The distant look in Mary’s expression had strengthened. She wasn’t telling Gina everything. ‘Is there something else you want to tell me?’
The woman shook her head and rubbed her temples. ‘I have a migraine coming on. I need to be alone.’
‘I need to speak to Clare.’
Mary dropped her hand onto the breakfast bar. ‘She doesn’t know any more than me and she’s in the shower.’
‘Please ask her to call me when she gets out.’
A half smile emerged and Mary rubbed her eye. ‘Sorry, I will do.’
Within seconds, Gina had been almost shoved out of the house onto the frosty street without even being offered the chance of waiting for Clare to emerge. She gazed up at the house and as she looked at the front bedroom window, the net dropped. A shiver ran down her spine. She knew there was more going on in that house and she knew getting Clare to speak was key to finding out what.
Thirty-One
‘Okay team, there’s a full alert out on Susan Wheeler. Still, no one has seen her. She’s like a ghost. No sign of her car, no witnesses coming forward. I was just speaking to Bernard as I came in. He found a wallet underneath the body and, as suspected, it belongs to Dale Blair. It contained a ten-pound note, a cash card, a door key and his driving licence. That rules out robbery as a motivation. There’s no way it was a mugging gone wrong, but I think we know that already.’ Gina slumped into a chair at the head of the table. The fan heater in the corner of the incident room kicked in and began to whirr. Jacob and Wyre still had their coats on. O’Connor shivered and wheeled his chair along the floor, stopping in front of the heater.
‘Has the body gone to the morgue yet?’ Briggs asked as he entered.
‘On its way now, sir.’ He flashed her a slight smile. She pulled her thick cardigan around her body, hugging it closely, willing some of its warmth to seep through her frozen core. Her mind flashed back to Briggs holding her alongside the river during their last case. Warmth always flooded from his body, regardless of how cold he was. He stood there, looking at the board and all the updates that had been added to it, in only a thin shirt and tie, the tie she’d bought him as a gift during their brief relationship. Had he chosen to wear it by chance? She didn’t think so. Briggs was a deep thinker. He’d have chosen that to show her that he still thought about her, giving off a subtle clue.
‘Everything is in place to search our victim’s house.’ He picked up a stack of paperwork and dropped it onto the desk.
Gina flicked through it before standing. ‘I suggest we get there as soon as possible. We need to uncover more about Dale. Who is he? How well did he know Susan Wheeler? I’m sorry to task you with this one,’ she said as she addressed O’Connor. ‘From Dale Blair’s DVLA records, we have found out who his next of kin is. His parents live only a few streets away. If the key we have doesn’t unlock the door, we will need to see if they have a spare.’
‘I’ll get onto it now then, guv. When I get back, I’ll go through all the witness information from the river.’ He stood and pulled his coat from the back of the chair.
‘Wyre, Jacob, we should head there now. I’ll arrange a van and a search team. Meet me here in five and be ready to leave.’
They both nodded and left the room with O’Connor, heading back towards their office before leaving. As the heater clicked off, the room suddenly fell silent. Briggs turned away from the board. ‘Go and solve this one. Anything you need from me, just ask. I’ll handle the media. All good?’
She nodded. ‘All good, sir.’
‘How are things lately? I haven’t heard from you much.’
‘I’ve been busy, I suppose.’
‘Really?’ He shook his head. ‘Sorry, it’s none of my business.’
She smiled back. He was right, but she loved that he cared. ‘I’ll catch you later.’ As she left him alone in the room, part of her wanted to step a little closer to him, once again feeling his warmth. She needed to control those feelings just like she was having to do when she saw Mary. Too often, once a situation or a person reminded her of something, she couldn’t just let it go. Briggs evoked feelings in her, those of warmth, lust, desire, pleasure; of confusion, anger at her weakness and her lack of self-control. Their affair could have ruined her career, ensuring that neither of them was taken seriously again. Mary reminded her of the motherly love she deeply craved in her life and the fact that she’d let her down, losing the only chance she ever had of saying she was sorry.
She should have left Terry back then, gone home to her parents and told them all about what had happened, how he’d beaten her and abused her, but she hadn’t. She hadn’t even gone home to comfort her own mother during her dying hours and she’d never shake off the feeling that she was the worst person alive. Terry hadn’t chained her to the house. It sounded so easy now that all this time had passed, but those invisible chains had been all too powerful back then.Sorry, Mum,she thought as she pushed her office door open and prepared for the task ahead.
Thirty-Two
Gina ended a call with O’Connor, after a brief update, the sound of him chomping on whatever he was having for lunch made her think of food – but food would have to wait. Dale Blair’s parents had been informed of his murder and had kindly given them the key to enter his house, citing that they’d do anything required to catch the beast that killed their gentle son. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she thought about how they must have felt. She couldn’t begin to imagine how she’d feel if she were told the same about her daughter, Hannah. Even though their bonds weren’t closely tied, that news would devastate her. She wanted nothing more than Hannah to have a happy, loving relationship and watch little Gracie grow up.
She shook her head as she stepped out of the car, shivering as she caught up with Wyre and Jacob. They stood outside Dale Blair’s door, waiting for forensics to catch up. A muffled barking came from within.
A woman across the road was dawdling as she went to get in her hatchback, intrigued by the police cars and the van that had pulled up. ‘Is everything okay,’ she called out from the other side of the road.
‘I’ll be over in a moment,’ Gina called back to her.
Keith hurried towards her with his toolbox, awaiting his briefing.
‘We’re looking for anything that may lead us to Susan Wheeler or any evidence of a struggle; blood, hair, anything. No one has seen him since Tuesday and today he turns up dead,’ Gina said in a hushed tone, not wanting anyone to hear. She appreciated that Keith had been down by the river all morning and she could tell by the way he was wincing that his back was playing him up.
‘I’ll get straight to it,’ he said as he continued along the drive.
