Page 33 of Then She Vanished

Gina stood with Jacob outside the large grey Crastone Foods building. The intercom crackled and the scent of fish pie filled the air as they stood by the vent.

‘Hello,’ Gina said into the microphone. She’d already introduced herself and Jacob to three different people through the intercom, and she wasn’t sure who she was even talking to anymore.

‘Come in,’ the crackly voice said as the door buzzed open.

Gina pushed it and they both stepped into a high, white box with massive posters covering the walls. She stared at the huge silver-skinned fish that took up most of the back wall, then her gaze travelled to the carrots and onions.

Jacob walked over to the desk. ‘I wonder if anyone is on their way.’

As Gina walked over to him, a man in a ruffled shirt collar and a smart jacket came through the door. ‘Welcome to Crastone Foods, how can I help you?’

‘I’m DI?—’

‘Harte and DS Driscoll, yes, it was me you spoke to through the intercom. But how can I help you?’

Gina spotted a staff photograph behind him, and she wondered if one of them was Marie. ‘We need to speak to someone who works here, or worked here.’

‘Okay, when did the person you’re looking for work here?’

Gina did a quick recce in her head. ‘Possibly between 2006 and 2009.’

The man raised his arched brows. ‘That’s a long time ago. Very few of the current staff were here back then. I’ve only been here for three. Give me a name and I’ll see what I can do?’

‘Marie.’

‘And does Marie have a surname?’

Gina leaned on the counter and frowned. ‘Marie is all we have. Is it possible to speak to someone who worked here back then?’

He held a finger up. ‘Let me try one of the line managers. Nina used to work here then. Bear with me.’ He picked up the phone and asked for her. ‘Nina, there are two police detectives who would like to speak to you in reception.’ He nodded a couple of times and ended the call. ‘She’s on her way to the staff sitting room. Follow me.’

They followed the man along the corridor, up a flight of stairs and right to the end, where they were greeted by a room full of couches and a door leading to a terrace overlooking the rest of the factory units in the area. ‘Take a seat and help yourself to drinks from the machine. She’ll be with you in a minute.’ With that, he left.

A clonking sound got louder and louder until a short-haired stout woman wearing thick glasses entered. ‘I’m Nina, and you are?’ She took a seat opposite them and placed her water bottle in the middle of the table.

‘DI Harte and DS Driscoll. We’re sorry to interrupt your work, but we need to ask you about an employee who workedhere a few years ago – Marie? Your colleague tells me you worked here back in 2006.’

‘That’s right. I wasn’t a manager then, but I was here. I remember Marie; she worked here for a couple of years and we had lunch in the canteen together sometimes. Of course, I don’t have the dates of her employment as it was such a long time ago, and as you can appreciate, those records are most definitely archived now. I can speak with HR and accounts, see if they can investigate but it would take a while.’

‘That would be really helpful, thank you,’ Gina replied. She also made a mental note for one of the team to check with HMRC, although she doubted she’d get any information from them immediately. She really hoped that Nina would be able to help her.

‘Actually, 2006 was a big year for us, as it was our twenty-five-year anniversary and we had a huge party. It stands out more than the others so you might be in luck. A photo taken at that party is still on our website, and Marie is on it.’

‘Can we see it?’

Nina pulled her phone out and came around to Gina. ‘This is the news page on our company website. You have to scroll a bit through the photos, but you can easily find it.’ She pinched her fingers and expanded the front row of faces. ‘The woman on the left is Marie. Of course, she might have changed somewhat by now. It was a fair few years ago.’

Gina nodded to Jacob and he began to search for the same photo on his phone to message the information back to the incident room. ‘Do you remember Marie having a boyfriend back then?’

‘She had a fair few but they didn’t last more than a couple of dates. I mean she was young, fun and pretty. But she did end up in a short relationship with another man who worked here as a temp. Before you ask, we don’t keep temp records. They wouldbe with the agency we used and they are no longer in business. Anyway, his name was Colson. I remember that because she kept bleating on about him when he first started. It was all Colson this and Colson that. She fancied him like mad. I guess that’s why he in particular stuck in my mind.’

‘Can you describe Colson?’ Gina really wished she had the artist’s sketch, rather than working off a description. She hoped it would be sent to her soon.

‘From back in 2006? Er… a bit quiet, brown hair, skinny, dull. I wondered what she saw in him, but she said he was sweet.’

A couple of staff members came in and began queueing at the coffee machine. Nina checked her phone. ‘Hang on, it’s lunchtime so it’s about to get packed in here.’

‘Do you have a surname for Colson?’

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