‘Who?’ Helen asked.
Abby swallowed and bit her lip. ‘Casey,’ Abby tried. ‘Where’s Casey?’ She watched as Helen’s face changed from confusion to a strange sort of serenity and then to anger.
‘What do you want with her? Why won’t you leave us alone?’ Helen said.
‘I just want to know she’s okay.’
‘She’s my daughter!’ Helen shouted.
Abby flinched and moved back, glancing at Gardner. Her hand curled into a fist. ‘I know,’ she said.
‘He made me do it,’ Helen said. ‘I had to stop him. He was going to take her away.’
‘Who? Paul?’ Gardner said, looking at the knife Helen had dropped.
‘I knew he’d betray me. He was going to tell on me.’ Her eyes focused, first on Abby and then Gardner. ‘You’re trying to take my baby. That’s what you want. You couldn’t look after your baby so you want mine,’ Helen said, spittle shooting out of her mouth.
Abby shook her head. ‘That’s not true.’
‘You’re a terrible mother. You didn’t want a baby. He told me. You got rid of your baby. And now you want mine.’
‘That’s a lie.’
‘I deserve her. I’m a good mother. You’re not a mother. You’re not
her
mother.’
Abby’s head kept shaking. ‘That’s not true.’
‘Helen, look at me,’ Gardner said.
‘I’m a good mother,’ Helen said. ‘You didn’t want your girl.
He
didn’t want her. He gave her away.’
‘You took her from me,’ Abby screamed, unable to take it anymore.
‘Helen, listen to me,’ Gardner said.
‘She’s not yours,’ Helen said.
‘We know that Helen. We just want to-’ Gardner started.
‘Where is she? Where’s my daughter?’ Abby shouted.
‘Abby, calm down. Helen, look at me.’
‘You can’t have her. You don’t deserve her,’ Helen said. A tear ran down her face and she tried to speak but her voice came out as a croak. Abby leaned closer.
‘What?’ she asked.
Helen started giggling. ‘She’ll be okay. I took care of her,’ she said.
Abby looked over her shoulder at Gardner. He crouched down beside Abby. ‘How did you do that, Helen?’ he asked.
‘She’ll be okay now,’ Helen said again. ‘She’ll be okay. It’s all okay now.’
Abby stood up. It wasn’t going to work. She’d never tell them where she was.
‘She’s sleeping now. My angel’s sleeping now,’ Helen said, no longer laughing. Abby looked at Gardner and he saw her face change. And they both knew.
Abby walked across the road and sunk to the floor.
Her daughter was dead.
She bent over, like she’d been punched in the gut, tears streaming down her face.
Gardner pulled Helen to her feet; he could hear an ambulance siren in the distance. Helen fell back against the car, a drowsy smile on her face. Abby ran back across the road, screaming at Helen, not even words, just screaming at the woman who had taken everything from her. Gardner grabbed hold of her, pulling her back, even though he wished he could just let her have this. Let her have this one small justice after everything Helen had done to her.
Abby kicked against him but he kept tight hold until she gave in, falling against him. He held onto her and told her it’d be alright even though they both knew it was bullshit.
He looked down at Helen, still muttering to herself as the ambulance pulled up beside them. Abby pulled away from him and crossed back to the other side of the road, falling to her knees, her hair covering her face. The paramedics looked from one woman to the other and then to Gardner for guidance. He pointed at Helen and they walked to her, checking her over before putting her into the ambulance.
Chapter Ninety-Two
Abby sat on the cold grass at the side of the road watching them load Helen into the ambulance. She turned away; she couldn’t look at her. Gardner was on his phone again. He looked from Helen to Abby and said, ‘Are you sure? We’re on our way,’ before hanging up.
Another police car arrived and Gardner ran over to them, pointing at the ambulance and then back along the road they’d come up. One of the officers climbed in the back of the ambulance with Helen and it drove away. The other officer got back into his car and did a three-point turn. So that’s it, Abby thought. That’s all there is to it?
She put her head down. She could hear Gardner’s shoes on the tarmac. He stopped in front of her, his scuffed shoes just in front of her own. He bent down to her but instead of saying the kind words he was probably trained to say he took her hand and pulled her up.
‘We’ve got to go,’ he said and led her back towards the car. Abby stopped halfway and waited for him to say something. He opened the door and looked back at her, waiting for her to move.
‘No,’ Abby said. ‘I can’t. I can’t do it anymore.’
Gardner closed the door and came back. He took her arm and led her to the car and this time she let him because what was she going to do out there? As he started the car and drove back towards the town she wondered what she would do at home. What happens now? She closed her eyes.
When she finally opened then, they’d stopped outside another B&B. Another police car was parked ahead. Is this where Beth was? Where Helen had left her?
People were staring, wanting to know what was going on. In the distance she could hear a siren and it was only when the blue lights hit her eyes that she realised that it was behind her. An ambulance to take her daughter away.
Abby threw the car door open and ran up the steps into the B&B. She needed to see her. Just one more time. Just to touch her hair and tell her how sorry she was that she wasn’t there for her, that she couldn’t save her. She pushed through the door and heard voices upstairs. As she got to the top a uniformed officer tried to stop her.
‘Let her in,’ she heard Gardner say and as she ran into the bedroom she saw a paramedic crouching over Beth. She could see her dark hair spilled across the pillow.
‘She’s alive,’ the paramedic said. ‘Unconscious, but alive.’
Abby felt a surge through her body. Her daughter was alive. Beside her she saw Gardner’s hands cover his face. She pushed her way to the bed. The paramedic stepped out of the way and Abby knelt down in front of her daughter, her hands shaking as she tried to touch her face. Behind her she heard movement and Gardner took her arm as the paramedics tried to get in.
‘Will she be alright?’ Abby asked but no one answered.
Chapter Ninety-Three
Abby and Gardner ran down the hospital corridor, almost colliding with a porter as they turned the last corner. As they ran through the doors to A&E, the staff looked up, en-masse.
‘Can I help?’ a nurse asked them, stepping forward.
Gardner flashed his warrant card. ‘A little girl was just brought in, unconscious. Where is she?’
The nurse looked over her shoulder and another, older, woman came around the desk. She looked at Gardner’s ID and then addressed him. ‘Doctor Padel is with her now,’ she said, nodding towards a cubicle.
‘Is she in there?’ Abby said. ‘Is Beth in there?’ She stepped forward but Gardner held her back. ‘What’s wrong with her?’
‘They’re just checking her out,’ the nurse said. ‘She was unconscious when they brought her in. I don’t know...’ She looked from Abby to Gardner and then stepped back as Doctor Padel emerged from behind the curtain. He stopped short as Abby reached for his arm.
‘Is she okay?’ Abby asked.
The doctor looked at them and Gardner stepped forward. ‘I’m DI Gardner,’ he said and reached for his ID again but the doctor waved it away.
‘She’ll be fine,’ he said. ‘She’d been given a sedative. She’s awake now but still very drowsy. We’ll keep her in for observation. We’re just seeing if we can find her a bed on the children’s ward.’
Abby pressed her hands up to her face and swept them back over her hair. Relief washed over her. She was okay. Beth was okay. ‘Thank God,’ she said. ‘Can I see her?’ Abby asked.
The doctor looked at Gardner again and then walked away without a word. Abby waited for Gardner to speak.
‘There are certain... procedures we have to go through,’ he started.
‘What do you mean?’ Abby asked.
Gardner sighed. ‘We can’t just let Beth go home with you... you know that.’
Abby swallowed. She had never really thought about what would happen if she ever got Beth back. Not all the logistics and bureaucracy involved.
‘As far as Beth is concerned Helen is her mother,’ Gardner said. ‘And I know it’s hard. I know all you want is for your daughter to be back with you, but it’s not as easy as that. There’ll be a period of transition.’
‘What does that mean?’ Abby asked.
‘Beth will be placed into care.’
‘What?’ Abby said.
‘She will come back to live with you eventually.’
‘When? How long?’ Abby said.
Gardner shrugged. ‘I can’t say. This is a difficult situation.’ He shook his head. ‘A social worker will work with both you and Beth. You’ll get to know her over time and then when the time’s right, she’ll come and live with you.’ Gardner looked at the floor.
Abby felt like the world had stopped. After everything she’d been through, after all this time she had finally found her daughter and still she couldn’t take her home.
Gardner touched Abby’s shoulder. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.
‘Can I at least see her now?’ she said. ‘Just for while? The doctor said she was drowsy, she won’t even remember it.’
Gardner nodded and pulled back the curtain. The nurse stood and watched, keeping a distance. As Abby stepped into the cubicle, she started to cry.
Beth lay beneath the sheet on her side, legs pulled up to her stomach. Her eyelids fluttered open and closed again as Abby approached her. Abby reached out and brushed the hair from Beth’s face, her hand shaking.
Beth opened her eyes and blinked a few times before smiling. ‘I remember you,’ she said to Abby.
Abby let out a sob and then smiled at the little girl. ‘You do?’
‘You were at
Wind in the Willows
. You found my bag,’ she said and her eyes drooped closed again.
‘That’s right,’ Abby said and smiled. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘I’m tired,’ Beth said.
Abby turned and saw the doctor behind her. ‘We’re taking her up to the ward,’ he said.
Abby turned back. She wished she could stay with her but it was impossible.
‘Night, sweetheart,’ Abby said and stroked Beth’s hair once more. As she turned to leave Beth spoke.
‘Where’s my mummy?’
Abby started to cry. Gardner led her out of the cubicle. A nurse smiled and went in, followed by a porter. The doctor opened the curtain and they pushed Beth’s bed away.
Chapter Ninety-Four
Gardner thanked Detective Carlisle and hung up. Simon had been released, he was on his way to the hospital. Carlisle had been questioning Helen Deal regarding the murder of Paul Henshaw but she’d been less than co-operative. They had the knife Helen had dropped. It was the weapon used to kill Henshaw but she wasn’t saying a word.
Gardner wanted to stay put in Whitby, not only to speak to Helen, but for Abby’s sake too. But he’d been informed that Alice Gregory, the woman who’d given Abby the flyer, had finally been in touch and he wanted to speak to her himself. He wanted to know how she was involved. She was waiting for him when he arrived back at the station.
‘Take a seat,’ he said and sat down across from her.
‘What’s this about?’ Alice asked. ‘I just got back and had like a million messages saying you wanted to talk to me.’
‘It’s nothing to worry about,’ Gardner said. ‘I just wanted to ask you about some flyers you were handing out last week.’ He pulled out the plastic bag with the flyer inside. ‘You were handing them out at a fun day in Locke Park.’
‘Yeah?’ she said.
‘You gave this one to a woman called Abby Henshaw. You handed it to her and said, “You should go.” Do you remember that?’
Alice sat forward and pulled her sleeves down over her hands. ‘I hand out loads of flyers. It’s my job.’
‘Okay. Do you always speak to people when you hand leaflets out? Do you always tell them they should go to something?’
Alice shrugged. ‘Sometimes. I don’t know. Sometimes it helps, like they feel guilty for ignoring you.’
‘Okay. The woman you gave this flyer to said she thought you didn’t have any more flyers with you. She thought you’d given it to her specially. And I think she was right because this was written on the back.’ Alice looked at the writing on the flyer before looking down at the floor. ‘Alice, this is linked to a very serious crime.’ Alice’s head shot up. ‘Now, I think you may be covering for someone and if you decide not to tell me anything it makes me think you have something to hide.’
‘I didn’t write that. He must’ve done it.’
‘Who?’
‘Some bloke gave me twenty quid to give it to her. I saw him lurking about the park for ages. I thought he was some sort of paedo or something, hanging around where all them kids were. He came up to me and handed me the flyer, and I thought the last thing I want is one of the bloody things back. He wanted me to give it to this woman. And I said I was done but he gave me twenty quid so I thought alright then.’ She shrugged and stopped for air. ‘So he pointed out this woman who was sat on the bench. And I asked him if he fancied her. He was all nervous and sweaty and he had gloves on, like driving gloves or something. And he said it was really important she got it. I thought he wanted to ask her out or something. He looked like a bit of a loser. So I went over and gave it to her and that was it. Then I went home.’ Alice stopped for a second before looking Gardner in the eye. ‘He didn’t kill her did he?’
‘No, he didn’t,’ Gardner said. ‘Do you remember what he looked like?’
Alice shrugged again. ‘Skinny. Tall.’
‘Is this him?’ Gardner asked and showed her the photo of Paul Henshaw.
‘Yeah, that’s him. Freak.’
Gardner thanked Alice Gregory and headed out to get back to Whitby.
His head was banging. Why would Paul Henshaw suddenly tell Abby where Beth would be? Why would he wait so long? They may never know that but at least he had done the right thing in the end. And at least they now knew why Helen had killed him. That was something.
‘Sir?’
Gardner turned to find Lawton jogging towards him.
‘I just wanted to know how the little girl was. Beth,’ she said.
‘Looks like she’s going to be fine,’ he said.
‘And Abby?’
Gardner shrugged. ‘Who knows. But she’s found her. That’s what counts.’ He turned to walk away but stopped. ‘How did the interview go?’
‘Sir?’
‘The motivational speaker.’
‘Oh,’ she said. ‘He didn’t get it.’
Gardner smiled. ‘Glad to hear it.’
Lawton smiled at him. ‘Anyway, I’d better get back to it,’ she said, and he watched her walk away.
Gardner walked along the corridor towards the children’s ward. He knew Abby had stayed outside, waiting to hear how Beth was. She knew she couldn’t see her but still she waited. She’d been waiting for a long time, she was used to it.
Gardner looked through the small window to where Abby was sitting. She looked exhausted but at the same time more full of life than he’d ever seen her. He wished he’d seen more of her that way, wished he’d been able to make her happy before. But that wasn’t his place. It never would be. He’d done what he’d promised. He found Beth. What else did she need him for?