‘I’m fine thanks, Mandy. How’s your little one doing? Her arm healing up okay?’
‘Should be out of plaster by Christmas, fingers crossed.’
Celia turns to me. ‘Mandy’s daughter broke her arm a few weeks ago. I was one of the nurses on duty when it happened.’
‘Sorry to hear that,’ I offer.
‘Could’ve been worse,’ Mandy replies. ‘Polly and her friends were daring each other to jump off the shed roof – little monkeys. I’m lucky she didn’t break her neck.’
‘Mandy,’ Celia says, ‘I’ve left my car parked out the front. Is that okay? We won’t be too long.’
‘It’s fine. Sounds like it’s hammering down out there. Anyway, how can I help?’
‘This is my daughter-in-law Zoe, née Williams. I don’t know if you remember, but ten years ago her sister Dina went missing.’
She thinks for a moment. ‘Oh, yeah – Dina Williams. Last seen overseas? I didn’t have much involvement I’m afraid, but I was sorry to hear about that.’ She gives me a sympathetic smile.
‘Anyway,’ Celia continues, ‘this morning, Zoe thinks she saw her walking down…’ Celia turns to me. ‘Where was it you saw her?’
‘Not far. Just over at Bimport, past the ambulance station.’
Mandy nods. ‘Okay, hang on, let me get the sarge.’
A few minutes later, she returns with a police officer who I’d guess is in his early thirties. He has fair hair that’s flecked with grey and he’s vaguely familiar. ‘Mrs Johnson, hello.’
‘Hello,’ Celia and I both reply.
He turns to me. ‘Not sure if you remember me. I’m Sergeant Alfie Graham.’
The name rings a bell, and then it comes to me. ‘I spoke to you back when my sister first went missing.’ I remember thinking he looked too young to be a policeman. Now he looks more than capable. ‘How’s your colleague, Sergeant McCormack? Give her my best wishes.’
‘She retired five years ago. Happily tending her smallholding in Wiltshire.’
‘Sounds nice,’ I reply.
‘I’m sorry we weren’t able to help find your sister.’
‘Well, that’s why we’ve come to see you,’ Celia says.
‘Mandy told me. You think you might have seen her in Shaftesbury today?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Okay, well we’ll have a drive around, see if we can spot her. It’s a shame about the weather though. Chances of her being out in this are pretty slim. I’ll get a copy of her photo off the Missing Persons Register. We’ll also run a few checks to see if there’s any record of her moving back to the area. But that might take a while.’
We follow him into his office, and I spend the next few minutes describing how she looked this morning – her clothing and hair, and also the man she was with. And that’s it. That’s all we can do for now. Celia and I get up to leave.
It hurts to think that my sister may be back in town but hasn’t contacted me. Okay, so we weren’t exactly close, and we didn’t part on the best of terms, but that was all years ago. I’d have thought she would at least have wanted to speak to Dad, if not to me. I just have to hope that the police have better luck locating her than I did. And if they do, I pray that Dina isn’t in the same vindictive mood as when we last spoke.
Ten
THEN
I’m twenty minutes early for my appointment so I sit in the busy waiting room, pick up a gossip magazine and start leafing through it absent-mindedly. It’s two years out of date and I haven’t heard of a single person in it, so I give up and replace it on the end table, deciding to stare out the window instead. A flock of sparrows lands on the frost-tipped hedge, hopping from leaf to leaf. They stay for a good long while until, as one, they rise up and move on to their next destination. Did they just decide to move on, or did something startle them?
Yesterday, Toby and I returned from a two-week honeymoon in Lanzarote. Our hotel was set right on the beach and the weather was glorious. The complete opposite to a freezing Dorset winter. But, despite the weather, it feels good to be back in Shaftesbury. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life here with Toby. That is if I can shake this damned fuzzy headache I’ve had ever since we got married.
The wedding reception flashed by in a blur. Toby was a dream husband, staying by my side and making sure I was happy. Celia and Malcom were the perfect in-laws, dealing with everything at the venue and checking that I was okay after my fainting episode. I danced with Toby and with my friends. I managed to avoid my ex-friend Cassie, apart from a fake hug. And thankfully my bridesmaids didn’t kill one another. Even so, I was relieved when the day was over, and Toby and I could finally be alone in our hotel room. My headache had reached epic proportions by that time, but I took some more painkillers, and I lied, telling Toby I was fine. No sense in ruining both our days.
