The Girls Who Disappeared(71)

‘Because he had my card from last night. He must have thought I’d be able to help him find his brother.’

I recount my conversation with Samuel this morning and tell him about the photograph. ‘He had a scar. He must have been the man who Olivia said was following her before the accident.’

‘Yes. When Samuel described him to me I did some digging.’ He closes his notebook and reaches into his coat pocket for his mobile. He swipes the screen and shows me a photo of what looks like some kind of lease. He stabs at it with his finger. ‘It’s a copy of a lease agreement signed in 1979 by a Miss Anastacia Rutherford and a Mr John-Paul Molina.’

I frown. Rutherford. ‘Is Anastacia related to Olivia?’

‘Yes. She’s her mother. And I suspect, although I don’t know for certain but just based on the fact she was born in August 1980, that John-Paul is her father.’ He doesn’t speak for a few seconds, allowing me to digest this information.

‘Does Anastacia know that Samuel is in town looking for his brother?’

‘Hmm. Well, when I asked Samuel about Anastacia Rutherford he hadn’t heard of her. He didn’t know she was once his brother’s girlfriend. According to this, they leased the flat above what used to be the launderette in the high street, but it’s now a jewellery shop. Anyway, back in 1980 John-Paul was convicted of drug-smuggling.’

‘What?’ I’m reeling. First that the man with the scar might be Olivia’s father and now the drugs conviction. ‘Does Olivia know?’ That must have been why he was following her, back in 1998. But why not tell her who he was? Why disappear and make her wonder all these years?

‘I’m not sure. It’s still very murky.’

‘So what happened to him after he was seen in Stafferbury in 1998? Olivia never mentioned seeing him since.’

Dale tucks his notebook back into his coat. ‘I checked and there is no record of John-Paul Molina going back to prison and it doesn’t look like he left the UK.’ He takes a sip of his coffee. Mine sits, untouched, in front of me. ‘That’s what we’re trying to piece together. Why disappear for so long and why come back now?’

‘We need to speak to Olivia again,’ I say. ‘Her dad is back and he’s a known drugs felon. Olivia reckons she was drugged last night. Ralph had drugs in his body and money hidden in his caravan, and then there’s Wesley and the burner phone. Are they all in it together? Is Olivia making up being drugged?’

‘Something doesn’t add up about it all,’ he agrees, his eyes focused on the middle distance. ‘I have my theories but …’ He shrugs and looks at me. ‘I think Olivia must know more about all this than she’s letting on.’

I feel jittery, like I’ve drunk too much caffeine, and I can’t stop my leg jigging up and down.

Everyone is lying.

Has Olivia been lying to me the whole time?

‘She could have given Ralph the drugs when she went to see him the afternoon he died,’ I say, remembering. ‘Or the money. Did they argue about that? Is that why she was crying? She could be part of this whole drugs ring.’ I jump off my stool. ‘I’m going to pay her a visit. See what I can find out.’

Dale shakes his head. ‘No, Jenna, that’s not a good idea. I was planning to go there myself after seeing you. I told her last night I’d pop over and talk to her about the night of the accident.’

‘She’s hardly going to admit anything to you, but she might to me.’

Dale looks concerned. ‘I don’t know …’

‘Come on, Dale. She wouldn’t tell you anything. She’d clam up. You know she would.’

He hangs his head, defeated.

‘And I’m good at getting people to open up. It’s my job.’ I hesitate. I really want to trust Dale and it’s been niggling at me since Olivia told me Dale had found her. ‘Why were you at the stones last night? Why didn’t you go home after seeing me?’

He sighs. ‘I told you. I was following up a lead. I work crazy hours.’ But he breaks eye contact and picks up his mug, draining the remains of his coffee. The feeling returns that he’s not telling me everything. ‘Right, well.’ He gets up too and takes our mugs to the sink. ‘I’d better get going.’

He follows me into the hallway and watches as I pull on my boots.

‘Jenna,’ he says softly, when I’ve opened the door. Our eyes lock and his gaze is intense. ‘Just be careful. We don’t know Olivia’s full involvement in this.’

I dip my head, my cheeks hot. ‘I’ll be careful, I promise.’

I close the front door behind us and watch as Dale walks swiftly to his car, his overcoat flowing out behind him. As I get into my Audi I see in my rear-view mirror that he’s sitting behind the wheel, his mobile pressed to his ear. He’s talking intently to someone and glances in my direction before averting his eyes. He ends the call and pulls away from my drive.





43



Olivia


Olivia stares at her mum, aghast, as she listens to her describing her father’s attributes, their relationship, but she can’t stop thinking about the one fact that overrides everything else.

‘My dad killed someone?’

Her mother stops talking and nods, glancing down at the pine table.