Page 23 of The Truth Will Out (DI Sam Cobbs #18)

“That was mature of him. Have you told him he might be in danger? Correction, judging by the victim count already, I’d say that was a certainty.”

“Don’t say that. I didn’t get around to telling him. Now that the killer has left the photo, it has just dawned on me the kind of danger he could be in.”

“What are you waiting for then, Sam? You have to put aside the fact that you’ve fallen out and get over there… before it’s too late.”

Her pulse raced. “You’re right. I’m sorry to run out on you like this.”

He shooed her out of the office. “Go. I’ll handle this side of things.”

Bob approached them, perplexed. “What’s going on?” He puffed out his chest and took a step towards Des. “Have you said something to upset her?”

Des tutted. “Calm down, Macho Man. Sam will explain en route.”

Sam turned and smiled at Des, then sighed.

“Thanks for your support. We’re out of here.

” She ran through the reception area and out to the car, stopping only to remove her protective suit and dump it in the awaiting black sack.

She rang Rhys’s number. The phone rang and rang.

She sighed, assuming that he’s still cross with her after their meeting at the café.

“Christ, I wish I knew what was going on. Since when do you leave a crime scene two minutes after arriving?” Bob queried as he removed his suit.

“Since I realised that Rhys’s life could be in imminent danger… again.”

“Okay, that’s a good enough reason.”

Sam drove under the blues and twos and screeched to a halt outside Rhys’s office. She and Bob raced into the building. Brenda placed a hand over her heart when they barged into the room.

“Sam? What’s going on?”

“Is Rhys here?”

“No. I thought he was on his way to meet you. That’s what he told me.”

“We met, but I left him around forty minutes ago. Shit, where is he?” She removed her mobile from her pocket and punched in a single number. Rhys’s phone rang and rang, but either he refused to answer it or was unable to. “Brenda, he might be ignoring my calls. Can you ring him?”

“Why would he do that?” Brenda asked as she dialled Rhys’s number. She put it on speaker phone. It rang out again.

“I’m not liking this one bit,” Sam said.

Bob withdrew his phone. “I’ll get on to the station and put an alert out for him. Don’t worry, Sam, we’ll find him.”

Sam paced back and forth until Bob finished his call. “Well?”

“Jason is on it now. He’s alerted all patrols to be on the lookout for him.”

“And the last you heard or saw of him was when he left the office on the way to meet me?”

Brenda nodded. “Yes. Oh, Sam, what does this mean?”

“I don’t know. What I do know is that we can’t just hang around here waiting for him to come back.” She handed Brenda a business card. “Ring me if he contacts you.”

“I will.”

Brenda was still talking, but Sam needed to get on the road. As they reached the street, Bob latched on to her arm.

“Wait, you’re not thinking straight. Give me your keys. I’m not prepared to let you drive when you’re in this state.”

“Fine. Take them.” She threw the keys at him with force and then apologised. “We need to take the route he would have taken to meet me.”

“He was on foot, wasn’t he?”

“Yes.”

They got in the car. Bob groaned and adjusted the seat to accommodate his longer legs. “I reckon we’re gonna be wasting our time. He’s probably taken the shortcut through the park.”

Sam placed a hand on her cheek and shook her head as the realisation dawned. “Shit, yes, you’re right. I never thought about that.” Sam tutted, her eyes darting to every passerby as they sped through town. “Where the fuck is he? ”

“I know you’re not going to want to hear my suggestion, which is the obvious one.”

“No, I don’t. I’m trying not to think about it.”

They both fell silent and continued the search. Before long, they drew up outside the café. Sam threw open her car door and went inside.

“Sorry to trouble you. I was in here earlier.”

“Yes, I remember. Did you forget something?” the waitress asked.

“The man I was with… did he come back after I left?”

“No, at least I don’t think he did. Can’t you find him?”

Sam’s lip trembled, and she swallowed down the emotion that had surfaced in her throat. “He’s gone missing, and he’s not answering his phone.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. If he comes back, I’ll tell him you’re looking for him. My fella is the same after we’ve had an argument. He always denies the phone ringing at his end. I’m sure things will turn out for the best later.”

Sam smiled and backed out of the café.

I’m not. I’m a police officer, working a serial killer investigation, and I think the killer has targeted my fiancé. How I don’t want to consider the ins and outs of my theory. But I know in my heart that something bad has happened to him.

She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of such a disturbing thought.

“Any news?” Bob asked, springing up from behind her.

“Do you have to bloody creep up on me like that?”

He grinned. “Your problem is that you’re too jumpy.”

“May I remind you why? It looks like my fiancé has been abducted.”

Bob raised his hands. “All right. There’s no need to chew my balls off.”

Sam marched back to the car and muttered, “Do you even have a pair?”

“I heard that,” he shouted from behind. “Hey, I’m driving. ”

Sam slammed the driver’s door shut, which she’d opened out of habit, and flew round the other side of the car.

“Where do you want to go now?” Bob asked.

“Back to the station. It’s pointless us being out here, unless you’ve got any suggestions?”

“I haven’t.”

He started the engine and headed back to the station, but veered off at the last minute.

“This isn’t the way. What are you doing?”

“We’re close to the lab. I thought we’d drop in and see if they can improve the photo for us. Is that all right?”

“Yep, okay. That makes sense. Make it quick, though.”

He tutted and pressed his foot down on the accelerator. “Quick enough for you?”

“Hey, remember whose car this is.”

“As if I’m likely to forget.”

They arrived back at the station an hour later with the improved image.

“Any news yet?” Sam asked the desk sergeant as soon as she entered the reception area.

He seemed very down in the mouth, not like his usual cheery self at all. “I wish there was, ma’am. I’ll keep on top of my lads and make sure they continue their search for the rest of the day and beyond if necessary.”

“Let’s hope there’s no need for that. Thanks, Jason.”

Bob entered his code, and the security door sprang open. The team all glanced up when they entered the room.

Sam immediately raised a hand to stop them from offering her any sympathy.

“I appreciate what you’re about to say, but guys, I don’t want to hear it.

What I want, no, what I need , is for us to concentrate fully on this investigation.

If the killer has Rhys, which is looking more and more likely, we need to find out who this person is…

I’m sensing his life is in mortal danger. ” She choked up .

Her gaze met Bob’s. His smile encouraged her to finish her speech.

She coughed to clear her throat and forced her shoulders back. “Bob, can you do the honours of showing the team what we found at the latest murder scene?”

Bob removed the copy of the photo the lab had enhanced and handed it around to the team. The faces of the people were much clearer now, and it didn’t take Liam long to recognise someone.

“Umm… isn’t that Claire at the back? I might be wrong, but it definitely looks like her.”

“Have you got the original copy, Bob? It had the names on the back.”

He removed it from the file. It was still in the evidence bag, so he turned it over. “What was Claire’s maiden name? Do we know?”

“I’m not sure. I can check her personnel file. Just see if there’s a Claire on the back row for now.”

Bob took his time sourcing the information. “Yes, I’ve got a Claire Holden here.”

Sam rushed over to a spare computer, switched it on, punched in her password and opened up the personnel folder. There it was, Claire Holden. “Yep, that’s her. Shit, I can’t believe she was more involved in this than we thought.”

“Bugger. And we thought we knew her,” Bob said, shaking his head.

“Exactly. Let me see the photo again.” Something was bugging Sam about what she was looking at.

Bob moved to stand beside her. “What are you thinking?”

“That not all these people are staff. Is Claire wearing a uniform? A few of the other kids are dressed the same.”

Liam handed Bob a magnifying glass that he kept in his drawer. “This might help.”

“Bloody hell, it does, thanks, Liam. You’re right. Would kids wear uniforms in a children’s home? Did they, back in the day?”

Sam shook her head, perched on the desk behind her and puffed out her cheeks.

“I don’t know. Maybe they were older kids, perhaps volunteers who attended a nearby school.

It’s something we need to clarify.” She jumped up and searched the personnel file again.

“It says here that she attended St Mark’s School.

There’s nothing in her CV that suggests she lived at Pendle House. ”

“Maybe you’re right, then. It might be worth checking with Scott, or perhaps with her parents, if they’re still around.”

Sam grimaced. “The timing isn’t right, not when they’re dealing with her death and probably busy making the funeral arrangements.

Let’s put that to one side for now. We can revisit it later.

We’ve got all we need to know: that she was definitely linked to Pendle House, just like the other victims and, apparently, Rhys.

” She paused to fill her lungs with more air.

“It’s obvious all the victims knew something about the house, a secret of sorts.

We need to find out what it was. Remind me when the abuse rumours started to circulate about that place? ”

Oliver searched his notes and shook his head. “I don’t think that can be it. They didn’t start until a few years later, boss.”