BooksBarbecue
Back The Game
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. NOW
  4. One
  5. BEFORE
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. NOW
  26. Twenty-One
  27. BEFORE
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. NOW
  46. Thirty-Nine
  47. BEFORE
  48. Forty
  49. Forty-One
  50. Forty-Two
  51. Forty-three
  52. Forty-Four
  53. Forty-Five
  54. Forty-Six
  55. Forty-Seven
  56. Forty-Eight
  57. Forty-Nine
  58. Fifty
  59. Fifty-One
  60. NOW
  61. Fifty-Two
  62. Fifty-Three
  63. Fifty-Four
  64. Fifty-Five
  65. AFTER
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Acknowledgements
  68. About the Author

Then, they would continue looking for a body. Probably wait for the river to hopefully wash it back to shore. If it was suicide.

A thought jumped into his mind, which he quickly tried to forget.

Please be a suicide. I don’t want it to be a murder.

‘I’ve seen people come back,’ Mark said finally, watching as Stephanie lifted the kettle and began pouring. ‘I’ve dealt with many families over the years who think there’s no hope. There’s always hope. Nothing is over until it’s over.’

‘And then the real battle starts,’ Stephanie replied, handing him a mug that had probably been new when he was starting out in the police service. He swivelled it in his hand so the chipped rim faced away from his mouth. Tried not to think of what the inside of it looked like before the liquid was added.

‘So, you’re just going to be asking us more questions then?’ Stephanie said, stirring milk into the rest of the cups on the counter. ‘Seeing if any of us slip up and tell you she’s in the attic. I’ve seen these stories before. You always think it’s the family… if she hasn’t done something to herself.’

‘I’m only going to be trying to find Emily,’ Mark replied, enjoying the warmth of the cup in his hand. ‘No one is under suspicion at the moment. If you need to tell me anything, that’s what I’m here for. I’ll listen to everything you’ve got to say – any worries, or if you have your own theories. And to learn about Emily.’

‘Sounds like a hiding to nothing to me. No offence.’

‘None taken,’ Mark said, waving his hand away at the remark. ‘I know what you mean. It might seem small, but that’s often the thing that provides the answers. It’s my job to recognise that tiny bit of information.’

‘And what if she’s never found?’

‘That’s something we don’t need to think about now.’

And he hoped they never would.

Six

Mark asked Stephanie questions he was sure had already been asked. He guessed she would be used to going over the same thing over and over by now, but it made it no less awkward.

‘I don’t know much of anything,’ Stephanie said, as he made notes while she spoke. ‘Nothing that would be of any help, anyway. I’ve been away the last few months. Second year at uni. First one in the family to go.’

‘Emily didn’t go?’

Stephanie shook her head. ‘Don’t think she was ever interested in going to university.’

‘Did no one suspect she had dropped out?’