Breaker

Hannah. May I have your name and address?' 'William Sumner, Langton Cottage, Rope Walk, Lymington, Hampshire.'

'And do your wife and daughter still live with you, Mr. Sumner?'

'Yes.'

Her interest sharpened immediately. 'When did you last see them?'

'Four days ago. I'm at a pharmaceutical conference in Liverpool. I spoke to Kate-that's my wife-on Friday night and everything was fine, but my mother's positive this toddler's Hannah. It doesn't make sense though. Mum says she was found in Poole yesterday, but how could Hannah be wandering around Poole on her own when we live in Lymington?'

Griffiths listened to the rising alarm in his voice. 'Are you phoning from Liverpool now?' she asked calmly.

'Yes. I'm staying in the Regal, room number two-two-three-five. What should I do? My mother's beside herself with worry. I need to reassure her that everything's all right.'

And yourself, too, she thought. 'Could you give me a description of Hannah?'

'She looks like her mother,' he said rather helplessly. 'Blond, blue eyes. She doesn't talk very much. We've been worrying about it, but the doctor says it's just shyness.'

'How old is she?'

'She'll be three next month.'

The policewoman winced in sympathy as she put the next question, guessing what his answer was going to be. 'Does Hannah have a pink cotton dress with smocking on it and a pair of red sandals, Mr. Sumner?'

It took him a second or two to answer. 'I don't know about the sandals,' he said with difficulty, 'but my mother bought her a smocked dress about three months ago. I think it was pink-no, it was pink. Oh God'-his voice broke-'where's Kate?'

She waited a moment. 'Did you drive to Liverpool, Mr. Sumner?'

'Yes.'

'Do you know roughly how long it will take you to get home?'

'Five hours maybe.'

'And where does your mother live?'

'Chichester.'

'Then I think you'd better give me her name and address, sir. If the little girl is Hannah, then she can identify her for us. Meantime I'll ask Lymington police to check your house while I make inquiries about your wife here in Poole.'

'Mrs. Angela Sumner, Flat Two, The Old Convent, Osborne Crescent, Chichester.' His breathing became labored-with tears?-and Griffiths wished herself a million miles away. How she hated the fact that, nine times out of ten, she was the harbinger of bad news. 'But there's no way she can get to Poole. She's been in a wheelchair for the last three years and can't drive. If she could, she'd have gone to Lymington to check on Kate and Hannah herself. Can't I make the identification?'

'By all means, if that's what you prefer. The little girl's in the care of a foster family at the moment, and it won't harm her to stay there a few more hours.'

'My mother's convinced Hannah's been abused by some man. Is that what's happened? I'd rather know now than later.'

'Assuming the little girl is Hannah, then, no, there's no evidence of any sort of physical abuse. She's been thoroughly checked, and the police doctor's satisfied that she hasn't been harmed in any way.' She glossed over Dr. Murray's damning psychological assessment. If Lily were indeed Hannah Sumner, then that particular issue would have to be taken up later.

'What kind of inquiries can you make about my wife in Poole?' he asked in bewilderment, reverting to what she'd said previously. 'I told you, we live in Lymington.'

The hospital kind... 'Routine ones, Mr. Sumner. It would help if you could give me her full name and a description of her. Also the type, color, and registration number of her car, and the names of any friends she has in the area.'

'Kate Elizabeth Sumner. She's thirty-one, about five feet tall, and blond. The car's a blue Metro, registration F- five-two VXY, but I don't think she knows anyone in Poole. Could she have been taken to hospital? Could something have gone wrong with the pregnancy?'

'It's one of the things I'll be checking, Mr. Sumner.' She was flicking through the accident reports on the computer while she was talking to him, but there was no mention of a blue Metro with that registration being involved in a road accident. 'Are your wife's parents living? Would they know where she is?'

'No. Her mother died five years ago, and she never knew her father.'

'Brothers? Sisters?'

'She hasn't got anyone except me and Hannah.' His voice broke again. 'What am I going to do? I won't be able to cope if something's happened to her.'

'There's no reason to think anything's happened,' said Griffiths firmly, while believing the exact opposite. 'Do you have a mobile telephone in your car? If so I can keep you up to date as you drive down.'

'No.'

'Then I suggest you break your journey at the halfway mark to ring from a callbox. I should have news from the Lymington police by then, and with luck I'll be able to set your mind at rest about Kate. And try not to worry, Mr. Sumner,' she finished kindly. 'It's a long drive from Liverpool, and the important thing is to get yourself back in one piece.'