Gone (25 page)

Lucas kicked over a wheelie bin, scattering its contents along the road. He had to think. He hadn’t seen a car outside the house, hadn’t heard one starting up after she’d escaped. She had to be on foot. He doubted she’d still be there, waiting for him to go. She’d keep running. It’s what she did best.

He put a hand to his pocket. Ben. Would she go there? Run to him again? She knew where he lived. Thing was, so did he.

Chapter 57

17 December 2010

Freeman leaned against Gardner’s desk. The guy she’d spoken to when she came in had disappeared to find the DI and said he’d be right back, but after fifteen minutes she was beginning to doubt he was coming at all.

She’d set off early and it was still dark when she’d arrived in Middlesbrough. So much for a good, long sleep.

‘Can I help you?’

Freeman looked up at the young uniformed officer who was giving her the once over.

‘No thanks. I’m just waiting for DI Gardner,’ Freeman said and looked at the clock. Seven-fifteen. Her stomach was rumbling; she should’ve eaten something before racing out of the house. She wondered if there was a vending machine around and felt in her pocket for some change.

‘It’s his day off,’ the PC said. ‘Is he expecting you?’ She walked over, putting herself between Freeman and Gardner’s desk. She looked the kind that shined her shoes every night before bed. Freeman looked down at her own battered DMs and wondered why no one ever took her seriously.

‘He should be. I’m DS Freeman. We spoke last night,’ Freeman said and extended her hand to the blushing PC.

‘Oh. PC Dawn Lawton,’ she said and pushed her hair back behind her ears. ‘It’s his day off.’

‘So you said. But he told me to meet him here.’

‘DS Freeman?’

Freeman turned and saw someone coming towards her. ‘Sorry for keeping you,’ he said, dumping a paper bag on the desk before extending his hand. ‘I’m Michael Gardner.’

Freeman shook his hand and realised she’d been expecting someone older, maybe fatter, maybe with a moustache. She didn’t know why. Maybe because every DI she knew was older and fatter and had a moustache. As DIs went he was pretty hot. And PC Lawton clearly thought so too.

‘No problem,’ she said and noticed that Lawton was still lurking.

‘Shall we?’ he said.

‘Sure.’ Freeman turned her attention to the paper bag on his desk. There was something in there that was making her stomach growl. Gardner followed her gaze and opened the bag.

‘Coffee and croissants,’ he said and offered the bag to her. Freeman took her share and dug into the croissant, dropping crumbs all over his desk. Lawton shuffled her feet beside her.

‘Thanks,’ Freeman said. He didn’t seem like the arsehole McIlroy had made him out to be. Freeman took a gulp of coffee, stuffed the croissant into her mouth and pulled her coat back on.

Gardner collected his things. ‘You all right, Lawton?’

Lawton nodded, started to walk away before turning and saying, ‘See you tonight?’

Gardner cleared his throat and muttered a quick ‘Yep’ before leading Freeman down the stairs.

‘DI Gardner. What a lovely surprise. Coming in on your day off. Such commitment.’

Freeman saw Gardner’s eyes roll before he turned around. She followed his gaze to a short man with a General Melchett moustache. He stood with his hands behind his back, a smirk on his face. Freeman wondered if he realised how ridiculous he looked.

‘Just helping a colleague,’ Gardner said. ‘This is DS Freeman from Blyth. DS Freeman, this is DCI Atherton.’

Atherton looked Freeman up and down and then gave the briefest of smiles. ‘Helping with what, may I ask?’

‘A possible homicide. Girl in Blyth. I worked on the case when I was based up there. And there’s a possible witness living here.’

Atherton raised an eyebrow and Freeman thought this guy made Routledge look like the world’s best boss.

‘Meeting’s about to start, sir.’

Atherton turned to the perky young woman who’d stuck her head out of a room at the end of the corridor and nodded in her direction. ‘I’ll be there in a minute,’ he said and she disappeared. ‘Well, I hope this doesn’t interfere with your
actual
work,’ he said and stalked away.

Gardner waited until the door had slammed before muttering, ‘Prick,’ and walking back towards the stairs. ‘Your car or mine?’ he asked and Freeman shrugged.

‘I don’t mind driving,’ she said.

As they exited the car park Gardner gave her directions and she nodded, taking a left.

‘So,’ Gardner said. ‘You think she’s going to be in this time?’

Freeman almost laughed. ‘Let’s hope so.’ She shook her head. ‘Jenny’s parents hired someone to look for her. Apparently the guy wasn’t exactly Magnum PI, but he did find a few Jenny Taylors. One of whom lived in Middlesbrough.’

Gardner frowned. ‘But they didn’t try and contact her?’

‘They say the picture he gave them wasn’t their daughter.’

‘Was it the same address?’

‘Don’t know. They didn’t pay much attention to the exact address once they’d ruled it out. And now Lucas Yates has disappeared with the file so we’ll never know.’

‘But if Yates was interested enough to steal the file, surely it must’ve been her. Right?’

Freeman nodded. ‘That’s what I thought. But something’s off.’

‘Like why would Yates bother if none of the photos were of Jenny?’

‘Exactly. Maybe he’s grasping at straws, trying all the addresses. Or maybe he knows something we don’t. Maybe he’s been in contact with her before now.’

‘Have you tried contacting the PI? Check what was in there?’

‘The Taylors don’t remember his first name, just his surname: Lawrence. I’ve checked and can’t find anyone with that name. I doubt he was legit.’

Gardner went quiet, probably trying to answer the same questions she’d thought of on the journey down. She wished him luck with that.

‘But Yates is definitely looking for Taylor,’ Gardner said. ‘You think he’ll come here?’

Freeman shrugged. ‘Maybe.’

Gardner directed her round a corner and indicated a house across the road. She pulled into a tight space.

‘But he’s also looking for Ben Swales. I don’t know where he’s likely to try first,’ Freeman said.

‘He knows where Swales is?’

‘He knows he’s in Alnwick. Other than that, I don’t have a clue.’

‘You got eyes on him?’ Gardner asked.

‘I asked a friend to keep an eye on him. I doubt it’s round the clock.’

‘All right.’ Gardner opened the car door. ‘Let’s see if Jenny’s home. And then we can go and see if Ben Swales gets a visitor.’

‘Isn’t it your day off?’

‘What else am I going to do?’

Chapter 58

17 December 2010

Lucas woke up as a car door slammed. For a second he didn’t know where he was until he saw the photograph he’d torn from the frame the night before – he’d finally found one in the spare room, buried beneath a pile of folders. Emma and this new boyfriend – Adam Quinn, he assumed – playing at happy families, as if she’d never been a junkie slag.

He’d made his way back to the train station after she’d bolted. Figured she’d probably go running to Ben. But it was late and there were no more trains north. Last one was eleven p.m. It was nearly eleven when she’d come home and found him. So if Emma wasn’t going to Ben’s, neither was he. He decided the best thing to do was go back, wait and see if she showed up.

He had approached the house with caution. There were no cops about, no flashing lights. He’d gone round the back again. Let himself in. She wasn’t there. But his head was pounding so he’d settled in for the night. Found something to eat, watched her TV, eventually fell asleep in her bed. A proper little Goldilocks.

Now, Lucas got up and went to the window, wondering if she’d returned. He pushed the curtain back an inch and stared down at the street. He saw a familiar face – just not the one he was expecting.

DS Fucking Freeman was walking towards the house. Lucas dropped the curtain and ran out, down the stairs. He ran through the kitchen, shoes crunching over the broken glass from the door, and out into the alley. He stopped, trying to work out which way to go.

He heard a noise at the end of the alley and turned and ran. She wasn’t going to catch him. Not now. Not until this was finished.

Emma stepped onto the train, checking Lucas wasn’t there amongst the early-morning commuters. She’d kept on running the night before despite not knowing where she was going. Despite her lungs burning. Despite Adam.

She just knew she had to get away from Lucas and maybe that meant leaving everything behind. Again.

But she had no coat, no phone, no money. How far was she going to get? She’d found herself running into the station, thinking she’d just jump on the first train that came. But nothing did. She’d stood there on the cold platform, the drizzle spraying her face, mixing with her tears. She knew there was only one place she could go but she couldn’t get there until morning. So she’d left, found a doorway, and prayed for the night to end quickly.

As she made her way back for the first train, she felt bad for Adam. Felt sorry for herself. She wished he were there with her. Wished she hadn’t run away. But she knew she couldn’t stay. Maybe she’d always known that.

She got on the train, soaked to the skin. The women in front of her had left their handbags on the floor, pushed back under their seats. They’d barely stopped talking so didn’t notice as she slid one towards her and took out the purse. She took what she needed and put the rest back before moving to another carriage. She felt sick. The irony of her using one of Lucas’s tricks was too much. She wanted to get off. Wanted to stop it all and go back to Adam. If she went home now maybe Adam would never know she’d been gone.

But each station came and went and she stayed where she was. She ignored the conductor when he asked if she was okay and just asked for a ticket. One way.

Chapter 59

17 December 2010

Adam tried to juggle the shopping bags whilst unlocking the front door. As he opened it, the box of fancy French dessert fell out and landed on the floor. Adam cursed and put down the rest of the bags to inspect the chocolate tarte. It was still in one piece; just about. He nudged the other bags further into the hall and closed the door behind him.

‘Louise?’ he shouted, thinking how impressed she was going to be with his choices. Okay, so he hadn’t got caviar and oysters but it was still pretty good. ‘Lou?’

He listened for the TV playing in the front room, wondering if she’d moved from the settee at all. The house was freezing.

Adam carried the bags through to the kitchen. He opened the fridge door and pulled out a can of Pepsi, noticing it was colder in the kitchen than it was in the fridge. As he turned around he realised why. The back door was open, glass smashed all over the floor.

‘What the fuck?’ he said and spun around, trying to see if anything was missing. He ran through to the living room. The TV was still there. His laptop was on the settee. The Christmas lights were still flickering.

He stood at the bottom of the stairs. ‘Lou?’ he called up. He frowned and went upstairs. ‘Louise?’ He stuck his head into each room.

He waited at the top of the stairs and pulled his mobile out of his pocket. After a few seconds the phone at the other end of the line started to ring. He pulled the phone from his ear and realised it was ringing downstairs. He went down and found her phone in her bag in the hallway where she always left it. He picked it up and scrolled through the call log. The last call was from him, the one before was from him. They were pretty much all from him. So she hadn’t got a call from anyone else, seemingly no emergency to make her go out without leaving a note.

He went back into the kitchen and let out a breath. It was probably just kids pissing about. He’d seen a window boarded up a few houses down the other day. It was probably the latest hobby for local kids. Smash a window, impress your friends.