‘Three months, four maybe. She said she had a new contract. I can’t be sure. As I say, she used her tablet mostly but only on Wi-Fi. I’m going to miss her FaceTiming me.’
The mystery of the missing phone and tablet was the thing that was worrying Gina the most, along with how clean her flat seemed.
Jacob and O’Connor joined Gina on the landing outside the apartment, giving Marianne a few moments to herself. ‘O’Connor, will you go to the apartment below and ask if they’ve heard anyone in the flat above today or indeed any other day? Anyone who wasn’t Holly. Also ask at the chip shop if they have any CCTV pointing in this direction. If anyone entered this block today, I want to know. I need to know that someone didn’t come in and sanitise the place, just to satisfy my own curiosity. Oh, one last thing. Find out if the communal bins have been emptied.’
‘I’ll go now.’ O’Connor began stomping down the stairs, his large feet almost seeming too big for each step.
Marianne left the apartment carrying a stuffed rabbit. ‘This was her childhood friend, Flopsy Dopsy.’ She smiled fondly as she held the rabbit closely.
‘Ms Long. There’s something else we need to tell you and I don’t know whether you want to go back inside to sit down.’
‘You know something? Have you arrested someone?’
Gina shook her head and gulped. ‘Shall we go inside?’
‘I don’t want to go inside. Whatever you need to tell me, you can tell me here. I don’t want to go in and be reminded that I’ll never see Holly again. I can’t.’ She took a few deep breaths and steadied herself on the window ledge.
‘Okay, I’m sorry. I need you to know that Holly was pregnant. We have just found out.’
The woman shrieked. ‘It gets worse. How could anyone do this to her? How could they? Who’s the father?’
‘That’s what we need to find out. None of her friends knew that she was seeing anyone. Can you think back? Did she mention anyone to you?’
‘No! If she had, I’d tell you.’ The woman broke down and gripped the rabbit. ‘I need to get out of here. I’m suffocating.’ She gasped as redness spread across her neck.
‘Breath in and out. Count with me. One, two, three.’ Gina continued breathing with Marianne until she regained control. ‘Come on. Let’s lock up. May we keep this key for now? We’d like to come back for a further look.’
Marianne nodded. ‘I will need it back though. Someone is going to have to sort all her things out.’
‘Of course.’ Gina held her arm out for Marianne to hold onto. She took it and shakily went back down the stairs. ‘Would you like a lift home?’
‘No, I’ll be okay. I have my car.’
‘Do you have anyone at home who will stay with you?’
‘Beryl, my neighbour.’
After helping Marianne into her car, Gina watched her drive away, holding her own tears back in. Her white knuckles gripped the key as she thought about her own daughter. In her mind she could see Hannah lying in Holly’s place in that deathbed at Cleevesford Manor. She shook that thought away and grabbed her phone. Maybe she should call Hannah or pop to the bed and breakfast. Hannah wouldn’t want to see her but Gina had to see Hannah. She had to know what was happening in Hannah’s life, the bit Hannah was holding back on. Secrets led to parents like Marianne having no clue as to what was going on in their grown-up children’s lives. Not Gina. She had to know. She had to at least try. She went to press Hannah’s number on the phone and stopped. She couldn’t. As she placed her phone back into her pocket, it vibrated.
I need to speak to you later. Yours or mine?
It was Briggs, her DCI and her past lover. She had put him off for far too long. Her stomach flipped and she almost wanted to heave as she sent her reply.
Mine. About 8.30.
O’Connor almost made her jump as he approached her car with Jacob. ‘Nothing from the neighbour below and the chip shop’s CCTV isn’t working.’ He scratched his bald head and began trying to decipher his notes. ‘The neighbour below said she’d been out all day but she didn’t hear anything early this morning. She did, however, say that she’d heard Holly arguing with someone a few weeks ago but she couldn’t hear anything specific or remember when. She just heard raised voices. I took a statement but it really doesn’t help. She doesn’t remember ever seeing anyone coming or going. She didn’t have much to do with Holly and she works long unsociable hours as a nurse. She can’t remember when this happened and she can’t even remember the time of day. I’ll update the system as soon as I get back to the station.’ That at least confirmed that someone else was visiting Holly’s apartment.
‘And the bins?’
‘Emptied on Friday.’
Gina glanced at her watch. The Angel Arms would have to wait, for now.
‘Call forensics. I want the contents sifted through, just in case anything was thrown away from her apartment after the bin lorry had been.’ O’Connor placed his phone to his ear and walked away. If someone else had been to the apartment and left something in the bin since the last collection, she wanted it found. ‘I want to know who Holly had been arguing with.’
Chapter Nineteen
Gina snatched the paper file off her desk and hurried to the incident room. Several officers were processing all the statements they had taken. PCs Kapoor and Smith were just finishing up for the evening and closing down their computers. As ever, Gina was grateful that they were once again on her team.
