Anger swells up in me. ‘Maybe you should stop inventing stories, Gil.’
She looks astounded and is finally silent.
The policewoman sits beside her, then looks up at me. ‘Why don’t you phone your wife in Paris now?’ she says. ‘Put all our minds at rest and we’ll be out of your hair.’
I lick my dry lips. ‘She’ll be in the middle of a conference,’ I say.
Burrow glances at his watch. ‘It’s almost ten in France. Quite late for a conference.’
‘They’ve probably gone to dinner,’ I say.
‘When do you expect her back?’ asks DI Burrow.
‘I don’t know.’ I stand up, determined not to take any more of this. ‘I think it’s time you all left,’ I say.
Di Burrow looks me in the eye and says softly, ‘Mr Neal, you’ve told your nanny that your wife is in France, and yet you’ve told the hospital that she is ill. Gil works at the hospital, and – just to put my mind at rest, you understand – I asked her to enquire about a conference in France. Nobody knew anything about it. So why don’t you tell us the truth?’
Gil nods at me. I feel like a deer caught in the headlights. There is nowhere else to turn. They’ve cornered me. Gil has betrayed us.
I sit back down.
‘Jo was kidnapped a few days ago,’ I say.
Gil exhales with relief; I glare at her. Burrow picks up where he left off. ‘You’ve heard from the kidnappers?’
I nod.
‘Recognise their voice?’
‘No.’
‘You’ve paid part of the ransom?’
I look at Gil. She doesn’t meet my gaze. ‘Yes.’
‘How much?’
‘A million.’
‘How did they contact you?’
‘First on Jo’s phone, then another number.’
‘Are those items that Gil found, the comic and the chocolate bar, here?’
I’m about to say no when Gil says, ‘They’re in the kitchen drawer. I’ll get them.’
I jump up. ‘This is my fucking home and I’ll get them.’ I do so, then lay them on the coffee table. ‘Probably no DNA left.’
Burrow bags them. ‘Still worth checking.’
I rub my arms. ‘He’s watching me. If he sees you, he’ll know.’
Burrow’s eyes meet mine. ‘He isn’t watching. His scare tactics keep you compliant. My job is to get her home safely. Does anyone dislike her? A patient, a co-worker?’
I close my eyes. ‘No. Everyone likes Jo.’
‘Your friend said he’s demanding two million, so he knows you have money.’
