The Next Girl(Detective Gina Harte #1)(56)

‘Any news from the vets?’

‘Only that there are dogs with black fur registered everywhere. We’re compiling a list at the moment of all the owners in the area and cross-referencing them against local farm owners. As you say, it may be useful later on.’

‘Thanks. Right, I have some paperwork to catch up on. When I’ve done that, I’m going to head to Luke Jenkins’ house. Let me know straight away how it goes with Callum Nelson and the others. I don’t think there’s much to garner from Toby, Clive, Lukas and Vernon, but Callum… I’m annoyed he didn’t mention the van or his crush on Deborah. I know we checked him and his whereabouts at the time, but I want the details he missed out of his original statement on file. I’ll type up my notes from this morning and forward them to you before you speak to him. Smith, are you okay to be there when they arrive, to assist Wyre and O’Connor? Call me straight away if you find any connections to any of them with the Angel Arms or Avery.’

Smith nodded.

‘And one last thing. I know we’re all stressed and we could do with more people assisting, so thank you for everything. Thank you for the extra hours and all the hard work. When we find Deborah, it will have all been worth it. Maybe we’ll all deserve a duvet day then.’

Wyre smiled and continued typing on the computer. As Gina left the room, PC Smith followed her out. She heard him instructing the PCs to continue with the door-to-doors on Luke’s street and surrounding areas.

She went back to her office, slumped into her chair and pulled out her notes from earlier that day. Callum Nelson and Samuel Avery. Deborah wasn’t short of unwanted attention. How had she handled that attention? She’d been upset about Avery but obviously hadn’t been too bothered by Nelson’s crush. Was there anyone else? Another admirer? Someone less obvious? Or maybe it wasn’t an admirer. Maybe she was looking for connections that weren’t there. She opened a clean file and began typing up her notes, ready to send to Wyre before the interviews.

‘Where are you, Deborah?’ Gina thought.





Thirty-Five





Gina pulled up outside Luke’s house and gazed through the bay window. The boy, Max, was playing with a plastic dinosaur and making it attack the voile. The girl passed him, snatched the dinosaur away then held it behind her back. She ran off and the boy disappeared after her.

She gazed up the road at the wall where Luke had reported seeing the stranger watching him and Brooke. He’d been loitering there, scoping the house out and planning his entry, which had thankfully been ruined because of Luke’s quick reactions.

Was the watcher the intruder? Was the watcher something to do with Deborah’s disappearance? Would the watcher be back? If so, when? Gina shivered.

The murky sky had darkened as she’d been driving. Rain began to trickle down the windscreen. She looked back at Luke’s house and watched as Cathy pulled the curtains closed. The woman stopped and stared at Gina, then waved. Gina held her hand up and stepped out of the car. Time to tell Luke what he and everyone else already knew.

Cathy had already opened the door before Gina reached it. Gina smiled and wiped her feet. ‘Go through. Luke’s in the kitchen with the baby.’

Gina continued along the hallway, stepping over a pencil case and book bag.

The girl yelled and the children ran down the stairs. Max pushed Gina out of the way with the plastic dinosaur as Heidi almost got hold of his jumper. ‘Daddy, she’s after my dinosaur. She keeps saying my dinosaur is stupid and that I’m stupid. She was going to put him in the loo.’ The baby began to wail. ‘Sorry, Daddy.’

Gina entered the kitchen and smiled. Luke grabbed the dinosaur with his free hand and placed it on the table. ‘Go upstairs, kids, and can you not fight for just a few minutes?’ He bobbed up and down while pacing, trying to calm the baby down.

‘But I want my dinosaur. It’s mine,’ Max yelled as his face reddened. A tear fell down the boy’s face. Luke sighed and passed him the dinosaur.

‘Just take it. Heidi, it’s his toy. Leave it alone and play with your own toys. For God’s sake.’ The baby continued bawling into his ear.

‘Daddy. Is this lady here about the baby?’ Heidi asked, waiting in the doorway, suddenly shy.

‘Stop asking so many questions and just take your brother upstairs while we talk.’ The little girl stared at her father, then back at Gina. ‘Please, Heidi. We’ll talk in a bit.’

‘Is Mummy coming home?’

‘Heidi, please?’

Cathy entered. ‘Go on up you two. Nanny will be up in a minute and we’ll play a game, I promise.’

‘Okay, Nanny. Come on, Max,’ Heidi said, beckoning the boy over. The children left the room and walked upstairs. The baby was only wailing intermittently now. The children’s footsteps stopped.

‘All the way up! I can hear you both,’ Cathy called. The footsteps continued until they reached one of the bedrooms and slammed a door behind them.

‘What can we do for you, Inspector? Have you found the creep who tried to break into our house the other night? Or, even better, have you found my wife?’

Gina looked down. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Jenkins. We have no news on either, I’m afraid. We’ve had officers on foot contacting everyone who lives locally to try and flush out more witnesses.’