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

‘Emily is a bright, intelligent young woman,’ DI Bennett continued, playing her part well. Mark knew some of the reporters in the audience would already be questioning why someone of her rank was conducting this press conference. Wondering why a detective inspector was seemingly leading this investigation.

‘We are increasingly worried about her safety. She has no history of running away. No history of going missing. This is a situation which is greatly worrying. Her last movements have been shared, but I’ll go over them again. She was last seen on CCTV, at two-twenty a.m., making her way into a disused warehouse yard on the Liverpool waterfront, off Sefton Street. Brunswick Business Park is close by, as is the old Century building. While this is not a heavily trafficked area during the early hours of the morning, we believe there may have been some witnesses who may have noticed Emily’s movements at this time. We’d urge anyone with information to come forward and provide that to us. No matter how small or insignificant you may think it is.’

Mark watched Stephanie, as DI Bennett continued to talk. Her lips were pursed together, her blonde hair hanging past her shoulders. Sitting beside her, Julie seemed to withdraw further into herself.

‘Emily, it’s Mum,’ Julie said, when it was her turn to speak, her voice cracking, stilted, as she struggled to get those words out. ‘We’re all worried about you. We just want you to come home. You’re not in any trouble.’

Maybe, maybe not, Mark thought.

‘We all want you back home and safe with us. That’s all we need. Just get in touch and let us know you’re okay, if you can’t come home yet. Everyone misses you. Charlie, Uncle Rich. We just need to know you’re okay.’

Mark watched a few exchanged glances between the reporters at the mention of the uncle. Eyebrows raised as they began to wonder how this story would play out.

‘We just want to know you’re safe, Emily,’ Stephanie said, the moment to speak passing to her. ‘And if you’re in trouble, then you have people who will support you no matter what. Please, just get in touch. And if anyone out there has seen Emily, or spoken to her, get in contact and let us know.’

Mark was impressed by the pair, their heartfelt pleas coming across as genuine and just needy enough to be effective. He wasn’t sure how much play they would get on local news channels, but he thought it would be all over social media within an hour at least.

Another tweet that could be shared over and over, as if they really had any effect.