‘I will,’ Matilda beamed.
‘Oh,’ Adele said, looking sad.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Now I’m feeling sad and lonely. You don’t happen to have a spare hunky architect for me, do you?’
‘No. But I’ll buy you a bag of Kettle Chips.’
Chapter 19
Wednesday 12th September 2018
Not long after one o’clock in the morning, police were called to a disturbance in Sheffield City Centre. A group of four men were involved in a drunken brawl. A shop window had been smashed and one man was relieving himself into the fountain in the Peace Gardens. The micturater gave his name as Sebastian Page. He was immediately arrested and sent to South Yorkshire Police HQ, where he was charged with disturbing the peace, drunk and disorderly behaviour, and the possible abduction of Keeley Armitage.
By the time Matilda arrived for work, he was sober enough to be interviewed but suffering a massive hangover. She allowed him to stew in his own self-pity for a little while longer. She had a search party to organise.
‘Who’s our land search manager?’ Matilda asked as she strode into the incident room.
‘I think it’s Aaron,’ Sian said, looking up from her computer.
‘Where is he?’
‘Not in yet.’
‘Typical. Sian, get the search team out to Stannington now. I want as many PCs and DCs as we can spare. Christian, get a team together and get knocking on all the doors on Acorn Drive and the surrounding areas. I want to know everything about the Armitage family. Ask the usual questions: what are they like, any rows or arguments? What’s Keeley like as a child? Is she happy, smiling, or sad and lonely? Any friends? Have they seen anyone suspicious or new hanging around lately? Any strange cars? I want the head teacher of Mary Croft spoken to again. Have any other kids or parents reported strangers hanging around lately?’
‘Ok. By the way, I’ve liaised with the press officer. They’re good to go whenever you are.’
‘Right. I’ll need to have a word with Craig and Linda about that.’
Matilda went into her office and pulled a waterproof jacket from the hook on the back of the door. She wanted to go out to Stannington herself and see the search in action.
‘Christian, before you go,’ she called out to him as he was leaving the office, ‘I want an Armitage family tree. I need to know whether they have family living close by, cousins, aunts and uncles, that kind of thing.’
‘I’ve already started with that. Ellen’s finishing it off for me.’
‘Thanks,’ she put her hands on her hips and looked around the room. ‘Where the sodding hell is Aaron?’
***
DI Christian Brady was a dedicated and trustworthy detective. Matilda had welcomed him into her team with open arms and, like Sian, he gave one hundred per cent. His only distraction was the ravages of age. He was balding slightly, and was getting a little soft around the middle. His once fitted shirts were now worn loosely, and he’d taken to arriving for work wearing a designer flat cap.
He was heading down the corridor, phone in hand, when he almost collided with Aaron who was conducting a private phone conversation behind a vending machine.
‘Jesus, Aaron, you scared the— What’s wrong?’
Aaron was frequently asked if anything was wrong. He had a permanent look of worry on his face, a brooding brow, and slouched shoulders; he was a dead ringer for Idris Elba’s Luther but without the cool coat.
‘Nothing, why?’
‘There is. Has something happened? Is Katrina all right?’ he asked, referring to Aaron’s wife.
‘Fuck,’ he said, kicking the side of the vending machine.
‘Come here.’ Christian grabbed Aaron by the elbow and led him to an office. He opened the door and poked his head through to make sure it was empty before pushing Aaron in.
The small room was dark, cold, and there was an underlying smell of damp. It took a while for the lights to warm up.
‘I’ve fucked up big time,’ Aaron said, sitting on the edge of a desk.
‘What have you done?’
‘It’s nothing work related. Well, it kind of is in a way.’
‘Spit it out, Aaron.’
He took a deep breath. ‘Remember the Mercer case earlier this year?’
‘I’m hardly likely to forget it. I still see blood sometimes when I close my eyes.’
‘Me too. Anyway, I’ve sort of been seeing Leah.’
‘Leah?’ Christian thought for a moment. ‘Leah Mercer? Isn’t she married?’
‘No. She got the marriage annulled.’
‘Even so, you’re married.’
‘I know,’ he said, looking down.
‘I don’t get it; didn’t she leave Sheffield?’
‘Yes. She moved in to her brother’s place in Liverpool. I’ve been seeing her at the weekends.’
‘What about Katrina?’
‘I’ve said I’ve been working extra shifts.’
‘Jesus Christ, Aaron.’ Christian looked on his colleague with scorn. A committed family man, Christian could never contemplate having an affair. He loved his wife and his children far too much.
‘Leah’s pregnant,’ Aaron blurted out.
‘Oh my God.’
‘I’m know. I’m fucking idiot.’
‘What are you going to do?’
‘I have no idea. I’ve been trying to end it with Leah for a couple of months. I love Katrina so much. I hate the fact that I’m hurting her, and she doesn’t know it.’
‘It’s not hurting you that much if you’re still sleeping with Leah.’
‘What do I do?’ Aaron asked, looking up with pleading eyes.
‘If I knew the answer to that I’d tell you. You’re going to have to bite the bullet and admit what you’ve done. You’re going to hurt a lot of people, but you’re going to have to accept that.’
‘Shit.’
‘Come on, Matilda’s looking for you. You’re our land search manager and you’re needed in Stannington.’
‘I don’t think I’m up to this.’
‘You don’t have an option,’ Christian said, his voice stern. ‘You’re at work, you leave your fucked-up life at home. There’s a missing girl out there relying on us to find her. Now, I’ll gladly have a pint with you and try to help you sort out your mess, but right now, we’ve got a job to do.’
He took a step back and held the door open for Aaron to go through.
‘You’re right.’ Aaron said.
***
Stannington was on the edge of the city of Sheffield, on the border with the Peak District National Park and, beyond that, Derbyshire. Up the road from Acorn Drive, where the Armitages lived, was the B6076 Stannington Road which ran straight into open countryside. Farms and fields lay either side and there was a direct route to the Damflask Reservoir.
Matilda had to cover all the bases. It was possible that Keeley had been kidnapped, and, for whatever reason, the kidnappers hadn’t called back. Maybe Keeley had died in an accident; maybe they’d murdered her. Or, maybe, Linda or Craig Armitage had made the whole story up and they’d killed her. She’d spent the majority of last night tossing all the scenarios around in her mind but couldn’t settle on one. It was little wonder she’d only managed four hours’ sleep. If she was dead, there was a strong possibility her body was around here somewhere, and Matilda would find it at any cost.