‘For three minutes? I think the most obvious thing is she knew whoever abducted her. Possibly a car pulled up and told her to get in to shelter from the rain.’
‘I thought that, but it didn’t feel right. It’s near the traffic lights, so whoever pulled up couldn’t stay there, and there’s no parking either as it turns left to go up past the children’s hospital, or straight across to head towards West Street.’
‘Maybe he said get in and we’ll wait for your mate to come out. If she knew him, she would do that.’ Frannie hesitated, still thinking. ‘Have you had the PM results back yet? Toxicology?’
‘You’re thinking he gave her something? An injection? Nothing’s through yet. That would be the obvious thing, though, wouldn’t it. Inject her with some strong drug as soon as she got in the car, and then simply drive away. We need to interview everybody who was outside that theatre immediately after the performance. I’ll get Beth organising that, because I need to be available for Mr and Mrs Roebuck tomorrow.’
‘You really don’t enjoy working with Beth, do you?’
‘Oh she’s okay,’ Erica muttered. ‘She sometimes makes me feel inadequate.’
‘She’s a DS. You’re a DI. Come on, you’re streets in front of her, her boss.’
Erica picked up her wine glass. ‘But she’s clever. Bet she knew the bloody River Porter ran under Midland Station. That reminds me, I need to look it up. I need to know everything about this overgrown stream before I get to that briefing tomorrow morning.’
‘That overgrown little stream was a main player in the start of the steel industry in Sheffield.’ Frannie laughed. ‘If ever this rain stops we’ll head up to Ringinglow where it starts, and we’ll follow it down to where it ends. Then you’ll understand it.’
‘You know it?’
‘Did the walk with school many years ago. Fascinating actually.’
‘Tell me what you remember. Any parts you thought might be a good place to dump a body?’
‘At the age of thirteen or whatever I was, I didn’t think about potential body-dumping sites. Sorry.’
‘Huh,’ Erica grumbled as she took another sip of wine. ‘You’ll never make a police officer.’
‘Erica, my love, I don’t ever want to be a police officer.’
Frannie smiled at the woman who had come into her life so unexpectedly a few years earlier. Erica had been part of a team investigating child trafficking, and had as a result come to her for advice. The attraction had been immediate, and two months later they had bought a house together, and followed it up with a wedding.
Frannie stood. ‘Have you eaten?’
‘Not had time. Let’s have a takeaway. Then I’m off to bed. It’s been a long day.’
‘Pizza?’
Erica nodded, and laid her head back. ‘This wine is nice.’
‘Want some more?’
‘If I use the same glass, does it count as only one glass of wine?’
Frannie smiled. ‘It does.’
‘Then maybe a drop.’
Frannie picked up both glasses and walked through to the kitchen. She topped them up, rang the pizza shop, and carried them back through to the lounge. Erica was on the phone, so she quietly placed her glass on the coffee table, and went to get plates for them.
Erica looked puzzled. ‘That was Ivor. Wants me down at the PM suite as early as possible tomorrow to show me something. Didn’t want to tell me over the phone, wants to see my reaction, and see if I sense what he’s sensing, were his words. This doesn’t feel good, Frannie, it doesn’t feel good at all. In fact it’s proper unnerved me. Do you think he didn’t want me to have any sleep at all?’
Frannie laughed. ‘If you can’t get to sleep, I’ll hit you over the head with a book or something.’
‘Thanks, you’re a true friend. Seriously, though, what’s he found?’ Erica took a long drink of the wine.
‘Slow down, sounds as if you need to be sober tomorrow morning. Stop worrying about it now, let’s watch some TV while we have the pizza, then go to bed. That phone call this morning woke us both, so an early night won’t hurt either of us.’
The doorbell summoned Frannie, and she returned with the pizza. ‘Eat,’ she commanded, and Erica picked up a slice.
‘Food,’ she murmured, as if she hadn’t seen any for weeks. ‘This is so good. Will there be any left for breakfast?’
‘You’re a heathen, Erica Cheetham. Nobody has pizza for breakfast. Try toast instead.’
They watched half an hour of Vera, then switched off the television, cleared away the debris of their meal, and headed up to bed. Both were asleep within minutes.
It wasn’t so in the house with only three girls in it. Clare had confessed to Becky and Katie that things had progressed with her and Susie, and Katie and Becky confirmed that they had realised that. Tears had flowed all night and the talk had centred around what could possibly have happened to their friend.
‘She was there and then she wasn’t,’ Clare wailed. ‘Why? She wouldn’t hurt anybody, she’d done nothing wrong. How could somebody have taken her from me, just like that?’
‘Somebody she knew?’ Becky frowned. ‘It had to be. She wouldn’t get into a stranger’s car, or even walk with a stranger. None of it makes sense. And how did she end up in the river? Where did she go in?’
‘Would she walk with a female? Or get in a car with a female?’ Katie spoke quietly. ‘I think we’re all assuming it’s a man, but we don’t know.’
Tears rolled down Clare’s cheeks once again, and they made the decision to go to bed, and wait until Harry and Olivia arrived to see them. Maybe they would have more details by then.
And the first day passed. No answers, only questions, intermittent sleep, and a reluctance to face a new day. Erica rolled over and disturbed Frannie, who enfolded her in her arms, wishing she could offer more comfort, knowing how bad the scene that had confronted her wife must have been, in
