Today, she felt on the outside of things, but she only had herself to blame. At least she’d been called in for a few hours of overtime yesterday. But while her colleagues were attending briefings and arranging media appeals, Sarah was on the ground with uniformed officers taking statements and conducting door-to-door enquiries. It wasn’t the return to CID she had imagined, but ithadborne fruit. She had not been prepared for the brutality of it. The sight of Angelica with her internal organs exposed, lying naked in a shallow grave – it had stolen the breath from her lungs. Who could have done such a horrific thing? And why?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rotary blades chopping the air. Shrinking back in her seat, she cast her eyes upwards, relieved it was a police helicopter. At least the KCOM News budget didn’t stretch to choppers. They’d picked up the story as soon as they heard Simon Irving’s daughter was missing and their van had been seen driving around Slayton ever since. Had the Irvings been a regular family, they wouldn’t have cared. Now details of the crime were splashed all over the news, sending the town into panic. She could see it in the worried faces of everyone she spoke to, and had heard that locks and Ring cameras were selling out in the local shops.
Sarah could see where townsfolk were coming from. If Simon Irving’s daughter could be murdered in a safe part of town, what hope was there for them? They didn’t yet know about Blackhall Manor, or the game Angelica had played. Her thoughts returned to the letter. If Angelica had played the game with four other teenagers, who were they? Her social media gave nothing away, and her online search history was being checked. But despite efforts to find her mobile phone, police had been unable to triangulate a signal and it was either powered down or destroyed.
As the helicopter disappeared from view, Sarah locked the car and headed towards the station, her expression fixed as her mind worked over the details of the case. How had Elliott known exactly where Angelica was buried? Someone must know something, and Elliott was picking up on it … Only the night before Angelica went missing, Jahmelia and Libby had babysat Elliott. She imagined the girls patiently listening as he talked about tortoises to them. Had he overheard them discussing the Midnight Game when he was meant to be asleep? Angelica was in their year in school. But Sarah had spoken to Libby and Jahmelia at length, along with the rest of Angelica’s friends. Not one had admitted to seeing Angelica the night she disappeared. That poor girl, who was on the cusp of adult life, to be left in the woods in such a state … Sarah pressed her fob against the security panel and the heavy door clicked open.
Maggie had treated her as if she was some kind of messiah, sent from above to help her child. ‘You understand him,’ she’d said on Saturday evening, breathy with relief. Sarah loved her old friend dearly, but when you thought about it logically, Elliott was just desperate for someone to confide in. It must have been tough for the little boy, seeing a man as strong as his father become incapacitated overnight; it wasn’t surprising that it had triggered something. And Sarah was a police officer, a symbol of all that was good to a child like Elliott. No wonder he’d been ready to offload. But how did he know Angelica was buried in the woods? Sarah couldn’t fathom it as she strode down the gloomy corridor with her tangle of thoughts.
The station was buzzing with activity. She passed her DI’s office, having a sneaky peek through the glass in his door. Head down, he was deep in conversation as he spoke on the phone. Various newspapers were spread out on his desk. She had already seen the headlines as she popped into her local newsagents on the way to work. The story of the murdered teen was front page on all the papers from the nationals to theSlayton Gazette. Sarah carried on walking. At least they’d found her body. She’d told her sergeant the tip-off had been anonymous but it was time to be up front about Elliott. She entered the CID office; disappointed to see that Gabby wasn’t at her desk.
‘You OK there?’ Yvonne said, holding several dog-eared files in her hand. Yvonne was one of the longstanding members of CID and was only a few years younger than Sarah. Her dark hair was perfectly straightened, her arched brows pencilled in.
‘Oh hi, Yvonne, just waiting to speak to Gabby. Do you know where she is?’
‘She’s in a meeting with Angelica’s parents, due back any minute now.’ She regarded Sarah with a smile. ‘Well done on the lead, how did you manage that? You’re putting the rest of us to shame.’ Yvonne shifted her folders to the other arm, obviously in no hurry to leave. Sarah could imagine the snide comments Yvonne had said about her behind her back. She didn’t trust her, but Gabby wanted everyone working as a team. There was no room for lone wolves in CID. She was more of a lame dog than a lone wolf, but still …
‘I have my contacts.’ A protective feeling rose in Sarah. She knew how the others would react to Elliott’s involvement.
Yvonne tilted her head to one side. ‘Anything that’s related to the case needs to be brought up, Sarah.’ She paused for thought. ‘You’re not holding out on us, are you? Because—’
‘No, God no, of course not,’ Sarah jumped in, emitting a stilted laugh. She panicked as Yvonne stared her down. ‘It’s just … there’s this young boy. I spoke to his mum, Maggie Carter, about a prowler on Halloween night.’ Sarah wasn’t ready to confide in Yvonne about their friendship. It had nothing to do with the case.
‘Are you talking about Elliott Carter?’ Yvonne said evenly.
‘Yes, you know him?’
‘Slayton is a small place. He’s an interesting boy.’
‘Yes. He’s very … insightful.’ Sarah shoved her hands into her trouser pockets and tilted on the balls of her feet.
‘He’s helped police with enquiries in the past.’
‘Really?’ Sarah frowned. ‘His mum never said.’
‘That he’s psychic? It’s not something you blurt out in conversation, I suppose, but yeah, I’ve spoken to him before.’
‘Youhave? In a police capacity?’
Yvonne nodded. ‘Oh yeah, yeah, thanks to Gabby. She’s very open-minded.’ She lowered her voice as she leaned in to Sarah. ‘She tends to keep her beliefs under wraps. Not everyone appreciates her point of view.’
‘What point of view is that?’ From the corner of the room, Sarah saw one of her male colleagues give them a curious glance. She returned her attention to Yvonne, who was getting friendlier by the minute. Sarah couldn’t deny that it felt good to break the ice.
‘She’s very spiritual,’ Yvonne whispered. ‘You’d never think it, would you?’
Sarah was having a hard time equating her sergeant with the woman Yvonne was portraying. ‘No, she doesn’t strike me as the type.’
‘Yeah, don’t call her a type either, she hates that. I mean, she hates most things; they don’t call her the Ball Breaker for nothing …’ Yvonne broke into a short laugh. ‘But you’ll gain her respect if you show some consideration for her beliefs. You poor thing, you could do with it. You’ve not had the best of starts.’ She delivered a pitying look before glancing over her shoulder. ‘But don’t talk about it here because the others will only take the piss. Speak to her in private, she’ll like that.’ Their conversation was interrupted by the shrill ring of Yvonne’s desk phone. She glanced over Sarah’s shoulder before giving her a wink. ‘She’s coming. Good luck!’
Sarah nodded in acknowledgement, feeling uncertain about what had just happened. From what she could tell about Yvonne, she was a spiky character who took her time accepting people into the fold. Right now, Sarah didn’t know her well enough to trust her, but shehadleft them short-staffed and she had to start somewhere. She switched her focus to Gabby, who didn’t look all that happy to see her. Sarah inhaled a deep breath.Carpe diem, seize the day.
‘Sarge, can I speak to you for a minute?’
‘As long as it’s worth my while.’ Gabby sighed. ‘Walk with me. You have as long as it takes to get to the vending machine.’ She fished her purse out of her bag from behind her desk and took out some coins. ‘Why aren’t you at Blackhall Manor?’ she asked, the second the office door closed behind them. Sarah was grateful that she had reserved the tongue-lashing for in private. ‘I tasked you to meet with the officers conducting today’s search.’ Given the discovery of Angelica’s body in the nearby woodlands, officers had returned to the property for a more thorough search.
Sarah’s smile faltered. ‘I am … I mean, I got someone else to cover it.’ The thought of going back there again made her feel sick to her stomach.
‘And the source of your unwillingness is …’
