Page 63 of The Girl in the Woods

‘Haven’t seen you in here before. Friend of Ana’s, are you?’

‘No, he’s a criminal. We’re just having a quick drink before I handcuff him and take him to the station.’

Jack took a step back. ‘You’re sharp, you are. You’ll cut yourself one day.’

‘A bitter lemon, a packet of crisps and a bit of peace.’ She smiled.

Jack laughed. ‘She’s feisty this one. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ he told Jonny.

Ana shook her head despairingly. ‘Sorry about that.’

‘No problem,’ Jonny said, pulling an envelope from his rucksack.

The photos were larger than Ana had expected, and she could barely contain her excitement.

‘In this one,’ said Jonny, pointing. ‘You can clearly see the car. I looked it up in this.’ He pushed a book across to her. ‘It looks very much like a 1999 Golf. Every car from about 1940 is featured in that book. But the most interesting photo is this one.’ He pushed another photo across the table. ‘If you look with a magnifying glass, you can just make out something on the passenger seat. It’s sketchy. Here.’ He handed her a magnifying glass.

‘I’ll get your drink,’ he said, standing up. ‘Looks like table service has been cancelled.’

Ana studied the photo but couldn’t see anything. Then she looked at it through the magnifying glass. Jonny returned with their drinks. ‘I can’t see anything,’ she said, disappointed.

‘On the passenger seat, look closely.’

Ana studied it again and then gasped. ‘Oh my God, It’s a handbag.’

Jonny nodded, looking chuffed. ‘Your driver was a woman.’ He pushed another photo across to her. ‘This one isn’t so good. It’s the point of impact, but it’s under the street light, and you can see the first letter of the reg at the back, which looks like an S to me, which matches my year of 1999.’

Ana tore open the crisp bag. She’d missed lunch and was starving. ‘This is great,’ she said. ‘We know we’re looking for a Golf 1999, S as the first initial on the reg and a woman driver.’

‘Doesn’t sound like much,’ said Jonny, taking a crisp. ‘Not when you say it like that.’

‘It’s a lot.’ Ana smiled. This was what she loved most about police work, the putting together of the jigsaw pieces.

‘It might be my imagination, but it seems like you haven’t eaten all day.’ Jonny smiled.

Ana found him very attractive when he smiled. His face was the kind you wanted to keep looking at. I guess he must be used to that, she thought. Women must give him admiring glances all the time. ‘I skipped lunch,’ she said.

‘Right,’ he said, taking charge and scooping up the photos. ‘I’m presuming you don’t want to eat here, so let’s go to the pub in Longbridge.’

‘Bossy, aren’t you, but seeing as I’m famished, I’ll agree.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Skinner was scared, and he didn’t mind admitting it. It wasn’t what they were going to do that scared him. After all, Needles was right. These people raped their women and took their jobs and houses. It wasn’t like they didn’t have their own country. They should return there instead of expecting the English to fit in with them and allow them to build mosques everywhere. As Needles had pointed out, that ground could have been used for a church or homes for the homeless.

‘We need to take care of our own,’ Needles had said. ‘They’ll never go back if we keep making their lives comfortable. England is for the English.’

Skinner was afraid that The Vigilante geezer would turn up with his machete. He’d heard what had happened in the pub. It seemed this vigilante knew everything.

Skinner was surprised to see Digger waiting at the playing fields with Twitch.

‘Thought you weren’t coming,’ said Skinner.

‘Well, I figured if we’re going to wear balaclavas, then me dad won’t know it were me, will he?’

‘What if that vigilante bloke rocks up?’ said Skinner, looking around nervously. ‘Did you hear about those blokes in the pub?’

Digger shook his head. ‘What blokes?’

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