Page 45 of Cross Her Heart

‘Escaped?’ I say. ‘I didn’t realise she was a prisoner.’ There I go, defending her again, as if on automatic pilot.

‘She’s not.’ She corrects herself. ‘At least, she wasn’t. But she’s attacked her probation officer and run. We need to know if she’s been in touch with you. Called you or emailed you. Anything.’

‘Why would she run?’ I sit back on the bed.

‘Have you heard from her?’ This time Bray’s sharp and I shake my head.

‘No. Nothing. Go through my phone if you want. What’s going on?’

‘Do you have a diary or calendar for the past year at home?’

‘No. My life isn’t that busy. Why do you want to know what I’ve been doing?’

‘It’s about pinning down Lisa’s movements. I’m going to need you to try your best to give us a list of times and places you’ve been with her.’

I bark out a laugh. ‘I can barely remember what I did last week, let alone every day for the last year.’

Bray doesn’t crack a smile and a weight drops in my stomach. ‘Why are you so worried about Lisa?’What’s she done?The question I’m too afraid to ask hangs in the air.

The policewoman sits on the bed beside me and I don’t know if that’s some attempt to befriend me or whether she’s simply exhausted too.

‘We searched their Elleston house again for any clues to where Ava might be now,’ she says. ‘We found Jon’s laptop there, hidden under Lisa’s mattress, and a set of keys we believe belong to a rented property in Wales.’

I glance from her to the two officers with her and they’re all looking at me as if this is supposed to make sense. I frown. ‘Jon was in their house? God. When? After all this … happened? How could he have …?’

‘No.’ Bray cuts me off. ‘We don’t think Jon was there at all.’

‘Just bloody tell me whatever you’re trying to tell me!’ I snap. ‘In plain English.’ I’m too tired for this and now my brain is spinning all over again.

‘Jon hasn’t been seen at his home for months. Neighbours say they thought he went travelling. He was made redundant two years ago. Only did odd jobs for a bit of extra cash now and again. He was quiet and no one really noticed him. He doesn’t have a mortgage as he sold his mother’s house and bought a flat outright when she died. Inherited a tidy sum too. His bills all go out by direct debit.’

‘And?’ Why can’t she get to the point? How badisthe point if it needs this much explaining?

‘A neighbour said he’d had a female visitor before he left. They thought he’d met someone or had got back together with an old girlfriend. He seemed happier. More bounce in his step.’

‘Who?’ I ask.

‘They didn’t get a clear look. Only said she’d visited a couple of times. We found a cottage rental transaction on Jon’s laptop and we’ve got officers on their way there now. Hopefully we’ll find Jon and Ava there. Maybe Lisa too.’

‘But why were his things in Lisa’s house?’ I know what she’s driving at but I can’t quite grasp it. ‘You think Lisa was this woman? The old girlfriend? You think she and Jon have been in touch? That’s why his laptop is there?’ For a second, it makes a weird sense. Maybe they somehow rekindled a romance –How, when she didn’t have social media?– but then I remember the messages Jon sent to Ava. Thekindof messages. Lisa wouldn’t let Jon send those. That’s not the work of someone wanting a family reunion. Or didn’t she know? Maybe Jon was sending them without Lisa knowing? It’s tenuous at best, but I can’t see Lisa going along with that. Hiding her past, yes, but this. This ismadness.

‘But it doesn’t make sen—’

Bray’s phone rings out, cutting me off, and she’s straight on her feet, turning away to answer. I take a long breath, my temples throbbing. Isawthe state Lisa was in when Ava went missing. She’s broken. All the Katie stuff she said. Shecouldn’thave known where Ava was. And those emails. She couldn’t be part of that. She just couldn’t. Could she?

‘Jesus,’ Bray says, quiet. ‘I’ll call you in five when I’m on my way.’ Another phone starts ringing and Bray, her face grim and body stiff with energy, nods at her colleague to take it outside.

‘What?’ I ask her. ‘What’s happened? Oh God, are they …’

‘Jon Roper is dead. His body was found in the cottage. There’s no sign of Lisa or Ava.’ Her words are blunt but they bounce off my tired brain.

‘Dead? And Ava’s not there?’ I’m like a character from some cosy crime show, sitting there stunned, repeating words until they make sense.

‘It’s imperative you call me if you have any thoughts on where Lisa could have gone or if she makes any attempt to contact you.’

‘Of course,’ I say. ‘But surely she wouldn’t have …’

‘Jon Roper’s body is apparently in a state of extreme decomposition. He’s been dead for months. Maybe even a year. Certainly longer than Ava’s been getting those Facebook messages.’

---