‘What was that, guv?’
Gina shook her head and tapped her fingers on the desk as she thought. She selected the other tab on her computer. The list of suspects was huge. There was everyone at the party and the host, Dawn, still hadn’t provided all their details. Jade’s neighbours, including Colin Wray and Tiffany the babysitter, both may have had opportunity. She also had to still consider that the attacker could have chosen Jade at random on that night, that he was merely an opportunist. ‘Gather everyone up for an immediate briefing. We need to discuss Noah Ashmore further and I want to know why we still haven’t found Rhys Keegan!’ She slammed her fist on the desk, seething that this man was managing to dodge them.
‘At least we have his girlfriend Aimee.’ Gina glanced at the note on her electronic diary. They were due to go to Aimee’s house after lunch. Speaking to her was all good and well but she wanted Rhys Keegan. It was time to step up the search.
Fourteen
Wyre closely followed Gina along the tiny uneven path that led to Diane’s house, the last small house in the row. Peeling paint flaked from the walls and the overgrown front garden looked like it probably hadn’t been tended to in years. A wheelie bin half-covered the front door and Gina wondered if the grimy windows and brown net curtain had ever been washed. The area seemed quiet even though it was only a few streets back from Cleevesford High Street; she would have thought it might be busier, but there was no further access by road and only a small path that led to the primary school.
She knocked twice and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
‘Coming.’ They waited as the woman with the slightly croaky voice struggled to unlock the door. Finally winning the battle with her keys, she eventually opened the creaky entrance as she swore under her breath. The May sun shone through the woman’s long thin grey hair. She looked to be in her seventies but Gina knew she was only in her fifties. Sallow skin clung to her pale face, making her look malnourished. Wrapped in two thick cardigans, Gina wondered if she was stifling hot underneath all that wool. ‘Come in,’ Diane Garraway said as she beckoned them through with a shaky hand, the bones of her fingers swollen and gnarly, reminding Gina of a weather damaged tree stump. ‘I’d offer you a drink but my hands are too cold,’ Diane said, leading them to the lounge.
‘I can make a drink. Would you like one, Ms Garraway?’ Wyre asked. Gina smiled at her. They could both see that Diane Garraway needed more help than she was receiving.
‘No, I’m fine. I have one on the go. Take a seat and call me Diane.’
Gina pushed the old cushions aside and sank into one of the armchairs, Wyre sat on the other. The heater clicked and began whirring into action. It was warm outside and the heater was on. Gina shivered. Despite all that, the house was cold. She now knew why Diane was wearing all those cardigans.
Wyre removed the lid from her pen and turned to a fresh page in her notebook.
‘You called us because of a card you received that may be linked to your missing friend, Samantha Felton.’
Diane trembled as she reached for the card on the arm of the settee. The picture on the front was of a flower. A butterfly had landed on one of its petals and the wordshappy birthdayfilled the header section. Gina pulled a pair of blue gloves from her bag. ‘May I take a look?’
The woman nodded and handed the card to Gina. ‘The nail is inside so be careful that it doesn’t fall out. I didn’t know what else to do with it.’
Gina opened the card. TheDear Samanthawas made up of letters cut from a magazine. Flecks of bin juice littered all sides of the card which wasn’t ideal. The generic message that the card company had printed continued.Have a wonderful birthday and may all your dreams come true.The three words cut out of a magazine that followed made her shiver –Ha Ha Ha!Someone out there thought it was funny to send a card to a missing woman and then post it to of one of her best friends. It was definitely a sinister gesture. She stared at the fingernail, so clean and pink. Nail varnish wouldn’t stay on for years, Gina knew that. After a few days it often peeled and chipped away. Whoever sent the nail and card had to have painted the nail recently.
‘That was her favourite colour. I bought the same nail varnish for her and gave it to her as a birthday present on the day she disappeared. Rose Petal Pink. I have some here.’ She reached into a small box and pulled out a dried up bottle of nail varnish and handed it to Gina. Gina used her phone to photograph the front and the inside of the card, after which, she placed it in an evidence bag. She then did the same with the nail before giving the bags to Wyre for logging and sealing, ready to send to the lab. ‘I keep my reminders of her in this box.’
‘May I take a look?’ Gina asked. The woman handed the box over. Gina began flicking through the photos and cards. ‘Can I please take some of these photos? I’ll get them back to you. It would be nice to get a clearer picture of who Samantha was.’
Diane nodded. Gina passed a batch of photos and cards to Wyre.
‘How did you receive the card, Diane?’ Gina could see that the woman was struggling as she watched Wyre logging the card as evidence. Her reddened eyes told Gina that she’d been crying before they arrived.
‘I went shopping yesterday, just the food bank and the supermarket on the High Street and I came home through the back door, like I always do. I put my bags in the kitchen and spotted a pink envelope on the hall floor. It had been posted through the front door. Our postman had already been round earlier that day so I knew it wasn’t post. I assumed it was a card. What else could it be in a pink envelope?’
‘Do you have the envelope still?’
The woman’s brow furrowed as she tried to recall what she did with it. ‘I opened it in the kitchen somewhere, I think. Maybe it’s on the side, or even the table.’
‘May I go and have a look for it?’
Diane nodded then took a sip of her drink.
Gina headed towards the kitchen, entering a tiny, cluttered room, full of mismatched cupboards, doors not quite aligned to the carcases, one even hanging off. A collection of old dead plants adorned the windowsill and the worktop was covered in packets of tablets. Gina recognised them to be anti-inflammatories, paracetamol and antidepressants. She shivered as she searched for the pink envelope. Bending down, she spotted it under the half-opened drop-leaf table. She reached down with her gloved hand. ‘Here we go, found it,’ she said as she went back into the warm sitting room and handed it to Wyre.
‘Did you see anyone around, either on your way back from the shops or hanging around the front of the house?’ Gina sat back down.
Diane shook her head and used her index finger to wipe the end of her nose. ‘No one suspicious. I passed people when I came back from the shops but no one memorable. No one looked out of place and I didn’t really look out the front window when I picked up the envelope. I’d say no.’
‘Have you heard anything from Samantha since she was reported missing or have you received anything like this before?’
A tear slid down the woman’s face. ‘No. If I had, I’d have called you.’
‘I’m sorry, I can see this is difficult for you.’ Gina swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. She could see how difficult this was for Diane. ‘Maybe you can tell me a little bit about your relationship with Samantha.’
