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Maggie waited until she was sure that Beth was fast asleep before asking the question that had been nagging her throughout the day. They had picked up supper from a McDonalds and eaten it in the car. It went against all of Maggie’s home-cooked, organic principles, but Sam had insisted and Beth had been so ecstatic that Maggie wondered what Sam normally produced for her. She had been tempted to argue — arguing the toss was something she used to be good at — but exhausted by the previous few days, she was only too ready to let him take charge. Eventually they had stopped at an old-fashioned and somewhat rundown hotel a couple of miles off the motorway, which Sam said he had used before. The woman on reception — late thirties, Maggie guessed, northern accent and breasts to die for — had greeted him as if he were a long lost friend. She had flirted so outrageously with him that Maggie found herself wondering if he and she didn’t perhaps know each other from previous visits, biblically speaking even. That would also explain the fact that the blonde (dyed, of course) cow had fixed them up with a large twin-bedded room. Not that Maggie wanted a double — far from it — but the idea was to look like a proper family. As far as Maggie was concerned, parents who weren’t so old that they were beyond sex normally slept in one bed. Beth had been allocated her own small single room accessible only through theirs, which ensured the girl’s safety. The connecting door of dark stained oak also ensured their privacy, which was a damned good job as far as Maggie was concerned, because there was stuff that they definitely needed to talk about.
‘Where’s Ellie?’ Maggie finally asked after double-checking that Beth was tucked up in her bed. Already she felt responsible for the child.
Sam didn’t answer at first. And not at second either. Maggie waited. She knew he had heard her question and past experience had taught her that there wasn’t anything to be gained by hassling him. She sat on her bed, facing him, while he rocked steadily on his, eyelids half closed. She was reminded of an elephant she had seen in a wildlife park somewhere in the West Country, swaying rhythmically forwards and backwards in a state of distress. It had been standing in a sunken concrete pen whose gates were wide open. Beyond lay an expanse of green paddock, yet at no stage did the animal attempt to venture out. She had watched mesmerised for at least half an hour, willing the poor creature to escape. The sadness she had felt had been overwhelming. ‘Sam?’ she prompted.
His head twitched. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, a door creaked. Maggie turned and saw Beth standing there, little girl lost expression on her face. She blinked at them and gave a little sob.
‘Hey, what’s up, pet?’ Sam held his hands up in front of him in mock surrender. ‘Are we being too noisy?’
Beth didn’t answer. Her gaze was fixed on Maggie. Maggie had the feeling that she was being examined and found wanting.
Silence. The two adults waited for the child. ‘It was a hit-and-run,’ Beth said softly. ‘Mum was killed by a car.’
More silence. The only noise came from the water pipes. Someone somewhere was running a bath. ‘I need to spend a penny,’ Beth said.
* * *
It was like being summoned to the headmaster’s study for punishment. All six of them called in to answer for their collective misdemeanours. As they trooped in, Reid half expected Bowman to be wearing a gown and to have a cane lying ready for action on his desk. For some reason the image made him feel better. He was even tempted to smile. After all, what more did he have to lose? Early retirement would be a blessing as far as he was concerned. But he didn’t think Bowman would let him off that easily. And besides, he had called the whole team in. The silence was as thick as a Victorian smog and the tension was palpable. Even Ashcroft, who fancied himself as a hard man, looked uneasy. He had also, Reid noticed, opted to sit on the far side of the room, as far away from Reid as he could possibly get. Ashcroft’s face was redder than usual, with a sheen of sweat. By contrast Evans’ was sheet white and there was a good reason for that. Evans was the idiot who had been watching the Rogers woman when she went AWOL. Reid didn’t much rate Evans, but he felt sorry for him nevertheless. He knew what it felt like to be the centre of unwelcome attention, the scapegoat-in-waiting.
Bowman cleared his throat. ‘Let me summarise,’ he said, sweeping the room with his hawk’s eyes. ‘The situation, as I understand it, is this. We no longer know where Ms Rogers is. She left work early without being observed by us. She is not at her father’s flat and she is not at her own. In short, none of you has any idea where she might be.’
Bowman paused. No one commented, though Reid saw five heads nod. Bowman’s assessment was harsh, but you could hardly quibble with its accuracy.
Bowman turned his gaze towards Ashcroft. ‘Sergeant, I presume we are not able to trace her mobile?’
‘Correct,’ Ashcroft replied.
Sergeant! Reid tried to show no sign of minding. The game of divide and conquer had started.
‘Any credit or debit card activity, Sergeant?’
‘Not so far, sir.’
‘And what about the bomb, Sergeant? What can you tell me about that?’
‘Standard home-made incendiary device,’ Ashcroft said. ‘Detonated remotely, probably via a mobile phone.’
‘But no one killed or injured.’
‘That’s correct, sir.’ Yes, sir, no, sir, three bags full, sir. Ashcroft was brown-nosing for all he was worth.
‘How many people were in the shop when it went off?’
‘None, sir. We were lucky. No customers at that moment and no staff either. Ms Rogers was just across the road and Mrs Gupta had run out in pursuit of a girl who had stolen an apple.’
‘I see.’ Bowman spoke as if all this was new to him.
Reid had heard enough. He pulled a white handkerchief out of his pocket, shook it open and blew his nose noisily into it. Everyone looked at him, which was, of course, his intention. ‘I’m not sure “lucky” is the right word.’ He spoke
to the room at large. He hoped he sounded casual. ‘I would personally use the word “deliberate” to cover what happened.’ He returned the handkerchief to his pocket and looked around. He was gratified to see that he had everyone’s attention. ‘Assuming the person holding the mobile was in the vicinity, with a view of the shop, my guess is that he or she wasn’t interested in killing people, merely in damaging the shop.’
Bowman blew his cheeks out. ‘Are you saying that the attack on the shop has nothing to do with Ms Rogers?’
It had become a conversation between the two of them. The rest were mere onlookers.
‘I didn’t say that, sir.’ Reid wasn’t going to go down without a fight. ‘I suspect the attack on the shop has everything to do with Ms Rogers. But it must also have something to do with the girl. She came into the shop, she provoked a scene in front of Mrs Gupta and then she ran off with an apple. Mrs Gupta ran out after her and then someone detonated the bomb.’
Bowman’s fingers were steepled in front of his face. ‘Are you suggesting that the small girl’s role was to draw Mrs Gupta out of the shop?’
