Page 25 of Her Hidden Shadow

‘Happy for her.’

He nodded. ‘They were of a sexual nature. She’d split up with Gerard and I thought it was nice she’d met someone else. I know she’d planned to see this person on Saturday and err, to do… you know.’

Gina nodded. She had seen the messages on Sienna’s phone, and she knew they’d come from an unregistered phone that was now turned off. They had no way of tracing it. If it was Robbie’s phone, he could have easily taken it when he scarpered. She had been planning to meet someone on Saturday. She turned up at Robbie’s place and she’d had sex. ‘Thank you for that. It can sometimes be the small things that really help a case and if you remember anything else after we’ve left, please call me.’ She passed him a card. ‘Can I please have Gerard’s contact details and full name.’

‘Of course, I’ll print out his company address and the phone number for you. He’s based in Redditch, so it’s not too far away. And likewise, if there is anything else you need to know, please call me.’

‘Did she have any friends within the company, someone she may have confided in?’

‘Carol. She and Carol also took breaks together quite often. I can send her in if you’d like to speak to her.’

‘That would be much appreciated.’

Half an hour later, Gina had got no further information from Carol. She and Wyre stepped back out. Wyre flicked through her notes. ‘Everything is pointing to Robbie Shields still.’

Gina had to agree. ‘It is but we’ll call in and get someone to contact Gerard Hale now we know where he is. We definitely can’t rule him out just yet.’

Her phone rang. She snatched it out of her pocket. ‘Sir.’

‘Gina, we have another body. You’re not going to believe this.’

‘What? Who?’

‘You need to get over to the Canford Road football field straight away. Park on the roadside and you will see the van. The body is in the land between the footpath and the field. It’s a hedged off area full of trees and shrubs so it’s challenging to get through. It’s a bit of a nature area and not designed for walkers. The body was hidden just out of sight from the road. Forensics have been called so they should either be there or close behind you. Officers have cordoned off the area and the route the killer would have taken to dump the body, which is from the road, over the grass and through the hedge.’

‘Do we know who it is?’

‘It’s Robbie Shields. He’s been brutally murdered.’

Seventeen

Nancy

‘Did you sleep well, love?’ She paused. ‘Stupid question, especially as I heard you tossing and turning all night. I have home-made granola; would you like some?’

‘No.’ Lauren walked over to the counter and poured herself a coffee. ‘I’m not hungry.’

‘You have to eat, or you’ll feel worse.’

‘How the hell can I feel any worse, Mum?’

‘Sorry, I should think before I speak.’

Lauren sat at the table and began to bite her nails. ‘I’ve been watching the news. They still haven’t caught him. They would have said if they had him, wouldn’t they?’

‘They’d have called.’ Nancy was sure that the police would tell Lauren first if they had new information, at least she hoped they would. ‘Did you get up in the night?’

Sighing, Lauren drank some of her coffee and rubbed her eyes. ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. It won’t leave my head.’ She hiccupped a sob. ‘I got into bed with Sienna, and she was dead. I put my hand on her bleeding body and—’ Tears spilled in abundance.

Nancy hurried over and hugged her daughter. She wished the bad things had happened to her instead. What her daughter saw was as horrific as it got. Robbie would get what he deserved for all that he’d done. She knew that much.

‘Every time I close my eyes, I can see her dead eyes. I can see the angry red marks around her neck.’

‘It’ll get easier, love.’ There she went again. It wouldn’t get easier. How does a person deal with being that close to a dead friend, even a deceitful dead friend?

The dog whined and placed its head against Lauren’s leg. She leaned down and picked Fifi up. ‘I’m sorry I shooed you away yesterday.’ Lauren ruffled the dog’s head and wiped the tears from her face. ‘I will have some granola, Mum. I should eat. You’re right.’

Nancy exhaled. Getting granola was something she could do, everything else was hard. She really didn’t want to put her size sevens in it by saying the wrong thing. She’d just got her daughter back, the last thing she wanted was to lose her again. Robbie had come between them for too long. She’d never let a man do that to them again. She placed the nutty cereal in a bowl and poured a generous amount of oat milk over the top. ‘Here you go. Get that down you. All we can do is take every day as it comes.’

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