‘Already done it, guv.’ O’Connor leaned back in the chair, arms folded. ‘She’s not in today as her mum was taken sick but she told her department head that she’d be back tomorrow. They’re expecting one of us to be there, first thing.’
‘Great stuff. Tomorrow morning, Wyre and I will go and speak to her.’ Gina spotted Wyre rubbing her neck. ‘Are you up to it?’
‘Yes, I just ache a bit. The paramedic said I was okay, no major damage. Tomorrow morning sounds like a plan. I’ll meet you there.’ Wyre’s usually pristine hair was tangled and fell over her shoulders. Gina pulled out a padded hairband and smiled as she passed it to Wyre. ‘Thanks.’ The woman scooped up her hair. It felt good to help, if only a little. Wyre was always the one with the hairbands and sympathy when Gina needed her.
‘Given that Taylor is now a suspect too, I want her home thoroughly searched. Her aunt let us have a little look around but I want to know what she’s hiding beneath the surface. We need to organise a warrant now that we have that letter. Jacob, can you do that?’
‘Yes, guv.’
‘Are you up to this? You know you can go and be with Jennifer or rest up at home.’
He shook his head. ‘No. I’m no use to Jennifer and I’m no use at home. I want to be here. I’ll sort the search warrant out.’
‘Great. If you need anything, just say. We’re all here to help and we want to support you in any way we can.’
Jacob forced a worried-looking smile and nodded.
‘O’Connor, can you go with uniform and conduct the search of Taylor’s house and car once that has gone through. A member of the forensics team will need to attend. I want to know if Annabel has ever been taken there or has been in her car.’
‘Yep. Sounds good.’
‘Right, we all know what we’re doing. Any questions?’ A hum of conversation began to fill the room. PC Kapoor entered. ‘Jhanvi, can you work with O’Connor? He’s going to need help with searching Taylor’s residence when the warrant comes through.’
‘Course, guv.’ She headed over to O’Connor. Gina could see that PC Kapoor was delighted to help.
As everyone busied themselves with planning their next moves, Gina spotted Briggs entering at the back of the room. His stare met hers. Heart banging, Gina quickly left the room. She’d actually gone to his house and spied on him. Whatever excuse she gave, they both knew that’s what she’d done and there was no way she could face him yet. Red heat crept up her neck. Had he told his new girlfriend about the mad ex that had been loitering? She hurried into the ladies, the one place where Briggs wouldn’t follow her, and stood in front of the mirror fanning herself with her hands. The onset of menopause was playing havoc as were her emotions and her body. She blinked a couple of times. Her eyes red rimmed from rubbing fibreglass into them – how attractive. She ran a tap and began splashing cold water on her face, relieved that the hotness was subsiding. The door burst open and she flinched. ‘Wyre, you okay?’
Wyre pulled a face as she moved her arm in a circular motion. ‘I will be. I’m going to ache in the morning and I bet you are too. I mean, you fell through the ceiling.’ She stared into Gina’s eyes. ‘You look like a demon, or something from a horror film.’
‘Thanks, Paula.’ She glanced at the bloodshot corner of her left eye. ‘You’re not wrong.’
Gina let out a small laugh, relieved that it was only Wyre that had followed her into the ladies. Things could have been much worse. ‘I’ve never known a case with so many suspects on the run at the same time. I’m going to head home in a short while, take a shower. I’m itching like hell. I’ll be working from home.’
‘Yeah, me too.’
Gina paused and stared at her reflection. ‘Annabel is out there somewhere, I just hope that “dealing with Annabel” doesn’t mean killing her. What does Taylor mean in the note? Dealing with Annabel. We’re going around in circles here. The more I think about it, the more it has to be Taylor and Grant. The forensics prove he was at the scene. They both wanted Annabel out the way. Then another part of me says Whittle had a mini shrine to her and other women hidden in his loft. That’s as weird as it gets and we know he’s a liar and he ran from us. I need to go home, go through everything we have and hope that the murkiness clears up. We need Whittle, Grant and Taylor brought in and it’s like they’ve all disappeared.’
‘They can’t hide forever, guv. I’ll see you in the morning unless they turn up in the meantime.’
‘Yes, get some rest. It’s going to be a long day. I can feel it in my bones.’ She could feel more than tomorrow in her bones. She could feel the pounding of her body on that desk, the splinters of rotten wood she’d picked out of her side, and the itching. Whatever she did, she couldn’t stop itching. What she needed was to get out of her clothes and have a shower before she clawed her skin open.
Wyre smiled and left. Gina closed her eyes and imagined the night of the hit-and-run. Annabel and Jennifer were walking back to Annabel’s. Then a car hit Jennifer. Was it Grant’s Mercedes that hit her, the one that should have been in his garage? Maybe he tried to mop up Jennifer’s blood from the scene, which is why he had the soiled tissues. He would have known Annabel’s location. He’d been tracking her phone and the woman with the baby, the one who lived by the scene, had heard a car. Had he then bundled Annabel into the Mercedes before driving her away. Gina tried to turn it all around. Maybe Whittle had followed Annabel from the pub. Maybe he hit Jennifer and Grant came to help her. If that was the case, why wouldn’t he have intervened earlier? Or, was he too late to the scene? Both men still had opportunity. Then there was Cally. The little girl had reported hearing someone in the garden on the evening, the person she thought was a ghost. Was it her father getting his car out of the garage? He’d have a key to the padlock. Her mind flashed back to early Sunday morning at the scene. Fancy cocktail sticks on the floor, a fun raspberry keyring. A purse.
Gina dried her damp face on a paper towel and screwed it up, aiming for the bin but she missed. She bent over and picked it up. It was going to be a long night. They also left Taylor alone outside the station, smoking. Ultimately, they lost her.
She scrunched her brow. There was someone else to question, that’s if Whittle could be believed. A student with a crush on Annabel. It was a long shot but she had to go back to Cleevesford High. Ms Law must know who this lovesick kid is.
THIRTY-TWO
Omar
The police have been outside Annabel’s house again so I’ve hidden myself away, around the back this time. It’s so easy with all the trees and far too risky being out the front without knowing when the police will turn up. Again, Mum asked where I was going but I can’t say anything. I can’t tell her that I love Annabel so I have to be here. She doesn’t know that I will do anything for her – anything. Curiosity has the better of me. I saw both Mr Whittle and the Braddocks’s childminder here earlier, and then I saw the police at school. I need to know who else is lurking and what they’re up to. I owe it to Annabel.
The neighbour comes out of his house with a bag of what looks like animal feed. I peer through a gap in the fence as he bends over to retrieve a bowl, fills it, then puts it back in the hutch. I’ve seen him holding his rabbit before. I step back, cracking a branch underfoot and he stops. He stares over into the darkness and begins to walk down the path. That’s when I dart back to my place in the bushes, where I’m sure no one can see me. I know it’s a good hiding place because a man walked past with a dog earlier and he didn’t notice that I was there, even when his dog came over for a sniff.
He opens his back gate and looks up and down. All I can see is his profile lit up by the moon. I hold my breath, hoping that he hurries back into his house. If he catches me here, I’ll be in trouble and I can’t keep still forever. He’ll tell the police and they’ll want to speak to me, especially when it becomes apparent that Annabel is my teacher. I also know I’m not supposed to tell, not just because Annabel asked me to keep a secret. I swallow, not wanting my mum to get hurt.
My heart bangs and I need to exhale. If I breathe, I’m sure he’ll hear me and who knows what he’ll do if he finds me here. My tense muscles begin to tremble. Just as I let my breath go, he heads back into his garden, locking his gate behind him. He’ll think that I’m some intruder that might come back and burgle him later, which means he’ll be on high alert. He’s already seen me once before lurking around in the past, he can’t catch me again. His back door slams. Phew. I got away with it.
