Gina nodded.
‘Has she got something to do with all this?’
This was a question she hoped the Blairs would be able to answer. ‘That’s what we’re trying to find out. On the day she went missing, she was last seen leaving your son’s house. It looked like he’d hired her to do his bookkeeping.’
‘I always did his bookkeeping,’ Mrs Blair interjected.
‘We found his paperwork in her car, a couple of streets away. I’m sorry.’ It looked like Dale had sacked his mother and hired an old friend without even telling her first. ‘Do you recognise her? Not from the news but as a friend or acquaintance.’
‘I don’t think so. I can’t say that I recognise her.’ The woman wiped her nose again.
‘How about from this photo?’
Mr and Mrs Blair looked at each other.
She took the photo and scrutinised it a little closer. ‘That’s little Susan Collins. Such a pretty girl. She was one of Dale’s best friends back in their teens. Poor little mite. I remember taking her under my wing a bit. Her father died and her mother was always working. I’m not criticising, that was just an observation. I remember she had a sister, can’t remember her name. Her sister always came to collect her. Such a lovely girl. So, she’s the one on the news who’s missing? I recognise her now.’
Gina nodded.
‘I remember Dale telling me she’d got married. He’d heard it on the grapevine. They hadn’t been in contact much since their teens but I think he tried to contact her to congratulate her. I don’t think her husband liked her having male friends even though Dale was never a contender. He never tried to contact her again after that.’
‘Were they ever in a relationship?’ Gina needed to subtly find out if Dale’s bed partner could have been Susan.
Mrs Blair exhaled. ‘Dale was gay and he’d always been open about his sexuality since his mid-teens. He was seeing a man from Redditch called Lawrence. Nice man, a few years older. He came around a few times. It was lovely to see Dale so happy.’ The woman pulled her woollen skirt over her knees, stretching it to its limits. ‘We called Lawrence as soon as we heard. He’s devastated. Told us he was planning to propose to Dale when they went on holiday in the New Year.’ Mrs Blair finished the sentence off with a squeal as she let out a few little sobs. ‘We will never see Dale marry the love of his life now.’
Mr Blair placed an arm around his wife’s shoulder and drew her towards his chest where they remained for a couple of minutes. Him stroking her hair, her placing an arm around his waist.
Gina asked them for Lawrence’s address and phone number, then nodded to Jacob. They’d asked enough of Phillip and Cynthia Blair. She needed to leave them alone to grieve.
Mrs Blair gently pulled away from her husband. ‘When will my son’s body be released? We need to organise the funeral. Everyone is asking when it will be.’
‘I’ll get someone to call you. I will also find out when you can go to his house and we thank you for your patience.’
‘Thank you so much. That would be appreciated. We have to go and collect the dog tomorrow. Dale’s neighbour has been lovely.’ She paused. ‘That mutt is all we have left of our beloved son.’ The woman smiled slightly when she said mutt. It was more of an endearing term, rather than a reference of annoyance.
Gina stood and began to pull her coat back over her shoulder. A slick of damp licked her neck, sending an icy shiver through her scalp. A gust of wind howled, causing the air vent to click. As she went to take the photo from Mrs Blair, she pointed to the other girl in the photo of the three teens. ‘Do you recognise her?’
‘Vaguely. It was a long time ago. Occasionally she’d hang around with Susan and Dale. I can’t remember where she was from or how they knew her. She always seemed quiet and withdrawn. Such a scrawny-looking girl. I used to give them all lots of snacks, but the snacks were mostly for her benefit. She only came over a few times. What was her name, love?’
Mr Blair shrugged his shoulders. ‘I can’t remember the names of our current neighbours, let alone a girl our son was friends with all those years ago.’
The woman closed her eyes and clicked her fingers. ‘Stacey, Stella… something like that. I’m sorry, I can’t remember exactly.’
Jacob scribbled the names down.
‘If you remember anything else, please call me.’ Gina placed her card on their coffee table as they left.
As they hurried through the rain, avoiding a carrier bag that had been swept up in the gale, Gina knew it was imperative that they find the girl in the photo. It felt as though she was the missing piece. She made a quick call, asking that uniform try to call on Dale’s partner, Lawrence.
She couldn’t let go of the fact that Susan had abandoned her friendship with Dale due to Ryan Wheeler’s jealousy, her angry, dominant husband.
Forty-Six
A whimper comes from the cell. I like to call it the cell even though I know it’s just a room. A dark dank room, the holder of dark dank secrets which I intend to lock the door on, once and for all. You will all die, our little gang will be no more and me; I’ll be long gone with a smile on my face, taking with me the replacement for what you all stole from me – she’s so beautiful, innocent too. I get to start again and you will have all paid the ultimate price. One down, another two to go.
I suck hard, then exhale a plume of vanilla vapour into the torch-lit room. Vanilla Dreams, my latest favourite. I have dreams and they’ve sat in a box for years. Now I get to come out of the dark and finally live mine. The torch flickers and I’m plunged into pitch-black darkness.
The pigeons coo in the eaves then a fight breaks out. They flutter and squawk before finally settling again. If I had a gun, I wouldn’t think twice about blowing them away – vermin. I snatch the torch and bang it several times on the decaying wall, debris chippings scattering everywhere. Eventually, it flickers back to life. It’s okay, there’s no one around to hear me banging or you whimpering, although I wish you would just button it, Susan. No one is coming and you are next.
