Gray coloured up and looked at his shoes. Fitzgerald relented somewhat. ‘Look, Charlie, I don’t mean to have a go at your faith, but you have to admit, there’s something very strange going on with that particular bunch of people.’
‘All we can do is pray for guidance,’ Gray said.
‘And ask questions, and rattle cages, and try to get a bloody search warrant,’ Winter added.
‘With or without one, I’m checking that place out, believe me,’ muttered Fitzgerald.
‘Not worth it without a warrant,’ Winter cautioned. ‘If you find anything under those circumstances it’ll be inadmissible. Then how bad will we feel?’
‘Could we feel any worse about this?’ Fitzgerald asked him. ‘Really?’
***
‘You won’t believe this,’ Tina said to Ruth. They were in the visitor’s room at the prison, seated in plastic bucket chairs either side of a square, chipped formica table. ‘Leanne Davidson arrived yesterday. She got six months for thieving.’
‘It’s only for a few months, then she’s out of your life for good. Keep your distance. The staff know what she’s like and they know about your history.’ She saw Tina blush, and put her hand on her arm to comfort her. ‘They’ve heard far worse. You did nothing wrong, you just fell for the wrong person and there aren’t many of us who can say they’ve never done that before.’
‘Thanks, Ruth. I’ll just have to be extra careful. I don’t have all that long to go, I don’t want to jeopardise anything. I have plans for when I get out.’
‘What did you decide on?’
‘I don’t know where I’m going to live yet, but I’m going to college to train to be a beauty therapist.’
‘Not hairdressing?’
Tina shook her head. ‘If Vanessa had still been in the area … but she’s not. We keep in touch, though.’
‘Dare I ask if your mum’s been in touch?’
‘Not for a while. To be honest, I’m just making my plans without her. I don’t know what else to do.’
Ruth wasn’t sure what to say.
‘Any news about Annie?’ Tina asked, breaking the silence. ‘Last time you were here, you said there was some new evidence.’
Ruth shook her head. ‘We’re following up all new leads, but we’ve got nothing so far. We’re just coming up against a brick wall.’
‘I take it Mr Cotter couldn’t tell you anything.’
‘Couldn’t or wouldn’t. I still think he’s involved somehow.’ Ruth ran her hand through her hair. ‘If there’s anything to be found, we’ll find it. Karen Fitzgerald’s in charge. You remember Karen?’
‘Yes, Karen’s nice, I like her.’
‘She’s asking lots of questions and she’s like a dog with a bone. She won’t give up until she gets the answers she needs.’
‘Good. Annie needs someone like that looking for her.’ She looked at Ruth. ‘Do you really believe she could still be alive somewhere?’
‘We can’t rule it out. Karen refuses to. She will find Annie, one way or another, she’s absolutely determined. What about you? What’s your gut feeling?’
‘I think she’s alive. Somewhere, somehow, after all this time, I really do think she’s alive. She must be some sort of prisoner or else she would have been in touch. That’s why I was so angry with Mum when she said she was selling the house, because Annie will go home when she can, when she gets free. She probably doesn’t know about Dad and me, so I wanted Mum to stay and wait for her, you know? I just can’t imagine her being dead.’ She shook her head vehemently. ‘Not Annie.’
***
‘Just what Tina needs,’ exclaimed Karen Fitzgerald when Ruth told her about Leanne Davidson over pizza and wine that Friday night. ‘Do you know, if it can go wrong for that girl, it does.’
‘How about your end, how’s that going?’
Karen smiled wryly. ‘Apart from wanting to choke the life out of George Cotter? Can you believe a man who abducted a little girl told me off for taking the Lord’s name in vain the other day?’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Fucking freak.’
‘Rob Winter was saying that the pastor suddenly coughed up a load more suspects when you spoke to him.’
‘Do you remember how Cotter’s car was clean as a whistle? The story now is that the young people of the church do a little car cleaning as a thank you for lifts, which would go a long way towards explaining that. Mind, you’d think they’d have taken the T-shirt out of the car,’ Karen mused. ‘Anyway, the church apparently holds copies of people’s car keys, for cleaning purposes. So anyone with access to where the keys were held is a potential suspect.’
‘But no one thought to mention this at the time, when we stood a better chance of getting to the bottom of it?’
‘Oh, I’m sure that was no coincidence. These people stick together like glue. If you ask me, it’s all a big cover up.’
‘You reckon that other people from the church are involved, not just Cotter?’
‘I’m sure of it. They’re all in on it, Ruth, you mark my words. And somehow I’m going to prove it.’
‘Hey, Ruth!’
It was Monday lunchtime and Ruth had just parked up at the station. She locked her car and turned to see Rob Winter striding across the car park towards her. ‘What’s up?’ she asked him.
‘Any idea where Karen is?’
‘We were out on Friday night, but I haven’t seen or heard from her since. Not that that’s unusual. Have you tried her mobile?’
‘Switched off.’
‘Maybe she’s picked up this cold that’s doing the rounds. She might be home, sick.’
‘I’m going there now. I’m trying to get to her and find out what’s going on before Hardcastle misses her.’
‘Good luck. Oh, and tell her if she needs anything to let me know.’
Winter waved over his shoulder and jumped in his car. By the time Ruth was pushing her way through the doors into the station, he was pulling out into the main flow of traffic.
***
It was six o’clock before Ruth ran into Rob Winter again.
‘I take it Karen’s ill,’ she said. ‘Her phone’s still off, anyway.’
‘She wasn’t there,’ he said. ‘No sign of her at all.’
‘Did you go in? She might have been too poorly to answer the door.’
‘I don’t know anyone with a key.’
‘Her mum’s got one. Come on, let’s go there now, see what we can find out.’
***
‘Right, everybody, we’ve got a problem.’ It was Tuesday morning and Hardcastle was addressing the assembled personnel. They all knew the score, just wanted to know what they were going to do about it. ‘No one has seen Karen Fitzgerald since Friday night. She’s not at home and her car’s missing. It’s not like her to go AWOL, so we have cause to be very worried indeed. Now, what have we got?’
‘I left her at around eleven on Friday night, sir,’ Ruth said. ‘I dropped her off at her house in a taxi then went on home myself. When I picked my car up on Saturday morning, hers was still here in the car park.’
‘Well, it was gone by Monday,’ Winter chipped in. ‘So she came for it at some point.’
‘Someone did, anyway,’ Mills said. ‘We don’t know for sure who.’
‘There’s CCTV on the road into town,’ Gray offered. ‘If she went that way, we might be able to check what time the car was picked up.’
‘Has anyone spoken to her ex?’ asked Ruth. ‘They split up a couple of years ago, but they stay in touch. They’re on pretty good terms so far as I can tell.’
‘They are,’ said Winter. ‘I play football with Jimmy on Sunday mornings.’
‘Right,’ said Hardcastle. ‘Gray and Mills, check out the CCTV. If that car went past a camera, I want to know when and who was driving it. Ruth, Rob, go and get her ex and bring him in. I don’t care how well they got on, until I know he’s squeaky clean, he is the person I’m currently most interested in. The rest of you, get on with whatever you’re meant to be doing. I know you’re worried and you all want to do your bit, but we have other business to see to as well. Keep your eyes peeled for Karen’s car. Meet back here at six, we’ll let you know what the score is then.’
***
‘You don’t think Jimmy’s involved, do you?’ Rob asked Ruth as they drove to the office where he worked.
‘I can’t imagine he’d do her any harm,’ said Ruth. ‘But stranger things have happened.’
‘Hey, Rob!’ Jimmy spotted Winter as he pushed through the double doors into the main office. ‘And Ruth! What are you two doing here?’
‘It’s business, Jimmy. We need you to come down to the station with us.’
‘Don’t tell me, you’ve come about the parking tickets.’ Jimmy smiled. The gag was a running one between him and Winter. The smile faded when it wasn’t returned. ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘Tell me, you’re starting to get me worried.’
‘Karen’s gone missing.’
‘Karen.’ He looked puzzled, then realisation dawned on him. ‘Oh, wait a minute. You think I have something to do with it?’
‘We don’t think anything at this stage, Jimmy, we just need to ask you some questions.’
‘I’ll clear it with my boss. Wait there.’
Twenty minutes later they were back at the station and Jimmy was beginning to be seriously worried. First and foremost, he wanted to know where his ex-wife was, it was out of character for Karen to go missing. He was honest enough to admit he was worried for himself, too: he watched enough television to know he would be the prime suspect in her disappearance. He was seated in the interview room, figured someone somewhere would be watching him, seeing how he behaved, reading things into his expressions, his movements. Well, to hell with that. He had done nothing wrong. Sure, he would help, he wanted to know Karen was safe, too, but he wasn’t going to be shoehorned into the role of evil ex.
Fitzgerald and Winter were in Hardcastle’s office.
‘How did he react to the news?’ Hardcastle asked.
‘He seemed surprised and genuinely concerned,’ Ruth told him.
‘How did he react to being brought in?’
‘Well, I can’t say he’s happy about it, but he didn’t argue. He just wants to help.’
‘Okay, let’s go and see how helpful he can be. Ruth, you’re with me.’ He looked at Winter. ‘You and he are too close for this, Rob.’ Winter nodded and Crinson and Hardcastle headed off together.
‘I know Jimmy, too,’ Ruth told Hardcastle. ‘Not as well, but we met a couple of times when he and Karen were together.’
‘Why did they split up?’ Hardcastle asked.
‘Jimmy had an affair. Not much more than a one night stand, but that was enough for Karen. Although she also told me he reckoned if she’d paid him half the attention she paid the job, it wouldn’t have happened.’
‘He’d get on well with my ex-wives, by the sound of it.’
Ruth put her hand on the door handle of the interview room. ‘Ready, sir?’
Hardcastle nodded and Ruth pushed the door open.
‘Jimmy Fitzgerald?’ Hardcastle strode forward, his hand out.
Jimmy stood up as they entered. Ruth thought he looked ready for a fight, but Hardcastle’s amiable approach put him off balance. ‘Yes,’ he said, shaking hands with Hardcastle.
‘I’m Detective Superintendent Philip Hardcastle, and I believe you’ve met Detective Chief Inspector Crinson?’
‘Yes.’ Jimmy looked confused.
‘Let’s sit down. Ruth, did you ask Fletcher to bring some teas in?’
‘Yes, sir. Should be here any minute.’
‘Doesn’t taste much like tea,’ Hardcastle told Jimmy, ‘but it’s warm and wet.’
Fletcher knocked and came in with a tray of drinks, which Hardcastle passed round. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘Let’s get down to business. How much have you been told?’
‘Just that Karen’s gone missing.’ Jimmy shook his head. ‘That’s not like her at all, you know? For all the hours she put in here, the rows we had about that, she still went to see her mum two or three times a week. Did her shopping and stuff. She’s got a sister, but she’s a lazy bitch. Leaves it all to Karen.’
‘Well, she’s having to muck in more now,’ said Hardcastle. ‘When did you last see Karen?’
‘It was one night last week. We bumped into each other at the all-night Asda. Wednesday, it would have been. We went for a quick drink and a chat in that pub just up from the roundabout, what is it called?
The Travelling Man
.’
‘Did anyone see you there?’
‘There were other people in, but no one we knew. The barmaid might remember us.’
‘What time did all this happen?’
‘We got to the pub about nine o’clock. I was home around ten, so we must have left by a quarter to.’
‘Separate cars?’
Jimmy nodded. ‘Karen was worked up about the missing kids, especially Annie Snowdon. I remember it affected her badly at the time, but she said it had come back up again and she thought the kid might be still alive.’
‘Did she tell you any details?’
Jimmy shook his head. ‘Not really, just that there was new evidence. She didn’t say what it was, but she said she was frustrated with George Cotter and the people at the church he went to.’
‘Did she say she planned to take any action?’ Ruth asked.
‘What, on her own, you mean?’