Page 61 of The Truth Will Out
“Have you got the original copy, Bob? It had the names on the back.”
He removed it from the file. It was still in the evidence bag, so he turned it over. “What was Claire’s maiden name? Do we know?”
“I’m not sure. I can check her personnel file. Just see if there’s a Claire on the back row for now.”
Bob took his time sourcing the information. “Yes, I’ve got a Claire Holden here.”
Sam rushed over to a spare computer, switched it on, punched in her password and opened up the personnel folder. There it was, Claire Holden. “Yep, that’s her. Shit, I can’t believe she was more involved in this than we thought.”
“Bugger. And we thought we knew her,” Bob said, shaking his head.
“Exactly. Let me see the photo again.” Something was bugging Sam about what she was looking at.
Bob moved to stand beside her. “What are you thinking?”
“That not all these people are staff. Is Claire wearing a uniform? A few of the other kids are dressed the same.”
Liam handed Bob a magnifying glass that he kept in his drawer. “This might help.”
“Bloody hell, it does, thanks, Liam. You’re right. Would kids wear uniforms in a children’s home? Did they, back in the day?”
Sam shook her head, perched on the desk behind her and puffed out her cheeks. “I don’t know. Maybe they were older kids, perhapsvolunteers who attended a nearby school. It’s something we need to clarify.” She jumped up and searched the personnel file again. “It says here that she attended St Mark’s School. There’s nothing in her CV that suggests she lived at Pendle House.”
“Maybe you’re right, then. It might be worth checking with Scott, or perhaps with her parents, if they’re still around.”
Sam grimaced. “The timing isn’t right, not when they’re dealing with her death and probably busy making the funeral arrangements. Let’s put that to one side for now. We can revisit it later. We’ve got all we need to know: that she was definitely linked to Pendle House, just like the other victims and, apparently, Rhys.” She paused to fill her lungs with more air. “It’s obvious all the victims knew something about the house, a secret of sorts. We need to find out what it was. Remind me when the abuse rumours started to circulate about that place?”
Oliver searched his notes and shook his head. “I don’t think that can be it. They didn’t start until a few years later, boss.”
“That’s not to say the abuse wasn’t going on long before that, though,” Bob pitched in.
“That’s true. If only Rhys had been more open with me about his experience.”
“None of us could have foreseen this happening,” Bob said.
“Claire knew something; maybe we’ll find the answer on her computer,” Liam suggested.
“Or maybe in her drawers,” Sam added.
Bob raised his eyebrows.
She punched him in the arm. “I meant in her desk.”
“Thanks for the clarification. It’s always good to have.”
Sam stared at the computer screen. “She wasn’t just a detective,” she said quietly. “She was trying to uncover her past, and now it’s coming for the rest of us.”
“What? You can’t possibly believe that’s true, Sam,” Bob said, appalled by her revelation.
“Can’t I? As far as we know, the killer has already abducted Rhys. He might be dead by now... Just another victim waiting to be discovered.How many more are out there?” She tapped a finger on the photo. “We’ve got to make it our priority to warn all the others in this photo.”
Bob sighed. “What if one of them is the killer?”
Over the nextcouple of hours, the team knuckled down and managed to contact most of the people in the photo. They were warned to remain vigilant at all times. While the team were dishing out the warnings, they also enquired if the people knew why they might be specifically targeted. The reply, across the board, had been a resounding “I don’t know.”
Sam had spent the time in her office completing some important paperwork, which acted as a distraction to stop her worrying about Rhys. Most of the time, it had worked, too. But every now and again, Sam’s attention was drawn back to the photo lying on the desk beside her, like a splinter of betrayal. Claire, someone she’d trusted with her life for years, had lied, not only to her but to the whole team. She’d kept an entire piece of her life hidden. Sam felt torn; she didn’t know whether to feel angry, heartbroken, or foolish. Her head was a mess, and then, on top of all this, she had Rhys’s disappearance prodding her like a stick.
She picked up her phone and dialled his number. She held her breath while it rang out, until the voicemail clicked in, and out of curiosity she listened to it, just in case the kidnapper had decided to alter the message Rhys had uploaded. Her fiancé’s voice calmed her, but the anger soon returned.
