‘Spouse, civil partner or blood relative?’ The man was persistent.
‘Partner,’ Jack said shortly. ‘Look, she’s pregnant,’ he tried, his voice catching. ‘I just need to know if she’s been brought in.’
The guy paused for an interminably long second. Then, ‘I’ll check,’ he said.
His frustration growing, Jack waited while an hour-long minute ticked by. He was about to cut the call and drive over there, drive around looking for her, do something other thanstand here making useless phone calls, when he heard a car pull up on the drive.
Racing to pull the front door open, he was surprised to see DI Blake and her sidekick climbing out of it. The police had been at the site of the accident, but when he realised Kara wasn’t there, he came straight home, hoping by some miracle he would find her here.
‘Mr Conley.’ DI Blake nodded a greeting. ‘I’ve just come from the crash site. You must be worried sick.’
‘And some,’ he assured her throatily.
‘Mrs Keenan was definitely driving?’ she asked, her brow furrowed questioningly.
‘Why the hell would I say she was if she wasn’t?’ He looked at her with a mixture of incredulity and agitation. ‘We need tofindher,’ he said angrily. Then, ‘Sorry,’ he apologised, realising that losing his temper wouldn’t help. ‘I…Jesus.’ He pressed a thumb hard against his forehead.
‘We have several officers combing the vicinity,’ DI Blake said, her expression less guarded, more sympathetic. ‘There’s no sign of her as yet, I’m afraid.’
‘But she has to be there somewhere.’ Jack looked at her in bewilderment. ‘She can’t just have disappeared into thin air.’
‘We’re contacting all the hospitals,’ DI Blake went on evasively.
‘Have you spoken to the Redditch hospital?’ he asked. It was the one he’d just been trying to get information from.
She nodded. ‘No joy, I’m afraid.’ Pausing, she looked him over cautiously. Then, ‘Mr Conley, we were wondering if you would mind coming to the station to answer a few questions,’ she said, flooring him. ‘Voluntarily, of course.’
‘What,now?’ He looked at her with stupefied incomprehension.
‘I understand your frustration,’ she said.
He doubted very much that she did. Kara had run from him, and now she was missing, certainly injured, most probably seriously, and this woman wanted him to go to the station. ‘Questions pertaining to what exactly?’ he asked warily.
Blake hesitated. ‘We’ve been looking into your history,’ she said, scanning his eyes carefully.
Jack felt his anger give way to icy apprehension. Was this about his phone, something they’d found on it? His mind flew to his WhatsApp. But that was just one message and nothing to do with what was going on here. Something to do with Imogen? His gut twisted. Were they making connections because of the fact that she’d fallen to her death, as Natalia had?
‘After what your mother-in-law said about your wife’s disappearance, we felt obliged to look into the case,’ she continued, and fear tightened his gut like a slipknot. What exactly had Lina said about Natalia? Had she also mentioned that Imogen had been here, upstairs in the bedroom?
‘There’s something we’d like you to look at,’ DI Blake went on, her eyes narrowed as she surveyed him. ‘It shouldn’t take too long.’
Jack swallowed back his racing heart. What should he do? He could refuse, he supposed. He clearly wasn’t obliged to go, but wouldn’t that make him appear guilty of something?
‘I need to let my daughter know,’ he said, panic rising inside him. He actually had no idea where Evie was. He’d hammered on the annexe door and got no response. She wasn’t answering her phone either. What was going on?Whywas this all happening? ‘Can you give me some idea what it is you want me to look at?’ he asked.
‘It might be better to explainin situ,’ she said, her expression giving nothing away. ‘I can tell you though that it might throw some light on what happened to your wife.’
Christ.Cold terror sliced through his chest like a knife. They knew.
FIFTY-ONE
NATALIA
Satisfied that Kara’s okay after checking her breathing again, I find Evie’s number. My hands tremble as I place the call. Will she answer if she thinks it’s Kara calling? She and Kara haven’t exactly been close of late. According to Lina, Evie’s turning against her, as I’d hoped she might.I’mher mother, the only one who really knows her, who can help her.
She picks up after a moment, answering with a weary ‘Hello,’ and my heart almost stops beating.
‘Hello?’ she says again when I find myself incapable of speaking. She sounds exactly the same, feisty and frightened all rolled into one. There will be so many other emotions roiling inside her she’s no hope of understanding without the help of someone who cares, as I do. Not seeing her since I arrived back in the UK other than from a distance, not being able to tell her I’m alive, to hold or comfort her, has crucified me.
