CHILDHUNT: A Mystery & Suspense Thriller in the Bestselling Diana Rivers Series (The Diana Rivers Mysteries Book 5)

by Faith Mortimer

  “Sweetheart. Debbie. It’s me, William. We need your help. Can you tell us why you were digging in the Dinos’ orchard?”

  Debbie dragged her eyes from William’s intense look to her hands. They were filthy! What had she been doing? The children…did she think they were buried somewhere in the orchard?

  She closed her eyes while she tried to remember. She felt Diana gently squeeze her hand. She was a mother too, she would understand. Debbie moved restlessly against the pillows and tried once more to sit up. She felt William’s arm slide around her back as he supported her. Her mind cried out in denial; it would be so much easier to just slip back into unconsciousness. Then she wouldn’t have to bear the pain. She could sleep for hours like she did before.

  “Can I get you anything, Debbie? Would you like a glass of water or perhaps some tea?” Debbie opened her eyes, and Diana’s face slid into view. She smiled at Debbie.

  “Yes please,” she whispered. Her eyes followed Diana as she left the room. “William,” she murmured. “The email, have you seen it? Do you think others will have been sent it? Oh, William, they’ll all know. What can I do? Charlie and Hannah, we must find them. They’re my babies, my sweet babies.”

  William drew her closer to him and rocked her gently in his arms. Time seemed to stand still as they both struggled to keep the hysteria from rising to the surface. Eventually, William found his voice. “It’s okay, darling. Thank God you can speak. I was so afraid. Listen to me. You have to tell us everything that happened this morning. What did you do after I left for work?”

  The door opened, and Diana entered with a tray and three cups. “I took the liberty of making tea for you too, William. You must need a drink.”

  He nodded his thanks and took two cups from the tray.

  “How is she?” Diana asked softly.

  “I think she’s a little better. She’s going to try and remember exactly what happened this morning.”

  “Um, the police inspector is downstairs. The police have finished their initial search and so far have found nothing. They say the bad weather is hampering their efforts. The inspector wants to question Debbie.”

  Debbie gasped in panic and stiffened in William’s arms. “William! We have to find them.”

  “Hush, darling. Don’t fret, we will.”

  Diana walked back to her chair and sat down. “Here, Debbie, have a drink. It’ll help you feel better. You must be so cold after being outside in the snow.”

  Debbie took the proffered cup and gulped the tea down. She still felt shaky and spaced out; she needed to lose the drowsiness. At least she could talk now. When William first found her, she couldn’t utter a word. She needed to make them understand how urgent it was to find Hannah and Charlie. When William took the empty cup from her shaking hand, she pushed his arm away and sat up properly. She took a deep breath before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She had to get downstairs and start looking for their children herself. It was futile lying here waiting for something to happen…like last time. She peered into William’s face; her husband, her lover and the father of her babies—he had to understand.

  “William, I didn’t hurt them.”

  “Darling, of course you didn’t. I know that.”

  Debbie stood up and swayed. Her eyes became unfocused and her head swam. It took the utmost effort to compose herself. Diana stood up and took her arm. “Here. Let me help you,” she said smiling.

  Diana was nice. Debbie realised she needed a good friend. When all this was over she would make sure she thanked her. She bit back a sob. When all this was over? Maybe it had only just begun?

  With William one side and Diana the other, Debbie groped her way towards the door. Her legs felt odd, it was like they weren’t there. Oh, God. This was so like one of her old nightmares. When she dreamt Hannah and Charlie had been taken from her. Would she wake up, only to find it was another terrible dream? Once or twice a week, she still woke up and padded down the passage to check on the children. She had this strong urge to make sure they were tucked up in their beds and fast asleep. She never told William about her nightmares and never woke him, but he still managed to somehow know, because he would pull her tightly into him and cuddle her close until morning.

  Slowly, the three of them descended the stairs and walked into the den. A hush descended over everyone, and all eyes followed Debbie. She looked around the crowded room; it seemed to be full of police.

  “Where would you like to sit down, Debbie?” asked Diana, and Debbie took comfort from the other woman’s firm grip on her arm. “Near the fire?”

  Once she was seated, Inspector Christopopodoulou swaggered over and pulled up a chair in front of her. Debbie looked across at the small Cypriot man with the pockmarked face. She could almost feel the hostility oozing from his pores, and she wanted to cry out that she hadn’t done anything wrong. She stopped herself shivering just in time. She had to be strong!

  “Mrs Debbie. How are you? Now the doctor has left, I need to ask some questions.”

  Debbie knew from his manner he was asking after her health out of habit. He neither cared nor was interested in her reply. “I…I’m okay.”

  “We have searched the immediate area for your children, but so far have found nothing. But let me tell you, I have every confidence we will find them. Now, can you tell me when you last saw the children?” He smiled, and his voice acquired a softer, almost conciliatory tone.

  Debbie bit her lower lip and looked down at her hands. Her thoughts went back to that morning. William had already left for work, and Charlie and Hannah were at the kitchen table. She suggested they have their morning break early because she wanted to finish cleaning. It hadn’t taken her long.

  “It must have been just before ten o’clock. I made sure they had their coats and scarves on and then let them play outside.”

  “I see. And how long were you cleaning?”

  Debbie raised a pale face to the inspector. For some reason, she felt guilty for leaving them outside. “After I finished upstairs, I quickly ran the vacuum round the kitchen. It must have been about twenty minutes, maybe twenty-five, but no longer.”

  “So you were cleaning. Then what did you do?”

  “I…I remember seeing someone out walking in the distance just before I went downstairs. I couldn’t be sure who it was. At the time I thought it was Roger.” She glanced in his direction, and he nodded affirmation.

  “It could well have been me,” he said.

  “Then I put the cleaner away and made some coffee. Afterwards I brought it into here and looked at my emails.”

  “I see. So what happened next?”

  “I saw the one about me,” she said quietly.

  “What did you think when you saw it? How did you react?”

  “I was upset. My first reaction was to delete it, and when I grabbed the mouse, I upset my coffee. Then I thought about Charlie and Hannah. I think I screamed.”

  “So you upset the coffee? There was no one else here who might have done it?”

  Puzzled she shook her head. “No.”

  “Why did you scream? Was it because of the email, or were you thinking of your children?”

  “I’m not sure. I think at first I was afraid the email had been sent to hundreds of people. They’d all know and say I killed my children. I was terrified they’d talk about Stuart and Sally.”

  “Your first two children?”

  “Yes. I would hate Charlie and Hannah to find out. They’re so little and they wouldn’t understand.”

  “Mmm. Go on.”

  “Then I remembered Charlie and Hannah were still in the garden. I had to find them and hide them from everyone in case they heard bad things about me and…and Sally and Stuart. But…but when I ran outside, they weren’t there,” she finished with a stifled sob.

  The inspector paused. He frowned and rubbed his hand over his chin. “You wanted to hide them away from everyone? So you never saw them again after you let them out to play?”
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  “No, but I heard them. They were playing hide and seek I think. I heard Hannah laughing.”

  “What happened after that?”

  “When I couldn’t find them in the garden, I called to them. I searched everywhere and then ran into the lane. I looked among the trees and behind the stone walls, but there was no sign of them.”

  “Why did you go into the orchard specifically? Did the children play in there?”

  Debbie shook her head. “No. I always made sure they played around the house. I was very strict about that, and they’ve always done as I’ve said.” She looked towards her husband for confirmation, and he nodded.

  “Did you search the lane? Could they have walked down to the main road? Perhaps they were expecting their father to come home?” The inspector shifted in his chair and leaned forward.

  “No, I didn’t. I mean I didn’t search the lane. They could have walked to the road, but I can’t see them going too far from the house. They’re only little.”

  “Now, Mrs Debbie, I want you to think, and think very carefully before you answer my next questions. Why the orchard? Why did your husband find you covered in mud, with your hands filthy? What were you doing? Had you hidden something or…someone?”

  Debbie cast a frightened, wild glance around the room. There was a barely perceptible shuffling of feet among the policemen while they waited for her answer.

  “Because I was terrified. I remembered Stuart and Sally. They were strangled and buried. I…I thought the same thing had happened to Charlie and Hannah. It was like last time. It was all happening again. William—?” She looked up, a horrified look on her face.

  He leaned in closer and draped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s all right, sweetheart. You have to answer the questions. The police are only doing their job.”

  The inspector nodded, cleared his throat and stood up. His lost his smile, and his tone became more formal. “I’m going to send the team out again, now they’ve had a break. My officers will widen their search for the children, and some will concentrate on the orchard. I need to speak to Mr Roger too. Meanwhile, Mrs Debbie Frost, it is my duty to inform you that you have a right to legal advice before you answer any further questioning. Remember anything you say can be used against you.”

  Debbie gasped and paled under his scrutiny. William’s hands shook against the back of her chair as the inspector stood up and stalked from the room.

  The police shrugged themselves back into their damp coats, put on their boots and tramped outside. One or two looked at the worsening weather conditions and shook their heads. If it carried on like that, they wouldn’t be able to continue the search for long anyway. The sergeant split them up into two groups—one to search the open countryside, the other to do a house-to-house. He grimaced as he listened to their talk; he was well aware they had neither enough manpower nor the skills to perform a thorough and professional search. They had roped in a few of the local hunters who knew the area to assist, but he didn’t hold out much hope. If only the weather wasn’t so bad. Although the police had no helicopter of their own, under better weather conditions they would have hired one in from the Russians in Paphos or asked the British Royal Air Force in Akrotiri to help. If they found nothing by nightfall, he knew they would have to notify the British High Commission. He had a bad feeling about this case. He wondered if they were already too late.

  Chapter 16

  Once the policemen left the house, Diana rang Steve. She had spoken to him earlier, so he was already in the picture.

  “Any news?” he asked.

  “No, nothing yet. The police and the hunters have finished one search, and they’ve just left to start again. They’re extending this one to the neighbouring villages and are paying particular attention to the countryside around the house.” She lowered her voice. “It’s not looking good, I’m afraid, because the weather’s getting worse.”

  “I see. By the way, Adam and Clare arrived safely. They rang ten minutes ago and are on their way over. It’s all right for Poppy to stay with Lydia for the time being in case you’re wondering. I telephoned earlier.”

  “Good, I hope she’s all right. Did you tell Adam anything?”

  “A little. I mentioned two children had gone missing, but I thought I’d explain it all properly to him once we are face-to-face. Poppy’s fine by the way, she was excited about staying longer with her friend.”

  “Okay, that’s a relief. You know, Adam could be the perfect person to have around at a time like this. I’m sure he’ll have plenty of experience with missing persons.”

  “As long as he doesn’t upset the local police. How’s the inspector behaving?”

  Diana pulled a face and sighed. “Much like he always does…swaggering around full of self-importance and belting out orders. I wish they’d sent more men. There are only a handful conducting the search, and they’re threatening to call it off as soon as it gets dark.” She lowered her voice to a bare whisper. “I’m sure he’s already convinced himself that Debbie’s done something dreadful to them.” She thought for a moment before continuing. “I wonder if we could help in some way. There are plenty of us ex-pats around who could assist in a search. Do you think the inspector would let us?”

  “I’ve no idea. Why don’t you ask him? If he’s agreeable, we could send out a group text message via the Magic Teapot. Roy has everyone’s mobile number, so it would be easy enough to do. We could assemble at the Frost’s house and fan out.”

  “Yes. I’ll go and find him and let you know. Speak later, darling.”

  “Hang on, there’s just one other thing. My mother’s arrived early.” Steve lowered his own voice. “She’s upstairs having a rest as she’s exhausted after her flight. I’ll have to let her know what’s going on. She’ll want to know where I’m going and what I’m doing. I won’t go into the details, though.”

  Diana sighed. “Just what we need. Okay, give her the bare essentials, and make sure she stays where she is. We don’t want her wandering around in the snow, interfering and getting lost as well. I’ll leave your mama in your capable hands,” she chuckled knowing Steve would be hard-pressed to withhold much from his indomitable mother. “I’ll call you later. Love you.”

  She finished the call and went in search of the inspector.

  *****

  Diana found Inspector Christopopodoulou in the kitchen, scribbling in a notebook. He looked up at her footsteps and frowned when he saw who had interrupted him. He and Diana had never completely seen eye to eye. Diana considered him to be lazy, arrogant and very rude, especially to women. The small policeman judged Diana to be a meddling, no-consequence woman, who would be better off employed at home in the kitchen where all women belonged.

  He made a great show of looking annoyed at her intrusion and raised his eyebrows at her suggestion.

  “Mrs Diana, I have everything under control. I thank you for your proposal, but I doubt we’ll need your help. If I change my mind, I’ll let the Muktar in your village know. As mayor, he can organise the extra hands.”

  “Yes, but we have many friends, who—,”she began before he cut her off.

  “I am sure you have. But we don’t want just anyone wandering around, getting in the way of an official search and ruining any leads we have.”

  Diana stared at him, her stomach churning. “Do you have some leads, then?”

  “Of course. But I am not able to tell you, you understand. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a statement to finish for tonight’s television. We’ll make the headlines.” He indicated his notebook.

  “I see. What are you going to say? I’ve never seen an official statement for the media before.” She gave him a dazzling smile. “You might get promotion if all goes well.”

  The fat little man preened. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” he said, opening the notebook at the right page and quickly reading it out to her. “We are conducting a huge effort to find the Frost children. Police officers are making a house-to-house sear
ch of the nearby villages and of the immediate vicinity of orchards and fields near their home. Unfortunately, we are unable to use helicopters due to the bad weather conditions, but we are confident we will find the missing children before dark.”

  Diana stiffened. “Are you sure helicopters are out of the question?”

  He nodded. “I’m afraid so at the moment, it is too windy and dangerous. Maybe later,” he said vaguely.

  “What about tomorrow? Will you look again if you haven’t found them by tonight?” she persisted.

  “Mrs Diana, please do not question my every move. We are doing our best. Unless the children have been taken further from the valley—and I doubt that—we will find them. I’m sure we will not be needed here tomorrow. My feeling is Mrs Debbie knows exactly where they are. You saw her dirty hands. She knows more than she is telling us. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

  Diana’s heart plummeted. She had never had any faith in the inspector, and she was right. Already, he was placing the blame on the children’s mother. Abruptly, she turned and left the room.

  *****

  Roger was standing gazing out of the den window. He wondered if he was wasting Adam’s time by suggesting he come out and speak to Debbie. What if he, Adam, had got it all wrong, and she was guilty of murdering her first two children. Roger shook his head. No! Adam was convinced there was more to the story…just as he was. Debbie was a perfect lady, and her children were a credit to her. Sometimes, you just have to let your intuition tell you what’s right, he thought.

  Roger went over in his mind the notes he had written up. He had kept them all that time, somehow knowing he would need to call on them in the future. Intuition again. The notes were written up in some detail, and still they filled him with horror. Debbie Frost aka Yvonne Brookes was the wife of a university lecturer. They had two children and lived in a nice modest house on the outskirts of town. Debbie met her husband in the university bookshop when she was working there, and they enjoyed each other’s company. Debbie had only had a couple of boyfriends before Claude, and she denied having any affairs once they were married. Roger recalled there had been some talk from one or two of the other university staff that, being a pretty young woman, she often caught the eye of the male fraternity around the university town. Nothing explicit was actually said, but it was intimated that she enjoyed the attention and flirted whenever she found the opportunity. Nothing wrong in that, thought Roger. Many young women would do the same, and besides, no one had come forward and formally accused her of anything untoward. It was all innuendo.