‘Yes and no.I mean, she dragged herself out of bed in the morning.Ate her meals, even if they were just a few bites.Went to her shifts at the store.’Miss Holloway twisted the soggy tissue between her fingers.‘But it was like there was a sheet of glass between her and the rest of the world.’
‘What about her house?Did she have to sell it?’
‘That prick boyfriend got it all in the divorce, never mind that she’d paid for half of everything...apparently when you’re a nineteen-year-old starter wife, the courts don’t give a rat’s ass.She walked away with nothing but her clothes and a pile of debt.’
‘How did she afford a house at such a young age?’
‘Inheritance from her aunt paid for the deposit, but she wasn’t on the mortgage.She didn’t earn enough, so it was just in her ex’s name.’
Ella swapped a look with her partner.Nine times out of ten, the husband did it, and clichés were clichés for a reason.‘You got her ex’s name?’
‘Ryan Grimshaw.Amber’s old house was on Lawrence Avenue, number 1213.’
She made a mental note of it.‘How was Amber after all that?’
‘Bitter as hell.Started going out more, staying out all hours doing god knows what.Coming home stinking of gin.It scared the life outta me.I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.’
Like a phone call from the hospital.Or the morgue.
‘And in between her benders?Did you notice any changes in her routine?’
Carol leaned over to a table beside her chair and snatched up a framed photo.She skimmed her thumbs over the glass affectionately and for a second, the misery on her face briefly cleared.‘Not really.Amber didn’t do a whole lot other than stare at her phone.Social media, YouTube.Loved those influencers or whatever they’re called.’
As much as Ella didn't understand influencers, she understood why a downtrodden woman would find solace in them.Ella's napkin analysis was that Amber wanted to crawl inside them and live their perfect Insta-lives instead of facing her own mess.
Ripley asked, ‘She have many friends?’
‘Not really.No one she could rely on.She had some school pals, but they ditched her when she shacked up with Ryan.’
‘What about enemies?’
Carol said nothing, just stared at that captured moment of happiness like it held the key to bringing Amber back.After a long beat, she set it aside with a shaky exhale.‘Don’t really know.It wouldn’t surprise me, but if you want names, I got none.’
Ella nodded.‘You said you didn’t know where Amber was last night.Is it normal for her to be out until the early hours?’
‘Yup.Find me a twenty-something girl who doesn’t stay out all night.’
Ella could name a few, but she let it slide.Instead, she pulled the bagged necklace from her pocket and held it up, but concealed the snowman with her hand.‘Miss Holloway, this may be difficult, but we need to confirm if this belonged to Amber.’
The effect was immediate.Carol’s face crumpled like a tin can and fresh tears spilled over onto her cheeks.
‘Oh god.Yes, that’s… her necklace.She never took it off, not since I gave it to her for her sixteenth.’She pressed a fist to her mouth.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Ella murmured.She looked at the necklace, then back at the weeping mother.‘This is going to sound strange, but did this chain ever have a figurine attached to it?’
Carol blinked at her, confusion temporarily overriding her grief.‘A figurine?No, never.Why would it?’
Ella hesitated.That twisting feeling in her gut was back in spades.She moved a little closer and revealed the attached object.‘Because we found this on the chain.When Amber was discovered.’
‘I don’t… I don’t understand.I saw that necklace two days ago and it didn’t have a snowman on it.What is this?Where did it come from?’
Ripley asked, ‘It doesn’t belong to Amber irrespective of it being on the necklace?It’s not one of her ornaments, or a childhood toy?’
‘No.Definitely not.’
Ella asked, ‘Did Amber mention meeting anyone new?A stranger, someone at work, someone she ran into?’
Carol shook her head.She was staring at the pocket where Ella had put the necklace, as if she could still see it through the fabric.‘She would have told me.We talked.We weren’t one of those households where nobody says a word to each other.If something was off, she’d have said.’
