Matilda took a deep breath. She could feel Ellen Devonport’s eyes burning into the back of her neck. Suddenly, the dull lighting and the warmth of the room were becoming too much for her. She needed air. She needed light. ‘No. I don’t,’ she replied firmly. ‘Keep playing with Riley. Leave us to worry about everything else.’ She gave her a smile, waved goodbye to Riley, even though she knew he wouldn’t wave back, and left the room.
‘Should we promise her we’re going to bring Keeley home?’ Ellen asked once they were back in the hallway.
‘No, but what else could I say?’
The landline started to ring. Everything in the house fell silent. Even Riley seemed to stop giggling.
Craig bolted down the stairs and ran into the living room. He picked up the phone. His shaking finger hovered over the green button. He took a deep breath.
‘Keep calm, listen to what they have to say, and ask to speak to Keeley,’ Matilda said. ‘We’re recording this call.’
‘Hello?’ Craig answered. His voice was high and filled with panic.
‘Mr Armitage?’
‘Yes.’
‘Have you been in an accident in the past twelve months that wasn’t your fault?’
He ended the call without answering and slumped on the sofa. He sobbed loudly. Ellen went over to him and put her arm around him.
‘I can’t do this,’ he cried. ‘I can’t bear not knowing where she is. This is killing me.’
‘What’s going on?’ Jodie came running into the room. ‘Dad?’
Ellen moved to one side to allow Jodie to comfort her father. As Craig sat up and lifted his daughter onto his lap, Matilda noticed that although Craig was making the right noises, he wasn’t producing any tears.
Chapter 14
Matilda arranged to meet DC Scott Andrews outside Mary Croft Primary School on Hopwood Lane. She was there before him and spent the time scrolling through social media. She didn’t use Facebook and Twitter but had accounts so she could monitor what other people were up to, especially during investigations.
Linda Armitage had a Facebook account and it wasn’t protected either. She was able to look at all of her posts and photos. Most of them were of Riley playing in his bedroom or snuggled up asleep. Her posts were of how much she loved her son, how proud she was of him, and how she thought he was finally interacting with her after years of one-sided play. The comments were mostly positive. She had around two hundred friends and most of them seemed to be mothers judging by their profile pictures of them posing for selfies with their kids.
Craig wasn’t on social media. There was, however, a Craig Armitage page on Facebook which detailed all of his fundraising events. Most of the posts were signed ‘L’ so Matilda assumed Linda had set up the page for her husband. The photos showed Craig in action – abseiling down the side of the Arts Tower in Sheffield city centre or taking part in the London Marathon dressed as a penguin. Again, all the comments seemed to be positive and congratulated Craig and Linda on all the hard work they were doing to make Riley’s life as comfortable as possible.
Matilda logged on to Twitter. Sheffield was still trending. She scrolled through and read Jodie’s comments about Keeley being kidnapped. She’d updated the posts by saying there was no more news, she was still missing, and the whole family was frightened of what might have happened to her.
The comments on Twitter were not as polite as on Facebook. Mostly people said how sorry they were and had retweeted Jodie’s post with the photo of Keeley. There were a few who were vile and blamed the parents. If they’d kept a closer eye on her in the first place, she wouldn’t be missing. One predatory post said Keeley looked cute in her uniform and he wished he’d got to her first. Another said she was probably at the bottom of the River Don. A few stated the father had most likely killed her. Matilda felt sick just reading them. She took several screen shots and emailed them to Ranjeet back at the station. These people would need contacting, as would Twitter. People like that shouldn’t be allowed an account.
There was a knock on the passenger seat window making Matilda jump. She looked up and saw Scott’s smiling face looking at her. She unlocked the door. He got in beside her. She caught a whiff of his strong fragrance and opened the window a crack. Scott was in his mid-twenties, had a tidy mound of blond hair and a complexion that looked as if a razor had never been scraped across it. Since telling the whole station he was gay earlier this year, and finding a boyfriend, his confidence had grown. He was no longer the shy, quiet one of the team. Matilda loved seeing her team happy. She hoped she would be again, one day, too.
‘You looked engrossed,’ he said.
‘Just reading some of the things people have been saying on social media. Are you on any of these?’
‘God no. I can’t stand them. Everyone is so fake saying how perfect their lives are, what they’re having for tea and how their children are the best in the world. What a load of crap! I think it should be banned. And I certainly don’t think kids should be allowed on there. It’s poisonous.’
Matilda smiled. ‘I’m starting to agree with you there, Scott. You haven’t got a charger for an iPhone, have you? I’m running on fumes, here.’
‘No. I’m Samsung.’ He looked at the school. ‘I thought Sian was coming here.’
‘She was but as I was passing I thought I’d go.’
‘I hate schools,’ he exaggerated a shudder. ‘They always make me feel like I’ve done something wrong.’
‘Guilty conscience,’ she said with a smirk. ‘There’s something I want to ask you. Correct me if I’m wrong, but a few months ago, Chris had a temp job at Mary Croft Primary School, didn’t he?’
‘He’s had temp jobs in practically every school in Sheffield. He was thrilled when this permanent one came up at Stannington Secondary.’
‘But he did work at Mary Croft, didn’t he?’
‘Yes. I think he was covering sick leave.’
‘Good. I want you to ask him about a Mr Page. He’s a PE teacher here. Hopefully we’ll be able to have a word with him now, but I’d like to know what other teachers thought of him.’
‘Sure. No problem.’
‘While you’re at it, ask him if he knows Jodie Armitage. Does he teach her?’
‘Are you trying to turn Chris into a detective?’
‘No. I’m using my contacts to the best of my ability, that’s all,’ she said with a twinkle in her eye.
‘Should he get paid for this?’
‘No he bloody shouldn’t. It’s his civic duty to help the police.’
‘That won’t help us save for a deposit.’
‘You’re thinking of living together?’
He failed to hide his smile. ‘We’d like to.’
‘Wow. I didn’t know you were that serious. What about Rory? He won’t be able to afford that flat on his own.’
‘I’ve spoken to him about it. He’s fine. He said he’d ask Natasha to move in with him.’
‘Bloody hell, look at you two settling down. Finally.’
Scott blushed.
They stepped out of the car and into the autumn air. Scott was dashing off a text to Chris, asking him about Mr Page, while Matilda locked the car. Scott and Rory’s situation made her think. They had both faced difficulties in the past few years; both had been seriously injured in the line of duty yet had managed to drag themselves out the other side and were getting on with their lives. All Matilda seemed to do was work. She had resigned herself to the fact that nobody could ever replace James, but that shouldn’t stop her meeting someone new and having fun. Maybe she should ask Daniel Harbison over one night and see about pushing whatever it was they had a bit further forward.