Кара Хантер - In the Dark

And suddenly, there it is. The answer. That fact I always thought we’d missed.

‘Do you remember whether she definitely parked there that day?’ I’m trying not to sound too eager about it, but I can see from Gislingham’s face that he’s clocked it too.

Gardiner hesitates. ‘No. But I know she definitely didn’t park outside here the night before. I had to go down and help her bring in some shopping when she got home. But I don’t know for certain where the car was.’

I make to get up, but he hasn’t finished.

‘So does this – this – pervert take women and children? Women who have kids with them?’ I see the girl looking at him anxiously. ‘Is that it? That’s his “thing”? Because the news said there was a child in that cellar as well. A little boy – just like my Toby.’

‘To be honest, Mr Gardiner, we don’t know. It’s possible the child was born down there. But the girl is still too distressed to talk to us, so we don’t yet know exactly what happened.’

He swallows, looks away.

‘Your son is alive,’ I say softly. ‘Alive and safe. That’s what matters now.’

When we get to the front door, Gislingham says he needs to use the bathroom and the girl goes to show him where it is. We stand there, Gardiner and me, not knowing what to say.

‘You were on that other case, weren’t you?’ he says eventually. ‘Last year. That little girl that went missing. Daisy something.’

‘Yes.’

‘That didn’t have a happy ending either, did it.’

It’s a statement, not a question, which is perhaps just as well.

‘Don’t you have a kid too? Am I remembering that right?’

This time I know I need to answer but Gislingham’s arrival saves me.

‘Right, boss,’ he says, hitching his trousers.

I turn to Gardiner. ‘We will, of course, keep you informed about the investigation. And please do let me know if you find any reference to Harper on Hannah’s laptop. And obviously as soon as there is any –’

‘I want to see her,’ he says abruptly. ‘If you find her, I want to see her.’

I didn’t want him to ask. I was praying he wouldn’t.

I shake my head. ‘That’s really not a good idea. It’s best –’

‘I want to see her,’ he says, his voice breaking. ‘She was my wife .’ He’s struggling to keep from weeping, right there, in front of me.

I take a step closer. ‘Really. Don’t do that. Remember her as she was. All those lovely photos. That’s what Hannah would have wanted.’

He stares at me, and I will him to understand. Don’t put an image in your head you can’t forget. I know. I’ve done it. And I can’t take it back.

He swallows, then nods. And I see the relief on the girl’s face.

*

Back in the car, Gislingham yanks out the seat belt and straps himself in. ‘What do you think – is he banging her or not?’

I start the engine. ‘You don’t even know she’s a live-in.’

And in any case, it is two years. The poor sod deserves some chance at moving on. I know how hard that can be. Separating yourself from the past without abandoning it. Without feeling guilty every time you smile.

But Gislingham’s shaking his head. ‘Well, I reckon if he’s not now he soon will be. She’s definitely up for it if you ask me. In fact, I wouldn’t kick her out of bed myself.’

I put the car in gear. ‘I thought you were supposed to be a happily married man.’

He grins at me. ‘But it doesn’t hurt to look, does it?’

*

When we get back to St Aldate’s, Baxter has dragged a clean whiteboard into the incident room and is carefully transcribing the original timeline from the case file.

6.50

Hannah leaves voicemail for childminder

7.20

Rob leaves on bike

7.30?

Hannah leaves

7.55

Text to Hannah from Jervis’s PA, putting i/v back to 9.30

7.57

Rob’s train leaves Oxford

8.35

Childminder’s flatmate leaves message saying she’s ill

8.45 – 9.15

Sightings of Hannah and buggy at Wittenham

8.46

Rob at Reading station (CCTV)

9.30

Witness sees empty buggy in Money Pit

10.30

Toby Gardiner found

When he’s finished he stands back and snaps the top back on the marker pen.

‘So,’ he says, turning to the rest of the team, ‘assuming she never got to Wittenham at all, where does that leave us?’

‘With one hell of a big question mark over all those sightings, for a start,’ says Quinn drily.

I’ve been thinking about that all the way back from Crescent Square; all those witnesses who came forward, just trying to help. And every last one of them mistaken.

‘There were a lot of people up there that day,’ says Baxter, scanning the statements. ‘Parents, kids, dogs. There could easily have been someone who looked a bit like Hannah from a distance. None of them saw her that close up and she wasn’t wearing anything very distinctive.’

‘So this woman they saw, whoever she was, why didn’t she come forward?’ asks Quinn. ‘It was all over the press and the internet for weeks – four or five appeals for witnesses. If you were there that day and looked a bit like her, wouldn’t you have got in touch with the police?’

Baxter doesn’t look convinced. ‘Could have been a tourist. A foreigner. Or someone who just didn’t want to get involved – didn’t want the hassle.’

‘Personally,’ I say, ‘I’m more interested in the dog that didn’t bark.’

I see Erica Somer smile at that, but the others are slower.

‘Oh,’ says Everett, after a moment. ‘You mean like in Sherlock Holmes? ’

I nod. ‘I can easily see someone mistaking another young woman for Hannah. It’s William Harper who’s the real question mark. If he abducted Hannah off the street in Frampton Road, then dumped her car and her son in Wittenham, wouldn’t someone have remembered seeing him? I mean, an old man alone with a baby buggy?’

Baxter is still leafing through the file. ‘One of the witnesses mentions seeing grandparents with kids, so it’s possible he didn’t stand out. But we only asked people if they saw Hannah. We didn’t ask who else they saw.’

‘Right,’ I say, ‘so let’s get back in touch with the eyewitnesses and ask them. See if they remember anyone resembling Harper.’

Quinn nods and makes a note.

‘OK,’ I continue. ‘We established there wasn’t enough time for Gardiner to get to Wittenham and back if Hannah was still alive at 6.50, but what about Harper – could he have done it?’

Everett considers. ‘If Hannah left the flat at 7.30, she must have met Harper no later than 7.45. He could have found some pretext to lure her into the house, then struck her from behind. And once she was unconscious all he had to do was tie her up and leave her there. That wouldn’t have taken that long. I reckon he could have been on the road to Wittenham by 8.15, which means he’d have been there by 8.45 or so. So yes, he could have done it.’

‘Was Harper still driving back then?’ asks Baxter. Not much gets past him.

‘According to the social worker, yes.’

‘So how did he get back to Oxford? Without the car, I mean.’

Gislingham shrugs. ‘Bus? He’s got all day, after all. There’s no one looking for him. No one at home to ask him where he’s been. And all the time in the world to get rid of the body.’

‘After he’d finished with her,’ says Everett darkly. ‘He could have kept her alive for days, for all we know.’

‘There’s still an issue, though, isn’t there, sir?’ Somer this time. ‘There was no unexplained DNA in Hannah’s car. I suppose this man Harper could have driven it and left no trace, but that’s not easy.’