Snatched (47 page)

‘I know,’ Sue murmured guiltily. ‘He’s been through a lot lately.’

‘You know he can talk, don’t you?’ Jack said quietly.

‘No.’ Sue shook her head. ‘He’s not been able to talk since the fire. The doctor’s say it’s psychological; after-effect of the shock.’

‘I’ve heard him,’ Jack insisted. ‘Earlier . . . calling out to someone called Nicky.’

‘That’s his sister,’ Sue gasped, her eyes stinging with sudden tears as she realised that it must be true. She’d never mentioned Nicky to Jack, and Dave barely gave him the time of day, so he wouldn’t have told him. So the only way he could have known was if, as he’d said, he’d heard Connor saying the name.

Licking his lips now, Jack said, ‘I’m tired.’

‘Do you want me to go and let you get some sleep?’ Sue asked, sniffing back the tears.

‘No, stay,’ he said, his fingers holding onto hers. ‘I meant tired of life. It’s not been the same since . . .’ Trailing off, he inhaled deeply and slowly.

Scared that he was taking his last breath, Sue gazed at him worriedly. ‘Are you all right, Mr Miller?’

‘I’m still here,’ he said quietly. Then, ‘You should leave.’

Sue’s frown deepened. She’d just asked if he wanted her to leave and he’d said no. Now he was telling her to go. She supposed it must be the drugs confusing him, but she wished he’d make up his mind.

‘David’s no good,’ he went on, sounding sad now. ‘I know he’s my boy, but he’s trouble, and he’ll hurt you. He hurts everyone who cares about him. And you do, don’t you?’

‘Yes,’ Sue admitted, feeling the need to defend Dave, because he wasn’t as bad as his dad seemed to think. ‘I know he’s not a saint,’ she said, ‘but he’s been good to me and Connor, and I don’t know what I’d have done without him these past few weeks. I was surprised, actually, because I’ve known him a long time and hadn’t seen this side of him. But he’s got a good heart.’ Smiling now, she squeezed Jack’s hand. ‘Obviously takes after you, eh?’

There was a tap on the door just then, and Jay Osborne looked in. Feeling the heavy atmosphere in the room, she instinctively lowered her voice as she said, ‘Sorry for disturbing you, Mrs Day, but do you think I could have a quick word?’

Glancing up at her, her eyes filled with dread, Sue said, ‘It’s not Connor, is it? Nothing’s happened to him?’

Shaking her head, Jay said, ‘Connor’s fine. I’ve just come from Mrs Wilson’s and she said to tell you he’s been as good as gold.’ Casting a quick glance at Jack now and seeing how frail he looked, she said, ‘Maybe we should talk outside so we don’t disturb Mr Miller.’

‘Don’t mind me,’ Jack said quietly, the rare hint of humour in his voice surprising Sue, because Dave had told her that his dad was a miserable old fucker – and she hadn’t seen much evidence to the contrary since she’d been living with him. ‘I’m not going to be here too much longer, so I’m hardly going to tell anyone what you’re saying, am I?’

‘Don’t say that,’ Sue murmured sadly.

‘It’s true,’ Jack said softly. ‘But don’t worry, I won’t be missed. Anyhow, come on in and say what you’ve got to say, love.’

Jay had really wanted to discuss this with her in private, but Sue was obviously reluctant to leave the old man. And Jay couldn’t blame her if he was as far gone as he seemed to think he was.

Saying, ‘Okay, if you’re sure,’ Jay stepped into the room and closed the door quietly. ‘I’ll try to keep it brief.’

Pulling up a chair beside Sue now, she said, ‘We received an anonymous call earlier tonight, from someone who claimed to have information linking your husband to your daughter’s disappearance.’

‘No,’ Sue said immediately, shaking her head. ‘No way. Not Terry. He loves those kids, and he would never do anything to hurt them.’

Jay agreed, but she couldn’t say that. Instead, she said, ‘We’ve taken Mr Day into custody, and he’ll be formally interviewed as soon as his solicitor is available. But in the meantime, I need to know if there’s anything you can tell me about that night which might have relevance to this new line of inquiry?’

‘Like what?’ Sue asked, frowning. ‘I’ve told you everything.’

‘Maybe you could have forgotten something,’ Jay said, holding Sue’s gaze. ‘Is there a possibility that you could have seen your husband before you went out that night, for example? Or did you see his car in the vicinity when he should have been at work?’

‘No, definitely not,’ Sue said, dipping her gaze and peering down at Jack’s wrinkled hand in hers.

‘Are you absolutely certain?’ Jay persisted. ‘I know you’ve reported him for domestic violence in the past so, if you’re worried about speaking out, please be assured that you’ll have our full protection.’

Blushing deeply now, ashamed to be receiving sympathy about something that had been an absolute lie, Sue muttered, ‘He’s not like that. They were just arguments that got out of hand, and I should never have said what I said. He’s a good man, and he loves his kids. He just didn’t love me any more, and I lashed out. But it wasn’t true.’

Accepting this without question, because it was exactly what she’d suspected all along, Jay said, ‘I’m sure Mr Day will appreciate your honesty. But we still need to know if there’s anything you’ve forgotten to tell us about that night. Maybe Nicky mentioned her father?’

‘No.’ Sue shook her head. ‘Things had been pretty bad between me and Terry, and I banned him from seeing them.’

‘I understand the situation,’ Jay said softly. ‘But if you’re saying that your husband is a good man who loves the children, do you think there’s a possibility that Nicky might have continued to have contact with him without your knowledge?’

‘No.’ Another shake of the head. ‘I’d have known if she’d been seeing him, and she definitely wasn’t. Anyway, she never went out except to go to school.’

‘And you don’t think there’s even a slight chance that he might have called round to the house to see them that night; that Nicky might have alerted him that you’d gone out?’

Sue’s blush was deepening. She felt terrible. If Terry had been arrested, then they must have reason to doubt his alibi. But there was no way he would have gone to the house, not after Sue had already had him arrested for trespassing. And Nicky hadn’t been there when Sue had gone out – but she still couldn’t admit that, not even if it led to them clearing Terry. Because then
she
would be in trouble. And it would destroy her if they took Connor away. Apart from which, Dave wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her if he knew what she’d done.

Assuming that Sue’s red face was the result of having had to admit that she’d lied about Terry being violent, Jay decided that there was probably nothing more that she would learn from her tonight. They would talk to her again when Terry’s questioning had got under way, but they were done for now. So, thanking her and apologising again to Jack, she got up and walked to the door.

Hesitating there when she remembered Connor’s picture, she took it out of her pocket, saying, ‘Oh, by the way, Mrs Wilson asked me to take a look at this. Apparently, Connor drew it earlier, and she was concerned about it.’ Handing it to Sue now, she said, ‘I’m not sure whether it’s anything more than a display of his emotions about Nicky, but Mrs Wilson seems to think that he thinks he knows where Nicky is.’

‘Did he talk to her?’ Sue asked, wondering if she was the only one who didn’t know that Connor had started talking again. And worrying about what he might have told them already.

‘Not at first,’ Jay said. ‘Apparently she just asked him questions and he nodded or shook his head. But later on, she thought she heard him say the word “shed”.’ Pointing at the picture now, she repeated what Pauline had told her. ‘That’s Nicky, and those look like trees, and we think that this must be the shed he was referring to. I just wondered if it might mean anything to you?’

Looking at the teardrops on the face in the picture, Sue felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Poor Connor. First talking to himself as if he was actually talking to Nicky. And now this. He was obviously missing her even more than anyone had realised.

‘My shed,’ Jack murmured just then, his voice even weaker than before as he peered sideways at the picture Sue was holding. ‘Broken glass, horizontal trees. Boy’s been going down there. Came back crying.’

Jay gave Sue a questioning look. Shrugging, Sue said, ‘I didn’t even know there
was
a shed. And I didn’t know Connor had been in the garden. He was probably just wishing Nicky was there playing with him like she used to.’

‘David doesn’t know,’ Jack said, clutching at Sue’s hand as pain skittered across his brow. ‘Thinks it’s his shed now,’ he went on after a second. ‘Don’t tell him the boy’s been down there or he’ll be angry.’

Gravely concerned as the look of pain on the old man’s face intensified, Sue said, ‘I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to, Mr Miller.’ Glancing up at Jay now, she said, ‘Should we get the nurse?’

Already heading for the door, Jay said, ‘I’ll get her. You stay here.’

Calling for help, Jay stood back as a couple of nurses came into the room to minister to Jack. Mrs Wilson was convinced that there was something important about the picture, and now Mr Miller had said that Connor had been crying when he’d come back from playing down at his shed today, and Jay was beginning to think that it might be worth taking a look at it. She doubted that Nicky could really be in there, because they had searched every house and garden on the estate. But if there was even the slimmest chance that something had been overlooked she wanted to know.

Standing beside her, Sue was shaking so badly that her arm kept knocking against Jay’s. Giving her a reassuring smile when the nurses settled Jack down, Jay said, ‘He’s okay now – don’t get upset.’

Nodding, Sue exhaled tensely and went back to her seat.

Coming over as Sue took the old man’s hand in hers again, Jay said, ‘I’m going to go and let you rest, Mr Miller. But I wonder if you’d mind if I go and take a look in your shed? Probably nothing there, but I’d like to see – so I can reassure Connor, if nothing else.’

All too aware that he was slipping away, Jack told her to look wherever she liked. His fingers too weak to squeeze Sue’s more than a whisper now, he added, ‘Sorry, Sue, but he’s got things he shouldn’t have and it’s time he was stopped.’ Pausing for breath, he swallowed loudly. ‘Keep Connor away from him,’ he murmured after a moment. ‘He’s . . .’

‘Oh, no,’ Sue sobbed as Jack’s mouth went slack. ‘Please don’t die, Mr Miller. Dave should be here with you, not me. Just wait till I’ve phoned him,
please
.’

‘He’s gone,’ Jay said quietly, putting a gentle hand on Sue’s shoulder. ‘And so’s the pain. Look.’

Glancing up through her tears, Sue saw that Jack’s face was no longer agonised; it was relaxed and peaceful.

Swiping at the tears, she said, ‘I’ve only known him a week, so you must think I’m stupid for crying like this. But he was nice to me, and Connor seemed to like him. And I know it must have disturbed him suddenly having us move in when he’d spent so long on his own in the middle of nowhere, but he never showed it. He just left us to get on with it.’

‘So he didn’t live on the estate?’ Jay asked.

‘No.’ Plucking a tissue out of the box on Jack’s bedside table, Sue wiped her nose. ‘He’s got a house just outside Wythenshawe. Dave moved in with him when he left Carole. Oh, God, Dave,’ she said now. ‘I’m going to have to tell him about his dad. And he was so happy earlier.’

Watching thoughtfully as Sue slid her hand out of Jack’s, Jay said, ‘Could you tell me the address, please? I’d like to nip over there before you and Dave get back, so we can take a look around without disturbing you.’

Telling Jay what she needed to know, Sue thanked her for being so thoughtful. Then, walking out into the corridor with her, she went off to call Dave while Jay walked quickly back out to the car.

Jay’s instincts were on fire. She hadn’t wanted to say anything to Sue in case she’d got it wrong, but there was something about this whole set-up that disturbed her. She’d heard how much Dave Miller hated Terry Day for setting up home with his daughter, so could it be possible that he had had something to do with the fire as a means of revenge? Unlikely that he’d have targeted Sue’s house, given that they had apparently embarked on a relationship, but there was definitely something suspicious going on. And Ann wouldn’t mind trekking over there, because she’d already made it clear that she’d love nothing better than to catch Dave Miller out. And even if they found nothing but the ‘things’ his father had said that he had but
shouldn’t
have, it would be something.

‘Dave?’ Sue said when he answered his phone, a fresh burst of sobs catching in her throat. ‘You need to come to the hospital. Your d-dad . . .’

‘Is he dead?’ Dave asked, sounding like he didn’t give a toss.

Misinterpreting the coldness as shock, Sue said, ‘I’m so sorry, love. But he wasn’t on his own. I was holding his hand. And he’d been chatting to me and the policewoman before—’

‘What policewoman?’ Dave interrupted, the sound of him pulling deeply on a cigarette hissing down Sue’s ear.

‘The one who’s been looking for Nicky,’ Sue told him, sniffling back her tears. ‘She dropped by to tell me that they’ve arrested Terry. And then she showed me a picture that Connor drew, and your dad reckoned it was your shed, so she’s gone to take a look at it. But she said she’d be out of the way by the time we—’

‘What the fuck do you mean, she’s gone to look at it?’ Dave cut her off, his voice furious.

‘Sorry,’ Sue said, thinking that he was offended that they were doing this when his father had just died.

‘They’ve got no fucking right,’ Dave snarled, his breath jerking now as he ran out of the pub to his car. ‘They need a warrant to search it.’

‘Your dad told her it was okay,’ Sue said quietly.

‘Yeah, well, it’s none of his business any more,’ Dave snapped. ‘He’s dead, so it’s mine, and it’s not okay by me.’