Page 81 of Then She Vanished

‘What is it?’ She hurried over for a look.

‘There is a building supply company called Bishop Fry-Stone and Partners.’

‘What area of construction?’

Garth clicked and then scrolled. ‘Steel reinforced concrete, metal sheeting, stainless steel…’

‘It’s like a warehouse for anyone wanting to build a prepper’s bunker.’

Garth nodded in agreement. Gina looked at the map of the area he clicked onto. It was less than half a mile from Temple Cross. She thought of poor scared Molly as she ran out of Albie’s car in the dark, not able to see the industrial estate that evening. It was a classic case of the perp happily committing his crimes in a familiar area. ‘Get all units ready. We are not going there without backup,’ Gina said.

‘Shall I make contact with the company?’ he asked.

Gina shook her head. ‘We can’t afford for anyone to get there before we do. Call them as soon as we arrive. Do we have a phone number?’

Garth nodded. ‘And an out of hours.’

‘Great, as soon as you get the word, make the call, but wait for us to get into position.’

‘Do we have the owner’s details; a name or a home address?’

‘Not at the moment.’

She left the team to the organising and research to follow Briggs to his office. ‘What’s happening?’

He held his phone out in front of her. The same photo that Pete Bloxwich had forwarded to her was on his phone, sent directly to him by text from a concealed number. ‘I can’t even go to Garth with this. What’s going on? And how many of your other contacts have it?’

She sucked in a few mouthfuls of air. ‘I don’t know. Pete Bloxwich is trying to get the site shut down and I don’t know how long it will take.’ She placed a hand flat on her hot head before kneading her temples.

‘Pete? What’s going on?’

‘He’s helping me.’

Briggs hurried over to his office door, checked to see if anyone was outside and closed the door. ‘What the hell are you playing at? You can’t trust him. We could have handled this problem ourselves.’

She shook her head, lips pressed together. She felt the frosty tension between them, a far cry from the love nest they were tucked up in Scotland not long ago. ‘No, we couldn’t, and there was no way I could involve Garth. We just don’t have the expertise. It was Pete’s site. He closed it down. It was hacked and only he can control it from the inside. He’s back in, but not fully.’ She raised her arms and brought them down with a slap against her sides.

‘I can’t believe you trusted him. Seriously, Gina.’ Briggs shook his head and refused to meet her gaze. ‘What if it’s too late?’

She hiccupped a little sob. ‘I’m over. If it’s my time, it’s my time, and you know I’ll never bring you down with me. I’ve accepted what might come my way and the only thing I can do right now is my job. I am going to head out with the team and I’m going to do everything I can to save Luna before I’m finished.’

‘What if I say you can’t? I could pull you off this case.’

She nodded. ‘You could.’

‘Bloody hell, just go and find her. This conversation isn’t over and I’m not happy at all with how you’ve handled this.’

She stood closer to him, hoping for some form of reassurance and comfort, but he gave her nothing. Hot anger radiated from him. Someone knocked at the door.

‘Come in.’

Jacob pushed the door open. ‘Guv, Tristan Moore has just been on the phone. His wife, Moira, was just returning home and someone driving a white van tried to ram her off the road. She’s currently in hospital with a mild concussion and Kapoor has just left to be with her.’

‘What has Moira got to do with all this?’

‘Tristan Moore was with the family back at his house at the time it happened. He said Moira called him on hands-free where they’d had a long talk about everything. Then Moira said she knew Ruth. Tristan then heard Moira say that a van was pipping its horn. Moira told him that the woman was driving like a lunatic, then all he heard was a crash.’

Gina’s mind flashed back to Ruth Pritchard’s kitchen. She turned to face Briggs. ‘The white queen.’

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