Page 16 of Her Hidden Shadow

‘Lauren said she couldn’t get a babysitter. I wish she had come now and none of this would have happened.’ She paused. ‘I’m not stupid. This happened in Lauren’s house while we were out, and I’ve just seen an appeal online to find Robbie. Did he do it?’

‘I wish I had more answers. If you do see or hear from Mr Shields, please call us immediately.’ Gina knew they had a number for the taxi company and that had led them to the name of a firm, but that business had about thirty drivers working for them. ‘Can you describe the taxi driver who took you and dropped you off last night?’

‘Oh him, yes. Skinny, dark jacket and brown hair. He had a very faint mole under his left eye. I kept catching him glaring down my top through the rear-view mirror. I couldn’t wait to get out of that taxi.’

Gina wanted to say, and you left Lauren on her own in the car with him, but she bit her tongue. It was better to keep her onside. ‘Who did he drop off first?’

‘Dee, then me and then Lauren.’ Maxine paused. ‘Do you think he did it, while we were out? If he did, why was Sienna at Lauren’s? Was Robbie having an affair?’

Gina knew the rumour mill would be in full action that very morning. Social media was full of speculation, and everyone would be on the lookout for Robbie. ‘As I said, we’re just trying to establish the facts and build a timeline. Is there anything else you can think of that might help?’

She blew out a breath. ‘I think Robbie did it. He’s a flirt and it wouldn’t be the first time he’s had a fling. I was happy about the engagement for Lauren, I really was, but I was only happy because she was happy. She can do much better than him. He slept with a woman while they were on holiday. I mean, who does that? I know it was a long time ago, but it was right under her nose, and she discovered them at it. Wait, I think I caught the taxi driver’s name. I remember someone talking to him on the radio and they called him Ulrich. He had a slight accent too, maybe German.’

They had a name and that was a result. She quickly fired off a message, asking Wyre to call the taxi company and ask Ulrich to come to the station. Ulrich had a few questions to answer. A message from Bernard popped up.

You can now search Lauren Cross’s bungalow. There’s something here you need to see and it’s hugely concerning. We’ve found more blood and it’s not in the bedroom. Bernard.

Ten

All togged up in their crime scene suits, Gina and Jacob led the team into the hallway of Lauren Cross’s and Robbie Shields’s bungalow. As a newbie, trainee DC Kapoor stood proudly next to O’Connor, while several PCs awaited instruction. A couple of them gave her a congratulatory nod.

‘O’Connor, can you and PC Ahmed start with the kitchen and the garden shed?’

‘Yes, guv.’

‘Kapoor, can you take two officers,’ Gina pointed to two PCs, ‘and please search the living room?’ She glanced up at the loft hatch. ‘And the loft too?’ Kapoor nodded.

‘Jacob and I will take the two bedrooms, the bathroom and the hallway. Call if you find anything that might lead us to Robbie Shields. Look through as much paperwork as you can. If he has a caravan, a boat, or even if he’s recently bought a tent, I want to know.’

The team nodded and left to start searching their allocated rooms. The tall crime scene manager ambled in, his eyes looking dark underneath after a long night. ‘Morning, Bernard.’

‘It will be when I get out of here and have a shower and some breakfast. The body is at the morgue, and we have taken a lot of evidence to the lab. The samples will be analysed over the coming days and as I get results, I’ll send them over to you.’

‘Thank you. So where is this blood?’ Gina asked.

‘In the hall cupboard.’

‘Let’s take a look so you can head home and have that shower.’

Bernard led Gina and Jacob along the hallway. ‘As you can see, there is a really old rusting slide-lock on the outside. That isn’t too worrying as there is some shelving that is stacked high with bleach and household detergents. The lock was probably put there to keep kids away from the chemicals. What is worrying is this.’ He opened the door. ‘Look at the dinks and scratches in the wood. See that tin of paint, there?’

Gina nodded.

‘It too is dinked, and the damage matches that on the wood. We have also found traces of fresh blood in here. Someone was recently locked in this cupboard and fought to get out. Of course, we know Sienna Moorcroft had a lot of wounds on her hands from fighting but we’ve yet to fully assess them. It could be that she was locked in this cupboard before she was stabbed and strangled. As I said, the samples have all gone to the lab so we should have some news soon.’

‘Can you fast-track everything?’ Gina knew the team was stretched but she had to ask.

‘As you know, there’s always a backlog at the lab and the staffing issues are affecting us all. We’ll prioritise the blood and semen sample. Another thing, there are fingerprints on the paint can but they’re partials. It looked like someone tried to clean them off but it’s not perfect. It looks to be a rush job. I’ll do my best to get through the workload swiftly.’

Gina smiled. ‘Thank you.’

Bernard yawned. ‘Right, I really have to go home now before I drop. Beauty sleep awaits me. I’ve just had a message from Jennifer. She’s about to email you all the crime scene photos and the video from the office.’

‘Thanks again. You get off, we’ll speak soon.’

As Bernard left, Gina stared into the cupboard.

‘There’s a lot of damage to the door, guv.’ Jacob used his torch to light up the tiny space and nudged in beside her for a look.

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