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She recalls something else Andrea said:I’m guessing you didn’t inherit those gorgeous greens from your mum. Should we be thanking your dad for ’em?
Looking back, the waitress’s probing feels far more intrusive and sinister. The enquiries hadn’t stopped there, either:Is he joining you lovely ladies today?At that point, Lena Mirzoyan had shut Andrea down.
Right now, Elissa can’t think of anything else about the encounter, but if she does, these other memories will be waiting. She gives the drawer the gentlest of touches and it rolls smoothly shut.
Next, Elissa opens Z8. It’s important to load her memories chronologically, so she steps forward in time to the moment her mum drove into the Marshall Court Hotel’s car park … and then she stops, sits up straight and rewinds all the way back to Wide Boys, because only in the moment of moving on does she realize there are details from the restaurant visit that she’d almost forgotten, and which might turn out to be vital.
Mairéad
Day 2
I
Mairéad wakes at 05.40, four short hours after going to bed. Dressing in the dark, she tries not to wake Scott. Already, her stomach is convulsing, but she doesn’t have to be sick. Not yet.
Downstairs, she flicks on the kettle and phones Bournemouth for an update. The news isn’t great. ANPR hasn’t snapped the white Bedford van since yesterday afternoon.
The Child Rescue Alert, however, has generated a deluge of possible sightings – both of Elissa Mirzoyan and also the suspect vehicle. All are being investigated.
Another priority overnight has been to piece together the Bedford’s journey to the Marshall Court prior to the abduction. So far, it’s been traced back to Ringwood, eleven miles north of Bournemouth. From there, its most likely origin would have been Salisbury or Southampton. The former option seems most likely. Downton village, where the van disappeared yesterday, lies six miles to the south. Salisbury is also Elissa’s home. That might be a coincidence. It might not.
Mairéad relays a few instructions and hangs up. Then she brews a mug of tea and opens the fridge to grab milk. Big mistake. On a shelf sits a bowl of cooked pasta: Scott’s leftovers from last night’s meal. A whiff of chorizo is all it takes. She can’t even make it to the downstairs toilet, puking instead in the sink.
Never, in her twelve previous pregnancies, did she ever have morning sickness this intense. ‘You’re a little scrapper, aren’t you?’ she mutters, touching her belly. And dares to wonder if it’s a good sign.
Pouring the tea into a travel cup, Mairéad goes outside to her car.
II
At 06.30, she holds the day’s first strategy meeting. Priority lines of enquiry are established and reviewed. Appropriate resources are allocated.
Since the abduction, investigators have been reviewing CCTV footage from inside the Marshall Court, looking for anything suspicious. But with so many visitors, progress has been slow. Two officers have been running background checks on hotel staff and chess-tournament organizers. So far, nothing of interest has surfaced.
Because of the similarities to the Bryony Taylor disappearance a year ago, Mairéad speaks to her contacts in the Wiltshire force and arranges a transfer of the case notes. She liaises, too, with the National Crime Agency Specialist Operations Centre. They’ll provide comparative case analysis and behavioural investigative advice.
The man who snatched Bryony Taylor is linked to at least five previous abductions. All the victims were dragged intoa decrepit-looking white van. All came from single-parent families. In each of those six cases, videos of the victim were posted to YouTube shortly afterwards. When Mairéad recalls the content, she has to fight off more nausea.
So far, no videos of Elissa have emerged online, but that hasn’t stopped rampant press speculation. This morning’sDaily Expressheadline screams:HAS SICKO YOUTUBE KILLER STRUCK AGAIN?The red tops have reacted with similar hysteria.
How will Lena Mirzoyan cope when she sees that? How will Bryony Taylor’s mum react?
At 07.30, Mairéad updates her chief constable. An hour later, she receives a call from Avon and Somerset Police. In a lay-by just outside Downton, a delivery driver has discovered the Bedford CF’s discarded plates.
It’s an anticipated development, but not a good one. ANPR had already lost the van. Now, there’s no chance of the network reacquiring it. Fingerprints lifted from the plates match none on the national database.
At 10.00, Mairéad eats four cream crackers and somehow holds them down. Afterwards, she drives straight to Salisbury.
III
A Ford Focus in Wiltshire Police livery is stationed outside Elissa Mirzoyan’s home. The rest of the street is so crammed with cars it’s difficult to find a parking space. At least eight vehicles, including two outside-broadcast trucks, belong to the attendant press pack. A good-looking guy in a suit stands in the road, chatting to the driver of a Toyota RAV4. He smokes a cigarette as he talks, scrupulously careful with his ash. Mairéad recognizes him from Sky News. Ducking herhead, she peers through the passenger window at Elissa’s home.
The house is a decaying thirties semi. Beneath cracked guttering and a badly warped roof, the water-stained whitewash is flaking away. The front garden is neatly tended, even so, and the windows facing the street are spotlessly clean. Lena Mirzoyan might lack money, but she doesn’t lack pride.
A uniformed PC stands on the pavement, tasked with holding back door-steppers. Mairéad flashes her ID and walks up the path. Judy Pauletto, the assigned FLO, opens the front door. They exchange grim smiles.
In the living room, Lena Mirzoyan stands by the fireplace, arms tightly folded. She’s wearing an expression that Mairéad has seen too many times before: stunned incredulity at how savagely life can change.
On the sofa sit Elissa’s grandparents. Mairéad recognizes them from the red-feather-boa photo. She introduces herself, then turns to Lena. ‘Please – take a seat. I need to ask a few questions. Some of them you’ll have been asked before, but I’d still like to hear your answers first-hand. When you’re ready, let’s start at the beginning. Walk me through everything that happened yesterday, right from the moment you woke up.’