Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2)(60)

They knocked again and Carmen cocked her head.

‘Did you hear that?’ she whispered. ‘I think you’re right, there’s someone there. I’ll stay here, you see if you can get around the back.’

‘Okay.’

Falk walked to the side of the house and tried a tall gate. It was locked, so he dragged a nearby wheelie bin closer and, glad he was in his hiking clothes, climbed up and over. He could hear Carmen knocking as he followed a paved path into a large back garden. It was complete with decking area and a spa pool filled with water in a shade of blue unseen in nature, while ivy climbing the wall gave the space a secluded feel.

The back of the house was made up almost entirely of windows looking into a spacious kitchen. The polished panes of glass were so highly reflective, he almost didn’t see the blonde woman inside. She was standing in the doorway to the hall, perfectly still, with her back to him. Falk heard Carmen knock again and the woman jumped at the sound. At the same time, she must have sensed his movement outside because she spun around, crying out as she saw him in the garden, her familiar face wide open in shock.

Alice.

For a split second, Falk felt the giddy euphoria of relief rush through him. The adrenaline pulsed once, hard, then with a pain that was almost physical, drained as fast as it arrived. He blinked as his mind caught up with what he was seeing.

The woman’s face was familiar, but it wasn’t one he recognised. And woman wasn’t even the right word, he thought, a groan forming low and deep in his throat. She was just a girl, staring out at him from the kitchen with fear in her eyes. Not Alice. Nearly, but not quite.

Falk pulled his ID out before Alice’s daughter could scream again. He held it towards her at arm’s length.

‘Police. Don’t be scared,’ he called through the window. He tried to remember the girl’s name. ‘Margot? We’re helping with the search for your mum.’

Margot Russell took half a step towards the glass. Her eyes looked bruised from crying as she peered at the badge.

‘What do you want?’ Her voice was shaky, but strangely unsettling. Falk realised it sounded a lot like her mother’s.

‘Can we talk to you?’ Falk said. ‘My colleague at the front door is a woman, why don’t you let her in first?’

Margot hesitated and glanced once more at the badge, then nodded and disappeared. Falk waited. When she returned, Carmen was following. Margot unlocked the back door and let him in. As Falk stepped inside, he was able to see her properly for the first time. Like Alice, she was almost beautiful, he thought, but with the same sharpness in her features that made her something else. Striking, perhaps. She was sixteen, he knew, but with her jeans and socked feet and bare face, she looked very young.

‘I thought you were supposed to be staying with your dad?’ he said.

Margot gave a tiny shrug, her eyes down. ‘I wanted to come home.’ She held a mobile phone and was turning it over in her hands like a worry bead.

‘How long have you been here?’

‘Since this morning.’

‘You can’t be here alone,’ Falk said. ‘Does your dad know?’

‘He’s at work.’ Tears welled in her eyes but didn’t spill over. ‘Have you found my mum?’

‘Not yet. But they’re looking hard.’

‘Look harder.’ Her voice wobbled and Carmen led her to a kitchen stool.

‘Sit down. Where do you keep your glasses? I’ll get you some water.’

Margot pointed at a cupboard, still fiddling with her phone.

Falk pulled up a stool and sat opposite her. ‘Margot, do you know that man who was here before?’ he said. ‘The one knocking on the door?’

‘Daniel? Yeah, of course.’ There was an uneasy note in her tone. ‘He’s Joel’s dad.’

‘Who’s Joel?’

‘My ex-boyfriend.’ A definite inflection on the ex.

‘Did you speak to Daniel Bailey just then? Did he say why he was here?’

‘No. I don’t want anything to do with him. I know what he wanted.’

‘And what’s that?’

‘He’s looking for Joel.’

‘Are you sure?’ Falk said. ‘It wasn’t anything to do with your mum?’

‘My mum?’ Margot looked at him as though he was an idiot. ‘My mum’s not here. She’s missing.’

‘I know. But how can you be sure why Daniel came here?’

‘How can I be sure?’ Margot gave a strange strangled laugh. ‘Because of what Joel’s done. He’s been really busy online.’ She gripped her phone so hard the skin on her hands turned white. Then she took a breath and held it out so Falk could see. ‘I suppose you may as well see. Everyone else has.’

The Margot on the screen looked older. Her makeup was done and her hair was loose and shining. And the jeans were gone. The photos were surprisingly clear for such low lighting. The school had been right, Falk thought. They were definitely explicit.

Margot stared down at the screen, her face blotchy and her eyes red.

‘How long have these been online?’ Falk said.

‘I think since yesterday lunchtime. There are two videos as well.’ She blinked hard. ‘They’ve already had more than a thousand views since then.’