Page 19 of The Girl in the Woods

A pained expression crossed Matt’s face. ‘She’s not that old as it happens. I don’t think she’s even sixty.’

Ana looked upset. ‘You’re kidding. What happened to her?’

Matt’s throat thickened with emotion. He’d known Tim since their school days, and his memories of tea at Tim’s house had been good ones. Vanessa had made these enormous scones. They’d lather them in jam and clotted cream and eat them until the jam ran down their chins.

‘Hit and run,’ he said, struggling to disguise his emotion. ‘Three months ago, April 14th, Vanessa, Tim’s mum, was on her way home from bingo. The driver came out of nowhere. Vanessa’s friend said the impact threw her in the air. The bastard drove off. We never caught him. The accident left her with a severely injured spine and mild brain damage. Some days, she’s really with it, like Tim said, and at others, not so much. Tim’s been her carer ever since. He refuses to allow her to go into a home. It will be a slow recovery, but he worries a rehabilitation home will depress her.’

Ana gasped. ‘Oh my God, that’s awful.’

Matt took a deep breath. ‘That’s life. He’s a good bloke, Tim. We’ve been friends since our school days. His aunt sits with her when Tim gets some work. He’s a gardener. So, if you ever need one–’

‘I live in a flat,’ Ana broke in.

Matt wanted to ask her where but decided against it.

Ana frowned. ‘What about CCTV cameras?’

‘What CCTV cameras?’ Matt asked, puzzled.

‘Where Vanessa was knocked down.’

‘It was a residential road. They were walking to the bus stop. There were no CCTV cameras.’

Ana sighed. ‘There must have been something.’

‘I wasn’t on the case.’

‘Can I look into it?’

Matt looked surprised. ‘You’d have to speak to the guv.’

‘DS Harper?’

Matt shook his head. ‘DI Stephens. You’ll meet him. I doubt you’ll find anything new, though.’

Ana smiled. ‘No harm in looking.’

‘Let’s get to Ludbrook Grove. I should warn you the clientele there are very different.’

Ana didn’t turn a hair when they arrived at Ludbrook Grove. ‘No one here is going to dob in your trail bike rider,’ she said.

Matt raised his eyebrows in interest. ‘Why do you say that?’

‘People on estates tend to stick together out of loyalty; or because they are too afraid to do anything else.’

‘Let’s have a wander,’ he said. ‘Mind the used needles.’ He had hoped to shock her, but Ana seemed to take everything in her stride.

‘I’m surprised you’ve got heroin addicts here in Oxford. Do the council know about the needles?’ she asked.

‘I got on to them today. I’m always on at them.’

A group of lads were kicking a football around in the park. They looked over at Ana and Matt. ‘Here are the pigs in their candy car.’ One laughed.

Matt said to Ana out of the corner of his mouth, ‘That’s Freddie Skinner, with the shaven head. We visited him last night.’

Ana stepped confidently towards the lads. ‘Are you as good with that ball as you are with your mouth?’ she asked, a slight smirk on her face.

‘Better,’ said Skinner, his eyes boring into hers.

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