THE GIRL WHO DISAPPEARED

DI ELLIS YORKSHIRE CRIME THRILLERS

BOOK 14

OLIVER DAVIES

Copyright © 2024 by Oliver Davies

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

PROLOGUE

Icontinued to follow my daughter, Faye, toward the hospital’s main exit, feeling a mix of emotions with each step I took. Although the case I was working on was almost twenty years old, I was taking it as seriously now as I did back then. If anything, it was getting to me more now than it ever had before.

Lydia Henton had been brutally murdered, and her untimely death had been followed by the murders of Angela Lowell, Nadia Manir, and likely Marika Dabrowska. Lydia, Angela, and Nadia had all been found brutally beaten with their wedding fingers removed, wearing nothing but white undergarments. Although Marika’s body was still missing, I was certain she was connected to this case as well. There were too many coincidences for her to not be.

With a likely fourth victim now involved, and with Larry Arnold—the owner of the Wolf and Lamb Pub—now being questioned as the top suspect, the stakes felt much higher than they did nearly two decades ago. Especially because I felt that Larry was being wrongly accused. My suspicions were only verified when I was attacked before I got closer to the truth.

Why had someone attacked me? What was in the folder I found that made the attacker so desperate to obtain it? Did the murderer attempt to silence me once and for all?

There were more questions than answers, leaving me concerned that I’d be left disappointed with the outcome of this case, just like I was many years ago. I’d been forced to close the case, even though I hadn’t wanted to. Yet with insufficient evidence and no leads, my superiors had forced my hand. It had been the worst moment of my career, and now that I was retired, I knew I had to put all of my energy into finally solving it once and for all. I just had to hope that at the age of sixty-five, I still had it in me to do so.

I’d never given much thought to my age, but after getting attacked at the pub and dealing with the doctor at the hospital, I wondered if my age was going to hold me back. The doctor had pointed out that, due to my age, something like a smack to the head would take longer to heal. Even though I knew he was coming from a professional place of care, I couldn’t help but start to look at things differently.

Maybe my wife, Lylah, was right. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this anymore. Maybe I should be sitting up at home, cradling a cup of tea as I did crosswords.

She and Faye had come to see me at the hospital, and she’d seemed deeply concerned over my focus on this case. She feared that I’d lose myself in my work. After having some time to think about it, I could see her point.

Was I too old for this now? Was I a fool for charging into danger when I had a wife and two children? Sure, they were adults with their own families, but who wanted to lose their father? I’d already been hit from behind, so who was to say something else wouldn’t happen?

Something much more tragic.

I was suddenly pulled from my thoughts when I felt a hand clasp my own tightly. I turned to see that Lylah had caught up with me and was now at my side, holding my hand and giving me a look that told me she was with me.

No matter what.

The steely look of determination in her hazel eyes was all the push I needed to know that I couldn’t give up now. Lylah had been up and down throughout this case, all due to her love for me, but to see her looking at me like that was all the support I needed to go on.

Four women were dead, and it didn’t matter how old I was. I couldn’t give up until their memories had been laid to rest and their killer was made to—finally—suffer the consequences of what he’d done.

I looked ahead and saw that Faye was holding the door open for us, gesturing wildly for us to hurry ourselves. Once outside, the three of us then charged over to Faye’s car—my car was still parked outside of Larry’s pub. As we got settled in, part of me couldn’t help but feel happy that most of my family was by my side, working on this case. Although my son, Craig, wasn’t with us—he was the only member of the family sensible enough to avoid a career in the police—it felt right to finish this case with my wife and daughter by my side.

Faye pulled out of the hospital and started driving us toward the station. As she drove, her hands drummed on the steering wheel impatiently and I noticed her eyes frequently darting between me and the road.

I caught her eye and gave her a tired smile. “I’m fine, love. Stop fretting.”

Faye snorted. “It’s hard to believe that when you’ve got a bandage draped around your head.”

I pulled down the sun visor, and when I caught a glance of myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but gasp. I had rushed out of the hospital without a proper look. The thick, white bandage wrapped around the majority of my head. I rubbed the back of it gingerly and winced as my fingers glided over my injury.

“Don’t poke at it!” Lylah snapped. “You’ll make it worse!”

“Alright, alright!” I huffed, fussing with what small part of my hair stuck out from the bandage. I looked like a mess. After failing to tame my hair, I ran my hand over my tired face before slowly closing the visor. My attention was soon pulled back to Lylah as I heard her swearing.

“Pick up, Nadia!” Lylah exclaimed.

“I’ll try to call her,” I offered as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

While Faye drove us toward the station, I tried to ring Nadia several times, and grew more frustrated each time she didn’t pick up. Since Nadia had ignored Faye earlier at the hospital and now Lylah, I knew she must be busy, but considering how our last conversation went, I couldn’t help but be paranoid that Nadia was simply avoiding us all.

More specifically, me.

After all, she had removed me from the case. She felt I’d grown too close to her top suspect, Larry.

I subtly looked at Faye, then Lylah in the wing mirror’s reflection, feeling guilty over the fact I still hadn’t shared that fact with them. I wasn’t trying to keep it from them, it just hadn’t come up in conversation yet.

I tried again to get Nadia to answer, but when she didn’t again, I threw my phone down on my lap and huffed irritably.

I could respect the fact that Nadia had her concerns, but how could she not see how much this case meant to me? I’d been putting in the hard graft for days to find the murderer when no one else from the station took the letter seriously, yet now Nadia had swooped in and taken it all away from me as quickly as a seagull stealing chips at the seaside.

It wasn’t fair.

Faye glanced at me. “Relax, Dad! Nadia’s likely still talking to Larry, but we will be there soon.”

“She’s been ignoring me for ages,” I grumbled.

“She’s not doing it intentionally,” Lylah responded. “You know how it is. How many times did we get too busy to answer any calls?”

There was an awkward silence, and I could feel Lylah’s eyes boring into me from behind.

“What aren’t you telling us, Sean?” Lylah pressed.

Faye turned and glanced between us quizzically. I sighed as I awkwardly rubbed my face.

“She’s not exactly happy with me at the moment,” I replied cautiously.

Lylah pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Why? Because you challenged her about Larry?”

I quirked a brow. “What makes you think that?”

“Because I’ve been married to you for over two decades,” Lylah said.

Faye snorted. “She’s got a point.”

Lylah’s smile quickly fell from her face and was replaced with seriousness. “So did you challenge her? You’ve made it very clear to us that you think Larry is innocent. I can’t imagine you were a shrinking violet around Nadia.”

I sighed. “Aye, I did make my thoughts clear, but I know she’s wrong to arrest Larry, and she was definitely wrong to kick me off the case, but I know⁠—”

“What!?” Faye and Lylah exclaimed at the same time.

Crap, I thought. They’ve taken this worse than I thought they would.

“She told me she was concerned I’d grown too close to Larry to remain impartial, but if she could just work with all of us I’m certain⁠—”

“She thinks you’re too close to Larry, and we’re racing to the station to stop her from questioning him?” Faye queried with a frown. “Proving her point a bit, aren’t we?”

I rubbed my face and swore under my breath before replying. “I see your point, but I wouldn’t be racing down there if I wasn’t completely certain that—” I paused, watching in shock as Faye pulled the car over. “What are you doing?”

Faye turned off the car’s ignition, then turned to me, her expression annoyed and concerned. “You may have retired, Dad, but I haven’t.” She hesitated uncomfortably. “It’s going to look seriously bad for me if I undermine a superior’s decision, isn’t it?”

Faye was a DI now, and I knew she took her job as seriously as I had when I was in her role.

I chewed my lip thoughtfully. “You know I’d never do anything to risk your job, love, but you also know I would never do anything without reason.”

Lylah unbuckled her seatbelt and moved closer to me. “We want to support you, Sean, but now that we know Nadia took you off the case, it puts us both in a difficult position. Nadia may be our friend, but Faye and I both work under her. We can’t cross any lines here.”

I groaned impatiently. “Don’t you two get it!? There is an innocent man who is being accused of the most unspeakable of⁠—”

“NOOO! STACEY!”

The sound of a woman’s piercing scream interrupted my train of thought.

“What the?” Faye muttered in disbelief.

The three of us looked at one another, then immediately went into work mode. We climbed out of the car and ran toward the noise. After moving speedily toward a nearby playground, we quickly found a woman gripping her hair as she gazed around manically. She looked young, likely late twenties, and had long, thick hair down to her shoulders. It was dyed a variety of different colours. Her build was around the UK average, and she looked to be no taller than five feet. She had a large piercing on her right eyebrow, green eyes, and a few dark freckles across her nose and cheeks.

There was no one else around, so I couldn’t immediately see what had happened, but clearly something had caused her to screech like a banshee.

She saw us charging over and moved immediately in our direction.

“What’s wrong?” I asked hastily.

“M-my daughter,” the woman stammered. “I c-can’t find her!”

“Where was she?” Faye queried. “It’s okay, we’re with the police.”

“Oh, thank God you’re here!” The woman clutched her chest. She glanced behind her and pointed toward a small slide. “She was just there a few minutes ago. I-I turned my back just for a second and she was gone!”

Lylah wrapped her arm around the woman’s shoulders. “It’s okay, we’re here now.” She glanced toward the slide, then back toward the woman. “We will look around here together. She can’t have gone far.”

“T-thank you,” the woman responded as she watched Lylah and Faye charge off and start looking around.

I kept with the woman, knowing it was crucial I got some information out of her.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Siobhan,” the woman responded.

“And what is your daughter’s name?” I questioned, thinking I already knew the answer after hearing what Siobhan had screamed out.

“S-Stacey,” Siobhan stammered through her tears.

“What were you doing when Stacey was on the slide, Siobhan?” I pressed.

Siobhan put her hands to her face and started to shake. She pointed away from the park toward a fence. “I-I literally just went to put some rubbish in the bin! My back couldn’t have been turned for more than a minute at the most!”

I nodded understandingly. “Did you see anyone around?”

Siobhan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly grabbed her face in horror. “Yes, I did! I didn’t think much of it before, but there was a man who walked by earlier.” She started to cry harder. “Oh, God! Has he taken her?”

I put my hands up in the air. “We don’t know anything yet, Siobhan, so it’s best we don’t jump to any conclusions.” I glanced around, saw Faye and Lylah still looking around the park, then I turned back to Siobhan. “Can you describe the man for me, please?”

Siobhan nodded as she cuddled herself. “Y-yes. He had a shaved head, was wearing an oversized black jacket, and he⁠—”

“I think I’ve found her!” Faye shouted.

Siobhan and I looked toward Faye and saw she was running toward a bush. She bent down, and a few seconds later, a small girl crawled out from under it. The moment Siobhan saw her, she ran. I quickly followed her.

“Stacey!” Siobhan cried.

Stacey looked happily at her mother as she fell to the ground and threw her arms around her.

“Mummy, I saw a squirrel!” Stacey exclaimed. When the girl spoke, it was clear she couldn’t pronounce her R’s. “It ran up the tree, so I was waiting for it to come back. I wanted to surprise it!”

I looked at the girl properly as Siobhan released her. I’d have said she was no older than four based on her height. She had bushy brown hair that now had various bits of twigs sticking out of it, and when she smiled, I noticed she had a rather large gap between her front two teeth.

“Sweetie!” Siobhan exclaimed. “What has Mummy told you about running off like that, eh? You had us all worried sick!”

Lylah had now joined us, and Stacey drooped her shoulders and looked between us all with a sad expression. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

I smiled at her and rubbed the top of her head. “That’s alright, Stacey. As long as you’re safe.”

Stacey stepped closer toward me and stared at me. “What’s that white thing on your head?”

Siobhan looked at Stacey in horror. “Darling! You can’t ask people questions like that.”

Stacey folded her arms and pouted. “Why?”

Siobhan picked Stacey up and cuddled her closely. She kissed the top of her head before looking between me, Lylah, and Faye. “This is so embarrassing! I’m so sorry for getting you involved in this.”

I grimaced sympathetically. “That’s alright, Siobhan.” I smiled at Stacey. “We’re just glad that she is safe.”

Siobhan’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she nodded. “I was just lucky you were police!” She hesitated as she held Stacey close. “If something had happened, I couldn’t have asked for better people to be close by. I truly can’t thank you enough for all of your help.”

Lylah rubbed Siobhan’s back reassuringly. “We’re more than happy to help.”

Siobhan pulled a concerned face. “I bet in your line of work you’ve had to deal with many cases of missing children, haven’t you?”

I sighed. “Aye, more than I’d have liked to.” My eyes moved back toward the playground, and I was hit with a sense of déjà vu. “There was one case in particular that was very similar to this. The child went missing at a park.”

Siobhan’s light eyes lit up with worry. “What happened?”

I chewed my cheek thoughtfully as I caught Stacey’s wide, curious eyes.

“A lot,” I replied honestly.

“I’d love to hear about it,” Siobhan pressed. She put Stacey down on the ground, then looked embarrassed again. “Sorry, you helped me and now I’m prying! How rude of me!”

Lylah chuckled. “Trust me, we always get asked about old cases.”

Faye turned to me with a knowing look. “And this man just loves to relive them.”

My cheeks flushed as I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “Aye, I do, but going through old cases seems to be all I’ve done recently.”

I was hit with a sudden wave of guilt at the thought of Larry. That kind, innocent man was likely trapped in an interrogation room, yet I kept spending my time discussing all of my old successes. It made me feel almost egotistical.

“Oh, you have to tell me then!” Siobhan squealed. “I promise I’ll make a great audience, and it will definitely make me feel better after embarrassing myself in front of you all.”

I caught Faye’s eye and saw the fixed look she was giving me. I knew my daughter well enough to know that she was silently saying I might as well discuss the case. She had no intention of driving me anywhere right now.

I sighed in defeat and crossed my arms. “Alright, I suppose we can be quick about it.”

Siobhan jumped up and down on the balls of her feet, causing me to smile in spite of myself.

“This was definitely a case that was full of surprises. I don’t think any of us were expecting the outcome we got,” I started.

1

Irecoiled in horror as a wave of vomit cascaded down the front of my t-shirt and over my hair, face, and neck. I pulled Craig away and watched as my infant son smiled and giggled at me, his chin and belly coated in a crust of yellow puke.

“Eurgh,” I muttered in disgust as I surveyed the damage.

I heard a feminine giggle behind me. “Now that’s certainly something I’m glad I got to see!”

I turned hopefully toward the female voice, then felt immediate guilt when I saw who it was. It was the face of someone I cared about, but not the face I’d longed to see.

At the front door stood Nadia, wearing a smile, a navy headscarf, and clothes that were surprisingly casual for her. I was used to her wearing professional suits, but today she was wearing an old black t-shirt, navy joggers, and a navy hoodie that matched the colour of her headscarf.

“Mornin’, Nads,” I said gruffly. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”

Nadia walked forward, shrugged off her hoodie, and placed it on my dining table. “I thought you could do with a hand. I remembered you saying your mother wasn’t around today.”

“Actually, I really could do with the help,” I sighed, happy to shove back my pride and accept the offered assistance.

Nadia grimaced sympathetically as she took a few more steps forward. As she passed the staircase her eyes trailed up thoughtfully before she looked back at me. She held her hands out toward me and took Craig.

“Sorry, you’re likely going to get puke all over you,” I said, passing my son over.

Nadia chuckled lightly. “Why do you think I’ve got on clothes that I don’t care about?” She held Craig in a way that fully supported him, but kept the vomit on his body from touching her. “You get yourself sorted while I give Craig a quick bath in the sink.”

I could have hugged Nadia tightly in gratitude, but since I knew she wouldn’t have appreciated it, I simply nodded. I regretted it instantly as a bit of vomit fell from my hair and onto my face. “Ta, Nadia. I won’t be long.”

I walked up the stairs and toward the bathroom, pausing when I reached the closed door of my bedroom. For a second I simply stared at it, part of me longing to go inside, but instead I took a deep breath and pulled my gaze away from the door with difficulty. Once in the bathroom, I jumped in the shower and quickly washed my hair and body. It felt like it took many squirts of shampoo and body wash before the stench of vomit was no longer assaulting my nostrils, but when the smell was no longer consuming me, I climbed out of the shower and dried myself off.

I felt much happier after my shower, so after I got dressed, I grabbed my soiled clothes and took them downstairs. Once I reached the bottom, I saw that Nadia was still sorting Craig out in the sink, so I hurled my dirty clothes into the washing machine then joined her.

“Ta, Nads,” I said gratefully. “Want me to take over?”

Nadia smiled as she pulled Craig out of the sink and started to put a new nappy on him. “No, it’s fine! I’m nearly done.”

She finished sorting out Craig before turning around and passing him back to me. I pulled him to my chest and held him close.

“Ta for this, Nadia,” I said gratefully. “I can’t thank you enough for coming over on your day off. I’m sure there’s a million things you’d rather be doing.”

“You think I wouldn’t want to see my godson?” Nadia questioned with a fake look of upset.

I laughed and gestured with my head for us to go into the living room. “I’m certainly glad I asked you instead of Rebecca. She definitely wouldn’t have taken a puke-drenched infant from my hands.”

“We both know she wouldn’t want to do anything maternal,” Nadia responded with humour.

I got comfortable on the sofa as I snorted a laugh. Rebecca and I were incredibly close, and she was at the top on my list for the role of godmother, but the practical side of me knew Rebecca wasn’t overly fond of children. However, Nadia had a lot of experience with infants considering she had an army of nieces and nephews. Thankfully, Rebecca understood completely, and if anything, seemed grateful that I hadn’t given her a responsibility she was uncomfortable receiving.

For a moment, the three of us sat there in silence—Craig already snoozing away in my arms—before Nadia cleared her throat and spoke.

“How are things?” she asked, her eyes glancing toward the stairs again.

I sighed. “Still the same.”

Nadia nodded, her eyes shining with concern. “Do you think I should try to speak to her, or should I leave her to rest?”

I rocked Craig in my arms as I thought of what to say. Eventually, I responded. “I’d leave her to rest. She seems to need a lot of sleep at the moment.”

Nadia nodded sympathetically. “I get it. Motherhood is hard.”

There was silence again for a moment. Nadia offered to make us both a drink and came back with two coffees. I placed Craig in his crib in the living room, then sat back down on the sofa with Nadia.

Nadia looked at me. “We’ve missed you at work, but we understand why you needed to extend your paternity leave.”

I grunted before taking a sip of my coffee. “To be honest… it’s ridiculous that men are only entitled to two weeks, anyway.”

“I agree,” Nadia responded.

I sighed. “Obviously I’m glad I got over two weeks off, but Craig is six months old now. I’ve been off for almost four months.”

Nadia whistled quietly, clearly nervous of potentially disturbing Craig. “I can’t believe it was six months ago we were all in the hospital together. That’s wild.”

I nodded. “Aye, I know. Time has gone ridiculously fast and painfully slow at the same time.”

Nadia took a sip of her coffee as she slowly glanced toward the stairs again. “How long has she been struggling for?”

“Since Craig was two months old,” I responded.

“Have you tried broaching the topic of seeing someone with her?” Nadia queried softly. “Like a therapist or a specialist at the hospital?”

“I can barely talk to her, Nads.” I sighed. “She’s clearly suffering from postnatal depression, but anytime I try to get her to see Craig or talk about it, she shuts me down.”

Nadia took a long sip of her coffee, her eyes wide with emotion. She then lowered her mug and looked at me. “I think you’re right,” she responded cautiously. “I’ve done a lot of research into this myself, and it’s the only thing that makes sense. Apparently it affects at least one in ten women.”

“Well, bully for us for being in that ten percent bracket,” I replied bitterly.

Nadia moved closer to me and grabbed my hand. “I know this must be tough. I just wish there was more I could do.”

I gripped her hand back as I smiled at her. “You being here is already more than enough.”

“I care about you and Lylah a lot, you know,” Nadia responded kindly as she took her hand back. “I promise that while Lylah is getting herself sorted, I’ll be here to help you.”

“I don’t know how she’ll sort herself out,” I replied. I felt my eyes start to sting, so I cleared my throat to stop myself from welling up. “How can we? She thinks there’s nothing wrong!”

Nadia downed the rest of her coffee, then put down her mug before looking at me sympathetically. “I know it’s hard, but all we can do is be patient, be there for her, and just hope she’ll eventually want our help.”

I looked at Nadia. “And if she doesn’t?”

Nadia chewed her lip uncomfortably. “We will just have to make her.”

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Have you met Lylah?” I hesitated. “She’s not an easy person to make do something.”

“Yes, you both have that in common,” Nadia responded with a wry smile. The smile was soon replaced by a grave expression “I would never want to force her to do anything, but sometimes you have to do what is necessary to help people see things they’re struggling to see themselves.”

“I guess you’re right.” I hesitated as I got comfortable on the sofa. “I just had such a vision of what it would be like when we had the baby. I saw Lylah and I being the happiest parents, making every moment work together.” I rubbed my stubble, which was thicker than normal since I hadn’t had the time or energy to shave. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy or perfect, but I thought we’d be a team. It’s just been hard knowing things haven’t turned out the way I hoped they would.”

Nadia started to tear up. She wiped under her eyes before replying. “Lylah was so ready to be a mother. It was all she spoke about.” Nadia sighed. “It’s horrible seeing her like this, knowing it’s the complete opposite of how she wanted things to be.”

She wrapped her arms around me suddenly, overcome with emotion. For a moment we simply held one another, both supporting a friend who was concerned about someone they loved, but the moment was soon interrupted by Craig wailing loudly.

I grumbled as I pulled away from Nadia’s embrace. “That boy never likes to sleep for long.”

Nadia held her arm out to me to stop me from getting up. “Let me handle it, okay? You need some time to rest too.”

Although part of me wanted to resist, I knew she was right. My body was crying out for some respite after dealing with Craig for so long. I kept on the sofa and watched as Nadia cradled Craig close and managed to settle him with ease.

“Can you move in, please?” I asked.

Nadia laughed. “You’re doing great without me, Sean. Craig is lucky to have two parents who love him as much as you do.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek uncomfortably, but soon recovered.

I was grateful to Nadia for spending the day with me. Although we spent most of it at the flat—mostly because I was too afraid to leave Lylah on her own—we did enjoy a short walk outside. From the way Craig giggled continuously I could tell he enjoyed the feel of fresh air caressing his skin. However, while I felt lucky to have Nadia and her effortless way with Craig, it only made me miss Lylah more.

These were moments I should have been enjoying with Craig’s mother. Not his godmother.

I was sympathetic to Lylah and her struggles, but I couldn’t deny the small part of me that resented her for leaving me to deal with Craig without her. While I regularly had people like my mother, Faye, and Nadia coming over to help me, it only made me more and more aware of Lylah’s absence. Everyone seemed to have more involvement with Lylah’s own child than she did herself.

I knew it wasn’t her fault, but it didn’t make things easier.

I said goodbye to Nadia early in the evening, then spent the rest of my night alone with Craig, dealing with frequent nappy changes and experiences with vomit. I longed to have Lylah here with me, but I knew there was no way she would leave our room anytime soon. With a tired sigh I held Craig close and decided to take him upstairs, hoping I could get him settled in the crib in our room. I went upstairs, pushed open our bedroom door, and bit back a sigh at the sight of Lylah’s back turned to me.

All she seemed to do was lay in bed.

I got Craig settled, changed into my pyjamas, then climbed into bed beside her.

I looked at Lylah’s back and moved closer to her. “Nadia was over today,” I whispered. “She was asking how you were doing.”

“Hmm,” Lylah responded.

I felt dejected, but not surprised, at her lack of desire to communicate with me. Although part of me longed to try harder, I’d had enough nights like this to know the best thing I could do was leave her to sleep. Feeling tired myself, I got myself comfortable and closed my eyes.

I just hoped Craig would allow me at least an hour or two of rest. If he woke up, it would be up to me to comfort him and make sure he was okay.

Lylah clearly wasn’t up to doing it herself.

2

The woman was still in a state of shock. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to recover from it.

For the past six years she’d been living in ignorance, but just a couple of months ago, she’d been made aware of a terrible truth. It shattered her world completely, made her question everything she’d ever known.

Tears formed in her eyes at the thought. She didn’t want the last several years to be a lie. They’d been the best years of her life, at least until the last few months. But how could she ever recover? How would anyone feel if they found out their child wasn’t their own? For years, she believed herself to be the mother of her blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl, Alice.

Her kind, generous, beautiful baby girl.

Since the moment she was placed into the woman’s arms, Alice had been her entire world. All they had was each other, and that was all the woman had ever wanted. She’d been single for as long as she could remember, and with her biological clock ticking, the woman made the choice to use a sperm donor to make her dreams of being a mother come true.

She didn’t need a husband or some man supporting her and telling her what to do. All she needed was a child to love unconditionally. Alice made her world complete. They had several amazing years together until the woman heard news no mother ever wants to hear.

Her daughter had leukaemia and was unlikely to recover from it.

The woman thought no news could have shocked her more, but then Alice started to go through treatment. When it came out that the girl wasn’t biologically hers, it felt like another emotional blow.

It was hard enough losing your child at such a young age, let alone having your world turned upside down with the knowledge that the child you’d loved and raised was never truly yours.

The woman would never see Alice as anything less than her child—blood or not, Alice was her baby—but she couldn’t deny how good it felt to have a second chance. There was another child out there, a child she was meant to give her love to. Since Alice wasn’t hers, it meant she was the mother of another girl.

A girl who had been snatched away from her and taken to another home.

She gripped her steering wheel tightly as she looked to her right, comforted by the leather under her fingers. It was a comfort she desperately needed right now.

The woman was parked, her eyes locked on a particular house. As she looked toward it, she felt a range of conflicting emotions. The house was large—much larger than anything she’d ever be able to afford—and looked new. The walls were clean, and white, and the white front door looked just as pristine as the walls. The front garden was massive, neatly trimmed, and contained beautiful rose bushes. On the stone path leading up to the house was an old-fashioned pram. It was rusted, the wheels were massive, and looked as though it had been dragged out of an old film. The woman couldn’t help but think about how odd it was, particularly as the aged look of it contrasted so bizarrely with everything else near the house.

The woman knew the pram couldn’t have been for her daughter—she’d be far too old now—which made her wonder with dread how many other children were inside the house. Did the person who owned the house take children away and lock them here against their will? How many children did her daughter see as siblings? Was her daughter neglected or in desperate need of love and affection?

The thoughts were terrifying, and it took all of the woman’s self-control to stop herself from knocking down the door and dragging her daughter to safety.

Sudden movement near one of the windows broke her out of her spell. It was hard to see what it was, but it looked like a child running by. She swore to herself that she missed it, but kept her eyes focused. She gasped in shock as a tall, six-year-old girl ran past the window again. The girl had black hair, like her own. It was like looking at a miniature version of herself.

The woman couldn’t believe it.

She hadn’t completely trusted the information that her daughter resided at this address, but there was no denying it now. The woman wiped away her tears and couldn’t believe her good fortune. She might have lost Alice to cancer, but she was getting another chance to be a mother. A chance she knew she couldn’t blow.

Someone started to walk past her car, so she tried to act casual. She grabbed her phone and looked at it, hoping the passersby would completely ignore her. The elderly couple thankfully walked by without even looking in her direction, much to her relief. The woman hated lurking outside like this, but she knew she had to. She needed all the information she could gather.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. The woman’s breath caught in her throat as her daughter suddenly walked outside. Now that she was out in the open, the woman could only gawk in surprise over how much the girl looked like her. They had the same hair colour, but there was more to it than that. Their eyes were the same shade of green, even the same shape, and she had her small, perfectly shaped nose. The woman had always been complimented on her nose, and the girl had a cloned copy of her own. She had thin arms and legs—just like the woman had at that age—and her neck was long and slender like that of an elegant swan.

There was no denying this girl was her child.

And she had to have her.

The woman marvelled at her daughter’s clothes and knew they were likely very expensive. She wore a pale blue dress that fit the girl to perfection, almost as though it was tailored just for her. Her black shoes shone brightly in the light, as did their large silver buckles. She was perfect.

For a minute or two, the woman watched as the young girl grabbed the pram and started pushing it around the front garden, giggling happily as she did so. The woman relaxed when she realised that there likely weren’t other children in the house—the pram was simply a toy.

The person who’d taken the woman’s daughter hadn’t come out with her, so the woman watched her child with bated breath.

Was this her chance to take her?

She took a deep breath, held the handle on the inside of her car, and readied herself to move. However, just when she was about to push open her door, she paused when a woman charged out of the front door toward the girl. The woman had light grey hair—though from where she was sitting it was hard to tell if it was dyed or because of age. She was shorter than the woman, and was wearing a long black coat that reached her black heeled boots.

“What are you doing out here on your own?” the woman asked the child nervously, her coat billowing behind her as she ran out of the house. She put a hand on the girl’s shoulders and quickly ushered her back toward the front door.

“Sorry, Mummy,” the child apologized. “I wanted to play.”

“And you can when I am with you, Rachel,” the woman scolded. “But it isn’t safe to be out on your own.”

Rachel, the woman thought desperately. Her name is Rachel.

The woman listened from her car as the child—her daughter—apologised again and was forced back inside. An anger suddenly erupted inside of her, an anger that was near impossible to control.

She had now seen the woman who’d taken her child. Worse, she’d convinced the girl that she was her mother. The thought of her own daughter thinking someone else was her mother was devastating. She had to bring her home.

And she would do so by any means necessary.

The woman was born to be a mother, and nothing and no one would stop her from doing what she was put on this earth to do.

3

Irubbed my tired eyes as I struggled to change Craig the next day. He was having another restless day, so it took me much longer than usual to get him out of the soiled nappy. Eventually I was able to wriggle it off him—fighting the urge to vomit over the mess inside of it—and threw it into the bin before putting a fresh one on him with difficulty.

It wasn’t until you had a baby that you appreciated just how many times you needed to take out the rubbish.

I didn’t know what it was about Craig, but he couldn’t have been any more different to Faye if he tried. When Faye was an infant, she was incredibly well-behaved, and spent most of her time sleeping or eating. She rarely made a noise, ate well, and fell asleep easily and often. Lizzie and I couldn’t have been luckier.

Craig, however, was like the devil incarnate.

He constantly vomited, needed nappy changes, regularly screeched and cried as though he were possessed by a demon, and the idea of sleeping was like a form of torture to him. I’d put him down in his crib, and he would cry and claw at me like I was trying to get him to do something traumatic.

“Come on,” I muttered as I held Craig on my shoulder and burped him. “Let’s get some sleep for Daddy, yeah? Daddy needs some sleep too, you know.”

Craig continued to wail.

“I guess not,” I sighed.

Suddenly, I heard the bedroom door opening upstairs. I halted hopefully, my neck craning toward the noise. Was Lylah going to grace us with her presence today?

I was soon left disappointed when I heard her go to the bathroom briefly, then shuffle back into the bedroom.

I sighed glumly as I continued to rub Craig’s back. “I guess it’s just me and you again today, boy.”

I wasn’t surprised that Lylah didn’t join us—I’d lost count of the number of times I’d gotten my hopes up when I heard the slightest movement from upstairs—but I couldn’t deny it was still a massive blow each time she didn’t join us.

Craig and I spent the rest of the day together just the two of us, though my mother nipped in for a coffee and Elijah swung by to see if we needed anything. Elijah, like Nadia, had expressed his concern for Lylah. I could see in his eyes how hard he found it not to run up the stairs and speak to her.

“She needs help,” Elijah had said glumly as he bounced Craig up and down on his knee. “The Lylah I know wouldn’t miss these precious moments with her son.”

It had been hard to hear him say those words, particularly since I knew they were true. I knew the Lylah I married would be devastated to miss the early moments of Craig’s life, but there was nothing I could do to help her. She still wasn’t willing to accept that there was an issue.

After Elijah left, the rest of the day flew by in a quick haze. Mostly because I was constantly rushing around doing things for Craig. Changing him, feeding him, burping him, cleaning him. It was an unending routine.

I was growing more and more exhausted as each day went by. I had a newfound respect for single parents. Child-rearing was a million times more difficult than being a detective, and I couldn’t wait to get back to work. Criminals were usually easy to figure out, but infants were another story completely.

The day slowly turned to night, and as I saw the last bit of sun fade outside, I knew it was time to settle Craig down in his crib. He was already dozing in my arms. As I slowly walked him upstairs—hoping and praying the sound of a creaking step wouldn’t wake him—a large part of me was filled with anxiety for a different reason.

Throughout the day I’d been thinking about Lylah, and I knew it was finally to a point where I’d have to force her into having a conversation. I’d been dealing with our six-month-old son without her for nearly four months. I couldn’t handle another day of it, let alone another few months.

The last thing I wanted to do was cause her distress, but it was clear she needed help. I hoped I could make her see that. Craig needed his mother, and I needed my wife.

We reached the top of the stairs, then I cautiously entered my bedroom. I used my back to open the door, then slowly stepped toward the crib. With a delicacy I never knew I possessed, I was able to gently put him inside. I held back a sigh of relief when I moved away from the crib and Craig was still fast asleep. I then looked toward Lylah’s sleeping form, ready to address things with her.

One impossible job down, one more to go, I thought with dread.

I sat on the end of the bed, looking at Lylah’s back nervously. Eventually, I took a deep breath and spoke.

“Can we talk please, love?” I asked.

Lylah kept still. “Okay.”

I rubbed my brow. “It’s been hard looking after Craig on my own.”

“You weren’t on your own,” Lylah responded impassively. “I heard the door open a few times. I know people came over to see you.”

I chewed my cheek in annoyance. “True, love, but I think Craig would have enjoyed some time with his mother more than anyone else. He loves his nan, but he loves his mum more.”

Lylah grumbled. “I’m tired, Sean. I’ll spend time with him tomorrow, yeah? Just let me sleep.”

I clicked my tongue. “That’s what you said yesterday, Lyles. And the day before that… and the day before that.”

Lylah swore, slowly pulled the duvet off, and started to sit up. She turned to face me and for a second, I didn’t recognise the woman in front of me. Her hair was an unkempt mess, and her hazel eyes looked bloodshot. They had dark, heavy bags under them. She’d always been slender, but now there was no meat on her bones at all, even though I still made sure I found time in the day to bring her food.

Christ, I thought with shock. Has it really been that long that she’s properly looked at me? How have I allowed her to become so far gone?

“What do you want from me, Sean?” Lylah snapped. “I’m telling you I will help you tomorrow, so I will help you tomorrow.”

“But you won’t, Lylah,” I responded. “You will just keep in bed, like you always do.”

Lylah glared at me. “So now you’re calling me a bad mother?”

I sighed dejectedly. “You know that’s not what I’m saying.”

“It’s exactly what you’re saying, Sean,” she hissed. “Why don’t you go and see Lizzie? She was such an excellent mother, I’m sure you must miss her.”

I groaned. “Why are you saying such ridiculous things, Lyles? You know damn well I don’t miss Lizzie.” I hesitated, trying to control myself from getting upset. “You’re the one I love, Lyles. You and Craig are my world. I just want us to be a family.”

Lylah flopped back down in the bed and once more turned away from me. “You have to stop expecting so much from me when I’m not ready, Sean. I’ve told you, I’ll help you tomorrow. Accept that instead of going on at me every few seconds.”

I gritted my teeth and composed myself, unwilling to allow myself to get angry and risk both upsetting Lylah and waking Craig. “I’m trying to be understanding, love, but it’s been hard.”

“Hard!” Lylah exclaimed. “You’ve been a father before, Sean. This should be easy for you!” She hastily sat back up and frowned at me, her eyes brimming with tears. “Think about me! I’m going through this for the first time! I don’t have the experience that you⁠—”

“WAAAHHH!”

The rest of Lylah’s words were drowned out by Craig’s cries. He screamed so persistently I was surprised he didn’t need to stop to breathe.

I swore. “Nice one, Lylah! You’ve woken him up now.” I jumped up from the bed and approached his crib. “It took me bloody ages to settle him!”

Lylah swore. “You deal with it then, Sean, considering you’re such a good father and I’m such an appalling mother!”

I pulled Craig toward my chest and tried to comfort him. I glared at Lylah’s back, unable to control the anger that took over me.

“You seriously need to sort yourself out, Lylah,” I snapped as I walked toward the door. “You’ve done nothing for Craig for months now! If things don’t change, then I’ll force you to see someone who will make things change because I’m sick of it!”

I charged out of the room and soon heard Lylah sobbing through the door. The anger I felt vanished instantly, replaced with guilt and shame.

I knew Lylah was struggling, knew she likely was suffering from postnatal depression, and yet I was too hard on her. Once I finally had Craig settled once more, this time downstairs, part of me longed to climb into bed beside Lylah and apologise. Yet, my guilt over snapping at her made it impossible for me to climb the stairs and join her.

I just had to hope I could make it up to her in the morning.

4

The woman returned to the house early the next morning, keeping a safe distance away so she wouldn’t be too obvious. Seeing her daughter had been like a drug. She wanted it again, would risk anything for it. She should have been on her way to work by now, but instead she’d called in sick just to sit here. Part of her knew she was behaving erratically, but she didn’t care. The only thing she cared about was finally taking her daughter home, like she should have done over six years ago. She didn’t know if it had all been a cruel mistake or a purposeful mixup, but she wouldn’t allow herself to be separated from her again.

She stayed outside of the house for half an hour, growing impatient when she saw no sign of her daughter. She didn’t even pass by a window. It made her nervous.

The child’s fake mother had seemed so unhappy to see the girl outside without supervision, which made the woman wonder if Rachel was rarely let out of the house. Was the girl cruelly confined to those four walls? Was she practically a prisoner in her own home?

The thought made the woman angry, and she promised herself that if the day went by and her daughter didn’t come outside, she would break into the house and make sure her child was safe.

However, after another half an hour, the door to the house swung open. The woman slightly lowered herself in her seat and peered awkwardly over her window to see the fake mother leaving the house with Rachel. Today the little girl was wearing glittery leggings with a navy dress on top. Over her dress she wore a navy coat that had been left open, but it looked thick and warm.

The woman didn’t know if she was happy or disappointed to see her daughter looking so happy and comfortable with the lady by her side. Obviously she didn’t want her daughter to be miserable, but if she was to bring her daughter home, it was going to be much more difficult if she was happy where she was.

And from her radiant smile it was clear she was happy.

Really happy.

For a moment, the woman gripped her hair anxiously and wondered what to do. What sort of person would she be if she were to disrupt her daughter’s happy life and turn it upside down?

Rachel and the other woman walked hand in hand, talking animatedly to one another as they stepped toward a black Mini Cooper parked near the front door. As they climbed into the vehicle, the woman knew she had a decision to make. As the car started to pull away, the woman knew right away what to do.

Rachel was her child.

The woman gave it a minute before she started to follow them. For around twenty minutes, the woman drove at a distance, hoping Rachel’s imposter mother would stop somewhere soon. After a few minutes, the woman nearly squealed with delight when the Mini Cooper turned on its indicator and swerved toward the park.

The other car veered toward the car park, and although she went to follow them, she hesitated when she saw that the car park was practically empty. Her car would stick out like a sore thumb if they entered the park at the same time, so she parked up on the opposite side of the road and waited for the two to leave the car.

The woman waited and watched for a few minutes as Rachel and the other woman made their way into the park. After a bit, she took a deep breath, got out of her car, then started to wander toward the park. The main path along the park led to a children’s play area, and she smiled in delight when she saw Rachel happily going down a slide. The other woman watched her like a hawk. The woman—with difficulty—pulled her eyes away from Rachel to take in her surroundings. Luckily the area was quiet, which offered both pros and cons.

It was good that there weren't many people to see what she was up to, but it was bad because a quiet environment meant it would be much easier for the fake mother to spot what she was up to. Unfortunately, the grey-haired woman was keeping an annoyingly close eye on the child, making it impossible for her to get near her.

The woman still had no idea what she intended on doing if she got the chance to speak to Rachel. Would she quickly whisk her away before her fake mother knew what was going on? Would she engage the child in conversation just to have the brief opportunity to get to know her? She truly didn’t know. All she knew was that she was desperate to finally meet her daughter.

The woman stepped further away from the path and waited near the edge of the playground. The playground was empty except for the grey-haired woman, Rachel, and another woman sitting alone on a bench. The woman sighed irritably at the sight of the random woman, knowing there was no way she could take Rachel if there was an audience.

She kept her distance from the play area and casually walked along its perimeter, her eyes moving tracking the entire area. She had to be smart.

Suddenly, the random woman on the bench got up and walked away. She was so engrossed with her phone that she wasn’t paying attention to anything surrounding her.

Perfect, the woman thought. There’s no way she’ll be able to identify anything that happens here.

The woman turned her gaze back to Rachel, knowing that the more she stood there, the more she was going to start looking suspicious. Rachel’s carer only had eyes for Rachel, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t notice the woman standing there. There was no opening, no opportune moment for her to swoop in. The grey-haired woman was a formidable sentry.

She prepared herself to give up and go back to the car, but as luck would have it, Rachel’s imposter mother suddenly grumbled irritably and grabbed her phone from her pocket. She looked at the phone in annoyance before huffing and answering it. As she spoke on the phone, she kept her eyes on Rachel.

Oh, come on! the woman thought unhappily. Just give her some space for a minute or two so I can get near her!

Eventually, the woman turned and walked away. She looked over her shoulder a couple of times, but after a while she kept her focus on the phone.

Now was her chance.

The woman stepped closer toward the play area, her eyes fixed onto Rachel. After a few seconds, Rachel looked up and noticed her standing there. The girl looked the woman up and down curiously before looking back to see where the grey-haired woman had gone.

Come on, darling, the woman thought desperately. Forget about her and look back at me!

Rachel soon looked back at the woman, her face filled with uncertainty. The woman beckoned with her hand for Rachel to walk over. At first Rachel looked at her quizzically, clearly unsure whether or not she should listen, but the woman’s smile must have won her over.

“Hello,” Rachel said once she finally reached her.

The woman fought back the urge to cry at seeing her daughter so close. From a distance the physical similarities between the two were clear, but now that Rachel was standing in front of her, the woman could see it more than ever.

There was no way anyone would question their relationship.

“Hello, Alice,” the woman responded.

Rachel stepped back nervously. “Who is Alice?”

The woman laughed. “S-Sorry, I meant Rachel.”

Rachel tilted her head to the side. “Do I know you?”

“Don’t you remember me?” the woman asked, regretting the bite of urgency in her tone as she spoke.

Rachel shook her head. The woman looked around quickly and sighed with relief when she saw that the grey-haired woman was still distracted by her phone. “You used to come to mine all of the time when you were little, don’t you remember?”

Rachel fidgeted with the bottom of her dress as she shook her head again. “No, I don’t remember that.”

The woman smiled. “Why don’t you come with me to see my car? I’m sure you’ll recognise it.”

Rachel chewed on her lip. “Mummy says I shouldn’t go anywhere with a stranger.”

Anger rose up the woman’s throat at the sound of her own daughter referring to someone else as mother, but she quickly recovered and smiled sweetly at Rachel.

“But I’m not a stranger, Rach!” the woman exclaimed. “I’ve known you since you were born.”

Rachel continued to look uncertain. The woman glanced at the other woman again and knew she was running out of time. She didn’t know for certain if the grey haired woman had seen her or not, but she knew she had to move.

And fast.

“I’ve got a whole range of sweets in my car,” the woman continued warmly. “You’re welcome to have some?”

Rachel’s eyes lit up with excitement, but her body was stiff with hesitancy. The woman knew her time was up. She had to go. Trying a new tactic, she simply shrugged and walked away.

“I guess I’ll just have to eat them all myself,” the woman said with a sad sigh.

She continued walking, trying to swallow back her disappointment. Rachel hadn’t taken the bait, and she knew once she got to her car that Rachel would tell the other woman about this interaction. That meant the other woman would never take her eyes off of Rachel again.

And then she heard Rachel quickly move toward her.

“Wait! I want some sweets.”

The woman turned, smiled at Rachel, and stroked her hair. “Of course, sweetie. You can have anything you want.”

Rachel grinned, then glanced guiltily over her shoulder. “I’ll have some sweets, then I’ll be back with my mummy, right?”

I smiled, more to myself than her. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I promise you will always be with your mother from now on.”

5

Iwoke up groggily on the sofa at the sound of Craig’s high-pitched screaming. I groaned as I got up, ignoring the aches and pains shooting through my body thanks to my sleeping arrangement. Sleeping on a sofa was never comfortable, so I allowed myself a second to stretch before approaching the crib.

“It’s alright, little man,” I sighed. “Daddy’s here.”

Within less than half a second, it was clear what was causing him so much distress. The boy’s nappy was heavy and a vile stench was wafting off of him.

Christ, I thought. How can someone so small create such hideous smells?

I wrinkled my nose unpleasantly as I struggled to change my frantic son’s nappy. As I did, my eyes trailed toward the stairs, and I sighed glumly at the thought of my last words with Lylah.

I knew I’d been out of order, but the stress of the past few months had caused me to reach a breaking point. I’d tried hard to bottle my feelings up in order to protect Lylah, but the pressure had built up.

It wasn’t the way I wanted things to come out, and I knew I owed Lylah a huge apology for exploding at her, but part of me was also glad that I’d finally been honest with her. Lylah needed help and although I’d do anything to help her get it, she was the one who needed to realise how her mental health was starting to affect this family.

I sighed tiredly as I disposed of Craig’s full nappy. I walked with Craig toward the sofa, but hesitated when my phone started to ring. Craig whimpered because of the loud noise, so I hurried to answer it before he started to wail.

“Mornin’, Rebecca,” I answered, glad to see her name on screen.

“Hey Sean,” Rebecca responded. “I’d apologise for the early hour, but something tells me you’ve probably been up longer than I have.”

I snorted. “You ain’t wrong.”

“How’s Craig this morning?”

“Same as always,” I replied, looking down at the now quiet bundle in my arms.

“A pooing, eating, crying machine then?” Rebecca queried.

I laughed. “Aye, you know him well.” I suddenly realised I could hear her driving. It was almost nine. Rebecca should have been at the station by now. “Running late this morning, are we?”

I was left further surprised when Rebecca sighed. “I wish.”

My interest piqued, I placed Craig down in his crib so I could focus on the phone. “What’s going on, Rebecca?”

Rebecca was quiet for a few seconds before she answered. “I know you always like to be kept in the loop when you’re off. I also know you’ve got a lot going on at home, so I was rather hesitant to call you about this, but⁠—”

“About what?” I interrupted. “Tell me.”

Again, Rebecca made a meal out of verbalising a response. “We had a call this morning about a case. I’m on my way there now. Nadia is riding in a panda car with some PCs. They’ll meet me at the scene.”

“What’s the case?” I inquired, hungry to discuss something other than hourly feeds and nappy changes.

“We received a call fifteen minutes ago from a woman called Anita Simpson,” Rebecca answered. “She was in distress and claimed to need our urgent assistance.”

“Assistance with what?” I probed impatiently.

“She was at Homestead Park first thing this morning with her daughter, Rachel,” Rebecca continued. “She said she turned her back for a second and when she looked back, her daughter was gone.”

“Gone?” I questioned thoughtfully.

“Yes, so I’m on my way to the park now to see what’s going on,” Rebecca answered. “I just thought you should know.”

“How far away from the park are you?” I pressed, knowing the park wasn’t far from my flat.

“About ten minutes,” Rebecca responded. “I called you as soon as I left.”

For a moment I was silent as I rubbed my stubble and glanced at Craig. Faye and Craig were my world, so I empathised with Anita’s worries far too well. As a parent there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep my children safe, and I knew I had to be there to help Anita reunite with her daughter.

“My mum is now on her way to mine,” I replied hastily. “Once she’s here, I’ll meet you there.”

“Wait, what?” Rebecca asked in shock. “Sean, I was calling as a courtesy to let you know what was going on. I wasn’t calling to bring you in! You’ve got enough on your plate at home!”

“Exactly,” I replied sternly. “I’ve just had a son, so I know a parent’s pain only too well.” I sighed as I looked at Craig. “I couldn’t imagine anything happening to Craig, so there’s no way I can sit idly by when a woman needs help to find her child!”

“Sean, please,” Rebecca sighed. “Just stay at home and⁠—”

The rest of her words were drowned out by the sound of a loud knock on my front door, causing Craig to burst into tears. “I’ve got to go, Rebecca. My mum just got here. I’ll call you when I’m leaving.”

“Sean, wait! You⁠—”

I hung up the phone before Rebecca could argue with me anymore, then walked toward the front door. I pushed it open and let my mother enter. Her expression was sheepish as she glanced toward the living room.

“I’m so sorry, Sean!” she exclaimed guiltily. “I shouldn’t have been as loud as that.”

I kissed her on the cheek and closed the door behind her. “It’s fine, Ma. You know he cries at most noises.”

My mother chuckled lightly. “This is true. Now, where is my gorgeous grandson!?”

I led her to the living room and showed her Craig in his crib. He continued to cry wildly, but my mother made a soft cooing noise as she bent down to pick him up.

“There, there, sweetie!” she said soothingly. “Nanny is here now.”

I watched in awe as my mother rocked Craig gently against her, showing no sign of stress or displeasure as he continued to cry.

As she continued to try to calm him down, she looked at me. “Did I hear you talking to someone when I got here?” she asked, gazing around hopefully. “Is Lylah up?”

A twinge of guilt hit me at the mention of Lylah’s name. I’d planned on spending this morning apologising to her, but I felt drawn to this new case.

“No, Mum,” I replied glumly. “She’s still in bed.”

My mother shook her head as she continued to rock Craig. Her efforts weren’t in vain since he slowly started to calm down.

“It’s not right, her leaving you and me to deal with Craig,” she grumbled. “I have a mind to go up there myself and shake some sense into her.”

I frowned and crossed my arms. “Be fair, Mum. She’s clearly struggling.”

My mother snorted.. “And you aren’t?”

I rubbed my face. “Aye, I know, and I’m hoping she’ll get herself some help soon.” I sighed. “But try to be understanding, alright?”

My mother pouted slightly, but she eventually agreed. “For you, anything.” She hesitated as she kissed Craig’s head. “When I was a young mother I had my struggles, but back then you just powered through and dealt with it.”

I didn’t know how to respond, so I simply nodded. I didn’t want to upset my mother by telling her how things were different then. Since I needed to ask her to watch Craig without me, I knew I couldn’t risk annoying her.

“I have a favour to ask, Ma,” I said.

She quirked a brow playfully. “Oh, do you?”

“You were right, you did hear me talking to someone when you got here. I was on the phone to Rebecca,” I responded.

Before I could continue, Mum tutted. “She knows you’re off at the moment. Can’t that place give you a moment’s peace?”

“It’s the first time she’s called me over work since I started my paternity leave,” I responded defensively.

Mum smirked. “That’s my son. Defending his friends and colleagues with every breath in him!”

I smiled awkwardly, then continued. “She rang to tell me that a child has been kidnapped from a park close to here. I was wondering how you’d feel about watching Craig for a bit while I go and make sure everything is alright?”

Mum furrowed her brows. “Are you sure you’re feeling up to that, Seany?”

I nodded firmly. “Aye, I think it will do me some good to throw myself into my work for a bit.”

To my surprise, Mum sighed and nodded in return. “To be honest, I think you’re right. You’re such a good father to your boy and I couldn’t be any prouder of you for stepping up when others have fallen short.” She hesitated as she pursed her lips and glanced toward the stairs. She then dragged her eyes back to me. “Maybe a return to some normalcy will help bring back the spark I’ve not seen in you for weeks now.” She touched my face with her free hand and her eyes started to water. “You go help your colleagues. I’ll be fine here.”

I pulled her hand toward my lips and kissed it. “Are you sure you don’t mind? Craig is a handful.”

Mum chuckled. “I know he is. He’s no worse than you were as a lad.”

I laughed and thanked her as I ran upstairs to get ready. I hesitated when I reached my bedroom door, but soon pushed myself inside. Time was of the essence, and I had a case to solve. Once in the room, I saw Lylah was sitting up in bed with a vacant expression.

“How are you this morning, love?” I whispered as I walked to the wardrobe to find some clothes.

Lylah didn’t reply.

I grabbed some jeans and a black shirt, then turned to face Lylah as I put them on. “I’m sorry for what I said last night, alright? I know I was out of order, but I just wanted you to see that you need help.”

Lylah shrugged, then looked me up and down. “Going somewhere?”

I nodded as I buttoned up my shirt. “Rebecca called me about a case, so I’m going to go see her quickly.”

Lylah simply nodded. “Alright then.”

She laid back down and turned away from me, causing me to sigh.

“I love you, Lylah,” I whispered as I walked toward the bedroom door. “When I get back later we can talk about everything, alright? I’m here to listen and do whatever you need.”

Lylah didn’t reply, so I sighed as I left the room and went down the stairs. I approached Mum and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before giving Craig a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“Please don’t be a devil for Nan today, alright?” I whispered.

Mum giggled. “We’ll be fine! You just get going.”

I thanked her then charged out of the door and onto my motorcycle. As I zoomed away from the flat, I couldn’t help but think about my mother’s reaction to me going to work.

I knew things at home were bad, but they must be terrible if she was keener for me to rush into a potentially dangerous situation rather than staying home with my wife and child.

6

Luckily, Homestead Park was just under ten minutes away from my flat, and on my motorcycle the journey took even less than that.

I approached the park and saw that some of the PCs had made quick work of cordoning the entire place off with thick police tape. I parked up alongside some of the tape and started to get off of my motorcycle. I’d barely moved an inch when a short male PC charged over. He was wearing a custodian helmet that was so big on him it covered half of his face. I could barely make out his small brown eyes and his wide nose.

“Woah, hold your horses!” the man said, his Yorkshire accent strong. “Can’t you see this area is closed? I suggest you ride off elsewhere.”

I pulled up the visor on my helmet, then reached my hand into my jacket pocket. I pulled out my badge and thrust it under the man’s nose. “At ease, lad. I’m DCI Ellis. My colleagues called me to meet them here.”

The man’s pale skin suddenly looked sunburnt in his embarrassment. “Sorry, sir! I didn’t realise you were with the police.”

I tucked my badge back into my pocket, then pulled my helmet off. I shook out my hair, which had grown longer than usual over the last few months—I’d been too busy with Craig to find time for luxuries like grooming.

“Don’t apologise for doing your job,” I responded as I glanced behind him. “Am I alright to keep my bike here while I investigate?”

“T-that’s perfectly fine, sir!” he said nervously.

I clapped him on the shoulder. “Good lad.”

I stepped past him, bent under the police tape, then made my way to the park. As I walked, I noticed several PCs looking around the car park—two of whom were talking to a woman who may or may not have been Anita—while others moved around various other areas. I didn’t see hide nor hair of either Rebecca or Nadia. For a second I looked at the woman speaking to the PCs and wondered if I should intervene, but since I hadn’t seen the others for a quick debrief, it would have been foolish to do so. Instead, I continued walking deeper into the park, my eyes darting around with each step.

Finally, I saw Nadia and Rebecca standing near another woman and a couple of PCs. Nadia and Rebecca, likely hearing my approach, turned around to face me. Rebecca’s face was full of disapproval, while Nadia seemed surprised. They both muttered something to the surrounding people before moving in my direction.

“I told you not to come,” Rebecca said with a scowl.

I folded my arms and met her with a serious look. “A child is missing, Rebecca. Did you really think I could ignore that?”

“I get that, Sean, but we are perfectly capable of dealing with this without you.” Rebecca huffed. “You should be at home with your own wife and kid.”

Part of me longed to tell her I was happier being here, but I held my tongue, knowing I’d be foolish to admit to that. Especially when a child’s life could be hanging in the balance.

I turned toward Nadia, who gave me a sheepish smile. “It’s nice to see you, Sean, but I didn’t expect you to be leaving home anytime soon.”

“I can’t say it was easy to leave Lylah or Craig, but hearing that a child had disappeared was more than I could bear.” I grimaced. “There was no way I was going to sit this one out.”

Nadia squeezed my shoulder. “I understand.”

Rebecca snorted. “Well, I don’t understand!” She paused to rub her forehead in aggravation. “You have enough on your plate without dealing with the stress of this case, too.”

“Are we going to keep squabbling about this or are you going to tell me everything you know so far?” I quipped.

Rebecca looked ready to argue with me some more, but Nadia quickly stepped forward and cleared her throat. “We are looking for a six-year-old girl called Rachel.” Nadia put her hand in her pocket and showed me a photo. “This is what she looks like.”

I looked at the photo, taking in every detail that I could. The girl had thick black hair that cascaded down her shoulders. Her body was long and lanky, particularly her limbs and neck, and she had small green eyes that shone brightly next to her dark hair.

With difficulty I pulled my gaze away from the photo and looked at Nadia. “Any leads so far?”

Nadia lowered her head. “None.”

Rebecca, although still looking unhappy with me, stepped closer and started to speak. “The PCs are still searching the area, but no one’s seen any sign of the girl so far.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “We were just asking Anita some questions when you turned up.”

I looked over her shoulder at the woman. She had light grey hair that was neatly tucked behind her ears and held her hand over her mouth as she addressed the PC in front of her. Since she wasn’t close to me, it was difficult to gauge anything else about her, but I quickly realised her hair was dyed. That meant she wasn’t as old as I’d first assumed she was.

“Right, let’s finish talking to her then,” I said, passing the photo back to Nadia.

Nadia stood up tall. “Ready when you are.”

Rebecca simply nodded.

7

Together the three of us made our way toward Anita, and the closer we got to her, the more I felt my heart twinging with sympathy. She had one arm wrapped around herself and the other was near her face. Her body was trembling with worry, and I could tell she’d been sobbing. I hesitated for a moment as I took in her fair features, which were so different from her daughter’s. Rachel must have taken after her father.

Anita turned toward us and eyed me up nervously. “Who are you?”

I stepped closer toward her and nodded. “Anita Simpson, my name is DCI Sean Ellis. I’m here to help you find your daughter.”

“Thank you! Please, we have to act quickly!” Anita started to sob again. “She could be anywhere by now.”

“You seem very certain she isn’t somewhere at the park, Mrs. Simpson,” I stated. “Is there any reason for that?”

“Miss,” Anita responded sharply.

I raised a heavy brow.

Anita sighed. “It’s Miss Simpson. I’m not married.”

I nodded. “Apologies, Miss Simpson. Can you answer my question now, please?”

Anita gestured around her wildly. “See for yourself, Detective! Your team has been searching around the area and haven’t found her, so logically she can’t be here, can she?”

I knew Anita was worried sick about her daughter, so I ignored her sharp attitude and continued. “Would anyone have any reason to want to take your daughter, Miss Simpson?”

Anita cuddled herself as she shook her head. “She is a kind, beautiful, amazing little girl, Detective.”

“Aye, I’m sure she is.” I grimaced sympathetically. I gave it a second before I continued. “So you haven’t upset anyone recently? Had any disagreements with anyone?”

Anita pursed her lips in confusion. “No. Why do you ask?”

“I’m simply trying to ascertain whether someone targeted Rachel as a way of getting to you, Miss Simpson,” I explained.

“I’m not the type of woman who goes around making enemies, Detective,” Anita replied. After a couple of seconds, she turned to look at me with an emotional sigh. “Sorry, Detective. I’m a bit out of sorts right now.”

“Understandable, Miss Simpson,” I answered. “I know it’s hard, but we need you to answer our questions as honestly as possible, alright?”

Anita grimaced slightly, but agreed.

Since she was still shaking like a leaf, I looked around and quickly saw a bench close by. Rebecca immediately tracked my gaze and put a supportive hand on Anita’s shoulder.

“Let’s sit down, Miss Simpson,” Rebecca said softly.

Anita, Rebecca, Nadia, and I made it to the bench, and we gave Anita a moment to get comfortable. Nadia sat next to her, but Rebecca and I remained standing. Once Anita looked more stable, I addressed her again.

“Alright, can you take us through what happened today, Miss Simpson?” I queried. “And spare us no detail. Anything you say could help us.”

Anita clasped her hands together and took a deep breath. “I always have Thursday off, so it’s the day I take out my daughter and let her do whatever she wants. This morning, she insisted she wanted to go to a playground, so I decided to bring her to this one.” Anita paused, her eyes brimming with tears. She wiped them away with a shaking hand. “Oh, why did I bring her here? This is all my fault!”

As Anita sobbed into her hands, Nadia put a tentative hand on Anita’s upper back and shuffled closer to her. “You can’t blame yourself, Miss Simpson.”

Anita continued to sob. I was patient for a moment, knowing I'd be just as emotional if I were in her shoes, but soon stepped in. Rachel had likely been taken, and we didn’t have time for delays.

“I know this is hard, Miss Simpson, but I really need you to concentrate for me, alright?” I asked respectfully. “The sooner you tell us everything you know, the sooner we can get Rachel back to you.”

Anita sat up straighter and nodded.

“What time did you arrive at the park, Miss Simpson?” I asked.

“Around eight,” Anita answered.

It was almost nine, meaning the two had arrived just under an hour ago.

“And was anyone here when you arrived?” I questioned.

Anita instantly shook her head. “No, I remember feeling surprised that the car park was empty. It was just us there.”

Meaning the kidnapper either took Rachel on foot or they arrived later, I thought curiously.

“There may have been no cars, but what about people?” Nadia pressed. “Did you see anyone around the park?”

Anita rubbed her bottom lip thoughtfully. “A young couple walked past us when we first got here, but they went in the opposite direction of us, and I didn’t see them again.” She hesitated, her face going pale. “There was a woman here on her own when we first arrived! She was sitting on the bench over there.” She pointed toward a bench close to ours. “I never saw her go, so maybe she took Rachel!”

I nodded. “This is good, Miss Simpson. Can you describe her to us?”

“Young, probably twenties, and she had dark hair,” Anita responded hastily. “She was glued to her phone when we got here, so I didn’t give her much thought.”

“Can you tell us anything else about her?” Rebecca probed. “Height, weight, skin colour, what she was wearing?”

“I couldn’t see her height since she was sitting, but likely no taller than me,” Anita answered. “She was slender. Definitely Caucasian.” She hesitated thoughtfully. “She wore ripped denim jeans and a brown puffer coat.”

I nodded and turned to Rebecca. “Give this description to one of the PCs and get them to radio it to their colleagues. The sooner this is circulated the better.”

Rebecca didn’t reply, but instead rushed off to the PCs at the play park.

I turned back to Anita. “You’re doing great, Miss Simpson. Now, please continue. Tell us your movements after you arrived here.”

Anita gripped her knees and nodded. “We came straight to the playground. Rachel loves to go on the slide.” She choked on her emotions for a second before continuing. “We were here for about twenty minutes when I received a phone call from work. I answered the phone, and when I looked back at the play area, she was g-gone.”

“How long did you look away for?” I asked.

“No more than five minutes,” Anita answered shakily. She then started to cry again. “I never should have answered that damn phone! If I hadn’t been distracted, this never would have happened.”

Nadia comforted Anita again. “Please don’t blame yourself.”

I crossed my arms and looked away from the two women for a second. As much as I didn’t want to judge her, part of me thought that she had every reason to blame herself. The person who took her was likely an opportunist who swooped in the moment Anita turned her back. If Anita had never done that, the kidnapper wouldn’t have had the window of opportunity.

“What happened then?” I pressed.

Anita looked up at me with wide, frightened eyes. “I came off the phone and saw Rachel wasn’t there. Naturally, I panicked and started running around the play area, park, anywhere close by. When I realised I couldn’t find her I called the police.”

“So between you answering the phone and searching for Rachel yourself, she was gone around twenty minutes before you called us?” I asked.

“No more than that,” Anita replied.

I turned at the sound of Rebecca approaching. “I spoke to one of the PCs and they got the information out,” she said impassively. “One of them replied instantly and said they’d spoken to a woman matching that description outside of the park, but she was on her own.”

“Were they able to find her again after our message got out?” I probed urgently.

Rebecca nodded. “Yes. They’re holding her for questioning, but she has no vehicle and seemed genuinely clueless about everything.”

I grimaced, feeling disappointed that we’d likely already lost our only lead.

“I think our next step has to be alerting the press, Miss Simpson,” I said calmly. “The more coverage we can get on Rachel the more⁠—”

“No,” Anita interrupted.

I quirked a brow. “No?”

Anita stood up from the bench and cuddled herself. “Sorry, detectives, but I want you to find my daughter without help from them.”

I glanced at Rebecca and Nadia and saw that their masks of confusion matched my own.

Nadia gently rose from the bench. “DCI Ellis is right here, Miss Simpson. Rachel could be anywhere by now, but if we alert the press to the situation, there will be a lot more eyes and ears around to help you find your daughter.”

Anita grew more agitated and started to pinch the skin on the back of her hand. “No,” she said shakily. “I see your point, but I want this done with no press involvement. You’re all good enough at your jobs to find her without them.”

I chewed my cheek unhappily. “This is a mistake, Miss Simpson.”

Anita looked at me. Her body still shook from either nerves or frustration. “I’m sorry, Detective, but I’m firm on this.” She stepped away from me and looked into the distance. “Do what you can to find my daughter. If you truly aren’t able to, then we will alert the press.” She turned back to me. “Do you have any more questions?”

I frowned. “No, Miss Simpson.”

Anita nodded and walked toward some of the PCs, leaving me deeply confused. My gut purred loudly, and I knew something was wrong. I just didn’t know what.

Any parent would want the world to know that their child was taken, so why did Anita seem to want to keep this private?

8

“Well, that was... interesting,” Rebecca said cautiously.

With difficulty, I pulled my gaze away from Anita’s retreating frame and toward Rebecca. She was looking at Anita with a furrowed brow, clearly as confused as I was.

Anita’s daughter was missing, likely kidnapped, and yet at the mention of the press, she’d run away from us like we carried the plague. Surely she would want as many people as possible alerted so that they could help us find Rachel? It made no sense.

“Indeed,” Nadia responded, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. “She seemed very insistent that we don’t alert the press over this.”

“Aye.” I scratched my stubble thoughtfully. “A bit too insistent.”

Rebecca frowned. “Why would a mother not want the world to know someone had taken her child? Everyone knows, especially during the early stages of a kidnapping, that the quicker the news gets out, the more likely it is we can find the child.”

I shrugged. “I have no idea. I know if someone took Faye or Craig, I’d stop at nothing to get them back. Nothing.”

Nadia rubbed my arm sympathetically. “I understand. You’d think a parent would want to do anything to find their child.”

I pursed my lips in irritation, my thoughts filled with suspicion over Anita’s odd behaviour. In all of my years as a detective, I’d never known anyone to refuse press or public involvement, particularly when the situation was as serious as Anita’s was. I couldn’t help but wonder why, and I suspected the reason wasn’t positive.

Suddenly, I noticed a PC charging toward us. “Sorry to interrupt, detectives,” she said breathlessly. “But I have some news I thought you’d want to hear right away.”

“Go on?” I asked.

“My colleagues are holding a potential witness at the park’s main carpark,” the PC continued. “She claims to have been here around the time the girl went missing.”

Rebecca, Nadia, and I all glanced at one another hopefully before I looked back at the PC. “Lead us to her right away,” I commanded.

The PC nodded, and without another word, marched forward. The three of us trailed after her, hurrying. As we walked, I fired questions at the PC.

“Has there been any luck searching the surroundings?”

The PC shook her head but continued to look ahead, so I was unable to see her expression. “We searched every inch of the park, but found no sign of the girl.”

I sighed as my thoughts went back to Anita. Was it at all possible there was no missing child and that was why Anita was so keen for us to keep away from the press? And, if that was the case, why had she called us all here? Was she a bored or lonely woman craving misguided attention, or was there a much more sinister reason behind her behaviour?

“So no clothing?” I pressed. “No jewellery? No sign of struggle?”

“No, sir,” the PC answered. “There were several of us looking, too.”

Meaning it’s likely that either no kidnapping took place or that Rachel went with her kidnapper willingly, I thought.

I chewed the inside of my cheek contemplatively as we continued to approach the car park. It was always disappointing when we left somewhere empty handed, but something else seemed to nag at me. As we walked, I turned to Rebecca and Nadia.

“One of you get your phone out and look up Anita,” I commanded. “It would be good to get a photo of her so we can show people what she looks like. That could help our inquiries.”

Rebecca nodded as she fished her phone out of her pocket. “Good idea! I’ll get on that now.”

I thanked her as we all continued to move rapidly. After a few minutes we reached the carpark, and I saw a tall redheaded woman speaking to a couple of PCs. As we drew closer, I noticed the woman had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot on the floor in an irritated fashion. At our approach, her green eyes flashed toward us impatiently, but before she had the chance to speak, one of the PCs near her stepped forward.

“Detectives,” the broad shouldered male PC said hastily as he wiped sweat off of his brow. “This woman claims to have arrived here over half an hour ago. We’re hoping she may have seen something.”

The redheaded woman stepped forward as she cleared her throat. “And as I’ve already told this simpleton, I haven’t seen anything.”

My eyes looked into her sharp gaze. “Have you even given my colleagues the opportunity to explain why we are here?”

The woman sighed as she crossed her arms. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t appreciate being detained like this.” She looked at her watch, then huffed angrily. “Great! Now I’m too late for my spin class.”

I crossed my arms and towered over the woman with a frown. “Sorry that a missing child is messing up your exercise routine.”

The woman hastily dropped her arms, her eyes growing wide in disbelief. “W-wait,” she stammered. “You’re looking for a missing child?”

I continued to glower at her. “Aye, which is why we could do with you dropping the attitude and aiding us in our inquiries.”

The woman nodded as colour rose up her neck. “Of course!”

“What’s your name?” I enquired, relaxing my stance only a little.

“Eve,” the woman responded, her face still red with guilt. “Eve Hastings.”

At the corner of my eye I saw Nadia grab a small notebook from one of her pockets, but I kept my focus on Eve.

“And what time did you arrive here today?” I probed.

Eve screwed up her face thoughtfully. “Around half an hour ago.” She hesitated. “Definitely no longer than forty minutes at the most.”

I nodded. “And have you seen anything suspicious?”

Eve ran her fingers through her red hair pensively before responding. “No, not that I can think of. It’s been quiet here today.”

Rebecca grabbed her phone and showed Eve a photo of Anita. “This woman is here, and it’s her daughter we are looking for. Did you see her at all during your time here?”

Eve glanced at the photo for a few seconds before replying. “No, I don’t remember seeing her, but she may have been in another area of the park.”

“So, what have you seen since being here?” Rebecca pried.

“Erm,” Eve answered awkwardly as she rubbed her thin lips. “Not much, to be honest. I saw a young girl likely in her twenties walk by on her phone, a couple of mums with their kids, and another woman talking on the phone.” She paused and mumbled for a few seconds. “I think that’s pretty much it.”

My ears pricked up at the mention of kids. “What did the children look like?”

“One was a boy who looked around eight, and one was a girl who was possibly seven or eight, though it was hard to tell,” Eve responded.

I looked at Rebecca and Nadia before returning my gaze to Eve. I knew Rachel was younger than the ages Eve was discussing, but Rachel looked to be tall for her age. It was likely someone might assume she was older.

“What did the girl look like?” I pried.

Eve bit her lip as she shuffled on the balls of her feet. “Um, she looked nothing like the woman in the photo, if that’s what you mean.”

“Aye, but can you describe her, please?” I pressed impatiently.

“Black hair, green eyes. Erm…” she trailed off anxiously. “Sorry, I can’t say I looked at her for too long.”

“Christ,” Rebecca muttered. “That could be our girl!”

I nodded keenly, my eyes still fixed on Eve. “Who was the girl with?”

“Her mother, no doubt about it,” Eve said in a surprisingly confident tone. “Either that or a relative. The two looked very similar.”

My hopeful bubble burst and I felt my shoulders droop in disappointment. I knew dark hair and green eyes were far from uncommon features, but the thought of a young girl being taken in a public setting without being seen was difficult to believe.

I suddenly remembered the photo of Rache. I knew we had to show it to Eve. I turned to Nadia so quickly I felt my neck click, but I ignored the pain that shot through me. “Do you still have the photo of Rachel?”

Nadia nodded eagerly. As she stepped closer to Eve, she pulled the photo out of her pocket and presented it to her. “This is the girl we are looking for.”

Eve stared at the photo for less than a second before her hands went to her mouth in horror.

“Was that the girl you saw?” I probed.

Eve lowered her hands as she nodded. “Y-Yes.”

Her tone was slow and cautious, which didn’t fill me with confidence.

Nadia clearly picked up on Eve’s tone, too. “Are you certain of that?” she asked.

Eve turned to look at Nadia. “I-I wouldn’t want to say for certain… I only looked at her for a second, but they do look alike.”

“And you said the girl was with a woman?” Rebecca asked quickly.

Eve nodded as her eyes moved swiftly between the three of us. “Y-yes, but I was so certain they were together.”

“Because they looked similar?” I probed.

Eve lowered her head sheepishly. “Yes. That… and they seemed comfortable around one another. The woman wasn’t forcing the girl along with her. If anything, the girl followed her willingly.”

“Can you describe this woman to us?” I asked, taking a hopeful step closer toward her.

“She looked very similar to the young girl,” Eve said. “I’ll never forgive myself if that woman took the girl and I let it happen right in front of me.”

Nadia put a reassuring hand on Eve’s elbow. “Try not to focus on that right now, okay?”

I nodded appreciatively at Nadia’s words. “Aye, right now, the best thing you can do is answer our questions and allow us to do our job.”

“Right. Of course,” Eve stammered as her face flushed an attractive pink. “The woman had black hair, green eyes, and was wearing a navy dress.” She bit her lip. “Again, I barely looked at them for a second or two. Nothing about them seemed suspicious.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us about the woman?” Rebecca inquired. “Was she tall, short, on the more slender side? Any extra details?”

Eve scratched the top of her head. “The woman looked tall, and she wasn’t stick thin, but she didn’t look on the bigger side either.”

“Where did you see her and the child?” I inquired.

She pointed behind us. “They were walking toward her car.”

My eyes went wide, and I held back the hope that started to rise again. “What kind of car was it?”

“I’m not very good with cars,” Eve said guiltily as she purposely avoided my gaze. “But it was a medium-sized blue car.”

“I take it you can’t tell us the make?” Rebecca sighed.

Eve sighed as she shook her head. “No. I’m so sorry.”

“I suppose it’s pointless to ask if you happened to catch the plate number?” I pressed without hope.

“No,” she sighed again.

“What time did you see the two approaching the vehicle?” I inquired.

Eve glanced down at her watch. “I got here under an hour ago and I saw them leaving when I got here.” She huffed. “I wish I could be more precise, but I know it was within the hour. Likely less than that.”

I nodded. “That should be enough to help us.”

Eve lowered her head. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to help you more.”

I patted her shoulder roughly. “You’ve been more helpful than you realise.” I then turned to the male PC and gestured for him to approach before looking back at Eve. “The PCs will get your contact information in case we need to ask anything else.”

I then thanked them both and watched as they walked away. Although Eve hadn’t given me as much information as I wanted, she had given us somewhere to start. All I could do was hope that it would be enough for us to find Rachel before it was too late.

I had no idea what the kidnapper’s intentions were with Rachel, but I wasn’t willing to wait around and find out.

9

Once Eve left us, I knew we had to immediately spring into action.

“Right,” I said to Rebecca and Nadia. “I suggest we look around the park for clues or any cameras that could have caught the car arriving and leaving. Rebecca, you keep close to the car park and look around here, while Nadia and I will look closer to where we saw Anita,” I said with authority. “We’ll then meet back here.”

Rebecca didn’t verbally respond, opting instead to walk near the car park’s entrance. After watching her walk away for a couple of seconds, I turned back to Nadia. “Let’s go.”

I hurried toward the park, Nadia close at my tail. For a few moments, the two of us walked in complete silence, both of us putting our full focus on examining our surroundings. However, Nadia eventually broke the silence once we drew closer to the playground where Rachel was last seen.

“I must admit,” Nadia said. “After how Anita reacted, part of me was wondering if we were on a wild goose chase, but considering that Eve saw Rachel, it makes me even more curious about why Anita refused help from the press.”

I nodded with a grimace, my eyes still scanning the ground. “Aye, her behaviour was unusual.”

“Do you have any theories about it?”

I stood up straight with a sigh. “It’s hard to say. Maybe she’s scared that alerting the kidnapper could put Rachel in harm’s way. Maybe there’s certain people she doesn’t want finding out about this, but something tells me we’re going to find out soon enough.”

Nadia nodded, then went quiet again. For around twenty minutes, we searched around the area Rachel went missing. The two of us literally left no stone unturned in our search for evidence, but we ended up leaving to meet Rebecca feeling disappointed. There were no cameras around the park—something I knew I’d be questioning the council about once this case was over—and, like the PCs had suggested, there were no obvious clues anywhere.

Disheartened, we made our way back to the car park, both of our eyes still continuously scanning for either evidence or cameras. The closer we got to the park, the more agitated I felt over the lack of cameras in the area.

“It should be illegal to have open public areas like this without security cameras,” I muttered bitterly.

Nadia sighed. “Agreed. Our jobs would be a hell of a lot easier if we could just watch and see what happened here today.”

We made it back to Rebecca, who stood with her back to us. I expected her to turn around and have an expression of disappointment that mirrored my own, but to my surprise, she had a smile on her face.

“Any luck with your search?” Rebecca questioned.

I shook my head. “No, but judging from that smile, you’ve had more luck than we have.”

Rebecca’s smile widened as she gestured for us to follow her. She took us toward the car park’s entrance, then pointed toward a tree. “See that.”

I followed the direction of her finger, then grinned when I saw a camera there. It was hard to see since it was unusually close to a large oak tree, but there was no denying that it was facing the entrance of the car park.

“Let’s just hope and pray that it actually works,” I said sharply.

“There’s one way to find out,” Rebecca said playfully.

I knew instantly she was thinking of her boyfriend, Jude. I grabbed my phone and quickly called Elijah. Luckily, after a few seconds, he answered.

“Sir?” Elijah asked.

“Mornin’, Smith,” I replied.

“Is everything alright, sir?” Elijah inquired with worry. “Do you need me to come over?”

I hesitated for a moment in confusion, but understanding soon hit me. Rebecca had called me about the case on her way to the scene, meaning Elijah was unaware I’d joined the case. He assumed I was calling about Lylah.

Lylah, I thought sadly. I suddenly pictured her at home, lying on the bed, feeling lost and confused and struggling to understand her own feelings.

I quickly shook my head, knowing I had to focus on the case. “I’m not at home, lad. I had a call from Rebecca earlier and I’ve joined her on the case.”

Elijah hesitated before replying. “Oh, is anyone with Lylah and Craig, sir?”

I furrowed my brow in annoyance, unhappy at the fact Elijah was insinuating I’d leave my unwell wife and my infant child at home alone. “Of course there’s someone there, Smith!” I snapped. “Now let’s get back to the case, shall we?”

Elijah awkwardly cleared his throat. “Of course, sir! What can I do for you?”

“We are at Homestead Park and have noticed at least one security camera near the entrance of the car park,” I said. “I need you to see Jude Aisling, or someone from the tech team, and get them to look into the footage right away. We’re looking for a blue car within the last hour and a black-haired woman arriving on her own, then leaving with a young girl with the same hair colour.” I hesitated, my tone getting sterner. “Can you do that?”

“Yes, sir!” Elijah exclaimed. “I’ll go to him immediately.”

“Good lad,” I responded. “We’ll meet you at the station soon.”

I hung up, then turned to the others. “Let’s hope by the time we get back to the station that they’ve found something for us.”

Rebecca and Nadia gave one another a sheepish look, which caused me to groan impatiently. “What?”

“We appreciate you coming to help us, Sean, but we can take it from here now,” Rebecca huffed.

I gawped at her in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?”

Rebecca chewed her bottom lip as she pushed her dark hair back behind her ears. “Go home and be with your wife and child, Sean.”

I crossed my arms, ignoring the stabbing feeling in my gut. Sure, Rebecca had a point. I knew Lylah was struggling and my priority should have been being with her, but I also knew I couldn’t stay home while an innocent young girl was missing. Not when I knew I had the skills and the experience to find her.

Plus—and as much as I wasn’t willing to admit it to myself—I knew my mother had been right. Getting away from the flat and throwing myself into my work was exactly what I needed right now. Everything with Lylah and Craig had been a lot, and as intense as this case already was, it was a much needed distraction.

I set my jaw forward sternly. “I need to be here right now, so let’s just cut the bull and keep ourselves focused on the case, alright?” I hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Nothing you say or do is going to make me forget about this case, so let’s just get back to the station and focus on bringing Rachel back home.”

Rebecca held my stubborn gaze with an equally stubborn look of her own. For a moment the two of us held eye contact as though we were having the most intense staring competition of our lives, but eventually Rebecca sighed and stepped away from me.

“Very well,” Rebecca said unhappily. “Let’s look for any more cameras on the way back to our cars.”

I could tell she was displeased with me, and I was honestly not too thrilled with her, but we kept a terse silence as we walked back towards our vehicles. I scanned every inch of the park, desperate for another angle. Thankfully, I finally saw another one close to the yellow police tape.

“So that’s at least two cameras,” Nadia said brightly.

Rebecca smiled, her stern look gone. “At least one of these has to work!”

A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I nodded. “Aye. Now let's get back to the station and go through the footage.”

Nadia and Rebecca nodded. Rebecca made her way toward her car, but Nadia hesitated near me.

“You know we only have your best interests at heart, right?” she questioned guiltily.

I gave her a weak smile. “Aye, I know.”

“I know things have been hard for you, but it’s been hard for all of us too. It’s difficult to know that Lylah is struggling right now,” Nadia responded sadly. “We just want you both to be okay.”

I nodded, ignoring the lump that popped up in my throat. “That’s all I want too.”

10

Luckily, my motorcycle allowed me to get to the station quickly. I parked up outside, roughly pulled off my helmet, then walked into the station. I nodded at Karen at the reception desk, and she gave me a look of confusion. I knew she, like the others, hadn’t expected to see me today.

I dashed up the stairs to my department, where I saw Mae sitting at her desk alone. At the sound of the door opening, she swivelled in her chair to face me. She immediately jumped out of her chair and nodded at me respectfully.

“Good to see you, sir,” Mae said, brushing down her tan trousers as she stepped toward me.

Since she didn’t act surprised by my presence, I knew Elijah must have informed her about our conversation on the phone. I nodded at her as I placed my helmet down on a small table close to the coatrack. I moved my hand to unzip my jacket, but hesitated. “Aye, you too, Hodge.”

“How did it go at the park?” she inquired.

I huffed. “We found no physical evidence at the scene, but as I’m sure Smith has already told you, we did find some cameras. We are hoping they can point us where we need to go next.”

“That’s good news, sir. Let’s just hope that the cameras work and we can track the young girl down.” Mae then gestured toward the kitchen. “Can I offer you a drink, sir?”

I smiled at her weakly. “Ta, but I best get to the tech department to meet the others. I may have gotten here first on my motorcycle, but knowing Rebecca’s driving, she won’t be far behind.”

Mae chuckled as she approached the kitchen. “Just a drink for me, then!”

I said a quick goodbye to her, then made my way out of the department. No sooner had I stepped into the hall did I see Rebecca and Nadia rushing up the stairs toward me.

“We expected you to be with the tech team already,” Rebecca said as she continued to move toward the next flight of stairs. I quickly joined them.

Once we reached the tech department’s door, I held it open for Rebecca and Nadia, then followed them inside. Inside, Jude and Elijah were chatting together. Although the situation we were in was serious, I couldn’t help but hold back a laugh. It was the first time I’d found Jude without some form of crisps or chocolate bar in his hands. The man was notorious for eating loud snacks, so it was surprising to see him empty-handed and not munching on something loudly.

Jude and Elijah’s conversation abruptly ended when they heard us.

Jude’s eyes lit up at the sight of Rebecca. “Hey,” he said warmly.

Rebecca smiled in return, but I quickly spoke before she had the chance to.

“You two can catch up later. Let’s focus on the task at hand, shall we?” I queried, ignoring the sharp look Rebecca gave me.

Jude blushed and sat up in his seat. “Of course.”

For a few moments, the only sound was Jude’s typing and my impatient sighing. After my third sigh, Rebecca tutted and turned to me with crossed arms.

“Calm down, will you?” she snapped. “Jude’s working as quickly as he can.”

I frowned, readying myself to argue, but stopped as guilt washed over me. I pushed back my hair and sighed. “Aye, I know he is.”

Rebecca opened her mouth, then hesitated, her eyebrows rising in surprise. “Erm, right.”

I relaxed my stance slightly. “Sorry, alright? It’s just hitting close to home, you know… a kid going missing.”

“I bet.” Rebecca grimaced sympathetically. “How has Craig been?”

I glanced at Jude, saw he was still working, then looked back to Rebecca. “Aye, he’s been alright.” I turned to Nadia with a slight smile. “He had some fun with his godmother the other day.”

Nadia chuckled. “Yes. He was having a lot more fun than you were.”

“Aye, a vomit shower isn’t what someone wants first thing in the morning,” I said, my nose crinkling at the thought. “I was lucky I had you there to take over so I could sort myself out.”

Rebecca turned to us with a look of disgust. “I can’t think of anything worse!”

“Hence why you don’t want to be a mother,” Jude retorted playfully.

Elijah looked at me, apprehension etched across his features. “How was Lylah this morning, sir?”

I shuffled my feet uncomfortably. “Still the same.”

There was a sad, awkward silence between us for a few seconds before Jude broke it.

“Ah, here we go!” Jude exclaimed, pushing back in his chair and flourishing his arms toward the screen. “According to this, there are just the two working cameras in Homestead Park.”

“Only two?” Rebecca huffed. “That’s a rather big park for just two!”

Jude nodded. “Yes, this shows that there is some recent footage, so it should be relatively easy to⁠—”

“We need to see the footage from the last hour or so,” I interrupted. “We are looking for a blue car leaving with a young girl. The female driver arrived alone.”

I watched as Jude expertly navigated the footage on one camera, then opened up another window so that the footage from both cameras was side by side. He then adjusted the time and together we watched impatiently as he fast-forwarded the footage, making the odd comment as he worked.

“Ah, so there’s a car entering, but from this angle we can’t see who is inside,” he muttered.

I moved my face closer to the screen and saw that the car was a Mini. I’d noticed the Mini parked at the scene. Considering that only two cars were there, and we’d spoken to Eve next to her own car, I knew it had to belong to Anita.

“That’s the victim’s car,” I said.

Jude slowed down the speed on the cameras’ footage. We watched as the car exited the frame, then entered the car park on the footage of the second camera. I grumbled irritably when the car then moved out of sight.

“Great… we can’t see it parking up,” I grumbled.

Jude clicked his tongue. “Unfortunately.”

“It could be worse? At least we can see something,” Elijah stated, his tone as optimistic as ever.

I nodded, knowing he was right.

For a few seconds, I watched as no other vehicle entered the frame. My confusion grew. Surely the kidnapper must have followed them, or maybe they were an opportunist who was already at the park and took advantage of Anita’s lapse in focus? The latter concerned me, since it would mean the car was there before Anita arrived. It also meant they likely had no connection to the family. However, my confusion was short-lived, and I gripped Rebecca’s shoulder tightly when a car entered the frame on the first camera.

“Pause it!” I demanded.

Jude instantly froze the screen. The image on the video wasn’t the clearest, but I was certain the car belonged to our kidnapper. It was blue, like we suspected. However, I couldn’t see who was driving or discern the make.

“That must be it, right?” Nadia asked keenly.

“Yes, but the image isn’t the best,” Rebecca responded. “I can barely see anything from that!”

I nodded with a frown. “Aye, it’s pretty poor.” I glanced at Jude. “Play the footage, but make it as slow as you possibly can.”

“Will do,” Jude answered.

Jude continued the video at a snail’s pace, and my frustration returned when the car went around the corner of the road too quickly for us to get a good look at the license plate.

I huffed. “We aren’t getting anything from this!”

“Let’s focus on the other camera,” Jude replied calmly.

Jude closed down the first camera’s footage and widened the screen for the second one. For a few uncomfortable minutes, we all watched the footage and saw nothing, but I froze when I saw the blue car return on screen.

“Pause it!” Rebecca and I exclaimed at the same time.

Jude did as he was told, and together we all moved closer to the screen. After a few seconds, a wide grin appeared on my face. The license plate was clearly showing on the car.

I turned to Elijah. “Smith, get that plate number down right away!”

“Yes, sir!” Elijah responded.

“I’ll print the image for you if you want?” Jude offered helpfully.

I smacked him on the back. “Good lad. That would be great.”

I returned my focus to the image on the screen and tried to take as much in as possible. Although I was happy to see the license plate, it was still hard to see much else. The driver had cleverly put a hat on, which concealed their face, but my mouth gaped open when I realized there was a young girl sitting in the passenger seat.

Long dark hair, slender build… aye, that’s got to be Rachel! I thought.

The printer whirred to life beside me. I walked toward it, picked up the paper, and handed it to Nadia.

“Let’s get back to our department and look into this car,” Rebecca said.

I nodded, then turned to Jude. “Ta for your help, Aisling. It’s much appreciated."

Jude quirked a brow in surprise, but nodded. “You’re very welcome, sir.”

I patted him on the back once more, then gestured for the team to follow me. We quickly charged down the stairs and into our own department. At our quick, loud entrance, Mae jumped up from her seat again.

“What’s happened?” she asked with concern.

I pointed toward Elijah’s computer. “Smith, get that plate up on the system.”

Elijah moved quickly toward his computer and jumped into his seat.

Rebecca, noticing the mug Mae held in her hand, walked toward the kitchen. “Drinks?”

“A coffee for me, please,” Nadia replied.

“Same here, thanks,” Elijah said loudly, keeping his eyes on his screen.

I nodded. “Go on then. I’ll have one too.”

I stepped toward Elijah’s desk and placed the printed image of the car on it. Mae moved toward me to see what I was looking at, and Nadia quickly joined us.

“Is this the kidnapper, sir?” Mae probed.

I crossed my arms and nodded. “Aye, so let’s all hope the plate comes up in the system.”

For a moment, the three of us simply stared at the image while we waited for Elijah to finish his search and for Rebecca to return with our drinks. Rebecca soon joined us, and with each of us now cradling a hot mug, our focus turned to Elijah’s computer.

Come on, I thought desperately as I pulled my mug closer. Please let the plates come up.

After a few painful minutes, Elijah suddenly pushed his chair back and held up his arms happily. “The plate has come back, sir!”

Rebecca, Nadia, and Mae cheered, and Elijah continued. “The car belongs to Tanya Yeager. According to this, she’s a twenty-eight-year-old woman who lives down Troutbeck street in Woodthorpe.”

“How far away is Troutbeck from Homestead Park?” I questioned.

Elijah typed hastily. After a few seconds, he responded. “Around fifteen minutes away.”

My eyes lit up hopefully. Fifteen minutes was nothing, meaning the likelihood of Tanya having some familiarity with the park was high.

I turned and looked at everyone. “Well? What are we waiting for?” I asked impatiently. “Everyone get to their computers! Let’s see what we can find on this woman!”

Rebecca, Nadia, and Mae all rushed to their desks. I looked at everyone and made the quick choice to follow Rebecca to hers. Within less than a second of standing behind her, Rebecca spoke.

“Is there any point in you having that big, fancy office?” she asked sarcastically. “I swear you only step in there once in a blue moon.”

I snorted. “It’s a great place to escape you lot when I want to, but I want us together for moments like this.”

Rebecca took a long sip of her coffee before nodding. “I know.”

Rebecca started typing. I watched her, slowing sipping my coffee as she worked. Eventually, Rebecca stumbled across Tanya’s Facebook page, and we both gasped the moment we looked at it. Tanya had long, wavy black hair, a tall, thin frame, and large green eyes that glowed. Rebecca clicked between various photos, and the more we looked, the more it was clear Tanya looked like Rachel.

“Eve said that the woman who took Rachel looked like a relative, right?” Rebecca asked cautiously.

“Aye, and this woman looks like the spitting image of Rachel!” I exclaimed in disbelief. “No wonder Eve didn’t look twice when those two were together.”

“She has to be our kidnapper,” Rebecca stated. “The car is hers. She matches the description given by the eyewitness, and she lives close to the park. There are too many connections for them to be coincidences.”

I nodded. “Agreed.”

“Sean!” Nadia shouted. “Come here!”

I downed the rest of my coffee, set the empty mug down on Rebecca’s desk, then moved hastily toward Nadia. “What is it?”

“Look at this,” Nadia responded as she pointed at her screen. “I found a news article about Tanya that came out not too long ago.”

I crouched down beside Nadia and moved my face closer to her screen. I read the article in silence, then turned to Nadia with a quirked brow. Nadia was looking at me with a triumphant expression.

“Tanya recently lost her own daughter?” I pried.

Nadia nodded. “Yes. Not only that, but her daughter was the same age as Rachel.”

I stroked my stubble thoughtfully. “So you’re thinking Tanya took Rachel to replace her own daughter?”

“It’s always possible, right?” Nadia asked sheepishly.

I patted her lightly on the back. “Aye, it’s as good a theory as any!”

I stepped into the middle of the room and cleared my throat loudly to get everyone’s attention. Once everyone turned to face me, I started speaking. “Right, so this has been a good start so far!” I exclaimed proudly. “We got a good hit on the plate. Tanya’s physical similarities to Rachel are uncanny, and Nadia has just revealed that Tanya recently lost her own little girl. Anything else?”

Elijah put his hand up like an eager schoolboy. “Tanya has had the car for several years and lives alone, so it isn’t likely that anyone else was using it.”

I grinned happily at the team. “Excellent work, everyone! I think that’s enough to go by.” I gestured toward Rebecca. “Want to come with me to speak to Tanya?”

Rebecca smiled as she jumped up from her chair. “I’d be happy to!”

After a few quick goodbyes, we ran down the stairs and out of the station. For once, I was filled with hope that we were going to solve a case quickly.

All of the evidence was pointing toward Tanya as our kidnapper. I just had to hope we’d be finishing this day with a mother and daughter reunited once more.

11

Tanya’s address was about twenty minutes away, which meant we’d get there in ten with Rebecca’s driving. I could tell Rebecca wanted to bring up my situation at home a few times, but she bit her tongue. I appreciated her concern, but I appreciated her silence more. I couldn’t keep rehashing how miserable it all was. I needed this time, this case. I needed to feel like myself.

Rebecca turned down Troutbeck, and we both perked up in our seats. Each house looked identical, and had the same clay coloured bricks, white doors, grey roofs, and bay windows. They were semi-detached with only a small space in between. My eyes remained peeled for the blue car. Anytime I saw anything remotely blue, my heart rate accelerated, but each time I was left disappointed. Eventually, Rebecca slowed down and parked up.

“Here we go,” she said, pointing to a house on our left. “Number thirteen, that’s Tanya’s.”

I took a deep breath, unbuckled my seatbelt, then got out of Rebecca’s car. I noticed that the blue car wasn't there. Since I couldn’t see it, I grabbed my phone and sent a quick message to Nadia asking her to alert the police. I wanted everyone on the lookout for it.The two of us approached the front door, and I knocked on it loudly. After a few moments of waiting, no one answered.

“Maybe she’s out?” Rebecca asked quietly.

“Aye, or maybe she’s holding a child captive and doesn’t want visitors,” I muttered. I knocked on the door again, even louder this time. “We’ll give her one more chance. If she doesn’t have the sense to answer the damn door, we will get a warrant.”

Rebecca nodded next to me but kept her eyes on the door.

I was ready to huff in aggravation and head back to the car, but before I had the chance, I heard footsteps approaching. I waited, then watched as the door flung open, revealing Tanya.

There was no denying it was her. She looked identical to her photos on Facebook. Her wide green eyes were complimented by a green, figure-hugging dress, and she still had her black hair. The only difference was that in her photos Tanya seemed to opt for wavy hair, but in person she had it straight.

Tanya looked between Rebecca and I with a perplexed look. “Yes? Can I help you?”

“Tanya Yeager?” I pried.

Tanya quirked a brow. She then folded her arms as she leant against one side of her doorway. “Depends on who’s asking.”

I frowned impatiently as I pulled my badge out of my pocket and showed it to her. “I am asking,” I responded. “I’m DCI Sean Ellis, and my colleague here is DI Rebecca Tumber.”

Tanya pulled a worried expression. “Wait? You're the police?”

I pursed my lips suspiciously at her reaction.

Got something to hide, eh, Tanya? I thought with satisfaction.

“Aye, that we are,” I responded. “Can we come in?”

“W-why?” Tanya queried nervously. “Has something happened?”

“I think it would be best if we spoke inside, Miss Yeager,” Rebecca answered calmly.

“Oh God,” Tanya muttered as she shakily rubbed her face. “Y-yes. Come in.”

I was surprised that she allowed us entry to her home, but I kept my face impassive. Tanya held out her arm in a welcoming gesture.

“Thank you, Miss Yeager,” Rebecca said.

We entered Tanya’s oddly wide hallway, then waited for her to shut the door behind us. As she went to shut the door, I subtly moved a few steps and tried to take in my surroundings. The house was silent, and there were no obvious signs that anyone other than Tanya was currently here.

Tanya led us into her living room, where she threw herself into her armchair. She pushed her hair out of her face and watched us anxiously as we sat down in a larger chair opposite her. As we got comfortable, there was an awkward silence, but Tanya soon broke it.

“Has something happened to one of my parents? Or my brother?” she asked worriedly.

“Why do you ask that, Miss Yeager?” I queried.

Tanya fidgeted nervously in her chair. “Usually if the police come to your door, it’s to give you bad news.”

I nodded understandingly. “I can assure you… we aren’t here to give you any bad news regarding your family.”

Tanya exhaled and relaxed more in her chair, but her look of relief soon turned to one of confusion. “Then why are you here?”

“Can you tell us your whereabouts this morning, Miss Yeager?” I asked.

Tanya furrowed her brow in surprise. “I’ve been here all day.”

“Can anyone verify that?” I pressed.

Tanya laughed dryly, though there was a clear sadness to her eyes. “I live alone, DCI Ellis, so no.”

“Perhaps if we spoke to your neighbours, they’d be able to inform us whether you left your house this morning at any point,” I continued.

Tanya sank back into her chair and shrugged. “Be my guest. As I said, I’ve been home all day.” She glanced between Rebecca and me curiously. “What is this all about, anyway?”

“We are the ones asking the questions here, Miss Yeager,” I responded.

Tanya had the sense to keep quiet, so I continued. “We believe you visited Homestead Park this morning.”

“Well, I didn’t. I haven’t been there since—” She trailed off, then gulped emotionally. “I wasn’t there.”

I huffed. “Let’s not play games here, Miss Yeager. An eyewitness saw you at the park with a six year old girl and saw you leaving together in your car.”

Tanya frowned. “What car?”

“Your car,” I replied snappishly. “We looked up the license plate . We know it belongs to you, so stop lying to us.”

Tanya squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Wait, are you saying my car was used in a crime?”

“Aye, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” I said firmly as I slowly rose from my seat. “I don’t suppose you’d mind either myself or my colleague having a look around your house, would you?”

Tanya quickly jumped up from her chair, her face turning beetroot red. “This is unacceptable! You can’t just turn up at my house and search it. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

I crossed my arms and glowered at her. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Miss Yeager. You can either give us permission to look around, or we can come back with a warrant.” I stepped closer to her. “Either way, we will be searching this place.”

Tanya scoffed in disbelief. After a few seconds, she looked at Rebecca. “I give permission for you to look around, but there’s no way I’m letting this rude man anywhere else in my house.”

Rebecca glanced at me impassively. I gave her a curt nod, allowing her to walk out of the room.

Tanya walked back to her chair and sat down with an unhappy expression. “Now that I’ve given your colleague permission, can you tell me what she’s looking for, exactly?”

I slowly sat back down—keeping my eyes glued to Tanya—before I replied. “Very well. This morning a six-year-old girl was taken from Homestead Park.” I hesitated a moment to take in Tanya’s reaction to the news. Her body went stiff in her chair and her skin went even paler, but she didn’t speak. “We spoke to a witness who insisted a woman who matches your description took the girl, and we caught your car on CCTV footage leaving the park with the girl.” I fixed her with a firm look. “It’s in your best interest to be honest with us, Miss Yeager. Things aren’t looking very good for you right now.”

Tanya’s mouth hung open in horror. “Wait… is that why your colleague is searching my house? You think I’ve taken some child and she’s here!?”

“Did you take Rachel?” I pressed.

“No!” Tanya exclaimed. “Of course I haven’t.”

Before I had the chance to reply, Rebecca entered the room. She subtly shook her head as she sat down next to me.

“You didn’t find her, right?” Tanya asked desperately. “And you wouldn’t because I didn’t do it!”

“No, she isn’t here,” Rebecca said in a slow, cautious tone. “But that doesn’t mean you haven’t taken her elsewhere.”

Tanya scoffed, then rubbed her face. “This is ridiculous!”

“You have a room up there prepared for a young girl,” Rebecca said in an accusatory tone. “Almost as though you’re waiting for one to get here.”

Tanya’s eyes watered, and she slowly wiped them. “That was Sylvie’s room. I-I haven’t had the heart to change anything in it.”

I knew Sylvie was Tanya’s recently deceased daughter, and I felt a lump in my throat at the thought of a parent losing their child at such a young age.

“I heard about your daughter,” I responded softly. “I’m truly sorry for your loss. I can’t even imagine how it must have felt to lose her, but you have to see things from our perspective.” I shuffled in my chair uncomfortably. “A young girl gets taken in your car, and she’s the same age as your daughter. It is a bit odd.”

Tanya glared at me. “Yes, it is a bit odd! I just lost my child, detective, and you’re here basically accusing me of putting another mother through the same pain! And, even worse, you’re suggesting I could replace my daughter like she meant nothing to me.”

I sighed. “I get how you feel, Miss Yeager, but we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your car.”

She continued to rub her face for a few seconds before she abruptly stopped and swore, her eyes widening. “Wait, you said my car was at the park, right?”

“Aye,” I responded. “Hence why we came here.”

She swore again, causing Rebecca and me to glance at one another in confusion.

“That woman must have taken her,” Tanya said with aggravation, placing her face in her hands. “I-I can’t believe this.”

I furrowed my brow. “What are you on about, Miss Yeager?”

“I sold my car last night to a woman,” Tanya said in a slow, frustrated tone. “I’d had it for sale for weeks, parked up outside my house. Feel free to ask any of my neighbours. They’d have seen it.”

For a second, I just looked into Tanya’s eyes and tried to get a read on her. My gut wasn’t reacting, which made me wonder if she was telling us the truth.

“Who was this woman?” I pressed.

Tanya sighed in annoyance. “I don’t know her. She told me her name was Hannah, but I didn’t catch her last name.”

Likely a fake name, I thought to myself bitterly.

“Alright, do you have any contact details for her?” I pried hopefully.

Tanya’s cheeks reddened as her shoulders drooped. “No, I don’t have any information for her.”

I quirked my brow suspiciously. “Then how did she come to buy your car?”

Tanya shuffled forward slightly in her chair. “She must have seen that it was up for sale and decided she wanted it. She knocked on my door last night at around sixish and told me she was interested in buying it. I told her I was happy to sell it to her, and tried to discuss dates to meet, but she offered me cash. She was happy to pay more than I asked for because her car had been in a crash and she was desperate.” She rubbed her forehead. “I was just so happy to get the extra money and get rid of the car… I-I didn’t even think anything of it.”

I rubbed my stubble harshly. “How did you advertise your car?”

“I didn’t, not really,” Tanya responded. “I just put a ‘for sale’ sign in my car.”

“So it wasn’t advertised on any websites or any forms of social media?” Rebecca pressed.

Tanya shook her head. “No, nothing like that.”

Meaning, if this story is true, that the kidnapper likely lives close by to have seen it, I thought.

“Can you describe this woman to us?” I queried.

“Her features were very similar to my own,” Tanya answered candidly. “Same hair colour, same eye colour, even our builds were sort of similar.”

“And had you seen her before?” I asked.

“Not before last night, no,” Tanya replied.

I stood up, put my hand into my jacket pocket, and grabbed one of my cards, which I proceeded to pass to Tanya. “My number is on this card, Miss Yeager. If you see or hear from her again, please call me right away.”

Tanya’s eyes widened in disbelief as she took the card. “D-does this mean you aren’t arresting me?”

“No, at least… not now,” I replied. “I believe you, but I will be back if I find anything to suggest you’ve been lying to us.”

Tanya nodded frantically. “I’ve been honest with both of you. I swear!”

I nodded calmly and gestured with my hand for Rebecca to follow me.

As we walked toward Tanya’s front door, I couldn’t deny the rising feeling of disappointment that hit my stomach. Tanya’s car had been our only real lead, and now it felt as though we were back to square one.

12

The moment Tanya closed the door behind us, Rebecca turned to me sharply.

“Do you honestly believe her?” she asked.

I kept my expression neutral. “Don’t you?”

“I don’t know. I mean, it was her car, and the witness described a woman who looked just like her.” She grumbled. “Is it really that likely she just happened to sell her car the night before the kidnapping? And to a woman of a similar appearance, no less.”

I shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”

“True, but I’m not entirely convinced.” Rebecca pushed back her hair with a sigh. “If we believe her… for now, then I guess we’re back to square one.”

I nodded glumly as I looked across the road. Suddenly, I caught a woman peering out of her window. As she caught my eye, she quickly pulled back the blinds and rushed out of view. Nosy neighbours were one of life’s greatest annoyances, but there were times when they were a good thing.

I jerked my head toward the house with a smirk. “I suggest we speak to one of Tanya’s neighbours. They may be able to tell us if they saw the woman buying her car last night.”

“Good idea,” Rebecca responded. “It would certainly be good to confirm her story.”

Together we started to cross the road, but I hesitated when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that Nadia was trying to call me.

Rebecca, noticing my phone, tapped me on the shoulder. “You take the call, and I’ll go speak to the neighbour.”

I nodded thankfully as I answered the phone.

“Nadia,” I said as I watched Rebecca approach the neighbour’s house.

“Hey Sean,” Nadia responded. “Are you free to talk or are you still with Tanya Yeager?”

“We just left her house,” I replied, watching as a woman who looked to be in her late forties answered the door and started chatting to Rebecca. “Tanya claims to have sold her car last night, and that she had nothing to do with Rachel’s kidnapping. I’m inclined to believe her.”

“It’s actually Tanya’s car I’m calling about,” Nadia said. “We’ve just received a call from a PC who found it abandoned down an alleyway about five minutes away from Homestead Park. I thought you’d want to know right away.”

I chewed my cheek thoughtfully. “That certainly gives some credibility to Tanya’s story.”

“I’d say so, yes,” Nadia responded. “Either that or she ditched the car herself. I’ll send you the location.”

I pondered Nadia’s theory and knew it wasn’t likely. If Tanya kidnapped a child and left her vehicle, it would mean hazarding getting back to hers on foot or finding another vehicle. Both ways would have been risky.

“That would be great,” I answered. “Ta, Nadia.”

“I’ve also called Hannah and requested that a lab analyst meet you there so they can swab the car for prints,” she added.

“Excellent work!” I exclaimed. “Can I ask you a favour before you go?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Tanya mentioned she had her car for sale, but wasn’t advertising it. The woman who saw it must be somewhat local to the area for her to know about it,” I responded. “Can you see if there is any CCTV close by that we can look into, and can you get a team of PCs to come check around the neighbourhood?”

“Good thinking, I’ll sort that out now,” Nadia chirped.

“Ta, Nadia,” I said once more. “I’ll see you soon.”

I hung up the phone, then looked toward the neighbour’s house. Rebecca and the woman were still chatting, but just when I decided to approach them, I heard Rebecca say goodbye. I waited as Rebecca joined me, her expression looking far from amused.

“Talk about your neighbourhood watch,” Rebecca said quietly as we walked back to her car. “That woman sees literally everything! I swear she has no life whatsoever.”

“So she saw the woman buying the car?” I asked hopefully.

“Yes, and she said the woman looked similar to Tanya, too,” Rebecca responded.

I nodded. “Good, that’s more evidence to support Tanya’s version of events.”

Rebecca pulled a perplexed expression. “More evidence?”

“Aye, Nadia called to say a PC found Tanya’s car abandoned not too far from the park.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Let’s hope that leads to something, then.”

I glanced down at my phone and saw that Nadia had sent me the location of the car. “Come on. Let’s get going then.”

As we walked to Rebecca’s car, I turned to face her. “Did the neighbour have anything useful to say?”

To my surprise, Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Not really. I mean, it was good that she confirmed Tanya’s story, but she was mostly trying to tell me about irrelevant things she’d seen that had nothing to do with the case.”

I smirked. “So you had fun, then?”

“Oh, yes. It was riveting.”

I chortled as I opened the passenger door and got into the car. I kept my phone out and decided to direct Rebecca from my phone instead of wasting time putting the details into the satnav. After a few minutes of driving, I spotted some police tape near an alleyway and knew that must be where the car was.

“Park up somewhere close by,” I instructed.

Rebecca moved speedily toward the curb, then sharply stopped the car. Together we got out of the car, but within seconds a PC was running toward the yellow tape and bending under it. The PC looked young, likely no older than twenty, with a thin moustache that didn’t suit him. It looked more like one of Rebecca’s hairs had travelled through the wind and landed on his lip than actual facial hair.

“Hold on!” the man said worriedly, his brown eyes shining brightly. “You can’t park there! We have an active scene here at the moment.”

“Aye, lad, we’re aware,” I said calmly as I found my badge and presented it to him. “DS Nadia Begum gave us the location.”

The man flushed crimson and stepped nervously away from us. He seemed so keen to not be near us I feared he was going to walk through the tape. “My apologies, sir!”

I waved my hand through the hair. “No need, lad. We’ll go have a look at the car now.” I hesitated as I looked around us. “Has anyone from pathology arrived yet?”

“No, sir,” the man said.

“Send them straight through when they do,” I replied.

The man nodded so vigorously that I thought his custodian helmet was going to fly off of his head. “I’ll send them right away, sir!”

I nodded in return. “Have you or any of your team found anything useful here? Like a camera facing the alleyway or close by?”

The PC visibly deflated in front of me. “No, sir, though some of my colleagues are still looking.”

I thanked him, then put on my gloves. As I pulled them on, I glanced around the alleyway’s entrance for any cameras, but the PC had been right. There were none. I then held the police tape up as Rebecca crouched under it. Rebecca thanked me, then put her own gloves on as we approached the car.

“I suggest we don’t touch the car until someone from pathology arrives,” I advised as we walked down the wide alleyway.

“Agreed, though it’s likely the car’s already been contaminated by now,” Rebecca muttered bitterly.

I grumbled, knowing she was likely right. “Let’s just hope it’s been a quiet morning for this alleyway.”

As we walked down the alleyway, my eyes scanned every inch of it. The alleyway was right next to what looked like an abandoned shop based on the broken windows and the boards that haphazardly covered them. The ground was covered in various pieces of rubbish, food crumbs, and what looked like discarded needles. The moment I saw the needles, my lip curled in disgust.

Christ, I thought with revulsion. This woman pulled an innocent child down through some drug den. Was she that desperate to have her?

“Be careful where you step,” I warned.

“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Rebecca responded, her grimace matching my own.

As the car wasn’t immediately in sight, I knew the kidnapper must have parked it around the corner. Sure enough, no sooner did we reach the end of the path and look to our left did we see the car. When we’d been walking toward the car, my nose had continuously crinkled from the vile smells that came from the alleyway, but as we reached the corner, all I could smell was the potent scent of bleach.

“Damn it,” Rebecca snarled as she looked at the car. “She’s clearly cleaned it!”

“Aye, we just have to hope she’s done a poor job of it,” I responded gruffly. “Why don’t we⁠—“

“Good afternoon, you two,” a familiar voice interrupted.

I turned away from Rebecca to see the pathologist, Sam Davies, standing behind us.

“Happy to see me?” she asked us playfully.

“Always,” I responded.

“Of course,” Rebecca said kindly.

Sam giggled. “I was with Hannah when we received the phone call from Nadia. When I heard the job was for you two, I was only too happy to get involved. Usually we’d only send a lab assistant to do something like this, but I wanted to help.” She hesitated, her smile quickly disappearing. “Particularly when I heard you were looking for a missing girl.”

Sam was holding a large case, which she proceeded to put on the ground. She opened it and got herself sorted, pulling gloves on quickly.

“Aye. We had a woman call to say her six year old daughter was taken right under her nose at Homestead Park,” I said gruffly.

Sam grimaced. “Criminals are bold these days, aren’t they?”

I frowned. “Aye. Too bold.”

Sam glanced at the car with a frown. “And clever,” she said bitterly. “I could smell the bleach as soon as I saw the car.”

“Let’s just hope this woman isn’t as smart as she thinks she is. Maybe she left some DNA behind,” I responded.

Otherwise, we’ve hit another dead end, I thought worriedly.

Rebecca and I were silent as we observed Sam work. I watched with awe at the way she took swabs from various parts of the car—parts I’d have never even thought to look at—and moved around with a quick, effortless grace. Although Sam was young, Hannah had trained her well. She worked as though she’d been doing the job for a lifetime.

Eventually, Sam sighed and closed her case. “Well, I think that’s all I can do for now. I will take the samples straight to the lab and get the results expedited, but you’ll still be looking at tomorrow morning at the earliest.” She glanced at the car. “I’m more than happy to sort out someone to take the car. We can always run more tests on it later if we need to.”

I glanced at my watch and saw it was now approaching early evening. Although I was keen to get the results quickly, I knew I had to be patient.

“Ta, Sam,” I responded appreciatively. “We will let you get going so you can get to the lab as soon as possible.”

Sam nodded as she picked up her case. “Let’s just hope the kidnapper is a sloppy cleaner, eh?”

Rebecca and I both nodded.

Together, the three of us walked out of the alleyway. I held the tape up for both Rebecca and Sam, and after we said our goodbyes, I followed Rebecca to her car. Once we got inside, I turned to Rebecca and noticed her dishevelled expression.

“You alright?” I asked.

Rebecca pushed her hair back with an exhausted sigh. “I just hoped we’d have Rachel back with her mother by now, that’s all.”

I patted her hand delicately. “Aye. Me too.”

Rebecca took a deep breath, then started her car. “What do we do now?”

I got comfortable in my seat before responding. “I got Nadia to send a team of PCs to Tanya’s neighborhood, so at least they’ll be there now.”

Rebecca’s eyebrows lifted to the heavens. “I thought you believed her?”

“Aye, I do,” I answered candidly. “But for the kidnapper to have purchased that car, she must either be local to the area or know someone local. At least with PCs on patrol, they can keep an eye on things.”

“Good thinking,” Rebecca said approvingly.

For a while, there was silence as Rebecca drove. I used the silence to figure out our next steps, and after a few minutes, I was ready to discuss my thoughts. “When we get back to the station, I think we should get the entire team looking into both Anita and Rachel.”

Rebecca nodded slowly. “True, we still haven’t looked at them properly yet.”

“Exactly,” I answered. “Now that our search into the car is at a standstill, we need to figure out why Rachel was targeted.”

Rebecca stopped the car at a red light and turned to me with a smirk. “Is your gut giving anything away yet?”

I barked a laugh. “No, not yet. Though I’m still curious about Anita’s reaction to the press. It makes me wonder if she knows more than she’s letting on.”

Rebecca frowned as she started to drive again. “I guess it wouldn’t be the first time someone hid information from us.”

We arrived at the station, and I was quiet as she parked up. We then got out of the car and made our way inside together. After power walking inside and toward our department, I slowed down as I grabbed the door and held it open for Rebecca. We then entered the room together, and I wasn’t surprised when Nadia, Elijah, and Mae instantly ran over.

“How did it go?” Nadia asked apprehensively.

I crossed my arms as I looked between everyone. “We found the car, but it looks like the kidnapper cleaned it.”

Elijah swore. “They never want to make our jobs easy, do they?”

I shook my head. “No, they don’t, which means we have to work extra hard to find Rachel ourselves. Pathology will send their reports tomorrow, but I’m not hopeful they’ll come back with much.”

Mae nodded. “So what’s the plan, sir?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but my phone suddenly rang in my pocket. I grumbled irritably at the interruption, but froze when I saw it was my mother.

“It’s my mum,” I muttered slowly.

I hurried away from the team, my thoughts filled with concern over why she’d be calling me. Was something wrong with Craig? Had something else happened with Lylah?

I hit answer on the phone, hoping and praying my negative thoughts were all for nothing.

13

“Ma, is everything alright?” I asked hastily as I leant my back against the wall.

“Oh, Sean!” she exclaimed. “Thank Christ you answered! I was worried you’d be too busy at work.”

Her tone instantly pushed me from being on edge to almost falling off of it. “What’s wrong?”

My anxiety skyrocketed when my mother started to cry. “It’s Lylah! I don’t know what to do!”

“What about Lylah?” I questioned urgently.

“I-I heard her moving around upstairs and going into the bathroom,” my mother stammered through her tears. “I assumed she’d j-just pulled herself out of bed to go to the t-toilet, but after a while I s-still didn’t hear her come out, so I decided to go and speak to h-her.” She was quiet for several seconds, making me worry that our line had been disconnected, but eventually she continued. “I can hear running water in there, but she’s not answering me, Sean! I’m worried she’s done something stupid.”

Time went still. All I could do was fear the worst. I knew Lylah had been struggling, and I knew things were bad, but I never thought Lylah would be a risk to herself.

Jesus, Lyles! I thought. Please be alright!

“Mum, it’s alright!” I exclaimed, trying and failing to present a reassuring tone. “I’ll come home right away. Just keep trying to get through to her and I’ll be there soon.”

“Hurry, son!” Mother exclaimed. “Hurry, please!”

I hung up the phone and looked at the others. I jumped slightly in surprise when I realised they’d already moved next to me.

“What’s going on?” Rebecca questioned.

“Has something happened with Lylah?” Elijah asked, his face as white as a sheet.

I grabbed my helmet and thrust it under my arm. “I have to get back home. Mum said Lylah shut herself in the bathroom and she can’t get through to her.”

Nadia grabbed her face. Elijah went a deeper shade of white, and both Rebecca and Mae looked horrified.

“You can’t go alone!” Rebecca exclaimed. “I’m coming with you.”

I turned to her sharply. “No, you have to stay here! You’re the DI and with me gone, you have to be here to focus on the case.”

“But Lylah⁠—”

“But Rachel!” I interrupted her. “A child is missing, Rebecca, and I need you to step up while I’m away. The first twenty-four hours in any missing person case are crucial. We can’t waste any of that time!”

Rebecca looked miserable, but she quickly accepted the fact I was right and nodded.

I was too concerned about Lylah to say anything else, so I charged out of the building. It wasn’t until I was outside and jumping on my motorcycle that I noticed Elijah running out of the building and toward his car.

“Smith!” I roared as I put on my helmet. “Get back inside now!”

Elijah shook his head stubbornly as he continued to run. “No chance, sir. Lylah is my best friend, and she did nothing but look for me when Moore took me. It’s my turn to be there for her!”

I wanted to argue with him, but time was of the essence. Instead, I swore and kicked my motorcycle to life, then exited the station’s car park.

The drive from the station to my flat felt like the longest journey of my life. In reality, it only took fifteen minutes, but in my mind it felt like several hours. During that time, all I could do was think of Lylah and curse myself and my selfishness for returning to work. I’d been so focused on the fact that I needed to get away from the stress of everything that I hadn’t stopped to think how Lylah must have been feeling.

If anything happened to her, it would haunt me for the rest of my life.

The sky darkened as I approached my flat, and part of me felt as though it were reflecting my sombre mood. I didn’t even bother to take off my helmet as I shoved the front door open. I then ran up the stairs, towards the sound of my mother’s voice and my son’s tears.

“Lylah, please answer me!” my mother shouted tearfully through the door.

Craig was nestled close to her body, but he was crying as if he knew what was going on.

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, my mother turned to face me and sobbed with relief.

“Son!”

I quickly yanked off my helmet and thrust it to the ground. “It’s alright, Mum, I’m here now.” I gently caressed her face, then stroked Craig’s head. “Elijah is on his way. You two go downstairs, alright? I’ll get through to Lylah and he can look after you.”

Mother nodded, which only highlighted her red, swollen face. “I’m so sorry, Seany. I tried to get through to her.”

I squeezed her hand. “I know you did, Ma, now please get out of the way and let me do this.”

Luckily, my mother listened to my command without question. She held Craig tighter to her body, and I heard her trying to soothe him as she went downstairs. I turned my focus on the bathroom door and knocked, ignoring the sound of running water coming from the other side of it.

“Lyles!” I shouted as I tried desperately to open the door. “It’s me.”

Lylah didn’t reply, which caused my heart to beat faster.

I heard the front door open and my mother’s hurried tone. With Elijah here, I could truly put all of my focus on Lylah.

“Lyles, we are all worried sick out here!”

Again, there was silence.

I swore under my breath as I frantically shoved my hair out of my face.

What the hell do I do? I thought with fright. I have no idea how to get through to her.

I knew I wasn’t willing to keep shouting through the door to no answer. For all I knew, Lylah was unconscious or had hurt herself in there. I had to get to her.

“Lyles, if you can hear me, step away from the door!”

There was no answer.

I stepped away from the door, prepared myself, then hurtled toward it with my shoulder outstretched. The door flung off its hinges and landed on the floor with a loud thump. I felt immediate pain travel through my shoulder and back, but I ignored it as I searched around the room. I quickly noticed Lylah, sitting on the floor of the shower with the water running over her. She was fully dressed and staring at her knees, not even so much as looking up or flinching when the door opened.

I felt my eyes grow wet as I sighed in relief at the sight. While I didn’t relish the idea of her cold and wet, it was a much better view than the one I’d been mentally preparing myself for.

I slowly approached the shower, opened the door, then turned off the water. I looked down at Lylah, who still hadn’t moved, then gently moved her along so I could sit on the floor beside her. As I touched her soaked arm, I felt immediate coldness enter my fingertips.

“Jesus, Lyles,” I muttered. “You’re frozen!”

Before I sat down, I took my leather jacket off and placed it around her shoulders. I made sure the jacket was properly wrapped around her, then gently pulled her to my side so I could hold her close.

For a few moments, the two of us simply sat there in silence. Although I was deeply worried about her, the silence didn’t feel uncomfortable. If anything, part of it felt oddly nice as I held her close and thanked every possible deity that she was alive.

Slowly, she stopped shivering.

“Are you warming up now, love?” I asked softly.

Lylah nodded gently against my chest, but she didn’t speak.

“That’s good,” I responded as I rubbed my hand up and down her arm. “You had all of us worried, Lyles. Mum was trying for ages to get through to you, and when you weren’t responding to me… I really didn’t know what to think.”

Lylah slowly pulled away from me, but still clutched my jacket tightly around her. She looked into my eyes and my heart ached to see how exhausted she looked.

“I’m sorry I’m such a burden to you all,” she said emotionlessly.

I gave her a weak smile as I lightly touched her face. “That’s one thing you never are, love. We all just love you so much.”

A couple of stray tears started to fall down Lylah’s already wet face. “I’m so sorry, Sean. I should have listened to you. I know I haven't been myself these past few months, but I just kept telling myself I’d snap out of it, you know? I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Sean. I just feel upset and worthless the whole time.”

“This is good, Lyles,” I whispered. “It’s good you’re opening up to me.”

“All I want to do is sleep,” Lylah continued, her tone now slightly flatter than before. “And anytime I think about being near Craig, it makes me feel sick. I know I’m a bad mother.”

“You’re far from a bad mother, love,” I scoffed.

“But I am.” She hesitated awkwardly. “I haven’t been honest with you.”

I screwed up my face in confusion. “What do you mean, darling?”

Lylah started to silently cry again. I was patient and waited for her to speak.

“A few months ago, when I was looking after Craig,” Lylah said, considering each word. “I was just so tired that I didn’t know what to do with myself. Anyway, I decided to lie down on the bed with Craig just so I could rest my legs a bit… Suddenly, I opened my eyes and realised I’d fallen asleep.” She paused. “I woke up and quickly realised Craig was under me, so I moved off of him and made sure he was okay.”

While the revelation shocked me, I knew Lylah had clearly been beating herself up for a long time, so I wasn’t going to make her feel worse than she already did.

“But he was alright, love,” I whispered.

Lylah dropped her head into her hands. “Yes, but he easily couldn’t have been, Sean! I could have suffocated him!”

“Is this why you’ve not wanted to be near Craig?” I inquired in a gentle tone. “Because you’ve been scared of hurting him?”

Lylah nodded, but didn’t verbalise a response.

“Oh, sweetheart,” I muttered. “I hate that you’ve been going through all of this pain on your own.”

Lylah laughed harshly. “I deserve it after what I did.”

“No, you don’t,” I said firmly. “You made a mistake. Heck, I’ve made plenty in my life!” I smiled at her, but when I saw that she wasn’t in the mood for smiling, I made my expression somber and continued. “But you can’t let that one moment stop you from spending time with your son.”

Lylah shook her head frantically. “No! I can’t go near him, Sean. I just can’t!”

I sighed heavily as I clutched her hands. Lylah slowly turned and looked me in the eye. I held her gaze for a few seconds before speaking. “I know I said this before and you got upset, but I think you’re in a place where we can talk about it now.” I gripped her hands tightly. “I think you need to get some help.”

“I think you’re right,” she said sadly. “I can’t keep going on like this and I know it isn’t fair to you or Craig either.”

“Don’t worry about us,” I responded. “All we want is for you to get better. Right now, we are going to get you out of these wet clothes and into bed, but first thing tomorrow, I will go with you to the hospital. We will make sure you get an appointment with a specialist, alright?”

Lylah nodded, still looking at the shower floor.

With a groan, I got to my feet, then grabbed Lylah’s hands and helped her up. Once we were back in our room, I helped her dry off, get dressed, and get back into bed.

“You get some rest, alright?” I whispered. “I’ll just speak to Mum and Elijah, then I’ll join you.”

Lylah’s eyes went wide. “Elijah is here?”

I nodded with a smile. “Aye, I couldn’t get the man to stay away.”

Lylah’s eyes grew wet again. “I really don’t deserve such an amazing husband and friends.”

I kissed her forehead. “You deserve all of that and more.”

I watched as she got comfortable in bed before cautiously leaving her. I made my way toward the stairs, and the moment I stepped into the living room, Elijah questioned me.

“What happened?” he queried. “Is she okay?”

I held up my hand to silence him. “She’s alright,” I responded.

Elijah started to cry, and my mother cuddled Craig closer to her.

“She was sitting in the shower, but luckily hadn’t hurt herself, but I think we still have a long road ahead of us,” I said seriously as I crossed my arms. “She’s finally admitted she needs help, and she’s allowing me to take her to the hospital tomorrow to see a specialist about postpartum depression.”

Elijah nodded hastily. “That’s good, right? It means she can get better.”

“I really hope so,” I said glumly, then turned to my mother. “I hate to ask this of you, but is there any way Craig can stay with you for a while? Just while I get her sorted.”

My mother nodded. “Of course! I’d do anything for my family.”

I fought back tears as I squeezed her shoulder and looked at Craig. I gently took him from her arms and held him close. Luckily, Mum had been able to stop his crying, but his large eyes bore into my own in confusion.

As I held him close, I tried not to cry as I thought about us not living under the same roof for a while. I loved Craig more than anything, but right now Lylah’s health had to come first. There was no way I could help her the way she needed if my focus was on Craig.

“Don’t worry, Craig,” I whispered as I rocked him in my arms. “We’ll be a happy family again. I promise.”

14

The next day, I woke up and made Lylah her breakfast, my thoughts consumed by the events of the night before. Mum, Craig, and Elijah left soon after I went through everything with them, and by the time I’d returned to Lylah, she was fast asleep. I wasn’t surprised after everything she’d been through. She must have been mentally exhausted.

It felt horrible waking up without Craig, but I was forever grateful to my mother for taking him while Lylah got the help she needed. As much as I’d miss my son, I knew the decision was the right one.

I finished dishing up a plate of scrambled eggs on toast, then proceeded to take that and a large mug of tea upstairs. I used my back to open our bedroom door, then gently muttered Lylah’s name to wake her. When she opened her eyes and saw me standing there, she looked close to tears.

“Oh thank you, sweetheart,” Lylah whispered.

I placed the mug down on her bedside table, then passed her the plate. “Anything for you.”

Lylah gave me a half smile as I sat on the bottom of the bed and looked at her.

“How’re you feeling this morning, love?” I asked gently.

Lylah started to play with her food. “Embarrassed.”

I shuffled closer to her. “You never need to be embarrassed when it comes to me. We’re a team, remember?”

Lylah nodded weakly, then started to eat some of her food. For a minute or two, the only sound was her eating or cutting up her food, but I eventually spoke again.

“Are you feeling up to going to the hospital with me today?” I inquired politely.

Lylah didn’t respond right away, but after an awkward silence, she nodded. “Yes, I know I need to.”

I beamed at her. “I’m proud of you, love! You enjoy your breakfast. Once you’re done, we can get ready and go.”

Lylah frowned slightly. “But what about the case? Shouldn’t you be getting to work?”

I crossed my arms and gave Lylah a hurt look. “Do you really think I’d let you go on your own? Rebecca is in charge of the case now. They’ll do fine without me.”

“Sean, I really think⁠—"

My phone interrupted our conversation with a loud ring. I fished it out of my pocket and looked at the screen.

“It’s Rebecca,” I muttered. “I bet she wants to know how you are.”

“Or she might have information on your case,” Lylah responded.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “I told you it’s not my case anymore. Not while you need me.”

Lylah sighed. “Just answer the phone, will you?”

I smirked slightly before standing up from the bed. “I’ll take it out there so you can enjoy your breakfast.”

Before Lylah had the chance to argue, I scurried out of the room, then hit accept.

“Mornin’, Rebecca,” I said as I made my way toward the staircase.

“How’s Lylah this morning?” Rebecca asked. “Smith called me last night and filled me in on everything, but I wanted to hear it from you.”

“Aye, she’s not too bad,” I responded. “Sorry for not calling you last night, but by the time⁠—”

“Don’t be so bloody stupid!” Rebecca interrupted. “I know you were going through a lot and I’m just glad you’re okay.”

I smiled to myself, feeling grateful I had such a wonderful friend and colleague. “Ta, Rebecca. How did things go on your end after I left?”

Rebecca exhaled loudly. “Not much progress there, unfortunately.”

“So your search into the mother and daughter came up with nothing?” I pressed.

“Pretty much, yes,” Rebecca answered. “Anita is a tough woman to trace.”

I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”

“She has no social media presence,” Rebecca explained. “Literally nothing. No Facebook, no Instagram, not even so much as a LinkedIn account.”

That was certainly suspicious. First, Anita didn’t want the press knowing about her missing daughter, and she kept a questionably low profile. Did the woman have something to hide?

“How curious,” I muttered. “So you found nothing to explain why Rachel was targeted?”

“No,” Rebecca replied with a disappointed sigh. “I found nothing on Rachel, but I could always contact her school to find out if they’ve experienced any concerns? Or maybe the hospital she was born in? Maybe they can give me any information about who her father is.”

“Aye, those are good ideas. I’d leave the hospital for now, but maybe contact the school this morning to see what they have to say?”

“Will do,” Rebecca responded. She hesitated slightly before continuing. “I take it you won’t be in today?”

I glanced toward my bedroom door. “I’m getting Lylah for the hospital, so no. We’re going to see a specialist today.”

I heard Rebecca muttering, likely talking to someone else in the department. Sure enough, Elijah’s voice soon chimed in.

“I’ll meet you at the hospital, sir,” Elijah stated.

“There’s no need, Smith,” I answered. “We will be just fine⁠—”

“Save your breath,” Rebecca interrupted with amusement. “He’s already gone.”

I smirked. “Of course.”

“Before you go,” Rebecca said quickly. “We still haven’t heard from pathology, but I did hear from one of the PCs who was watching the area around Tanya’s house. They said they had no luck on their end. Should I contact them and pull them back?”

I contemplated for a few seconds before replying. “Nah, leave them there for now. The kidnapper might just be playing it safe.”

“Okay, Sean,” Rebecca answered. “I’ll keep in touch, but you do the same, please.”

“Will do, Rebecca,” I responded warmly. “Bye.”

I hung up the phone, then entered my bedroom. Lylah had gotten out of bed and was dressing herself.

“You alright?” I asked. “Need help with anything?”

Lylah shook her head as she buttoned up her blouse. “I’m fine, honestly.”

I didn’t argue with her. I patiently waited, and once she was ready, I held her hand and led her downstairs. It felt amazing to lead her through our front door.

Once we were on the way to the hospital, I turned to Lylah in the passenger seat. “I should mention that Elijah will meet us there. I told him not to, but that man is annoyingly persistent.”

Lylah chuckled. “Yes. That sounds like him.”

We travelled in silence for a while. As I drove, I gripped Lylah’s hand and smiled when I felt her grip it back. I couldn’t deny how proud I was of her for facing her demons and making the tough choice to get help.

Eventually, we made it to the hospital, and it wasn’t long before we were making our way through the doors. I quickly noticed Elijah’s tall, slender frame leaning near the entrance. The moment he saw us, he dashed over and pulled Lylah into a hug.

“It’s so good to see you,” Elijah cried as he held her.

“You too,” Lylah said softly.

The two of them seemed to hug for hours, and I eventually cleared my throat. “Right, let’s make our way inside, then.”

I started to walk toward the door, but to my surprise, Lylah pulled her hand out of my own and stopped in her tracks.

“No,” Lylah said bluntly.

I turned to her with a concerned look. “I know this is hard, love, but you have to see someone.”

Lylah sighed as she stepped closer to me. “Yes. I need to see someone, but you have to go.”

I quirked my brow in shock. “What are you on about, Lyles?”

Lylah glanced at Elijah before looking back at me. “I love you, Sean, but I think you should get to the station and work on the case.”

I snorted. “Please tell me that’s a joke?”

“No.” Lylah crossed her arms and looked at me stubbornly. “I know you want to be here for me and I appreciate that more than you could ever know, but we both know what we should do. I need to get an appointment with a specialist, and you need to throw yourself into your work.”

Elijah kept quiet and purposely avoided both of our eye contact.

I stepped closer to Lylah and gripped her hands. “I can’t leave you when you need me, Lyles.”

Lylah kissed the back of my hands. “But I need you to. I want to get better for you as much as for myself, and I can’t do that if you’re here.” She glanced at Elijah. “I have my best friend here with me. That’s what I need right now.”

Elijah awkwardly cleared his throat. “I’m happy to stay here and be with Lylah while you finish the case.”

I rubbed my temples in confusion. “I don’t understand. I’m trying to be a good husband and be there for you, but you’d rather I wasn’t with you?”

Lylah quickly pulled me into a hug. “No, that’s not what I mean! I just mean that I think we both need a distraction right now. I know the best distraction for you is your work.”

I hated the thought of leaving her, but as I looked at her and Elijah, part of me knew they were right. Lylah was my priority and always would be, but Rachel was still missing and I knew I had to help the team find her.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked worriedly.

Lylah gave me a weak smile as she put her left hand on my cheek. “Positive. Now, please go.”

I gave Lylah a long kiss, thanked Elijah, then quickly started to walk back to my car. As I walked, I grabbed my phone and called Rebecca.

In classic Rebecca fashion, she answered right away. “Sean?”

“Rebecca,” I responded curtly. “Smith is here with Lylah and they both insisted I get back to work while he looks after her here.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with that?” Rebecca asked.

“I’m not sure,” I responded candidly. “But Rachel has been missing for almost a day now, so it’s crucial we put everything into finding her. I’ll be at the station soon. When I get there, I think you and I need to make a trip to Anita’s house.”

“Okay, Sean,” Rebecca answered. “I’ll meet you at the front of the station soon.”

I hung up the phone and turned back toward the hospital with a heavy heart. I was torn between protecting Lylah and finding Rachel, but since Lylah was at the safest possible, I knew I had to focus on Rachel. The girl had been missing for over a day, and something told me a trip to her mother would give me the answers I needed.

Anita was clearly hiding something from us, and I was ready to find out exactly what it was.

15

Lylah weighed heavily on my mind until I arrived at work. As I pulled up to the front of the station, I wasn’t surprised to see Rebecca already waiting for me.

“Anita doesn’t live too far away,” Rebecca said matter-of-factly as she moved back into her seat. “So it shouldn’t take us long to get there.”

I nodded in a way of response to her words. I was grateful she wasn’t prodding too much about Lylah. Even though it was the right decision, and what Lylah wanted, I was still second-guessing myself. Some distance from the situation and a moment to breathe was exactly what I needed.

For half of the journey to Anita’s, the two of us simply looked ahead, ready and eager to get there. As we drew closer, however, I knew we needed to discuss a game plan.

“Do you know what you want to say to her when we get there?” I questioned.

Rebecca shrugged. “I’ve thought of a few things, but I was hoping you’d tell me exactly why you felt our next move was to see her?”

I chewed my lip in contemplation. “We haven’t got much to go on right now, but the one thing that’s kept with me is Anita’s bizarre reaction to the press.” I hesitated uncomfortably. “Plus, I think we need to bag some belongings of Rachel’s, just in case we need a DNA confirmation.”

Rebecca moved uncomfortably in her seat, but agreed.

I knew she was dreading the potential of us finding Rachel’s body—as was I—but we both had to prepare ourselves for that very real possibility. We still had no idea who had taken Rachel, or why, but a lot of kidnappers targeted children for awful reasons.

I just hoped this particular kidnapper wasn’t one of them.

“I don’t want Anita to feel like we are attacking her, but we need to get some honest answers out of her,” I continued sternly. “I know she’s hiding things from us and it’s impossible to do our jobs until she’s honest.”

“Let’s just hope she explains exactly why she’s been withholding information,” Rebecca replied. “Neither of us are messing around. A child’s life could be at stake here.”

My mind went to Craig, but I quickly pushed him out of my thoughts before I got emotional.

No, Sean! I scolded myself. No more distractions! Stop looking at this on a personal and emotional level.

“How did it go with the school?” I asked quickly, changing the topic.

Rebecca exhaled. “Unfortunately, that was a pointless call. All the headteacher had to say was that Rachel was a good, quiet girl and Anita is always there on time to pick her up. Very boring, unhelpful stuff.”

“So they didn’t suggest anyone had been hanging around the school, a change in Rachel or Anita’s behaviour, anything like that?” I pressed.

Rebecca clicked her tongue. “Nope.”

“Ah well, at least you tried,” I replied. “All we can do now is hope either the pathology report comes back with something good, or we get something from Anita.”

Rebecca pushed back in her chair, grunting in response.

A few minutes later, we pulled into Anita’s estate and Rebecca whistled as we parked up outside of the woman’s large, manicured home.

“Damn, that’s a nice place!” Rebecca exclaimed.

“Maybe this is why she was targeted,” I pondered out loud as I turned off the car’s ignition. “Perhaps the kidnapper saw she had money.”

Rebecca turned to me quickly, her mouth slightly open in wonder. “So you think the kidnapper might demand ransom? Or already demanded it?”

I gestured toward the house. “It doesn’t exactly look like she’s strapped for cash, now does it? I reckon she could afford to pay a few quid to get Rachel back if she was asked for it.”

We climbed out of the car and started to approach the house.

“If a ransom has been demanded, she’s definitely not informed us,” Rebecca said quietly.

“Most kidnappers threaten to keep the police out of it.” I then hesitated as a lightbulb went off in my head. I gripped Rebecca’s wrist as we continued walking. “That could be why she didn’t want the press involved! Maybe the kidnappers’ contacted her right away and told her to keep people out of it.”

Rebecca’s eyes lit up. “Yes, that definitely sounds plausible!”

“There’s only one way to find out,” I responded firmly.

Once we reached the front door, I wasted no time knocking. We barely stood there for a few seconds before the door flew open and Anita stood there, her expression hopeful. The moment she came into view I looked her up and down and felt immediate pity. Anita was still dressed in the same clothes from the morning before, and her hair looked a mess. Her eyes had heavy bags. The woman hadn’t slept a wink.

“Have you found her?” Anita asked hastily.

“No, not yet.” I pursed my lips. “I’m sorry, Miss Simpson.”

Anita’s hands flew to her face, and she burst into tears. “My poor b-baby!”

“Is it okay if we both come in, Miss Simpson?” Rebecca inquired, gently wrapping an arm around the other woman’s shoulders. Anita simply nodded.

I watched as Rebecca tenderly led Anita into a room on the left. With the two women distracted, I decided to have a quick peek around the house. The manicured exterior certainly matched the inside.

Not only were the walls a bright, piercing white, but so were all of the accessories. There was a small white table pressed up against the right wall that had a white vase filled with white flowers in it, and the photo frames along the wall were all also white. The effect made me feel like I was in a hospital.

I moved toward the photo frames and started to look at them. Each photo consisted of just Anita and Rachel over a prolonged period of time. The most recent photo looked as though it was taken in the last few months, while the oldest photo showed Anita in the hospital holding Rachel as an infant. The girl was clearly loved.

I followed the two women into what appeared to be a living room. The white aesthetic ran through here as well. There were three shockingly clean white sofas, a large white TV cabinet, and several white bookshelves that held more photo frames instead of books.

Once again, I approached the frames and examined the photos, which were all just Anita and her daughter once more. Although the photos were lovely, a large part of me was surprised that there was never anyone else in the photos. Not Rachel’s father, not any friends of either Anita or Rachel, no other family.

No one.

Anita and Rebecca were now sitting on the largest sofa together. Rebecca still had her arm around Anita’s shoulders and was comforting her, so I sat down on the armchair opposite them so I could look at Anita.

I cleared my throat, then began. “I’m sorry we haven’t come here with better news for you, Miss Simpson, but I can assure you my colleagues and I are doing everything we can to find your daughter.”

Anita gently moved away from Rebecca’s touch. She wiped her face for a few seconds before replying. “Anita, please. If we’re going to be seeing more of each other, I’d rather not have you keep referring to me so formally.”

I nodded respectfully. “Anita it is then.”

“Have you got any leads, Detective?” she inquired hopefully.

I pushed forward in my seat. “We met a woman who claims to have seen your daughter leaving with a woman. After speaking⁠—”

“Who was the woman?” Anita interrupted sharply, suddenly grabbing Rebecca’s hand with a hopeful expression. “Have you found her?”

I politely held my hand up. “Let me finish speaking before you ask any questions, Anita. I know you must be desperate for answers, and I promise you I’m trying to give them to you.”

“Sorry, Detective.” Anita blushed. “Please continue.”

I nodded respectfully. “As I was saying, after speaking to this woman, we found some cameras around the park’s car park. These cameras led us to the car the kidnapper used, but unfortunately it appears the kidnapper bought the car the night before they took Rachel, likely with the intent of using it for the kidnapping so it wouldn’t be traced back to her.”

Rebecca gently pulled her hand away and looked at Anita. “The woman who owned the car lives at Troutbeck Street in Woodthorpe, which is around fifteen minutes away from the park where Rachel was taken. Do you know anyone who lives there?”

Anita lowered her head. “No, I don’t. Do you think my daughter is somewhere in that area?”

“No, I don’t,” I responded honestly. “We have a team of PCs in that area as a precaution, but I don’t think your daughter is there. But Anita… have you heard anything from whoever took your daughter?”

Anita furrowed her brows and looked shocked. “Why would I?”

I gestured my hands around the living room. “You have a lovely home here, and it’s clear you must be on a decent wage.” I hesitated. “There is a possibility that whoever took Rachel did so with the intent of asking for ransom money.”

Anita put her hands to her face and looked shocked. “Seriously?”

“Aye,” I responded, leaning forward slightly. “So have you heard anything?”

“No!” Anita exclaimed in shock as she jumped up from her seat. “Of course I haven’t! Do you really think I wouldn’t come directly to you with that information?”

Rebecca grabbed Anita’s hand and gently pulled her back to the sofa. Once Anita was sitting down, Rebecca let go of her hand. “We know that often the kidnapper will tell you to keep away from the police. They will make threats in order to stop you from coming to us with information, but trust me… telling us everything is the best and only way to help us get Rachel safely back to you.”

Anita rubbed her face and sighed. “But I have told you everything!” she exclaimed frustratedly. “I genuinely haven’t received any ransom notes or anything like that. I would tell you! All I want is my Rachel home, and I’d do anything to make that happen.”

As I looked into her eyes, I believed her. Whatever the reason behind Rachel’s kidnapping, it was nothing to do with money.

“Were you being honest with us when you said there was no one in your life who might want to cause you any harm?” I pressed.

Anita shook her head. “As I said to you yesterday, Detective, I don’t go out of my way to make enemies.”

I nodded. “The eyewitness described the woman who took Rachel as looking very similar in appearance to your daughter. Do you know any woman who matches that description?”

“Not that I can think of, no,” Anita answered cautiously. “What do you mean she looks like my daughter? Do you think it could be a relative?”

“Possibly, aye,” I responded.

To my surprise, Anita laughed dryly. “Rachel is unique in my family, bless her. Everyone else has light hair and even lighter eyes. No one else has dark hair in our family, though my uncle does have green eyes... but he’s the only one.”

“And what about Rachel’s father?”

To my surprise, Anita went bright pink and looked flustered. “W-why are you asking about him? You said the kidnapper was female, right? So surely we don’t need to talk about him?”

I bristled at the way she wanted to avoid talking about Rachel’s father. I couldn’t help but wonder why. Had the two had a messy breakup? Was he simply an absentee parent? Or was the reason behind her anxiety much more serious?

“That doesn’t mean Rachel’s father didn’t use someone else to get close to her, Anita,” I replied calmly. “In kidnapping cases, the other parent is often a suspect.”

“I don’t think it’s anything to do with him,” Anita responded rapidly.

I quirked a brow as I took in her defensive attitude. “Why are you so certain, Anita?”

“I just am,” Anita huffed.

I sighed. “As certain as you may be, Anita, we need to look into all possible scenarios which means we need his contact details.”

Anita’s cheeks flushed pink again as she avoided my eye contact. “I don’t have them.”

“That’s quite alright, Anita,” I said calmly. “We can find him, we simply need his name.”

“Alex,” Anita responded, her tone oozing with discomfort.

“We will need a surname,” Rebecca said.

Although her tone was neutral, I knew her well enough by now to know she was starting to grow impatient with Anita.

“Mitchell, though I’m not sure if that’s true,” Anita mumbled.

“Was he a one-night stand, or someone you didn’t really know?” I pressed.

Anita shook her head rapidly. “Jesus, no! I never slept with him!”

Rebecca’s brows furrowed in perplexity. Initially, I felt as befuddled as she did, but the cogs soon started to turn and understanding hit me.

“Was Rachel born via a donor?” I asked.

Anita rubbed her face and covered it. “Yes.”

Once she uncovered her face, I gave her a reassuring smile. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Anita. We aren’t the type to judge.”

Anita relaxed slightly. “I’ve never had much interest in men or relationships, Detective, but I have always wanted to be a mother. I guess finding a donor allowed me to maintain my independent lifestyle and give me the child I’d always wanted.”

“Did you and Alex ever meet?” I asked curiously.

“Yes, twice,” Anita replied. “I had to make sure he was the right choice, you know?”

“I get that,” I answered. “Where did you two meet?”

Anita blushed. “Here.”

“So he would know where you and Rachel live?” I pressed.

Anita sighed. “Yes, but I know for a fact he isn’t the type who would just swing by or try to get a look at his child.”

“How can you be so sure?” Rebecca asked in disbelief.

“Do you know much about donors, detectives?” Anita asked as she looked between us. We both shook our heads, so she continued. “Donors give a few donations and help many women to have children. It isn’t like Alex is only Rachel’s father. Rachel probably has several half-siblings running around.”

Rebecca opened her mouth in shock. “Christ, he could have dozens and dozens of children!”

“He could have a few, but not as many as that,” Anita continued. “The place I went to assured me that they only take a certain amount of donations to ensure things like accidental incest at a later date doesn’t occur.”

“Right, well we will need you to write down the name of that facility so we can look into that information,” I responded.

“Of course,” Anita answered, though she suddenly looked apprehensive. “I really don’t think he would come here, but I have worked hard to ensure he has nothing to do with Rachel’s life. When I first became pregnant, Alex suggested he’d be happy to be involved if I wanted, but I made it very clear to him that I didn’t want that.”

“Did he seem upset?” I pressed.

Anita shook her head. “Not at all! If anything, I got the vibe he only offered out of politeness, you know?” She shuffled awkwardly in her chair. “Rachel has always been my priority, so I’ve done everything to protect her from finding out that her father was a donor. I’ve kept off social media, kept our lives private, really done everything I could to make it so Alex couldn’t nose into our lives if he wanted to.”

I nodded. “So is that why you were against the press?”

Anita bit her lip. “Yes. I didn’t want to risk him or anyone he knew finding out about it.”

Part of me still felt like I wasn’t getting everything out of her, but with time being of the essence, I knew we had to look into Alex as soon as possible. I pushed my suspicious thoughts behind me.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” I asked. “Anything at all?”

“Not that I can think of, but I assure you I will contact you immediately if there is,” Anita replied sincerely.

I thanked her, then rose from my seat. “Before we go, are we able to take a couple of items of Rachel’s that will contain her DNA?”

Anita looked confused. “Of course… but why would you need something like that?”

I turned to Rebecca and gestured for her to go and look around the house for some of Rachel’s possessions. As Rebecca put on gloves and readied herself to leave, Anita’s mouth gaped open in horror.

“You want something in case you find a body, don’t you?” she asked fearfully.

“It’s only a precaution, Anita, but⁠—”

Anita’s loud tears drowned the rest of my sentence out. “Jesus, you think she’s dead!” she sobbed.

Rebecca gave me an apologetic look as she exited the room, leaving me with a devastated Anita. As I waited for Rebecca and attempted to console Anita, I just hoped the next time we returned here didn’t have anything to do with a body at all.

I’d grown used to death, but the death of a child was something I could never get used to.

16

It was difficult to pry myself out of Anita’s grasp once Rebecca returned with some of Rachel’s things. It took Rebecca a good five minutes to calm the woman back down. We left the house with a bag of Rachel’s belongings in our grasp, feeling more somber than ever.

We travelled back toward the station in silence, and I was certain Rebecca, like me, was thinking about Alex Mitchell. Anita seemed certain Alex wouldn’t have taken Rachel, and yet she’d spent Rachel’s entire life shielding her from the man. Why was Anita so keen to keep his identity from her own daughter if he wasn’t a bad guy? And, if Alex had taken Rachel, why now after years of keeping his distance?

As we drew closer to the station, I turned to Rebecca. “Want to come back with me to the station or should I drop you off at pathology?”

“Back to the station,” Rebecca responded instantly. “That way I can drive back in my own car when I’m done.”

“Are you alright for me to fill the team in while you’re out?” I asked respectfully.

“Please do, we can’t afford any delays,” Rebecca answered.

I smiled at her gratefully. As much as I enjoyed addressing the team as a united front, I knew she was right. We had to keep moving quickly.

Soon after that we arrived at the station. I said a hasty goodbye to Rebecca as she took the bagged items to her car. I then got out of my car and made my way toward the station’s entrance. As I walked in, I looked at my phone to see if I’d heard anything from Lylah.

Nothing.

I sighed glumly, sent her and Elijah individual texts to check in, then made my way into my department. While I hadn’t expected to hear much from Lylah, one message would have been appreciated.

“Sean!” Nadia exclaimed as soon as I walked in. “Spooky timing. We’ve just had the email back from pathology.”

I hurled my jacket onto the coat rack, not even looking to see if it landed, then ran toward Nadia. “What did it say?”

“Opening it now,” Nadia said keenly.

I waited anxiously as Nadia opened up the email and its individual attachments. However, after several minutes of reading, it became apparent that nothing helpful was found on the car.

Just as I’d been expecting.

“Disappointing but not surprising,” I grumbled.

Nadia adjusted her hijab as she turned to face me. “Please tell me your trip to Anita’s wasn’t as disappointing?”

Mae moved her chair closer to Nadia’s so she could hear me better, her eyes imploring me for some much needed good news.

“We certainly got some information worth looking into,” I responded as I crossed my arms. “Anita claims to have received no ransom notes and I believe her. I questioned her about Rachel’s father, and our job now is to do some research into him.”

“Our kidnapper was a woman though, right?” Mae asked in confusion. “Are you assuming she’s his accomplice?”

“I’m not assuming anything right now, but we certainly need to look into all possibilities,” I responded.

“Agreed,” Nadia said quickly. “Who is the father?”

“Anita thinks he’s a man called Alex Mitchell,” I answered.

Nadia frowned. “She thinks?”

“Aye,” I replied. “Rachel was born via a donor who could have been using a fake name. Before I left, Anita wrote down the name of the facility where she found Alex’s information. Let’s see what we can find on him there.” I put my hand in my pocket and fished out the piece of paper Anita had tearfully handed to me before I left. “She used a website called ‘buysperm.’”

Mae snorted. “What an inventive name.”

Nadia chuckled dryly at Mae’s comment as she looked up the website. “Does what it says on the tin I suppose.”

We all snorted out a laugh as Nadia pulled up the site. I couldn’t contain my surprise when I saw the vast range of donors there.

“Christ, look at them all!” I exclaimed. “This is crazy!”

I’d openly admitted to Anita that I knew nothing about donors, but after looking at the sheer quantity of men who were giving their sperm to random women on the internet, I realised how little I truly did know. I assumed the odd few women might be interested in such a thing, but it was apparently bigger than I imagined.

“Is there a way to search for donors on here?” I queried.

It soon became apparent there wasn’t, so our only choice was to scroll through the numerous donors.

“This could take a while, so I’ll make us all a drink,” Mae said tiredly.

I patted her back gratefully as she walked away, but kept my eyes glued to the screen.

Mae soon returned with our drinks—a tea for her and a coffee for me and Nadia—but by that point Nadia and I had barely scratched the surface of the website. There were over sixty pages on the website, and each page had at least fifteen profiles on it, making our job excruciatingly difficult and time consuming.

And time was one thing we were running low on.

“Some of these men look like right weirdos,” Mae scoffed after another few minutes of searching, cradling her tea to her chest. “I mean look at that guy!” She pointed to a man who had a shaved head and an eerie, blank expression. “Talk about serial killer vibes.”

Nadia giggled as we continued to scroll.

“Less focus on serial killers and more on Alex Mitchell, please,” I smirked.

“It’s always possible he isn’t on here any more, sir,” Mae pointed out. “If he is only able to give a few, erm, donations, then he was likely removed if they were all used.”

“We’ll search for a few minutes longer, but if we can’t find him, we’ll find a number on the site and call someone,” I answered. “They must keep records of all of their donors.”

“Should we just call them now?” Nadia queried as she continued to scroll through the sea of testosterone. “It might be quicker than this.”

When I was just about to agree, I stopped when I saw Alex’s name on the screen. I pointed to it wildly. “There he is! Click on his page.”

Nadia reacted instantly and went to his profile. It said he was an animal lover, and his topless profile picture highlighted his physique. He had long dark hair and piercing green eyes that seemed to shimmer with warmth.

“I can see why Anita went for him,” Mae laughed. “He is gorgeous!”

Nadia nodded, her eyes lighting up. “Yeah, he is!”

The two women sighed, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Can we stop fawning over our potential kidnapper, please?” I asked through gritted teeth.

Nadia and Mae instantly stopped laughing.

“Right, now we are actually focused again,” I said, hesitating for a moment to allow the two women time to feel guilty. “Are you two seeing what I’m seeing?”

“He has similar physical features to Rachel!” Mae exclaimed. “We know he didn’t kidnap Rachel himself, but maybe the woman was a relative?”

“Shall we look him up elsewhere?” Nadia suggested before taking a slow sip of her coffee. “It might be easier to find information on him on social media.”

“I was just about to suggest that,” I said, then turned to Mae. “Do some digging on your own computer and call us if you find anything.”

Mae walked speedily to her own desk. Luckily it was close to Nadia’s, meaning it would be easy for the three of us to continue talking as a group.

I took a long gulp of my coffee as I watched Nadia pull Facebook up and start searching for Alex. Although it was relatively easy to find his page, I grumbled in aggravation when I saw that it was private. The only thing we could see was his name and profile photo.

“Well, we’ll get nothing from this then,” I said in annoyance. “Let’s look elsewhere.”

“Look him up on Instagram,” Mae said loudly, her focus still on her screen. “I started there, and although he’s turned off comments, he regularly posts videos on there.”

Nadia immediately found him on Instagram. As soon as we were on his profile, I was shocked at how many posts there were.

“You weren’t kidding, Hodge,” I said. “He’s posted hundreds of videos on here!”

“Which means they’ll take ages to go through,” Mae grumbled.

“Not if we divide and conquer,” I suggested. “I’ll get his page up on my phone, and we can all listen to different videos until we find something interesting.”

We all grabbed some headphones from a drawer in the room, then started to listen to videos on Alex’s page. Within ten minutes, I wanted to fall asleep. His content was so boring. It was odd that Alex had his Facebook account private, but here he spoke about the most mundane things, like what he ate for breakfast. Did people really care about him that much?

After another fifteen minutes of listening to videos, I was ready to give up, but the sudden sound of Nadia’s voice made me turn to her with hope.

“Get here, you two!” Nadia exclaimed. “You’ve got to hear this.”

“Please tell me it isn’t another video on crossword puzzles,” Mae said with a moan.

Nadia laughed. “Trust me, it isn’t.”

I pulled my headphones out of my ears and threw them on the desk beside Nadia. Nadia waited until Mae and I were beside her before pressing play on the video.

“Hello, loyal viewers!” Alex chirped.

“Loyal viewers?” Mae muttered with distaste. “The man barely gets five likes per video!”

I silenced her with a look, then looked back at Nadia’s screen.

“I don’t talk about it much on here, but as some of you may know I’m a sperm donor,” Alex continued matter-of-factly. “When I last mentioned this in one of my videos, I had a few of you private message me to ask me why I do this. Well, the main reason I do it is because it brings me great joy to help women achieve their dream of becoming a mother.”

Mae scoffed, so I gave her another sharp look. I then put my focus back on Alex.

“Children bring such happiness to people, and knowing I’ve been an instrumental part of that is a feeling I can’t describe.” He hesitated for a second then continued. “I’ve also had some of you asking me if I have relationships with any of my children!”

My interest piqued, but before I had the chance to get into what Alex was saying, Nadia paused the video. I glanced at her in surprise.

“Pay attention to this bit,” Nadia said seriously before hitting play.

“I have a relationship with some of them, but not as many as I’d like,” Alex continued, his expression looking slightly disappointed. “Most of the women I help make the choice to raise their child alone, and while I obviously respect that, it is hard. Sometimes I do wish I had more of a relationship with my children, but if the mother doesn’t want me to…. then there isn’t much I can do.”

I couldn’t help but notice his disgruntled face as he spoke about his children. Even though he claimed to respect their mothers’ decisions, he was clearly unhappy about it. Was this why Anita had been so keen to stop Alex from finding out about Rachel’s kidnapping? Did she fear that he might try to get involved?

Nadia paused the video once more. “The rest of the video is just him repeating himself a bit, but it is interesting that he wants to know his children.”

“Aye, it is,” I said thoughtfully. “I think we definitely need to give this bloke a visit.”

Mae moved quickly back toward her computer. “I’ll look up his address now for you, sir!”

“Ta, Hodge,” I responded.

I finished my coffee as I waited for Mae to find Alex’s information. After a minute or two, I turned toward Mae, and was surprised to see her normally passive face looking anxious as she stared at the screen.

I knew something had to be wrong.

“What is it?” I asked.

“He doesn’t live in Yorkshire anymore,” Mae replied. “It looks like he moved away five years ago.”

“Where does he live now?” Nadia asked.

“Nottingham,” Mae answered.

I sighed, instantly seeing why Mae seemed grumpy. If Alex lived in Nottingham, it wasn’t likely he’d been involved in the kidnapping. Either that, or Rachel was now much further away than I anticipated.

“What do we do now?” Mae queried.

For a few seconds, I considered my response. Alex was almost a two and a half hour drive away, meaning we’d be losing at least five hours just in travel time. Those hours would be completely wasted if Alex wasn’t our man. Those were hours that we’d be freely giving to the real kidnapper to further distance themselves from us and pull our focus elsewhere. However, if Alex was involved—and my gut was reacting very suspiciously toward him—then we couldn’t afford to not visit him.

“Alex is the only potential lead we have right now, so my gut says we need to see him,” I eventually responded. “I know he’s a bit out of the way, so I suggest only myself and one of you go. That way, we have some of the team here in case we get any other leads.”

“I’d be more than happy to go with you to Nottingham, sir,” Mae offered.

I nodded to her gratefully.

“I’m happy to go with Mae to Nottingham if you’d rather stay closer to Lylah,” Nadia offered.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I started to pace in an attempt to clear my head. While I knew it wouldn’t be easy to drive further and further away from Lylah, I was compelled to see Alex myself, and I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to question him.

“I appreciate the offer, Nads, but I want to deal with Alex myself,” I said firmly.

Nadia nodded. “No worries, Sean. I promise that Rebecca and I will hold the fort here. If I hear anything from Elijah or Lylah, I’ll let you know right away.”

I thanked her, then gestured for Mae to get ready. “Let’s go, Hodge. It’s a long drive and we don’t want to be there all day.”

As we prepared to leave, my thoughts drifted to Lylah. I hoped everything was going well for her at the hospital, and that my trip to Nottingham was worth the time away from her.

As much as I loved my wife, the safety of a missing child had to be my main priority. I couldn’t give up until she was found.

17

The woman watched Rachel gaze around the house in the innocent way only children can do. Rachel took everything in, looking nothing less than intrigued with each new thing she beheld—chairs, decorations, cushions, lamps. She was like a kid in a candy shop, her eyes completely spoiled for choice with every different thing around her. The woman was surprised Rachel hadn’t resisted much when she started to take the girl further and further away from the woman she believed was her mother. If anything, she’d been unusually calm from the moment they met.

It was almost like Rachel knew they were meant to be together.

“What do you think of this place, Alice?” the woman asked. “R-Rachel, I mean.”

Rachel continued to look around with a fascinated face. “It’s different from my mummy’s house.”

The woman bit back the urge to correct her. Instead, she smiled at her sweetly.

“Yes, it is,” the woman responded. “Would you like to see your room?”

Rachel turned to face the woman, looking at her with uncertainty. “Why do I have a room here?”

The woman didn’t respond, instead she continued to smile and gestured for Rachel to follow her upstairs. Luckily, Rachel followed her, and it wasn’t long before the woman was pushing open Alice’s bedroom door. The bedroom was small, consisting of a single bed with sky blue bedding, a large white wardrobe, a small vanity mirror, and a chest of drawers. On the bed sat several cuddly toys—mostly bears. Some of the bears had belonged to Alice, but the woman had brought the largest one as a present for Rachel.

“What do you think?” the woman asked keenly.

Rachel was quiet as she slowly stepped inside the room. As if drawn to it, the little girl immediately caught sight of the large bear and rushed towards him.

“He is so cute!” Rachel exclaimed with glee. “What’s his name?”

“Whatever you want it to be,” the woman replied. “He’s yours!”

Rachel squealed happily. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she repeated as she squeezed the bear close to her. “I’ll call him Paddington.”

“That’s a great name!” the woman chuckled. “I’ll leave you and Paddington to play, and I’ll make us some dinner, yeah?”

“Okay!” Rachel said happily, giggling as she jumped on the bed and started to play with her new toy.

As the woman closed the door behind her and made her way toward the stairs, she was overwhelmed by how well things were going. Rachel seemed happy in her room, she loved her new present, and she really seemed to be settling in nicely. It was almost too good to be true.

The woman quickly pushed the negative thought from her mind, knowing she should simply be grateful about how well everything was going. Rachel was her biological child, so it was only natural that she would feel at ease around her.

She made it to the kitchen and started to get out various pots and pans before going to the cupboard to fish out a jar of red sauce. The woman wanted to make pasta bolognese for Rachel since it had always been Alice’s favourite. She was certain Rachel would love it too, and couldn’t wait for them to enjoy their first dinner together as mother and daughter. The woman browned some mince on the hob, threw on the sauce, then waited for the pasta to boil. Once the pasta and mince were ready, the woman mixed them together with a generous portion of freshly grated parmesan. After she’d finished preparing their food, she put the plates on the table then walked toward the bottom of the stairs.

“Rachel, sweetie!” the woman shouted. “Dinner is ready!”

She smiled to herself as Rachel ran down the stairs eagerly. The woman got herself seated at the table, then waited patiently for Rachel to join her. However, Rachel stood near her seat, as if not daring to sit, staring down at her plate.

“What is this?” she asked as her lip curled unpleasantly.

“Pasta bolognese,” the woman answered kindly. “It was always Alice’s favourite.”

Rachel pouted as she flounced into her chair. She pushed her plate away and crossed her arms. “Well, I’m not Alice and I don’t like it.”

“But you haven’t even tried it yet, darling,” the woman replied.

Rachel sulked. “I don’t want it!” She jumped out of her chair. “Where is my mummy? I want to go home now.”

“I thought you were having fun here, baby?” the woman sighed. “You like Paddington, right?”

Rachel shook her head. “My mummy would know I hate pasta! I want to go home NOW!”

The woman slowly pushed herself out of her chair and approached Rachel. “This is your home now, Rachel.”

Rachel’s bottom lip started to quiver. “Where’s my mummy? I want my mummy!”

As Rachel started to cry, the woman moved closer and tried to comfort her. Rachel moved harshly away from her touch, causing the woman to frown.

“Stop this sulking now, young lady!” the woman scolded.

“I want my mummy!” Rachel sobbed loudly.

“I am your mum, and you will show me some respect!” the woman answered, attempting to inject some calmness into her tone. “Now eat your dinner, please,”

Rachel’s crying intensified. “No! I want my mummy! You aren’t my mummy!”

“Yes I am, and the sooner you accept that the better, Rachel!” the woman snapped. “Your other mother is gone. It’s just you and me now.”

“NOOO!”

Before the woman had the chance to react, Rachel moved quickly out of her seat and dashed toward the front door, screaming with each step she took. Luckily, the woman was faster, and was able to speedily block her escape. She quickly locked the door, then grabbed Rachel around her waist. Rachel tried to kick and scream, so the woman held her tightly.

“That’s enough, Rachel!” the woman said breathlessly as she struggled to hold Rachel still.

She started to take Rachel up the stairs, finding each step a challenge as Rachel continued to fight against her. The woman eventually made it to Alice’s room and pushed Rachel inside, shutting the door behind them both.

“I want to go home!” Rachel wailed.

“This is your home now, Rachel,” the woman replied with forced calm. “I’m your mother, this is your room, and you live here. You need to accept that.”

Rachel flailed on the bed, punching and kicking as her crying grew louder. The woman watched for a few seconds before she left the room and locked the door behind her.

It hurt her heart too much to see her daughter so upset.

The woman had barely closed the door behind her before Rachel was smacking it loudly. “Let me out!”

“I will let you out when you calm down,” the woman scolded. “You will learn to behave. When you do, you can come down and finish your dinner.”

The woman walked back downstairs, holding back tears as Rachel continued to hit the door. All she’d wanted was to have her daughter home, but she realised now that things weren’t going to be as simple as she’d hoped they would be.

She was Rachel’s mother. She was eager for their life, their real life, to begin together but that couldn’t happen until Rachel accepted the truth. They belonged together.

She knew that. She just hoped that Rachel would too.

18

I’d barely started our long drive when my radio switched off and Rebecca’s name flashed on it. I quickly accepted the call.

“Rebecca,” I shouted. “I’m in the car with Mae so you’re on speakerphone.”

“Hello, just wanted to let you know pathology has Rachel’s belongings and said it will be a quick job getting her prints from them,” Rebecca began. “They also said they sent the report on the car, have you seen it?”

“Aye, we have,” I answered. “Not that there was much there.”

“We knew it was a long shot after we smelled the bleach,” Rebecca replied. “How are things going on your end? Seems like you’re nipping off somewhere?”

“We didn’t get much. Right now Alex is our only potential lead,” I said. “Unfortunately, he now lives in Nottingham.”

“Nottingham?” Rebecca asked in shock. “Surely he’s not connected?”

I sighed. “Either that or Rachel is in Nottingham right now.”

“Hmm,” Rebecca replied, her tone signifying she didn’t believe that for a second. “What can we do while you’re gone?”

“Maybe try to do some research into Alex’s family, see if he has any relatives that live near Yorkshire that could be involved,” I responded. “Particularly female ones. If you find any, visit them right away.”

“Anything else?” Rebecca inquired.

“Do a more thorough search into Anita and Rachel, go back to the park with some PCs, really just anything you can think of,” I answered. “We can’t stop trying everything until Rachel is back home.”

“Will do, Sean,” Rebecca replied in a determined tone. “Let us know if you find out anything in Nottingham.”

I promised her I would before waiting for her to hang up the phone. I glanced at the satnav, saw we still had just over two hours, and chewed my cheek in impatience. Nottingham may as well have been on the other side of the world when a child’s safety was at risk. I just hoped the drive would go by quickly.

And that it wouldn’t end up being a complete waste of time.

Both Rebecca and Mae seemed doubtful that Alex had anything to do with Rachel’s kidnapping. If they were right, the journey to the midlands was going to all be for nothing.

“I haven’t been to Nottingham before, sir,” Mae said, breaking through my thoughts. “Have you?”

“Aye, once or twice,” I answered. “I can’t say it’s one of my favourite places.”

Mae smirked. “Why is that?”

I looked at her with a slight smile. “They call it Shottingham for a reason, Hodge.”

Mae quirked her brows. “Gun crime?”

“Aye.” I winked. “A lot of it.”

Mae sank into her seat. “Great. I’m glad I agreed to come now.”

I barked a laugh. “We’re hardly going to get shot walking down the street. Don’t worry.”

There was silence between us for another twenty minutes before Mae spoke again.

“What are your thoughts on Alex Mitchell, sir?” she asked curiously. “Do you really think this is connected to him?”

I exhaled loudly, sounding a bit like a horse. “I honestly don’t know, Hodge. All I do know is that he’s the only lead we have right now, and we have to follow it through.” I hesitated as I turned to glance at her. “I could tell at the station you weren’t entirely convinced.”

I expected Mae to turn red or show signs of embarrassment, but she didn’t.

“Time will tell, sir,” Mae said pointedly. “But Nottingham to York isn’t exactly a short journey and for the kidnapper to know about Tanya’s car they must be local, right?”

I nodded approvingly. “Good thinking, Hodge. We know Alex used to live in Yorkshire though, which means it’s likely relatives of his still live there.”

“So Rachel could be in Yorkshire but with someone Alex knows?” Mae pondered out loud.

“Aye, hence why I’ve got Rebecca looking into the family,” I answered.

Mae smiled at me. “You never miss a thing. Do you, sir?”

My face felt hot, so I scratched it awkwardly. “Once you’ve been a detective for as long as I have, Hodge, I can promise that you’ll see fifty possible scenarios at once and won’t leave a single one of them unchecked. Even the ones that seem the most unlikely.”

“Maybe, but I think you’re too modest, sir,” Mae answered. “You’re incredible at what you do.”

I coughed awkwardly. “That’s enough ego inflating for now I think.”

Mae laughed and remained silent for the rest of the journey. When we reached Nottingham, I looked around as I drove and couldn’t help but notice how different it was from York. Although both were big cities, York always had an air of beauty around it while Nottingham looked unclean. York had large, tidy buildings that radiated architecture, culture, and beauty. It was warm, inviting, and would always feel like home to me. Conversely, I never felt any warmth when I came to Nottingham and everywhere you looked seemed to be in desperate need of refurbishment. For example, we drove past many shops that looked as though they’d been broken into, and no one had bothered to fix the windows or even board them up. There were always drunken students roaming the streets—no matter the day or time—and the frequent buses that passed me looked as though they’d been around for at least four decades.

“We will find Alex, question him, then get the hell out of here,” I stated.

I sensed Mae looking at me. “I guess you weren’t joking when you said it wasn’t one of your favourite places, sir.”

“See for yourself, Hodge.” I gestured toward the window with a dry chuckle. “This place pales in comparison to Yorkshire.”

Mae snorted. “It’s certainly… charming.”

I drove through several small streets, passed some of the vast Trent river, then went through West Bridgford. Finally, the satnav pulled me down a small road. I looked at the screen and sighed.

“Great, the Meadows,” I muttered irritably.

“The Meadows?” Mae inquired.

“Aye, one of the known dodgy areas in Nottingham,” I grumbled.

“Fantastic,” Mae retorted.

I continued driving into the Meadows and looked around hesitantly. The houses were surprisingly far apart and looked to be in poor condition. There were various amounts of rubbish spewed across the ground and on most people’s front gardens, the doors and windows on each house looked as thin and weak as tissue, and in front of one house two men were clearly in the middle of a drug deal.

“I can’t say I want to come back here soon, sir,” Mae muttered. “I can see why it’s known for being dodgy.”

“And yet apparently Alex lives around here,” I muttered, watching as the two men dashed at the sight of us.

“I guess he doesn’t make that much from his donations,” Mae replied in an amused tone.

“I guess not,” I said as I slowly parked up along the side of the road. I gestured to one of the bigger houses on the street. “That one is Alex’s, so let’s go and see what he has to say, shall we?”

Together, we clambered out of my car and looked up at Alex’s house. The first thing I noticed was that he had the blinds closed, something which instantly put my back up. It was a light day, so Alex would have no reason to close the blinds.

Not unless he has something to hide, I thought suspiciously.

I stepped toward the weathered front door and knocked on it loudly. Mae and I stood still for a minute or two, but we were both left disappointed when no one answered.

“Come on!” I muttered with an exasperated huff.

I knocked again—louder this time—but after another awkward minute or two, there was no answer.

“He must be out,” Mae whispered.

“Or avoiding us like the plague,” I snarled. “Something is off here, and I intend to find out what.”

I gestured for Mae to follow me. As we walked back to my car, I spoke to her rapidly. “I need you to contact the Nottinghamshire police and explain our situation. We need to get a warrant to enter this place as soon as they can send one! We also need⁠—”

I trailed off as I noticed that Mae’s attention was elsewhere. I turned to look at what had caught her eye and held back a smile when I saw Alex walking toward us. He was texting on his phone and carrying a bag, his focus completely away from us. However, as he put his phone away and looked up, he hesitated when he saw us standing there.

“Alex Mitchell?” I asked.

Alex kept still. “Who are you?”

I went to grab my badge. “My name is DCI Sean Ellis, and my colleague⁠—”

No sooner had I said those words did Alex hurl the bag in our direction. Barely a millisecond after he tossed the bag, he started to run away, moving at an alarmingly fast pace for a man so broad.

“I don’t think so, mate!” I snarled, immediately charging after him.

I could hear Mae’s quick footsteps behind me, but I kept my eyes on Alex. Alex ran like a frightened gazelle, moving in various directions in an attempt to confuse us, but I was a determined lion. I’d stop at nothing to catch my prey.

“Mr. Mitchell, stop!” I shouted angrily as I continued to sprint after him.

Alex ignored me and continued to run as fast as his muscular legs would allow. A stitch formed in my side, but I ignored it. I knew I wasn’t as fit as I was before my extended work leave, but I would not allow my lack of exercise to let this man get away. It was clear he had something to hide.

Luck was on my side, though. A couple came around the corner, causing Alex to hesitate so he didn’t smack into them. That split second of delay was all I needed to act. I quickly caught up to Alex and pulled his arms back.

“Not so fast, pal!” I hissed. “You’re coming with⁠—”

Alex pulled out of my grasp, then spun to face me. He swung his arm at me, but I quickly dodged out of the way. To my surprise, Mae caught up to us and quickly moved behind Alex.

The couple watched our altercation for a few seconds before quickly running away from danger.

“There’s nowhere to go, Alex Mitchell,” Mae snapped. “You might as well give up.”

Alex looked torn. His eyes darted around, and I knew he was trying to decide between fighting us both off or attempting another run for it. Before he had the chance to choose, I lunged at him and knocked him to the ground. As I struggled against his strong form, Mae moved toward us, unclipping her handcuffs from her belt as she came over. As a team, we pinned Alex’s arms behind his back and cuffed him.

“You really shouldn’t have ran,” I said angrily as Mae and I pulled him up from the ground. “And you really shouldn’t have attempted to assault a police officer. Idiot.”

Alex kept quiet.

“Silent treatment, eh?” I questioned. “Let’s see how that works for you.”

Mae and I dragged Alex back to his house. He resisted us at any given opportunity. By the time we were outside his house once more, I was exhausted from the constant fight.

“Just give it up, will you!” I snapped. “You’re only making things worse for yourself.”

Alex spat on the floor near my feet, but didn’t speak.

“Charming,” Mae muttered in disgust.

I could tell her initial attraction to the man had long since faded.

Back in front of the house, Mae let go of him and moved slightly ahead. At first I didn’t know what she was doing, but I quickly realised she was going toward the bag he’d chucked at us. I noticed a newspaper and a couple of cans of Coke had spilled out of it, but there didn’t seem to be anything interesting. However, when Mae picked up the bag and started to look through the contents, her face perked up.

“Take a look at this, sir,” Mae said smugly.

Alex attempted to pull out of my grasp again, but I scolded him with a shove. As I looked into the bag, I could see why she was smiling. There were more arbitrary items, like snack food and some more drinks, but there were also a couple of random toys. One was a teddy bear, and one was a Barbie.

I turned to Alex with a satisfied look. “Is the Barbie for you, Mr. Mitchell?”

Alex growled at me, but still didn’t speak.

I sighed impatiently. “I guess we’ll have to find out for ourselves then!”

As we reached his front door, I turned to him when I realised it was locked. “Where are your keys?”

Alex shrugged, causing my already limited patience to vanish entirely.

“Give us your keys,” I commanded.

I looked harshly at Alex and saw he was still pointedly avoiding my eye contact.

I moved in front of him and glared. “Are you deaf? Where are your damn keys?”

As he continued to ignore me, I huffed angrily then held him tightly.

“Hodge, check his pockets,” I ordered.

As soon as Mae went near him, Alex started to pull against my hold. It took me a few seconds to get him under control so Mae could search him. Luckily, she pulled the keys out of the first pocket she checked, waving them at me with a satisfied smile. She started to unlock the door, but hesitated when Alex finally spoke.

“You can’t enter my property without my permission!” he snarled.

“Ah, so you aren’t a mute then?” I asked sarcastically. I gestured for Mae to continue opening the door. “You gave up your rights when you ran from us and attacked me, Mr. Mitchell.”

“Bullshit!” Alex snapped.

“If you had any sense, Mr. Mitchell, you’d shut your damn mouth,” I responded harshly.

Mae pushed open the front door and stepped inside. She looked around the place cautiously. “Hello?” she asked loudly. “Is anyone in?”

No one answered.

I turned to Alex as I shoved him into the house. “Is anyone else here?”

Alex glared at me, but again didn’t answer.

I turned to Mae. “Hodge, take a look around while I keep here with this idiot.”

Mae nodded, then began her search. I glanced around the wide hallway we were in. I wasn’t at all surprised to see the house looked as unkempt on the inside as it was on the outside. The hallway was covered in various pairs of shoes, shoved haphazardly against the wall. There was a large mirror attached to the wall that had a large, diagonal crack, and the place smelled of old takeaway.

“Nice place you’ve got here, Mr. Mitchell,” I said.

“Go to hell,” Alex grumbled.

Mae exited a nearby room, then caught my eye. “Nothing down here, sir. I’ll take a look upstairs.”

My heart sank a bit. I’d been so convinced that Alex was guilty of something—particularly after his reaction to seeing the police—but I didn’t know what I’d do if Mae found nothing. I looked at Alex, noted the way he seemed both angry and uncomfortable, and knew my gut was right about him.

Even if Rachel wasn’t here, the children’s toys clearly weren’t for him. Something was going on.

“Sir!” Mae exclaimed loudly from upstairs, her tone oozing with shock.

I shoved Alex up the stairs, hastily moving in the direction of Mae’s voice. Suddenly, I noticed that fear was now plastered on Alex’s face.

We’ve got you, you arsehole! I thought happily.

“Hodge?” I asked as we reached the top of the stairs. “Where are you?”

Mae poked her head out of the furthest door on the left, so I urged Alex in that direction with a harsh push. The closer we got to the door’s entrance, the more he tried to resist me.

“Give it up, Mr. Mitchell,” I spat. “It’s over. We know you have her.”

“She is my daughter!” Alex roared angrily. “I’m perfectly within my rights to have her here!”

“Not when you’ve taken her against her will,” I said in a quiet, venomous voice.

We reached the room, and I immediately saw a young girl sitting on the floor. Within seconds, I froze as realization hit me.

The girl wasn’t Rachel.

19

The young girl looked at me with small, frightened eyes. She glanced between the three of us shakily, looking as though she’d never been more scared in her life. The girl looked to be Rachel’s age, only her hair was short and dirty blonde. She looked and smelled as though she hadn’t been washed in weeks, so I couldn’t help but wonder if the dark blonde shade was natural or simply from uncleanliness. She was so small and frail, and my heart ached to look at her.

I turned to Alex, unable to contain my anger. “What the hell have you done to this poor girl?”

Alex continued to keep silent, so I turned to Mae. “Hodge. Go outside and call the Nottinghamshire police. Tell them to get here immediately!”

Mae struggled to pull her gaze away from the girl, but slowly managed to give me a nod. I was surprised to see that her eyes were brimming with tears. Mae wasn’t one to often show her emotions, so to see her genuinely upset was a shock.

After Mae left, I looked at the girl and tried to smile at her reassuringly. Unfortunately, my smile only seemed to frighten her more. She drew her legs up to her chest and curled into a little ball, as I was going to attack her.

“It’s alright,” I said kindly. “My name is DCI Sean Ellis and I’m with the police. You’re safe now, alright?”

To my surprise, the girl glanced at Alex, as though hoping he would offer her some reassurance. The idea made me sick, so I shoved Alex out of the room and looked back at the child.

“Stay here, alright?” I whispered. “We’ll be back soon.”

I pushed Alex forward and hissed angrily when he tried to pull away to get back to the child.

“Let me see my daughter!” he spat.

“No chance,” I snapped, pushing him forward rougher than ever before. “You aren’t fit to call yourself a father after what you’ve done to that girl!”

With difficulty, I got Alex outside where Mae was standing and waiting. The moment she saw me, she glared at Alex and clenched her fists.

“Police are on their way!" Mae snarled at him.

Alex gave her a look of such hatred that I was glad he was cuffed and in my grasp. I didn’t want him anywhere near her. “Donors have rights too, you know! She is my kid, and no one has the right to take her away from me.”

Before we had the chance to reply, I sighed in relief when I saw three police cars driving speedily toward us. I was grateful they got to us so quickly.

The cars parked up in front of us, and various PCs started to clamber out of the vehicles. I nodded politely at the PCs, allowing two of them to grab Alex and force him into their vehicle. However, my attention was quickly focused on a woman who must have been a Nottinghamshire detective based on her attire. She was older than me, likely by at least a decade, and wore a navy trouser suit Nadia would have been proud of. The woman had long black hair tied back in a severe ponytail. There were a few lines on her face, especially under her blue eyes, and her expression was somber..

The woman watched as Alex was shoved into a panda car before she approached me and Mae. “Who are you two?” she asked suspiciously. “My colleague told me you’re from Yorkshire?”

I nodded as I grabbed my badge from the inside pocket of my jacket. “Aye, we are. I’m DCI Sean Ellis and my colleague here is DC Mae Hodge.”

The woman nodded to Mae politely before turning her focus on me. “I’m DI Vivian Ball. What brings you to my city?”

I gestured toward Alex’s house. “We came here for a case we’re working on,” I explained. “A young girl was kidnapped, and our investigation led us to Alex Mitchell. We believed him to be her kidnapper, but upon entering his home we found another girl inside. We believe she was taken against her will.”

Vivian swore under her breath before whistling. Two young PCs—a thin man and a short woman—instantly ran to her.

“Get inside and look for a young girl,” Vivian said harshly. “She may be a kidnapping victim, so we have to get her down to the station immediately.”

The two PCs nodded and instantly charged into the house. I noticed Mae run in after them. After watching Mae leave, I looked back at Vivian who was still giving me a searching look.

I turned back toward the severe-looking detective. “The girl we are looking for is still missing, DI Ball, so if I have your permission I’d like to come with you to the station so I can speak to this man.”

Vivian nodded. “Of course. You’ve potentially helped us with a criminal, so you have all the clearance you need to do what you need to do.”

I thanked her, then watched as Mae and the two PCs stepped outside with the young girl. The girl blinked wildly as the light touched her face, which told me she hadn’t stepped outside in quite some time. I glanced at Vivian and saw her hard exterior soften at the sight of the girl.

The PCs led the girl toward us, then the male PC spoke. “What shall we do with her, DI Ball?”

Vivian offered the girl a polite smile. “What is your name, sweetie?”

The girl looked around worriedly. “Where’s my dad?”

“He’s close by, don’t worry,” Vivian continued softly. “Can you tell me your name, please?”

“Rose,” she said nervously.

“Rose, are you okay to go to the station with my team, please?” Vivian asked.

Rose trembled. “I-Is my dad coming too?”

“Yes, he will be in another car,” Vivian answered, her tone reassuring.

Rose nodded and allowed the male PC to escort her to his car. As they went, Vivian stopped the female PC. She waited until Rose and the other PC were out of earshot before speaking. “Get some DNA samples from the girl. We need to find out exactly who she is and where she’s from And look into any missing children from the last six years. Might help narrow down who the girl is.”

The PC nodded, then followed her colleague and Rose.

Once they were all in their panda car, Vivian turned and faced me. “Our station isn’t far from here. I’ll lead you there.”

I thanked Vivian, then gestured for Mae to get into my car. Once we were both inside my vehicle, Mae swore under her breath.

“I can’t say I expected this, can you?” she asked in disbelief.

I sighed tiredly as I put on my seatbelt. “Not at all. It seriously makes me wonder exactly how many of his children he’s taken.”

Mae paled as she looked at the panda cars in front of us. “This thing goes deeper than I thought.”

“Same,” I said. “Let’s just hope that wherever he has Rachel, she’s at least safe.”

The drive to the station took around ten minutes, and once we were there, I had to pause for a moment in awe. The station was huge—much bigger than York’s—and it must have homed at least a dozen different departments. The building was also surprisingly clean compared to most things in Nottingham. As horrid as the city could be, at least the police were more than capable of watching over it.

Shortly after Alex was taken inside, the two other panda cars started to empty, and I watched sadly as the two PCs gently escorted a terrified Rose inside. Vivian gestured with her head for us to follow her. We moved quickly and soon fell into step beside her.

“I’ve asked for Alex to be taken directly to one of our interview rooms,” Vivian declared the moment we were by her side.

“Ta for this, DI Ball,” I said gratefully.

“Vivian, please,” Vivian said firmly, but respectfully. “If we’re going to be working together, we should drop the formalities.”

I agreed, then kept silent as Vivian led us into the station and down a hallway to the right. We stopped in front of the second door on the right, but Vivian held up her hand before we entered.

“I think we should talk before we go in,” she said. “What exactly is Alex’s connection to your kidnap victim?”

“He’s a sperm donor and the girl’s father,” I explained. “And I believe he’s the father of the young girl we just took from his home.”

Vivian quirked a brow in either intrigue or surprise. “That could be problematic for a kidnapping case.”

I frowned. “There are no problems from my point of view. That man broke the law and taken who knows how many children against their will.”

Vivian put up a defensive hand. “Hey, I’m not disagreeing with you, but as the father he unfortunately has rights. We just have to work extra hard to prove that he took them against their will and without the mothers’ knowledge.”

I furrowed my brow. “We?”

Vivian sighed. “I know this is your case, Sean, but this is my city. I’d appreciate it if you let me step in on your interrogation. If a kidnapping took place under my nose, I need to know about it and ensure these children are found and returned to their mothers.”

I knew I’d have felt the same way, so I instantly agreed. I turned to Mae. “Hodge, find the PCs from before and make sure Rose is okay, will you? Maybe see if she can give us information on any other potential children while you’re at it.”

“I’ll call a member of my team to meet you here and take you right to her,” Vivian offered.

Once that was taken care of and Mae was on her way, Vivian finally held open the interview room door for me. Alex was sitting down at a large table and was flanked by the two PCs who’d brought him in. Vivian nodded politely at them.

“Excellent work, you two,” she said. “Stand outside. I will call you when you can take him away.”

“Yes, ma’am!” the two said in unison before exiting the room.

I quickly glanced around the interview room and was surprised to see it was likely as big as my two interview rooms combined. The space was large, but the room was empty except for the large table, several chairs, and an interview tape that was ready and prepared on the table.

The moment we sat down, Vivian started the tape. She then gestured to me in a way that said she was happy for me to take the lead. I nodded to her curtly, then turned to Alex. The man was chained to his chair with an expression of complete disgust.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Mitchell,” I began.

Alex continued to glare at me.

I sighed. “The silent treatment isn’t going to work, Mr. Mitchell.”

“No comment,” Alex said quietly.

“If you don't want to speak, why don’t I tell you what we already know, hmm?” I offered. “We found a young girl called Rose, who you have clearly been holding against her will. While we may not know her identity yet, we soon will, and I have a feeling she’ll come up as a missing person.”

I hesitated and gave Alex time to speak, but he continued glaring at me.

“How long has Rose been living with you, Mr. Mitchell?” Vivian asked.

Alex moved his head to look at her. “A while.”

“Care to be more specific?” I pressed.

Alex kept his eyes on Vivian, but shrugged.

“Lost your ability of speech again, I see,” I said coldly.

My anger only rose when Alex smirked. “No comment.”

The fact that Alex was refusing to answer any of my questions only heightened my suspicion. Alex was stubborn, but no one was as stubborn as I was. I had no intention of letting the man off easily.

I huffed impatiently. “Have you been to York recently, Mr. Mitchell?

Alex shrugged.

“For the benefit of the tape, Mr. Mitchell shrugged in response,” Vivian scoffed.

“Maybe you haven’t, but you did live there for a while, didn’t you?” I continued.

“I did,” Alex said boredly.

“I believe you have some children in York, don’t you?” I pressed.

Alex sucked on his teeth. “Maybe.”

“Do you know how many children you have, Mr. Mitchell?” Vivian asked.

“A few,” he answered unhelpfully.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “Why don’t I refresh your memory then? You helped a woman called Anita have a child, didn’t you? She lives in York.”

“Potentially,” Alex said.

“What if I were to tell you that something happened to her daughter?” I asked.

For the first time, Alex dropped his angry act. “Is Rachel okay?”

I bit back a smirk of satisfaction.

So you do know her, I thought.

“I never said her name, Mr. Mitchell,” I said calmly.

Alex kept quiet.

“Rachel is missing, Mr. Mitchell,” I said sternly. “And we have reason to believe that you are involved in her kidnapping.”

Alex shook his head. “You’re wrong.”

“I don’t think I am, Mr. Mitchell,” I replied. “In fact, I think you’ve likely been involved in the kidnapping of many of your children.”

Alex frowned. “I have quite a few children, Detective, surely you aren’t insinuating I’ve taken them all?”

“Maybe not all, but a few of them,” I snapped.

“No comment,” Alex responded.

I gritted my teeth. “Avoid our questions all you like, Mr. Mitchell, but we have all of the evidence we need and DNA will speak for itself.” I leaned closer to him across the table. “We will find Rose’s mother, and I can assure you we will stop at nothing until we find Rachel.”

Alex shrugged again.

“Be honest with us, Mr. Mitchell,” I said calmly. “If you tell us where Rachel is, then I will make sure a jury is made aware of your cooperation.”

Alex clicked his tongue but didn’t speak.

I sighed. “Have it your way, Mr. Mitchell.” I stood from my chair. “I hope for your sake that it doesn’t come out that more of your children have gone missing. It could end up looking very bad for you.”

I nodded to Vivian, who stood up and terminated the interview. She then exited the room only to return a few seconds later with the two PCs. I watched as the two PCs walked off with Alex before I turned to Vivian.

“That wasn’t as informative as I hoped it would be,” I said bitterly.

Vivian lowered her head. “Considering what he is being accused of, I'm not surprised he kept quiet. I just hope you’re right and we get all of the physical evidence we need without his testimony. What now then?”

I crossed my arms thoughtfully. “I’m going to call my team in York and get them to contact various sperm banks. They can circulate a photo of Alex and we can try to figure out exactly how many children he has and how many are missing.”

Vivian nodded. “Good idea, Sean. I’ll ask my team to do the same. It might be quicker if we divide and conquer.”

I agreed, and the two of us exited the interview room together. As I followed Vivian to meet Mae, I got out my phone and started to call Rebecca.

Alex was as guilty as sin, and now it was my job to find out just how guilty the man truly was.

20

My conversation with Rebecca and Nadia ended up taking longer than I had anticipated. Both of them had, understandably, been completely shocked by what I’d found in Nottingham, and they wanted as much information as possible before they let me off the phone.

“So there was a girl there, but the girl wasn’t Rachel?” Rebecca asked in bewilderment.

“Precisely,” I answered. “The Nottinghamshire police are looking into finding out who she truly is and where Alex took her from.” I hesitated angrily. “The girl looked awful. It was clear he wasn’t taking good care of her.”

“That poor girl,” Nadia said glumly. “We’ll never know what she went through.”

“Aye, but now we need to work even harder to bring him down. Christ only knows how many of his children he’s gone after,” I said. “How’re you getting on at your end?”

“Not the best,” Rebecca grumbled. “We’ve looked into any relatives of Alex that live locally, and we found out he has a sister who lives close to the park.”

“Well, make sure you speak with her!” I said hastily. “She could be our kidnapper.”

“I’m aware, hence why Nadia and I are here now,” Rebecca responded coolly. “We’ve been sitting outside, waiting for her to get home for nearly forty-five minutes now.”

“Give it another ten minutes and if she isn’t back, get some PCs to watch over the house,” I replied. “I need you both to circulate Alex’s photo and information to as many sperm banks as you can. I’ll be passing your number onto DI Vivian Ball and some of her Nottingham team. They’re going to help you contact the sperm banks.”

“Sounds good, and what will you be doing?” Rebecca questioned. “Will you and Hodge be making your way back soon?”

“Aye, after I find out more about the current situation with the little girl,” I answered unhappily. “Rachel is my priority, but this new girl, Rose, might have a connection to our case. We have to figure it all out before I leave.”

“Understood,” Rebecca responded. “We will see you soon.”

I hung up the phone, then followed Vivian back through the halls and to her department. Once there, she held the door open for me and waved me inside.

We entered the room, and I saw Mae chatting with two other women. One was an attractive Black woman with a shaved head and many ear piercings, and the other was a white woman with short brunette hair and large brown eyes. As soon as we approached, they stopped talking and turned to us with serious expressions.

“DCI Ellis,” Vivian said. “These are my DCs.” She gestured to the Black woman. “This is DC Audre Phillips.”

Audre nodded at me.

Vivian then pointed to the other DC. “And this is DC Hannah Charles.”

Hannah smiled at me warmly. “Ay up.”

“A pleasure,” I responded. “Have you got anything to share with us?”

“We were just going through things with DC Hodge,” Audre began. “I think Rose is still with the PCs, who are attempting to fast track her DNA samples, but we’ve kept ourselves busy by looking into missing children from the area. We think we may have a match.”

“We found a young girl called Rose Severn who was reported missing around four years ago,” Hannah explained further. She pulled a sad face, then continued. “Her mother, Jackie, has contacted the police on numerous occasions, but no one had any luck finding her.”

Vivian frowned. “This is the first I’m hearing of this.”

“Because another station was put in charge of looking for her, ma’am,” Hannah answered. “The mum lives in Clifton, so the case was assigned there.”

Vivian nodded. “We should give them a call about our progress.”

“We already have, ma’am,” Audre answered with a slightly smug expression. “They have contacted Jackie, and she’s on her way here.”

Vivian turned to me with a slightly concerned expression. “Then let’s pray the child we have is her daughter. I don’t want to get a mother’s hopes up for nothing.”

“Aye,” I responded. “I can’t imagine anything worse than not knowing what’s happened to your child for so many years.”

Mae approached me. “What do we do now, sir? Do we stay and speak to Jackie, or shall we head back to the station?”

I glanced at Vivian, who smiled at me. “The choice is yours, Sean. After everything you two have done for us, you’re welcome to stay.”

I thanked her, then rubbed my stubble thoughtfully. While part of me was keen to speak to Jackie, I knew Rose was a job for the Nottinghamshire police to focus on. But there was always the possibility that Rose may have seen Rachel or have information for us, and I couldn’t leave until I knew for sure.

“Would it be possible for us to speak to Rose before we go?” I inquired.

Vivian nodded. “Of course. DC Phillips can escort you to our pathology lab.”

“Is it far?” I asked.

Vivian smiled. “It’s only a few minutes’ walk across the building.”

I held back my jealousy over the fact that the West Bridgford team had their main facilities right at their fingertips. If I ever needed to visit pathology, I had to jump in my car. I could only imagine how much easier things would be if all of the main teams were situated under the same roof.

I turned to Vivian and passed her my card. “My card in case you need to contact me.”

Vivian took it with an appreciative nod. She walked to a nearby desk, grabbed something, then passed it to me. “Here’s my card too. I have a feeling we’ll be in touch.”

I nodded in return. “Aye, so do I. Ta again for all of your help.”

Vivian looked awkward. “I should be thanking you, Sean. Alex was living in my city… mistreating at least one child. Without your help, he still would be.”

“I’m glad to have helped. Let’s just hope I can find Rachel,” I responded.

Vivian smiled reassuringly. “I have faith you will, Sean. Please let me know how it goes with Rose.”

“I will,” I promised.

I then started to follow Audre out of the room. As we walked, Audre and Mae spoke happily to one another, apparently having formed a fast friendship while I was interrogating Alex. I followed in silence as we crossed the building. Once we were at the entrance to pathology, Audre bid us farewell. Mae and I shared an apprehensive look before I pushed open the door.

I saw Rose right away. She was looking a lot more relaxed than before and was sitting on the floor with a man I didn’t recognise. To the left of the room were the two PCs from earlier, who gave me a nod of acknowledgement. I was happy to see that Rose had been given a shower and was dressed in some new clothes. Her hair looked lighter and cleaner, but her skin was still sickly pale.

The man who sat with her waved at us. “Ey up! I take it you’re with the Yorkshire lot?”

“Aye, I’m DCI Sean Ellis,” I replied, flinching slightly at the man’s broad Nottinghamshire accent.

“I’m DC Mae Hodge,” Mae answered.

“And I’m Daniel Scribe,” Daniel said. “I’m the pathologist.”

I nodded, then smiled at Rose. “How’re we feeling, Rose?”

Rose shuffled closer toward Daniel, her expression filled with uncertainty.

“You aren’t doing too badly, are you, Rose?” Daniel asked in a gentle tone. “She got a bit mardy when I suggested a shower, but you were much happier once we got you some new clothes, weren’t you?”

Rose nodded, her eyes still fixed on my own.

I got out my phone and found a photo of Rachel. I bent down to Rose and showed it to her. “Do you recognise this girl, Rose?”

Rose shook her head.

“Are you sure?” I questioned in the kindest tone I could muster. “This little girl is missing, and we’re trying to find her. Did your dad bring her over?”

“I don’t see other children,” Rose said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “It’s only ever me and Daddy.”

I smiled at her gratefully, ignoring the anger I felt that she’d been alone with that man for so long. “Thank you so much for your honesty, Rose.”

The pathologist stood up and Rose quickly copied him. He gestured for the PCs to take Rose, and once she was at the other end of the room, he turned back to us. “I’ll get those results as soon as possible.”

“That would be appreciated, Daniel,” I answered. “We still have at least one other child missing. We can’t afford delays.”

Daniel looked at Rose with concern. “She eventually opened up to me, and I’m seriously concerned about the long-term effects of what she’s been through.” He sighed sadly. “I don’t know how long she was with that man, but she must have been young. All she remembers is being with him. She has no recollection of her mother whatsoever.”

I grimaced. “Your team believes she’s a girl called Rose Severn who was taken from her mother four years ago.”

Daniel nodded. “That makes sense. She’d have only been two when she was taken.”

I glanced at Rose and felt my heart ache for her.

Poor girl, I thought with remorse. Your world is about to be turned upside down. I’m just glad you’re still young enough to adjust.

I shook Daniel’s hand. “Ta for your time.”

He shook my hand in return, his eyes still locked on the pitiful little girl.

I looked at Mae. “I think it’s time we get going. Don’t you?”

Mae gave Rose a final look before nodding. “I agree, sir. Let’s go and find Rachel.”

We said our goodbyes and left the pathology lab. I sent Vivian a quick text as we exited the station, informing her that Rose hadn’t seen any other children. As I text Vivian, I hated the feeling of doubt that crawled over me.

There was no denying that Alex was a kidnapper, but was he our kidnapper?

21

The two and a half hour drive back to the station felt at least double that length of time. Various thoughts ran through my mind. I still hadn’t heard from Lylah or Elijah, I was deeply concerned over the information both Rebecca and the team from Nottingham were potentially uncovering, and I couldn’t stop picturing Rachel looking as unkempt and fearful as poor, sickly Rose. The fact that Alex was able to treat a child in such an undignified manner caused my blood to boil, and I was more desperate than ever to bring Rachel home.

Finally, I parked up outside of the station and turned to Mae. She’d been as quiet and deep in thought as I was throughout our journey home. I could tell the case was getting to her too.

“Ready to see what the others have found?” I asked.

Mae turned to me with a straight face. “Let’s do this.”

I squeezed her shoulder before we exited the car. As we walked toward the front, I quickly pulled out my phone. I had no missed calls, which was disappointing. I had a text from my mother with a funny photo of Craig with food in his hair, but that was it. While it was nice to see Craig happy, it still concerned me that I hadn’t heard from Lylah. She’d been in the hospital for hours now. Did that mean something was really wrong?

“Everything okay, sir?”

I blinked rapidly, then moved my eyes from my screen to Mae. “Aye, sorry,” I muttered as I put my phone back into my pocket.

“I take it you haven’t heard from Lylah yet?” Mae questioned.

I snorted. “No, not yet.”

“She’ll be fine, sir,” Mae responded supportively. “The doctors are just being thorough to ensure she gets the appropriate care she needs. You can always give Elijah a call once we’ve spoken to the others.”

“I probably will,” I answered. “I didn’t want to bother him earlier. Let’s hear what Rebecca has to say first.”

We passed Karen at the reception, who gave us a warm welcome, then walked up the stairs. We moved up the stairs quickly, but once I opened the door I froze. Rebecca’s voice was speaking loudly and rapidly.

“I know, it isn’t good enough and something will seriously need to be done about it!” Rebecca exclaimed angrily.

I glanced at Mae and noticed her eyebrows were raised in surprise. Rebecca could get angry and worked up over things, but the fury radiating from her was unlike anything I’d ever heard.

What the hell happened? I thought in concern.

We entered the room, and I quickly caught Nadia’s eye. Nadia was sitting at her desk, but all of the colour had drained from her face and she looked as though she’d seen a ghost. When she saw Mae and I enter, she faced us and gave a half nod in acknowledgement. Rebecca turned and faced me as well, her hand white-knuckling the phone. Her face was beet red.

“DCI Ellis just got back, but we will continue this conversation soon,” Rebecca said sharply. “I can promise you, this isn’t a matter I’ll be dropping.” She hung up the phone, her cheeks burning red with outrage.

“I’m glad I’m not the person on the other end,” Mae said impassively. “They’re probably crying in a corner right now.”

“Aye, who was that?” I inquired as I put up my jacket then returned to the others.

Rebecca rubbed her face for a few seconds before replying. Her frantic energy was putting me on edge. It wasn’t like her to be that way. Rebecca could get annoyed on occasion and—as she was human—sometimes she let her emotions get the better of her at work, but in general Rebecca was level-headed.

“I was talking to Audre, a DC from the West Bridgford team,” Rebecca answered, her voice shaking with each syllable.

“Audre?” I asked in disbelief. “We met her, and she seemed more than capable. What’s she done wrong?”

To my surprise, Rebecca laughed bitterly.

“Oh, it isn’t her I’m annoyed with,” Rebecca said coldly. “If anything, she’s been great. She helped me and Nads go through various sites quicker than I expected.”

I stepped further into the room. Mae followed cautiously behind me.

“What has happened, you two?” I pried worriedly as I glanced between them both.

Nadia sighed and stood up from her seat. “I’ll put the kettle on. You two will need a drink for this.”

“I think they’ll need something stronger than a coffee,” Rebecca snorted. “Though I doubt we have any alcohol in the cupboards.”

As Nadia went to make the drinks, I decided to ask Rebecca some questions, hoping it would calm her down. “What happened with Alex’s sister?”

Rebecca’s irritable mood only seemed to increase at my question. “Nothing. The woman was confused as hell when she eventually turned up. She hasn’t spoken to her brother in years. She let us search her house too. It was clear she hasn’t been harbouring any children there.”

“What was with that phone call?” I sighed as Nadia returned with our drinks.

Rebecca and Nadia glanced at one another, both looking unsure where to begin. After a few seconds, Nadia signalled for Rebecca to take the lead. Rebecca, with a bemused expression, sighed and turned toward me and Mae.

“We have spent the last two hours contacting various sperm banks, going on websites, really anywhere a person can access sperm to see if they know of Alex,” Rebecca started.

I nodded but decided not to speak in case I broke Rebecca’s trail of thought. Rebecca took a sip from her mug with agitated hands before continuing.

“The Nottingham lot were great, and we quickly got a system in place so we could cover as much as possible in the shortest possible period of time,” Rebecca continued. “We expected maybe one or two of the places to know Alex, but what we found out has really knocked us for six.”

“What did you find?” Mae inquired.

Rebecca pushed her hair behind her ears with a frown. “Nadia and I, and the Nottingham team, called various places and basically all of them seemed to know who Alex is.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Seriously?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Nadia sighed.

“Were these places that you contacted in Yorkshire and Nottingham?” Mae asked.

My shock only intensified when Rebecca shook her head. “Not just there, but all over the UK.”

“I don’t understand?” Mae looked between me and Rebecca with a perplexed expression. “How is that possible?”

“It would appear Alex is very well travelled,” Rebecca said in quiet fury. “He has been around most cities in the UK and found banks where he can give his… donations.” She scrunched up her face in disgust. “Apparently, he’s a very popular donor. Most places said his specimens went rather quickly.”

I pulled a seat toward me and sat down as the gravity of Rebecca’s words hit me. Not only was Alex the father of Rachel and Rose, but he was likely the father of multiple children spread out across the UK.

“How did this happen?” I asked in disbelief. “Surely there must be measures in place?”

“Apparently not,” Rebecca spat. “The clinics we spoke to all assured us that once they used all of Alex’s specimens, they never accepted more, but clearly these places don’t communicate with each other to see if these donors go elsewhere.”

I took a long sip of my coffee as I tried to digest the information Rebecca was giving me.

“Is what he’s done even legal?” Mae asked.

“Technically, yes,” I responded slowly, my lip curling in revulsion. “It’s far from ethical, but there isn’t a law saying someone must give their sperm to only one facility.”

Mae swore under her breath.

“Well, now you know why I’m so bloody angry,” Rebecca muttered, gripping her mug so tightly I feared it might crack in her hands.

“Definitely,” I replied in disbelief. I took a quick sip of my coffee, then continued. “Something needs to be done so this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.”

“It does, but it’s a bit late for the women who’ve already had children with this man, isn’t it?” Nadia asked glumly.

I went to take another sip of my coffee but paused when the mug was about to touch my lips. I’d been so certain that Alex was Rachel’s kidnapper, but the fact that the man clearly had more children than brain cells was causing me concern.

“This does leave me with an important question though,” I muttered.

“What’s that?” Rebecca asked.

I turned to face her. “Say Alex has multiple kids, likely over fifty if he’s travelled around as much as you say he has.”

“Yes?” Rebecca murmured.

“If that’s the case, then why would he target Rachel?” I questioned.

“He targeted Rose for whatever reason,” Nadia pointed out. “Why wouldn’t he target Rachel?”

I sighed in frustration. “We need to figure out why Rose. If we can find that out, then it might help us see if Rachel would be connected. If the man has as many children as we think, there’s no way he’d go after them all, surely?”

Mae’s face dropped. “But if Alex hasn’t targeted Rachel, then it means someone else has.”

“But who?” Nadia inquired in dismay.

I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped as my phone rang. I quickly pulled it out of my pocket, expecting to see Vivian contacting me, but paused nervously when I saw it was Elijah.

“It’s Smith,” I said quickly, answering it with anxious hands. “Smith?”

“Hey, sir,” Elijah chirped. “Are you able to talk for a bit?”

“Of course,” I answered instantly. “Is Lylah with you?”

“No, sir, she’s currently with a doctor. I thought it would be best to call you while she’s out of the way,” Elijah replied.

“Aye, good thinking,” I responded. “How is she?”

Elijah hesitated for a moment, which caused my heart to skip, but he soon spoke.

“Sorry, the connection went for a second,” Elijah said. “I have a weak signal here, so I won’t be able to talk for long. I just thought you’d want to know that Lyles seems to be doing really well.”

I put my hand to my chest and held back a sigh of relief. “Really?”

“Yeah, you’d be proud, sir!” Elijah said. “She’s been really honest with her doctors.”

I breathed deeply to stop myself from tearing up. “I’m always proud of her, Smith.”

“I know, sir!” Elijah chuckled. “Anyway, one of the doctors we spoke to believes she would benefit from regular therapy until she’s feeling better. It’s actually a therapist she’s speaking to now. I don’t know what they’re talking about, but I assume it’s to see if they can organise some appointments.”

“That’s great news!” I exclaimed.

“I thought you’d be pleased,” Elijah said keenly. “I have a feeling I’ll be taking Lylah home once she comes out of her meeting, but I’ll let you know when we leave.”

“Ta for this, Smith,” I said warmly. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for her today.”

“She’s my best friend, sir, and she didn’t give up on me when I needed support, so I’ll make damn sure I don’t give up on her,” Elijah responded passionately.

I thanked him again, then we said our goodbyes. Once I hung up the phone, I thought about the potential of Lylah returning home soon. I looked out the window and felt my face drop when I saw it was now getting dark outside.

The day was basically done, and as much as I didn’t want to call it a night when we still had no idea where Rachel was, I also knew a good night’s rest would help us all stay sharp. Plus, we were still waiting on the Nottingham team to get back to us with their progress. I turned back to the others, who were all looking at me with serious expressions. I smiled at them warmly in order to reassure them.

“He was just letting me know she’s been doing well, that’s all,” I said quickly. “It’s getting late, so let’s wrap things up here so we can continue tomorrow.”

Rebecca frowned. “I have no idea how I’m going to go home with all of this on my mind.”

I stepped over to her and rubbed her back gently. “I get that, but Alex is with the Nottinghamshire police. He can’t do anything to anyone else.”

“He’s already done enough damage to multiple women,” Nadia said harshly.

I sighed sympathetically. “I agree with you, really I do, and first thing tomorrow we’ll see what we can do about every vile thing that man has done.” I hesitated thoughtfully. “However, we have no actual evidence that he even has Rachel and until we get some, there isn’t much we can do.”

“There must be something else we can do before we go?” Rebecca asked desperately.

I scratched my stubble and considered our options. After a long pause for thought, I responded. “We could always look up any children who’ve gone missing in the UK within the past few years and see if we can find any connection between them and Alex?”

Mae instantly moved toward her desk. “I’ll look into that, sir!”

Rebecca followed her. “And I’ll help.”

After watching the two women move quickly for a few seconds, I eventually pulled my gaze away and looked at my phone. I huffed impatiently when I saw that I still hadn’t heard from Vivian.

“Still nothing from the Nottingham DI,” I grumbled.

“Not surprising, really,” Nadia answered thoughtfully. “They’re probably going to be questioning Alex for a while after everything that has come out.”

I smiled at her weakly, knowing she was right. I wanted to speak to Vivian about everything as soon as possible, but considering the fast approach of the evening and the information we’d uncovered, I knew realistically she wouldn’t call me until the morning.

“The list is scarily long, sir,” Mae said in horror.

I walked over to her and wasn’t surprised when I saw the long list of missing children.

I caught Rebecca’s eye and looked at her seriously. “I know you’re keen to keep going, and trust me when I say that I’d stay here all night if I could. However, we need to get some sleep and be our best selves if we have any chance of saving Rachel… and potentially other innocent children.”

Rebecca played with her hair anxiously for a few seconds before she grumbled loudly. “Fine, you’re right. We should resume this in the morning when we have the time to give it our full focus.”

Nadia looked at the list, then turned to face me. “I’ll stay here tonight in case we get any calls. I might as well start tackling this to keep me preoccupied.”

“Are you sure?” I crossed my arms and gave her a concerned look. “This case has been emotionally taxing for all of us.”

“Positive,” she said with determination. “It’s my turn to be here tonight, anyway.”

“I can stay and help you if you want?” Mae offered.

Nadia shook her head. “There’s no sense in more of us being tired tomorrow than necessary. I’ll be fine.”

We all thanked Nadia, then started to get ourselves ready to leave. As I put on my jacket, I tried not to think about Alex and the wrong he’d done to all of those women. They’d just wanted to become mothers.

I just hoped Vivian and the Nottingham team were currently making his life a living hell. We needed enough evidence to lock that scheming bastard away for life.

22

The evening went by surprisingly quickly. I got home to find Lylah and Elijah chatting on the sofa, both with smiles on their faces. After the awful day I’d had, seeing Lylah with a happy expression for the first time in months was the boost I needed.

Elijah insisted he stayed at ours for the evening as he wanted to be with Lylah in the morning, so we called it an early night, hoping to rid some of our exhaustion. I got Elijah set up on the sofa, then went upstairs to meet Lylah. As I laid in bed, my happiness only increased when I felt Lylah move behind me and put her arms around my waist.

“I will get better, Sean,” Lylah said in a determined tone. “I know I will.”

I turned around and pulled her into my chest. “I know that, darling,” I said affectionately as I stroked her hair.

I continued to stroke her hair until she fell asleep in my arms. When I knew she was asleep, I was finally able to relax and fall asleep myself. It felt like I’d barely closed my eyes before my early alarm was hollering loudly. I quickly silenced it—I didn’t want Lylah’s slumber disturbed—but I was left shocked when Lylah slowly started to get up too.

“Don’t you want to have a lie in, love?” I asked softly.

Lylah looked at me with a weak smile. “Today is the start of a new day, Sean,” she said. “One of the doctors I spoke to yesterday said too much sleep can drain the body, so I need to start getting back into my normal routine. Besides, I’m going with El to meet some more therapists today. Hopefully, one of them will be the right fit for me!”

I kissed her gently on the lips. “You’re doing me, Craig, and yourself so proud, Lyles.”

Lylah playfully pushed me away. “Don’t get me emotional when I’m trying to get better! Hurry up and go to work before you have me blubbering like a babe.”

I held her hand firmly. “Are you sure you’re alright with me going? You know I’d stay with you if you wanted me to.”

Lylah shook her head. “Go find that child. I think that will help boost me more than any therapy session ever could.”

“I’ll find her, Lyles, I promise,” I said. “After all, when have I ever not succeeded in a case?” I winked at her.

Lylah’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly looked away. “Get your arrogant arse out of here, will you?”

We both laughed—a sound I knew I’d never take for granted again—and I hurried myself out of my flat and into my car. After an annoyingly slow drive through the morning traffic, I eventually made it to the station. I rubbed my tired eyes, got out of the car, then made my way toward the station’s front door. I wasn’t surprised to see the others had already arrived. I pushed open the door to my department and sauntered inside.

“I haven’t heard from Vivian yet,” I said as a way of greeting as I shrugged off my jacket. “Have we heard from anyone in Nottingham yet?”

“Not yet, sir,” Mae answered.

I sighed. “I guess we just have to hope they contact us soon.” I turned to Nadia. “How did your search go last night? Do you need us to jump on that now and help you?”

“Surprisingly, I finished a little while ago,” Nadia replied as she suppressed a yawn. “Once I narrowed the age of the children down, it became much easier to go through them. I had seven children come up who could have a link to Alex, but once I researched them, it became clear none of them are his children.”

“Thank Christ for that,” Rebecca muttered bitterly.

“So we’ve found no evidence to suggest Alex has taken any other children?” I pressed.

“Not from what I could see,” Nadia answered.

I ran my fingers through my hair, muttering to myself irritably as I did so. While I was glad Nadia hadn’t found any other children connected to Alex, it did make me question further what had happened to Rachel. Could it truly be just a coincidence that the girl who disappeared just happened to have the same father as another kidnapping victim?

I prepared myself to get the team to start brainstorming, but hesitated when Mae suddenly spoke.

“Oh, looks like pathology has emailed us,” Mae said smoothly.

I moved over eagerly. “From Nottingham?”

I was confused when Mae shook her head. “No, from our lot.” She swivelled her chair around to face me. “We aren’t expecting anything else from them, are we?”

“We gave them items containing Rachel’s DNA, so they’re likely just confirming it’s sorted,” I said casually.

“Ah,” Mae said impassively, turning back to her computer to open the email.

With Mae distracted, I cleared my throat and stepped into the center of the room. “Right, the evidence is suggesting more and more that Alex isn’t our criminal, though he is a criminal. Can anyone think of⁠—"

Mae suddenly gasped loudly, and I jumped where I stood.

“Christ, Hodge!” I exclaimed irritably as I rubbed my chest.

“Sorry, sir,” Mae gasped. “But you’ve got to look at what pathology sent right away!”

Nadia and Rebecca moved with urgency to their computers. I power walked toward Mae and stood behind her with crossed arms.

“This better be good after you just scared the hell out of us all,” I barked.

“It is, trust me,” Mae answered. She pointed toward something on her screen. “Look at this!”

“It states that Alex is Rachel’s father, Hodge,” I sighed after scanning the screen. “We already knew that! I’m guessing the West Bridgford pathologist likely requested some DNA swabs from Alex yesterday and sent them to our team to help us.”

Mae shook her head irritably. “No, sir! That’s not what I was on about.”

“Well, spit it out then, Hodge!” I exclaimed. “We have a kid to find.”

Mae huffed, but continued rapidly. “The results prove Alex is Rachel’s father, but they’ve also proved something else!”

“What?” I inquired impatiently.

“Anita isn’t her mother!” Rebecca exclaimed in shock.

I spun to face Rebecca. “Pardon?”

Rebecca gestured wildly at her screen as her eyes lit up with excitement. “Remember when I took Anita’s hair in for analysis too? Anita and Rachel aren’t biologically related!”

My eyebrows rose into my hairline. “How is that possible?”

“I don’t know, but I suggest we visit Anita to find out, don’t you?” Rebecca asked.

I nodded, my thoughts running wild at the revelation. I’d seen photos of Anita with Rachel from birth, so how was it possible that Rachel wasn’t her daughter? All along we’d been working under the assumption that Anita was an innocent woman whose daughter had been taken, but was Anita’s past darker than she let on?

My blood went cold as a sudden thought hit me.

Could it be that Anita was a kidnapper herself? Had she taken Rachel as an infant? Was the reason she truly didn’t want the press involved because she didn’t want Rachel’s real mother to see Rachel so publicly? Was my kidnapping story turning into a case of a triple kidnap?

First Rachel, then Rose, now maybe Rachel again!

Jesus, I thought in disbelief. How many layers are we going to uncover here?

“Do we know who her mother is then?” I asked.

“No,” Mae answered. “The tests proved Anita isn’t the mother, but not who the mother is.”

“We can look into hospital documents and birth records to see, but I still think we should speak to Anita first,” Rebecca replied.

I grabbed my jacket, then started to put it on. “Nadia, when you looked into the missing children, did you see any young girls reported missing around the year Rachel was born?”

Nadia screwed up her face thoughtfully. “I think so, but I’d have to look back and see.” She turned to me with concern. “Why? Do you think Anita took Rachel in the first place?”

“Right now anything is possible,” I responded. “Look into the missing girls while Rebecca and I are out and see if a match to Rachel comes up from around six years ago. There could easily be an innocent explanation to all of this, but we need to be prepared for the possibility that this case has turned out to be darker and more twisted than we ever imagined.”

As I started to zip my jacket up, I huffed impatiently as my phone rang. I fished it out of my pocket, then faltered when I saw Vivian’s name on-screen.

“Vivian,” I answered.

Rebecca, who had pulled an impatient face when I grabbed my phone, suddenly moved closer to me and opened her eyes wide in anticipation.

“Sean Ellis,” Vivian replied. “I must say I’m glad you’re a man who answers a phone quickly!”

“Please tell me you’re calling to let us know that Alex Mitchell is about to face a long prison sentence,” I chuckled.

“Oh, he definitely will be,” Vivian said happily. “We’re still gathering as much evidence against him as possible. I think, considering the number of women who are walking around unaware their child has multiple half-siblings, it will take us time to gather it all. However, the more women we have on our side, the more likely we’ll get him sent down for a long, long time. Particularly when these women are made aware that he kidnapped one of his own children.”

“Do let us know if there is anything we can do to help you,” I responded sincerely.

“That’s much appreciated, Sean,” Vivian answered. “Luckily we have several teams in Nottingham who can aid us. Stick to your kidnapping case and leave us to deal with that disgusting man.”

“Has Alex admitted anything when it comes to Rachel?” I queried without much hope.

“The man still insists he has nothing to do with it, and after everything we found out, I’m inclined to believe him,” Vivian responded, sounding disappointed.

“What have you found out?” I asked.

“Our pathologist expedited Rose’s DNA results, and they confirmed that the Rose we have is Rose Severn,” Vivian said with pride.

Rebecca fist bumped the air happily.

“Excellent!” I exclaimed. “So what happens now? Is Jackie aware?”

Vivian hesitated uncomfortably. “Jackie arrived here shortly after you left, but it was hard. Rose had no idea who Jackie was.” She sighed. “We all tried to explain to Rose that Jackie was her mother, but she informed us that Alex told her for years that Jackie was dead.”

I clenched my fist angrily. “That poor girl!”

“And that poor mum,” Rebecca muttered in disgust.

“I know,” Vivian replied glumly. “Both of them are now with a specialist, but it’s going to take a long time for them to adjust to everything.”

“Do we have any idea why Alex targeted Rose?” I asked curiously.

“I think we do,” Vivian answered. “After speaking to Jackie, we learned that shortly after Alex helped her become pregnant, the two started a relationship. The relationship ended around the time Rose was one, but we think Alex must have targeted Rose based on the emotional connection he’d formed with her mother.”

As much as I was glad to hear of Vivian’s progress, I couldn’t deny my disappointment that this information put the final nail in my coffin. I’d already started to believe that Alex wasn’t involved in Rachel’s kidnapping, but now it seemed abundantly clear. That meant I was back to square one. I just hoped that Anita could shed some light on the case.

“Has Alex admitted to any of this?” I probed.

“We’ve spoken to him several times since you left and he’s slowly opened up a bit more,” Vivian said hesitantly. “He still hasn’t admitted to anything, but when we brought up Jackie, it was clear from his reaction that he still carries a lot of hurt from their breakup. While we may never get the full truth out of him, I’m convinced he targeted Rose to spite Jackie, not because he wanted to be a father to the girl.”

I swore under my breath. “It would explain why he didn’t make much effort to look after her.”

“Yes, but unfortunately that doesn’t help you much with your investigation, does it?” Vivian sighed.

“Going after Alex may have been a wrong turn for my investigation, but I don’t regret it for one second,” I said passionately.

“And you have no idea how grateful we are for what you and your team have helped us to unravel!” Vivian exclaimed. “You should have seen Jackie’s face when we told her we found her daughter.” She hesitated, her voice breaking with emotion. “I tell you, it’s moments like that why I took the job in the first place. Those two have a long way to go to build their relationship, but thanks to you… they now have that chance.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad we were able to help, Vivian.”

“So what will you do now?” Vivian asked with concern. “Is there anything we can do to help you find the child?”

“I appreciate the offer, but you should just focus on gathering all of the evidence you need against Alex,” I answered. “We have one new lead, and we just have to hope it’s the break we need. Christ only knows we need it.”

“I wish you the best of luck then, Sean Ellis,” Vivian responded. “I’ll contact you once we’ve finished gathering evidence so you can see how we’ve got on.”

“Ta, Vivian,” I said appreciatively. “I look forward to hearing it.”

We both said goodbye and hung up.

“So now we know for certain Alex had nothing to do with Rachel’s kidnap,” Rebecca said disappointedly.

“Aye, which means we have to put everything into questioning Anita and getting the truth,” I said.

Rebecca agreed, and together we ran out of our department and toward my car.

My head was spinning from the different directions this case had thrust us, but now with the knowledge that Anita had possibly been withholding information from us—again—I was starting to feel confident we were finally getting somewhere. For too long we’d been working under the impression the kidnapping had something to do with the father, but now it seemed likely we’d been looking at the wrong parent.

Anita wasn’t Rachel’s biological mother, and I had to see how she would react when we confronted her with this information. Would she quickly crack and reveal the truth, or would the knowledge we were about to impart on her shock her as much as it had shocked us?

23

Ijumped hurriedly into the front seat of my car, and Rebecca climbed in next to me. As I put my seatbelt on, my hands shook with suppressed anger towards Anita. My team and I had been racing around for the past two days, hoping to find her daughter, but now that I knew Rachel wasn’t her child, I was filled with suspicion. Had she viciously stolen Rachel years ago? Had I unwittingly spent the last two days aiding a kidnapper?

As I drove, there was one burning question I just couldn’t explain. Anita knew Alex was the father, and the DNA results confirmed that, but if she wasn’t Rachel’s mother, how on earth had she known that Alex was the father?

It made no sense.

I turned and glanced at Rebecca. She was chewing her lip and staring straight ahead with a serious, focused expression.

“There’s something I don’t get,” I said cautiously, pulling my gaze back to the road.

Rebecca turned to look at me. “It’s not like you to admit to any ignorance, Sean.”

I flashed her an unamused look before continuing. “How did she know Alex is Rachel’s father?”

Rebecca shrugged. “That man has more children than I’ve had hot dinners, Sean, so it’s not that surprising. From now on, any case we work with a child will have me wondering if he’s the dad.”

I sighed, not feeling satisfied with her response. “It’s just weird though, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so, but there’s any number of reasons why Anita knows who Rachel’s father is.” Rebecca paused thoughtfully. “She could have targeted Rachel’s family before she was born. She could have spoken to Alex and found out… who knows?”

“Aye, I suppose,” I grumbled. “It just seems like Anita has been lying to us throughout this case and I’m sick of it.”

Rebecca squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “I understand. Let’s just see what happens when we get to her, shall we? Who knows, maybe she’s innocent in all of this.”

After ten minutes, we were parking up outside of Anita’s house. As I got out of the car, I shook off my feeling of déjà vu when I looked up at the place. Last time we were here I had burning questions for Anita, and I’d been quick to trust her. Too quick. I wouldn’t be making the same mistake twice.

“Ready, Sean?” Rebecca asked as she pushed her car door open.

I looked at her and gave her a small smile. “Born ready.”

Rebecca smirked, then got out of the car. As we walked toward Anita’s front door, I looked around the front garden. My eyes lingered on an old-fashioned pram that had been left haphazardly near the front door. I hadn’t noticed during my last visit just how out of place it looked next to the large, modern house, but now it was all I could see as I approached the front door.

It was almost like it had been left there by mistake. It was so different from everything else that Anita seemed to own.

We reached the front door, so I pulled my eyes away from the pram and knocked loudly, wondering if Anita would be answering it as eagerly as she did before. I was halfway between knocks when the door opened.

Anita answered the door just as quickly as before, but I couldn’t help but notice she opened it with much more hesitancy. When she stepped around the door to see who was there, her eyes widened in surprise when she caught my eye.

“DCI Ellis?” she inquired. “I-I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

I’m sure you weren’t, I thought to myself bitterly.

“Can we come in, please?” Rebecca asked politely.

Anita held my gaze for a second longer before slowly turning toward Rebecca. “Of course.”

She stepped aside and watched us as we entered her house. We walked in, and as Anita started to close the door behind us, I turned to address her.

“Mind if I have a quick look around before we speak?”

Anita finished closing the door before scrunching up her face in confusion. “May I ask why you want to, Detective?”

“You may, but that doesn’t mean I have to tell you,” I answered.

Anita pursed her lips. For a moment I thought she was readying herself to either verbally attack me or deny my request, but instead she took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, feel free to look around.”

I thanked her, then gestured for Rebecca to follow me. Together we walked up the stairs, and once we reached the top, Rebecca moved closer to me.

“What are we doing?” she muttered in confusion.

“Anita’s story isn’t adding up and I’ll be damned if I leave this place again without being thorough,” I mumbled as I pulled some gloves out of my pocket and put them on.

Rebecca sighed as she followed me along the hallway. Similar to what I’d seen downstairs, everything looked white and clean. I followed the dazzling white walls and carpet until I reached the first door on the left, which I gently pushed open. Although the room followed the same white theme as the rest of the house, I realized instantly that it was Rachel’s bedroom. The single bed in the centre of the room was covered in an array of cuddly toys. The majority of the toys were pink or white hares, but there were a few other animals, like bears and monkeys. There were also a few art pieces on the wall that depicted rabbits, foxes, and otters. Clearly Rachel was a fan of animals.

There was a large white table with a wide vanity mirror on it. The table itself was covered in hairbrushes, pens, and various other accessories that were all neatly organised. Although I hadn’t met Rachel, a quick glance around the room told me that the cleanliness was all thanks to Anita.

I was so focused on looking around the room that I jumped slightly when Rebecca started to speak. “I think you were a bit blunt with Anita,” she whispered.

I shrugged. “A child is missing, Rebecca, and she’s been far from helpful with this investigation.”

Rebecca huffed. “I get that, but we still don’t know if she’s done anything wrong.”

“I know,” I said begrudgingly.

“What are you hoping to find, anyway?” Rebecca inquired.

“I dunno,” I answered honestly. “Something that proves Rachel isn’t Anita’s child, something that hints at where Rachel could be. Really anything.”

Rebecca nodded.

We searched upstairs until I was satisfied there was nothing to find. When we made our way downstairs, we found Anita sitting agitatedly in her kitchen. Her legs were crossed, and one of them was bouncing frantically atop the other. The moment I walked in the room, she attempted to control it.

“All done, Detective?” she asked nervously.

I nodded. “Aye. For now.”

Anita sat up straighter and glanced between me and Rebecca. “Can I ask what is going on here?”

“I’ll be frank, Anita,” I said as Rebecca and I sat down. “We know you haven’t been entirely honest with us.”

Anita blanched. “What are you talking about? You should be out looking for my daughter, but instead you’re here talking nonsense!”

“We should be looking for your daughter, should we?” I snapped.

“Yes, you should!” Anita exclaimed, jumping up from her stool and facing me with her hands on her hips. “Rachel has been gone for two days and you’ve done nothing to find her!”

“You have done nothing to help us, Anita,” I snorted, keeping firm on my stool. “First, you didn’t allow us to speak to the press, then you refused to give us details on Rachel’s father, and now⁠—”

“I told you exactly who her father is!” Anita interrupted angrily.

“Aye, only because we made you,” I scolded. “If you’d been upfront from the start we’d be much further along in our investigation.”

“I don’t believe this,” Anita responded, shaking her head in disbelief. “You’re supposed to be helping me, but you’re talking to me like I’m some damned criminal!”

“Are you telling us you aren’t a criminal?” I pressed.

Anita laughed harshly. “Of course I’m not!”

“Let’s cut the lies, shall we?” I said, my voice rising. “We know you aren’t Rachel’s mother, so we need you to be straight with us and give us some answers.”

Anita looked like she was close to hitting me. She stepped toward me, her face red with fury. “I seriously can’t believe what I’m hearing! Haven’t I been through enough without you attempting to torment me further?”

“Stop the act, Anita,” I replied sternly. “We have DNA evidence proving that Rachel isn’t your daughter. You need to tell us everything.”

“You’re lying!” Anita exclaimed, her eyes growing tearful.

“I’m not, and now your behaviour throughout this investigation makes sense,” I continued. “You didn’t want the press involved because you knew someone would see Rachel and identify her as not being your daughter, and⁠—”

“No!” Anita snapped. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to stand here and listen to your continued lies, Detective. You really have some nerve to come here and question my relationship with my daughter!”

I put my hand into my pocket and pulled out the DNA results I’d printed out before I left. I thrust the paper on the table and pointed toward it.

“Go on then,” I said coldly. “Read it.”

Anita glared at me as she sat back down in her seat. She slowly moved the paper toward her and unfolded it. As she read the paper, her expression changed from fury to complete perplexity. She picked the paper up and shook it at me.

“What is this rubbish?” she asked in shock. “This must be fake!”

I barked a laugh. “I’m a detective, Anita. Do you seriously think I’d falsify evidence and results?”

Anita shakily dropped the paper, looking at me with wide eyes. “So this is t-true?”

For a second I looked at her, taking her body language in. Her shock seemed so genuine, I couldn't believe she was acting.

“Aye, it’s true,” I responded, my tone gentler. “Rachel isn’t your daughter.”

The colour drained from Anita’s face, and she looked like she was going to collapse.

I glanced at Rebecca and saw the shrewd way she was looking at Anita. I could tell she wasn’t buying Anita’s reaction for a second.

“H-how is this possible?” Anita asked, grabbing the DNA results again and rereading them.

“We were hoping you could tell us, Anita,” I answered. “Clearly something isn’t adding up here.”

Anita wiped tears from her cheeks before responding. “Is this why you’re both being so cold with me? Y-you think I knew about this!”

“Right now, we don’t know what to think,” I replied honestly.

Anita was quiet for a moment, her eyes glued to the results. After several minutes she lowered them again and looked at me. “I believed Rachel was mine for six years. Six years, Detective.” She hesitated as she wiped her face again. “I-I don’t understand how this happened.”

“One of two things must have happened, Anita,” I answered. “Either you took Rachel and raised her as your own, or⁠—”

“No!” Anita interrupted in shock. “I won’t be accused of putting anyone through what I’m going through!”

“I’d like to believe you, Anita, really I would, but you can’t deny how dodgy this all looks,” I responded.

“I’m as confused by this as you are, detectives, I can assure you,” Anita said slowly.

“I hate asking you this, Anita, but I have to,” I said seriously, looking into Anita’s eyes with a determined look. “Do you swear you didn’t take Rachel as a child?”

I was left surprised when Anita stood up and pulled up her blouse, exposing her stomach. I felt Rebecca stiffen beside me as Anita gestured to a scar on her abdomen.

“Do you know what this is, Detective?” Anita asked me.

I shook my head, but Rebecca cleared her throat.

“It looks like a scar from a caesarean section,” Rebecca whispered.

“Correct,” Anita snapped. “You’re both detectives, so explain to me how I can have a scar like this if I haven’t had a child?”

I exhaled heavily, my mind deep in thought. Could it be that Anita truly was just an innocent victim in all of this? If Anita was innocent, then it meant a mistake had been made elsewhere. Somehow, Anita ended up with a child that wasn’t hers.

I turned to Rebecca. “Call Nadia and get her to meet us here, will you?”

Rebecca nodded, then exited the room. Once she was gone, I turned to Anita, who was looking at me with a concerned expression.

“Are you arresting me, Detective?” she asked shrewdly.

I shook my head. “I’m not arresting you, but I am calling my colleague here so she can take you to the station for further questioning.” I hesitated as I took in her reaction. Her face didn’t show much, but her eyes lit up with clear aggravation. “Do you consent to that?”

Anita clicked her tongue. “I don’t think I have much of a choice. Do I?”

“It would certainly look bad if you were to decline, aye, and we would still take you in,” I responded.

“I’d be a fool to say no then,” Anita said with an aggravated sigh.

I nodded. There was silence for a minute or two before I broke it.

“Where was Rachel born, Anita?” I queried.

“Here in Yorkshire, Detective,” she replied. “Why?”

“I’m just curious,” I answered. “Which hospital?”

“York,” she answered cautiously. “Why?”

“It helps our inquiries, that’s all,” I responded.

Anita looked at me with narrowed eyes. “And here was me hoping you had a plan to find out what the hell happened here, Detective.”

“Are you blaming the hospital then?” I asked thoughtfully.

“Well, someone is to blame, Detective,” she snorted.

I nodded attentively, but didn’t speak.

Fifteen minutes later, Nadia arrived, and Anita followed her out of the house with a resigned face. I stood with Rebecca outside of Anita’s house, and once Anita was in Nadia’s car, I turned back to Rebecca.

“You know what our next move is, right?” I asked.

Rebecca shrugged. “No, but I assume you’re going to tell me.”

I snorted. “We are going to take a trip to York hospital.”

Rebecca’s lips parted slightly. “So you think it’s an error they’ve made then?”

“Anita has had a child, that’s clear from her scar,” I said slowly as I rubbed my stubble. “Obviously Rachel isn’t that child, so now we need to figure out who is and where they are.”

As angry as I was at Anita before, I was now genuinely starting to believe that she was truly the victim she made herself out to be. If anything, she was even more of a victim than before.

24

As I drove us to York hospital, I couldn’t help but think about how many moments in my life had led me there over the years. Although I had positive memories there, like the birth of my two children, the majority of my memories had been nothing but excruciating.

Terrible cases, unwell children, injured colleagues, a wave of death and destruction at the hands of a nurse, and a trusted doctor who’d turned to a life of crime all for love. All of those moments would stay with me for the rest of my life, and I was worried I was about to receive yet another negative moment to attach to the place.

The hospital slowly came into view, and as I drew closer I began to think of what to say to the staff when I got there. I knew Rachel’s full name, so I’d just have to give that to the receptionist and hope they could point me in the right direction. Better yet, maybe they could give me crucial information that would crack this case wide open.

I parked up close to the hospital’s main entrance—shocking since it was usually impossible to park there—and slowly made my way out of the car with Rebecca by my side. We stepped through the hospital’s entrance and sauntered toward a young woman sitting behind the reception. The receptionist barely looked older than eighteen and was loudly chewing gum, opening her mouth wildly with each chew as she looked at her computer screen with glassy eyes. Her youthful appearance wasn’t helped by her wide blue eyes, red pigtails, or the freckles that seemed to take years off of her face. It was like looking at the teenage version of Pippi Longstocking.

It was only when Rebecca and I were standing directly in front of her that she slowly turned from the screen to face us. Her movements and energy weren’t dissimilar to that of a sloth, and it felt like it took her several minutes to look at us.

“Can I help you?” she said in a bored tone.

I pulled my badge out of my pocket as Rebecca did the same.

“My name is DCI Sean Ellis,” I began.

“And I’m DI Rebecca Tumber,” Rebecca added.

“Alright,” the woman responded, sounding anything but impressed by our position.

“We need you to look up some information for us,” I said hastily. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah,” the woman replied.

I felt a surge of impatience take over me as she noisily sat there and chewed her gum. I put my hands on the desk and edged my face closer toward her.

“Look, we are in the middle of an investigation. We are trying to find a missing kid,” I said harshly. “We need a bit of urgency here.”

The woman’s blue eyes went even wider, and she nodded.

“Good,” I barked. “We need you to look up Anita Simpson.”

“And her daughter, Rachel Simpson,” Rebecca added quickly.

The woman nodded again. Although her typing was still annoyingly slow, she at least had a bit more urgency than she’d had a few minutes prior.

“What do you want to know about them?” the woman asked.

“We are trying to find out information about Rachel’s birth,” I responded. “Evidence suggests Anita and Rachel are not related biologically, so we need to find out who Rachel's real mother is.”

The receptionist made a noise of agreement in the back of her throat as she continued to type. After a few minutes, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“What is it?” I pressed.

“According to our records Anita is Rachel’s mother,” the woman answered cautiously. She looked between me and Rebecca. “Could it be possible your evidence is wrong?”

I defensively shook my head. “No chance. We took some of Rachel’s DNA and some of Anita’s from their home. The results said they weren’t a match.”

The receptionist’s eyes opened up with intrigue. “How very Agatha Christie!”

I pursed my lips slightly, unhappy with her excitement over the situation. “Clearly the information you have is wrong and we need to know why,” I said impatiently. “What information can you see on Rachel’s birth certificate? Or on her medical records from around the time she was born?”

The receptionist blushed slightly and focused on her screen again. After a minute or two, she glanced at me. “I can print you a copy of her birth certificate to see if that would help?”

I nodded gratefully. “It would help, ta. What exactly does it say?”

The receptionist shrugged coolly as she grabbed the fresh printout from the tray beside her and passed it to me. “Her name and her mother’s name, Anita Simpson, but that’s about it. Oddly, it says nothing about the father.”

I glanced down at the printout and saw that she was correct.

“That doesn’t help us much then,” Rebecca said with annoyance. “If anything, it only helps Anita’s case.”

“We need to speak to someone connected to Rachel’s birth,” I sighed. “What does it say on her records from around that time? Does it give information like who was the doctor, midwife, or even nurse at the time she was born?”

The receptionist screwed up her face thoughtfully as she moved it closer toward the screen. “I should be able to find that out for you. Just one moment, please.”

I thanked her politely, then fidgeted with my hands while I waited for her to finish. After another painful couple of minutes, the receptionist spoke again.

“It says the doctor on call was Zahir Kher,” the receptionist started, not noticing the way my body stiffened uncomfortably at the mention of his name.

Zahir was now in prison for working with the nurse, Gail Ruskin. I was surprised the receptionist didn’t react to his name. She looked young, so she likely hadn’t worked here for more than a few months, but Zahir’s face and name had been all over the news. The press had lapped up the story of a disgraced senior doctor, and wasted no time trashing his name across every possible outlet.

Was it possible Zahir was connected to yet another crime?

Christ, I thought with horror. Please don’t tell me I’m going to have to speak to that prick in prison.

“The midwife was Olivia Fester, and there were two nurses who assisted with the birth,” the receptionist continued. “A man called Harvey Blade, and a woman called Eleanor Roscoe.”

“What can you tell me about any of them?” I inquired. “Are any of them still here now?”

“I’ll look that up for you now,” the receptionist offered.

Again there was another aggravating wait, but luckily it wasn’t for long.

“It would seem they all still work here except for the doctor,” the receptionist explained. “Better yet, Olivia is actually on shift today if you wanted to speak to her?”

I nodded keenly. “Aye, we’d like to speak to her as soon as we can.”

The receptionist stood up from her chair and walked into a small room to the side of the reception desk. She grabbed a phone, and I watched as she started to dial a number. As she was busy, I turned quickly toward Rebecca.

“It’s good we have the midwife to speak to,” I said hopefully. “With any luck, she might be able to shed some light on what happened six years ago.”

“If she can remember it,” Rebecca said doubtfully. “Six years is a long time to retain information about a birth, especially when Olivia has likely dealt with hundreds in her time.”

I grimaced unpleasantly at the thought. “If there was any wrongdoing by the hospital I guarantee she’ll remember it.”

Rebecca nodded, even though her face was still filled with uncertainty.

The receptionist exited the small room then sat back at her desk. “Olivia is on her way here now to meet you.”

I nodded to her solemnly before walking away from the desk, gesturing for Rebecca to follow me. We then stood awkwardly in the hallway, waiting impatiently for the midwife to arrive. As we waited, I couldn’t help but wonder what part Olivia had to play in all of this. Was she simply a midwife who helped bring another child into the world, or was her involvement much darker than that?

“DCI Ellis?”

I turned toward the female voice and saw a nurse approaching me at a fast pace. The woman looked to be around my age with small green eyes and blonde hair tied back in a loose bun. She was a slender woman—likely from being on her feet all day—and wore nurses’ scrubs with some dark grey Crocs on her petite feet.

“Olivia Fester?” I asked.

The woman smiled at me politely. “Yes, I hear you wanted to speak to me?”

I nodded. “Perhaps there is somewhere we could go to have a more private conversation?”

Olivia quirked a curious brow before agreeing. “Of course. Follow me.”

Olivia was silent as she led us down a long hallway, then eventually took a laminated card out of her pocket and used it to open a door. She held it open for us, and we both thanked her as we entered the room. It was a small conference room, likely used to speak to families about less than ideal things.

I took a seat—Rebecca quickly sat next to me—and I gestured politely for Olivia to sit down too. Olivia sat down quietly, her eyebrow still quirked.

“Did your receptionist explain what we wanted to speak to you about?” I queried.

Olivia placed her hands on the table. “No, Detective. All she said was that you needed my help with a case you’re working on.”

“Aye, that’s true,” I answered. “I believe you were present at the birth of a girl called Rachel Simpson around six years ago.”

Olivia’s expression was unreadable. Before she’d been smiling, but now her face was void of emotion. Either she wasn’t entirely certain who I was on about, or the topic made her uncomfortable.

As she didn’t speak, I cleared my throat, then continued. “Does that name ring any bells?”

“I’m a midwife, Detective.” Olivia smiled weakly. “My job is delivering babies, so you’ll have to forgive me for not remembering each child I help bring into the world.”

I smiled back. “Of course. Why don’t I refresh your memory a bit?” I pulled out my phone and quickly found a photo of Anita. “Recognise this woman?”

Olivia barely glanced at the photo before she looked away from it. “No, Detective.”

Rebecca’s leg subtly tapped my own. I could tell she, like me, was picking up on Olivia’s odd behaviour.

“Are you certain of that?” I pressed.

Olivia rubbed her forehead. “Positive, Detective.”

“Feeling alright?” I asked coolly as I leant back in my chair.

“Fine, Detective,” Olivia answered. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

I shrugged. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you seem a bit nervous.”

Olivia laughed. “I can’t say it’s a comfortable experience speaking to detectives, but I’ve got nothing to hide.”

I’ll be the judge of that, I thought harshly.

“How long have you worked here as a midwife?” I asked.

“Almost seven years now,” Olivia answered proudly, seeming to relax slightly at the change of topic.

“So you were relatively new to being a midwife around the time Rachel was born then?” I inquired.

“You said she was born six years ago, so I was in my first year, yes,” Olivia replied, her cheeks flushing red as she spoke.

I nodded, then stretched my arms out across the table. “Perhaps if I gave you some information on Rachel’s birth it might jog your memory a bit?”

Olivia scratched her face and looked down toward the table. “Potentially, but as I’ve said I’ve delivered hundreds of babies. It’s not likely I’ll remember anything.”

“Let’s see, shall we?” I asked curtly. “Anita was pregnant via donor. She gave birth to the child at this hospital and took who she thought was her child home. We are in the middle of an investigation, and Rachel is in the very centre of it.”

Olivia chewed her lip nervously. “What is it that you’re investigating exactly, Detective?”

“Rachel was kidnapped from Homestead Park over two days ago,” I said seriously. There was a pregnant pause while I absorbed Olivia’s reaction to this news, but like before, her face remained impassive. However, I did notice that the colour drained from it. “We are doing everything we can to find her.”

Olivia lowered her head respectfully. “I’m very sorry to hear that.”

“Aye, as are we, which is why we’re here,” I answered curtly.

Olivia furrowed her brow. “Forgive me, but what does Rachel's kidnapping have to do with this hospital?”

“Our investigation has revealed that Anita is not the biological mother of Rachel, so as you can imagine we are all a bit confused by this revelation and we hoped you could help us,” I explained.

“Sorry, Detective, but I don’t know what to say,” Olivia said.

“So you can’t explain how Anita ended up taking home a baby that wasn’t hers?” I pressed.

Olivia simply shook her head.

“Look, something has gone terribly wrong here and if we have any chance of figuring out what’s happened to Rachel, we need to know what happened the day she was born.” I sighed impatiently. “You’re one of the few people who can give us that information, so we’d appreciate your help.”

Olivia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “As I’ve told you, Detective, that was six years ago. I can’t remember.”

“I think you’re lying to us, Olivia,” I scoffed.

Olivia abruptly stood up from her chair. “Look, I don’t have time for this,” she said irritably. “I have a job to do, and I’ve already told you everything I know.”

“Very well,” I snapped as I slowly stood up from my own seat. I turned to Rebecca. “DI Tumber, can you please cuff this woman?”

Rebecca started to stand.

Olivia scoffed. “Are you seriously arresting me?”

“A child is missing and you’re purposely hindering our investigation,” I answered. “If you don’t tell us the truth right here, right now, then we’ll drag you to the station.” I hesitated, fixing her with a firm look. “Do you really want your friends and colleagues seeing you pulled out of here in cuffs?”

Rebecca took the handcuffs off of her belt and started to slowly approach Olivia. Once she reached Olivia and went to grab her hands, Olivia pulled away.

“This is insane!” she exclaimed. “You have no right to arrest me!”

“I have every right!” I growled. “You work in a position of care, a position of trust, and you’re lying to us and allowing a poor, innocent girl to suffer. She could be injured, abused, or even worse.” I sighed. “Either tell us everything you know, or I will arrest you, Olivia. I don’t mess around when it comes to the safety of a child.”

To my surprise, Olivia burst into tears. I gestured for Rebecca to back off slightly as I continued to watch her.

“All we want is to find Rachel,” I said softly. “Please.”

Olivia continued to cry. “I didn’t think for one second that s-she would take R-Rachel, I swear!”

I could barely breathe. This was it!

“Who, Olivia?” I asked, fighting the urge to shake her.

Olivia swore and started to pace around the room. Her behaviour was frantic, so I kept a close eye on her in case she tried to run.

“It was just an i-innocent mistake, I p-promise,” Olivia said fearfully.

I gently helped Olivia back into her seat, then sat down opposite her. “Tell us everything.”

“When Rachel was b-born I was watching over her,” Olivia said in a shaky but surprisingly clear tone. “I’d been w-working for days on end. I was exhausted. One day, after giving Rachel and another baby a quick wash, I accidentally misplaced their name tags.” She hesitated as she pressed her palms into her forehead. “It was such a stupid, stupid mistake! But I was so certain I put the names on the right ones.”

“Clearly not,” Rebecca snorted.

I gave Rebecca a sharp look before looking back at Olivia. “So you accidentally switched the babies?”

Olivia nodded, hiccuping out another sob. “Yes.”

“When did you realise your mistake?” I asked.

“J-just over a month ago,” Olivia answered. “A woman came in with her daughter and I recognised the names right away. The daughter was really unwell, and tests needed to be done.” She hesitated sheepishly. “I wasn’t sure if I’d been right all those years ago, so I offered to jump in and help look after Alice… that was the little girl’s name.”

“And I take it you offered to help just to figure out if you made a mistake when Alice was born?” I pried.

Olivia nodded again, then continued. “Alice had leukaemia, and the prognosis wasn’t good. Her mother did everything she could to help, but when tests were done… it came out that the two weren’t a biological match.” Olivia hesitated again and fidgeted with her hands. “There was nothing we could do for Alice, and I didn’t want the hospital to know I’d made a mistake, so I kept the results to myself.”

“You didn’t tell anyone?” Rebecca asked in disbelief.

“I-I couldn’t tell anyone! I’d have lost my job!” Olivia exclaimed defensively.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. “But two families were living a lie, Olivia.”

“I know, I know,” Olivia repeated frantically as she dropped her head in her hands. “The guilt was too much for me, so I ended up telling Polly the truth.”

“Who is Polly?” I interjected.

“Alice’s mother,” Olivia answered.

I looked at Rebecca knowingly. “You mean Rachel’s real mother.”

Olivia’s shoulders slumped. “Yes.”

“How did she take it?” I inquired.

“She obviously was in shock, but she begged me not to say anything,” Olivia responded. “She knew Alice was dying, and she didn’t want her to know the truth.” She choked on her emotions. “She didn’t want Alice going through any more pain and confusion than she already was, so I respected Polly’s wishes. I… I told no one.”

“And saving your hide at the same time,” I said with a frown.

“I kept the information to myself more out of respect for Polly, I swear!” Olivia cried. “I’d already caused her so much pain, I didn’t want to cause any more.”

“So how did we get from Polly’s secret to Rachel getting kidnapped?” I asked in confusion.

Olivia grew more agitated in her seat. “I thought everything was fine at first. Polly knew the truth, and she never said anything about it, but everything changed once Alice died.”

My blood went cold. “Alice is dead? When did she die?”

“About three weeks ago,” Olivia responded with a sniffle. “The team here did everything they could for her, but the leukaemia… she was too far gone for us to save her.”

Rebecca swore sadly under her breath and looked at the floor.

“What did Polly do after Alice had died?” I asked quietly.

“She came back in to see me,” Olivia said, her face going pale once more. “She told me she would tell everyone about the mistake I made unless I told her where Rachel was now.” Olivia sighed. “I told her several times I couldn’t do that. I said it broke every rule in the book to give out that sort of information, but she continued to threaten me. She… She assured me she only wanted to know so she could make sure the child was being looked after at home.”

“And you believed her?” I inquired in disbelief.

Olivia lowered her head in shame. “I-I wanted to.”

I swore to myself as I pushed my hair back. “So you gave a grieving woman, who just lost her child, the address for her biological child!? And you seriously believed she would simply leave the girl alone?”

“I don’t know, okay!” Olivia exclaimed. “She was blackmailing me, and I was terrified of the truth coming out! I told her the address to get her to back off.”

I stood up hastily from my seat. “I need Polly’s full name and address, and I need it now!”

“Polly Jones, her name is Polly Jones,” Olivia said quickly as she jumped up from her seat. “And we can get her address for you.”

I glared at her before looking at Rebecca. “Call Nadia, will you? Tell her to let Anita out of the interrogation room, but to keep her close by in case we find Rachel.” I shot another stern look at Olivia. “And tell her to get someone down here to take Olivia in.”

Olivia shook her head, her features etched in terror. “You’re arresting me! But I’ve told you everything.”

I folded my arms. “Aye, you have. And for your sake you better hope your selfishness hasn’t caused Rachel any harm! You’ve committed several felonies, so we will be taking you in.”

Olivia burst into tears again, but I turned away from her, feeling no guilt whatsoever. Olivia had been more concerned with protecting herself than protecting Rachel. In my eyes, she deserved a prison sentence for everything she’d done. Olivia may not have taken Rachel herself, but it all came back to her negligence years ago.

I just hoped we still had time to make it right.

25

Rachel had been with the woman for over two days now and during that time she had slowly calmed down. While she still often cried to go home, she was at least eating her food and not attempting to run away. The progress may have been minimal, but she was okay with that. After all, Rachel, like her, was dealing with a big adjustment and she knew that patience was necessary. The woman just hoped that with time and understanding, the two would be able to live happily together.

She had learned from her mistakes, and she was now making sure she asked Rachel questions to find out what she liked, not just blindly assuming she liked everything Alice had.

Alice.

The woman rubbed her face roughly, trying to stop herself from getting emotional over the thought of her deceased daughter. It didn’t matter that Alice wasn’t hers biologically. Alice would always be her baby girl.

She knew Alice would always be with her, but that fresh wound felt a lot more manageable now that she had Rachel. The woman stared across the table and watched the little girl eat. The girl was eating breaded chicken with chips and baked beans, and although Rachel had said it was her favourite, she looked terribly sad.

The woman struggled with the fact that Rachel still wasn’t happy here, but she had to think positively. She couldn’t bear to be around another miserable, broken child, so she clung to hope for their future.

Rachel looked up to see the woman staring at her. Rachel lost focus on her food and subsequently dropped a few baked beans down her white t-shirt. Rachel whined unhappily at the mess.

The woman stood up from her chair and approached Rachel. She used a piece of kitchen roll to remove the stray beans, then gestured for Rachel to follow her.

“Come on, sweetie. Let’s just go upstairs and change this, yeah?” the woman offered kindly.

Rachel shoved her plate away from her and begrudgingly took the woman’s offered hand. The woman gently dragged Rachel upstairs, and once they were in Rachel’s room, she placed Rachel on the bed as she looked in the wardrobe. She quickly grabbed a black t-shirt and turned to face Rachel. She noticed Rachel was distracted by some of the cuddly bears and was now stroking one.

The woman tittered softly. “That one there was always one of Alice’s favourites. When she was four, she wouldn’t go anywhere without that bear.” She stroked the bear’s head. “We once went away for a Butlin’s weekend and as we were going home, Alice burst into tears when she realised this bear was missing. I had to drive over an hour to go back and find it.”

For a second Rachel looked nervous, but eventually she spoke.

“Who is Alice?” Rachel whispered. “You mention her a lot.”

The woman tried to hide the grief that threatened to contort her face. “Alice was a lovely little girl.”

“Where is she now?” Rachel inquired with confusion.

The woman gently stroked one of Alice’s bears before responding. “Alice got very unwell very quickly, and unfortunately she never got better.”

Rachel didn’t look like she understood, but she nodded. The woman was secretly happy the little girl had no more questions. She could barely think about Alice without crying her eyes out, let alone talk about her death. It was still too fresh, too raw.

“You must miss her,” Rachel said awkwardly, fidgeting the way children do.

The woman took a deep breath, then smiled sadly at Rachel. “I miss her every day, but now I have you. If she never got sick, I wouldn’t have found out you were my daughter, now would I?”

Rachel looked at the woman with a pout. “But I’m not your daughter. My mummy is at the park waiting for me. I’ll be back with her soon.”

The woman gently grabbed Rachel’s hand. “I know it’s hard to hear, sweetheart, but that woman isn’t actually your mother.” She sighed sadly. “For six years I believed Alice was my daughter, but when she got ill, I found out that the hospital made a mistake. You were accidentally swapped. Alice was your mum’s child, and you were mine. We just didn’t know it.”

Rachel screwed up her face. “I don’t understand.”

“You were supposed to come home with me six years ago, darling,” the woman whispered. “I gave birth to you. Anita gave birth to Alice.”

Rachel started to cry. “No! I know my mummy, and she isn’t you!”

The woman smiled sympathetically at Rachel. “I know it’s hard to take in. Trust me, I still don’t believe it all myself.” She hesitated as she stroked Rachel’s hair. “We look alike, don’t we? Haven’t you noticed that?”

Rachel chewed on her lip. “I-I guess so.”

“Alice never looked like me,” the woman sighed. “She had beautiful blonde hair and bright blue eyes. I always found it strange, but now it all makes sense.”

“Everyone looks different though,” Rachel answered defensively. “Mummy always says that to me!”

The woman sighed. “That is true, darling, but we both know when you look at me, you see yourself.”

“No!” Rachel whined, turning her back on the woman and throwing herself onto the bed.

“It’s okay if you aren’t ready to admit it, Rachel,” the woman clucked. “I know it’s going to take you time to adjust. I think we’ll both feel happier once we get out of this place.”

Rachel looked up from the bed hopefully. “You mean… you’re taking me home?”

“Yes, baby,” the woman laughed. “To our new home!”

Rachel huffed, but the woman continued.

“I’m going to find us a nice home somewhere new, somewhere far away from Yorkshire,” she explained. “We can decorate it together, and you can make your room exactly how you want it. Won’t that be fun?”

Rachel threw her face onto the duvet again and started to cry. The woman put a comforting hand on her, but Rachel shook her away and only sobbed louder.

“I want to go home! I want to go home!” she repeated, her tone muffled into the fabric.

The woman stood up from the end of the bed and frowned at Rachel.

“We will be home, Rachel. Our home,” the woman responded.

She exited Rachel’s room, leaving the door open, and made her way back downstairs. Why didn’t Rachel understand? She was giving her time and patience, but dammit, the girl needed to realize. A new home was just what they needed. The two of them weren’t safe if they stayed in Yorkshire. There were too many prying eyes around York, and her neighbours would eventually notice her new child. People would start to talk. The police would be alerted.

The woman couldn’t risk that.

She had a daughter again, no one was going to take her away.

She’d already lost Alice. She wouldn’t lose Rachel.

26

Iwatched as two PCs came in and took Olivia away. As they pulled her out of the hospital’s main entrance, she kept begging for me to stop them. A crowd of patients, guests, and hospital workers formed in the reception area because of the commotion she was making. Olivia only grew more frantic the further the PCs escorted her out of the building. She sobbed and repeatedly apologised, but it was too late for all of that.

Olivia had done the damage—damage made even worse by her selfish attempt to cover it up—and it was now my job to fix it.

Once she was gone, I turned to the small crowd of people and gave them a harsh look. I barely looked at each person for a millisecond before they had the sense to scarper away from me as quickly as their legs would carry them.

The moment the crowd had fully dispersed, I walked back to the girl at reception, who was staring at us with her mouth gaped open. She was clearly struggling to believe what she’d just witnessed.

“Olivia can’t be your kidnapper!” she scoffed, looking at me as though I’d just lost my mind. “She loves children! She’d never take one.”

“I need you to look up the address for a woman named Polly Jones,” I said sternly as I crossed my arms, ignoring her comment entirely.

The girl looked scared and quickly started typing into the computer. Thankfully, she had no further comments. Eventually, she turned away from her screen and looked at me. “The Polly Jones in our system lives at 24 Sussex Road. She⁠—”

“Great, ta,” I said hastily, beckoning for Rebecca to follow me out of the building. I wasn’t willing to wait a moment longer to get there.

Together, Rebecca and I charged toward my car quicker than Olympic sprinters. Once Rebecca was in her seat, she started to type the address into my satnav. By the time I’d put on my seatbelt, the address was showing on the screen, and I couldn’t help but look at it in surprise.

“Her address is nowhere near Tanya’s house,” I pointed out.

“So?” Rebecca asked in confusion as she put on her seatbelt.

“So, how the hell did she know about the car?” I queried. “Tanya said she only advertised it outside of her house. I was certain the kidnapper must have lived close by, but she’s over a fifteen minute drive away.”

Rebecca pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Good point. Maybe she purposely found a car far away to get us looking in the wrong direction?”

“Well it bloody worked, didn’t it?” I grumbled. “She had me convinced she was close to Troutbeck.”

“Or… maybe she isn’t holding Rachel where she lives?” Rebecca asked worriedly. “Could she have a connection to anyone close to Tanya’s location?”

“Good point,” I said hurriedly. I was about to start driving out of the station, but instead I pulled the handbrake and grabbed my phone. “I’m going to call Mae and see if she can look into Polly while Nadia deals with Anita and Olivia. You call Karen and get her to send a team of PCs to meet us at Polly’s address.”

Rebecca agreed and took off her seatbelt. “I’ll call them outside, so we aren’t talking over one another.”

I nodded in a gesture of gratitude as I pulled my phone near my ear. Luckily, Mae was quick to answer.

“Hello, sir,” Mae said. “The nurse isn’t here yet.”

“Aye, she only left here a few minutes ago,” I responded. “I have a job I need you to do right away.”

“Name it, sir,” Mae said, sounding determined.

“We think we may have found Rachel’s kidnapper,” I said. “Turns out, Rachel is the biological daughter of a woman called Polly Jones. Anita and Polly’s children were accidentally swapped at birth. Polly found out recently after the child she was raising died in the hospital.”

“Jesus,” Mae muttered in shock. “That’s awful!”

“We know Polly’s address, but we can’t figure out how she knew about Tanya’s car, which makes us wonder if she’s holding Rachel elsewhere,” I continued rapidly. “I need you to look into Polly and see if she has any relatives or close friends with any links close to Tanya’s address. We’re about to head to Polly’s house now, and with any luck we’ll find Rachel there. Maybe try to sort us a warrant for her house, too? Just in case we need it.”

“Sure. I’ll look into things immediately and call you if I find anything out,” Mae answered. “Good luck, sir! Please, call me if you find her.”

“Will do, Hodge, bye for now,” I responded.

I hung up the phone, and as I shoved it into my pocket, Rebecca climbed back into the car. “A team has been dispatched. They’ll soon be on their way.”

I nodded curtly as I started to drive out of the station. After a few minutes of silence as the road rolled beneath us, I glanced at Rebecca and was surprised to see her thoughtful expression.

“What is it?” I asked.

Rebecca shifted in her seat to face me. “I don’t know what to think about all of this, do you?”

I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”

“I just think this is a rather complex case, that’s all,” Rebecca said considerately. “I mean, the woman believes a child is her own for all of its life, she then loses that child, and she then has to deal with the shock that the child wasn’t even hers to begin with.” Rebecca released a long, deep sigh. “I can’t help but feel sorry for Polly. She’s been through so much.”

I narrowed my eyes at Rebecca. “She’s still a criminal, Rebecca,” I scoffed. “I don’t like what she’s gone through either, but the way she went about things is completely immoral.”

“I know, but it’s not as simple as that,” Rebecca said shrewdly. “Not everything is black and white.”

“It is when it comes to crimes like this.” I shook my head slightly. “I never thought I’d see you siding with a criminal.”

Rebecca tutted. “You’re a dad, I’m sure you can understand her perspective even more than I ever could.”

We drove in silence for a while as I considered Rebecca’s words. I tried to imagine how I’d feel if I were to lose either Faye or Craig the way Polly had lost Alice. It was impossible to even consider. It was unfathomable to imagine the unimaginable.

My kids were my life, so I sympathised with Polly, but I couldn’t let it excuse what she’d done either. There were other ways Polly could have tried to have Rachel in her life, but the woman had chosen to steal the girl. That was a choice I would never accept. She had broken the law, and it was my duty to ensure she was punished for it.

While my sympathy for Polly was limited, I couldn’t help but think of Anita. It was clear that she was genuinely shocked at the revelation Rachel wasn’t her biological daughter. Not only that, but I’d soon have to tell her that her “real” child died from a horrendous illness. She would never even get the chance to know her. It was a conversation I wasn’t looking forward to.

I held back a sigh of relief when the satnav said my destination was on the right. I took the turning down Sussex Road and noticed an unusual estate with a mixture of incredibly beautiful houses and old, unloved ones. When we reached Polly’s address I noticed it was somewhere in the middle. The house wasn’t stunning, but it wasn’t completely outdated either.

It was a small home, much smaller than Anita’s, and it looked as though it was in desperate need of some refurbishments. Not as much as some of the other houses on the street, but still enough for me to notice issues. The path toward the white front door looked severely cracked, and so did the canopy above the door. Although the blinds were closed—a dangerously suspicious sight, especially as it was still the middle of the day—I could still see the windows looked misty, meaning they needed to be replaced. The grey tiles on the roof were covered in leaves and moss, and there were green patches over the red brickwork of the house.

Polly’s house looked quiet, and so did the rest of the street. No one was walking around or moving near their windows, and no pets roamed freely.

It was like being in a ghost town.

“It doesn’t look like the PCs are here yet,” Rebecca said hesitantly as I parked up the car and turned off the ignition.

I glanced around and realised she was right. There were no panda cars or unmarked police cars anywhere. I hoped they weren’t far behind us.

“What should we do?” Rebecca asked. “Should we wait for them?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek as I looked at Polly’s house. “We still don’t even know if Rachel is here,” I answered.

“We also don’t know if Polly is armed or if she’s working alone, Sean,” Rebecca said in a warning tone. “I know you like to charge in, but we are very under prepared here. I don’t even have my weapon on me, do you?”

“Aye, it’s in my glove box,” I said cautiously. “But I don’t like the thought of taking it into a house where there could be an innocent child.”

“And I don’t like the thought of us going into the unknown without protection,” Rebecca responded sharply. “We should wait for backup.”

“We don’t know how long they’ll be, Rebecca.” I looked at the house, then back at Rebecca. “Besides, we don’t have to charge right in. I was going to suggest knocking first. Maybe she’ll come out quietly.”

Rebecca pursed her lips. I could tell from her expression that she was unsure. “You know I trust you, Sean. I don’t like the unknown, but I’ll follow your lead.”

I gave it a few minutes, but when the PCs still didn’t arrive, I knew we couldn’t keep sitting around. We didn’t know if Rachel was even at this place, and if she wasn’t, we’d have to act quickly in order to find out where else she could be.

I turned to Rebecca. “I’m going in, but if you’d rather hold back for the PCs, I get it.”

Rebecca shot me a peeved look. “Don’t act like I wouldn’t follow you into a burning building, Sean Ellis. We both know I’d be stupid enough to do it.”

I smiled at her gratefully. “Let’s do this.”

Rebecca climbed out of the car. I hesitated for a moment as I looked at my glove box. While part of me knew it could be potentially foolish to walk into an environment, I knew nothing about without something to protect me, I couldn’t stomach the thought of terrifying Rachel by walking in with a loaded gun. I quickly made the choice to leave it and followed Rebecca toward the front door.

“Remember,” I muttered to her as we walked. “Knock first, act later.”

Rebecca nodded so subtly I barely saw her head move.

We reached the door, and I knocked on it. We stood there for two minutes, and no one answered.

Rebecca moved her ear closer to the door. She moved away from it after a few moments. “I can’t hear anything.”

I gritted my teeth. “Me neither.”

I knocked on the door again, this time even louder. Again, there was no answer.

“Closed blinds, no one answering the door.” I sucked on my teeth irritably. “I’m getting a serious sense of déjà vu from when I visited Alex’s place. Rachel is here. I’m certain of it.”

Rebecca opened her mouth, but hesitated when we saw a couple of unmarked police cars approaching. Rebecca and I casually walked away from Polly’s door and met the cars away from the house. Four men climbed out of one of the vehicles.

One of the men approached me hurriedly. “Sir.”

“Good timing, lads,” I said. “We’ve attempted to make contact but either Polly is out or, more likely, she is refusing to let us in.”

The PC gestured to one of his colleagues, who handed him a piece of paper. The PC then passed it to me. “Hopefully this will help, sir. DC Hodge gave us this warrant.”

I smiled to myself at the thought of Mae charging around like a madwoman in order to fast track the warrant. I made a mental note to thank her when I got back.

“This will more than help,” I grinned. “Now we can force our way in.”

I turned to the other car and noticed that only one PC climbed out of it. The PC was a woman of medium height with a stocky build, brown eyes, and short brown hair. I noticed there were at least two other PCs in the car, but for some reason they didn’t join her.

The woman nodded at us as she approached. “I have more backup in case it’s needed, sir. Otherwise, they’ll stay close to the car in case we need to get the suspect or victim away from here quickly.”

“Understood,” I answered curtly, then addressed the entire team. “We have no idea what we’ll find at this address, but we’re hoping to find a young girl. One of you will break down the door, then I will go in first with my DI. You can then follow in groups, but one of you will keep around back in case she tries to escape. Is that clear?”

They all nodded, so I turned to Rebecca. “Let’s get inside that house!”

Rebecca agreed. I was about to turn to the PCs to see who was willing to break down the door, but the female PC immediately stepped in front of me and approached the door. She turned to me, waited for a signal, then braced herself for impact. I readied myself as I watched the woman ready her shoulder and charge toward the door like an antagonised bull. The door made a sickening crunch as it came off the hinges. As soon as the door fell, the PC speedily moved aside so Rebecca and I could get in first.

I stepped into the hallway, my eyes moving around rapidly for any sign of danger, Polly, or Rachel. To my left I could see a large, empty living room, so I quickly gestured for Rebecca to follow me to the right. I knew that with our loud entrance there was no sense walking around cautiously, so I moved hastily to the right. I hesitated when I saw a woman running out of a room. Once she saw me, she paused and looked at us with wide, frightened eyes.

I knew instantly she was Polly. She was the spitting image of Rachel.

Polly started to move toward the stairs, but I stepped forward and raised my hand. “Don’t even think about moving, Polly Jones,” I said with authority. “We have you surrounded.”

Polly started to cry. “Please! I just want to be with my daughter.”

I stepped closer toward her. “Rachel should be with Anita. You’ve put that woman through hell these past two days.”

To my surprise, Polly scoffed. “Please! I’ve been watching the news, officer, and there’s been nothing about Rachel on there.” Her sneer instantly vanished and was replaced with desperation. “Sh-She doesn’t care about Rachel. Not like I do!”

“That’s Detective Chief Inspector to you,” I barked. I gestured for the PCs to move forward. “Get this woman in cuffs.”

Two of the male PCs moved forward and escorted Polly away, but she didn’t go without a fight.

“No!” she exclaimed in horror. “Please! Please don’t take my daughter away from me! Please! She’s all I have left.”

After watching the PCs drag Polly away, I turned to Rebecca and bit back my irritation over the guilty look on her face as she watched Polly go.

“Come on,” I snapped. “We need to find Rachel. You look downstairs, and I’ll go up.”

Rebecca agreed and quickly pulled her gaze away from the door.

I moved cautiously up the stairs, keeping my eyes and ears peeled for any noise or movement. Polly may have been retained, but I still didn’t know if she’d been working alone or not. I walked up the stairs, stepping as gently as my large feet would allow, but I suddenly froze when I heard the sound of a floorboard creaking.

I exhaled deeply through my nose, then slowly started to move again. I had no idea who had caused that noise, and I had to stay focused until I found out. Rachel was there—I was certain of it—and I wasn’t going to risk charging in if there were still obstacles in my way.

I’d promised Anita I’d get her daughter back safely, and I never broke a promise.

27

Itook each step painfully slow, hesitating when I was one step away from the top. I glanced around the corner for any signs of danger, then immediately froze when I saw who had caused the noise.

It was Rachel.

The child stood in the middle of the landing, nervously holding a plush bear close to her chest as though she thought it might offer her some protection.

I smiled softly as I stepped onto the landing. “Rachel?”

Rachel took a hesitant step away from me, holding her bear even tighter.

“It’s alright, Rachel,” I said in a quiet, reassuring tone. “My name is DCI Sean Ellis. I’m here to get you back to your mum.”

Rachel pulled the bear close to her face. She spoke into it. Her voice was muffled. “Which mummy?”

I paused, my heart aching. I had no idea what Polly had told her, but it was clear from Rachel’s words that the woman had gotten into her head and confused her.

Poor girl, I thought. She probably doesn’t know what side is up right now.

“Anita has been so worried about you, Rachel,” I said calmly, getting on my knees so I was closer to her level. “Why don’t we get you out of here so we can take you to her?”

Rachel continued to look worried. Her nerves only increased at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. I turned to see Rebecca standing behind me, so I gestured for her to keep some distance.

“It’s alright, Rachel,” I said reassuringly as I turned back to face her. “That’s just my colleague, DI Rebecca Tumber. She won’t hurt you.”

Rachel continued to clutch her bear, but she kept still and didn’t speak.

I held out a hand to her, and she slowly lowered the bear and looked at my offered hand. “Come with me,” I whispered. “I promise you, we will get you back home.”

Rachel took a step forward, then hesitated. “That other lady said she’s my mummy, but she isn’t, is she?”

I continued smiling at her. I had no idea what to say. I had no intention of lying to her, but I didn’t want to say much until we’d had the chance to speak to Anita.

“I know you must be really scared and confused right now, but if you come with me, we can get things sorted,” I intoned. “How does that sound?”

I moved my hand closer to her and was happy when Rachel eventually decided to trust me. She kept hold of her bear in one hand, but clutched my fingers with the other.

“Well done,” I said proudly as I rose to my feet. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Rebecca gently walked down the stairs, then Rachel and I followed her. My heart hurt at the feel of Rachel’s small hand shaking in mine. I couldn’t help but wonder what she’d gone through over the past two days. While I knew it wasn’t my fault, I felt overwhelmed with guilt that I hadn’t found her quicker.

Downstairs, I quickly noticed three PCs—two men and the same woman from before—looking around downstairs. As soon as the female PC saw me, she walked over. I was grateful at the friendly expression she gave Rachel.

“Everything okay, sir?” she inquired.

I nodded and looked down at Rachel. “This nice lady here is a police officer. She’s going to take you down to the station, alright?”

Rachel suddenly looked fearful again. “You told me you’d take me to my mummy! You promised!”

I gently squeezed her hand. “Your mum is at the station waiting for you. You’ll see her there, but we need a medical team to look at you first to make sure you’re alright. Is that alright with you?”

Rachel looked nervous, but she nodded.

I smiled at her, then passed her hand to the PC. The PC came over and reassured Rachel until the child felt comfortable enough to take her hand. Once it was evident Rachel was happy enough to leave with the PC, I got the woman’s attention.

“Have the others gone?” I asked, hoping the PC would figure out I was really asking if Polly had gone.

“Yes, sir,” she answered. “There’s only one car outside now. The others are on their way back to the station.”

“Excellent. Once the medical team has given her the all clear, contact DC Hodge and let her know that Rachel is ready to see her mum.”

“Yes, sir,” the PC answered respectfully.

After leaving two of the remaining PCs to sort the scene and give it a thorough once-over, the rest of us took off for the station. Rebecca and I climbed into my car. I’d barely been driving for a second before Rebecca called Mae over speakerphone. We needed to update her on what was about to land in her lap.

“Hello, Hodge, I’m here with Ellis,” Rebecca answered quickly.

“We’ve found Rachel,” I said loudly. “Polly and Rachel are now on their way to the station in separate cars. I need you ready to meet them both.”

“That’s excellent news!” Mae exclaimed with relief.

“Polly left here first, so take her straight to an interview room,” I continued. “I’ve told a PC that’s with Rachel to get a medical team to the station to examine her, so keep an eye out for them too. I don’t know where Anita is, but make sure she doesn’t see either Polly or Rachel until Rachel has been cleared.”

“No problem, sir,” Mae answered. “Anita is in an interview room with some PCs and Nadia is currently questioning Olivia in another one. I’ll make sure it keeps that way until we get Polly into another room.”

“Ta, Hodge,” I responded appreciatively. “See you soon.”

Rebecca hung up her phone, then pocketed it. “I don’t think the medical team will find anything wrong with Rachel,” she said pointedly as she sat back in her seat. “Polly wanted to be with her daughter, she wasn’t going to hurt her.”

“People can do shocking things when they’re desperate, Rebecca,” I replied. “I think Rachel is alright too, but I’m not going to just trust that without the advice of medical professionals.”

“I know, I’m just saying my opinion,” Rebecca sighed.

I grumbled. “There have been times in the past when you’ve scolded me for showing sympathy to the wrong people, yet here you are sympathising with a woman who put a mother and child through absolute hell.”

“Do you really not have any sympathy toward Polly at all?” Rebecca asked in disbelief.

“Aye, I’m sad she went through the pain of losing a child, but that doesn’t mean it’s alright for her to take someone else’s!” I snapped.

“But that isn’t someone else’s child, not really,” Rebecca retorted. “As messed up as it is, Rachel is Polly’s daughter.”

“So that makes kidnapping acceptable, does it?” I queried sarcastically.

Rebecca swore. “You’re impossible at times.”

I readied myself to throw a retort at her but stopped when my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and saw Elijah’s name flash across it. The moment I saw his name, I instantly thought of Lylah. I felt guilty that I’d been so absorbed in the case that I hadn’t given a second thought to how she’d been all day.

I quickly hit accept. “Hello, Smith.”

“Hey, sir!” Elijah exclaimed with his usual high level of energy. “How is the case going?”

“The good news is we found Rachel, the bad news is this case is seriously messed up,” I answered.

“What do you mean?” Elijah asked. “Wha–”

“Enough about the case for now,” I cut him off. “How is Lylah?”

“She’s doing good today, sir,” Elijah answered happily. “We’ve spent a few hours going around to different therapists, and she found a woman she really likes. In fact, she’s with her now. She got Lyles in right away.”

“How does she seem?” I pressed. “Has she been really tired? Has she eaten?”

I was surprised to hear Elijah chuckling in response. “It’s sweet how much you care, sir, but I promise you she’s okay! She’s a bit tired, so I told her I’d take her home once her session is over, but she’s really filled with determination today. I know she wants to get better.”

I suddenly remembered how she was that morning, and how she’d said the exact same thing to me. While it would have been easy to assume she was putting on a front, I knew Lylah. I could taste her sincerity a mile away.

The Lylah we all knew and loved was slowly coming back. I couldn’t have been any happier about that.

“I can’t thank you enough for being there for her, Smith,” I said gratefully. “We should be closing this case today, so I’ll be able to spend a lot more time with her from now on, but it’s been much easier focusing on Rachel knowing that you’ve been there to look after Lyles.”

“Never thank me for looking after a friend, sir,” Elijah answered. “I know she would do the same for me. But now… tell me more about this case! Lylah has been asking about it nonstop, so I know she’ll be happy to know that Rachel has been found!”

For the next ten minutes, I went through everything we’d found out. It was no surprise that, like us, he was in complete shock over it all. This was a case we’d all be talking about for some time. As soon as Elijah was off the phone, I looked at Rebecca.

“I don’t want you thinking I’m siding with a criminal because I’m really not,” Rebecca said defensively. “I just meant I feel a bit bad for her. That’s all.”

I ran my hand harshly over my thicker than usual stubble before replying. “And I don’t want you thinking I’m a heartless arsehole either. I do feel for the woman, of course I do, but she’s done herself no favours.”

“That we can agree on,” Rebecca responded.

We eventually made it to the station, and I parked up close to the front door. No one else was outside, so I assumed everyone was already placed where they needed to be.

Rebecca and I exited my car and made our way through the station’s entrance and up into our department. I pushed the door open and saw Mae pacing the room frantically. When she saw us, she immediately ran over.

“Hodge,” I said with a curt nod. “Where is everyone?”

“Same as they were before, sir,” Mae answered swiftly. “Anita is in interview room one with a couple of PCs. I’ve gone in a few times myself to check on her, and she seems okay.”

“What did you say to her?” I queried.

“I made her aware that we found Rachel, and that she is now undergoing some medical tests, but once we know she’s okay, they’ll be able to see each other,” Mae replied.

I nodded. “Excellent work.”

“Nadia is still questioning Olivia in interview room two, but she’ll be close to finishing now, and Polly is in interview room three,” Mae stated.

“One of the lesser used interview rooms,” Rebecca said playfully.

I snorted. We had four interview rooms here, but we only tended to use the first two. It had been a while since I’d been in one of the other rooms.

“Is the room all set up?” I inquired.

“Yes, sir, I sorted that all myself,” Mae answered.

I thanked Mae, then looked at Rebecca firmly. “Let’s get this over with.”

Rebecca nodded.

Together, we walked toward the interview room. As we did, I tried to push back the anger boiling inside of me.

Rebecca may have felt a lot of sympathy for Polly, but I felt a lot of anger. Polly may have been struggling with grief, but she’d kidnapped a child, emotionally tortured a mother, and unearthed a painful secret. Not to mention that her selfishness had kept me away from my wife in one of her hardest moments. Polly had caused a lot of harm and damage to multiple people, and I was ready to finally face her.

I just hoped, for the sake of every person she had wronged over the past few days, that she was going to answer my questions and finally allow us to put this case behind us.

28

Ipushed open the door to the interview room and saw Polly sitting in a chair anxiously. She was flanked by two PCs, who were watching her as though she might attempt to escape at any given moment. Each one’s gaze was piercing, as if their eyes alone would keep Polly confined to her chair. Earlier, I’d noted how much Rachel looked like Polly, but under the light of the interview room those physical similarities were all the more apparent. They had the exact same shade of black hair, and their green eyes were similar in shape as well as in colour. Even their lanky build was the same. There was no denying the fact that Polly and Rachel were related.

The moment I entered the room Polly turned to me with wide eyes.

“Where is my daughter?” Polly gasped.

I jerked my head toward the door. The two PCs understood my meaning and instantly left us. I took a seat opposite Polly, and Rebecca quickly sat next to me and got the interview tape sorted. I looked at my watch, started the tape, then finally turned to answer Polly.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, Miss Jones?” I asked coldly.

“You didn’t answer my question, detective,” Polly said quickly. “Where is my daughter?”

I gritted my teeth. “You’re in no position to ask me questions, Miss Jones. Not when you’ve led us all on a merry dance for over two days now.”

“All I wanted was my child,” Polly answered, sitting up straight and looking at me with bright eyes. “It’s a mother’s prerogative to do whatever she can for the sake of her child, and that’s what I did.”

“What you did was illegal and immoral,” I scoffed. “A parent’s duty is to protect their child and put their needs first. All you did was think of yourself.”

Polly looked as though I’d slapped her. “That isn’t true at all! All I thought about was Rachel.”

I growled unhappily, but Rebecca jumped in before I had the chance to answer.

“Perhaps it would be best if we heard things from your point of view, Miss Jones,” Rebecca said calmly. “Why don’t you take us back to the beginning and explain how this all happened?”

Polly shot me a dirty look before looking at Rebecca. It was almost like I was no longer in the room.

“What do you know?” Polly asked Rebecca.

“Everything,” I responded harshly.

Polly ignored me and kept looking at Rebecca. “If you know everything, then there’s hardly much point in me saying anything, now is there?”

“I would very much like to hear things from your perspective, please,” Rebecca said kindly.

Polly sighed. “Very well, but it isn’t a pleasant story.”

“I know.” Rebecca grimaced. “I’m sorry about what happened to Alice.”

Polly’s eyes started to water, and she wiped them for a few moments before she could speak. As I watched her cry, I relaxed a bit in my seat. I was angry at Polly and that wasn’t going to change, but seeing a parent cry over their deceased child was something I understood only too well. I’d seen my mother and father cry for weeks on end after my brother passed, and those memories would stay with me forever.

“They say one in every two people will end up with cancer at some point in their life,” Polly said glumly, her hands shaking on the table as she spoke. “Any time I heard that, I would always look at Alice and just hope I never got cancer. I didn’t want to leave her alone in this world, but I never dreamt she would get it.” She took a shivering breath, as though all of the warmth had exited her body. “Especially at her age.”

“I truly am sorry,” I answered, my tone now much kinder than before.

Polly looked at me in surprise before continuing. “When she was going through treatment, the tests said I wasn’t a match for her. At first, I was convinced it was a mistake, but then I had a conversation with the midwife who delivered Alice. She admitted that when Alice was born, there was a chance she’d accidentally swapped my baby with someone else’s.”

“That can’t have been easy to hear,” Rebecca sympathised.

Polly rubbed the back of her neck. “No. Not at all. The nurse repeatedly apologised to me, told me that the guilt ate away at her, that she was determined to do right by me,” Polly continued, her expression turning frosty. “I told her all I cared about was getting Alice back to good health. I didn’t want anyone else knowing I wasn’t her biological mother, and I certainly didn’t want to risk her finding out. The nurse agreed.”

Polly asked for a cup of water, and Rebecca went and grabbed her one. Polly took a few deep sips of it before she continued.

“I can’t fault the hospital when it came to Alice’s ill health, Detectives,” Polly said candidly. “They did everything they could, but the cancer was too aggressive for them to save her.”

Polly was quiet again, staring through me and Rebecca like we weren’t even there. The woman’s grief was so palpable it went right through me. It dangled on my tongue, and I could taste every part of it.

“Do you need a moment?” Rebecca offered.

Polly shook her head and wiped away some stray tears. “No. Let’s just get this over and done with.”

I nodded.

“I gave myself a bit of time to try to come to terms with everything, but once Alice’s funeral was out of the way… there was an empty space in my heart. I just couldn’t deal with it,” Polly continued flatly. It was like she had released so much emotion that there was suddenly no more left to release. “I thought about what Olivia told me, and I realised that it was now an opportunity for me. An opportunity to be a mother once more.”

“So you conducted a plan to find out where your biological child was and steal them?” I asked bluntly.

Polly cuddled herself and sighed. “Not initially. It just ended up that way.”

“Right, so what was your plan then?” I pressed.

“I just thought I’d get information about my daughter, find out where she lived, maybe speak with her mother. I-I wanted to explain everything,” Polly sighed.

I furrowed my brows. “So why didn’t you do that, Miss Jones? It would have saved us from all of this mess.”

“I forced the information out of Olivia, then drove to Anita’s address.” Polly grimaced awkwardly. “I thought I’d watch her and Rachel for a few days and figure things out, but that changed the moment I saw Rachel.”

“Why?” I pondered.

“She looked just like me, Detective, that’s why,” Polly replied. “At that moment, I saw our life together. I had to have her. I was afraid that if I tried to speak to Anita, she would try to take action. She’d make it so I could never see Rachel. I just wasn’t willing to risk that!”

“So you made a quick plan to take her?” I asked, trying and failing to keep the judgement out of my tone.

“If you want to put it that way, yes,” Polly answered.

“I’m not putting it any way, Miss Jones, I am purely stating fact,” I replied. “You went from going to speak to Anita about Rachel, to stalking the family and stealing Rachel away from Anita. You did it the moment her back was turned, and you did everything possible to stop Rachel getting back home. You can’t sit here and tell me it wasn’t premeditated! You even went out of your way to purchase a car so we couldn’t trace anything back to you.” I sighed. “You’ve caused a lot of stress and pain to a lot of people, and for what?”

Polly had the decency to look guilty. “I know it’s going to sound selfish, but I wasn’t thinking of Anita. I was only thinking of myself and Rachel.”

“I have to disagree with you, Miss Jones,” I scoffed. “The only person you thought of was yourself.”

“Let’s try to keep to the facts,” Rebecca interjected quickly.

I nodded while Polly simply huffed.

I knew Rebecca was right. I didn’t want us to get into a heated debate about Polly’s behaviour, so I decided to keep the questions rolling.

“As I said just now, you purchased a car from Tanya Yeager the night before you took Rachel,” I said. “You bought this car with the intent of using it to take Rachel, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Polly answered without feeling.

“So you planned on taking Rachel that day from the park, didn’t you?” I pressed.

“I won’t sit here and pretend I didn’t buy the car with the intent of protecting myself, but I wasn’t sure I was going to take Rachel that day,” she explained. “An opportunity presented itself, so I took it.”

“Well, at least you’re being honest,” I grumbled.

“There’s no sense in lying now, is there?” Polly asked bitterly. “You’ve taken Rachel away. It’s all over now.”

“How did you come by the car, Miss Jones?” I questioned.

Polly laughed harshly. “A woman I worked with kept complaining about it. She said it was an eyesore on her street, and she wanted it gone.”

I nodded, feeling satisfied with the answer. Most of my questions were now answered, but there was still one thing on my mind that I wanted to address.

“One thing we’ve found bizarre in all of this is the connection to Alex Mitchell,” I said cautiously.

Polly looked at me in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I take it the name means something to you?” I pressed.

Polly nodded warily. “Of course it does. He was the donor I used to have Alice, well, Rachel,” she corrected herself awkwardly.

“When we were trying to find Rachel we spoke to Anita,” I continued. “I was surprised she didn’t want us speaking to the press, but eventually she admitted it was because Rachel had been born via donor. She wanted to keep Rachel away from him.” I hesitated as I stretched out in my chair. “The ironic thing is, when we compared Rachel’s DNA to Alex’s and Anita’s, she was a match to Alex, but not to Anita. That’s how we knew we had to find out who Rachel’s biological mother was.”

Polly gaped at me in shock. “Anita used Alex as her donor, too? He told me I was the only woman in York he’d helped!”

“Aye. Our investigation revealed that Alex has been far from honest with you ladies,” I said. “He was telling people he’d fathered only a handful of children, but in reality he was offering his sperm to multiple women. It’s very likely he has dozens, if not more, kids out there.”

Polly rubbed her neck, her eyes looking bloodshot from the emotional blow. “When you came to my door, I was convinced Olivia went to the police about what she knew. I never thought you found me because of Alex. He seemed like a good man. I can’t believe he was lying to so many people.” She hesitated for a few moments, then looked at me with teary eyes. “That means Alice and Rachel were half-siblings!”

“Aye, it does,” I answered.

Polly was quiet for a moment, needing the time to let the information sink in. Eventually, she was ready to speak again. “Does this mean Anita knows that Rachel is my daughter?”

I chewed my cheek thoughtfully. “She is aware that Rachel isn’t her biological daughter, but that’s all she knows so far.”

To my surprise, Polly pulled a guilty expression. “I hate that she found out this way.”

I scoffed. “She found out this way because of you, Miss Jones, because you went out of your way to steal Rachel and start this awful chain of events!”

“I know, I know,” Polly sighed. “I’m sorry for the hurt I’ve caused people, really I am, but I have no regrets.”

“Really?” I asked in disbelief.

“No mother should be without a child,” Polly said passionately. “I would do it all over again given the chance.”

I stood from my seat, looking at her in annoyance. “No mother should be without their child, and yet you took Anita’s away from her.”

I ended the interview, then started to walk away, but I hesitated when Rebecca started speaking to Polly.

“How much did you tell Rachel?” she asked.

“Everything,” Polly answered boldly. “She deserved to know the truth.”

I tutted. “Rachel is a child, Miss Jones. Thanks to you, she and her mother are going to be emotionally ruined for the rest of their lives.”

Polly called after me, but I ignored her as I stormed out of the room. I only hesitated when she loudly asked me a question, sounding frightened for the first time since I’d entered the room.

“How long will I be arrested for, detective?”

I turned to her. My dark eyes pierced into Polly’s scared green ones as I answered. “That will depend on many things, Miss Jones. The main thing you need to pray for is that Anita has a generous heart. If she doesn’t, she can ensure you’re locked away for a long, long time.”

I exited the room, Rebecca close behind, and asked the PCs to take Polly away. We walked away from the room, and I didn’t look back.

Polly was now at the mercy of the woman she’d wronged. Unfortunately, I knew from experience that a woman scorned was unlikely to act favourably toward the person who had wronged her.

29

Iwalked into my department and saw Nadia had joined Mae. Nadia looked worn out, but she smiled deeply the moment she caught my eye.

“Congratulations on finding Rachel, you two!” Nadia praised. “Excellent work.”

I thought I’d be happy now that the case was at an end, but the results had left me feeling anything but joyful. The criminal behind everything was a woman struggling with her own grief. The child was now likely suffering from an identity crisis, and had no idea where to turn, and a mother had been forced to face the reality that the child she’d been desperately trying to get back home wasn’t even hers. Even worse, I still hadn’t informed Anita that her biological child was no longer with us. It was hard to feel satisfied with a case when it had such an unhappy ending.

“Ta, Nadia, but it was a team effort,” I answered earnestly. “Finding Rachel wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s contribution.”

“Did Polly have much to say for herself?” Mae asked.

“She admitted to everything, but she still didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of what she did,” I answered as I shook my head in dismay.

“She’s been through a lot though,” Nadia whispered.

I turned to look at her. “Christ, not you as well!”

Nadia looked confused.

Rebecca snorted. “I made the grave error of empathising with Polly too.”

“Ah, makes sense,” Nadia said with a weak smile.

“Enough sympathy for that woman,” I sighed. “Look, I hate what she’s been through, but I hate even more how she dealt with it. How did things go on your end, anyway?”

“Olivia is in a holding cell while we get everything finished, but she was honest about everything,” Nadia answered.

“It’s a bit too late for that,” I growled. “If she’d confessed to her mistake years ago, none of us would be dealing with this right now.”

“I know,” Nadia said with a sad sigh. “I guess only time will tell how much that mistake will affect the rest of her life.”

I nodded, feeling no form of sympathy whatsoever for Olivia. With cases like hers, it was always impossible to know how things would pan out. She’d probably get a short prison sentence, but I had a feeling she would also be stripped of her licence and never be able to work as a nurse again.

“Where are Anita and Rachel?” I inquired.

“A PC took home Anita,” Mae responded quickly. “She was worried Rachel would be hungry, so she asked if she could go home and get some food prepared for her. Rachel was still with the medical team, but they just called to say they’re bringing her up. They said she seemed okay, no damage.”

Maybe not physical, but the psychological damage will probably be beyond repair, I thought to myself sadly.

“Good,” I replied. “We can get Rachel back home the moment she gets here.”

Luckily, we didn’t need to wait long. No sooner had I finished my sentence did the door open to reveal the female PC and Rachel. The PC said a hurried goodbye before leaving Rachel with us.

I looked down at Rachel with a smile. “Ready to go home, Rachel?”

Rachel cuddled her bear close to her chest as she nodded.

I grimaced sadly at the girl, then gently escorted her out of the building. Once we were outside, Rebecca turned to me.

“I’ll sit in the back with Rachel,” she offered.

I thanked her, then climbed into the front. I got myself ready to leave, then looked at Rachel in the wing mirror. “Got your seatbelt on, Rachel?”

Rachel simply nodded.

“Good girl,” I smiled. “You’re in a detective’s car, so we can’t be breaking any laws, now can we?”

The joke didn’t make Rachel smile in the least, so I put my focus back on the road and started driving to Anita’s house. As I drove, an overwhelming feeling of dread hit me. All I could think about was Anita’s biological child, and the inevitable questions she might ask. How was I supposed to tell someone that the child they brought into the world was dead?

I shuddered at the thought and hoped neither Rebecca nor Rachel noticed.

After an annoyingly quick journey, I parked up outside of Anita’s house for the final time. I quietly exhaled before I turned to face Rachel.

“Ready to go and see your mum?” I asked gently. “I bet she can’t wait to see you.”

Rachel simply cuddled her bear and looked toward the house nervously.

I exited the car, opened the door for her, and was surprised when she didn’t get out.

“Is everything alright?” I inquired tenderly.

Rachel put her face into the neck of her bear. “Do you think mummy will be mad at me?”

I bent down so that we were eye-level. “Of course not! Why would she?”

“Mummy always told me not to talk to strangers, but I didn’t listen,” Rachel said worriedly.

I chuckled lightly. “Trust me, Rachel. All your mum is going to care about is that you’re home.” I held out my hand to her. “I’ll be with you every step of the way, alright?”

Rachel still looked worried, but she took my hand and allowed me to help her out of the car. I held her hand as we walked toward the front door while Rebecca trailed just behind us. We reached the door, and just as I raised my free hand to knock, the door flew open to reveal Anita standing in the doorway.

The moment her eyes fell on Rachel, she burst into tears. “Oh! My baby girl!”

Anita bent down and pulled Rachel into a hug. Anita continued to cry as she hugged Rachel, but Rachel showed no emotion. After a while, Anita pulled back and looked at Rachel nervously.

“What’s wrong?” Anita asked.

“Please don’t be angry with me, Mummy,” Rachel said glumly. “I’m so sorry. I know you said not to talk to strangers, and I didn’t listen.”

“Oh, my darling!” Anita exclaimed tearfully as she pulled Rachel in for another hug. “I could never, ever be mad at you, my sweet girl.”

I watched awkwardly as the two continued to hug. After a few seconds, Rachel let down her defences and finally hugged her mother back. As they hugged, I could sense a lot of pain as well as a lot of relief in that embrace. Both of them would be on a long road to recovery after what they’d been put through.

Anita looked up at me, her arms still tightly wrapped around Rachel. “I’m so sorry for the way I’ve been toward you,” she said guiltily. “You told me you’d get my girl back. I never should have doubted you.”

“You have nothing to apologise for,” I answered.

She smiled at me, then slowly stood up. She placed her hands on Rachel’s shoulders and escorted her in the house. Rachel followed her lead cautiously.

As they walked inside, Anita turned back to face Rebecca and me. “Please come in and get yourselves comfortable.”

We thanked her, then entered the house. I gently closed the door behind us and watched as Anita led Rachel delicately into the dining room.

“I made some dinner, sweetheart,” Anita whispered. “Are you hungry?”

“I’m okay, my other mummy made me something earlier,” Rachel responded.

The colour drained from Anita’s face. From her reaction, Rachel might as well have hit her. Anita looked like she’d been kicked in the stomach. I could tell Anita was devastated by those words, and at a loss of what to say, so I quickly stepped in.

“Rachel has had a stressful couple of days,” I said calmly. “Perhaps you should get her to bed, then you and I can then have a chat?”

Anita continued to look heartbroken, but she eventually nodded. She took Rachel upstairs, so I beckoned Rebecca to follow me into the living room. As we waited for Anita to join us, we got comfortable on a sofa and patiently waited. I tried to avoid looking at the many photos of Rachel and Anita around the room. I’d only feel guilty if I glanced at them. The two of them were innocents, thrust into a world of agony thanks to the mistake of one woman.

After ten minutes, Rebecca stood up from the sofa. “I’m just going to make us some tea. I feel like Anita will need some when she joins us.”

“Aye, that’s a good idea.”

Rebecca shortly returned with our tea and Anita joined us a few minutes later. I looked at her face as she entered the room, and the colour was still drained from it. It was like staring at a snowman.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Anita said solemnly. “I tried to get that cuddly bear off of Rachel, but she wouldn’t let go of it.” She paused, and I knew she was trying and failing to hold back a wave of tears. “She just kept saying her other mum got it for her.”

Rebecca stood up from her chair and helped Anita get into her own. Once Anita was sat, Rebecca passed her a cup of tea. Anita took it gratefully, and Rebecca joined me once more on the sofa.

“I can’t imagine how difficult and confusing this must be for you both,” I said sympathetically. “Just so you’re aware, we do have support teams available that can help you get through this. I’ll leave you their numbers before we go.”

“Right now, I want to know everything, detective,” Anita said emotionlessly. “I need to understand what happened when Rachel was born and how it’s led to everything that happened these past few days.”

I took a long sip of tea to prepare myself before I began. “I will make this as short and thorough as I can. We discovered that on the day Rachel was born, the midwife was in charge of the care of your daughter, and the daughter of Polly Jones. A mistake was made by the midwife, and she managed to mix up your children.”

“Meaning I took home Polly’s child and vice versa?” Anita queried in a surprisingly calm tone.

“Aye,” I answered. “Polly found out only recently. She discovered the name of her biological child. She insisted that her initial plan was to speak to you and see if you would consent to her building a relationship with Rachel, but once she saw Rachel and realised how similar they were… it pushed her to take Rachel for herself. Polly feared you might deny her access, and she wasn’t willing to take that risk.”

Anita’s lip curled up in revulsion. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe any of it.” She took a long sip of her tea. “Some serious words need to be had with that midwife for doing such an awful thing.”

“The midwife in question is in a holding cell,” I said reassuringly. “She will be taken to court. They will decide an appropriate punishment for her.”

Anita laughed coldly. “What punishment is good enough for a woman who ruined the lives of so many people?”

“I agree with you,” I said. “Olivia did a terrible, selfish thing. She will have to live with that for the rest of her life.”

Anita nodded swiftly. She took another sip of her tea—slower this time—before looking at me with wide eyes. “So the child I gave birth to has been living with Polly?”

Here it comes, I thought. The moment you’ve been dreading.

“Aye, she… was,” I answered.

Anita stroked her mug thoughtfully. “If Polly is likely going to prison, what will happen to her daughter? Does she have anyone to stay with?” She hesitated nervously. “If she doesn’t… I’d be willing to take her in.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Alice is dead.”

Anita almost dropped her mug, but she quickly caught it. “How is that possible? Please don’t tell me that horrid woman hurt her!”

I shook my head. “Unfortunately Alice had leukaemia. She died from it a month ago or so.”

Anita’s pale face went even paler. She put the mug down and wiped tears off of her face. “Jesus, what is wrong with me!”

“There’s nothing wrong with getting emotional over a dead child,” I said compassionately.

“It isn’t that, detective,” Anita said candidly. She wiped more tears away and muttered to herself irritably before continuing. “How am I grieving a child that was never mine to begin with?”

I felt at a loss for words as I watched Anita struggle to hold back her tears. I tried to put myself in her shoes, but the situation was so unique. The woman had found out that another child was hers and that the child in question was dead—all in the same day. It was a hell of a lot to take in.

“After you told me that Rachel wasn’t mine, I can’t deny I thought about my child,” Anita said quietly. “I wondered where she was, if she was happy, and if I’d ever get the chance to meet her.” She inhaled deeply. “I guess now I know.”

“If it’s any consolation, Alice was adored by Polly,” Rebecca whispered. “She devoted herself to that child and was at the hospital with her every day when she was unwell.”

Anita smiled weakly as she rubbed at her red face. “At least the person who took her home treated her right.” The smile slipped off her face. “Even if Polly did end up being a monster.”

“How you feel is perfectly valid,” I concurred. “What Polly did was wrong, and I can assure you she will be punished for it.”

Anita shuffled forward in her chair. She looked torn, but after a few seconds she spoke. “Do you have a photo of Alice?”

“I do,” Rebecca said quickly. “I can show you.”

Rebecca found the photo, then passed her phone to Anita. Anita looked at Rebecca’s phone, and barely a millisecond later, she was clutching her mouth in surprise.

“She looked just like me!” Anita exclaimed.

Rebecca smiled sadly at her. “She really did.”

Anita passed the phone back to Rebecca, then wiped her eyes. “Thank you for showing me that. H-how did Polly find out the truth?”

I finished my tea and put down my empty mug before I responded. “When Alice was sick, tests revealed that she wasn’t related to Polly. The midwife who made the mistake six years ago saw Polly and Alice come into the hospital, and quickly jumped in to help them, knowing it was a possibility her mistake would be revealed.”

“So Polly only found out the truth when Alice was sick?” Anita sighed.

I nodded sadly. “Aye.”

“I can’t believe I’m feeling sympathy for that woman,” Anita whispered. “Though, I guess I was right about Alex not being involved. I hope you didn’t tell him much about Rachel? I don’t want to worry about him turning up out of nowhere on top of all of this.”

For the next few minutes, I told Anita the truth about Alex, including the number of women he’d helped have children and the fact that he’d kidnapped one of them and was looking at life in prison. As I spoke, Anita’s face looked more and more shocked. Once I’d finished, she looked flabbergasted, and it took her a while to find the words.

“I honestly don’t know what to say,” she said timidly. “I didn’t want him involved in Rachel’s life, but I had no idea what sort of man he truly was.”

“I know it’s difficult to hear, but you need to know the truth,” I said seriously. “Rachel has god only knows how many half-siblings, which means you’ll have to be very careful who you allow her to develop relationships with.”

“I thought this couldn’t get any worse.” Anita put her head in her hands. “My poor girl. She is going to have such a difficult life now.”

I grimaced sympathetically.

Anita looked at me through her fingers. “Is there anything else you want to throw at me, Detective?”

“There’s one last thing I thought you’d want to know,” I said honestly.

Anita sighed dejectedly. “Go on.”

“Our investigation revealed to us that Polly also used Alex as a donor, so Alice and Rachel would have been half-siblings,” I explained.

Anita’s brows rose in surprise. “That is… wild.”

“As I said, you’ll have to be very careful with Rachel. This is further proof of the number of children that man has running around,” I said.

Anita nodded. “So what happens now?” she asked nervously.

“We’ll give you time to adjust, give you people to talk to, then whenever you’re ready, you can come to the station and press charges against Polly,” I said with authority. “That will start the ball rolling, and then we can get Polly sentenced.”

Anita went quiet again, and I could tell she was deep in thought.

“Do you think I should press charges?” Anita asked.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. “Aye, of course.”

Anita rubbed her forehead. “I need time to think about all of this.”

“What is there to think about?” I questioned firmly. “Polly kidnapped your child and put you through hell these last two days.”

“I know,” Anita said quickly. “But she’d just lost her child. My child.” She sighed. “It’s no wonder she wanted to get to Rachel. She must have been desperate.”

“It is completely up to you,” Rebecca said kindly.

“But Polly should still be punished,” I said curtly, causing Rebecca to shoot me a dirty look.

“I’ll put a great deal of thought into this, detectives,” Polly said glumly. “We share this experience. Our children were switched, and we share the pain of what Alex put us through.” She hesitated and bit her lip. “I won’t ever forgive her for what she’s done to me, but there’s a lot to consider.”

While I didn’t agree, I knew it wasn’t my place to comment, so I simply nodded. I then rose from my chair as Rebecca did the same.

“We will leave you to your thoughts,” I said impassively. I got a piece of paper out of my pocket, found a pen on the side, and wrote down a few numbers for Anita. “These are people who can offer you different forms of support. I would seriously recommend you take advantage of them.”

Anita thanked me, then walked us to the front door. She hesitated as she opened the door and turned to us. “I have no idea what to do now,” she sighed. “Rachel thinks she has two mothers, and technically she does. I can’t tell her off for calling Polly her mum, but I can’t stomach it either.”

I touched her shoulder reassuringly. “One of our teams will be able to guide you through these difficult choices, Anita. There is no right or wrong answer.”

Anita sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

Rebecca and I exited Anita’s house, and I approached my car with a heavy heart. Polly had caused Rachel a great deal of confusion by telling her the truth, and while Rachel deserved to know it, she was too young to understand it either.

I just had to hope that this case wouldn’t leave Anita and Rachel emotionally scarred for the rest of their lives.

30

There was a heavy silence in the car between Rebecca and I as we drove back to the station. We weren’t naturally emotional people, so it was a testament to how emotional this case was that we were as drained as we were.

A deceased child, a grieving parent, an immoral donor, and families that would likely never recover. It was a lot for one case, so it was no wonder we were so affected by it.

“It was decent of Anita to show a level of compassion toward Polly,” Rebecca suddenly declared.

I pulled myself out of my negative thoughts and turned to look at her. “Like Anita said, as much as she probably doesn’t like it, the two women are bizarrely connected for life.” I turned to flick my indicator on and took the next turn. “She’s likely worried about Rachel too. It seemed like she was starting to connect with Polly, so that puts her in a difficult position.”

“An impossible position,” Rebecca sighed.

I grunted. “Let’s just get to the station and get things tied up as much as we can.”

“I can handle things if you want to get home, you know,” Rebecca offered. “Just drop me off at the station and you can go.”

I shook my head. “Nah, it’s fine. It shouldn’t take the four of us long.”

Rebecca looked at me with pursed lips. I readied myself for her retaliation, but she left me surprised when she turned away without a word.

We soon arrived back at the station. I followed Rebecca out of the car and into our department, where I was happy to see both Nadia and Mae sitting at their desks working. When we opened the door, they both turned to us.

“How did things go?” Nadia asked.

“Not the best,” I grumbled. “We have a child who now doesn’t know who to call mother and a mother who feels like they’ve had the carpet pulled right out from under them.”

Nadia pulled a sympathetic expression while Mae drooped her shoulders in sorrow.

I clapped my hands together. “Listen, it’s getting late, so let’s just get this case as done as we possibly can before we go home.”

“We’ve been sorting a few loose ends already, sir,” Mae answered. “It shouldn’t take me much longer to finish my paperwork.”

“Same here,” Nadia interjected. “I’ve just finished writing up my interview.”

“Excellent work!” I praised. “I’ll get my own paperwork done. With any luck, we’ll be done within the next hour. Have we heard anything from Nottingham regarding Alex? It will be good to know before I start my notes.”

Nadia nodded. “We had an email from their DI earlier. It didn’t provide much more information than we already had, but she wanted our opinion on something.”

“Oh?”

“She’s thinking of going to the press with information on Alex. She feels it’s the best way of getting women to come forward,” Nadia continued. “Personally, I think she’s right, but I didn’t want to respond until I’d spoken with you two.”

I turned to Rebecca. “What do you think?”

Rebecca crossed her arms. “I think she has to take this to the press, don’t you? We already know Alex gave his specimen to various places throughout the UK, so we need as many people alerted about this as possible.”

“Aye, I agree,” I responded. “It’s the quickest way to get the information out there.” I looked at Nadia. “Reply to her email. Say our team gives her our full support to go ahead with this.”

Nadia swivelled her chair toward her computer and started typing instantly.

I left the others and made my way to my office, keen to get my paperwork finished so I could get home. Unfortunately, my estimate of an hour was too optimistic, and I wasn’t finished with my notes until almost two hours later. Once I’d finally finished, I stretched out tiredly in my seat and internally berated myself for not thinking to get a coffee before I started. I then pushed myself out of my chair and joined the others. No sooner did I enter the department did I see Rebecca standing and stretching out of her own chair.

“How are we all getting on?” I inquired.

“We’ve done as much as we can for tonight,” Rebecca said tiredly. “I have a few more bits to do, but I’ll sort that in the morning.”

“Understood,” I responded before turning to face the others. “How’re you two getting on?”

“All done!” Nadia declared happily.

“It’s taking me longer than I thought,” Mae grumbled. “I’m staying here tonight though, so at least I’ll be able to get it done.”

“Great work, everyone,” I said. “I know this case had more turns than a roundabout, but we did well and we should be proud of ourselves for that.”

The others happily accepted the compliment. I then cleared my throat loudly and addressed the team once more. “On a final… and more personal note, I just want to thank you all for the support and kindness you’ve shown me and Lylah these past few months. I know it hasn’t been easy, particularly for her, and it means the world to both of us to have you all.” I hesitated as I took in the women’s emotional faces. Even Mae’s hard exterior showed signs of cracks. “Now that this case is done, I’ll be returning home to support my wife again. I know I was gone a while before this case, but Lylah will always be my priority and I need to stay by her side until she gets better.”

To my surprise, Rebecca came over and pulled me into a gentle hug. “You never need to thank us or explain yourself to us, Sean,” she said softly. “Do what you have to do, and we will hold the fort here until you get back.”

“I concur, sir,” Mae responded. “Lylah is family to us as much as she is to you. We’ll cope here until you’re ready to come back with her.”

“You know I’m here to help with Craig until Lylah is up to it,” Nadia offered kindly. “After all, what else is a godmother for?”

I thanked them all, then knew it was time to go. I’d been away from Lylah long enough.

I made it to my flat, and an immediate sense of panic hit me when it came into view. There were numerous vehicles parked in front of my flat, more than I’d seen in a long time, and I didn’t know why. Once I was near, I recognised one was my mother’s and one was Faye’s.

Had something happened to Lylah again? Had Elijah called my family for help? Maybe he hadn’t wanted to bother me since he knew I was trying to find Rachel.

I tried and failed to push the worried thoughts out of my mind as I parked my car up along the road. I hastily got out of my car, locked it, then charged toward the front door and shoved it open with a bang. Once inside, I looked around frantically and started calling out.

“Hello!” I exclaimed. “Where is everyone?”

“In here, Dad!” Faye’s voice called from the living room.

I hurried toward her voice, then froze at the sight in front of me. Faye was there with my mother and Elijah, but it was the image next to them all that caused me to truly stop in my tracks.

Lylah was standing there, cradling Craig in her arms.

Lylah looked up and caught my eye. Although she held Craig stiffly and her body seemed filled with nerves, she offered me a small smile. “Look, my love, I’m holding him!”

I walked over slowly and stroked her face. “This is great, darling!”

I bent down and kissed Craig’s head. Craig giggled happily as my lips touched him.

“She’s been great!” Mum said happily, looking at us all with a big smile. “She’s a real natural with him.”

Although I knew my mother well enough to know she was simply trying to boost Lylah’s confidence, I smiled at her appreciatively before gazing into Lylah’s eyes. “There was never any doubt in my mind that she would be.”

Elijah stepped over and patted me roughly on the back. “Why don’t I grab a menu, eh?” he asked joyfully. “I feel like celebratory takeaway is just what this moment needs! Your treat of course, sir.”

I snorted as I winked at him. “Aye, sounds good to me.”

Everyone laughed and got to work. Faye and my mother went to extend the table so we could all fit, and Elijah went off to find a menu. When they were gone—leaving just me, Lylah, and Craig—I pulled Lylah close to me.

“How did it go today, darling?”

Up close I was able to see how tired Lylah looked, but when she smiled at me, her energy lifted. “Hard, but worth it. It’s going to be a long process, Sean, but I’m willing to put the work in for my two boys.”

I kissed Lylah on the lips, then held my wife and son close to my chest. While I knew our problems were far from over, I was filled with hope and optimism for our future once more. Lylah was already showing progress, and my family was rallying around us like I always knew they would.

The case may have ended in a bittersweet way, but now that I was back with Lylah, it was hard to feel anything but delighted. She and Craig were my entire world, and I was happy to invest my time and energy into them both again. I would miss work, but that could wait for another few weeks, months, or however long it took for Lylah to be better.

I loved being a DCI, but I knew that the next time I walked through those station doors, it would be with Lylah by my side, working together as a professional team once more.

Just as things should be.

EPILOGUE

Siobhan looked at me like I wasn’t real. Her mouth was open so wide I was surprised it wasn’t hitting the floor.

“Are you okay?” Lylah asked Siobhan cautiously.

Siobhan slowly closed her mouth. “Yes. Sorry. I just didn’t expect, well, any of that!”

“Neither did we,” I answered. “Needless to say, we were left shocked.”

“I bet! I can’t believe what you said about that Alex person.” She shook her head with disgust. “What he was doing… ugh, how awful!”

“I know, and many of those children are still dealing with what he did now,” Faye said unhappily. “All of those people walking around, likely scared of getting close to anyone in case they could be related.”

Siobhan shuddered in revulsion. “It’s really awful! Please tell me that he got punished?”

I smiled. “Aye, he did!”

“What happened?” she asked eagerly.

“It became a massive story,” I explained. “The Nottinghamshire police alerted the press, then suddenly dozens and dozens of women came forward with their stories.”

“Some even from as far as Scotland!” Lylah exclaimed.

Siobhan looked even more bewildered. “Wow. He really got about, didn’t he?”

I snorted. “Aye, that’s one way of putting it.”

“It was quite powerful in the end,” Lylah said passionately. “All of the women he lied to rallied together and created support groups. They even made campaigns for stronger laws on donors. It was incredible.”

“It’s impossible to say how many women he gave his sperm to,” I said. “To this day he won’t admit it, but evidence shows that at least one hundred children were born.”

Siobhan shook her head and pulled Stacey closer to her. The girl cuddled her mum, but looked up at us in confusion. I was glad this particular information was going over Stacey’s head.

“Why did he do it? That’s what I can’t seem to understand,” Siobhan pondered.

“We’ll never truly know,” I answered bitterly. “He said it was because he wanted to help those women, but it’s more likely that he was an egotistical arsehole.”

“What happened with Polly?” Siobhan asked worriedly after a brief silence. “Did she get arrested?”

I rubbed my neck sheepishly. “Aye, she did, but the sentence was relatively short. Before you ask, I have no idea where she is now or if she’s had any contact with Anita and Rachel since her release. Honestly, I highly doubt it.”

Siobhan frowned. “Oh, that’s a shame. I hoped you were going to say the women ended up raising the child together or something.”

I shrugged. “Maybe they did.”

“This is the sort of man who cuts himself off rather quickly from cases once they’re solved. He doesn’t want to get too personally involved,” Faye said. “At least… most of the time.”

I felt her piercing look burn into the side of my head, so I avoided looking in her direction. The truth was, Faye was right. I always tried to shut myself off from a case once it was finished, but now that we were on the topic of Polly, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened with her. Had she been able to establish some form of relationship with Rachel? Or had Anita worked hard to stop Polly from getting anywhere near her daughter? I was curious to know and made a mental note to look into things once I’d finally solved my serial killer case.

As Faye continued to glare at me—she was clearly still seething over my fixation with exonerating Larry—I knew it was best to get things moving before she started another argument with me in front of these two innocent bystanders.

“We best be off, anyway,” I said curtly. “Keep a better eye on your daughter, alright?”

Siobhan’s cheeks shone pink. “Of course! Thank you so much for your help and for the fascinating story! It’ll definitely stay with me.”

I nodded at her, then started to walk away. Faye and Lylah soon followed, and the three of us walked in silence. At the car, Faye locked eyes with me, a stern expression on her face.

“I stand by what I said before, Dad,” Faye sighed. “I can’t allow you to get involved in an investigation you’ve been told to stay away from.”

I huffed impatiently. “Come on, love! You can’t be serious.”

“I’m your daughter, aren’t I?” Faye snapped. “Since when do we joke about things like this?”

I swore under my breath as I squeezed the bridge of my nose. “Please, love. Let’s just get in the car and talk about all of this.”

Faye glanced at Lylah—clearly hoping for her support—but when Lylah remained silent, Faye continued. “There’s nothing to talk about, Dad. You know damned well I can’t go against a superior’s command.”

I moved closer to Faye and gripped her hands tightly. I looked into her eyes, widening my own in desperation. “Nadia has known you practically your entire life, Faye,” I said. “She may be your boss, but I was once hers. I know for a fact your job wouldn’t be at risk if you helped me.” I hesitated as I gripped her hands even tighter. “If she tried for one second to demote you or fire you, you know I’d walk through heaven and earth to get it back for you! I love you, Faye, and right now I need you to put your complete and utter trust in me, alright?”

Faye sighed. “But Dad, I⁠—”

“Please, love,” I interrupted. “You know me more than most people. Would I really be putting so much on the line if I wasn’t completely certain of this?”

Faye pulled away, no longer looking into my eyes. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Exactly, love!” I said passionately. “I know Larry is innocent, and it’s our duty to protect the innocent, is it not?”

Faye hissed in a breath through her teeth irritably. “Yes, it is.”

“Then please, love, please do the right thing and get us to that station!” I exclaimed. “We have to do right by those girls! We have to ensure that the right person is locked away for their murder.”

Faye didn’t move or speak for a few seconds. The lines on her forehead furrowed, and I knew she was deep in thought. After a while, she glanced at Lylah. “What do you think about all this?”

Lylah stood up tall. “I’m as uncomfortable with this as you are, Faye, but your father hasn’t steered us wrong before. I’m putting my faith in him one more time.”

I grabbed Lylah and kissed her. “Ta, my love.”

Faye swore, then turned to face me. “Come on. Let’s go, then.”

I threw my arms around Faye, thanking her with every breath I took. We climbed into the car, and I expressed my affection every minute. I could barely contain my excitement. I knew I wouldn’t let Faye down.

I wouldn’t let Larry down either.

Larry was a gentle giant without a violent bone in his body. There was just no way he had it in him to viciously kill multiple women.

I was sharply pulled out of my thoughts by the sudden ringing of my phone. I fished it out of my pocket and felt my blood run cold when I saw that it was Nadia.

“Christ, it’s Nadia,” I said hesitantly.

Faye turned to me with a concerned look.

“Answer it, for God’s sake,” Lylah said. “She’s our friend, at the end of the day. She’ll hear us out.”

I bit my lip, not sharing the same optimism as Lylah. There was no denying that Nadia was one of the best friends I’d ever had, but she was also dedicated to her job. Plus, she’d always followed each rule by the letter, so the thought of her suddenly changing her ways seemed unlikely.

I exhaled deeply, then answered my phone.

“Nadia,” I said, my voice a little strangled. “Good to hear from you.”

“Hey Sean,” Nadia sighed. “Are you okay? I’ve just been informed by a PC that you got attacked at the pub.”

“Aye, I’m alright,” I answered. “You know me. A criminal is going to have to get out of bed much earlier than that if they think they’re going to get the drop on me.”

Nadia exhaled with relief. “Thank God you’re okay! I felt awful when I heard the news. All I kept thinking about was how I’d never forgive myself for leaving you if something bad had happened.”

“I’m alright, Nads, honestly,” I answered sincerely.

“Sorry for only now getting back to you,” Nadia replied, her tone now sounding much happier. “I saw you and a few others tried to call me, but I’d been interviewing Larry.”

My heart hammered at the mention of his name.

“Aye, that’s why I was trying to call you,” I said hurriedly. “I get what you were saying before, but I can’t get kicked off this case, Nads. You know how much it means to me and how hard I’ve⁠—”

“You have nothing to worry about now, Sean,” Nadia interrupted. “It’s all over.”

I glanced at Faye in confusion. I quickly put my phone on speaker so that Lylah and Faye could hear Nadia before answering.

“What do you mean it’s all over?” I asked in bewilderment.

“I hoped to tell you in person, but when I heard about your injury, I couldn’t wait to hear how you were,” Nadia said, her voice shaking with elation. “You’ll be happy to know that the case that’s plagued you for almost two decades is finally closed!”

“How?” I exclaimed.

“We have our killer, Sean,” Nadia said, her voice thick with emotion. “We finally have him!”

I turned and looked around at Faye and Lylah in disbelief. “Who?”

“What do you mean who?” Nadia scoffed. “It’s obvious who, surely?”

“Not to me!” I exclaimed.

Nadia sighed. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Sean, but the killer is Larry Arnold.”

I huffed. “I know you believe it’s him, Nads, but I’m certain it isn’t!”

“I know it’s a rare occurrence in life, Sean, but you’re wrong,” Nadia said sharply. “Larry Arnold is our killer, and I know because he just confessed to it.”

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR

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