Page 64

SIXTY-THREE

Thursday, 5 September

One of the team had arrested Ellie, or Elissa, for failing to stop at the scene of the accident and dangerous driving, but given the circumstances, Gina knew it was unlikely that she would be prosecuted, given that she was a victim in all this too. There was so much more to deal with and they were all happy to pick up on that later, when the CPS had the whole story, or when they themselves had unravelled it a little more. They’d officially bailed Elissa, and Gina knew she had to be the one to take her to see Ruth, but first she had to speak to Ruth, tell her what had happened.

Elissa stood against the hospital wall, inhaling on a cigarette while being comforted by the FLO, Orla Cartwright. Jacob was on a quick call to O’Connor, so Gina quickly checked her private phone. A message had been sitting there for over an hour. It was Pete.

I need to speak to you urgently, at your house! P

She swallowed and placed her phone back into her pocket. There was no way she could deal with him now. She had a mother and daughter to reunite. Whatever the future held, she had to face it. She was done worrying about the things she had no power to change. All she wanted was a happy ending to the nightmare case she’d been working on. Her own happy ending no longer mattered.

A wash of sadness hit her. Bernard had called in the early hours to confirm that they had found the bones of a young female and a baby underneath the Joanie and Sammie gravestone. They had also found the bones of a young female under Felicity’s gravestone. There were no bones under the unmarked stone, but Gina suspected that it might have been there for Luna, or even Elissa, had she tried to leave Eric and tell anyone what had happened. A knot formed in Gina’s throat.

Orla Cartwright’s curly hair was getting swept up in the breeze as they stood outside Cleevesford General. The family liaison officer then led Elissa through and spoke gently to her, trying to ease the anxiety that was causing Elissa to tremble. ‘It’s okay, Ellie. We’re doing this together.’

Jacob, Orla, Elissa and Gina stepped inside and headed towards the small café. Gina turned to Orla. ‘Will you be alright here for a short while? I’ll call down when we’ve spoken to Ruth.’

Orla nodded and smiled as she led Elissa towards the large menu fixed to the wall.

Gina took a slow, deep breath and looked at Jacob when they reached the outside of Ruth’s door. Her eyes were closed and her chest was gently rising and falling.

Gina tapped the door lightly. She knew that Ruth would want to be woken up to be told that they’d found Elissa. There was also more news, but Gina was going to leave that to Elissa to tell.

‘What time is it?’ Ruth asked, as she rubbed her shadowed eyes, the creases around them more prominent than before.

‘It’s just after nine in the morning. May I sit?’

Ruth nodded and sat up in bed. Gina saw that she was no longer using oxygen, but she was still hooked up to a monitor. Her saturation levels were much better than the night before. ‘The nurse said I’d be able to leave later if the doctor says it’s okay.’

Gina smiled. ‘That’s good news. I also have some more news for you.’

Ruth scrunched her brow. ‘Really, I literally have no one now. I don’t know what you could say to make things better.’

‘It’s Elissa, she wants to see you.’

Gasping for breath, Ruth threw back the white sheet and sat up even straighter.

‘You found her?’

‘Yes.’ Gina could explain everything, but she thought she’d leave that to Elissa to tell in her own way. She’d also leave Elissa to talk about her two grown-up children, her grandchildren and the new baby that had been born only three hours ago. She envisaged Ruth and Elissa walking to the maternity ward after the news had been revealed, but that wasn’t going to happen. Elissa needed time to speak to her son and daughter first.

Ruth could barely get her words out. ‘W-where is she?’

‘She’s downstairs in the canteen with a family liaison officer. They’re waiting for me to call. Shall I ask her to bring Elissa up now?’

Nodding frantically, Ruth replied, ‘Yes.’

Gina nodded to Jacob to make the call. While waiting, Gina quickly explained Gary’s role in everything, that it looked like he’d been trying for years to find Elissa and that he had no involvement at all in her or Elissa’s kidnappings.

The ten minutes it took for Elissa and Orla to reach them seemed like forever. Ruth couldn’t stop biting her nails.

Jacob stepped outside the room and waited for Gina. Orla nodded and smiled as she let Elissa stand in the doorway.

‘Mum,’ she said, her voice quivering. Elissa pushed past Gina and ran straight over to her mother, then hugged her close. They both began to sob as they parted and stared at each other.

‘I’ve missed you so much. I never gave up hope that I’d hear from you again.’ She stroked her daughter’s hair as Elissa sat on the bed next to her. ‘Look at you, all grown up.’

Gina discreetly left the room and closed the door. She and Orla met Jacob by the nurses’ station. He had a tissue in his hand, was dabbing at his eye. ‘I err, think I… allergies. It’s my allergies.’

Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Gina shook her head. ‘I think my allergies are playing up, too. I guess we should get back and deal with the paperwork.’

Her personal phone vibrated once. She had to deal with Pete.