Nelson goes into the corridor and starts knocking on doors. Before he’s got to the end of the line, one of them opens.
‘What’s going on?’
It’s Mei. The girl he met on his last visit, the one who said she’d keep an eye on Eileen.
‘It’s DCI Nelson. Have you seen Eileen?’
To his surprise, Mei nods. ‘She put a note through my door on Monday night.’
‘What did it say?’
Mei looks slightly alarmed at the urgency in his voice, but she says, equably enough, ‘I think I’ve still got it. I’ll show you.’
She disappears into her room and comes back with a postcard which she hands to Nelson.
I’m off! Thanks for everything. Love you Exx
Nelson stares at the rounded blue letters, the heart that follows the kisses. ‘Does this sound like her?’
Mei smiles. ‘It does.’
‘Do you know where she was off to?’
‘I assumed home.’ Mei is starting to look worried.
‘Can I take the card?’ asks Nelson.
‘Of course.’ There are probably fingerprints all over it now, but Nelson gets out an evidence bag and inserts the card. Eileen wrote it on Monday. It’s Wednesday now. Not that long for a teenager to go missing but long enough.
‘How did she seem when you last saw her?’
‘A little down. We all are. It’s very hard, living here on your own, trying to keep up with your studies, worrying about Covid.’
‘Are you on your own here?’
‘There’s one other girl. Lan. Her family are in China too.’
Nelson turns to Jeremy. ‘You should be looking after these girls better.’
‘I know,’ says Jeremy. ‘But what can I do?’
‘You could check up on them sometimes,’ says Nelson. ‘Send them food parcels. Buy them a Netflix subscription. Show some bloody compassion.’
He thinks that the warden is about to burst into tears.
‘It’s OK,’ says Mei kindly. ‘We’re all under pressure.’
Nelson leaves after a few more well-chosen words. He wishes he could find somewhere else for Mei and Lan to live but no one is going to be taking in lodgers during a pandemic and all the hotels and B&Bs are closed. Nelson gets back into his car feeling frustrated. He’s about to text Tanya and ask her to put out a description of Eileen when a message appears on his screen.
Judy.
Cathbad worse. Think it’s the end.
Chapter 34
‘You’re not happy. You’ve never been happy.’
After he’s gone, she ponders these words, wondering if they are true. Has she really never been happy? She thinks she has childhood memories of sunlight and laughter but maybe they aren’t real. Just a delusion. Maybe there is nothing outside these four walls.
