In which case why didn’t Ridley mention that call when he spoke to him? Unless he and Helen hadn’t really ended things at all?
Chapter Seventy-One
Gardner had called Abby and told her about Miklos Prochazka. That he’d admitted everything, that he’d be charged with conspiracy to commit a sexual offence, assault, and possibly conspiracy to kidnap. He’d be punished for what he’d done to her. She seemed grateful to him and that little piece of gratitude stuck in his throat. Maybe it was something, a part of the puzzle, some closure on part of her ordeal. But it hadn’t helped him to find Beth. And that was what Abby wanted more than anything else.
He hadn’t asked her about Damek Hajek, about how she felt. It was none of his business. Maybe someday she’d tell him, when it was all over. But for now it didn’t matter because it wasn’t over. He still needed to find Helen Deal before he could bring Beth home.
They’d traced a house in Whitby which belonged to Catherine Portman, Helen’s mother, but there was no sign that Helen, or anyone else, had been there recently. The mother was in a nursing home. She didn’t know what year it was never mind where her daughter might be. The staff claimed Helen hadn’t been to visit for almost six years.
They were checking CCTV, looking for her car, trying to trace her phone, liaising with other forces, but to all extents and purposes Helen had disappeared.
He called Sara Walters, the nanny, and asked if he could speak to her again. She’d agreed and he asked her to meet him at the station. He didn’t think Sara was complicit in any of it. He’d be surprised if she knew anything at all about Helen’s past. But she could know something, some small detail that could help, that could lead him to Helen. It was worth a try.
He walked through the doors and found Sara was already there waiting for him. She stood up when he came in, looking nervous. She’d probably never been in a police station in her life.
‘Thanks for coming.’ He led her through to an interview room. ‘Can I get you a drink?’ Sara shook her head so they both sat. She knotted her hands in front of her.
‘I take it you haven’t heard from Helen,’ Gardner said.
Sara shook her head again. ‘What’s she done?’
‘What makes you think she’s done something?’ Gardner said.
‘Why else would you need to find her? And why would she have disappeared, taken all her photos?’ Sara looked at him with tears in her eyes. ‘She’s not coming back, is she?’
Gardner sighed. ‘It’s unlikely,’ he said. ‘How long have you worked for her?’
Sara wiped her eyes with a tissue. ‘About two years,’ she said.
‘How did you get the job? Did you know Helen before you started working for her?’
‘No,’ Sara said. ‘I was working for an agency. She hired me through that temporarily and then took me on permanently after a few months.’
‘Did she have a nanny before that? Casey’s how old? Six?’
‘Almost six,’ Sara said. ‘She’ll be six in November. But I don’t know if she had anyone before me. She’s never mentioned anyone.’
‘So what do you do for Helen? What does your job entail? Are you full-time? You don’t live there, do you?’
‘No,’ Sara said, shaking her head. ‘I work most days but not all day. I usually take Casey to school and pick her up. On a weekend I’ll take her out places. Occasionally Helen will come but I don’t think she likes being out of the house.’
‘She has agoraphobia? ‘Gardner asked.
Sara shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I don’t think so. She goes out sometimes but not a lot. Most of the time I’ll take Casey by myself.’
‘What about when Casey’s at school. Do you do anything else for Helen? Do you do her shopping or anything if she doesn’t like to go out?’
‘Sometimes she’ll ask me to pick something up for her but I don’t do it regularly. I guess she must go herself,’ she said and frowned. ‘I don’t know. I never really thought about it. Maybe someone else does it.’
Gardner made a note and wondered if Helen only left the house without Casey so that people she knew wouldn’t see them. Would they know her baby had died? He doubted Helen had many close friends so would anyone else notice anything strange?
‘You didn’t answer,’ Sara said. ‘When I asked what she’s done.’
Gardner wasn’t sure he was ready to tell her everything. He wanted to know what she knew first.
‘Is it about what happened with Casey? About that woman who followed us?’
‘Does Helen ever have people over?’ he asked.
‘No, not that I know of,’ she said. ‘I don’t think she socialises a lot.’
‘Why’s that, do you think?’
Sara shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know her that well really.’
‘But you’ve worked for her for two years.’
‘She keeps to herself. She tells me what she wants me to do. She pays me well,’ Sara said. ‘She’s always alright with me but she doesn’t really talk to me.’
‘You don’t think it’s odd?’ Gardner asked. ‘I mean, I hardly get on with my boss but I know he has a wife and three kids. He found out when my mother died and he made a point of asking me about her funeral. People who work together, especially closely like you and Helen, they usually talk. Get to know each other.’
‘She’s private,’ Sara said. ‘Other families I’ve worked for have been more chatty.’ She shrugged again. ‘Helen’s different. She’s kind of...’
‘Kind of what?’ Gardner asked.
‘I don’t know. She keeps a distance and that’s fine. Sometimes she’s a bit odd, she gets angry.’
‘With who? You? Casey?’
‘No,’ Sara said. ‘She never shouts at Casey. Ever. And that’s weird,’ she said, smiling. ‘All parents shout at their kids. But Helen never does. Not that I’ve seen anyway. She treats her like a princess. Like she’s some kind of precious object that can’t be touched.’
Gardner thought this was an odd way to describe a kid. But then if Helen had lost one baby, maybe she was paranoid about losing another.
‘She get angry with you?’ he asked Sara.
‘No, not really. A couple of times, mostly when I first started, she got a bit upset with me. Like, if I brought Casey back a few minutes late or if she came back with dirt on her or something. She’s a little over-protective.’
No shit, Gardner thought. She probably thought that Sara had run off with her or was going to kill her with mud poisoning. He had to wonder why she’d allow anyone else near the girl, let alone look after her all day.
‘I’ve heard her shouting on the phone though,’ Sara continued. ‘A few times. I think maybe she was talking to Casey’s dad. I don’t think they have a very good relationship. I guess it ended badly.’
‘What do you know about him? Casey’s dad?’ Gardner asked.
‘Nothing really,’ Sara said. ‘I’ve never met him. I know sometimes they’d go and visit him, not often but now and then. But he never came to the house,’ she said. ‘I guess Helen didn’t want him there.’
‘So they’re still in touch though,’ Gardner said and wondered how honest Alan Ridley had been.
‘I guess. I think maybe Helen would prefer it if they weren’t but I suppose she does it for Casey’s sake.’
‘Do you think maybe Helen would’ve taken Casey there now?’ he asked. Sara frowned but didn’t say anything. She had to know by now that Helen wasn’t really in Devon. ‘Do you think she would’ve gone to see Casey’s dad?’
‘I’m not sure. Like I said, I don’t think they got on well. I remember coming in one day and Helen was surrounded by photos. I don’t think she even knew I was in the room. I picked a photo up and asked who the man was and Helen jumped up, snatched it off me a
nd told me to get out. The next day she seemed in a better mood so I asked her if he was Casey’s dad. She said yes but she wouldn’t go into it anymore. I guess it was a sore point.’
‘So you know what he looks like, Casey’s dad?’ Gardner asked. Sara nodded and Gardner stood up. ‘I’ll be right back,’ he said.
He returned with a file, flicking through it, and pulled out the driving licence photo of Alan Ridley.
‘That him?’ he said pushing the photocopy at Sara. She leant forward and squinted at the picture.
‘No,’ she said. ‘This guy’s way older. Paul was maybe a little younger than Helen, kind of skinny.’
‘Paul?’ Gardner said and felt every muscle in his body tense. ‘His name was Paul?’
‘Yes,’ Sara said and pushed the piece of paper back towards him. ‘I remember Helen saying “Paul’s no longer part of this family”. Then she wouldn’t talk about it anymore.’
Gardner blinked and tried to form some words. He looked down at the file and sifted through the sheets. It had to be in there. At the bottom he found another photograph. One that had been used a long time ago. One that showed what a happy family Beth had been taken away from. He pushed the picture of Paul, Abby and Beth Henshaw towards Sara.
‘Is that him?’ he asked, his voice shaking. ‘Is that Casey’s dad?’
‘Yes,’ Sara said. ‘That’s him.’
Chapter Seventy-Two
Helen heard the door close and she stood up to go into the kitchen but Casey beat her to it. ‘Daddy!’ Casey shouted and Helen saw her run to Paul and hold her arms up for him to hug her. She stared at Paul. He looked like he’d seen a ghost and for a moment she thought she was looking at one. He was gaunt and pale. More than usual.
She’d been there for hours, waiting for him to arrive, making herself at home although she was hardly at home there. They weren’t exactly the normal family. Helen had only been there a handful of times. She hated it there. There was no one around for miles. It was like a ghost town. She understood why he chose to live there, he had secrets. But it was so boring.
There’d been no sign of life, no cups left on the drainer, no bowls of porridge on the table. She walked through to the living room and turned on the light. Nobody home. She saw the phone on a table beside the sofa and recognised the blinking light. She guessed he hadn’t got her message.
For a second Paul held her gaze until he looked down at Casey and smiled. ‘Hey princess,’ he said. ‘What are you doing here?’ He picked Casey up and kissed her.
‘Me and Mummy came to see you. We got here ages ago but you weren’t here.’
Paul looked at Helen. ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked her.
‘Casey told you. We came to see you, Paul,’ she said and smiled. ‘Didn’t you get my message?’
‘What message?’ he asked and put Casey down.
‘I left a message for you letting you know we were coming,’ Helen said. ‘Where’ve you been?’
Paul walked past Helen into the living room. He looked at the answering machine, saw the blinking light.
‘Can we go and look at the horses again,’ Casey asked, following them into the room. ‘We could take some carrots. Horses like carrots, don’t they?’
‘Maybe.’ Paul nodded and smiled at Casey and then looked at Helen. ‘How long have you been here?’ he said.
‘Just a few hours,’ Helen said, before turning to Casey. ‘Go upstairs, honey.’
‘But I want to see Daddy.’
‘Upstairs,’ Helen repeated. ‘Daddy and I need to talk about something. About a present for you.’
Paul rolled his eyes and Casey’s face lit up. ‘Is it a pony?’ she asked. ‘Or a puppy.’
‘Wait and see,’ Helen said and watched Casey skip out of the room. When she heard her walk across the creaking floorboard upstairs she smiled at Paul. ‘So where have you been, Paul? I was getting worried about you.’
‘I’m sure you were,’ Paul said. ‘I was always your top priority.’
‘She came looking for her,’ Helen said. ‘She frightened Casey half to death, chasing after her.’
She saw Paul’s jaw clench but he just shrugged. ‘Who?’ he said. Helen laughed. He was a terrible liar. To her anyway.
‘She was trying to take Casey away,’ Helen said. ‘Somehow she knew that she’d be at that play. You know, the one you were supposed to go to? That you were meant to take your daughter to.’
‘I couldn’t go,’ Paul said. ‘I had to work. I told you that.’
‘Well, looks like you were right not to go. She would’ve seen you. Think how that would’ve looked.’ She watched him for a reaction but he kept his head down. ‘You still haven’t told me where you were.’
‘Away. There was a book fair,’ Paul said. ‘I don’t need to check in with you, Helen, we’re not together anymore. You can’t control me.’
‘What if there’d been an emergency? What if something had happened to Casey?’
‘When have you ever needed me for anything?’ Paul said. ‘You told me that yourself. You don’t need me. Casey doesn’t need me.’ He stood up and walked past Helen into the kitchen. Helen followed him and leaned against the doorframe while he pottered about. ‘Is that why you’re here? You need somewhere to hide?’ he said.
Helen stood up straight. ‘Where else would I go? We’re in this together, remember?’ Paul leaned against the worktop and closed his eyes. ‘We did this together.’ Helen could see his hand shaking as he turned to her.
‘If they’re looking for you–’ he started.
‘Why would they look here?’ Helen said. ‘I haven’t given them any possible reason to suspect you. What possible reason could they have for looking here?’
Paul swallowed. ‘None. They wouldn’t,’ he said quietly.
‘Then we’ll be okay won’t we?’ she said and went to the bottom of the stairs. ‘Casey?’ she called up. ‘Come down now, honey. Come and talk to your daddy.’
Casey came bounding down the stairs and ran at Paul. ‘Can we go and see the horses? Please?’ she begged.
The knock at the door caused them all to turn. When neither Helen nor Paul moved, Casey started running to the door. Helen ran after her but was too late. Casey pulled open the door. A blonde woman looked at Casey and then up at Helen before tossing a cigarette butt across the garden.
‘Yes?’ Helen said.
‘Is Paul there?’ the woman asked.
‘Who are you?’ Helen said, her arm going around Casey’s shoulders, pulling her close.
Chapter Seventy-Three
Gardner sat in the car, still in shock. He wasn’t sure he was capable of telling Abby that her ex-husband had been the one who’d taken Beth from her.
After Sara told him, he’d been in denial himself. She must’ve been mistaken. Maybe the man Helen claimed was the little girl’s dad just looked like Paul Henshaw. And happened to be called Paul too. Maybe Helen and Paul got involved with each other in the years after she’d taken Beth and Paul had no idea who the girl really was. He thought he was being a step-father to Casey Deal, none the wiser about her real identity. Maybe it was some awful coincidence.
No, Helen must’ve known who Paul was, known he was Abby’s ex. She’d practically stalked Abby, sending Miklos and his cousin to sabotage her car. She would’ve known who Paul was. Maybe it was another of her games. She’d taken her time and found Paul Henshaw, seducing him, getting him involved, playing him, making him an accessory to her crime. If only.
He knew Abby hadn’t had contact with Paul since the divorce. Bitter wasn’t the word for it. He’d called Lawton to find an address for Paul, hoping that Helen and Beth would be there, unaware that he’d found out about their connection to Abby’s ex.
Gardner rubbed his hand across his face and loo
ked at the house again, wishing he was elsewhere. He could sit there all day coming up with conspiracy theories but he knew that’s all they were. Paul Henshaw had been involved from the start. How could he have missed it? He tried to think back to the early days of the case, how he’d dug into Abby and Paul’s lives. There was nothing that linked Paul to Helen Deal. Was there? There were no calls to anyone they hadn’t checked. No CCTV footage of Helen in the shop.
CCTV. Gardner remembered showing Abby and Paul the footage from the doctor’s surgery. Paul saw Helen on the tape. He covered it up, said he thought he’d recognised the man in the video. But it was there all along and he’d missed it. Missed something else.
This was a nightmare. In a way it was something; a new lead, a way to find Helen and Beth. But still. He could think of a million better ways for it to happen.
When he found out Simon remembered Helen he thought that’d been the link. That Helen, grieving over her own daughter, had seen an opportunity, found a baby girl and decided to take her. He thought Simon was the catalyst. His emotions about seeing his new daughter leading him to tell Helen about Beth and events spiralling from there. Helen had followed him, seen him with Abby, followed Abby with Beth and ultimately set things up to take Beth away.
But it wasn’t Simon at all. It was Paul. He must’ve known about Abby and Simon and planned his revenge. And who better to steal a child with than Helen Deal?
He took a deep breath and opened the car door. As he walked up to the house Abby opened the door.
‘We need to talk,’ he said.
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