THIRTEEN
Gina entered the incident room and grabbed a croissant from the centre of the table. ‘Just what I needed. I am so hungry, I feel as though my stomach is eating itself from the inside.’ She bit into the pastry, enjoying the buttery sensation that woke her taste buds up.
O’Connor entered, his bald head shiny on top. He placed a tray of coffees down and smiled. ‘I thought we could all do with some caffeine. Mrs O baked those croissants this morning so they’re nice and fresh. Any news?’
Jacob removed his headset and stopped tapping away on his keyboard, and Wyre came in, retying her hair as she walked.
Gina took a coffee. ‘This is most welcome, thank you. We know that Grant Braddock booked a cabin to stay with the childminder, Taylor, who he’s been having an affair with for three months. Taylor can’t remember seeing him after going to bed and according to the people in the next cabin, she was so drunk she could barely stand. I can’t rule out that she’s a brilliant actor, not yet, so don’t eliminate her from the radar. We need Grant, we need to know where he is and what he did last night. His and Annabel’s daughter, Cally, also said she saw someone lurking around in the garden. Bless her, she thinks it was a ghost but given what happened, I’m inclined to believe someone was loitering.’
‘Could it have been Grant?’ O’Connor took a bite of croissant and loosened his belt slightly.
‘Not sure. The people in the other cabin saw him outside around seven so it’s possible that he nipped back home later. All they heard was the sound of the hot tub whirring and they assumed that Grant and Taylor were using it. Maybe one of them was in the Braddocks’s garden at the time Cally saw the intruder. O’Connor, I’ll update you with everything first. Could you interview Taylor in a short while? We’ll give her half an hour to stew on things.’
‘Yup.’
‘At the moment, it’s a witness interview but try to draw her out. Right, onto Grant Braddock. Any sightings of him? Has he been home?’
Jacob shook his head. He reached for the stapler on his desk and began opening and closing it as he spoke. ‘Not yet. His registration is out there. ANPR should hopefully pick him up soon if he’s on the move.’
‘We need him. What have you found out about him?’
Jacob brought up Grant’s details on the system. ‘Five ten, brown hair greying at the sides. Fit and slim. Father-in-law said he works out a lot at the gym. He works in facilities management at managerial level. He has a past record.’
Gina sat and undid her coat. ‘Go on.’
‘Drunken fighting mostly. He had a girlfriend when he was at college. Another man hit on her and he knocked him off his feet. There was no lasting damage and he got a suspended sentence and a fine.’
‘A history of jealousy – interesting. There was talk of a work party that Annabel attended just before Christmas. From what Taylor said, Annabel was seeing someone and it stemmed from that party. The school is open tomorrow but we could do with speaking to someone sooner. Any luck with getting hold of the head teacher or at least the head of mathematics?’
‘No, no luck at all with the school side.’ Jacob spoke so low Gina struggled to hear him.
‘Okay, O’Connor will interview Taylor. We all do everything we can to locate Grant. Jacob, keep going through the calls and delve into anything useful. Wyre and I are going to head back to the cabin. The woman who owns the site has given us permission to search it before she cleans it. There might just be some clue as to where he is or where he went. Jacob, could you also please keep trying to contact someone from the school. We need to know more about that party. If Annabel was seeing someone, they could be a person of interest too or they may know something. How’s Jennifer?’
Biting the inside of his cheek, Jacob hunched over, his stubble now a slight brown mat over his chin. ‘I called the hospital about an hour ago. No change.’ His shaky hands told Gina not to push him for more information. ‘Her clothes have been sent to the lab and swabs have been taken too. Everything is at the lab. She’s still on the ventilator.’
‘Do you need to be with her? You could head home to catch up on some sleep and come back later. If I hear anything at all, I will call you immediately, I promise.’ Gina leaned forward and tilted her head. She wished that there was more she could do.
‘No.’ He pressed his lips together and shook his head vigorously. ‘I am not leaving this building until we have caught the person who did this. We need to find Annabel. I can’t do anything for Jennifer right now apart from wait for her to wake up. As for Annabel, they’re the oldest of friends. I have to help find her. That’s what Jennifer would want.’ Jacob began scrolling through an email. ‘Yes! Guv, we’ve had a response to the appeal. Someone has spotted Grant Braddock sitting outside the new sandwich shop on the high street. PC Kapoor is already on her way.’
Gina glanced up at Wyre. ‘Let’s go. We can’t lose him.’
FOURTEEN
Pulling up alongside the road with a screech, Gina could see PC Kapoor standing outside the sandwich shop, talking into her radio. Then she sprinted down the path. Wyre and Gina hurried out of the car and followed her down the high street, turning right along a road lined with houses. In the distance, she could see a man turning towards the park and playing fields.
Kapoor called out as she ran. ‘Police, stop.’ The man ignored her.
Gina upped her pace but she was no match for Wyre who had almost caught up with Kapoor. Her heart banged and she struggled for breath as she pushed herself harder. She turned towards the park but couldn’t see Wyre or Kapoor. She’d lost them, too slow to keep up. A grey cloud passed and the lunchtime sun had disappeared. She heard what sounded like a crashing bin coming from the estate that had been built in the sixties. Again, she picked up the pace, almost tripping over a Jack Russell as she took a shortcut across the field. The owner shouted something, she held a hand up in apology, not having time to stop.
Turning into the road, all she could see were rows of five-storey flats. She spotted the fallen bin. A woman came out, swearing under her breath as she began to pick up the spilled rubbish. ‘Did you see a police officer come past?’
‘She went that way, another woman was with her.’
‘Thank you.’ Gina ran down the road, dodging people with children and dogs, then she saw Kapoor down the next road, bent over and panting. ‘Where did he go?’
Kapoor shook her head. ‘Wyre is still chasing him. I guess I need to workout more. Come on, this way.’
‘You and me both.’
