Lynda La Plante: Twisted

‘My daughter has not been seen by anyone I know of for the entire weekend or yesterday, she has not even turned up for school, and it is now Tuesday. I need you to tell me exactly what I should – or what the police should – be doing, as I am really very concerned.’

Burrows stood up and closed her notebook. ‘Leave this with me for a moment. Would you like a drink of some-’ Lena interrupted.

‘You want me to wait in here?’

‘Yes please, Mrs Fulford. I need to talk to one of my colleagues.’

The small room was stuffy and Lena unbuttoned her coat, drawing it low to her shoulders. Her right foot was twitching with impatience. With nothing else to do she called Marcus, who answered immediately, sounding concerned.

‘Did you get my message?’ he demanded. ‘I’ve tried everything we thought of but got nowhere. I’ve been waiting for you to call. Where are you?’

‘I’m at the police station. I’ve been here since I last spoke to you. I’ve got this young detective woman driving me crazy, asking me the same questions over and over. Did Amy have a boyfriend, Marcus? It feels as if she thinks Amy’s simply run away, but I know she wouldn’t do that. She’s always so good about keeping in touch with me when she’s not at home – this is the first time I can remember her not checking in. So, was she seeing some boy?’

‘Not that I know of – she never mentioned having anyone to me. You know how she was always texting and using her iPhone so there’s no address book, or notebooks here, nothing that would tell me how to reach her friends. I know she was with Serena, is it? For the sleepover – I knew about that. Christ, you don’t think she’s gone off with a teacher? There was that case a few years back when the girl went off with her teacher-’

He was talking very fast, his words tripping over each other, and she had to ask him to be quiet so she could think what next to say. ‘I have met all her teachers and I don’t think that is even a possibility, but I speak from my side – I have no idea what you two did, or if she met someone, maybe a friend of yours.’

‘For chrissakes, nobody I know would date my fucking daughter – that’s preposterous.’

‘Marcus, I am here by myself, and if you had any thought for me left, you would be here with me. This is a nightmare and I am seriously worried that something has happened to Amy, because she would not simply take off without a word to you or me.’

He gave a heavy sigh and, obviously trying to keep himself calm, said he would come to the police station, if she thought it was necessary. Lena told him that he would have to be interviewed if there was still no word from Amy.

‘Call the school again, Marcus, see if there’s any news, and at the same time ask for contact numbers and email addresses for all Amy’s friends.’

‘What are the police doing to try and find her?’

‘Nothing as yet,’ Lena replied dismissively. ‘I have been left in a dank little interview room, so I don’t know what if anything anybody is doing. The officer took details for a missing person report and said she had to discuss the situation with her detective inspector and he would decide what happens next. It’s nearly three days since anyone saw Amy and to be honest I am starting to feel as if they are not taking it seriously enough, and I am at my wits’ end.’

‘Okay, listen, hang in there, I’ll call the school, and get back to you. Stay positive, I’m certain there will be some reason she’s not returned to school, and I’ll do my best to find out, okay? Lena? Are you all right?’

‘Yes, but call me if you hear anything.’

Marcus made the call and had a frustrating conversation with Amy’s headmistress. At first, instead of being helpful, she was anything but, explaining that she could not give private email addresses or contact numbers of other pupils without their parents’ permission. Eventually she said she was obviously very concerned and would, if he wished to come and see her, seek permission for the details he requested. She also said that according to the pupils’ logbook, Amy had signed out for her weekend and they had given Mrs Newman a copy of the letter confirming that Amy was permitted to have a sleepover with their daughter Serena. They had expected Amy to return on the Sunday evening, but Serena had returned on her own, saying that Amy was staying with her father. On Monday morning when she had still not returned, they called Mrs Fulford and left several messages before they heard back from her. Marcus thanked her for the information and asked if under the circumstances she would be willing to give him Mrs Newman’s phone number, as he really needed to speak with her. The headmistress agreed.

Immediately the woman hung up, Marcus called Mrs Newman to ask her exactly what she recalled about the Saturday afternoon.

‘I am so sorry that you still haven’t heard from Amy. It must be very distressing for you both, but I really can’t add anything to what I already told your wife.’

‘Would you mind going over it again for me please, from when Amy and Serena got back to your house from school?’

‘Well, Serena told me they had originally intended to go shopping and then see the five-thirty showing of a movie at the local cinema. It was shortly after arriving here from school that Amy told Serena she had to go to see you as she wanted to collect something.’

‘What did she need to see me about?’

‘I don’t believe Amy was specific on the matter, Mr Fulford. Anyway Serena decided to stay here, wash her hair and wait for Amy’s return. Serena was rather angry because she waited in all afternoon, and even left messages for Amy, but got no reply so she went to the cinema with some other friends.’

‘Did no one think to call me or Lena?’

‘We don’t have a number for you, Mr Fulford, and I did leave a message on your wife’s house phone but got no reply. I feel very guilty about not being more worried at the time, but Serena said that Amy often stayed weekends with you and she would no doubt turn up at school on Sunday.’

Marcus had listened patiently, and although annoyed that Mrs Newman didn’t do more, kept his calm and asked if she could give him contact numbers of Serena’s friends. She took an age away from the phone before returning and giving him details of three girls who were friends of Serena’s from her previous school. She thought they did know Amy, but she couldn’t be sure.

‘Do you know if Amy had a boyfriend?’

‘No. It’s not something I ever asked her or that Serena mentioned to me. I’m so sorry that I can’t be of more assistance, Mr Fulford, but if there is any way that I or my daughter can help you or your wife then please don’t hesitate to call.’

Marcus thanked her, and she said he should really call her by her Christian name.

‘It’s Harriet, and my husband is Bill.’

‘Right, Harriet, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.’

‘Please, under the circumstances you must be frantic. I hope nothing serious has happened and would appreciate it if you keep me updated.’

‘I will – thank you, Harriet.’

It was now approaching eleven a.m. Marcus rang Lena, who sounded really tense, to give her a brief rundown of what he’d been doing. He suggested they go to the school to talk with the headmistress, but Lena said that she’d have to call him back as a policewoman had just walked in.

Lena accepted a cup of tea, as the uniformed officer apologized for keeping her waiting but DC Burrows was having a meeting with her superior, DI Reid, and he would be coming in to talk to her in a moment.

‘If you think of anything more that might be important, often just the smallest thing can be extremely helpful,’ the policewoman said.