Chapter 49
“How long will you be?” Elea asked Mitch as he pulled his jeans on. “Maybe I should go in first.”
“Not on your nelly,” Mitch replied, doing up his button fly. “I’m not having you making me look bad, getting there before me.” It wasn’t yet 6 a.m.
“Yes, but you’ve got to change and—”
“I’ve got a spare suit at the nick. I’ll go straight there.”
Elea stopped fussing. She wasn’t his wife, after all. “Fine.” She ran a brush through her hair. “I’ll give you a head start.”
Mitch slipped on his shoes, suddenly awkward. He was smiling, but a little unsure. “Maybe we could do this again sometime?”
“I’ll let you know.” Elea was noncommittal. “But this can’t go any further. The last thing I need is Swann chewing me off.”
Mitch blurted out a laugh.
“What?”
“The term is ‘chewing your ear off.’”
“Whatever.” Elea smiled at his obvious amusement. “Just...take this for what it is, yeah? Two consenting adults enjoying a good fuck from time to time.”
Mitch exhaled a soft chuckle, shaking his head. “I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“Then count yourself lucky.” She applied a coat of lipstick. “See you at work.”
Elea watched himleave. At least she had her own car now, which meant that Swann wouldn’t turn up to give her a lift. Alice wouldn’t let him out of the house this early, and coming from Nettleham to Lincoln in the morning traffic would be a real pain. She grabbed her phone from the dresser, along with her keys. She stared at the screen as it buzzed a notification in her hand. It was Maria. Elea groaned. She’d forgotten all about her call. Finland was two hours ahead, so it was almost 8 a.m. there. But, still, that was early, even for her. One, two, three, four, five...she counted the missed calls. There were voicemails, too. Maria’s name flashed up large as her phone rang once more. Elea took a deep breath and answered.
“Haloo,” Maria said, proceeding to speak in Finnish. Her English was broken at best.
“Haloo.” Elea responded in her mother tongue. “Sorry, I was asleep when you rang last night. I’ve only just seen your calls. Everything OK?”
“Oh yes.” Maria seemed breathless. She was whispering down the phone. “It’s more than OK.” She squeaked in excitement, barely able to contain herself. “It’s happened. It’s really finally happened.”
Elea’s brows pinched together as the woman’s voice descended into gibberish. Was Maria finally losing her mind? “What is it? What’s happened? You’re not making sense.”
“I promised I wouldn’t tell, at least not yet. But you’ve been so kind and...we made a pact.” Maria ruffled the phone line with a shaky breath. “It’s Anu. My baby has come home.”
“Oh my God,” Elea gasped. It couldn’t be true. People didn’t simply turn up out of the blue. This wasn’t like Sophie Miller. Twenty years had passed. Anu wasn’t a child anymore. The thought of an adult entering Maria’s home caused Elea to tense in concern. “What if this person is lying, Maria? Are you telling me that Anu knocked on your door and—”
“I know it’s hard for you to believe, Elea, after all this time. But I know my child. My baby is here, quiet but unharmed.” Maria exhaled a sob. “But you can’t tell another living soul. Not the police. Not anyone. We need some time. One night. That’s all I ask.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Elea replied, beginning to pace the floor. Her mind was racing ahead. Was she still asleep, dreaming? She would wake up any minute now and—
“We have a pact,” Maria reminded her once more. “And...there’s something else. I asked about Liisa.”
Elea’s bottom lip delivered a jolt of pain as she bit down hard. Then Maria’s voice came smoothly down the line.
“I don’t want to push, but I have a feeling Anu knows where Liisa is.”
“Then for God’s sake, call Heikkinen. Every second counts!”
But Maria staunchly guarded her offspring. “I won’t answer the door to anyone but you. I’m sorry, Elea, but I mean it. Anu’s barely spoken two words. God knows what hell they’ve been through.”
“OK. I’ll book a flight today. But if Anu tells you anything, please call me back.”
“Mamma?” A voice rose in the background.
