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Back The Midnight Man Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Title Page
  2. Contents
  3. Copyright
  4. Praise for Caroline Mitchell
  5. Also by Caroline Mitchell
  6. Dedication
  7. Epigraph
  8. Prologue
  9. 1
  10. 2
  11. 3
  12. 4
  13. 5
  14. 6
  15. 7
  16. 8
  17. 9
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 12
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. 35
  44. 36
  45. 37
  46. 38
  47. 39
  48. 40
  49. 41
  50. 42
  51. 43
  52. 44
  53. 45
  54. 46
  55. 47
  56. 48
  57. 49
  58. 50
  59. 51
  60. 52
  61. 53
  62. 54
  63. 55
  64. 56
  65. 57
  66. 58
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgements
  69. About Caroline Mitchell
  70. About Embla Books

‘They’re not on the plans.’ Sarah pulled down two paper towels to dry her hands. ‘Grandad used to talk about them when I was little. He forbade me and Robin from looking. Apparently our ancestors were not very nice people. I think Grandad was scared of what we might find there.’

‘And you’ve never been tempted to check them out?’

Sarah threw the scrunched-up paper towels in the bin. ‘Would you be tempted to revisit the place where your family was blown to bits?’

‘Sorry. Stupid question,’ Richie replied.

‘Seems like it’s the day for them. I’ve got to get back to work.’

Richie touched her forearm. ‘If you have a hunch then don’t ignore it. Just come to me, not Yvonne. She’ll step on anything you have to say.’

‘Thanks.’ Sarah opened the door. ‘After you.’ At least she had one friend to talk to. But was he a friend she could trust?

37

Sarah sat, head down, at her desk. Her world was closing in and she needed a second to catch her breath. Search teams were out hunting for Jahmelia and local appeals were underway. Statements had been taken from the family by the night shift who’d been covering when the call came in. Think of a word, she told herself, something to distract her from this mess. Yvonne had left the office for a meeting with DI Lee, and she prayed her name would not be raised. Advokate, she thought, from her police training days. Mnemonics had featured heavily during her college days in Police HQ.

The letter A stood for amount – to question the amount of time the suspect was under observation by the witness. D was for distance between witness and suspect. V was for visibility conditions … With each recall, Sarah gathered herself together. It would be OK. Yvonne was just being Yvonne. The senior investigating officer would see sense. She brought up Elsie’s statement on the system. Statements were written in five parts and she went straight to the meat of the interview. Yvonne was known for writing MG11 statements in the witnesses’ voices, which was rare in the general scheme of things. It was a nice touch, and she had certainly captured Elsie, which made it all the more poignant. With a rising sense of gloom, she read.