“Yes, his sister…Amy…has been gone a long time.”
“And did you file a missing person report for her?” I asked, beating down the anger that I felt.
Amy had told me her father, this man, wouldn’t have saved her from a public gang rape, in fact, he’d celebrated the idea. I gripped the pen until I felt it crack.
Jamie glanced at me, frowned almost imperceptibly, and then harnessed Abraham’s attention. “We couldn’t see one, a missing person report for a woman.”
“No, we didn’t file it. She wanted to be missing. It was her choice. I’m not sure if she was of sound mind or not, Nigel certainly didn’t think so, but I persuaded him not to look for her. She was an adult by then.” He paused and sucked in a breath. “A beautiful young woman. And if she’d decided not to be one of the chosen, then so be it.”
“And you don’t know where she is now?” I asked, almost feeling the weight of her on my lap and smelling the scent of her shampoo.
“No, not a clue. I hope she’s happy.”
Jamie glanced at me.
I cleared my throat. I was working on that. “Can you show us around? The more we feel like we know Jeremy, his state of mind, where he grew up, the easier it might be for us to work out his whereabouts.”
“So you don’t have any leads? Not even from that Bristol University leaflet we found under his bed?”
“Not easy when we don’t have a surname, Abraham.”
“We told the other officer.” He clicked his tongue. “For the love of Jesus, we told him, it’s Bailey, he would have used Bailey, a name that used to be mine before I came here.”
“Ah, yes, we did read that in the file.” Jamie nodded. “Apologies.”
I wrote Bailey in my notebook alongside Bristol Uni. Maybe I’d have something to go on.
Find Jeremy?
Did I want to?
Would he want to be found?
Amy certainly wouldn’t want to be found.
Abraham stood. “Please, come, I’ll show you around. It’s a busy time of day. Everyone has chores in the morning, and the kids are at school as you saw.”
Chapter Ten
Amy
I flopped onto my sofa and kicked off my shoes. It had been a long day. I’d done the work of three people, and my mind was spinning.
All I really wanted was to be in Mitch’s arms. He had this special way of making everything fade into the distance, until it was just us left in the world. Me and him. Nothing else existed.
Looking around my apartment, hued with green from the huge tree outside the window, I realized it felt empty without him. I hadn’t known him long, but he’d wormed his way into my life, my bed…my body…in a way no one else had.
My phone pinged. It was him.
Hi, baby girl. I’ll be there soon. Have a glass of milk while you wait, and I’ll cook when I get there. Daddy xxx
A smile spread on my face. And then I swung my feet to the floor and poured a glass of milk. It was only right that I did what I was told, and another night of not cooking suited me well. Being cared for was wonderful and made me feel wanted and adored.
Half an hour later, Mitch arrived. His worn black jeans teamed great with a dark-gray t-shirt that hugged his body in a trendy-style that had lust pouring into my veins.
I was a lucky girl.
He hauled me into his arms and kissed me. His cologne was fresh as though he’d just showered, and he tasted of mint.
