The Next Girl(Detective Gina Harte #1)(57)
‘I know. I saw them walking up and down earlier.’
There were tubs of baby milk, used bottles, nappy bags and all manner of things strewn over the worktops and table. It was obvious that the family had been busy caring for their unexpected addition. ‘Have you got everything you need?’ Gina asked.
‘Apart from my sanity and my wife. I suppose I have everything else.’
‘Do you have any news for us?’ Cathy asked.
‘Only that Luke’s DNA results came back. I thought I’d just pop by in person and confirm what you already knew. Your DNA doesn’t match that of the baby.’ Luke stood in silence. ‘I know you weren’t happy when you came to the station, but we were just following procedure. We have to rule the obvious out sometimes, just so that we can move on.’
Luke passed the grouchy baby over to Cathy and gave his stiff arm a shake. He placed his hand on his forehead and stared out of the kitchen window. The wind howled and there was a bang. The little trampoline had toppled over. ‘Everything’s falling apart, just like my life at the minute,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry about the way I was at the station.’
‘I understand. You were right, but we have to do what we have to do. And what I really want to do is find Deborah. I still need you both to keep a look out all the time, tell me straight away if anything seems strange, anyone seems out of place or anything happens, however small. If you so much as have a phone call you can’t account for, I want to know.’
Luke stepped closer to Cathy and placed his arm around the woman. ‘Are we in any danger?’
Gina wanted to reassure them, tell them everything was okay and that they were all safe, but after the intruder the other night, she couldn’t be sure. ‘We’re doing everything we can, and if I feel at any point you are in any danger, I will let you know immediately.’
‘And that’s meant to make us feel safe? Debbie is out there somewhere, missing her baby. Her children live here and they want her home too, and they know something’s wrong. I don’t care about myself, but I care about them. I need to know if my children are safe because I don’t feel safe,’ he said as he broke away and walked over to the kitchen window. ‘I was this close to someone trying to break into our home. This close.’ He turned and held his finger and thumb apart by a fraction. ‘This close,’ he said as he broke down. Cathy placed the now sleeping baby into the carrier and walked over to Luke. She placed her arm around him and patted his back as she embraced him.
‘I’m sorry, officer. Unless there’s anything else you have to tell us, it might be better if you leave us be,’ Cathy said.
‘Give me a call if you hear anything.’ Cathy nodded and Gina walked away. As she reached the hall, she looked up and saw Max and Heidi sitting on the top step. Heidi was covering Max’s ears as she held him close to her. ‘It’s okay, Max,’ she said, as she cried. The children could see the anguish Luke was going through. How would he ever to be able to explain what was happening to them?
She left the house, closed the door and hit the side of the wall. She flexed her fingers and noticed that she’d scraped a little bit of skin from the side of her hand. Maybe she could’ve handled everything better. When she’d arrived, they seemed to be coping. She’d thought turning up in person would be better than calling, but she couldn’t have been more wrong, and his children had heard everything.
Devina ran up the path, holding her bag above her head as the rain fell. ‘DI Harte, is everything okay?’ she asked.
‘Yes, just updating Luke. We took his DNA to eliminate him from our enquiries.’
‘And?’
‘He’s eliminated. How are they getting on?’
‘They’re doing remarkably well, given the circumstances. It would be a tough one for anybody. They haven’t properly explained things to the children as yet though.’
‘How come you weren’t with them when I arrived?’ Gina asked.
Devina’s smile disappeared. ‘They’ve been doing really well, from what I’ve observed. They’re an amazing, loving family, and I’d love nothing more than to eventually place little Isobel in their full-time care. I just popped to the car to make a few confidential calls. I didn’t want them hearing. Are you questioning something, DI Harte?’
‘No. I just wondered where you were when I arrived. I’m sorry. Things have just been strained. They’re all a little upset, and they could do with your support. Unfortunately the children overheard me updating Luke and Cathy. They now know about Deborah.’
‘Oh no. Poor kids. I’d best get back in there,’ said Devina. ‘Keep me updated, inspector.’
Thirty-Six
The main entrance was bustling with suspects who were being checked in. She recognised the short, stout woman who was swearing loudly at the front of the queue as being from the estate nearby. She was one of their regular shoplifters. An officer passed with a staggering male in his late forties and escorted him towards the cells. The shoplifter knocked the mini Christmas tree off the desk as she turned to watch the drunken male. It was clearly December.
Gina shoved past the desk, picking up the tree as she passed, and nodded at Nick, who was calmly dealing with the swearing woman. She headed along the corridor, past the main office, then past her own, until she reached the incident room. Wyre was speaking to someone on the phone while doodling. Gina leaned over. Amongst her scrawl were several doodles of cubes. Wyre ended the call and turned to face Gina. ‘I found something. It may be something, it may be nothing.’ Wyre grinned as she swivelled back towards her computer screen.