Chapters (55)
- Cover
- ANNA WHARTON
- Dedication page
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- 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
- 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
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Praise
- THE IMPOSTER
She checks the date on the cutting – 3 May 1980. More than two decades ago. She quickly thumbs through the pile for a more recent cutting, then another; each one still talks of missing Angie and is accompanied by a school photograph of the little girl, her dark hair in two bunches, a milk-tooth smile. Chloe stares at the first cutting she picked up in her hand – this girl has been missing for twenty-five years. She continues reading:
Devastated Mr Kyle told police how he left his daughter on the swings at the deserted park for less than a minute while he went to lock his car. When he returned she was gone.
Dozens of officers combed the surrounding area, while police divers dredged the nearby river for the youngster. But despite a nationwide appeal for information about the missing girl, all leads have proved fruitless. Now, six months on from her disappearance, police have been forced to scale back their search.
Chloe pauses, her gaze shifting to his wife, Maureen. Her pain is less visible than his, worn on the inside so her face has become nothing but a shell. Chloe glances between them, from the man to his wife. His arm around her shoulders in the photograph, his knuckles white, his grip on her tight. Chloe picks up another cutting at random from her desk, this time his hand wrapped around hers. She picks up another, another, another. It’s the same in every picture. Their togetherness carrying the pair of them. Chloe only feels the pinch of envy for a second – how could she feel it for any longer when she reads on?
Detective Inspector Tom Newton, of Peterborough Constabulary, told this newspaper, ‘Over the last few months we have carried out searches of Ferry Meadows and the surrounding areas. Police divers have dredged the Nene and locals have been out in force alongside officers covering many acres of grass and woodland, but sadly there have been no sightings of Angela since the day she went missing. Like the family, we will never give up hope that Angela will be reunited with her parents, but with no new leads we’ve been forced to scale back our operations. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the public for their help in the search and remind them that an incident number will remain active in the hope of new information.’
Chloe opens up the next cutting, then the next, earlier ones before the police scaled back. Staggered across her desk, the headlines fit together like pieces of a jigsaw.
GIRL, FOUR, MISSING FROM LOCAL PARK
FEARS GROW FOR MISSING ANGIE
MOTHER’S PLEA: ‘GIVE BACK OUR ANGIE’
FOUND: CLOTH CAT – BUT WHERE IS ANGIE?
She goes back to the original cutting.
DI Newton refused to be drawn into speculation about what might have happened to Angela, although he admitted that police cannot rule out the possibility that she may have been abducted.