How did it come to this? she thought sadly. What do I do? Let it drift on until… what? The kids leave home and we go our separate ways? Her stomach turned cold at the thought.
‘Can’t find Rachel,’ Andy said.
‘Did you try outside? She’s probably having a fag. I’ll see.’ She set off. Elise, what did Elise want? Apart from an iPad, which was more than a few quid too far.
GILL WAS READY, the team were assembled round the table. All except one.
‘Where’s Rachel?’ Gill demanded.
Janet shrugged.
‘Anyone?’ Gill said.
They sat there like a load of muppets. No one missed the briefing. Not without Gill’s express permission. The team relied on everyone carrying their weight. Absent staff led to gaps in the shared knowledge that was crucial to a well-run investigation. ‘We got her report?’
‘No,’ Andy said.
Gill shook her head, annoyed, considered sending someone to see if Rachel was having a fag, or in the canteen, but dismissed the idea. She wasn’t running a nursery. If Rachel didn’t exhibit the professionalism Gill required of her DCs then she’d be out on her ear. Gill thought the girl had more sense. Was Janet right? Was Rachel a bad fit?
‘Lads,’ Gill clapped her hands and began, ‘good work. Timeline shaping up nicely. Look at the first page. Texts and calls made and received. Now this…’ Gill pressed the remote and played part of the video recording of Sean Broughton’s witness statements.
Janet asking, When was the last time you heard from her?
Sean’s reply, I rang her just after one. She said she’d be back about half three. That’s how I knew to go round, like.
Gill paused the tape. ‘The phone records show us the call from Sean was made at ten past one when Lisa was practically home.’
‘We haven’t got cell-site location through yet,’ Mitch pointed out.
‘Accepted, but if they confirm that this call happened somewhere along the taxi route or even once she reached home, then we have an anomaly. Sean’s telling us Lisa said she’ll not be home for another hour and twenty minutes, so he bides his time and shows up at half three. Was Lisa lying to him because she wanted a bit of time to herself for some reason?’
‘Or is he lying to us?’ Janet said. ‘Maybe he was at the flat earlier.’
‘He found the body,’ Lee said. Lee had been a psychiatric nurse in his previous life. He was well qualified, both in academic terms and in experience. Gill knew he had a keen interest in the way people’s minds worked, in human behaviour.
