Chapters (62)
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- About the Author
- About the Book
- Dedication
- Your Worst Nightmare
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- The Answer to All Your Prayers
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- Somebody Else’s Child
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- Sunlight on Water
- July
- September
- Acknowledgements
Her statement is on the table in front of her, printed in a large font, double spaced and easy to read as a kindergarten story. The room is silent, and as she picks up the sheet of paper, her microphone broadcasts its rustle around the room.
She clears her throat. The sound of it seems everywhere.
The PR woman leans across to her and touches her arm.
‘Take your time, Claire,’ she says.
Claire stares out at the room.
They’re here to help, she tells herself, and starts to read.
‘Our son Evan . . .’ Her voice sounds odd, unexpected, nothing like the voice she knows from her own head. Disconcerted, she stops.
She begins again.
‘Our son Evan is a bright, kind, funny boy . . .’
The truth of these words is a punch to the heart.
‘Kind and funny,’ she says again, though they’re not repeated in the script. ‘Wherever he is, we know he just wants to come home.’ The last word is unclear, hampered by the misery swelling her throat, so she says it again, more forcefully.
‘Home.’
She looks out at the BBC presenter, but he’s staring at his knees. Few of her audience are actually looking at her.
‘Somebody, somewhere, knows where Evan is. If that’s you, please, please let him go.’
There are only two more lines, but Claire abandons them to finish in her own words.
‘We’re begging you, just tell us where he is. Evan, my darling, we love you so much. Just hang in there. We love you.’
She stops.
There are whole seconds of silence before Campbell picks up the baton, turning to the photofit of the tattooed man.
‘The man behind me is a person of interest in this investigation, and we’re asking members of the public who may know him to come forward. His tattoo is very distinctive, and the message we want to get out there is if anyone’s seen it, please don’t hesitate, do the right thing and pick up the phone. We’ll be staging a full reconstruction of Evan’s abduction at five p.m. this afternoon and we’ll hope to see all of you there. Any questions?’
Hands go up around the room, but Dale Vardy speaks up without waiting for Campbell to make his choice.
‘Are you still treating this as a missing persons case, Chief Inspector? Realistically, what are the chances now of finding Evan alive?’
With Matt and Claire in the room, the insensitivity of his question evokes a collective intake of breath. Claire feels Matt flinch. The PR woman scowls, and her colleague looks to see who’s spoken and makes a note of his name.