Page 43

CHAPTER 43

MELANIE – D AY F OUR

Waiting for Dawn and Adam Meadows to be arrested and brought to the station is purgatory for Melanie. Every minute dragging out like elastic stretched and stretched until you know there’s pain coming – dreading the recoil. The sting against your flesh.

She spends the time in her office pacing and calling the search teams over and over. Melanie’s biggest fear is that Amelie has been at one of Adam Meadows’ building site projects in the Rugby area all along. Locked away somewhere. Afraid and all alone. That the first round of searching missed something.

The geography’s also tricky. Dawn Meadows has been found in Somerset, just over an hour from the incident room in Maidstead. But Adam’s still much further away, en route from Rugby. The decision to have them arrested locally but brought to HQ for interviews – while search teams again check all their known properties – is hers. She’s still not sure it’s the right call but it’s never a simple decision.

Now, as she waits and plans the interview with Dawn in her head, she realises it’s crunch time over the most recent anonymous letter. The one she didn’t share with Matthew. Sam is still the only one on her team to know about it. Melanie’s plan now is to confront Dawn with the letter, hoping it will spook her. Get her talking. She will then tell her bosses this is why she’s kept the letter quiet all along.

This isn’t true, of course. A sweep of shame and nerves passes through Mel as she thinks of it. But she has to at least try to cover her back; to explain why she didn’t declare this letter earlier to the whole team. She’s already had one dressing-down from her senior officer over the vigilante trouble out on the Park Estate. Melanie’s biggest worry is she may now be hauled off the case. And how will that help Matthew and Sally? And Amelie.

However this interview with Dawn goes, the most recent letter will have to go straight on to the digital case file. And there’s a strong chance the inquiry team and then the suits upstairs will start asking the obvious question. Why didn’t we know about this new letter before?

Will they bring in another senior officer? Melanie deeply regrets not telling Matthew about the letter. Not pushing for it to be more thoroughly investigated earlier. Trying to find Dawn much sooner to confront her with it. But it’s too late for regret. For hindsight.

Deep breath. Melanie stands, fires her empty coffee cup into the bin and marches from her office into the main incident room. All eyes turn towards her bar one sergeant, Richard, who’s on the phone. Suddenly he stands and raises his hand, turning to her also, eyes wide and horrified.

‘I have the SIO here now. I’ll put her on.’ Richard holds the receiver ready for her. ‘It’s bad news, boss. Matthew Hill is at Dawn Meadows’ house.’