Page 24 of Her Hidden Shadow

His friend had gone.

‘Nathan!’ he yelled in frustration. A crunching sound came from the other side of the bushes. He turned to catch whoever was watching but there was no one there. His heart juddered in his chest as he held his phone to his ear.

Sixteen

Gina yawned as she waited for DC Wyre to meet her outside the Brunswick Security offices. Jacob had called in as suspected and said he was poorly. She could at least vouch for him. He’d looked terrible the previous day. Whether he was having relationship problems or getting over food poisoning, she hoped he was okay. Maybe she’d send him a get well soon message later. She leaned against her car in the shiny new office park. The low sun reflected off the mirrored windows. However hard she tried to peer through the glass, she couldn’t. A few minutes ago, several suited people turned up and flashed their passes at the sensor to get in. Some of them had clocked her presence but they’d been far too polite to ask who she was and why she’d parked in their company spaces.

Wyre pulled in and parked at the back of the car park. She stepped out and pulled her long black plait out of the back of her coat and headed over. ‘Morning, guv. Did you manage to get some sleep?’

‘Yes, thanks.’ For once she had. Briggs had stayed over, and they’d brought the leftover pizza home to eat while they pored over the crime scene photos and videos. She didn’t mention to Wyre that she’d had another slice for breakfast as she left the house. Her health-conscious colleague wouldn’t approve. ‘In the absence of Robbie, let’s head in there and get all we can on Gerard.’ She pressed the intercom and a woman’s voice came through.

‘Brunswick Security. Who are you here to see?’

‘Police, it’s DI Harte and DC Wyre. We need to speak to someone with regards to an incident.’

The door buzzed. Gina pushed it and they both entered the large reception, brightened up by a huge bunch of mixed flowers and a coffee machine. A red-haired woman in her twenties pushed the door and entered. ‘I’m Carol. I just heard about Sienna this morning. The whole team know now, we’re just… I don’t know what we’re doing. Her assistant is in tears and…’ The woman sniffled a little. ‘I couldn’t help looking at the photo of her little girl on her desk… I have a little girl too.’ The woman let out a sob.

‘I’m really sorry for your loss, Carol.’ Gina paused until Carol cleared her throat and stood back up straight. ‘We need to speak to someone in the company, possibly Sienna’s manager. Is her manager in?’

The woman nodded. ‘Come through. We have a little staff lounge.’ She led them through the various offices, passing the accounts and business management departments. Carol pointed to the door at the end. ‘Just head through there and help yourself to a drink. There are cups and coffee pods. I’ll go and get Pierre.’

As Carol left, Gina began making two drinks, knowing they might be left waiting for a short while. She passed one to Wyre and sat at one of the round tables. Wyre opened her notebook and made a note of the manager’s first name. ‘It’s heartbreaking, guv. I can’t stop thinking about little Dora.’

‘Me neither. Jacob and I spoke to Sienna’s parents last night and they hadn’t told her yet.’

‘Where would you start?’

Gina leaned back in a wooden chair and sipped the hot coffee. ‘It’s the post-mortem this afternoon. I spoke to O’Connor last night. He and Kapoor will be attending.’

‘Is Jacob, okay? I’ve never known him be ill before.’ Wyre placed her cup on the table.

‘He had a bad stomach yesterday. I’m sure he just needs whatever’s playing him up to work its way out of his system.’ There was no way she’d mention her suspicions about him and Jennifer.

‘Hello, I’m Pierre Fournier. I work with Sienna. Such terrible news. We can’t believe what has happened,’ he said in a light French accent as he joined them at the table. ‘What is it you’d like to know?’ The lines around his eyes told her he was maybe in his late fifties.

‘Thank you for speaking with us. How closely do you work with Sienna?’

‘Very closely. We shared an office; we chatted a lot and sometimes sat out here to have our lunch together. She was a lovely young woman, hardworking and ambitious.’ He pressed his lips together and frowned.

‘How did Sienna seem lately?’

‘Happy, she was looking at houses. For ages, she’s been saving for a deposit and at last, she had all the money. In all her breaks, she’d be on the search engines and looking. She’d turn her computer screen around excitedly and show me house after house. She couldn’t wait to have her own place and she hoped to stay close to where she was living, wanting to stay near Patsy. Patsy would pop by now and again with some lunch for Sienna. I think she mothered Sienna a little and Sienna liked it.’

‘Do you have a client called Gerard?’

He nodded. ‘He works for a company that we service. Sienna dated him for a while, but it didn’t work out.’

‘What was their relationship like?’

He shrugged. ‘I don’t know really. She said he was nice but not her type, so she ended it. I think he called a few times for her, and she wouldn’t take the calls. She did move in with him, but it was only for a couple of weeks, I think. She didn’t say much else. I think he stopped calling her soon after and now one of his colleagues calls us when they need something. I think he got the hint.’

Gina knew that Sienna probably kept the details of her relationship to herself. ‘How did she seem on Friday, that’s if she was in work that day?’

‘She was. I may be speaking out of turn here.’ He paused.

‘Whatever you know, it could be important to the case. Sienna has been murdered and we need to find the person who did it.’ Gina wondered if what he had to say involved Robbie.

He closed his eyes. ‘Hearing you say those words is hard.’ He opened his eyes again. ‘So far, I’ve had to keep it together for the staff, but I don’t know how long I can.’ He ran his fingers through his thin greying hair. ‘I saw a few texts flash up on her phone. She would leave it on her desk all the time. It wasn’t as if I was spying on her, they were right in front of me. I didn’t mention that I’d seen them, I never would. I was happy for her, really, I was.’

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