Page 87 of Then She Vanished

Ruth’s heart rate picked up as she realised she was never getting out.

She held the girl as they took it in turns to use the mask. As time passed, all she kept thinking was, how much oxygen did they have left? She now knew that this had been her daughter’s end, and that thought hurt her the most. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

The light flicked on again and the girl had pressed her head against Ruth’s chest, so Ruth began to stroke her tangled hair. If this girl had been Elissa and someone else had found her like this, Ruth would want that person to offer her comfort and love to the end.

She hugged her even closer and kissed her head. ‘I’ve got you, sweetheart.’ She used to call Elissa sweetheart. ‘Where is your mum?’

‘She died.’

‘What was her name?’

The girl took another breath through the mask. The hissing began to simmer a little. Ruth knew what that meant. The oxygen was running out. Both of them were gasping as they talked now.

‘Her name was Mum.’ She paused. ‘She was good at drawing.’

Elissa had been good at drawing.

She hugged the girl closer. Maybe this frail child was her granddaughter. ‘Does anyone ever come down here?’ She grabbed the oxygen mask and took a little breath. Perspiration began to drench her clothes, yet she was cold.

The girl trembled against her chest. Her voice broke as she tried to force some more words out. ‘He doesn’t come anymore.’

‘Who doesn’t?’

‘Daddy. He died out there. He said if he doesn’t come back, it means he can’t get home because he died. That’s how I know he died. I wrote a note on a sheet that he took with him telling anyone who found him that I was scared he would die but it was silly, because there is no one. I just dreamed there might be.’ The girl pressed the mask against Ruth’s mouth again, and as she breathed in, the light flickered on.

Ruth stared at the oxygen tank and saw that the needle was pointing to red. It was almost empty.

The girl reached around her and hugged her. ‘I’m sc-scared.’

‘Don’t…’ Ruth felt like her chest had a huge band around it, and it was tightening with every passing second. She began to panic as she tried hard to suck in more air, but the panic just made it worse. The light-headedness was beginning to make her dizzy and nauseous. She closed her eyes. ‘Don’t worry…’ she croaked. ‘We have… each other…’

A faint whisper from the girl’s mouth, and what she said sent a final chill through Ruth’s body.

The girl didn’t speak again. She lay still in Ruth’s arms. Ruth didn’t even have the energy to cry another tear. ‘I’m here…sweetheart.’

FIFTY-SEVEN

Gina ran down the industrial estate path. Jacob and the PCs passed her. She tried to run faster to keep up with them. They all turned a corner so she followed. That’s when she saw the sign at the entrance of the huge wood warehouse.

APH Building Craft Experts was a huge company.

She bent over and took a few deep breaths. As her heart rate returned to normal, she shifted her attention to the gates. They were locked, and all Gina could hear was a barking dog. The barking was coming from inside the main building.

‘Can we get someone to remove this padlock’ – she pointed at the gate – ‘and someone from the dog team to handle the dog? And make sure we have all the cutting equipment we need.’

The PC next to her nodded. He stood aside and began to radio for the rest of the team to do just that and gather around the unit.

Gina peered through the gaps in the metal gate and gasped.

‘What is it, guv?’ Jacob walked to her side.

Pointing to the old signage on the back wall, Jacob looked back at her.

They knew exactly who was behind it all.

‘Can you message the incident room? Tell them what we’ve found out and get someone to his housenow. Wait.’ She thought for a precious second. ‘If he’s not home, get them to go to the hospital, to the maternity ward, and arrest him and bring his wife in, too.’ She glanced at the old signage and the new signage: she now knew that the A and the H in the company name stood for Albie Hathaway.

‘Ruth is in there; I know she is. And Luna has to be in there, too.’

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