ‘Where were you Monday afternoon at around five pm?’

  Neve knew she had to hold her nerve. She gave an embarrassed glance towards Kit. ‘I was at home, with Kit,’ she said.

  ‘All afternoon?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ interjected Kit.

  ‘You didn’t take your dog for a walk?’

  ‘Well, probably. We take her out every day.’

  ‘And Monday you would have taken her for a walk?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Neve. ‘And if you ask did I go down by the river, I did but I don’t remember seeing anyone else and certainly not Lee Farnham. I think I would have told you if I had.’

  ‘Would you?’ asked Pearson. ‘Would you have shopped an old friend of yours?’

  ‘Inspector,’ said Kit. ‘What exactly is the purpose of your visit? My wife has told you she didn’t see Lee Farnham. If that’s all you wanted to know, then I’d like you to leave, please. Any further questioning, I’d like to have my solicitor present.’

  ‘We’re just trying to put all the pieces of this puzzle together,’ said Pearson. ‘You do want us to find out who kidnapped your daughter, don’t you?’

  ‘Of course I do,’ said Kit. ‘What sort of question is that?’

  ‘We are trying to clarify your relationship with Lee Farnham,’ said Sally, looking towards Neve.

  ‘There isn’t one,’ replied Neve resolutely.

  ‘My wife is innocent in all this,’ said Kit. ‘You’re looking at the wrong person. You should be looking at Jake Rees more closely.’

  ‘How do you work that one out?’ asked Sally, barely disguising a snort of contempt.

  ‘Jake Rees was pretty much obsessed with Neve,’ said Kit, clearly agitated. ‘He wanted to run off into the sunset with her. When she made it clear she wasn’t interested, he wasn’t happy at all. He said to Neve, he’d do anything to make her leave with him.’

  Neve managed to rein in a look of surprise at this statement. Jake had never said such a thing to her and she certainly hadn’t said anything remotely like that to Kit. She had no idea where Kit was getting this idea from.

  ‘And what do you think he meant by that?’ asked Pearson.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Kit.

  ‘How far do you think he’d go?’ said Sally, shuffling to the edge of her seat, suddenly not so dismissive.

  ‘Who knows. Look, this is just me thinking out loud, I’ve absolutely no proof about it and it’s a bit left field …’ Kit squeezed Neve’s hand.

  ‘Go on,’ coaxed Sally.

  ‘I think Jake thought he could be the one to rescue Poppy and then be a hero in Neve’s eyes.’

  ‘But that doesn’t make sense,’ said Sally. ‘Why would he kidnap Poppy? Surely that would turn Neve against him.’

  ‘Most definitely,’ said Neve. She looked expectantly at Kit. She was just as interested as the detectives to see where this hypothesis was going.

  ‘Neve was never supposed to find out. I’ve been thinking about this a lot,’ continued Kit. ‘He took Poppy to put our marriage under strain, more strain that it already was. And then when it came to finding Poppy, he was the one who would go with Neve and be the knight in shining armour.’

  ‘And the notes?’ asked Pearson.

  ‘Ah, the notes,’ said Kit. ‘The first two were from Neve’s sister-in-law. They had fallen out a long time ago and when she saw the appeal go out and Neve on TV, she decided to send some poison pen letters just to torment Neve.’

  ‘OK. You said that was the first two. What about the ransom note?’

  ‘Yes, that was hand delivered so we knew it hadn’t come from Newport like the other two. The only other person besides us who knew about the notes was Jake,’ explained Kit. ‘Neve had told him about the letters. They were a Godsend for him, he could send his ransom note with instructions of where to find Poppy, go along with Neve, and be the hero.’

  ‘But the key was found in Neve’s pocket,’ said Sally.

  ‘Yes, because he put it there,’ said Kit. ‘When he realised the police were there, he shoved it in her pocket so she would get the blame.’

  Pearson exchanged a look with Sally, who gave a shrug in response. Pearson drummed his fingers on his knee for a moment, before speaking. ‘Is it possible Jake could have put the key in your pocket, Neve?’

  Kit’s explanation sounded plausible but in some mixed-up, sick sort of way. Would Pearson really believe that Jake would go to such lengths just so she would leave Kit? Neve wasn’t convinced and from the look on Pearson’s face, he wasn’t either.

  ‘I suppose he could have done,’ she said at last. ‘It all happened so quickly, I can’t remember exactly.’

  ‘Let’s just say that was a possibility,’ said Pearson. ‘How did Poppy get to the windmill? There were no signs that she had been sleeping rough up there.’

  ‘Perhaps Jake got someone to help him,’ said Kit. ‘It couldn’t have been that hard for him to find someone shady enough.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’ asked Sally.

  ‘All those oddballs he has at the studio,’ said Kit. ‘He had those kids from The Forum up there a lot. In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was that Lee Farnham.’

  ‘That’s quite an accusation you’re making.’ There was a cautionary tone in the detective’s voice.

  ‘But not beyond the realms of possibility,’ said Kit. ‘Why don’t you ask Jake himself? See what he’s got to say about it.’

  Pearson looked at Kit and then at Neve. ‘I wish I could,’ he said. ‘The thing is, and I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Jake Rees passed away in the early hours of the morning.’

  Neve let out an involuntary gasp and covered her mouth with her hand.

  ‘Shit,’ said Kit. ‘He’s died? But I thought he … I mean, I thought he was going to pull through.’

  ‘Internal bleed on the brain,’ said Pearson.

  ‘Oh, God,’ Neve heard herself say. ‘Oh, poor Jake.’ What an understatement that was. Her heart was trying to punch its way through her breastbone and her stomach was flinging triple salchows.

  ‘I’m sorry. I know it must be a shock,’ said Pearson. ‘But we now have a murder investigation on our hands.’

  Chapter 36

  ‘Murder?’ said Kit, standing up. ‘I think it’s at this point I’ll have to insist that neither myself nor my wife answer any more questions. Not unless it’s during a formal interview down at the police station with our solicitor present.’

&
nbsp; The DCI remained sitting. ‘You sound very defensive,’ he said.

  ‘I’m entitled to be,’ came Kit’s response. He felt Neve slip her hand into his own. ‘Murder is a serious matter.’

  ‘Indeed,’ said Pearson. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, and put his hands together. He looked at Neve. ‘Did Jake ever say anything that would lead you to believe, in hindsight, that he might have kidnapped your daughter?’

  Neve shook her head. ‘No. I don’t think so. I’m sure I’d remember if he had.’

  ‘He didn’t ask you any strange sorts of questions about your movements? What you were doing and where you were going? Did you tell him about the boat trip?’

  Kit managed to stop himself from tutting. Pearson was irritating him now. ‘As I said, formal interview from now on.’

  Pearson stood. ‘Of course. Maybe you could both come down to the station tomorrow morning. I’ll need to speak to you separately.’

  Sally rose from her seat on the sofa too and followed her boss out of the room.

  Kit forced himself to show them out and remain polite. Really, he wanted to tell Pearson and his sidekick to fuck right off. They were playing games, he was sure. Trying to get a rise out of him or Neve. And they had nearly succeeded. He watched the car reverse out of the drive and head back towards the main road.

  ‘I don’t know how I kept my temper,’ said Kit, going back into the living room. ‘I swear he was trying to wind us up on purpose.’

  ‘Well, he’s done a good job,’ said Neve.

  Her face looked the shade of putty and her eyes were still red rimmed from the crying of yesterday.

  ‘You can’t let him get to you,’ said Kit, pacing the living room. ‘Now can you tell me the whole story of Lee Farnham?’

  ‘There’s not much more to tell,’ said Neve. ‘Lee was into his drugs and he used to get stuff for us. Usually just a bit of weed. Sometimes, if we could afford it, some tablets. We were all young and bored living in a small Welsh town with absolutely nothing to do.’