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Back When I Lost You Save as PDF
Chapters (81)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  5. One
  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. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Forty-three
  48. Forty-four
  49. Forty-five
  50. Forty-six
  51. Forty-seven
  52. Forty-eight
  53. Forty-nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-one
  56. Fifty-two
  57. Fifty-three
  58. Fifty-four
  59. Fifty-five
  60. Fifty-six
  61. Fifty-seven
  62. Fifty-eight
  63. Fifty-nine
  64. Sixty
  65. Sixty-one
  66. Sixty-two
  67. Sixty-three
  68. Sixty-four
  69. Sixty-five
  70. Sixty-six
  71. Sixty-seven
  72. Epilogue
  73. Acknowledgments
  74. Read More
  75. Prologue
  76. One
  77. Two
  78. Three
  79. Four
  80. Follow Merilyn online
  81. Dedication

‘He called Joanne.’

‘Gerry called Joanne?’

‘Yep. A few days before O’Brian was killed.’

‘Jesus Christ, Carla, when did you find that out?’

‘Yesterday?’

Nell stared at her. ‘Are you kidding?’

‘No. I was hoping it was a coincidence.’

Nell didn’t bother to reply. Flicking her cigarette into the road, she turned to go. ‘Come on, we need to tell Bremer.’

Nell nodded for Paul to join them as the team gathered by Carla’s desk.

‘Go on,’ she said. Carla relayed her theory about Gerry and Joanne. She clocked Bremer staring hard at her as she spoke.

‘This phone call Gerry made to her. When exactly did you find that?’

‘About two minutes before I walked in the door,’ Nell said before Carla could reply. ‘That’s why we went for a cigarette break, trying to work how it all fits.’

Bremer looked satisfied with the reply. ‘So we now think Mary is the main suspect for Connor, and Gerry and Joanne are linked to her?’

‘Looks that way, yes,’ Nell said.

‘You brought Joanne in, didn’t you? Let’s go and ask her.’

‘The custody sergeant refused to book her. Said there wasn’t enough evidence.’

‘So where is she now?’

‘On her way home, I imagine.’

‘Jesus.’

‘But the husband’s tucked up downstairs,’ Paul pointed out.

‘Yeah, but he’s not going to land her in it, is he? Not after everything they’ve been through.’

‘I’m not sure Joanne will know anything anyway,’ Carla said. ‘I’ve checked and checked, but there are no calls to Joanne and Gerry from the same number. Which you would expect if Mary was in contact with them. I’d have seen a pattern, a triangle of calls, if you like. But there just isn’t one.’

‘Are we any closer to finding out where Mary is?’ Bremer spoke quickly, his face one of measured concern.

‘No. When she left Portsmouth she disappeared and left no trace that I can find. It’s like she disappeared into thin air.’

‘What if we’re on the wrong track?’ Nell said. She went to the board and picked up a pen. ‘Mary disappears in 1984. From Portsmouth,’ she wrote as she spoke. ‘Eve’s HR file says she was in Portsmouth at this time, but we can find no record of her there. The next time we get a record of Eve is when she went to university, right?’ She looked at Carla, who nodded. Nell looked at them all to see if they got where she was going. They didn’t.

‘What if Mary is really Eve?’

‘And that would mean Joanne has been right all along about Eve deliberately fitting her up?’ Carla started to speak quickly. ‘She approached Gerry and he told Eve, who wanted to get rid of her because—’