Eeny Meeny

81

Helen pressed the bell down and held it. It was late and she wouldn’t get a good reception – but she had to persevere. Diane Anderson, hostile at first, ushered Helen inside when she realized she wasn’t going away. She – the family – had had enough of the neighbours gawping at the strange goings on at their house. She didn’t want to give them anything else to enjoy.

‘I’ll get Richard,’ Diane said over her shoulder as she headed for the stairs. She couldn’t face another round of questions on her own.

‘Before you do, I’d like you to take a look at this.’

Helen held out a printed copy of the Today picture that she’d run off at the station earlier. Diane paused, irritated, and returned to the living room, plucking the paper from Helen’s hand. As she looked at it, irritation gave way to shock.

‘Do you recognize the people in the picture?’ Helen asked – there was no time to beat around the bush now.

Nothing from Diane. Shock was giving way to anxiety. Richard was only upstairs and might appear at any moment.

‘Well?’

‘It’s me’ was the mumbled response.

‘So you and I have met before.’

Diane nodded but stared at the floor.

‘Did you know? When I met you after Amy had… after Sam had died, did you know that we’d met before?’

‘Not at first. There was too much going on. But later… I wondered… I wasn’t sure.’

‘Why the fuck didn’t you say something?’ Helen’s anger was punching through now.

‘What does it matter, for God’s sake? What does it have to do with anything?’

‘It matters because it linked you to the police force… and to me particularly. Why didn’t you say anything?’

Diane shook her head, unwilling to go there.

‘I need to know, Diane. If you help me now, then I promise you we will find Sam’s killer, but if you don’t…’

Diane fought back a sob, then shot a glance at the stairs. No sign of Richard – yet.

‘I wasn’t with Richard that day. I was driving back from Salisbury with someone else.’

Now Helen got it.

‘Your lover?’

Diane nodded – now the tears were coming thick and fast.

‘I’d been to see him because… because I was pregnant. It was his. Amy was… is his. He wanted me to leave Richard and be with him… but… we crashed on the way back. He was killed. I couldn’t get out initially, my feet were trapped, I thought I was going to burn to death, but…’

‘I pulled you out.’

Helen cast her eye down at the photo. If you looked hard a bump was visible round her midriff. Helen had saved Diane’s life, but even more importantly she had saved Amy’s. The thought made her queasy – their killer was even more devious and twisted than she’d given her credit for.

‘What’s all this about? Why do you want to know about that day?’

The six-million-dollar question.

‘I can’t say right now, Diane, but we’re much closer to understanding why Amy was abducted. I will tell you more the minute I have it. But I must ask you to keep this conversation between you and me for now.’

Diane nodded – she had no problem with that.

‘We will catch Sam’s killer,’ Helen continued, ‘and Amy will get justice. You have my word on that. As for the rest of it, that’s up to you. I’ve got no interest in wrecking anybody’s marriage.’

Diane showed her out. Helen was straight on the phone. There were several messages from Charlie and when Helen got through to her she was brought up to speed on the Mickery situation. The game was getting stranger and stranger at each turn and Helen had the nasty feeling that things were building to a perfectly planned climax. Helen had encountered many unpleasant people during her time as a copper and her mind scrolled through them now, desperately searching for the culprit.

‘I’m coming, Charlie, but I need you to do something for me first.’

‘Yes, boss?’

‘I need you to check out the whereabouts of Louise Tanner.’