Vanished

Chapter 38

When Jack got back home he printed out the two photographs he’d taken of the rectal diazepam wrapper and slid them into an envelope. He then returned to Wetlock’s property, where he could clearly see his BMW parked in his designated resident’s bay. Jack wore his ski hood rolled up like a beanie hat, pulled up the collar on his jacket and posted the envelope through Wetlock’s letterbox.

Jack knew that although Lyle was now firmly on Wetlock’s case, it could be days before he gathered enough evidence for an arrest, and Jack wanted this sorted now, so he could clear his head and go after Adam Border.

Jack texted Wetlock from his burner phone:

Jack walked home with the intention of meeting Maggie off her run and seeing if she was still in the same flirtatious mood as she’d been that morning. He then had the idea of taking her to shop for a new car — ideally the black G Class Merc he’d fallen in love with and knew he could get for £25k. Then he’d round off his hugely productive day by preparing to use the last few days of his leave to go to Ireland and track down Adam Border.

Jack was still on a high when his mobile rang.

Unfortunately for Jack, Maggie had other plans for the rest of his day.

Maggie had forgotten all about her early morning flirting and instead had arranged for Jack to meet her outside the small local nursery. It was located in the back garden of a large property just around the corner from their home and catered for no more than fifteen children. If Hannah did end up attending, Maggie and Jack would be given the password to the nursery’s security cameras and so would be able to log in and watch Hannah playing with her new friends. Maggie was excited about the prospect of their daughter starting to explore the world without them. The thought gave Jack palpitations.

Maggie and Jack were greeted at the locked gate by a pleasant middle-aged lady called Margo Berry. She invited them into the playground and walked them around the outside of the building. Most of the windows were partially obscured by paintings Blu Tacked to the inside of the glass.

‘On the south-facing windows, the children’s artwork acts as shade without completely blocking the view of the outside world. And the secondary purpose is to hinder people from looking into the classrooms. We’re not that close to passing foot traffic and people aren’t likely to pause and look in but, well, “there’s always one” as my mother used to say.’

Jack wasn’t remotely comforted by the strategy of using children’s paintings to stop local sex offenders ogling his daughter. And he knew for a fact that there was definitely more than just one. Maggie tightened her grip on Jack’s hand as she felt him tensing.

The play areas, however, indoors and out, were fabulous. The neat little kitchen was immaculate. The dining area, filled with low tables and tiny chairs was bright and cheerful. And each classroom was complete with a matted sleeping area in a windowless corner. It was a very impressive nursery with bubbly, polite staff and all mod cons.

Even so, Jack couldn’t help himself. ‘Do you do enhanced DBS checks on all of your staff, or the regular ones?’

Margo didn’t flinch. ‘Enhanced. We have coded locks positioned high on all exterior gates and doors, and the code is changed weekly or whenever a staff member leaves. All windows only open four inches unless a special catch is released which can only be reached from high up on the inside. We have twelve security cameras and in my office is a panic button linking us directly to the local police station. Two community support officers loop this area twice daily, coinciding with the beginning and the end of each day so they can learn the parents’ faces. You’ll meet them if you choose us for your daughter. We also play our own little version of hide and seek, with prizes given to the children for keeping very still and very quiet: the children love it and aren’t aware that they’re practising for the highly unlikely event of a targeted terrorist incursion. I’m happy to answer all of your questions, DS Warr, and you’re welcome to inspect our security for yourself.’

Jack flicked his eyes to Maggie who was purposefully not looking in his direction. She’d obviously warned Margo Berry that Jack was a police officer. Margo continued in her best teacher’s voice.

‘The moment you hand your daughter to a stranger and walk away, even if it is only for two hours, it can be very difficult. I advise you treat it like ripping off a plaster. Bring Hannah one morning next week at 9 a.m., go to the café at the end of the road, and come back here at 11 a.m. I promise that she’ll have had a far less stressful couple of hours than you.’

As Jack and Maggie walked away from the nursery, he glanced back to check what he could see from outside the tall fence. Margo was right about the paintings in the windows: Jack couldn’t see any of the children in their classrooms, so he had to admit that the whole set-up felt very safe. Maggie linked her arm through Jack’s and brought their walk to a halt.

‘I’ve been thinking, Jack... we might need a second car.’

Jack’s face became animated. It was as though Maggie had read his mind! ‘I was thinking the same! I’ve found a...’ Maggie glanced towards the road, not listening. Behind Jack, parked in the street adjacent to the nursery, was a pea-green Nissan Micra.

‘One of the junior doctors has taken a placement in South Africa and so needs to sell it quickly. He said we could keep it overnight, to see how we feel about it.’ Maggie pressed the key fob in her pocket and the Nissan’s lights flashed into life. ‘It’s four-door. Really economical. The boot’s not huge, but we only need it for shopping. And Hannah would love the colour! It’s a bargain, Jack.’ Maggie slid her arms round Jack’s waist. ‘You don’t have to drive it. And it’ll be easy for your mum to find in the supermarket car park.’

As Maggie drove the bright-green monstrosity back home, she casually explained that, according to the rumour mill, Wetlock was meant to attend an HR meeting today but had rung in sick at the last minute. This had prompted an emergency managers’ meeting to discuss the option of ultimately replacing him. He was still on compassionate leave at the moment, of course, but there had been growing doubts about his ability and commitment since his daughter had started going off the rails. Jack didn’t tell her that Wetlock would have cancelled the HR meeting at the last minute due to an anonymous threat of exposure if he didn’t confess to his daughter’s murder. Instead, he asked how the ‘rumour mill’ knew such confidential information about a senior consultant.

‘Sofia. She cleans the managerial floor. They think she can’t understand English, but she relays the hospital’s secrets to whoever sits next to her in the canteen at lunch... I heard that Tania’s body will be released soon. Does that mean it’s all over?’

Jack said that the police station grapevine was nowhere near as efficient as the hospital one, so maybe she could ask Sofia and then let him know!

Lyle stood in front of his DCI with his hands in his pockets, trying his very best not to look uneasy. His DCI was a middle-aged go-getter who was all about the clear-up rate of his team. He sat slouched in his chair, tapping at his keyboard and with an irritated frown as Lyle explained himself.

‘In the process of crossing the ts and dotting the is, I came across something in the father’s background. In the mid-nineties, he was investigated in-house and cleared of supplying drugs to medical students. His senior consultant at the time was a man by the name of Jasper Filpin. He moved Wetlock sideways to another hospital and buried the internal investigation records. Filpin’s name came up twice more in the following four years in glowing references, which allowed Wetlock to be promoted on from one hospital to another. Filpin’s long retired and won’t lie for Wetlock now, sir. Then there’s the rectal diazepam. Tania couldn’t have self-administered.’ Lyle then paused, waiting for the information to sink in. ‘Someone else was with Tania Wetlock within minutes of her dying.’

The DCI didn’t congratulate Lyle for going the extra mile. Instead, he began barking orders about making the victim’s flat a crime scene and getting round there before the cleaners destroyed any missed evidence.

‘I did that as soon as I knew something was amiss, sir. I found the wrapping from the rectal diazepam. That’s with forensics. I’m confident they’ll find the fingerprints of Dr Elliot Wetlock.’

Lyle’s DCI was at a loss. He couldn’t snaffle victory or kudos at the last moment, as both clearly belonged to Lyle. All he could do was congratulate his young detective on a job well done.

Jack gazed out of his small office window, down at the pea-green Nissan parked on the driveway. Hannah was sitting on Maggie’s knee, yanking the steering wheel left and right, and screaming — he could hear her through the triple glazing. And Penny was walking around the outside of the car, kicking the tyres like she knew what she was doing. Jack let out a sigh so deep and long that he steamed up the window. It was possibly the most horrible car he’d ever seen.

On the desk behind Jack was a laptop, open on a page for Ryanair. Later that night, Jack planned to first of all agree to buying the Nissan, and then he’d ask Maggie if she wanted to go to Ireland for a couple of days before he returned to work. Jack knew that she wouldn’t be able to, due to covering for the absent Wetlock, and he also knew that she’d give her blessing for him to go alone. He would reluctantly agree, and the trip would sound like her idea in the first place.

Jack didn’t know for sure whether Adam Border was in Ireland, but he was going to find out.