A man had to be in charge. It was a man’s duty. And George Markham had never shirked his duty.

He was back home, showered, changed and in bed by eleven forty-five. Elaine tripped in at four thirty and George was well and truly asleep. She felt a moment’s remorse as she looked down at his sleeping face. Then she thought of Hector and smiled. Hector Henderson. She said the name to herself a few times, enjoying the feeling it created. A good strong name. Hector Henderson. He had given her his phone number!

She giggled into her pillow, clenching her fists in excitement. She would ring him in the week.

Finally, Elaine slept.

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

‘How long has she been missing?’

‘Since last night. Her mother’s going out of her mind with worry, and I can’t say I blame her, can you? They’ve tried all her friends. Her father had dropped her off at her best friend’s house . . .’

Kate listened attentively to Amanda Dawkins.

‘And she’s never stayed out before? Has she got a boyfriend?’

‘No to both questions, Kate. The girl seems to be the perfect daughter. Always rang if she was going to be late, always let them know exactly where she was. I get the impression from this friend, Samantha Jewson, that Louise was looked down on because of it. I think this Samantha fancies herself as a bit of a girl, know what I mean?’

‘Well, we’ll get the cars to keep an eye out for her, but I have an awful feeling in my gut that she is not coming home. Not alive, anyway.

‘Listen, let the papers know about it, ask if any of the readers can remember seeing her. After she was at Samantha Jewson’s house, she seems to have disappeared. Someone must have seen her. What’s happening with the door-to-door? Anything suspicious in that department?’

‘Not really, there are eighty uniforms on the job. Each has been allocated a certain number of streets, but like everything else it takes time. We had a couple of suspicious characters but their alibis are watertight. Oh, before I forget, we’ve received all the names of sex pests, perverts and fully fledged rapists. We’re trying to locate each and every one of them. Most of the uniforms and CID from all over the county are offering to work in their spare time.’

‘We could do with them as well. Right then, I think the best thing we can do now is try and calm Louise Butler’s parents. If she was at a rave, how come we haven’t had anything from the patrol cars about it?’

Amanda breathed out heavily.

‘There were no patrol cars there.’

Kate looked aghast.

‘You’re joking! On the news this morning it said that over eight hundred kids turned up!’