Page 59 of Her Deadly Promise

She wanted the screaming to stop.

She wanted Gavin to stop.

Her loud sobs joined in with the distant foxes; sobs she had no control of. It was as if something evil was closing in on her. Coming to take all that she was and all that she had.

FORTY-THREE

Darkness had fallen and before Bernard left, he’d set up some portable lights throughout the garden. Gina got out of the car and the officer guarding the scene opened the cordon so that they could go through. She stepped into the hallway, Jacob following closely. Before getting started, she took out her phone and called O’Connor who was searching Anderson’s Cleevesford office with Kapoor and Smith. ‘If you find that knife, call me straight away.’ He’d acknowledged her request and ended the call. The coordinated searches had started. All of Anderson’s offices were now flooded with officers looking for that knife or any other evidence that tied him in with Billie’s murder or his wife’s abduction.

Four uniformed officers awaited Gina’s instruction. She called Wyre over. ‘Firstly, the two officers in the kitchen will remain. There is a trace on the home phone should anyone call. In an ideal world, we’d have Mr Anderson here to answer but he is our main suspect. This is just to cover us. A call is not anticipated.’ The two men waved. ‘I know Bernard and his team have been through everything in the garage so, Wyre, could you and a couple of officers take the kitchen, the snug, the office and the utility room? There’s a lot to cover but with so many scenes to search, we’re thin on the ground.’

‘Of course, guv. Is Bernard coming back?’

‘He said they have what they need so, no. Before we go, can we make sure the cat has food and we’ll need to find out if one of Anderson’s friends or relatives can take it in for now. There is a cat flap so if it has food and water, it will be okay for a short while. Bernard said that the cat hasn’t been back all day. I think all the commotion has scared the poor thing.’

Wyre nodded and called two of the officers over and they began searching the snug and the hallway.

Gina smiled at the remaining officers and Jacob. ‘We’ll head upstairs and once done in the house, we’ll look at the garden and shed.’ She took a few strides along the hallway and entered the huge open plan kitchen and living area before taking to the stairs. Turning the light on, she took one step after another until she reached another long corridor with doors coming off it and a central picture window that framed the road. She pushed open the first door and turned on the light. Above the bed was a beautiful plaque with William’s name on it. His large bed was covered in stuffed toys at the bottom end and the bed sheets were ruffled, just as they’d been left that morning. The room was huge, giving him a seating area with a TV at the one end. She gestured to the PCs. ‘Can you take the spare rooms and the bathroom? Jacob, can you take the master bedroom. Check under the bed to see if there is a fancy hair clip in a box?’ They all nodded. ‘Remember, we’re looking for a knife. Billie’s tech is still missing, and Nadia’s phone is missing, so if you find any laptops, tablets or phones, bag them up. They will need to be sent to tech for analysis.’

‘Okay, let’s get on with it,’ Jacob said as he ushered the officers forward.

Once they’d gone, Gina stepped into William’s room. For several minutes, she checked drawers and the wardrobe; under his bed, in all the nooks and crannies of the room. There were toys galore and boxed games. After sifting through everything, she turned her attention to the doll’s house and tilted her head. Walking over, she reached in and flicked a switch. All the lights in the little house came on, illuminating every room. She released the metal catch and opened the house up, displaying the eight large rooms.

Miniature plastic and wooden children sat on the lounge floor, playing with little wooden toys. A woman doll was sitting at the kitchen table with a bottle of wine. A man doll was sitting on the toilet with a tiny dog at his feet. Gina smiled, loving entering William’s world. Then, her smile turned into a sad biting of her lips. Poor William’s world had been turned upside down. His mother was missing, and they’d arrested his father. His friend’s mother had just been killed.

Gina’s gaze fell on the kitchen where the miniature plastic crocodile that she’d seen the other day had been leaned against the worktop. She began to open the tiny, hinged cupboards, which revealed a collection of pots and pans.

A loud crash came from one of the other rooms. ‘Dammit!’

‘You okay,’ she called out.

‘Just dropped a pile of books on my foot,’ Jacob shouted back.

Attention back on the doll’s house, Gina’s gaze followed the stairs up to the landing that led to three bedrooms and a large bathroom. She began opening all the wardrobes and doors. As she opened the last one, she stopped. It was guarded by a paper monster that had been drawn by a child. Loosely scribbled in, Gina couldn’t mistake its scary spiky teeth and its elongated claws. She shivered as she opened the wardrobe. There was a little boy doll made of plastic. The doll’s arms and knees had been bent so that it could be pushed into the corner of the wardrobe. She pulled her phone out and took a photograph. Had William feared something? Was he acting his own fear out with the dolls? She took another look at the scene.

The crocodile was Billie. Gina had seen the costume, and the boy had to be Kayden. Kayden must have either shared his fears with William or created the scene when they were playing together. She shook away a pang of sadness. Whatever was going on with all the adults in their life, the children had known something, and it was affecting them.

‘Guv, you have to come here.’

She followed Jacob’s voice to the master suite. As she entered, he held a photo out to her. The woman’s side was covered in a huge blue bruise, but the photo was cut off at the shoulders and only reached her abdomen. A hand covered the breast in view. ‘Where did you find this?’

‘It fell out of the old dictionary, over there. When I dropped the pile of books, it must have fallen out.’

‘Check the rest in case there are more.’ Gina fell to her knees and began flicking through all the books, tipping them up and fanning them out in the hope that there were more. That photo had knocked her sick as it could have been of her, back when her abusive ex-husband Terry had given her a beating. Her letting him die at the bottom of their stairs had been the saving of her. She swallowed. Only Briggs knew about that incident, and he now hated her. She slammed the books on the floor in turn, but nothing else came out of them. She grabbed the photo again and squinted at the bruising. In the middle, the skin had broken, and a vein of blood had clotted into a fine scab.

‘It looks like Anderson needs to answer a load more questions.’ Jacob began to neatly pile the discarded books up.

‘He’ll deny it’s Nadia and he’ll say he knows nothing about it. Or it could be a photo of an accident. It will just be another circumstantial piece of evidence to go with the rest. The only thing that is going to truly nail him right now is that knife. Wait… there is a tiny birthmark just under her armpit. At least we have the means to positively identity the woman in the photo.’ Gina looked away from the photo. ‘Where the hell is Nadia?’

Jacob exhaled and rubbed his eyes. Midnight was fast approaching. He shook his head. ‘I’m exhausted, sorry, guv.’

She patted him on the shoulder. ‘Get this photo bagged. When everyone’s finished, we’ll head home. We’re no use to anyone with no fuel in the tank and I can already tell that tomorrow is going to be full on.’

‘Agreed. I need to check on Jennifer, see if she’s okay. She’s been messaging me. I keep telling her she’ll be okay tomorrow. A part of her is dying to get back to working on Bernard’s team, but the other half of her is saying that she won’t make the day. I keep saying that it doesn’t matter, to just build up to full time in her own time and do her best.’

‘You’re a good man, Jacob. I know Bernard will appreciate any time she can manage, even if it’s only a few hours. Let me show you what I found?’ She pulled her phone out and held up the photo she’d taken.

‘Creepy.’

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