‘She wants the story as soon as we have a break. Of course, we will give her what we want and only when we want to. No harm in dangling that carrot while we have her on side. The appeals will continue. The news channels have been great. Volume calls are overloading the switchboard, you know how it is. Nothing to follow up on as yet. It is as if Susan has vanished from the face of the earth and taken Phoebe with her. Our perp or perps know the area well.’ Briggs headed towards the door.
‘Anything on Clare Collins? O’Connor, did you look into her?’
He smiled and flicked to the right page in his file. ‘The only thing we have on her is that she’s a recent bankrupt and has moved back into the family home. One child. Also recently made redundant from her factory job. That’s all I could find. Clare Collins seems to have a pretty uneventful life.’
‘Thank you. Carry on sifting through Susan’s paperwork. Jacob, tie up with Annie and look further into the calls that have come in regarding anyone who may have spotted Susan? Also, do a bit more background on Lawrence, Dale’s partner, and see if Samuel Avery has the CCTV ready to collect from the Angel Arms.’
The phone rang and O’Connor rolled in his chair towards his desk and answered it. After a few words were exchanged he swivelled around to face Gina. ‘The material found in the field by Dale’s body is confirmed to be Susan Wheeler’s. That was Bernard. It contains a direct match for her DNA, hair apparently.’
‘Don’t let me keep you all any longer. We have a missing child and I know we’re close to catching the killer.’ Gina gulped. ‘Check everything, however small it seems, check it all. I can only imagine how scared Phoebe is at the moment. We will not let her or Susan down.’ Gina gulped. The person who murdered Dale was capable of anything and she knew it.
Sixty
Stephanie gripped her umbrella as she walked down the old roman road. Years ago it had been a popular route for dog walkers. Now it was nothing more than a derelict mess, paved with hazards. If she were to ever stand a chance of remembering what was hiding behind the dark veil at the back of her mind, she had to keep walking. Just like back then when they hung around in the little room at the back. It was the first time she’d been drunk, the first and only time she’d smoked marijuana and the first time… she gulped as she halted by the barriers. The gang had been her safe group, her little haven, until everything went wrong.
Signs had been tied to the fence warning trespassers of danger, hazards and prosecution. There was no way she’d get in, not without climbing over the barbed wire and cutting her skin to shreds. She gripped the fence with her free hand and shook it. ‘What happened?’ she yelled as tears flooded her face. ‘Remember, damn it!’ Susan had told her to come for a reason. Maybe she had the photo, maybe it was to help her remember; maybe she was in trouble. Whatever the reason, Stephanie knew she had to come back to the place she’d avoided for so long. She had to do it, for Susan.
Struggling to catch her breath, she let go and took a few steps back. Holding her phone up, she selected the torch app and shone it through the bare trees and shrubs. The building was still there but lacking the glory it once had when she’d used it. Back then, there had been a team of eager volunteers keeping the place looking lovely, cleaning the windows and lovingly tending to the hanging baskets. It had been the hub of the community, amateur dramatics, art groups, rollerblading nights, teen discos. It had been the base for coach pickups for many a day out. Trips to the zoo, theme parks. She smiled as she remembered going to Drayton Manor with Dale and Susan.
Hailstones began to fall, flicking her face. Now, the trees were growing out of the building, entwined in its foundations, just like she was. Just like they all were.
She’d taken the vodka back then, just like they all had. They’d enjoyed the parties that went on behind the door. She’d once been a quiet, shy girl until her mother took her there. It would help her mix with other kids, so she’d been told. Dale was a quiet boy and she’d recognised him from school. She soon found herself drawn to him. Best friends, taking on this cruel world together. At the club, they were no longer bullied like at school. They were accepted, safe, allowed to express themselves and have fun as a part of the gang in the clubhouse. The fun had developed into mischief. Drinking had become a regular thing and then Susan joined them. As the popular girl amongst them, they suddenly became popular too and life had seemed rosy.
Stephanie closed her eyes, listening to the distant rumble of a bus, then a couple of cars, just like back then. She visualised going through the door that evening before the other two had arrived. She had become his special one and it was their secret. The others would be jealous and fall out with her if she told, that’s what he’d said.
Through the door, that led to a door; that led to a door, she entered the room. This time, he wasn’t alone. There was someone else.
‘Keep going, Steph,’ she whispered to herself.
Through the door, then what? An old couch covered in dusty knitted blankets that one of the craft clubs had made. It was the office. A desk at one end. Was he that someone else? She tried to remember his features as she compared them to what she’d seen through the window the other night. Holding her breath, she tensed.
Remember, remember– she couldn’t. That’s where the memory of that night ended. Maybe nothing happened.
An image flashed through her mind. Struggling, dark. There was something over her head and muffled laughter. Then crying and shouting. Then, she was back outside the room, holding a stick of red liquorice.
Her stomach lurched and she almost heaved until she calmed herself, holding her breath as footsteps stopped behind her. ‘Stephanie, wait.’
What was he doing here? Where was Susan? The warmth of his breath in the chilly air tickled her neck, causing her to shiver. A feeble arm came around and grabbed her. She stamped on his foot and elbowed him in the ribs. He hadn’t banked on her knowing a little self-defence. She wasn’t going anywhere without the fight of her life. ‘Get off me!’
‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to do this.’ He pulled what looked like half a brick from under his coat and brought it down on her head. Blood trickled down her face as her voice failed and the stars above spun. He couldn’t hurt her again.
She lifted her umbrella and smacked him several times, knocking the brick from his hand, continuing until he toppled to the floor. A metal spike poked through the umbrella. She jabbed again as he yelped. If he got up, her luck might just run out. Run, she had to run. Without hesitation, she sped down the old pathway, not stopping once to look back, crashing into trees and lampposts as she lost her balance.
She needed to go home, grab her bag and hide from him while she planned her next move. Susan had until morning to answer her calls and that was it. She was going to the police, alone. She glanced back and saw him getting to his feet and stumbling forward. Head pounding as lightning flashes almost brought her down, she fought through the pain. Adrenaline pushing her on. She wasn’t going to end up like Dale.
As she ran, heart pounding, water flowing in through the tops of her pumps, his face flashed across her mind. She stopped and glanced back, she’d outrun him. The man who’d attacked her was no match for her when it came to strength and speed. The one who was taunting her would have put up more of a fight. A jagged memory flashed through her mind, almost crippling her. Her memory hadn’t been teasing her, it had led her to him. Telling her he was sorry didn’t make it right. She tried Susan again but the phone rang out. Someone was coming and the stars were vanishing. She couldn’t see, couldn’t think. She shuffled on her bottom and curled up in a ball behind the tree as he passed.
‘Stephanie, Stephanie. I hate to use this but I have the photo. Say anything and everyone will know what you are, your work place, your family, everyone. If you say anything, it’s not only you that will suffer. Susan will die. He’s coming for you, you can’t run forever.’
She felt the trail of blood trickling along her neck. A fit of trembling passed through her body and she felt an uncontrollable wooziness take over as she held her breath.
Sixty-One
Mary lay on the living room floor playing with Harrison. For the first time in days, he was playing nicely and it opened her eyes to how delightful he could be.
She checked her watch, it was gone eight in the evening and Clare still hadn’t come home. She felt an ache running through her bones and Howard looked the same after coming home from the search. It was dark and the search would begin again in the morning. Her heart ached for Phoebe but she couldn’t let Harrison see her cry.
A mobile phone rang and Howard answered as he passed. ‘Ron, now’s not a good time.’
