Page 57 of Then She Vanished

‘Here. I’ve been home all night. I watched a bit of TV and went to bed.’

‘Can anyone corroborate that?’

He shrugged. ‘I don’t know. You could ask some of the neighbours. My car has been here all night.’

‘What do you drive?’

‘A white Honda Civic.’

‘Where do you work?’

‘Edmundson’s Farm. It’s a dairy farm.’

John Doe was found at Cawley’s Farm so she waited for Jacob to note Edmundson’s down. ‘Do you have access to any other vehicles through your job?’

He leaned back slightly and looked at her for a moment before answering. ‘Well, we have several tractors, vans, two Land Rovers, but I don’t use them often. I mostly use the tractor.’

‘Do you play chess?’

‘No, that’s an odd question.’

He had hesitated before answering, just for a second, and Gina wondered if he was thinking about what to say next, but he closed his mouth and waited for her to speak again.

‘You say you went over to speak to Ruth yesterday – did you see a chess piece in her house?’

‘No, I went to see her to tell her that her fiancé was cheating. The last thing I was looking for was whether Ruth was having a game of chess.’ He paused and breathed out slowly. ‘Has this got something to do with Elissa? Where is Ruth?’

‘That’s what we’re trying to find out. Can you tell us a bit about Elissa’s disappearance?’

He began to breathe rapidly. ‘I knew it. This is all happening again. You have to find Ruth. Has the psycho who took Elissa now taken Ruth? Is he back?’

‘He?’

‘I just think it must have been a man because Elissa could stick up for herself.’ His hands began to tremble.

Gina knew there were ways and means that didn’t need physical strength. Elissa may have been drugged or manipulated, and one surprise blow with something like a bat would take even the strongest person out.

‘We’re doing everything we can right now, but we need your help.’

He nodded and leaned against the sink again. ‘Whatever it takes, I want her back. I want them both back. Elissa was only a kid. She’d left school for a job in a café and we had so many arguments. I wanted more for her; I didn’t mean to shout at her back then, but she was a typical teen, thought she knew it all. One day, she just never came back. We were worried sick so we called the police. No trace of her was ever found. It made the news, but with no new leads, her story soon vanished. We tried everything we could to keep her disappearance alive and to keep her in the public eye, but nothing came of it. Also, no one tells you how exhausting that is, dealing with all the cranks and the false sightings.’ He exhaled and looked at Gina.

‘Does the name Luna ring a bell?’

He shook his head.

‘Did Elissa have any facial birthmarks?’

‘No. She has a scar on her right hand. She fell over carrying a jar of her nan’s home-made pickled onions from the car. The glass smashed and she put her hand in it. She had to have stitches and the scar never totally faded. I told the police when they interviewed me back then.’

Gina pulled a photo up of the red cupcake scarf on her phone. ‘Do you recognise this scarf?’

He blew out a breath. ‘I don’t know. Not really. Maybe Ruth had one similar.’ He shrugged.

Gina swallowed. ‘We believe Ruth has been taken and that it has something to do with the disappearance of your daughter. If there’s anything at all you can tell us, that might help…’

‘I told the police everything I could think of at the time. I told them about her friends who smoked weed, and about the horrible couple who owned the café. The woman’s husband had made a pass at Elissa, and she’d had a go at her and I told her not to wear skirts to work anymore. Elissa obviously got angry at me telling her what not to wear and looking back, I can see she was right. I don’t know why she blamed my daughter and not her pervert husband. That wouldn’t happen now.’

‘Do you know the couple’s names?’

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