Page 6 of Her Last Breath

‘Parents reported her missing after she failed to attend three supervised visits with her children,’ DC Chan continued, her voice still belying her nerves. ‘She was due to visit on Monday the eighteenth, Thursday the twenty-first and again on Monday the twenty-fifth.’

‘Did we triangulate her mobile phone to track her movements?’

‘Her phone was switched off from 1.14 p.m. on Monday the eighteenth of August, ma’am. Last time it pinged was from her home address in St Agnes, when she sent her parents a brief text message.’

‘Yet her body was found in the River Calder near Padiham, over five miles away? Do we know how she got there? How did we follow up after the missing persons report?’

‘Uniform checked her home address on Seeley Road, in St Agnes parish. Neighbours couldn’t recall when they’d last seen her, although the guy who runs the corner shop said he saw her or someone that looks like her on the Monday morning,’ DC Chan added. ‘They also interviewed the parents and we interviewed her ex-partner, Liam Harrison.’

‘Did we check traffic camera footage, CCTV? Was she spotted anywhere after she left home?’

The room stared back at her in silence.

‘Anything significant to flag from her background?’

‘She had a history of petty crimes, mainly shoplifting,’ DC Chan offered. ‘Nothing ever reached prosecution, but she was cautioned several times. Last incident was her being accused of stealing from her own grandmother.’

‘Her grandmother reported her?’ Jane queried, surprised.

‘No, a nurse at the hospice where her grandmother was being cared for.’

‘What about the ex, Liam Harrison? What did he have to say?’

‘He denied knowing where she was,’ DC Chan said.

‘Did we check his alibi?’

‘We didn’t know for sure when Alice Rogers disappeared, ma’am.’ DC Chan’s voice sounded almost faint under Jane’s scrutiny.

Glancing at DS Johnson briefly, Jane saw the look of irritation on his face as he stared hard at the young DC. Had he dismissed her, or worse, kept her occupied with mundane tasks while he and DC Berry hoovered up the plum roles? Jane felt a pulse of guilt at using DC Chan to rile up her deputy, but let it pass.

‘The last text message she sent her parents, did we not use that as an approximate marker for her disappearance?’

Now DS Johnson interrupted, unable to take being left out any longer.

‘I think it’s pretty clear what happened here, ma’am,’ he insisted. ‘She lost her kids. She was broke, desperate. Maybe she took one last hit of something and then decided she couldn’t cope. It’s not uncommon round here.’

‘It’s not uncommon in London either. That doesn’t excuse not following up on her parents’ concerns fully.’

‘Why, because they’re some middle-class couple from Cliviger?’ he queried.

‘No, because they were right. Their daughter is dead and we have no idea where she’s been for the last two weeks, nor what happened to her.’

‘She sent a suicide note as a text message to her parents, then filled her jacket pockets with rocks and drowned herself. It’s all there in the report, plain as day.’

Jane took a moment, letting her anger subside. She didn’t want to come off as being a bitch to her team, however much her deputy was provoking her to act out in front of them.

‘Alice Rogers was a devoted mother, was getting clean and changing for the better. Let’s at least give her family the peace of mind that we aren’t dismissing their daughter’s death out of hand. I want a full report on everything we know about her, all known associates and any sightings since she disappeared. And get Liam Harrison to confirm his whereabouts from the moment Alice sent that last text message. DC Chan, I want you to collate the report for me.’

‘That’s usually Detective Sergeant—’

‘I’m asking you. That’s all, unless there are any other questions?’

The team started to move off. All except DS Johnson, who looked at her with barely concealed distaste.

‘DS Johnson, could I have a word with you in my office, please?’

Reluctantly, he followed her into the small room that he had occupied for a few weeks when acting up as DI.