The Next Girl(Detective Gina Harte #1)(47)
‘Great. Did they come up with anything? I got the news back about the lager order. What else is there?’
‘They’re making out their reports right now, so they should be available to view in an hour or two. But I have spoken to them and I can give you a summary.’
Gina took some photos out of the folder and laid them out in front of her. Smarmy Samuel stared back at her. ‘Great. Go ahead.’
She winced as she listened to Jacob coughing loudly before continuing. ‘Deborah’s pool team friends Barbara Pace, Steph Steel and Juliet Derby had nothing really to add since last time. As we know, they all have alibis for the night she disappeared, and no motive. Zoe Ellis is working away for the next week but her husband seemed to think she’d have nothing to add. Wyre and O’Connor asked for her to call the station when she got back. Charlotte Livingston was in. She told them that Samuel Avery had been bothering Deborah for sex and that had been going on for weeks. Deborah had rejected him several times but he had been a sleaze about it. When asked why she didn’t mention this back then, all she said was that he was in the airport at the time, so it couldn’t have been him.’
‘Interesting. I’ve been wondering if he’s working with someone else. There’s something about him. It’s a possibility.’
‘I suppose. Get this though. Charlotte also said that Samuel had tried to grope Deborah outside the toilets two weeks before her disappearance. By groping, I mean he grabbed her in the groin area and tried to kiss her, pushing her against the wall. She got upset about it in the taxi on the way home. She even said she wasn’t sure if she wanted to play for the team anymore. She said Deborah didn’t want to report the incident. She didn’t want her husband to find out and she wanted to forget it. Obviously, we only have Charlotte’s word for this, but given Samuel’s previous, I’m inclined to believe her. Anyway, that’s all. Abigail’s coming over to nurse me in half an hour so I’m going to love you and leave you.’
‘Great. Tomorrow we’ll head to Deborah’s workplace, see if anything new has come to light. I’ve checked with O’Connor and he’s confirmed that we can use their boardroom and both Gabby and Callum will be in, so we’ll be able to speak to them. I’ve read the files to date. Have a look over them so that you’re up to date too and then get a good night’s sleep. It’s going to be a long one tomorrow.’
‘When is it not?’ he replied as he blew his nose.
Another call came through on Gina’s phone. ‘Have a good one. Got to go, bye.’ She saw Hannah’s name flash up and accepted the call. ‘Hello.’
‘Mum, I’m sorry I went off on one the other night. I thought I’d let you know that everything is sorted for Saturday. It would be nice if you could come along, I need you there. I’ll text you the details.’
Gina opened her mouth to speak and then changed her mind. A ceremony was the last thing she could deal with. ‘I might be working—’
‘Whatever. I’m giving you the chance to do the right thing here. It won’t look good if you don’t turn up.’
She swallowed. She’d have to face his mum, Hetty, and his awful brother, Steven, and the rest of his close family. She’d have to paste on her mourning face all over again for the man who had raped and beat her. ‘Hannah, you know I love you and Gracie with all my heart—’
‘Do I?’
‘You’re being silly now.’
‘Me being silly? It’s not like I’m asking you to jump out of a plane without a parachute. I’m asking you to attend a small ceremony to remember my father, a man you loved, who you now seem hell-bent on forgetting. I’m not saying any more on this. Turn up, Mum. Just come along for the half an hour it will take. You don’t have to stay for tea and cakes or even make the effort to talk to anyone. I just need you to be there for me.’ In the background, Gracie began to cry and a cat yelped. ‘Gracie. Leave the cat alone. I’ve got to go. Think about it, half an hour, Saturday. That’s all.’ Hannah hung up.
Gina felt a prickling sensation wash over her skin as she flashed back to when she was pregnant with Hannah. She remembered trembling as Terry unlocked the door in the middle of the night. She’d heard him struggling to get his key in the lock. It had taken several attempts. As he reached the top of the stairs, he called out to her. ‘Gina, baby, I need help with my zipper.’ She’d pretended to be asleep as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye. ‘When I say I need help, I mean get up and help. Bitch.’ He’d dragged her from the bed by her hair. ‘Oh, you’re going to get it now,’ he yelled as he undid his own zip. She never tried to resist him, resisting always led to more pain. Gina swallowed the tears back.
Was Debbie going through the same thing? Nausea swept through her body and the palpitations caused her to gasp for breath. She placed her fingers on her wrist; her pulse was high. Was she having a heart attack? She gasped for breath again as the room began to sway. Calm down, she thought. Breathe in and out. In and out. She’d been in control of her anxiety for so long now, but this case was bringing it all back.
An email alert pinged on her laptop. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. Her breathing was slowly returning to its normal pace and the room had stopped swaying.
It was Wyre’s interview notes. She opened the file and scanned the information. It contained pretty much what Jacob had said. She looked at Charlotte’s interview notes, where she mentioned the assault outside the toilets. Wyre had also made a note that she thought something may have gone on between Charlotte and Samuel at some point, as Charlotte had paused and smiled when they spoke of him being a ladies’ man. Gina began thinking. Maybe Charlotte had said what she had out of jealousy, wanting Samuel to get into trouble for moving his affections to Deborah. Samuel had never had an actual report of sexual assault lodged against him; he was always in trouble for fighting with jealous husbands.