by M A Comley
“Okay, so how did the accident occur? Did you force her off the road?”
“No, I most certainly did not. I would never do such a thing, not with my daughter in the car. That woman tried to flee, she spotted me following her and she put my daughter’s life in danger in her determination to get away from me.”
Cooper folded his arms and looked thoughtful. “You should have contacted the police with your theory or assumptions.”
She sat back, folded her arms and demanded, “And how would you have treated the news? Come on, be honest with me.”
“We would have interviewed the woman and put your theory to her.”
“And if she’d denied everything outright, you would have accepted it as the truth, without delving into the facts, am I right?”
“No. I’m sorry you don’t have much confidence in us, in me, Mrs Jenkins, but I have to tell you, you’ve gone about this the wrong way. The child in question is now petrified, so afraid she’s shut down and is refusing to talk to anyone.”
Debs hung her head in shame for a moment and then looked him in the eye. “I’m sorry about that. All I was trying to do was get her the help she needed after that woman crashed the car and endangered her life. This is all her fault, she set my house on fire, five years after kidnapping my child, and I’m the one sitting in the police station, being cautioned for my damn actions. All I’m trying to do is get to the truth.” She clicked her fingers. “Do a DNA test on Susie or Adele. That’s the only way you’re going to believe me, I can tell.”
His stare was cold and accusing. “Oh, we’ll be actioning that all right, don’t you worry. First though, I have another question for you.”
“All right, I have nothing to hide. I’ve been honest and open with you so far.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it. How did you learn about this child and what makes you think she’s Adele, after she’s been missing five years?”
“That’s easy. I started at a Mother and Toddler club and got friendly with a woman there, Emmy. She invited me around for afternoon tea, we get on great. One day last week, she asked me to go with her to pick up her ten-year-old child. That’s when I spotted Adele, standing at the gate. I was drawn to her immediately, call it mother’s intuition if you like. Emmy’s daughter introduced her as Susie. When I got up close to her, I realised she had a scar on her right cheek, in exactly the same spot as Adele had one. Since that day, I’ve been turning up at the school gates regularly. She looks so sad. The woman she believes is her mother is always late picking her up. I struck up a conversation with the girl. She told me her mother works in a supermarket and her shift ends at the same time school finishes, but that she has to travel to get to the school to pick Susie up.”
“So you felt responsible for her and went to the school to be with her until her mother arrived, is that what you’re telling me?”
“I suppose. I didn’t know what to do. I had no one I could speak to about my dilemma.”
“Wait, you said your husband was at the B&B with your baby, why didn’t you speak to him?”
“Martin, yes, I’ve often thought the same. Believe me, I’ve been tempted to several times, but chickened out at the last moment. He works hard, extremely long hours. He doesn’t want to come home and be confronted by my off-the-wall theories in the evening.”
“You admit how bizarre all this sounds then?”
“Of course I bloody do. That was until today. Until that woman torched my damn house. Now I’m confident that Adele is mine.”
Cooper inhaled a large breath and made some notes on his A4 legal pad, as did the solicitor. It was the solicitor who broke the silence in the room.
“I don’t think Mrs Jenkins’ theory sounds unreasonable, do you, Inspector? There’s a simple solution here, get a DNA test done. Plus, you need to question this woman. How is she, by the way?”
“She is in hospital with concussion at the moment, no broken bones, which is a relief. But let’s not dismiss the fact that Mrs Jenkins here had a responsibility to inform the authorities about the crash in the first place.”
“I get that, Inspector. However, in light of what she’s told you, surely you can understand her reasons for the way things have unfolded. I suggest you let my client go, as you really have nothing on her, as such, apart from leaving the scene of an accident. Then I would further suggest you question the girl’s mother as to the authenticity of Mrs Jenkins’ claims. It all sounds very plausible from where I’m sitting. Also, she has a right to question your lack of communication over the years, if you’re telling us that the case has remained open all this time.”
Cooper cleared his throat and sat upright. “It’s not as if we had anything to report. The trail was never really hot to begin with. I’m sure Mrs Jenkins would agree with that, yes?”
Debs nodded, reluctantly. “There is nothing stopping you from questioning the woman. If she’s a kidnapper, then I had every right taking that child away from her.”
Inspector Cooper ignored her claim. “And that’s another thing, as well as leaving the scene of an accident, we’re quite within our rights to charge you with child abduction.”
Debs laughed. “Are you serious? The irony behind your words is bloody preposterous. I didn’t abduct her, I took her to the hospital, there’s a vast difference, even you have to admit that, Inspector. I have done nothing wrong, whereas the woman, claiming to be this child’s mother, has done everything wrong, from abducting my little girl to burning down my home. It’s she who should be here now, not me.” The tears of frustration ran down her cheeks, and she swiped them away as her anger mounted. “Jesus, what more do I have to tell you to convince you that I’m telling the truth? The truth is there for us all to see, please, don’t ignore it. My daughter’s life could be in danger if this woman believes the net is closing in on her.”
“If the little girl is Adele, she’s in safe hands. We’ve arranged for her to remain in the system until we get to the bottom of this.”
Hope surfaced and pushed away some of the anger. “Are you saying you believe me?”
“Let’s just say that you’ve raised some valid points throughout this interview that I intend to examine further.”
“Therefore, my client is free to go, right, Inspector?” the solicitor said with a smile.
Cooper’s eyes narrowed for an instant. “Yes, for the time being. Give the sergeant here your contact details. I have a lot of leads to follow up on; once my team and I have done that, I’ll be in touch. It could take a few days, though.”
“I don’t care how long it takes as long as Adele is safe and away from that woman.”
“She is. Now, I suggest you go back to your husband and make him fully aware of what’s gone on.”
“I will. Can I be cheeky and ask for a lift back to the hospital to collect my car?”
Cooper smiled briefly. “I’ll organise that for you.”
“Thank you.” She turned to face the solicitor and shook the woman’s hand. “And thank you for having the confidence in me to fight my corner.”
“I can tell when someone is telling the truth, Mrs Jenkins. I’ll leave you my card in case you need to run anything past me. I hope the inspector here does the right thing by you and you get your daughter back very soon.”
“I hope so, too.”
The sergeant ended the recording and the four of them left the room.
14
Debs entered the B&B with the bags of goodies she’d bought hours before. Her nerves jangling and taut to the point of snapping. Martin welcomed her with a kiss and a hug; he was holding Logan in his arms and rocking him to sleep.
“Hi, I thought you’d got lost. You’ve been ages.”
She placed the bags against the wall on one side of the compact room and motioned for him to sit down. They sat side by side on the bed.
She prepared herself and revealed the truth.
He listened, dumbstruck, shaking his head constantly throughout her revelation.
“I couldn’t. Please, don’t be angry with me. I thought I was doing the right thing. I know you’ve been concerned about the state of my mental health, I didn’t want you to think I’d finally lost the plot.”
He gently put Logan on the bed behind them and reached for both of her hands. “I would never think that. After all we’ve been through together over the years. The way you stood by me, even after learning the truth about Adele’s disappearance. Oh, God, could she really be our daughter?”
“I’m sorry to keep you in the dark, I didn’t want to build your hopes up, but what happened today changed all of that. The fire, the accident, the fact I had Adele with me for an hour or so before she was taken from me again. I’m confident it’s her, Martin. I know in my heart she is our beautiful daughter.”
He gathered her in his strong arms and planted kisses all around her face. “This must have been so traumatic for you. You should have told me, I knew you hadn’t been sleeping well lately, I put that down to Logan being gripey. I’m such an idiot, I should have recognised the signs.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault. You’ve been working all the hours under the sun.” She felt relieved he was being so understanding.
“What will happen now? Do the police know who this woman is?”
“If they do, they didn’t share the details with me. I suppose we have to trust the inspector will do the right thing. I’ve asked for a DNA test on the girl. If that comes back positive, then they’ll have to hand our daughter back to us.”
He smiled and then glanced around the room. “She can’t come here. I need to get my arse into gear and find us alternative accommodation. I’ll pop out and get a local paper, look through the houses to let section. We’ll have to rent somewhere for now, until this mess is sorted.”
“Ever the practical one. I love you so much, I’m sorry for not being able to confide in you sooner.”
“It’s all right. I understand your reasons for keeping it to yourself until you were sure it was her. I think I would have done the same in your shoes. Gosh, we have a challenging few days ahead of us now. Do you think I should ring the inspector or leave well alone?”
“I believe it would be wiser not to contact him, not yet. He’ll need to do the research and get the DNA test sorted. I left them a sample of my DNA before I came here. God, I can’t believe how close we are to getting her back.”
“Hang fire on that, missus, nothing is definite. It could all go belly up and turn out to be a genuine mistake.”
“It’s not. I know it’s her, but yes, I agree with you. Let’s set this topic aside for now and concentrate on getting our lives back on the right track. Why don’t I search the estate agents online rather than waste money on a paper? Most of them have rentals listed as well as houses for sale these days.”
“Okay, you do that while I take Logan to the park, give you some peace and quiet, how’s that?”
“Sounds great. Don’t be gone long, though. I’d like to spend some time with you while we’ve got the opportunity.”
“Half an hour maximum, I promise.”
He set off, holding Logan; another thing they would need to replace was her son’s pram. Debs opened up the laptop and made a quick detour to her favourite online site to source a pram. She bought one that was a guaranteed next day delivery, then she went about trying to find them somewhere new to live. There were some absolute dives available in the area for the first budget she typed in. There was nothing for it, but to up the budget to over fifteen hundred pounds a month. She whittled the properties down to a couple of possibilities and waited eagerly for Martin to come back. One place in particular caught her attention. It had a pink bedroom and she pictured Adele sitting on the bed doing her homework, and a smaller blue room that she had earmarked for Logan’s crib.
The door opened almost twenty minutes later. “Sorry for the delay, Logan was having so much fun watching the ducks at the park, I didn’t have it in me to tear him away. How did you get on?”
She angled the screen his way and pointed out the properties she had chosen. “What do you think? I had no idea the rents would be so expensive. I had to go above fifteen hundred to find anything decent.”
“Jesus, really? I guess we’re not used to paying a mortgage after all these years. It’s going to be tough going backwards, isn’t it?”
“Needs must. I like this one in particular and it’s not far from our house, shell, whatever you want to call it. So the club and park will still be accessible.”
“If that’s what you want. Why don’t you give them a call, see if we can view it now?”
“I can try. What if they can’t fit us in today? It’s almost five-thirty now, it’s pushing it a bit.”
“Then tomorrow will have to do. I’ll ring Wayne and tell him I need a few extra days off to sort out this shit!”
“It would be nice not having to do everything myself. We still need to buy a lot of things, like clothes and toys for Logan. I only picked up the basics today. Oh, and I ordered a new pram for him, it’s coming tomorrow.”
“Great news. You have been busy. I’ll go in the hall and ring Wayne. You give the estate agent a call and get a viewing pinned down.”
“Umm… one problem, I don’t have a phone, remember?”
“Sorry, it totally slipped my mind. Here, you make the call first, Wayne can wait.” He passed her his mobile, and she quickly dialled the number.
“Jacksons’ Properties, how may I help?”
“Hello, sorry to call so late.”
“That’s okay, we don’t close for another half an hour. What can I do for you?” The woman asked, her tone warm and welcoming.
“At least one thing has gone my way today, then. To cut a long story short, we’re homeless after a fire broke out in our house and we’re in desperate need of alternative accommodation.”
“Oh, blimey, that’s awful. I do hope no one was injured in the fire.”
“We weren’t, mercifully, my son and I got out before it had a chance to take hold. My husband and I are staying in a B&B. I looked on your site and you have a three-bedroom detached house in the Carlton area. It’s not far from where our house is, and I was wondering if we could view it ASAP.”
“We have the keys. I can vouch for the property, it’s in beautiful condition. The previous occupiers had to relocate, that’s the only reason it has become available. It would make an ideal home for you and your family. What about this evening? Or is that too soon?”
“That would be fantastic, if you don’t mind.”
“I could meet you at the property at six, how’s that?”
“Sounds perfect.”
“I’ll need to take down your details for the file. Your name?”
“Deborah and Martin Jenkins. We have a four-month-old baby, would that be a problem for the landlord to consider?”
“Not at all. The previous occupants had a two-year-old running around the place, an adorable little girl called Adele, I believe.”
The woman’s response caught her off-guard. “Oh, that’s a lovely name.”
“She was the sweetest child. Anyway, back to you. I’ll meet you at twenty-five Piccadilly Terrace at six or thereabouts, depending on the traffic at my end.”
“That’s a date. See you then and thank you for fitting us in so quickly. Oh, I forgot to ask, is it furnished?”
“Yes, good furniture as well, which will be ideal in your circumstances.”
“Oh, it just gets better and better. Sorry, what was your name?”
“I’m Katy Fox. See you shortly.”
Debs ended the call and handed the mobile back to Martin. “Some good news at last. She’s going to show us around the house at six.”
“Excellent. I’ll just give Wayne a call and then we’ll take a slow stroll around there, yes?”
“I agree. No point in us taking the car. I’m excited about this one, not by how much w
e’re going to have to fork out every month on rent, but it would be nice to feel settled so soon after what has taken place, for all our sakes.”
Martin smiled, nodded and rang his boss. To their surprise, Wayne was totally understanding and insisted Martin take the rest of the week off to get his family sorted out with suitable accommodation.
Debs changed Logan and then they headed over to the house to meet the agent. Katy was waiting for them when they arrived. The moment Debs walked through the front door, she felt confident it was for them. Katy gave them a whistle-stop tour of the property.
After seeing the size of the three bedrooms upstairs, Martin agreed. “We’ll take it,” he said, hugging Debs.
Katy beamed. “How wonderful. I hope you’ll both, sorry, all three of you will be happy here.”
“I’m sure we will.” Debs let out a relieved sigh and kissed Martin first and then Logan. And there’s even a bedroom for Adele, for when she comes back. An ache in her heart dulled her enthusiasm a little, enough to warrant Martin asking if there was something wrong. “No, I’m just content. Happy to have found somewhere acceptable so soon after the blasted fire, so that Logan’s life, and ours of course, doesn’t suffer too much disruption.”
Martin nodded and asked Katy, “When will we be able to move in?”
“If we get on with the paperwork tomorrow, I can finalise things within a few days, after I’ve checked out your references of course.”
“And what are the upfront costs?” Martin asked, ever the money man.
“Ah, yes. Three months’ rent plus another month, which will act as security. Is that okay?”
“It’ll have to be,” Martin replied.
Debs could tell he was doing the maths in his head. “It’s fine, sweetheart, I have a few thousand tucked away for emergencies.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You have?”
“We’ll drop by at around eleven in the morning, if that’s good for you, Katy?” Debs said, ignoring her husband’s question.
