Page 52 of The Girl in the Grave
‘No, her voice was panicked. She said she’d found a fingernail and a photograph; we need to find them.’
He looked around at the pristine white granite worktops, and the dining table and then he glanced outside. He gasped. He could see it on the table, the small photograph with a single, pink, bloodied nail sitting on top of it. Unlocking the door, he slid it open and stepped through the gap. He recognised the terrified woman – it was Annie Potts – and knew immediately that Beth wouldn’t have left evidence this vital exposed to the elements no matter how scared she was. She’d have bagged it up or covered it up; a strong gust of wind and it could have blown down to the lake or got lost in the trees.
The two officers that came running in both stopped as he lifted his hand up.
‘She’s not here, but I’m treating this as a crime scene. Thank you, but you need to retrace your steps and go back outside. Can you request CSI and the DCI to attend.’
‘Yes, Sarge.’
Both of them walked back out without touching anything.
Josh looked at Sam.
‘I’m wondering if she left in a hurry or was taken as she was trying to leave.’
‘Would she have left the house insecure though, Josh? I mean this is Beth we’re talking about. I’ve never known anyone so security conscious.’
‘True, but she has a bloody good reason for that, don’t you think?’
‘Yes, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s not a criticism. What I meant is she’s spent the last few years of her life living in fear, so I don’t think she’d run out of here and leave the door open no matter how spooked she was. If she had wouldn’t she be on the phone to you or the control room right now? What about her safe room, did you check that?’
He nodded. ‘It’s empty. Yes, she would. She wouldn’t run away and hide, it’s not her style. So she got scared, ran to the front door to leave.’
‘And got ambushed.’
‘How did they get in the gates though? In fact, how did they even get out here? It’s a fair distance from civilisation. I want an area search for an abandoned car. I also want an ANPR alert put out on Beth’s car.’
He pulled his radio out and began issuing orders to the control room. His heart was still racing but he’d switched into work mode. He could do this. The trail was minutes old. Walking down towards the lake, he needed to clear his head and think; he also didn’t want Sam or the two officers standing by the gates to see the tears in his eyes.
As he stared out onto the calm water, he whispered, ‘Hold on, Beth, I’m coming, and I’ll find you.’
Seventy-Three
Josh’s phone began to ring. He looked down at the display, begging for it to be Beth’s name flashing on it.
Unknown number
So it must be work. He answered it.
‘Sarge, there’s a phone call for you. It’s from a Barry Evans. He said you were talking to him the other day about the missing girl. Should I put him through?’
‘I’m a bit busy now, tell him I’ll ring him back.’
‘He said you would want to know he thinks he knows who it is.’
‘Put him through.’
He waited for the call to be patched through wondering what information Barry could have after so many days.
‘Is this Josh?’
‘It is, how can I help you, Barry?’
‘You know the other day when you were here looking for that girl, did you see the man standing at the old monument just off the main path?’
‘No. Why?’
‘Well I been thinking, in all the years I’ve worked here no one has ever had reason to visit that particular grave. It’s a memorial to a Catholic priest from back in 1888. It’s odd, I think, and then the day we found the girl’s body, when we were waiting around for you coppers to come, I saw him then, too. He was standing at a grave not too far from where we were working, a bunch of red roses like the ones left at the priest’s monument in his hands.’
