Fifty
I’m watching and waiting. Where are you going at this time of the night, Stephanie? Are you thinking, if you creep out of your safe house onto the dark street, I won’t see you? I see everything. You with your bag ready to move on. Is it liberating to know you’re not safe anywhere? My bet is on you going back home. Look at you in your stupid heeled boots. You can’t run in those.
I bet you’re planning on sleeping in your shed again, like you did for a while the other night, or will you doze off against the living room wall, gripping that stupid knife for protection as you drink yourself to oblivion? Is that really the best you can do? I’ve seen you through the glass pane in your back door.
I’m going to enjoy this, but first I need to make a call as Lanky hasn’t called me back. I’m ready to cash in the debt and he’s avoiding me. I snort a little laugh out as I send him the photo with a message. He’ll love this email.
Come out, come out – it’s playtime.
Wait up, Stephanie, I’m coming.
Fifty-One
Gina glanced at her bed through the reflection in the mirror as the home screen on her laptop went off. She thought of Phoebe and her churning gut instinct told her something bad had happened. They were doing everything they could with the door to doors and collecting of CCTV. First Susan, then Phoebe. It was no coincidence. The hairs on her arms raised as she tapped the space bar and Phoebe’s photo appeared on her screen. She closed her laptop and stared down at all her mother’s things laid out on the floor.
The box was open in front of her on the carpet and it released a familiar scent, that of her mother’s house. She smiled as she gazed at the old family photos.
Staring at her reflection and a more recent photo of her mother, Gina pinned the length of her hair under her nape. Her mother’s last hairstyle had been that of a dyed brown bob, just like Mary’s.
She finished the look with a swish of her mother’s pale pink lipstick. She leaned back and took in the final look. She looked nothing like her mother. Yes, she had the same almond-shaped eyes and fairly high cheekbones, but her mother was fuller lipped and had a slightly rounder chin. She threw the make-up and photos back into the box and placed the lid on. As she glanced back, she almost saw Mary in the mirror.
Closing her eyes and finishing off the bottle of beer she’d started when she came in, she shook her hair. Mary was gone, for now.
As her phone rang, she almost fell back from her numb knees into the bed. She went to snatch the phone but missed and the call ended. She immediately called Briggs back.
‘Gina. I thought you weren’t going to answer. I said I’d call.’
‘Sir.’
‘Can we not do the sir thing?’
‘Chris.’ She pushed the box under her bed, out of the way.
‘Thank you. Any more thoughts.’
Yes, she thought Mary was her mother reincarnated, yet she wasn’t a believer and Mary would have been alive when her mother was. She almost let out a giggle at her silly thoughts. She removed the clips from her hair and shook them out, getting rid of Mary and her mother at the same time. All three of them had been sharing a reflection a moment ago, now only Gina was left. ‘I’ve been going over everything so far. Nothing more to add to earlier.’
‘A phone call came in a short while ago. It’s to do with the case.’
Her interest piqued. ‘Genuine or another one for the no-go or maybe the at-a-push pile?’
‘It was a woman, she was being followed by a man and sounded terrified. She barely got her words out, wasn’t making much sense even when we played the recording back. The number wasn’t even withheld. It’s the number of a phone box in Cleevesford. Who uses a phone box any more?’
‘And?’
‘Uniform were despatched. When they got there, it was empty and no one was around.’
‘What has this got to do with the case?’ Gina grabbed a tissue and began wiping off the lipstick. What had she been doing?Stupid, stupid, stupid.
‘She kept mentioning Dale’s name before bursting into tears and ending the call.’
Gina’s shoulders stiffened. ‘And she was nowhere to be seen? Did they look hard enough? What if something happened to her? They need to keep looking.’
‘Uniform are still making enquiries in the area, I say uniform, there’s only a couple of them out there. The rest are keeping a look out for Phoebe Wheeler. Believe me, they are doing all they can. Try to get some sleep and we’ll have a catch-up when you come in in the morning. I’m off to bed in the hope that we’ll get woken with news that they’ve found her.’
‘I hope so. With Dale dead and Susan and Phoebe missing, where does that leave our mystery caller? Poor woman. She must have been petrified.’ Gina’s mind wandered. Maybe Susan was dead but they just hadn’t found her body. The red liquorice link was confusing things.
‘We need to start searching: areas of woodland, fields, parks, places like where Dale was found by the river. I’m worried that Susan’s body may be out there somewhere and this woman is potentially the third victim. And Phoebe? Where is she?’ Gina clenched her fists. ‘We need to do it.’ Gina’s mind flashed back to the girl in the photo, the scrawny smaller girl with Susan and Dale. Could the three of them be a target for some reason? ‘I’ll make the call and arrange a search for first light. We may need more officers from surrounding areas, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Worcester and a dog team.’
