“About 120.”
“That many? I don’t suppose you have a list?”
“I have a guest list somewhere on my computer. Do you think it could be one of them?”
“This has been a long time in the planning. Someone has gone to a great deal of time and trouble to arrange this. We need to check every avenue, even if it means contacting all 120 guests. We might step on a few toes as we go but I’m sure you want us to do everything we can?”
“I assume with that number of guests you had outside caterers and used other services as well? I will also need a list of those, please.”
“Yes. Yes of course. Whatever it takes.”
Tracy is in the kitchen with Diane.
“So, Mrs Mitten, it sounds like someone is trying to get back at you or your family. They didn’t mention money. That’s unusual. This sounds more about revenge. Let me be frank. I’ve been a police officer for a long time. I’m not here to judge anyone. Everyone has secrets. It is human nature and not something to be ashamed of. Given the current situation, you need to tell me if there is anything. No matter how insignificant you think it is. I’ve seen it many times. A small detail that is overlooked then becomes the key to everything. Do you have any idea who might be involved?”
“We don’t associate with the types of people who would do this, as far as I am aware. No disrespect but we tend to keep ourselves to ourselves. We’re not really social people. The occasional party but that’s about it.”
“Diane, I really need to press home to you the importance of this. Do you know of anyone who would be involved in this? I have to ask you about your marriage. Is everything alright in your relationship?”
“Yes it’s fine. And as far as secrets are concerned, I’m just an ordinary housewife. I don’t have any secrets and I’m not having an affair. My family is everything to me. If I had the slightest idea of anyone, of course I would tell you.”
Tracy is a good detective who can tell when people are lying and she is not entirely convinced what she is hearing is the whole truth.
Why would someone hold something back when their daughters’ lives are at stake?
Chapter Thirty-Two
Until the kidnapping, Diane Mitten couldn’t have been happier. She had the perfect life, almost. She is married to a wonderful man who loves her and he is in the enviable position of being able to provide for his family extremely well.
Their home is exquisite, a stunning detached house with the gardens well-kept by a gardener/handyman who comes in three days a week. She has three wonderful children who each have a bright future in front of them.
Her twin daughters are stunningly beautiful and have brains as well. They could have the pick of any man they want. Yes, life is perfect, except for two small things. First, her twenty-five-year-old son Gordon has moved out of family home after a row with his father.
She had high hopes he would come back after a few days but it had been nearly a year now and she didn’t know where he was, although they kept in touch via text and the occasional phone call.
Then out of the blue, three months ago he got in contact and asked for money. Since then she had been sending regular amounts to him every two weeks. So far, she has paid him over £8,000. Her husband knows nothing about this arrangement.
She is sure that one day Gordon will ‘get over things’ and come back to follow his father into the family business. Then everything will be perfect again. However, at the moment, she’s a little concerned about what Gordon’s been getting himself into.
He is always short of money and hard work doesn’t seem to agree with him. But surely… No, she doesn’t even want to go there.
Her other secret goes far deeper. Long before she met Francis she got in with a bad crowd, met a boy and fell deeply in love, or so she had thought at the time. Then she found out she was pregnant. Diane was only fourteen. She gave birth to a son on her fifteenth birthday and called him David. He was taken away for adoption five days later. She never knew what happened to him.
As soon as the boy’s father, Tommy Pearce knew she was pregnant he disappeared.
She never saw Tommy again and later heard he was killed in a motorbike accident.
But she never told anyone about the baby. He would be thirty-six. Every year on her birthday she thinks about him. His adopted family would probably have changed his name but to her, he would always be David.
Now, all these years later, she does not want to tell her husband. How could she explain to him that she had been hiding this secret for their entire married life? No, it has to remain a secret. Just like the money she has been sending to Gordon.
But right now, despite everything, Diane needs her son to come home. She picks up her mobile and rings his number. He answers on the fifth ring.
“Hi Mum, how…”
“Oh Gordon, something terrible has happened. Your sisters have been kidnapped, someone called and he says he going to kill one of them and…
“Whoa, whoa, slow down. What are you on about?”
Diane explains what has been happening.
“Please don’t upset yourself, Mum. I’ll be home as soon as I can. I’m sure everything will be fine. We’ll figure this out and they will come home safe and sound. I promise.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Francis Mitten hasn’t had to go through the struggles most small business owners have to. His father had been very astute and every time the business moved he kept the old premises.
The two-acre site where the business is located in Barford is owned outright. Albert still owns some shares and they all take a good
