The Taken Girls. G.D. Sanders

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ back from work about six. Rachel, my wife, has supper ready. Usually, the … the three of us eat together. Rach and me generally have a quiet night in and Lucy goes round to Debbie’s.’

      At this point Mrs Naylor began to weep softly into a screwed-up handkerchief. Mr Naylor put his arm round her shoulder and continued.

      ‘Fridays, they usually go to see a film but they didn’t fancy what was on this week.’

      ‘What time did Lucy leave?’

      ‘Just before seven.’ He looked at his wife for confirmation and she nodded.

      ‘So she would have arrived at Debbie’s about seven o’clock or just after. What time did you expect her back?’

      ‘She’s just finished her A levels. We didn’t insist she be home early. Even so, she said she’d be back just after ten.’

      ‘She wanted an early night. We’d given her 50 quid. A reward for working hard on her exams. She was going to London today. Shopping with Debbie. I don’t suppose they’ll be doing that now.’

      Mrs Naylor stifled her distress by pressing the handkerchief to her mouth and turning to bury her face in her husband’s shoulder.

      Ed’s stomach hollowed with a flashback to the anguish of being separated from her own child. Ten years ago, with no one to support her, Ed had made a voluntary decision to give her son up for adoption. Mrs Naylor had her husband’s support but she’d had no choice in the loss of her daughter; Lucy had been forcibly taken from her. Ed felt the pain but she was a police officer, a professional, trained to keep her own emotions in check and to interview with sensitivity.

      ‘When did you become concerned?’

      ‘Quarter past ten or so we wondered where she was. Ten minutes later, Rach asked me to look outside. You can see the path from Victoria Road.’

      ‘It’s no distance … no distance at all,’ said Mrs Naylor, clearly shocked that her daughter could disappear so close to home. Her husband continued with his methodical account.

      ‘There was no sign of Lucy. I rang Ted and Joyce, the Shaxteds. Apparently Lucy’d left half an hour earlier. Ted said he’d help look. He walked here via the path and I went to their place via Elham and Cogans. That’s the other route Lucy could take. There was no sign of her. I ran back here. Called the police. That would’ve been about eleven.’

      ‘So Lucy’d been missing for an hour.’ Ed paused and Mr Naylor looked at her, waiting for her next question. ‘She’s 17. Did she have a boyfriend?’

      Mrs Naylor raised her head from her husband’s shoulder. They both hesitated. After a moment, Lucy’s mother replied.

      ‘Plenty of time for that … Lucy’s still a schoolgirl.’

      ‘Even so, Mrs Naylor, many girls her age do have boyfriends.’

      ‘She’ll have time for boyfriends later.’ Mrs Naylor looked uncomfortable, her anguish forgotten for a moment as she spoke defensively. ‘Lucy’s a good girl. She concentrates on her schoolwork … her exams.

      Mr Naylor supported his wife. ‘Lucy’s going to university. She wants to be a teacher.’

      ‘What does Lucy do in her spare time?’

      ‘As Rach said, her A levels, studying in her room.’

      ‘And when she wasn’t studying?’

      ‘She and Debbie are good friends. They’re always together.’

      Ed altered her position in the chair and leant slightly towards the couple.

      ‘Mrs Naylor, Mr Naylor, I’d like you to take a moment to think carefully before you answer my next question.’ She looked from wife to husband. They both nodded. ‘How has Lucy been over the last few days? Has she seemed her usual self or have you noticed a change in her behaviour?’

      After a few seconds Mr Naylor said, ‘A bit tired with all that revising but—’ he looked at his wife ‘—otherwise, much the same as usual. Wouldn’t you say, love?’

      ‘Being tired with the exams, you’d expect that. Once they were over, she perked up. She was excited about going to London.’ At the mention of the London trip, tears started again in Lucy’s mother’s eyes.

      Ed swallowed, aware of the fine line between allowing a child freedom and losing them for ever.

      ‘So, Lucy was her usual self then?’

      The Naylors nodded. Ed looked at Jenny, whose pencil was poised over her notebook. Jenny gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Ed turned back to Lucy’s parents.

      ‘Thank you, that’s been very helpful.’ Ed got to her feet. ‘Before we go, may DC Eastham and I take a look at Lucy’s room?’

      ‘You’ve already taken her computer! Why on earth do you want to go up there again?’ Mrs Naylor’s initial astonishment turned to anger as she continued. ‘Our daughter went missing between here and the Shaxteds’ house. You should be on the streets looking for her, not poking around in her bedroom.’

      ‘I understand what you’re saying, Mrs Naylor,’ Ed said calmly, ‘but a careful look at her room will help us form a picture of Lucy and that could aid our inquiries.’

      Before his wife had a chance to respond Mr Naylor said, ‘Her bedroom’s at the back. Turn left at the top of the stairs. We haven’t touched it.’

      Ed and Jenny were moving towards the stairs when he added, ‘Her room is just as Lucy left it.’

      At his words, Mrs Naylor’s face crumpled and she burst into tears.

      Ed was surprised when Jenny opened the door to Lucy’s room. She’d expected they’d have to pick their way around a typical teenager’s bedroom. Instead, everything appeared to be in its appointed place. There were no pop posters. Delicate floral wallpaper covered the walls and the same pattern was continued on the duvet cover and pillowcase. A well-worn teddy bear was propped against the bed head. Other fluffy toys formed an orderly line under the window.

      ‘Check the wardrobe and bookshelf, Jenny. I’ll take the desk.’

      Lucy’s laptop had been taken for forensic examination the previous evening. Now there was nothing on her desk except a blank pad of lined A4 paper and a pot with assorted pens and pencils. Ed turned her attention to the drawers, which contained other stationery items and a journal or diary with a small brass-coloured lock. She searched the drawers but failed to locate a key.

      ‘Anything interesting, Jenny?’

      ‘Not in the wardrobe. You?’

      ‘Nothing promising except for this.’ Ed waved the journal. ‘It’s locked but a bent paperclip should crack it. What’s on the shelves?’

      ‘Her very neatly filed A-level notes, study guides, a complete set of the Harry Potter novels and a couple of box files.’

      At that moment the simple lock clicked open. Ed riffled through the pages and sighed.

СКАЧАТЬ