Their Lost Daughters (DI Jackman & DS Evans #2)(17)
‘Where do they live?’ Jackman asked.
‘Cameron Court, the only posh address in the whole town. They have a ground floor apartment. It’s a gated community, and has around a dozen townhouses as well as the main Court itself. That’s three storeys of executive flats. Cost a mint.’
‘Has she been seen since?’
‘She and two mates were caught on CCTV sitting on the steps of the war memorial. They were drinking from a bottle concealed in a bag. The time was logged at 10.27 p.m.’
‘And after that?’ Marie was scribbling rapidly.
‘Nothing. We recognised the other two girls and had a quiet word with them. They said she got stroppy when they refused to gatecrash the local nightclub with her. After a row she called her friends a pair of losers and said she was going “Somewhere where she would be welcome and there was plenty of booze.” That’s the last time she was seen.’
‘And did they know where she meant?’
Gary shook his head. ‘They had no idea at all. Then we were pulled off, for fear of attracting too much attention. At that point it was assumed that Dad still believed she was just sulking and hanging out at some friend’s place.’
‘I wonder if he’s as certain about that in the cold light of day,’ muttered Jackman.
Marie snapped her book shut. ‘Maybe we should go find out?’ She looked across at Gary, ‘Will you be our local tour guide, Constable?’
The man rubbed at his close-cut greying beard with surprisingly slender fingers and beamed. ‘Oh yes, Sergeant. Best job I’ve been given since there was break-in at the brewery. As long as we can take your car, that is. The duty car is off the road and we are precious short of wheels.’
‘No problem.’ Jackman was about to say more, but stopped abruptly.
A tall, ramrod of a man in an immaculate uniform stood in the doorway, silently surveying them.
‘Oh, good morning, sir.’ Gary straightened up. Jackman noticed that his smile had disappeared.
‘DI Jackman, Sergeant . . . this is Chief Superintendent Cade.’
‘We’ve already met.’ Jackman’s tone was cool.
‘Good of you to come so quickly, DI Jackman.’ The words seeped from the man’s thin lips and Jackman felt a hint of revulsion tug at his gut.
Cade smiled coldly. ‘I do realise that this is probably nothing, but her father is such a generous supporter of our police charities . . . well, what could I do?’
‘We fully understand the situation,’ said Jackman sourly. ‘And whereas we will do all we can to assist you, we do have pressing cases of our own running, and we are anxious to get back to them.’ He paused, then added a clipped, ‘sir.’
‘Naturally. I wouldn’t expect such a talented team to be lounging around doing nothing.’ Cade raised his eyebrows. ‘So, as time is obviously of the essence, I’ll let you get on. And thank you, Rowan. I knew I could count on you.’
Jackman was bitterly offended at this use of his first name. The only person who called him Rowan was Ruth Crooke. By using it, Cade implied that they were buddies, and Jackman wouldn’t choose him for a friend if he were the last man left in Lincolnshire. Plus, he had totally ignored Marie!
As Cade moved away from the door, Jackman murmured, ‘Oh, our pleasure, I’m sure,’ then added, ‘I don’t think.’ He stared at Marie. ‘Well, he really loves you, doesn’t he?’
‘I’d have it no other way,’ growled Marie.
*
Marie drove, while Jackman fired questions at Gary.
‘You know this girl, Gary. In your opinion, do we have cause for concern?’
‘Funnily enough, sir, for some reason I am worried. Maybe I’m just being a bit oversensitive, but it doesn’t feel right.’
‘How come?’
‘Well, when they told us to back off, I decided to have a quick word with her mother about Toni’s previous escapades.’
‘And?’
‘Even though on each occasion she had had the most dreadful set-to with her parents, her escapes were all carefully planned.’ He paused to give Marie some directions. ‘She had taken the time to pack a bag, and get herself to a cash machine before she left. Once she even took her passport. That wasn’t the case this time.’ His voice was sombre.
‘So she hadn’t intended to run away?’ chipped in Marie.
‘She’s a clever girl and quite calculating. I reckon if she’d been doing a runner she would have prepared better.’
Jackman nodded. ‘So by going out of the window she was just defying her father’s curfew? Just off for a night out, sticking two fingers up at her parents?’
‘Exactly. I’m certain that’s how it was.’
As they passed through the gates of Cameron Court, Jackman felt inclined to agree with him. For the first time, he felt a frisson of real fear for Toni Clarkson.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Neil Clarkson turned out to be nothing like Chief Superintendent Cade. Neil and Ellen Clarkson’s concern about their wayward daughter’s disappearance was undoubtedly genuine. They admitted their faults, blamed themselves for pandering to her and apologised repeatedly in case they were wasting police time.
‘We lost a child, Inspector Jackman, killed in a road accident. He was only four.’ Clarkson ran his hand through his thick iron-grey hair. ‘It’s wrong, I know, but Ellen and I have totally overcompensated with Toni.’