Page 38 of Then She Vanished

If Colson had been at the bookies last Thursday, he could still be their John Doe. It would make sense, but then again, she’d have thought that the man behind the counter would have recognised the drawing if he was.

The man behind the counter began to stare at something behind them. ‘It’s your lucky day. There’s Col. Oi, you’re banned,’ he shouted at Colson.

As soon as Gina turned and held up her identification, Colson darted back out the door. She and Jacob followed him, and as soon as he ran past the supermarket, she heard Smith shouting, ‘Stop!’ while dressed in uniform.

Colson held his hands up as other officers surrounded him. An image of the girl on the mattress filled her head. Colson was, at the very least, a clue in all this, and at the very most, the accomplice who attempted to kidnap Keeley Moore.

And now they had him.

TWENTY-FOUR

‘We have no evidence as yet against Colson, guv,’ Jacob said. ‘I’m glad he’s agreed to a voluntary interview.’

She nodded. ‘Let’s get in there now. That girl needs us, and we need to know who he was to Marie, and if heis, or if heknows, the man in the red baseball cap.’

She entered. ‘Mr Ferguson, I trust everything has been explained to you.’

His dark brown fringe stuck up like he’d slept on it and not combed it before coming out. His unkempt appearance befitted a man who’d lost everything, and the small room was beginning to fill with the scent of his nervous sweating. Beads glistened in a line across his forehead. He wiped them away with the arm of his polo shirt. ‘Yes, I didn’t mean to run. Like I said, I thought you were debt collectors. They ring all day and they kept turning up at my flat before I got evicted. I explained everything to the copper who brought me in. I’m sorry about that.’

‘Okay, so we’ll get started.’ Jacob pressed the recorder button and introduced Colson Ferguson for the tape.

‘That’s me, Colson the total loser. Literally.’ He paused. ‘Sorry, carry on.’ The tremor of his hands told Gina that heneeded a drink, or a fix, of whatever his poison was. He looked down at his hands. ‘It’s drink. Like I said, loser.’

‘We’re not here to judge and we’ll give you some information on establishments that help with that before you leave.’

‘Can we just get on with it?’

‘You used to be in a relationship with a woman called Marie back in 2006 or 2007, is that correct?’

He stared wide-eyed and scrunched his brows. ‘That’s what this is about? Seriously? Some woman I dated a million years ago. I’ve lived with someone, left her and had two more serious relationships since then, not to mention dated a load of women. What about Marie?’

‘Tell me about her. Was she seeing anyone else around the time you were with her, or just before or after? Did she mention anyone?’

‘There were others but I can’t remember anything about them. It was ages ago.’

‘We spoke to someone you worked with. They said that you hit a man while you were there.’

He rolled his eyes. ‘I pushed an idiot out of the way. I was seeing Marie and I could tell he liked her.’ He paused. ‘I shouldn’t have pushed him. It was stupid.’

‘Do you remember what he looked like?’

‘He was wearing a white hair cover and a white coat. That was the uniform. Everyone looked a bit samey. He left while I was there but Marie said he was a bit weird. I can’t remember him. It was so long ago and I temped at so many places at that time.’

‘It’s not every day you end up pushing someone. Wouldn’t he be a person you would remember?’ Gina asked.

He shrugged. ‘I should but I don’t. I was young and stupid back then; I pushed a few people and got into my fair share of meaningless scuffles. What can I say? I just don’t remember him.’

‘Did Marie ever mention a boxer or someone who could have been referred to as City Boy?’ She glanced at her notes to make sure she got that name right.

‘Nah, Marie didn’t tell me everything. We weren’t exclusive. We both dated other people. She was pretty and popular. I don’t know either of those people.’

Gina pulled out the sketch of John Doe. ‘Do you recognise this man?’

He barely looked at the picture. ‘Nope, but then again, I’ve had that many jobs I could have met him but he’s not standing out.’

‘How about the red baseball cap?’

‘Nope. Again, I’m not saying I’ve never met him but I don’t recognise him.’

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