The Next Girl: A gripping thriller with a heart-stopping twist

by Carla Kovach

  Gina leaned forward. ‘Mr Nelson, can you please go over what happened on the day of Deborah’s disappearance? I know we have your statement, and it was a long time ago, but I want you to think back. Did anything stand out to you? Please tell us again about when you left.’

  The man leaned back in the chair and ran his fingers through his greasy hair. ‘I’ve already told you everything. Do you think I can remember like it was yesterday? It was years ago. You have my statement.’

  ‘Please try, Mr Nelson,’ Gina said.

  The man looked up at her and dropped his shoulders. ‘It was a really miserable night, that much I remember. I got soaked. Debbie was working away in the main office when I left. I poked my head through the door and said bye. I left and that was it.’

  ‘You say you left on foot,’ Jacob said.

  ‘I always walk home. I don’t live too far away. Takes fifteen minutes. In the summer I cycle. You haven’t pulled me in here to check out my damn travel habits, have you?’

  ‘Calm down, Mr Nelson,’ Gina said. ‘We are doing this for your colleague, Deborah. Anything you can tell us may help.’

  ‘Have you found something? Please tell me you’re going to find her?’

  Gina looked at the man. His finger-tapping, the show of anger and the look of despair in his every feature all led her to believe that Callum had a thing for Deborah. It was an angle she was going to press.

  ‘Did you and Mrs Jenkins have a personal relationship?’

  ‘No. I already told you that at the time.’

  ‘I know what you told me at the time. Look at me.’

  Callum lifted his head and looked over, his gaze darting from hers to Jacob’s.

  ‘Did you and Deborah Jenkins have a personal relationship of any kind?’

  ‘No, I mean, it’s nothing.’

  ‘Let me decide that.’ Jacob sat poised to write as the man began to speak.

  ‘Bloody hell. You lot just won’t leave me alone. I haven’t done anything wrong. Look, I know she was a lot older than me but I had a thing for her. It was just a crush, that was all. She knew, but it was light-hearted. I didn’t say anything because I knew you’d think it was me. She was married and I didn’t try to make a play for her. I just liked her, that’s all. Look, I’m married now,’ he said as he pointed to his wedding ring. ‘I love my wife and I don’t want this brought up. Besides, not a thing happened, nothing, zilch. I left her that night. I walked down the path outside the building, in the dark. You saw me leave on the CCTV footage. That was the last I ever saw or heard of Deborah.’

  Gina scribbled a few notes in her pad. ‘Did you see anyone when you left?’

  ‘A couple of cars passed, as I told you at the time. There was a van but I can’t really remember the type. It was a small van – white, I think – but it passed quickly. I don’t remember any more and I’m not even sure about the van. There was no one on foot, just me. It was raining, I had my hood up and I couldn’t even hear much. I practically jogged home.’

  ‘You never mentioned a van back then.’

  ‘I forgot. Vans come up and down every day around here. I didn’t think it was important.’

  ‘What’s important is for me to decide, Mr Nelson. It may have been just a van, but it was just a van on the night that mother-of-two Deborah Jenkins disappeared. You withheld information that may have helped the case.’

  ‘I didn’t know and I can’t really remember. Maybe I didn’t see a van. I don’t know anymore. Can I go now?’ Callum ran his fingers through his hair again.

  ‘Have you ever been in the Angel Arms in Cleevesford?’

  ‘No. Well, only once. I got pissed there when I turned eighteen. Puked beside the bar. I was too embarrassed to ever go back. Why do you want to know?’

  ‘Do you know the landlord or any of the staff?’

  The man stared at them. ‘No.’

  ‘Do you have a dog?’

  ‘A dog? No.’

  ‘Thank you, Mr Nelson. I’ll get someone at the station to contact you to make an official statement later. We need to update our information relating to your relationship with Mrs Jenkins and the van. That will be all. You can go for now.’ Callum stood and slammed the door as he left.

  ‘I think we touched a nerve there,’ Jacob said. ‘Do you think he knows more?’

  ‘He has no alibi, but we came up with nothing at the time after searching his flat and checking his phone records. Not a thing. The only thing we have is that Callum, twenty-two at the time, had a bit of a crush on Deborah. I’ll get Wyre to give him a grilling though. If he does know more, we’ll press it out of him and get him on tape.’

  ‘Why didn’t he mention his crush back then?’ Jacob asked.

  ‘That’s a question to consider.’ Gina ringed Callum’s name on her pad. She also noted down the words ‘small white van’.

  Jacob turned a page in his notepad. ‘Do we really need to speak to Toby Grove, Clive Henderson or Vernon McGuire?’

  ‘No. I’ll instruct Wyre and O’Connor to call them in just to make sure we’ve covered all angles. They can speak to them after dealing with Nelson. We looked into their whereabouts thoroughly four years ago. They were all in the pub with the other workshop staff. But we need to know if any of them know Avery. And I suppose we should talk to Gabby Dent; she was Debbie’s closest friend at work. We may be able to delve a little deeper, see what she knows about this so-called crush that Callum Nelson had on our missing person.’

  Lynne knocked and entered. ‘Are you finished here?’ she asked.

  ‘Almost. Can we just speak to Ms Dent and we’ll be off?’

  ‘I’ll send her through.’

  A moment passed and there was a tap on the door. ‘Come in,’ Gina called. The tall, dark-haired woman sat in the seat that Callum had left sticking out. Her hunched posture told Gina that she wasn’t confident in wearing her height.

  ‘Have you got any news? Is that why you’re here?’

  Gina flipped to a fresh page in her notebook. Jacob crunched down on a lozenge, breaking the silence. ‘Due to new evidence, we’re just going over statements to see if we can shed any new light on the case.’

  ‘I’m glad you haven’t given up on her. I’ve always said I think she’s still alive. Everyone here says she’s probably dead, killed by some psycho, but I don’t know. You guys have never found a body.’

  ‘You were good friends with Deborah. Did she tell you of anything in confidence that may have bothered her?’

  ‘What like?’

  ‘Relationships, good and bad, maybe,’ Gina replied.

  ‘She told me lots of things. We spoke every lunch break. We spoke between jobs and we occasionally spoke on the phone after work.’

  ‘Did she ever mention Callum Nelson?’

  ‘I know she thought it was funny and sweet that Callum had a crush on her. I suppose that was one of the personal things she told me. It was obvious to us all though. He looked at her with puppy dog eyes and took more than his fair share of turns to make the coffee, but he meant no harm. I know you guys ransacked his flat at the time but he hasn’t got it in him. He’s a sweet boy, he really is and he was devastated when Debbie disappeared.’

  Gina made a note. It would be easy to investigate Callum again and look deeper into his affairs, but he wasn’t coming to the forefront of her mind as the person that could’ve snatched Deborah. The old case notes flashed through her mind. Maybe Nelson had lured her to his home, but why was her shoe left in the road, not far from where she worked? Would Deborah walk a further ten minutes in the rain, wearing only one shoe, to go to Callum’s flat? Callum had no transport, and she was sure Deborah had been taken in a motor vehicle. Could Avery have sourced a van for Nelson to use? She noted that question on her pad.

  ‘Was there anything else on her mind?’ Jacob asked.

  ‘I did tell you guys at the time. That bloody Avery bloke at the pub she played pool at, he attacked her. I’ve never seen her so jumpy at work. She w
as worried that Luke wouldn’t believe her and that Samuel would spin what had happened and say that Debbie was sleeping with him and coming on to him. Vile man, he was. I wouldn’t be surprised if that tosser had something to do with all this. He sexually assaulted her, you know.’

  Despite being at the airport, Samuel Avery certainly was cropping up everywhere in this case. Gina realised she’d been so tense at the mention of Avery’s name, she’d made a hole in the paper with her pen.

  * * *

  ‘Was the visit really worth it?’ Jacob asked.

  ‘We need to get back and find out where we are with all this. I didn’t expect to dredge up much that would be of any use, but that damn Samuel Avery keeps cropping up like a dose of herpes,’ she said as they both got back in the car. Hailstones began to fall, bouncing off the roof and bonnet of the car. A message came through on her phone. It was Wyre, telling her that Luke Jenkins’ DNA results were back.

  She opened the email, read it and gave her a call. ‘We’re just leaving Deborah’s workplace,’ she said. ‘Can you call Callum Nelson in and interview him again? We’ve just confirmed he had a crush on our Deborah Jenkins. He also thinks he recalls seeing a white van on the night of her disappearance. While you’re at it, call in Toby Grove, Clive Henderson, Lukas Bosko and Vernon McGuire. I just want you to go over their stories. I didn’t want to disrupt the company any further during working hours… Thanks. See you in a short while.’

  Jacob shivered. ‘I feel dog rough.’ Gina put the car into first and drove out of the car park.

  Thirty-Four

  Jacob went ahead into the station. Gina checked her phone as she sat in the warmth of the car. She had a text from Briggs.

  Dinner later?

  She didn’t reply. It would be hard for her to ever trust again. Terry’s memory flashed through her mind. She could hear the control in his sentences that she’d once mistaken for love. No way was she ever being scared little Gina again. She knew that Briggs wasn’t Terry, but then again, she thought she knew Terry – until it was too late.

  Gina grabbed her folder off the back seat of the car and ran to the station door. As she opened her office door, she peeled her soaking coat off. Someone had left a hot coffee on her desk. She smiled and sat in front of her computer.

  She looked over the DNA test results. Luke Jenkins was definitely not Baby Jenkins’ father. She’d known all along, but this could now be placed on file. Another email told her that there was no forensic evidence left at the scene following the attempted break-in at Luke’s house. That didn’t come as a surprise either. She picked up the coffee and headed towards the incident room. Wyre was sitting in front of a computer screen, alone in the room. Jacob soon followed. ‘Hope the coffee was welcomed,’ he said as he took a seat next to Wyre.

  ‘Thanks. It most certainly was,’ said Gina. ‘No O’Connor today?’

  ‘He booked the day off, but he’s coming in to help me with the interviews later. At your request, I’ve organised for them to come in after work. Nelson wasn’t best pleased,’ Wyre replied. ‘Unfortunately, we’re a bit understaffed today. I think this weather is making people take all their holidays. Who wouldn’t want a duvet day today?’

  ‘Can I have a duvet day?’ Jacob asked as he wiped his nose.

  PC Smith walked in and took a seat next to Wyre.

  Gina grinned and took a sip of coffee. ‘Duvet days aside, I have an update. We’ve got the results back on Luke Jenkins. He is definitely not the baby’s father, which we all knew, I suppose.’

  Wyre walked over to the board and noted the results next to Luke’s name. ‘This is all so weird. I feel so sorry for them. I don’t know how they’re coping.’

  ‘I know,’ said Gina. ‘It must be hell for them. I’m going to pop by to speak to Luke in person in a while.’

  Jacob sipped his drink. ‘Do you want me to come with you?’

  ‘No. I think you really should go home early and get some rest, maybe a hot bath and an early night. That poor family don’t need your germs as well. You were right when you said you looked dog rough. Maybe Abigail will come over and give you a bed bath or something.’

  Wyre sniggered and nearly spat her coffee out.

  ‘I don’t need telling twice,’ he croaked as he did his coat up and headed to the door. ‘If you need me, just call. I’ll have my phone on and I’ll be working from home.’

  Gina listened to Jacob’s heavy footsteps echoing through the corridor as he headed to his desk before leaving for home. ‘Any more news on the case?’ she asked Wyre.

  Wyre looked at her computer and scrolled down her report. ‘Nothing new, I’m afraid. I can’t believe that no one has seen her in all these years but she’s alive and well somewhere. Even the calls have dried up on the baby appeal.’

  ‘Thank you. Is Briggs still in? I suppose I should update him before I head off.’

  ‘He left about half an hour ago. You just missed him.’

  ‘Any news from the vets?’

  ‘Only that there are dogs with black fur registered everywhere. We’re compiling a list at the moment of all the owners in the area and cross-referencing them against local farm owners. As you say, it may be useful later on.’

  ‘Thanks. Right, I have some paperwork to catch up on. When I’ve done that, I’m going to head to Luke Jenkins’ house. Let me know straight away how it goes with Callum Nelson and the others. I don’t think there’s much to garner from Toby, Clive, Lukas and Vernon, but Callum… I’m annoyed he didn’t mention the van or his crush on Deborah. I know we checked him and his whereabouts at the time, but I want the details he missed out of his original statement on file. I’ll type up my notes from this morning and forward them to you before you speak to him. Smith, are you okay to be there when they arrive, to assist Wyre and O’Connor? Call me straight away if you find any connections to any of them with the Angel Arms or Avery.’

  Smith nodded.

  ‘And one last thing. I know we’re all stressed and we could do with more people assisting, so thank you for everything. Thank you for the extra hours and all the hard work. When we find Deborah, it will have all been worth it. Maybe we’ll all deserve a duvet day then.’

  Wyre smiled and continued typing on the computer. As Gina left the room, PC Smith followed her out. She heard him instructing the PCs to continue with the door-to-doors on Luke’s street and surrounding areas.

  She went back to her office, slumped into her chair and pulled out her notes from earlier that day. Callum Nelson and Samuel Avery. Deborah wasn’t short of unwanted attention. How had she handled that attention? She’d been upset about Avery but obviously hadn’t been too bothered by Nelson’s crush. Was there anyone else? Another admirer? Someone less obvious? Or maybe it wasn’t an admirer. Maybe she was looking for connections that weren’t there. She opened a clean file and began typing up her notes, ready to send to Wyre before the interviews.

  ‘Where are you, Deborah?’ Gina thought.

  Thirty-Five

  Gina pulled up outside Luke’s house and gazed through the bay window. The boy, Max, was playing with a plastic dinosaur and making it attack the voile. The girl passed him, snatched the dinosaur away then held it behind her back. She ran off and the boy disappeared after her.

  She gazed up the road at the wall where Luke had reported seeing the stranger watching him and Brooke. He’d been loitering there, scoping the house out and planning his entry, which had thankfully been ruined because of Luke’s quick reactions.

  Was the watcher the intruder? Was the watcher something to do with Deborah’s disappearance? Would the watcher be back? If so, when? Gina shivered.

  The murky sky had darkened as she’d been driving. Rain began to trickle down the windscreen. She looked back at Luke’s house and watched as Cathy pulled the curtains closed. The woman stopped and stared at Gina, then waved. Gina held her hand up and stepped out of the car. Time to tell Luke what he and everyone else already knew.

  Cathy had alr
eady opened the door before Gina reached it. Gina smiled and wiped her feet. ‘Go through. Luke’s in the kitchen with the baby.’

  Gina continued along the hallway, stepping over a pencil case and book bag.

  The girl yelled and the children ran down the stairs. Max pushed Gina out of the way with the plastic dinosaur as Heidi almost got hold of his jumper. ‘Daddy, she’s after my dinosaur. She keeps saying my dinosaur is stupid and that I’m stupid. She was going to put him in the loo.’ The baby began to wail. ‘Sorry, Daddy.’

  Gina entered the kitchen and smiled. Luke grabbed the dinosaur with his free hand and placed it on the table. ‘Go upstairs, kids, and can you not fight for just a few minutes?’ He bobbed up and down while pacing, trying to calm the baby down.

  ‘But I want my dinosaur. It’s mine,’ Max yelled as his face reddened. A tear fell down the boy’s face. Luke sighed and passed him the dinosaur.

  ‘Just take it. Heidi, it’s his toy. Leave it alone and play with your own toys. For God’s sake.’ The baby continued bawling into his ear.

  ‘Daddy. Is this lady here about the baby?’ Heidi asked, waiting in the doorway, suddenly shy.

  ‘Stop asking so many questions and just take your brother upstairs while we talk.’ The little girl stared at her father, then back at Gina. ‘Please, Heidi. We’ll talk in a bit.’

  ‘Is Mummy coming home?’

  ‘Heidi, please?’

  Cathy entered. ‘Go on up you two. Nanny will be up in a minute and we’ll play a game, I promise.’

  ‘Okay, Nanny. Come on, Max,’ Heidi said, beckoning the boy over. The children left the room and walked upstairs. The baby was only wailing intermittently now. The children’s footsteps stopped.

  ‘All the way up! I can hear you both,’ Cathy called. The footsteps continued until they reached one of the bedrooms and slammed a door behind them.

  ‘What can we do for you, Inspector? Have you found the creep who tried to break into our house the other night? Or, even better, have you found my wife?’