‘No,’ he replied, because he didn’t want to think about school. Last week they studied the Galapagos Islands. He’d talked about that lots, telling Maggie that the group of islands had once been named ‘islands of the tortoises.’ When he was grown up he would go there, when things were better at home. He followed his mum through to the kitchen where Sarah was standing, holding a mug in the palm of her hand. She placed it on the table, next to his daddy’s medal. She said she wanted to talk to him about Jahmelia again, but Elliott didn’t know what to say. All sorts of fears were shaking loose inside him, like rotten apples bouncing off a tree. ‘If you tell, you’ll go to hell.’ He was next. He slipped the medal into his trouser pocket.
‘Chicken nuggets and chips OK?’ Maggie said, even though there was a police officer in their kitchen wanting to know where his babysitter was.
‘Yes please, Mummy.’ He caught his mother’s smile, small but real.
Last night Elliott had dreamed about the Midnight Man again. He decided to tell Sarah what he knew. Maybe he could be brave too, like his daddy.
‘I saw him,’ Elliott whispered, as Sarah sat beside him. ‘He has two faces.’
‘OK,’ Sarah said. ‘Can you draw him for me?’ She glanced at Maggie who had her back turned, but Elliott knew she was listening in. ‘If it’s not too scary, that is.’
Within a few minutes, Elliott had sketched an image of a dark figure in a cloak. But there was a shadow falling over his face. He tried to explain to Sarah that the Midnight Man’s two faces was something hefeltrather thansaw.
‘You’re doing great,’ she said, taking the picture and putting it in her bag. ‘If you think of anything else will you let me know, Elliott? Any time. We have all our best officers looking for Jahmelia. I’m sure we’ll find her soon.’
As Elliott’s dinner was placed before him, Sarah stood to leave. ‘Oh, I almost forgot, I got this for you.’
She handed an envelope to Elliott and he recognised the WWF panda picture on the front.
‘It’s to adopt a turtle, mind, not a tortoise, but apparently only one in a thousand marine turtle hatchlings make it to adulthood. I reckon they need our help, don’t you?’
Elliott’s eyes widened as he carefully read the letter stating that a turtle had been adopted in his name. He’d receive a cuddly toy, a welcome pack, regular updates and more. ‘Thank you!’ he said, almost sending his dinner flying as he jumped from his chair to give Sarah a hug.
‘Sarah, you shouldn’t have,’ Maggie said, but like Elliott, she was smiling too.
‘Goodness, you’re more than welcome,’ Sarah laughed.
‘C’mon, dinner!’ Maggie said, ushering Elliott back to his chair. ‘We’ll look at the website after and find out more.’
Elliott sat back down and spread the letter next to his plate so he could read it over again. Marine turtles opened up a whole new world of facts to learn. For the first time that day, he felt happy inside. The scary man with the two faces was gone, for now. It was turning out to be a good day.
39
Elsie shifted in her bed. She just couldn’t get comfortable. The mattress was so hard it felt like sitting on a dining table. It was with some pride that the doctors had showed her around their new ‘obesity clinic’. A room with special scales and machinery, and down the corridor, a reinforced bed. It was no coincidence that Irving had funded the new wing. He was pre-empting any bad publicity should their relationship make the press. Now Elsie was their ‘star patient’ and staff were excited to work with her. Things sure had come a long way in the last few years. If she wasn’t so darn worried about her son, she might have felt real hope. It was nothing short of a miracle that she’d survived her tumble down the stairs, let alone come out of it virtually unscathed. She’d had the wind knocked clean out of her and had gained a bump on her head the size of an egg.
Speaking of eggs … Elsie’s stomach rumbled. What she wouldn’t give for a Cadbury’s Creme Egg right now. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at the pink meal replacement drink which the doctors had offered after advising her about losing weight and meal plans. But she was one of the lucky ones. Her health insurance and this swanky new wing afforded her the best of care. Her mood brightened as she heard the click of heeled shoes in the hall. It was Sarah. Was she here to ask about the so-called Midnight Man? A flutter of fear swept through her. Just when things were working out … She recalled Christian’s face as he found her on the floor. How he’d squeezed her hand before the ambulance took her away. Whatever she’d seen in his room, Christian wasn’t capable of hurting those girls, she was sure of it. From now on, she would be putting him first. She would start by putting Detective Sarah Noble straight. It was time for Elsie to be a proper mother to her son.
40
Sitting in her car, Sarah sighed in contentment as she unwrapped her Big Mac. She’d promised herself numerous times that she would kick her junk food habit into touch. Seeing Elsie in the obesity clinic yesterday had certainly provided her with enough inspiration to maintain a healthy diet. She had even done an online shop and filled her fridge with healthy food. But that was all well and good as long as she could physically get home to cook it. Today, work had been manic as Sarah spoke to residents of Slayton and chased up every dead-end lead. Her eyes were dry in their sockets from watching hours of CCTV downloaded from cameras in town. No stone was to be left unturned, but much of it felt like a waste of her time. Now it was gone four thirty and she hadn’t eaten all day. She closed her eyes, savouring each bite as the smell of freshly cooked fries filled the interior of her car. The windows steamed around her, cocooning her in her own little world. Tomorrow she would go full kitchen goddess and batch-cook lots of healthy food.
At least her hospital visit had been fruitful in more ways than one. Seeing Elsie so positive about her future had brightened her day. Her thoughts floated to Elliott. Seeing the boy and his mum happy had been heart-warming too. She wanted to be a part of Elliott’s life, not just the police lady who questioned him, but first she had to put things right. The hooded image he’d drawn of the Midnight Man could have come straight out of a comic book. Maybe it was time to just be Elliott’s friend.
She turned down the car radio as a news reporter commented on how little information the police had released. ‘Everyone’s a critic,’ she murmured, sipping her Diet Coke. Social media was flooded with #FindJahmelia, and the private Facebook group had grown. Blackhall Manor had gained a fresh wave of attention and new members were joining from all over the world. Sarah hadn’t felt the need to participate herself yet. She didn’t know where Richie found the time, and she couldn’t fathom his fascination with her family’s history … but there was too much going on right now for her to dwell on the past.
She turned on the ignition and activated the car fan. There wasn’t much left for her to do today apart from see Gabby again. The office dynamics were guaranteed to change now her sergeant was pushed out, which was why Sarah was happy to spend the day out and about. Yvonne would lord it over everyone, as if she was the chief constable instead of acting sergeant. Still, Sarah gave her some grudging respect. She was managing the influx of work with apparent ease. She had the makings of a good sergeant if she wasn’t so bloody obnoxious all the time.
Sarah hadn’t told Elsie that an arrest package was being put together to bring Christian in. Officers were taking their time and doing the groundwork. They only needed suspicion of a crime to carry out an arrest, but the difficulty arose later with persuading the Crown Prosecution Service that they had enough evidence for a charge. The CPS would only approve cases which had a realistic chance of conviction in court. Timing was everything. Wait too long to arrest and they were at the risk of losing vital evidence. Move too quickly and they might be underprepared and fail to get a charge. Sarah wasn’t privy to every facet of the investigation but the team were doing everything in their power to bring Jahmelia home. So was she, even if some of her movements were off the radar. The irony was, she felt less sure of Christian’s guilt now, since she’d spoken to his mother. After cleaning her hands with an antibacterial wipe, Sarah drove out of the McDonald’s car park. Her shift was almost over and she knew where she had to go.
She had received Gabby’s call just as she was leaving the hospital. As always, it was blunt and to the point. She wanted Sarah to act as her go-between. Gabby wasn’t allowed access to the investigation, but Sarah could give her an insight into how things were being handled. Sarah didn’t mind being put in an awkward position if it meant helping Gabby out. Time was slipping through their fingers. A huge push had been made in the search for Jahmelia, and police dogs had tracked her scent to the local playground. It seemed she’d snuck out to meet someone – the question was, who? Her parents’ heartfelt press appeal was heavily featured in the media and online. DI Lee was doing a good job of drafting in specialist teams to help. From profilers to flyovers, he had requested it all. Reported sightings were trickling in but none had borne fruit so far.
Having gone off duty at the station, Sarah headed to Gabby’s flat. The renovated four-floor townhouses were situated in Upper Slayton and built with professionals in mind. It was the go-to place for out-of-towners when it came to renting. Sarah had viewed them herself when she and David returned to Slayton. In the end, they rented the old post office cottage on the corner. One of her earliest memories was of her mother lifting her up to the red postbox to mail a letter. If she was lucky, on a sunny day they would buy an ice cream in the post office shop and eat it on the way home. Powerful emotions were invoked each time she caught the scent of the wisteria in full bloom. It was hardly any wonder she had been drawn to the place.
Thoughts of the past dismissed, Sarah parked her Mini next to the pavement and wrenched up the handbrake. The car was getting on in years and would soon have to be replaced. ‘Not yet though, old girl.’ She patted the steering wheel before glancing up at the window where Gabby was standing. She raised her hand uncertainly, but Gabby turned away. Her face was so gaunt, she could have been a ghost.
Sarah pressed her finger against the buzzer and waited for the door to click open. The stairwell was clean but cold and she smiled at a young woman as she passed her on the wide landing. She counted the numbers. At the end of the hall on the fourth floor was Gabby’s flat.
‘Hello?’ she said, pushing open the front door which had been left ajar. The room was bright and spacious, with high ceilings and big windows behind plantation blinds, but as she entered she wondered if she had wandered into the wrong apartment. Clothes were draped over furniture, piles of newspapers were stacked on the table, and cardboard boxes filled every corner of the room. Gabby’s walls were a stark eggshell blue throughout – no family photos or framed prints to give the room some character. It looked almost as if she’d been burgled, and what they hadn’t taken they’d left in piles. Sarah’s gaze roamed over the cream sofa which was littered with paperwork and ‘Missing’ posters of Jahmelia. The flat wasn’t dirty, but itwasa chaotic mess. It was a shock to see the state that such a competent, well-groomed woman was living in.
