The Next Girl(Detective Gina Harte #1)(24)

Head pounding at the thoughts that ran through her mind, she grabbed the box of painkillers from her top drawer and threw a couple of them into her mouth before swallowing them down with an inch of cold coffee. Her stomach fluttered, a combination of nerves and excitement. She pictured Deborah being held by someone. Maybe this person had rendered her pregnant once the implant had worn off, and almost four years to the date of her disappearance she’d given birth to a daughter. The timeline was falling into place. If she was being held against her will, they needed to find her quickly. Time was against them. She couldn’t let Deborah go through this level of trauma again. Gina stared into her empty coffee mug and shuddered at the thought of what Deborah might be going through. It reminded her of her own past.

Before Hannah was born, she and Terry had seemed like any normal young couple, but soon they were living far away from her parents and she eventually lost touch with them. A few months later, her mother died of an aggressive form of cancer and her father drank himself to death, leaving her heartbroken. Terry only drove her back for their funerals. She’d never forgiven herself for not being there for either of them. She thought of her father, sitting in his favourite chair whilst he watched Birmingham City playing on the television. She could’ve left at any time, gone back home and comforted him, but Terry had her under his control.

After that, Terry’s drinking and recreational drug use became more frequent. As she’d lain in bed weeping on the night of her father’s funeral, she’d felt her tender breasts and thought of the life she was carrying inside her. She didn’t want Terry to come home that night, but he had. Gina shivered as memories ran through her mind.

Was Deborah that scared all the time? Was she trapped? Gina took a deep breath as the room began to sway. The tablets needed to kick in, before her pounding head exploded. She had a team briefing to deliver. She placed her head in her hands and closed her eyes, but the woozy feeling continued. Breathe in and out, in and out.

‘Ma’am,’ Wyre said.

Gina flinched and forced a smile as she hid her trembling hands under her desk.

‘I knocked twice. Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine. Just this cold. I’m not letting it win though.’ This case was already getting to her and she hadn’t even started. Gina wiped her nose again. The frequent contact with dry tissue was starting to scrape the skin from her tender nose.

‘I’m off out in a while to see Deborah Jenkins’ husband. I’ll be taking Jacob with me. Can you continue going through all the calls? Anything you come across that’s relevant, let me know straight away. We’re going to find Deborah.’

‘Will do.’ Wyre smiled.

‘I’ll be through for the briefing first, be just a moment,’ Gina said, picking up the phone to dial Luke’s number.





Sixteen





Jacob drove. Gina sat in silence as she looked out of the passenger window. He hopped the car over a road littered with speed bumps. ‘Easy, Driscoll. I may lose my stomach,’ she said.

‘Yes. Wouldn’t want puke all over my windscreen.’ Jacob laughed as he hopped the car over another hump. ‘How’re things with you lately? You seem a bit distant. Is it a man thing?’

Gina turned to face him. She certainly wasn’t going to be discussing the finer details of her tryst with Briggs. ‘That would both be telling and none of your business. How about you?’

Jacob laughed as he indicated left. ‘I normally get kicked out in the mornings. Breakfast is a never. Even a cup of coffee would indicate that seriousness was on the cards.’ He paused and a big grin appeared on his face. ‘I lie. I lived with a woman for several years, as you know. Beth. It didn’t work out. I’m not sure where this thing with Abigail is going.’ He slowed down as he reached the street running adjacent to Luke Jenkins’ house. ‘We’re nearly there.’

‘I feel like puking even more now.’

‘Don’t do this to yourself. We are here to deliver news and investigate. We can’t control how people react. Anyway, guv, it’s not like you to let things like this pull you down.’ Jacob braked as he pulled up on the road beside the house.

Gina looked back at him and smiled. ‘You’re right. I feel for her, Jacob. What she’s going through is big and traumatic, and we’ve got to tell her husband.’ She began to bite her nail. ‘This cold is playing on me. Let’s get this over with.’ Jacob released his seat belt and opened the door. A breeze whipped through the vehicle, fluffing up his fair hair. He patted it back down as he stood.

Gina stepped out into the icy, damp air and took a deep breath as they approached the front door. As she went to ring the bell, a short woman in her sixties answered. Gina recognised her from the investigation. ‘Mrs Beddows,’ Gina said as she nodded. The woman opened the door wide and stepped back.

‘Please, come in. Luke is in the lounge. And call me Cathy,’ she said as she closed the door behind them. ‘It’s just through that door.’

Gina could see that Cathy’s eyes looked a little puffy. The woman pulled a crumpled tissue from her pocket and dabbed her nose. ‘Can I get you both a drink?’

‘Not for me, thank you,’ Gina replied. Cathy nodded and ushered them into the lounge. ‘Are your grandchildren here?’