Page 60 of Her Hidden Shadow

‘Of course. We’ll be about half an hour.’

‘Great. Husband went to work around seven and she has a friend over. Nothing else has happened.’ PC Ahmed smiled and drove off. Gina had been in his position many times in the past and she didn’t envy anyone who was on sentry duty. Also, the chill in the air was bitter with occasional rain showers. Turning his engine on would give him a chance to warm up a bit.

They walked down the path and Gina spotted Tiffany at the kitchen window. Within a few seconds the woman had answered. ‘I’m just making a drink; do you want one?’

‘That would be lovely.’ After not even having a coffee at the station, Gina was parched, and she knew that Collier probably needed one too.

‘Take a seat in the living room. Lauren has come to visit.’

Gina led the way and as she entered the small room, she saw that Lauren was biting her nails. Her tired eyes and bitten down nails told Gina that she was struggling. For a second, Gina thought about Sienna and her daughter. Lauren had found out so much about Robbie in such a short space of time. She couldn’t begin to imagine the level of shock that she was going through. She was glad that Lauren and Tiffany were offering each other some support.

‘I heard about the arrest. When is someone going to tell me more and when can I go back to my bungalow?’ Lauren asked in a quiet, broken voice.

Gina sat on the settee next to Collier. ‘We’ll be able to release it soon and hopefully we will have some news to share with you then.’ She hoped that Lauren couldn’t see the lump in her throat. How could she handle visiting Lauren later to tell her that it was her colleague who had been charged with killing her fiancé and her friend? Her heart rate began to pick up. It couldn’t be Jacob. It wasn’t Jacob.

‘Are you okay?’ Collier asked.

Gina unclenched her hands and closed her mouth. Her heart began to bang even louder, and she wondered if Lauren could hear it. She nodded. ‘I’m fine, thank you.’ She wanted to yell no. Everything was not okay, but she wouldn’t upset Lauren and she wouldn’t let Collier know that he’d got to her.

Tiffany walked in with four cups of coffee, a bag of sugar and a carton of milk. She placed the tray on the coffee table. Gina took one of the drinks, a hit of caffeine being the only thing she needed. ‘Someone said you were coming to talk to me about last night?’

Gina glanced at Lauren. Although Lauren was a part of the case, she needed to speak to Tiffany alone. ‘Lauren, I’m sorry to have to ask you this, but would you please give us a few minutes?’

The woman nodded and stood. ‘I’ll go out and get a bit of fresh air. Give me a shout when I can come back in.’ With that, she left out the front door.

‘She could have stayed. I’ve told her everything that happened to me, so I have no secrets from Lauren. I know about Saturday too. She told me how she got home and found Sienna. Can she please come back in?’

‘We need to ask you something about your attack all those years ago and I’d prefer to ask you alone.’

Tiffany’s brows furrowed. ‘I’ve told you everything.’

‘It may be nothing but something else has come to light and we need to ask you about it.’

‘Okay.’ Tiffany’s trembling fingers reached for her coffee, and she blew on the hot liquid.

‘After your attack, did you notice anything different with your hair, anything that may have seemed irrelevant at the time?’

‘What like?’

Gina didn’t want to put words into Tiffany’s mouth. That would make Collier and Sullivan’s day if she slipped up. ‘Just anything.’

Tiffany sipped her drink and began to bite the inside of her cheek.

‘Did you have long hair at the time?’

She nodded. ‘It was as curly as it is now, but it was way down my back. This might sound ridiculous…’

‘Or it might help.’ Gina waited for her to continue.

‘I think that during the attack, I must have lost a clump of hair, but I thought it was because I fought him.’

Gina looked at the curls on her head. If her attacker had cut a piece off, she wouldn’t have noticed so easily as it curled and frizzed up, not like Hazel’s straight hair.

‘It was at the nape of my neck. It just felt a little different, but I can’t see how that would help. The police at the time didn’t mention my hair and I only noticed it after. What’s happening?’

Gina sat forward. ‘Another victim who we believe was attacked first claims that a chunk of her hair was missing.’

Tiffany’s cup began to judder, and liquid slopped over the top and into her lap. Gina stood, took the cup and placed it on the tray. ‘How many times has he done this?’ Tears slid down her cheeks. ‘How many lives has he ruined?’

---