SIXTY-ONE

Jacob had announced Ellie Hathaway for the tape. Since the search of Eric’s house and the bunker, Gina had a lot to speak to Mrs Hathaway about, and she was grateful that she’d come in voluntarily. They’d also found out exactly what was on Gary Pritchard’s computer.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked. ‘My daughter is in labour, I should be with her.’ She began to bite her already-bitten nails.

Gina pored over her notes. She’d barely had time to catch up with the team. They were still working the scenes, and one of them was Ellie Hathaway’s house.

‘Are you still searching the house?’

Gina nodded. ‘Mrs Hathaway, I’m sorry to inform you that your husband was found dead this evening. It looks like he died by suicide. We thank you for coming in voluntarily to speak to us about our findings.’

Mrs Hathaway scrunched her nose slightly but her reaction wasn’t what Gina expected. ‘ Dead ?’

‘Yes. Again, please accept our condolences.’ Gina gave Ellie a moment to take the news in. ‘Were you aware that your husband and his son, Albie Hathaway, had a bunker at APH Building Craft Experts, the company they co own?’

She swallowed. ‘Yes, the emergency bunker.’

‘Do you know someone called Luna?’

‘We have a dog called Luna. One of the managers has adopted her, but sometimes he leaves her at the unit to guard the building. There have been a few burglaries lately and Luna puts them off.’ The woman spoke in an almost robotic manner as if she was closing her emotions off.

‘I don’t know how to put this, Mrs Hathaway, but tonight we found a young girl in the bunker, who claims she has lived her whole life there. She says her name is Luna. We believe Albie Hathaway was her father, and we found two marked gravestones, and another with no name on it. Do you know a woman called Joanie Callahan or a child called Sammie?’

Tears began to drizzle down Ellie’s face. Gina pushed the box of tissues towards her. ‘Squirt, that’s Albie’s nickname, has always been strange, but I don’t know anything about a girl named Luna.’ She frowned. ‘Joanie was Albie’s mother and she lost Sammie at birth. That’s what Eric told me. Joanie was Eric’s ex. She left him with Albie. She had a drug problem and ran off with a man she used to work at a bar with. She isn’t dead… she can’t be. She deserted him, leaving him with Albie to bring up alone.’ She began to hyperventilate slightly, so Gina gave her a moment.

Gina flicked through the notes from the briefing and reread what Bernard had sent over before telling Mrs Hathaway more. ‘The bones of a woman and a baby were found behind the bunker. We believe them to be Joanie and Sammie, but there are further tests to be conducted.’ Gina flicked back to Felicity’s information. ‘Do you know anyone called Felicity Vaynor?’

‘Er, I think Albie mentioned a girlfriend by the name of Felicity once, but that was years ago. I never met her.’ Ellie bit her bottom lip. ‘Are you sure Eric is dead?’

Something wasn’t right about Ellie, but Gina nodded. ‘Yes. There was also another person at the scene, and had your husband been alive, we’d have arrested him for the man’s murder.’

‘Murder!’

‘Yes, do you know a man called Gary Pritchard?’

She burst into choking sobs and placed a hand on the desk. That’s when Gina saw the silver line of a scar on Ellie Hathaway’s hand. ‘Gary is my dad.’