‘How’s the search going?’
‘I suppose it’s good news that nothing has been found. I thought I’d just pop back to see how you were holding up. I’ll head out there again after a drink. Where’s Clare?’
At least her husband still loved her despite all the drama that had descended upon them. For once, she wanted him to make tea and hug her. ‘I don’t know. She virtually threw Harrison at me and ran out the door. I have no idea. She didn’t say a word. I’m worried about her. Something’s up.’
‘What do you mean?’
Mary shrugged her shoulders and blew her nose. ‘I don’t know but I think it’s to do with Ryan.’ She watched as the rain fell harder and bounced off the greenhouse roof as she pondered over where Clare had run off to.
Fifty-Seven
‘Susan, Susan, Susan. You naughty girl,’ I say as I grip her throat. Tears fall down her face as she snivels in the same way Dale did. I rip another piece of gaffer tape with my teeth and cover her mouth. ‘You couldn’t leave the past where it belonged, could you? It wasn’t hard to find out everything I needed to know about you, what you did, and your whereabouts. Susan the little bookkeeper, you always were a swat at school, better with numbers than some of the others. Susan with the lovely house and family, you always wanted everything to look perfect from the outside. Look at her, she’s the only thing you created that is perfect.’ The child remains in a deep sleep, just as I intended her to.
Her stare bores into me.Look at her, do it, I wanted to shout. I want her to see what she was about to lose and then she’d understand what I had lost. The girl began to murmur, she’d need another dose of ketamine soon. Tears slide down her cheeks as I grab her face and turn her head. If she won’t look, I’ll make her look.
I grab the rope from the floor and flex it in front of her. She knows what’s coming, we both do. There will only be one other loose end to tie up then it will all be over. I will have the girl and I can start again. I will take what they took from me and they will have paid the price. I check my watch. He will be here soon and so will she. He has one job to do and I trust that he will do it well. It’s his mess to clean up, after all.
Come on Stephanie, your fate awaits you.Come on Snow White.
Fifty-Eight
Clare sat on the bench, water seeping in through her jeans as raindrops bounced off her hood. So grey and dark, it was as if morning hadn’t broken that day. Soon the afternoon would turn to evening and it would be night again. What she had to do couldn’t wait. The timing wasn’t good, she knew that. She closed her eyes as she thought of Phoebe.
She gasped several times as she regained control of her emotions. The arguments, the noise, her mother, her son – it had all got on top of her. Then there was Ryan. She pictured Susan, her slim frame. Three children and she didn’t have a blemish on her body. Clare had looked at herself in the mirror – it was as if they weren’t related. Her body sagged and her frame was thickset. Her hair didn’t have the same glossy look as Susan’s had. She’d watched Susan with her perfect life and children, craving all that she had. Time had been ticking and she still hadn’t had the child she so desperately wanted. Watching Susan be mum to her two beautiful nieces had torn her apart, then Harrison had come along. Now she was alone with him, bankrupt, jobless and no one respected her. All this while her favoured sister had everything. Susan had even been blessed with Rory at the same time she became pregnant, once again stealing Clare’s limelight and grabbing all of Mummy’s attention. Clare, the single parent without a father to declare on her son’s birth certificate or respectable mother and wife, Susan. She clenched her fist and hit the bench. Even Rory had turned out perfect, just like Susan. Now who was getting all the attention again? Susan was. Beautiful little Susan. Perfect little Rory. Bloody handsome Ryan.
She tried to call him again, frustrated that he wasn’t picking up.
Her phone buzzed and her hands began to tremble. It was Ryan.
She knew he’d been avoiding the call but it was finally going to happen. The tension between them had to air and it was going to happen right now. All this time, she’d stuck up for him, painted him to be a half-decent guy. She had nothing to lose any more and he was going to pay. Their lies were no longer going to be swept under the carpet. ‘Stuff you, Susan and stuff you, Ryan,’ she whispered before she finally accepted the call.
Fifty-Nine
Gina ran her fingers through her damp, tangled hair as she left her office. ‘Sir,’ she said as she bumped into Briggs.
‘I really enjoyed last night, at the pub. Hope the hangover’s not too bad.’
In truth, she’d barely slept and the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins had sobered her quickly. Phoebe and Susan had consumed her thoughts to the point where sleep had become impossible. ‘I’ll live.’
‘Guv.’ Gina flinched as Wyre caught up with them both. ‘We’re ready for the briefing. O’Connor and Jacob are waiting. Smith left an hour ago, he still gets tired easily but he’s been getting through all of Susan’s paperwork, slowly but surely.’ She continued past them.
‘I suppose we best go and have this catch-up.’ Gina led the way and Briggs followed. ‘Chris?’
He made a light grunt under his breath.
‘Thank you for being there, last night. I’m sorry too that I waffled on about my mother and other silly things. I know I don’t say much, but thank you.’
‘They’re not silly and like I’ve always said, any time. I’ll join you in a minute,’ Briggs said as he glanced at his phone. ‘I just need to attend to this email.’
She burst through the door and hurried towards the boards. Updates had been added, especially those involving their new person of interest, Stephanie Baxter.
‘Any news on Phoebe? She is our priority right now. The appeals have gone out on radio and local news. The nationals are getting wind of it too. I want her found before the whole thing blows out of proportion. Once the media begin to speculate, as we know, the investigation could be in jeopardy.’
‘No news on Phoebe as yet. We have patrols everywhere, they are speaking with her school, her friends. The family liaison officer is reporting back but she has nothing of any relevance as yet. Neighbours have been interviewed. A bit of CCTV loses her two roads away.’
‘Any information on Stephanie Baxter? We need her. She holds the key to all this.’
Wyre pulled out a file and removed a sheet of paper. ‘I’ve updated our system. Thirty-six years old, single, never married, no children. Lives on a small upmarket estate just on the edge of town. Twelve Bramble Crescent.’
