Kapoor shook her head. ‘No, that’s the lot. One day I will get that song out of my head, these wounds will heal and I’ll be back as a fitter and stronger version of myself. It’ll take more than what has happened to crack me.’
‘You know, if you need to talk, we’re all here.’
Kapoor placed her hand on Gina’s again. ‘I know. We’re like family.’
‘I’ll check in on you tomorrow.’
The nurse tapped on the window and pointed at the clock on the wall. It was nearly midnight, way past any visiting hours.
‘We’re going.’ Gina and Wyre stood. ‘See you tomorrow.’
‘See you then.’ Kapoor lay her head back onto the pillow as they left.
‘She looks so frail, but what a fighter.’ Gina threw her bag over her shoulder.
Wyre popped her notebook in her pocket. ‘I don’t know how she did what she did? She’s amazing.’
As they neared the entrance, Mrs Kapoor was on the phone filling in all her relatives with the news of how her daughter was doing and her father sat on a bench smoking a cigarette. The woman ended the call and ran over to Gina. ‘Was she okay? I didn’t want to leave her.’
‘She’s doing as well as can be expected and more. I bet you are all so proud of her.’
‘We are and we’re so grateful to have her back. I thought she was dead.’ The woman waved her hand in front of her face to ward off her tears.
Gina and Wyre walked back to the car park with the Kapoors before saying one last goodnight.
As they got in their own cars, Gina waved goodbye to Wyre then sat in the car park alone for a while longer. She glanced up at the mound and remembered what had happened to Madison in this very car park. She gave one last thought to Amber, the girl who had washed up in the lake. It had been a long week and she was exhausted. Then she gave a final thought to the Gallaghers; a mother and her twin children. If Curtis was to be believed, his mother had confessed to leaving the tablets for Hailey to deal with their family shame by ending her young life and once the mother had confessed what she’d done to him, Curtis had exacted his revenge and sought to find Hailey once again by trying to turn these innocent young women into her. It didn’t get more messed up. Her phone began to ring.
‘O’Connor. You okay?’
‘Yes, I’ve just been digging a bit deeper. Hailey, the sister of our perp. She killed herself at sixteen and it was in her notes that she was pregnant.’
‘We’ve just found that out. I’ll fill you in later.’ When the call had ended, Gina rested her head back on the headrest and rubbed her temples, giving her last thoughts of the day to Hailey, the young girl whose life ended too soon. Her phone rang again.
‘Sir?’
‘Harte.’ Briggs’s usually stern voice was soft, as it always had been when they were alone. ‘Just checking on things.’
She smiled. ‘I’m okay. Thanks for checking.’ It had been a long day and all she could think about was getting some food and having a long hot shower before crawling into bed. That was still a few hours away but that thought would keep her going.
Epilogue
A cold wind blew Gina’s hair but it didn’t matter. She’d neatly tied it back into a high ponytail with the bobble that Wyre had given her. Her make-up was well fixed and her best jeans fitted a treat. She’d even bought a new pair of heeled boots. ‘Are you sure you want to be here. Everyone else is at the pub and they’re all queuing up to buy you a drink, especially Briggs. He’s buying too so you can go to town on that tab.’
Jhanvi Kapoor swallowed and stared at the bungalow covered in police tape. ‘I needed to see it one last time but I could do with a gin and tonic too.’ She shivered and rubbed her hands together. ‘I came and I’ve faced it. I won’t let what happened or that place,’ she pointed at the front window, ‘beat me.’ She paused and licked her scabby lips. Her eyes watered up.
‘You know, you don’t have to be brave about this. It’s okay to feel upset.’
Jhanvi shook her head letting her long glossy hair follow her movement. ‘I’m not shedding a tear for myself or for what I went through. I feel so sad for Hailey. He badly wanted his sister back and he’d been prepared to kidnap and kill to find the right replacement. That poor girl killed herself. I just can’t get over that. Such a waste of life.’
‘I agree. She must have been in a bad place. I suppose knowing she was pregnant and then the reaction from her mother, it had left her feeling like she had no way out.’ Gina felt herself getting a little choked as she imagined Mrs Gallagher leaving all those paracetamol tablets for Hailey to take, knowing how low her daughter felt – that’s if it were even true. For some reason, she couldn’t imagine Curtis Gallagher making that bit up. After he’d finally talked, he’d sobbed his eyes out as he told his story.
‘There’s always a way out. It’s sad no one was there for her to help her see that.’
Gina nodded. ‘It is.’
‘When I was listening to that song, I hated it but now, in my mind, I see her in her last moments and I like to think of her. She was the beautiful dreamer except she was never going to wake up.’
‘She was beautiful, and kind, and caring.’ The man standing behind them stepped closer. He had to be in his early sixties with a greying moustache and heavy bags under his eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Hailey Gallagher was my daughter and I’ve just heard what happened to my ex-wife and son. I can’t believe he did what he did, but his mother, she had a nasty streak about her. We were already living apart but after Hailey killed herself I had to get away and Curtis didn’t want to come with me. I really wanted him to but he was sixteen and I had to respect his decision.’ The man shook his head and looked at his booted feet.
