Mary nodded and headed out of the room. ‘Keep the noise down,’ she shouted up the stairs.
The way Mary nodded had again reminded Gina of her own mother. How could they be so alike? She wanted to rub her eyes and shake her head. Mary wasn’t her mother – Gina’s mother was dead. Her pulse filled her head and she gasped for breath. ‘It’s warm in here.’
‘It’s that thick coat of yours.’ Kapoor smiled.
Gina wouldn’t take it off. She wanted to hurry up and leave. There was something she needed to do and Mary had reminded her of it. She fanned her face with her hand and forced a smile as Mary re-entered.
‘Here you go. I just got my husband to print this off. It was taken a couple of weeks ago when Susan came around for lunch with the kids.’
Susan’s complexion matched that of her children. Slightly bronzed skin, dark eyes and long curly mocha-toned hair. Slim build, perfectly symmetrical features and gleaming white teeth, making her look to be in her mid-twenties. ‘Thank you for this. We will put out an alert with all departments to look out for her. Does she drive?’
‘Yes. She has a small Peugeot at the moment. I have no idea how old it is but I do know it is silver.’ Gina knew that she could easily find out Susan’s car model and registration number.
‘Do you know who she was seeing yesterday? Did she tell anyone where she went or did she have a diary?’
‘Why would she tell me exactly where she was going? She saw different people every day. I know she uses an old paper diary that was sometimes in her handbag but I don’t know if she has another, or even an online one.’
Gina wondered why Mary was seemingly taking a more defensive tone. ‘You say you’ve tried to call her?’
Mary nodded and paused. She wiped her eyes. ‘I’ve been trying over and over again since picking Rory up from nursery yesterday. There’s no answer. The call just goes straight to voicemail. I’ve left a couple of messages. This isn’t like her, you have to believe me.’
‘Of course I believe you, Mary.’ Gina paused. ‘Has anything like this ever happened before?’
Mary went to speak but then closed her mouth and stared in the direction of the cabinet in the corner of the room.
‘Mary?’ For the first time in Gina’s experience, Mary’s house was silent, just like Mary.
Mary shook her head. ‘Sorry, no. This has never happened before.’
Too long. In Gina’s book that meant the woman was lying, but why? ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes. What do you take me for? My daughter would never leave her two-year-old at nursery.’
The kitchen door creaked open and Clare walked in. Gina watched as the older daughter stared at her mother. Clare had similar features to Susan but she was thicker set all over, her hair short and straightened, eyebrows more defined with dark make-up.
Mary began to tremble. ‘Please find her. And no, she wouldn’t go anywhere without telling me and she wouldn’t leave her children. I don’t know any more than that.’
Clare awkwardly shuffled from one foot to another, like she was waiting for them to leave.
‘Of course. We’ll keep you informed of anything we find. Can I please have Susan’s husband’s address?’
The woman’s shoulders dropped with relief as she noted down Ryan’s details. Gina felt a tingle on her neck, a slight chill breaking up the sweat that was coming over her. Young missing mother of three, going through pressured times – anything could have happened to her. In her book, that wasn’t a good enough reason to vanish. The tingle turned into a shudder as several unsavoury scenarios ran through Gina’s mind.
‘There is something else.’ Mary paused. ‘I heard Susan arguing with Ryan on the phone, telling him he deserved everything that was coming to him after what he put her through. I tried to ask her what it was all about but she said it didn’t concern me. She’s also been swanning off a lot lately and leaving me with the kids but she always comes back when she says she’s coming back.’
‘Do you know where she’s been going?’
She shook her head. ‘I wish I did. It’s not that I didn’t ask, she just avoided answering. She has this serious, vacant look about her all the time. Something was happening in her life, I just don’t know what. She wouldn’t talk to me. I put it down to the divorce as she’s only been like this since announcing it, but maybe there was something else.’
Gina’s mind whirred into action as she held Mary’s gaze for a moment. Clare looked away and sighed. Which bit of the story of Susan Wheeler were they holding back? Maybe the husband would have something to add.
Four
As the police drove away, Mary stared out of the window into the dark garden, sensing Clare’s disappointment.
‘You should have said something.’ Clare opened the cupboard and pulled out a packet of custard creams.
‘How can you eat at a time like this? You hate her, don’t you?’
