Gina stepped out of her car and hurried towards Mary Hudson’s front door. As she went to knock, the door flew open. A man hurried out of the house, holding a folder above his head, ready to brave the rain.
‘Your laptop’s in good nick now, Ron. Call me and ask next time you get any weird messages pop up. Remember, don’t click unless you’re a dick.’ Howard pointed at the man and pulled a serious expression.
The man laughed as he nudged Gina with his bags, knocking her back into the rain. She was getting soaked all over again. She really wished this day would do one.
‘Come in,’ Howard said as Mary rushed to the door.
‘Have you found her?’ Mary gripped the tea towel, almost holding her breath for an answer, her hair slipping from her clip. Again, she twisted her loose hair around her finger and slid it behind her ear with dishwater-soaked hands.
Her jawline, backlit by the hall lamp, accentuated her very neat profile. A shapely nose and a perfect chin with no excess flesh underneath. It was as if Gina’s own mother had risen from her grave. For a moment, Gina was transported back to when her mother used to greet her after school. Wintery school days, where she’d come in soaked, her mother would be ready with a towel and would laugh and joke as she roughly dried young Gina’s hair. Rubbing hard, tickling her neck until Gina would fall to the floor in great big howls of laughter. A lump formed in her throat. Seeing Mary was like seeing her mother’s ghost, her much loved and much missed mother. As her eyes dampened, she allowed her hair to drip over her face. Her mind wandered back to Susan with her failing marriage. Gina had felt too ashamed to ask her parents for anything when Terry was abusing her, had Susan been ashamed to ask for help?
‘Detective? Have you found her?’
The spell was broken. Her beloved mother had now gone and Mary was back. In a miniscule movement, that exact resemblance vanished.
‘Sorry, no.’ Gina stepped into their hallway and removed her coat, not wanting to spray their walls with rainwater. Her drenched hair was another issue but there was nothing she could do about that dripping on the floor unless they offered her a towel. She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve.
‘Can I get you a towel?’ It was as if Mary had read her mind.
A shiver ran through her body. ‘That would be lovely, thank you.’
Mary opened the door under the stairs to the tiny water closet and pulled a towel from the rail, passing it to Gina. She began patting her hair dry as she followed Mary through to the kitchen. The kids stomped around upstairs and screamed with laughter. She imagined that they were jumping on and off the bed playing a game. She listened as Clare shouted, telling them to keep the noise down.
‘Can we get you a drink?’ Howard flicked the switch on the kettle.
‘Coffee would be lovely, milk no sugar.’ She really needed a hot drink. Maybe that would warm up her chilled body. ‘Sorry, I came at a bad time.’
‘You could never come at a bad time,’ Mary said. ‘He was going anyway.’
‘Do you fix computers?’ Gina couldn’t help but ask. Learning more about Susan’s family may give her more of a clue as to who Susan really was.
‘I do. I used to work for a company doing software development. I’m semi-retired now but work for myself. I’m kept very busy with little computer repairs.’ His hair looked as though it could do with a cut as he used his bony fingers to brush it away from his eyes.
Mary smiled. ‘I used to be a nurse. We never had five minutes together when I worked shifts.’
He passed the hot drinks around and they sat at the breakfast bar. Gina sipped the coffee. Cream – just the way her mother used to make her coffees. The likeness was uncanny. Howard placed a loving arm on his wife’s shoulders. Gina’s mum and dad had been loving parents but they had rarely showed each other affection, at least not in front of Gina.
She gave her head a little shake and pressed her eyelids together.Cut it out, Gina.She needed to put thoughts of her mother and father aside for the time being, it was clouding her mind.
‘Are you okay?’ Howard asked.
Gina nodded. ‘Long day. Can you tell me a little more about Susan? I feel knowing her a little better may help us with our search.’ She glanced back and forth between them.
Mary looked down.
‘You have to tell her, love.’ Howard spoke in a soothing voice and gave her a little squeeze.
Shaking her head slowly, Mary regained her composure and wiped her eyes. ‘I know. Firstly, I have to say, I don’t believe for one minute she ran away on purpose. She wouldn’t do that now. She wouldn’t leave her children. She doted on them. She’s never let them down and she just wouldn’t—’
‘Mary? It would really help me if you started at the beginning.’ Gina didn’t want to narrow down the timeframe. Delving into the whole of Susan’s life wouldn’t hurt her investigation. It may give her more to process but it would also give her a rounder picture of Susan Wheeler, mother of three, bookkeeper. She needed to know her desires, her fears; her past behaviour. Any small detail may be the missing piece that leads them to Susan.
Mary shuffled on the stool and sipped her coffee.
‘Susan gave Mary no end of heartache during her teens but that was a long time ago.’
‘Howard’s right. She has run away before. Her teen years were hell.’ Mary stared blankly out of the window, her mouth pursed.
So Susan Wheeler had a history of running away. Gina pulled her soggy notepad out of her open bag and scribbled to get the biro going.
