Jenna sighed. She turned her hand over so her fingers linked with her sisters. ‘It’s a tough one.’
‘Tough. There’s an understatement. That poor family. I looked in The Shropshire Star. It sounds horrendous.’
It was a diluted version. And Fliss was right. Jenna didn’t need to burden her with the details. The Shropshire Star’s version would suffice. Confirmation that bodies had been discovered at the fire-ravaged home of Shropshire estate agent Gordon Lawrence.
‘It says there’s been no identification of the bodies.’
‘No. Nothing formal.’
‘But the whole family are missing.’
‘Yes.’
Fliss squeezed her fingers. ‘It’s them, isn’t it?’
Jenna nodded. ‘It appears so.’
‘That poor family. Those poor children. I can’t imagine being trapped.’ Fliss’s nightmare was to be trapped. Worsened by her kidnap.
‘They may not have been.’ She almost bit her tongue to stop the words that tumbled out.
Fliss tilted her head to one side, a frown sending a vertical crease between her eyebrows. ‘What do you mean?’
Jenna slid her fingers from under Fliss’s hand and raised her glass to take a sip of wine. ‘The latest is that they’ve found five bodies.’
‘They said it was arson in the press release. Some awful person setting fire to their house.’
Jenna met her sister’s gaze. ‘Yeah, but we found used guns.’
Fliss sucked in a breath and slapped her hand over her mouth as her eyes went wide. ‘Oh dear God. They were murdered? Deliberately?’
Jenna inclined her head, regret circling in her stomach that she’d told her sister, but at least it was closer to the truth than her sister would read from an anti-establishment journalist.
‘Who would do that? Was it a break-in?’ Her sister fired the questions at her without waiting for a reply.
Jenna shook her head. ‘It’s only a suspicion, but we think Gordon Lawrence did it.’
Fliss’s face froze into a mask, her lips barely moved as she stared at Jenna. ‘The father? He killed his family?’
‘Yes. Quite possibly.’
‘Who in their right mind would do that?’
Jenna pulled in a long breath through her nose. ‘That’s just the point. No one in their right mind would. But we have six people missing and only five bodies accounted for. They haven’t finished the search yet, but I think someone escaped the fire. With a combination of gossip and evidence, the finger points to the dad.’
Jenna pushed back from the table, sliding Fleur off her knee again, she picked up the two bowls, needing to change the subject. It had been on her mind all day while she dealt with the drugs case. She’d finished off the day with the debrief and she’d likely be dealing with it for the foreseeable future.
She placed her hand on Domino’s head as he stared lovestruck as though she was his favourite person in the world just because he’d found her today and enjoyed an unexpected walk. ‘Has he been fed yet?’
‘Yes, of course he has. But there's nothing like cupboard love is there?’
His eyes filled with adoration.
‘Drug pusher.’
Fliss snorted out a laugh. ‘Oh my God. Just wait until I tell—’
‘No.’ Jenna held up her hand. ‘You can’t tell anybody, Fliss. I shouldn’t have told you as much. Some of the information is okay for you to know, mainly because your dog has been trotting up and down the neighbourhoods pushing drugs.’
‘More?’ Fliss raised the bottle.
Jenna shook her head and placed her hand over the top of her glass. If she had another drop, she’d be asleep across the table. One glass was plenty on a work night. She’d probably only get six hours sleep before she had to be back at the station again.
‘Obviously I need a statement from you about how you came to use Lena to walk Domino, but I’ll get Ryan to do that. You mustn’t say anything to anyone.’ Jenna stressed. ‘This could be a bigger operation than we anticipated when it kicked off this morning. So, keep it to yourself.’
Flustered, Fliss drained her glass and came to her feet to clear the dishes, stacking one on top of the other before she took them to the dishwasher. ‘Yes, of course, of course. It’s so funny really.’ Fliss glanced sideways at her, her teeth pulling at her bottom lip, her eyes sparkling with mischief. ‘How much was he carrying?’
It took a moment for Jenna to process the question. ‘Domino? Jim Downey has got to double-check yet, but from experience, he was talking two grams. Around £85.00 a gram.’
‘Wow, so how much does one person take?’
‘You’re a little too interested in this subject.’
‘Knowledge is power.’
‘It is, but not if you use it the wrong way.’
Fliss finished stacking the dishwasher and pushed the door to as Jenna dipped her hands in near boiling water to give the wine glasses a thorough wash. ‘Do I look like I’m about to deal in drugs?’
Jenna regarded her sister with a professional eye. ‘You look like a teacher.’
Fliss flashed her a grin. ‘Why thank you. That was always my intention.’
Which circled Jenna nicely around in the right direction. ‘Have you had any word about the promotion?’ She grabbed a towel and dried her hands.
Fliss let out a delicate snort. ‘I think from September I'll be taking over head of infants by the look of it.’
‘Fliss that’s great news. It really is and you do deserve it.’
Her sister preened just a little and Jenna’s heart warmed at the thought that this precious woman had started to heal. ‘I do. Actually, I’m good at my job.’
Jenna checked her over, relieved at how far Fliss had come since the kidnap. There would still be dark times. Times when Fliss slipped back into that dreadful cellar with its rising waters each time they heard the Ironbridge flood warnings. It triggered a gut-wrenching response. Not only in Fliss but Jenna too. Step by step they dealt with it, confronted it and moved on, stronger and better each time.
She reached out and cupped her sister’s cheek and then pulled her into her arms for a silent hug, rocking her in unspoken understanding.
For now, she could be content that her sister’s pale green eyes sparkled and the flush on her smooth cheeks made her skin glow, and the relaxed smile on her face washed away the tensions of the day.
31
Monday 20 April 2045 hours
A fine sheen of sweat slicked over Mason's skin as his feet slapped against the shiny rubber of the running machine.
Knees like jelly and breath heaving so his tongue turned to dust in a mouth devoid of saliva, he drove on, determined to keep going even though his heart might explode in his chest. His arms pumped as he fought to keep up with the loose-limbed youngster beside him. Ryan’s gangly limbs seemed to have found a comfortable rhythm, enough to gain Mason’s reluctant admiration.
Not sure if he could keep up the pace for much longer, Mason swiped the back of his hand across his forehead, mortified at the drip, drip, drip of sweat falling onto the electronic device in front of him