‘How are you going to explain where Jo is?’ Ash asked.
‘I’ll tell her that Jo’s dead. Then she can get over it and move on. She’s got me now.’
Ash choked back a gasp of horror. She really was planning to do this. She really did want to take his family, his child. And leave Jo with nothing.
Or maybe she intended to make her lie become truth. If Jo was dead, it would be one less obstacle. Because Ash was certain that while there was breath in her body, Jo would never stop looking for Millie.
Becky pulled into a side street close to the café-bar where Jo had suggested they meet and hurried through the cold evening towards the door, grateful to see a glow of yellow light spilling from the window. She was met with a blast of warm air, rich with the smell of fresh bread, garlic and herbs. She could see Jo huddled in the darkest corner, and she strode towards her, nodding to Zoe, who was sipping a cup of coffee on the opposite side of the room.
‘Hi, Jo. Thanks for the call.’
Before she could speak, a smiling waiter came across to ask if he could get her anything. He reeled off a list of their specials, and Becky realised she was starving. She couldn’t remember when she’d last eaten, and the idea of a plate of falafel, tabbouleh, hummus and flatbread to munch on while she talked to Jo sounded tempting.
‘Could I just have a glass of sparkling mineral water?’ she said with an apologetic smile at the waiter.
As he left, she turned back to Jo. ‘What’s going on?’
‘I know Zoe’s told you that Ash has left, moved into a hotel.’
Becky nodded. ‘She has, and I’m so sorry. I’m sure it’s the last thing you either want or need right now.’
Jo was swirling the white wine in her glass round and round, but not drinking it.
‘It’s not what it seems. We planned it – to tell everyone that he left because we had problems. We do, but that’s not the point.’ Jo banged the glass on the table. ‘God, I’m making such a bloody mess of this.’ She took a large swig of wine.
‘Take your time.’
‘No! There is no time, and I’m talking in riddles. Look, Ash and I do have problems – it turns out he’s been having an affair.’
Becky sat up a little straighter as Jo passed on what Ash had told her.
‘Who is she?’
‘I don’t know, and he won’t tell me. But she has Millie.’ Jo leaned across the table towards Becky and spoke in a cracked whisper. ‘She took both of them so they could be a family – together, without me.’
Tears sprang into Jo’s eyes, and she angrily brushed them away.
Becky felt a pulse of excitement and reached out to touch Jo’s hand. ‘It may not seem like it, Jo, and I’m sure it’s very painful, but this is actually good news. It gives us a focus. Why didn’t he come to us himself?’
‘I’m not supposed to be talking to you. Ash says there’s someone inside the police who’s passing her information. That’s why I don’t want Zoe to hear what I’m telling you. The woman knew which hospital he was in, which ward, which room even – she had a nurse smuggle in a mobile phone.’
Becky’s brain was spinning. ‘Let me be sure I’ve got this right. Ash has been in touch with her on the smuggled phone, and that’s how he found out she has Millie.’
‘Yes, but she won’t let him see Millie until the investigation has died down. Ash has left me and made a big show out of it so that she trusts him – believes he wants to be with her. And before you ask, Becky, whatever he thought when he started this affair, there is no way he wants her to keep Millie. I know that, and I trust him as far as that’s concerned.’
‘What’s the plan?’
‘He’s going to contact her – say he’s hers for the asking – and try to move things along more quickly.’
‘Jo, this is madness. If he tells us who she is, we can arrest her and get Millie back. Why is he doing this?’
‘Because he is absolutely certain – and trust me, he has no doubt about this at all – that if she gets a whisper that you are on to her, she’ll either kill Millie or sell her on to some sick pervert. I know you try to restrict who has information, but if it’s someone on your team, you may not find out who until it’s too late. By then she’ll have escaped. She says she always has an escape route planned. It’s how she lives her life.’
‘You’re telling me now, though.’
‘And I’m taking a huge risk. I promised Ash faithfully that I wouldn’t tell you any of this. I lied to him, but I don’t care. I trust you, and only you. I can see in your eyes how much finding Millie matters to you. But you can’t tell anyone else what I’ve told you. Not even Tom. You can’t trust anyone else, Becky. Promise me.’
Becky bit her bottom lip. She wasn’t sure how she was going to work this, and there was no way she was going behind Tom’s back, but if this woman did have a route into the incident room it could be catastrophic.
‘We’ll put a trace on Ash’s phone, check everywhere his car goes – we’ll find her, Jo. But I do need to explain to Tom that Ash thinks we have a leak. I’ve worked with him for years, and I would stake my life on his honesty. Plus, we need him to authorise some of the things we’re going to have to do to track Ash. But don’t worry. We’ll be ultra-cautious.’
‘I’m already tracking Ash’s phone on my mobile, and he won’t be using his own car to get to her, I’m fairly certain of that.’
Becky listened with amazement as Jo described how she had followed Ash earlier and what she had seen.
‘I know what kind of car it is. If the same guy collects him, it will be a black Volvo. But once they take his phone from him, which he’s sure they will, I won’t be able to track him any longer.’
Jo dropped her eyes as she said the last sentence, and for a moment Becky wondered if she was hiding something more. But that didn’t make sense. She had been so clever, so resourceful. Now they finally had something to work with.
However good that sounded, though, Becky’s excitement was overshadowed by one dreadful thought. Was someone in their team really leaking information to the person who had Millie?
I watch as Becky leaves the café and take a final gulp of my wine. Tempted as I am to have another glass, I might have to drive later, and I have to be ready for anything.
Was I wrong to trust her? And is Becky right to trust Tom? He seems so kind and understanding, but I no longer feel able to rely on my own judgement.
I wonder if I should have told Becky about the other phone, the one hidden in Ash’s CAM boot. I installed the location-finder app on it when Ash was in the bathroom, so even if he dumps his own phone, I’ll still know where he is. But I’m glad I didn’t tell her. If Ash is right that this woman does have a source inside Tom and Becky’s team, I need to have one trick left.
I just hope I haven’t made a huge mistake in telling Becky anything at all.
69
Tom was feeling bad about the hours he was keeping. Tonight was going to be another late one, but a seven-year-old child was still missing and he couldn’t bring himself to leave the incident room for more than half an hour at a time.