The Next Girl(Detective Gina Harte #1)(29)

‘No, just no. I’ll text you later,’ she said, as a nervous laugh escaped her guarded expression.

‘Anyway, it’s not like you to miss out on eating junk,’ Briggs said with a grin as he wiped the last of the crumbs from the side of his mouth and binned the cake case.

‘Feeling poorly.’ Gina pulled a sad face.

‘Well, I could stand here all day and give you sympathy or I could go and do some work.’

‘I don’t need your sympathy. Look, I’ll have a cake if it makes you feel better.’ Gina grabbed a cake off the plate and took a large bite out of the top. As the buttercream mulched in her mouth and slipped down her throat she instantly regretted it. The sugary butter mixed with mucus was making her nauseous.

‘Enjoy,’ Briggs replied as he rubbed his hands together. ‘You know, you look beautiful, even with a scabby nose.’ The last word his, he turned and walked off.

Gina glanced around the room, hoping that no one had noticed the mixed expression on her face. Everyone was busy working; she needn’t have worried. She placed the rest of the little cake in the bin and threw a few sheets of kitchen roll on top to hide the evidence. She wasn’t sure if this thing with Briggs was worth pursuing, but there was something there that made her feel good. Was that enough?

She walked back to the board and stared at Deborah’s photo. Images of Luke and Cathy ran through her mind. She had no idea how they were going to cope or how they’d even begin to tell the children. She shuddered. How do you tell young children that their missing mother has had a baby and that the baby has turned up abandoned outside their local library? She had to find Deborah. She was under no illusions that finding Deborah and placing her back with her family would throw up problems of its own, but it would be a start to rebuilding their family unit, however difficult.

‘I think we have something,’ O’Connor called. Gina slammed her coffee down on a desk and ran over, grinning as she almost coughed over O’Connor. This was just what she needed, a lead.

‘What is it?’ Gina asked.

‘Music to my ears,’ Briggs called out as he passed Gina and walked over to O’Connor.





Nineteen





The incident room was bustling with bodies, all crowding around to hear what O’Connor had to say. Wyre removed her earphones and jogged across the room, pushing her way through everyone to get close to O’Connor. ‘What have you got?’ Gina asked. The room went almost silent as everyone hung on O’Connor’s words.

O’Connor frowned as he twiddled the earphones that hung over his chest. ‘Jill just sent me this one through. We have to go and interview the woman straight away, while she’s remembering things. She lives at number seventeen Bell Terrace, on the road running behind the library. Her name’s Mabel McDonald.’

Gina took out her notebook and pen and jotted the address down. She caught a glimpse of her watch. Hannah and Gracie would be at her house in two hours for their visit, and a lead had just come in. She could get this woman interviewed, get back to the station and compile the notes, then make it back home to meet them. She felt her stomach flutter. Who was she kidding? She pulled her phone out of her pocket and began to text Hannah. Her finger hovered above the send button. She couldn’t do it. She deleted the text. She had to make it back to see them. There was no other option. If she disappointed her daughter one more time, she feared she may never get another chance. ‘Tell us what you know,’ she said to O’Connor.

‘Right. Here’s what we have. She saw a hooded person walk past her house between six thirty and eight on the night that Baby Jenkins was discovered. She states that she was looking out of the window for her cat, who had not been home all day. Apparently, this figure was cradling a bag in his arms. She’s also partially deaf. Jill had trouble communicating with her during the call. That is all I have, unfortunately, but it’s something.’

‘It could very well be everything. We need to get onto this straight away. Jacob, you can come with me to interview her. Everyone else, stay at it. Keep going through everything until you come up with another lead.’



* * *



As they dashed across the car park to Jacob’s car Gina checked her watch again. ‘My daughter’s meant to be coming to visit this evening. I could do with being back for her.’

‘We can do our best. Let’s hope this old dear’s on form.’

She frowned as she got in the car and buckled up. Her granddaughter had been walking for weeks and she hadn’t observed her taking a single step. ‘Remind me, Jacob, why the hell do we do all this?’

‘All what?’ He disengaged the handbrake and began driving.

‘This. Sacrifice a family life for this job.’

‘If only this was just a job.’ He laughed. ‘I wish it were that simple.’

Gina grabbed a sweet from the glovebox, hoping it would soothe her scratchy throat. ‘That’s the problem. I wish I could just see it as a job, but it’s my life. That sounds really sad, I know, but I need to feel like I’m putting wrongs right and making the world a better place.’

‘That’s why we do it. After all, what is the real meaning of life? In my opinion there is no meaning. Life as a concept is pretty crap. You’re born, you reproduce, you spend your life trying to keep up with the neighbours and working yourself into an early grave. Cycle starts again.’ Gina looked out of the window as Jacob drove down a long road in silence. ‘I suppose I feel that you can choose to do some good while you’re here. Though I do it mostly for O’Connor’s wife’s cupcakes. Boy, that woman has talent.’