Page 5 of Then She Vanished

‘Great. The car is positioned off-road on the farmer’s field. You’ll see there’s a broken fence where another vehicle previously crashed into it; it’s on a dangerous bend.’

‘Thanks for the warning.’

As she ended the call, she thought about the words on the note:save her and tell her I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt her. I only ever wanted to love her, but I failed.

Savewhoand sorry forwhat? Hurt? How hurt? She thought about the sanitary products and the books before sending a message back to Jacob.

We need someone on missing persons. Bring up the files of every young woman or girl who hasn’t come home as expected, who has left home and not made contact since. Start with those who have gone missing over the past five years. If she’s out there and hurt, we need to find her.

THREE

Stomach still churning as she drove, Gina knew she had to call her ex-mother-in-law, Hetty, to see if she could speak to Stephen on her behalf. She couldn’t go on like this. Maybe she could ask her to tell her son to butt out of her life.

‘Hello?’ a woman said.

‘Can I speak to Hetty, please?’

‘I’m sorry, that’s not possible.’

‘Not possible?’

‘Sorry, are you a friend? I’m her carer.’

‘Err…’ What was she?Definitelynot a friend. ‘I’m her ex-daughter-in-law.’

‘I’m sorry to tell you that Hetty had a stroke. She’s asleep at the moment. Plans are underway to transfer her to a home.’

‘Is Stephen there?’ The urge to heave was strong. The last thing she wanted was to ever have to speak to Stephen again, but she had to find a way of closing down this online harassment without involving Briggs.

‘Her son?’

‘Yes,’ Gina replied.

‘I’m afraid not. Do you know where he is? She could really do with the support of a relative. Are you two close?’

‘No.’ Gina hung up. Stephen was out there somewhere and Hetty was in no position to tell him to back off.

As Gina pulled up at the crime scene, she spotted the forensics van and two police cars. Jacob had parked behind them. She stepped out onto the roadside and hurried up to where PC Smith was guarding the outer cordon. A traffic officer gestured for the stream of rubbernecking drivers to hurry along. She half-jogged up the hill, trudging through the long grass that led to the damaged gate. As she stared down, she saw the small blue Fiesta parked alongside the woodland. Bernard was already togged up, as were his three assistants. One of them was taking photos and filming while the others were placing crime scene markers at the scene.

‘Alright, guv,’ PC Smith said as he held the crime scene log out for her to sign.

She took the pen and Jacob came running over, all togged up. ‘Here’s a crime scene suit.’ He passed her the bag and she began to put it on by the roadside. She pulled the white coverall over her black trousers and sage-green blouse before zipping it up. Then she slipped on her boot covers and mask.

PC Smith moved out of the way, allowing her onto the scene. Bernard held a hand up. ‘I’ll just be a moment,’ he called out, before turning around to speak to his assistants again.

‘Any further developments since we spoke?’ she asked Jacob.

He shook his head. ‘I haven’t managed to speak to anyone yet. The boot was opened by the officers who attended first.’

With a note like that, Gina wasn’t surprised. ‘No one else in the car?’

‘Nope. The boot was empty, except for an old jacket that looked to be about the same size that the man would wear. It’s already been bagged up, along with the library books and a few other things.’

‘Has anyone tried to contact the library? The books might lead us to the girl’s identity.’

‘I tried, but it’s too early. It’s not open for another half an hour and the emergency number didn’t help, either.’

‘After we’ve finished here we’ll head to the library. It should be open by then.’ She checked her watch.

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