He was right. There was something about these families that would not let her go.
Forty-Six
Stacey chuckled as she listened to the conversation at the kitchen table.
True to her word, Devon had enlisted Ava’s help to write a letter of complaint about the use of her name, allowing Stacey to focus on her work.
Ava had been with them for only a little over twelve hours, but she had injected something new into the house.
The night before, they had all settled on the sofa to watch Beauty and the Beast while chewing on pizza. Other than an occasional glance their way, Ava had eventually relaxed enough to fall asleep ten minutes before the end of the film.
They had roused her to get her to bed, where they’d removed her prosthetic and moisturised her arm. Already in her pyjamas, the child had snuggled down and fallen fast asleep. They hadn’t been too far behind.
Devon and Ava had got up within minutes of each other, not long after Stacey finished the briefing Zoom with her boss. Understanding that Stacey was working and that she would have to leave later in the day, Devon was doing her best to occupy Ava now.
It was strange the effect she was having on their small home. Everything seemed more colourful, more animated, more alive.
Stacey forced her attention away from the kitchen and back to the task she’d been given.
Trying to find any link between the two women was an onerous task with far too many possibilities that she couldn’t account for. All she could do was start at the beginning for both of them, work chronologically and see if anything jumped out. Once that was completed, she’d look for any obvious links to Gemma.
So far, she had:
Ashley Reynolds born 1992.
Nadine Cowley born 2005.
Ashley Reynolds born Wordsley.
Nadine Cowley born Worcester.
Ashley Reynolds attended Sunnyside Nursery 1996–97.
Nadine Cowley attended Pumpkin Patch Nursery 2007–08.
Ashley Reynolds attended Hopton Junior and Infant School in Wollescote.
Nadine Cowley attended Redditch Junior school.
Ashley Reynolds moved up to Brockmoor High School in 2003.
Nadine Cowley moved up to St James High School Romsley in 2014.
Different schools, different districts and years apart. It likely ruled out them being friends or acquaintances.
Ashley was out of high school and onto college before Nadine even entered that phase of her life.
Stacey considered looking to see if there had been any crossover of staff between the schools, which might give her a teacher who had known them both. It was a lot of work when she still had so many years to comb through. She made a note to consider that if nothing else appeared. Right now, something was bothering her.
She’d been given the task of trying to find a link between the two victims, but Stacey knew she’d seen the name of St James High School somewhere else.
She started leafing through notes she’d taken and statements she’d read. Finally, she found what she was looking for. Of course. She’d known there was a reason why that school had seemed familiar to her.
She picked up the phone. Regardless of what the boss was doing, she was going to want to know about this.
Forty-Seven
‘Are you kidding me?’ Kim asked as Bryant pulled into a car park to turn around. He’d already heard Stacey’s opening statement and knew where she was going to want to go next.
