Katerina Diamond - Woman in the Water

It wasn’t just about her, either. They had a body they needed to identify and she was the closest thing they had to a witness. Imogen accepted that the woman had probably lied about not remembering anything and if she did, then she knew the who and perhaps the why. There was no reasonable explanation for her to run away if she genuinely couldn’t remember anything about her situation. Was she afraid of getting in trouble with the police? Was she afraid of a person? Was the man who died her husband? So many more questions …

Imogen knew before she got to the exit that she wouldn’t see the woman, that there would be no way to find her. This case was feeling like one door slamming in her face after another. She pulled her phone out and called Gary to check for any CCTV of the hospital and surrounding neighbourhoods. He could put someone on it while they searched the area. She should get him to make that young PC who was supposed to be watching the woman to do it as punishment, but she wouldn’t trust him not to miss anything.

‘I heard,’ Gary said as he answered the phone. ‘The DCI has already asked me to look for CCTV and she has dispatched a couple of cars to look for Jane Doe. DI Walsh is also on his way to the hospital to speak to PC Milbourne.’

‘We are going to look here as well. Adrian has alerted hospital security in case she is still in the building, but she’s had plenty of time to get away. He said twenty minutes, but I reckon we can add at least another ten minutes to that.’

‘There are cameras on the exits to the hospital, so I should be able to get an exact time for you soon enough. I’ve got the head of hospital security on the other line. I’ll text you when I know,’ Gary said before ringing off.

Imogen reached the exit and went outside. She surveyed the surrounding area, but it was desolate. The bus stop was empty and since they had banned smokers from congregating outside the main entrance, there wasn’t anyone to ask. Why would the woman run? Did she run?

Since the video had hit the internet, they couldn’t be sure at this point that whoever had hurt her the first time hadn’t come back to finish the job. Staring at the car park wasn’t doing her any favours, so she went to find Adrian.

What if they couldn’t find the woman? Was she in danger? Was she dangerous? They had no idea. They had less now than they had this morning, significantly less. Maybe the DNA would come back on John Doe, but she didn’t want to admit to herself how unlikely that was.

Sitting in the incident room waiting for a reprimand felt a lot like being on detention. Imogen knew the DCI wasn’t going to be happy, but Adrian was more stressed about the missing woman than worried about what the DCI was going to say. She knew he felt personally responsible because he left her bedside and Imogen felt partially responsible for making him do that.

The truth was, no one was to blame except the woman herself. She wasn’t under arrest but just saw an opportunity to leave and left. There were obviously too many questions that she didn’t want to answer. No one could know what she had been through – only she knew that. It was pointless being annoyed with her; she was the victim in this. One of the victims, anyway.

DCI Kapoor walked in and folded her arms.

‘I’ve just spoken with PC Milbourne and he said she gave no indication that she was going anywhere. One second she was there and when he looked again, she was gone. It’s happened now, anyway, so we need to make sure the newspapers don’t find out that we lost her.

‘The Echo have been asking for an interview with you, DS Miles. I said you would give them a call today, so do that before you go home. The last thing we need is them poking around the hospital. Remember: careful, measured answers. Reporters are always looking for an angle, that’s their job. Your job is to make sure they don’t get it.’

‘What if they ask me how she’s doing?’

‘Say she’s up and walking about. You wouldn’t be lying,’ Imogen said.

‘Please, someone tell me we have something else? Any new information on John Doe?’ Kapoor asked.

‘No match on his DNA and his fingerprints aren’t on file with us, either. Dr Forrester will send a photo over when he is done. I have compiled photos of all current male MisPers within a hundred-mile radius. We can expand further if that doesn’t pan out.’

‘How many are there?’ Imogen asked.

‘Too many,’ Gary said.

A brief silence descended over the room as Gary’s words hit home. A person goes missing every ninety seconds in the UK, almost two hundred thousand are reported missing a year. The amount of people who return to their families or home are few and far between. Most families never got any closure, left to assume the worst for ever.

‘Adrian, you go with Gary and see if, together, you can rule out some of those missing people until you get the reconstruction of John Doe’s face.’

‘Yes, Ma’am,’ Adrian said, shooting a glance at Imogen as he left the room.

Separation anxiety , she thought.

‘Imogen, I would like you to speak to Dr Hadley who was treating Jane Doe. She is in the liaison room; she was called in for something else, but I thought it would be good if you could have a little chat while she’s here. She spent some time with the patient and may have some information that doesn’t violate the patient’s confidentiality. Maybe she mentioned a person or a place. Also, she might know if Jane Doe made any calls or if anyone suspicious in general was hanging around the hospital.’

‘Yes, Ma’am,’ Imogen said.

‘Go on, then,’ DCI Kapoor said, shooing Imogen out of the office.

Imogen walked towards the liaison room to speak to the doctor, hoping she could give them a lead of some kind. At the moment, they were flying blind.

Someone had already given Dr Hadley a drink when Imogen arrived in the liaison room. She was occasionally the on-call doctor for the station and so she was friendly with many of the staff. Dr Hadley had even been out on a date with Adrian once, which Imogen couldn’t help but remember every time she saw her. It wasn’t jealousy, more an acknowledgment of the fact, which her brain liked to jab her with.

‘Dr Hadley,’ Imogen said.

‘DS Grey. Mira, DCI Kapoor, said you wanted to speak to me about the patient.’

‘Yes. Is there anything you can tell us about her that may help us locate her? I am sure you are aware that we found the body of a man near to where she was found. Down on the riverbank.’

‘Yes. And I saw the video of Adrian pulling her out of the river online.’

‘Do you have any information?’ Imogen said, ignoring her comment about Adrian.

If she told herself she wasn’t jealous enough times then maybe she would believe it.

‘I can tell you that she was terrified. She was calm and even-tempered when other people were around, but when she was alone, she was quite distraught. I walked in on her and saw her sobbing more than once. I got the feeling she was in some kind of untenable situation, as though a difficult decision needed to be made. She seemed to be unsure of what she should do.’

‘Well, she had been through a terrible ordeal.’

‘Yes, of course, but she was so determined to keep it hidden, that’s what concerned me. She didn’t ask for advice, or help. I’ve seen this kind of thing before.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Those injuries that she sustained, they weren’t the first. Not by a long shot. There was evidence of injuries and breaks going back a long time. Without saying too much, I think you are looking for a very vulnerable individual.’