‘One of them sounded a bit like they do on EastEnders, but I can’t remember much about the other one.’

‘That’s helpful. It tells me that one of the men might have come from London – you see, even little details can be a great help. It’s rather like a jigsaw puzzle and the more pieces you have the easier it becomes to see the big picture.’

‘Yes, but I can’t think of anything else.’ Tears were brimming in her eyes.

‘It’s fine, don’t worry about it. What you’ve told me is useful information and if you do think of something else can you tell your mother and she’ll let me know?’

‘Okay.’ Hayley looked at Angela.

‘Perhaps you’d like to go upstairs while Detective Bennet and I have a chat?’ Angela suggested. Hayley stood up and politely said goodbye before disappearing back upstairs.

‘She seems to be doing quite well.’

‘Yes, but it would have been better if it had never happened at all.’

‘Of course, but sadly it did, yet we’ve had the best outcome, I think.’

‘Do you, really?’

‘Oh yes, in some cases a child is never returned and it could be that we never learn what happened to them.’ Dave was thinking partly about the Bryson family, who endured fourteen years before discovering what happened to their daughter.

‘You’re right, sorry. I know we got Hayley back but the kidnapping seems to have been a catalyst for other problems.’ Angela looked thoughtful but said no more.

‘If it’s anything you think we can help you with, please say so.’

‘It’s nothing anyone can help with. Would you like a coffee?’

Dave’s instinct told him she needed to talk, so he accepted her offer and followed her into the kitchen where they sat at the table and Angela Parks poured out her troubles.

47

DAY 6

Pete was heading for the one place he felt safe, the place where no one would be able to find him. Furious with the way things had turned out, he blamed Sal and her boy, convincing himself that it wasn’t his fault. Sal had been stupid enough to let Danny go – and if she hadn’t – her son wouldn’t have been shot.

Pete’s anger was directed anywhere but at himself. He hadn’t hung around to see what would happen next, wanting to be out of there as quickly as possible. Neil said the boy was dead but Pete was hoping he wasn’t – not from any empathy with Sal but because the police investigation would be a priority if he was. Still, Neil and Sal didn’t know where he was going so they couldn’t blab to the police and he had the money which would smooth out any bumps in his plans to move on.