‘We sat down to eat at about six. We’d not finished eating, so it might have been about quarter past. We’d not started on the pudding I’d made – Millie’s favourite. Apple crumble, although it was a bit burned.’
I don’t know why I tell them that. She would still have loved it.
‘You’re doing great, Jo. Give me a second to pass on what we know to the team.’ Becky pointed to a doorway in the middle of the end wall. ‘The officers in the next room are setting up equipment that will intercept any calls that come in to you. We’ll be able to listen to everything that’s said. We have a separate room down the corridor where Tom and I will be coordinating everything – and I promise you we have teams of people working hard to find out where Millie and Ash have been taken. We’ll get them checking CCTV in the area, and if we can identify the car, we might be able to track where it’s gone. Rob, who you’ve met, will be liaising, so he’ll be popping in from time to time.’
Becky stands up and makes her way to the door to the next room.
I turn to look at Tom.
‘I don’t get it. Why would they kidnap Ash and Millie? I don’t have any money! What do they think they’re going to get from kidnapping both of them?’
Tom leans forward, forearms resting on his knees. ‘We don’t know for certain that’s what this is, Jo. We have to take precautions, because in the event that it is a kidnap, we need to control the situation. We’re trained to do this, and we’ll do everything we can to bring them home safely.’
I want to ask him how many times they fail, but I daren’t. I don’t think he would lie to me – he doesn’t look like that kind of guy – so I’d rather not know.
Becky comes back into the room with a young woman with red hair.
‘Jo, this is Zoe. She’s a family liaison officer, and while Tom and I are checking on progress, Zoe is here to look after you. She’ll make sure you have everything you need.’
I barely register what she’s saying, and even though I am semi-conscious of the fact that Zoe has said hello, I just want to ask questions.
‘If it’s not a kidnap, what else could it be?’
Tom gives me an apologetic look. ‘We don’t know yet. Let’s see if they contact you – then it will all be a little clearer. You say you don’t have any money, but does your partner?’
I shake my head because I don’t know. ‘I’ve never asked. I said right from the start that we should keep our money separate – not that I have any. It’s Ash’s house, and he pays all the bills. I don’t work as often as I’d like – I’m an actor.’ I suddenly think this makes me sound as if I’m some kind of parasite, living off a man rather than taking care of myself. ‘I’ve offered to get a job in a shop or something, but he says he’s happy looking after us both – that’s his way. It’s what he’s used to.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Ash practically brought up his younger brother and sister. His father sent them to the UK to boarding school when they were very young, and Ash couldn’t stand the thought of them having nowhere to go during holidays – they’re from Abu Dhabi. He’s much older than them, so when the time came for him to go to university to get his medical degree, he came here so he could look after them in the holidays.’
‘If Ash’s father paid for his children to come to the UK to a boarding school, does that mean he’s wealthy?’ Tom says. ‘Could he be the ransom target, do you think?’
I raise my head and stare at him. I had never thought about that.
‘I wouldn’t know if he’s got money or not. Ash can barely bring himself to mention his dad, and his mum hasn’t been on the scene for more than twenty-five years. I’ve never met either of them, so I honestly have no idea.’
I can see this means something to the two detectives.
‘We need to contact him, to find out if he’s been approached about his son and granddaughter.’
I stare at Tom. Granddaughter? Of course that’s what they’d think.
‘I don’t think Ash’s father is aware of Millie’s existence. And from what I’ve heard of him, I can’t see him paying a ransom for his own son, let alone a child that isn’t a blood relation.’
Becky leans towards me. ‘Are you saying that Ash isn’t Millie’s father?’
‘Ash is her dad, and has been since she was six months old. But he’s not her father.’
I see Becky’s eyes dart to Tom, and I can read her mind. Maybe the kidnappers don’t know she’s not Ash’s child. Perhaps they think she inherited her colouring from my side of the family. Or perhaps they believe that, whatever her parentage, Ash’s dad would still pay up. It’s a chilling thought. From everything I’ve heard, he’s likely to call their bluff.
What if he agrees to pay up for Ash, but not for Millie? What will happen to my little girl then?
The thought is thrust from my mind as a sudden image flashes into my head of a man, standing on my doorstep, trying to get in to my house, demanding to meet my child.
His child.
13
It’s as if Becky has read my mind.
‘What can you tell me about Millie’s biological father?’ she asks.
‘It’s him!’ I almost shout the words, leaning forward eagerly in my seat. ‘It all makes sense. He’s been asking to see her, and I haven’t let him. He’s been following me too – I’m sure of it. And he doesn’t like the idea of Ash being her dad. It has to be Steve who’s taken them!’
I want to leap from the sofa and push Becky and Tom out of the room to go and find him, to bring my daughter home. But they’re not moving.
‘Tell us about him. Start at the beginning. The more we understand, the better.’
I take a huge breath and let it out slowly before I start to speak.
‘Her father’s name is Steven Allman. He was a stagehand I met when I was out on tour in a rather bad version of Jesus Christ Superstar. He said that if I was pregnant it was my own stupid fault. He wanted nothing to do with the child. That suited me. He’d have been a rotten dad anyway. Millie knows he exists, but she’s never met him – and never will, if it’s up to me.’
‘He’s not part of her life?’ Becky asks.
I give a dismissive grunt. ‘Until a few weeks ago I hadn’t spoken to him since I told him I was pregnant all those years ago. He was a waste of space. I was high on adrenaline after the show, even though it wasn’t very good. It only lasted a week – me and her father, that is – and the show not much longer. Anyway, he wasn’t interested in Millie. He thought I should have a termination.’
I’ve never tried to hide the fact that Ash isn’t Millie’s father. It’s not a secret – and anyway, it’s fairly obvious when you look at them. Millie knows her father is someone I knew briefly but that we lost touch before she was born. Ash has always been her dad, for as long as she can remember. I’m certain he fell in love with her before he did with me, if I’m honest.
‘You said he’s been in touch recently,’ Becky says. ‘Did something specific spark that?’