Page 16 of Her Last Walk Home

‘Where are you, Shannon?’

Then the doorbell chimed.

There was still no word from Laura. Her mother had caught fleeting bouts of sleep throughout the night, which had increased her anger. It was now replaced with a sense of unease.

She’d got Aaron dressed and fed, and as the time ticked on, she became increasingly worried. Whenever Laura stayed out late, she always rang or texted. Always. And never had she not come home. Not that she went out often.

The doorbell rang and she felt a rush of relief. Laura was home. Forgot her key. Thank God.I’m going to kill her.

She opened the door ready to berate her daughter, then stopped.

‘Good morning. Diana Nolan?’ The tall woman on the step was wrapped in a dark jacket.

‘That’s me. Sorry. I thought you were my daughter. How can I help you?’ Diana’s anxiety flared as the two strangers looked at each other before the woman faced her.

‘Would it be all right if we came in? I’m Detective Inspector Lottie Parker and this is Detective Sergeant Boyd.’

Diana felt the blood drain from her body. She clutched the door to remain upright. ‘It’s about Laura, isn’t it? Something’s happened to her. She always rings or texts. She’s a good girl. Where is she? What’s happened?’

She led the two detectives to the kitchen because Aaron was in the sitting room. By their sombre faces she knew they hadn’t good news for her. Feeling numb to her core, she slumped onto a chair and waited for whatever they had to say.

16

The house felt claustrophobic. Too much of everything in the kitchen. The lingering odour of burned toast hung in the air, while breakfast dishes lined the draining board.

Lottie pulled out a chair and sat. Boyd stood by the door, his overcoat open, hands shoved in his trouser pockets. Diana sat opposite Lottie without offering tea or coffee.

‘Okay if I call you Diana?’

The woman nodded, face sombre, eyes ready to spill.

‘I’m so sorry to have to give you bad news, Diana. The body of a young woman was discovered this morning. There’s no easy way to say this, but I’m afraid we have reason to believe it’s your daughter, Laura.’

Diana gulped and shook her head slowly. ‘No, it’s not her. It can’t be. Honestly, it’s not Laura.’

‘I regret to say we believe it is your daughter. You or someone close to the family will have to identify the body, but we received photo ID from her bank. I’m awfully sorry, but in cases like this there are no words I can offer. Just to say you have my sympathy and we will do everything in our power to find out who did this.’

‘Did what? What happened to her?’

It seemed Diana had not heard the early-morning news. ‘Her body was found in the grounds of the cinema at Connell retail park. I’m afraid she suffered a fatal assault.’

‘That can’t be true. What would she be doing out there? That must be a good mile outside of town.’

‘It’s about a kilometre and a half from here. Was she out last night?’

‘She went into town. With a friend, she said. I was here with her son. I hardly slept, waiting for her to come home. I thought maybe she’d met someone…’

‘Her son?’ Boyd took his hands out of his pockets. He pulled out a chair and sat beside the weeping woman.

‘My grandson. Aaron. He’s nearly four.’

Lottie exhaled. Not only had a mother lost her daughter, a little boy had lost his young mother. Goddammit. ‘You said Laura went out last night. Do you know who she was meeting?’

‘She just said a friend. I think. God, I don’t know. She was secretive about things like that.’

‘Where did she go?’

‘One of the pubs, I presume. Not that she went out that often. Not since Aaron… Now that I think of it, she did say something about going for a meal.’

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