Once the house was cleared, Roger returned to the kitchen. His wife was still crying and being comforted by Pauline.
He walked to the library and found Sarah’s parents holding each other and crying. The DI had walked over to the window at the back of the room to give them some space.
Roger walked over to the DI. “Everyone’s gone. Perhaps it’s best if we leave them for a couple of minutes.”
Once they reached the lounge, Roger asked Eden, “Can you tell me what happened?”
“According to what I’ve been told they were crossing the road when a 4x4 vehicle overtook the car in front on the wrong side. The first car had stopped to let them use the crossing, and the 4x4 drove round and hit them. If it helps, they almost certainly died instantly and didn’t suffer or even know about it. I know it’s of small consolation, but it may help you and your wife to know that.”
“Yes, thank you. However, unless you need anything further from us, I think we’d probably want to be alone now.”
The ambulance arrived and after examining Francis Maynard, the paramedics had asked for the name of her doctor and suggested he should attend.
Sarah’s parents walked out of the library said a few words and left to go home and comfort each other as best they could.
Ten minutes later, the family doctor arrived and prescribed some powerful sleeping tablets for Francis. After she had taken two, Roger took her upstairs to the bedroom they had once shared, closed the curtains and helped his ex-wife into the bed to rest.
After checking she had dozed off, he went downstairs into his library and wept like a baby. The tears flooding down his face as the anger rose up.
His beautiful daughter Julie, the apple of his eye. From the day she was born, she had been his world. For all his life, he had always seen the positive side. Even when the odds had been stacked against him when he struggled to start and build his business. All the set-backs he had come up against. Nothing had got in his way. His wife and only daughter were what spurred him on to succeed where others would have given up. He prayed this was just a nightmare and that he would wake up and find everything as it should be, but he knew the truth. His entire world had just been shattered. For the first time in his life, the black gloom of depression outweighed the light of hope.
Chapter Nine
HIT AND RUN AFTERMATH
The police circulated a description of the suspected hit and run driver.
PC Zara Thornton was on patrol with her colleague PC Howard Mitchell when they spotted someone fitting the description just as they noticed the person getting into the passenger side of a Black BMW X5 that had pulled up. The vehicle then sped away. PC Thornton followed as the BMW exceeded the speed limit. It seemed to be heading for Fen Road, and both officers knew what that meant.
PC Mitchell got on his radio. “I need a PNC check on a Black BMW X5. Registration number VU62 LOX.”
The vehicle was turning into Water Street, which half a mile down would lead into Fen Road, the area notorious for travellers and where the police never usually entered unless there were a minimum of four officers.
This close to the sites it was probably not a good idea to stop the vehicle, so the officers decided to follow it.
A message came through on PC Mitchell’s radio.
“The vehicle check you requested comes up as Kevin O’Connor, with the address of the Two Oaks Caravan Park, Fen Road. The file is flagged as ‘proceed with caution’.”
The PC acknowledged the message and told his control they were following the vehicle and requested back up.
Word about the connection to the traveller site reached the incident room set up to investigate the hit and run. DCI Diana Wakefield was the woman in charge.
She instructed DS Carla Parsons to contact the council and get a copy of the CCTV footage for the last twenty-four hours from the camera that overlooked the entrance to the site.
The camera had been installed when the local council spent nearly a million pounds upgrading the road and area leading to the site. There had been a long-running battle with the caravan park residents who claimed the cameras breached their human rights. The council replied that every council estate and the town centre is covered by cameras and this should be no exception.
A poll in the Trentbridge Times newspaper regarding their installation had shown 91% of the people who answered were in favour of the cameras remaining and the council stuck by their guns.
The police control room had been in touch with DCI Wakefield to let her know the latest on the citing of the suspect and about the vehicle that had picked him up and its destination.
She contacted the police officers and informed them to stay just outside the site and await the arrival of DI Eden Gold and DS Tracy Archer who DCI Wakefield was sending to try to interview the suspect.
Twenty minutes later, two marked and one unmarked police cars slowly entered the private road that led to the Two Oaks caravan site on the left. However, the O’Connor residence was a large detached house on the right-hand side.
The front door was at the top of eight wide steps with white Roman-style pillars each side and an impressive arch above. There were two bay windows on each side and on the left was a conservatory. It was easily larger than the size of most houses. Every inch of the property looked immaculate.
Parked on the right were two vehicles: the BMW X5 the two police officers had seen pick up the suspect and a Range
