Lost Child: A Gripping Psychological Thriller

by D. S. Butler

  Dawn looked down at the floor as she lumbered towards the waiting police car.

  From where I stood, I had a view into the living room — the room with the computer Dawn had been using when she wouldn’t answer the door. A man in a white suit leaning over the computer.

  “If this had something to do with Jenna, the police would have told us, wouldn’t they?” Mum asked.

  I couldn’t respond. I didn’t know what to say.

  We stood beside the police car, and Dawn got closer and closer to us.

  One of the neighbours called out, “What’s this all about, Dawn? What’s happened?”

  “If you could move back please, ladies and gents,” the beleaguered police constable in the yellow jacket said, holding out his arms and ushering them back.

  Dawn had almost reached the police car. If I didn’t say anything now, I might not get a chance to speak to her for a while. A thousand questions whirled in my mind, but I couldn’t form a coherent sentence. I kept thinking back to the day Jenna went missing and remembering Dawn’s thick fingers covered with the greasy face paint.

  “Dawn!” I yelled.

  She looked up sharply, her gaze meeting mine for a split second. She looked at me defiantly before ducking her head and disappearing into the back of the police car.

  The police car left almost immediately, but some other vehicles stayed parked outside the Parsons’s residence.

  “They’re doing something with her computer,” I said, nodding at the living room window.

  A forensics officer was putting the computer in a box.

  “I need to talk to Marjorie,” Mum said, stepping away from me and marching up the Parsons’s driveway.

  The officer maintaining the perimeter caught sight of her before she reached the house.

  “Hey! You can’t go in there.”

  Mum turned around and gave him a cold stare. “I am visiting my friend.”

  “It’s not a good time right now, madam. As I’m sure you can see.”

  “I’m concerned about my friend’s welfare,” Mum said sharply. “Perhaps we could ask Marjorie whether she wants to see me or not?”

  A look of relief passed over the young officer’s face when DI Sharp stepped out of the house and onto the garden path.

  “I don’t think that’s a very good idea, Mrs Farrow. Not right now.”

  “Has this got anything to do with Jenna?” I asked him.

  “Let’s go to your house so I can give you an update.”

  He smiled kindly at Mum and then me, but it was the kind of smile that made me nervous. He was trying too hard to be reassuring. It meant he had bad news to deliver.

  I reached out to grasp Mum’s hand.

  “I would have appreciated an update earlier before we came upon a scene like this,” Mum said.

  “I’m sorry we couldn’t let you know earlier. But we had to keep this quiet. We didn’t want anyone tipping off Dawn.”

  “We wouldn’t have tipped anyone off.” Mum folded her arms over her chest.

  “Quite so,” Inspector Sharp said, refusing to get drawn into a debate. “My colleague, Sergeant Parker has gone to update Daniel Creswell. She is going to bring him here, and you can ask us questions.”

  “Have you found Jenna?” I asked in a quiet voice.

  My throat was dry. After all this time, were we about to get the most devastating news?

  Inspector Sharp shook his head as we walked along the lane towards our house. “No, not yet. But we are getting closer. We believe the photograph of Jenna was sent by Dawn.”

  “Dawn sent me a picture of Jenna?”

  “We believe so,” Inspector Sharp said as we reached the gate we’d left ajar.

  Mum pushed open the metal gate, and we followed her along the garden path to the front door.

  Inspector Sharp hadn’t got very far with his explanation when Daniel and Sergeant Parker arrived.

  “Have you heard?” Daniel asked as he burst into the kitchen.

  Mum and I nodded, and Daniel sat down at the kitchen table. Sergeant Parker joined him, murmuring a polite greeting as she sat down.

  “I’m so confused. None of this is making any sense,” Mum said.

  “I’ll do my best to explain. Dawn sent the photograph of Jenna from an Oxford Internet Café. We have CCTV evidence of her entering the cafe. She used a public computer to access a website that can send text messages to mobile phones.”

  “But why would Dawn do that?” Daniel asked, and immediately before DI Sharp could reply, added, “Did she modify the photograph to make Jenna look older?” Daniel’s gaze flickered to me. “Did you know about this?”

  I shook my head and clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms.

  “Of course she didn’t,” Mum said.

  “We have no reason to believe that the image was tampered with,” DI Sharp said. “We will, of course, be questioning Dawn to ascertain how she got the photograph of Jenna.”

  “Do you think she was involved in Jenna’s abduction?” Daniel asked.

  “Does this mean Jenna is still alive?” Mum asked.

  Inspector Sharp held up his hands to fend off questions. “I don’t have all the answers for you yet. We will be questioning Dawn for the next few hours, and I will update you as soon as we get any fresh information. Sergeant Parker and I need to get back to the station so we can begin interviewing Dawn as soon as she’s processed. Detective Sergeant Parker will be your point of contact, and she will phone you later this evening with an update.”

  After answering a few more questions, Detective Inspector Sharp and Detective Sergeant Parker left us alone with Daniel. We were all dazed and confused. None of this made any sense.

  “Well, it looks like you were right about at least one of your stabs in the dark,” Daniel said coldly. “Dawn Parsons was one of many people on your list of suspects.”

  I sat forward, leaning on the kitchen table and rested my forehead in my hand. He was expecting a reply, but I was too wrung out to argue.

  We were so on edge that we all jumped when the doorbell rang.

  Mum began to stand, but I put a hand out to stop her. “I’ll get it.”

  I opened the door and was surprised to see Pippa standing there with a look of concern on her face.

  “Oh, my God, Beth. I’m so sorry. I just heard that Dawn Parsons was taken away by the police! I was so worried, and I knew Daniel would be here so…”

  I took a step back, opening the front door wide. “He is here, come in.”

  Pippa stepped inside and shot me an apologetic look. “I really am sorry to intrude at such a time, but I was so worried.”

  She walked quickly through to the kitchen.

  Daniel stood up. A frown creased his forehead as she rushed up to him.

  She grasped his hands. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Did you find out anything? Was it Dawn who sent the photograph?”

  Daniel nodded. “It looks that way.”

  I couldn’t help noticing how he softened his voice when he talked to her. He certainly didn’t use that tone with me.

  “Can I make anyone a drink?” I offered. My head was still pounding, and I couldn’t think straight. I needed strong black coffee.

  Daniel shook his head. “No, thanks. I should get going.”

  “Tell us if you hear anything, Daniel,” Mum said.

  He nodded. “I will.”

  The atmosphere was subdued as we said goodbye. I’d expected us to feel full of nervous energy now we were closer to finding Jenna, but it was like an unspoken cloud of fear hung over us. All of us were terrified of facing what could have happened to that sweet little girl.

  If only I hadn’t let go of her hand. If only I’d kept my eyes on her all the time. If only…

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  After Daniel had left with Pippa, Mum and I sat at the kitchen table and discussed the situation, but neither of us could understand how Dawn was involved.

  “Maybe, someone black
mailed her into taking part…” Mum suggested.

  I kept glancing at the antique clock, wishing the phone would ring with fresh news. “I didn’t think it would take so long. Why doesn’t she just tell the police what she knows?”

  “Do you think the police got it wrong?” Mum asked, stirring her tea. “Maybe Dawn just happened to be in that Internet cafe. Maybe they identified the wrong person?”

  I folded my arms across my chest and shook my head. “I doubt it. I saw her face when she got into the police car. She looked guilty.”

  I knew guilt. The amount of guilt I’d experienced over the last two years had made me an expert on it, and I could recognise it in another person.

  “I want to speak to Marjorie,” Mum said. “But I don’t want to leave the house in case the police ring to update us.”

  “They have our mobile numbers.”

  “I know, but I don’t want to take the call at Marjorie’s.”

  I felt the same, and I had a feeling that Marjorie wouldn’t have any answers anyway. She was blinkered and thought Dawn was a perpetual victim. People often saw what they wanted to, especially where family was concerned.

  After an agonising, interminable wait, Detective Sergeant Leanne Parker telephoned at nine pm. Mum snatched up the phone and put it on speaker so I could hear both sides of the conversation.

  “I’m calling because we promised you an update, but I’m afraid we haven’t got very far with Dawn’s interview. We are taking a break for the evening and will be getting straight back into the questioning tomorrow.”

  “Taking a break?” Mum asked with disbelief in her voice. “Surely you can’t take a break until after you’ve found out what she knows about Jenna.”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line before Sergeant Parker responded. “I’m sorry, Mrs Farrow. I know you’re desperate for news, and I wish I had more for you, but legally, there’s only a certain amount of time we can question Dawn. Anyone in police custody is entitled to meal breaks and time to rest.”

  “Then why didn’t you pick her up earlier?” I asked, leaning close to the phone.

  “It took time to arrange the warrant,” Sergeant Parker replied calmly. “We have been trying to get her to open up, but she is only giving yes or no answers to our questions. I’m hopeful we’ll get more out of her tomorrow.”

  Mum looked at me, horrified. How would we get through the night when the truth about Jenna was almost within our grasp?

  “But it’s your job to get her to talk,” I said. “She must have said something. Are you sure it was Dawn who sent the message? Has she admitted that much?”

  “No, as I said, she’s not been forthcoming. But she’s under stress at the moment. When we start again tomorrow morning, the interview should be more productive.”

  I took a step back from the telephone. Unbelievable. Jenna had been taken by God knows who, and the police were pussy-footing around Dawn, who’d decided she didn’t want to talk about it.

  “Do you think Dawn took her? She was there. She could have.” I was talking to Sergeant Parker, but I was looking at Mum.

  Her skin had turned a strange shade of grey, and I reached out to grab her arm and steady her before she fell. I dragged over a chair and told her to sit down.

  “Is everything all right?” Sergeant Parker asked.

  “Mum’s just feeling a bit dizzy.” I put a hand on Mum’s shoulder, and she rested her head against my arm. “So what’s the next step?”

  “We’ll come at Dawn again fresh tomorrow and offer her some inducements to talk.”

  At that point, I didn’t care what they offered Dawn. I just wanted her to talk and tell us what she knew about Jenna.

  “Is there any proof Dawn took the photograph?” I asked.

  “Beth, we found the photograph on Dawn’s phone. We think she must have emailed it to herself to access it from the computer in the chat room and then sent it to your phone from there. We know the message didn’t come from Dawn’s phone, so she was trying to cover her tracks. The fact the photograph was found on her phone leads me to suspect Dawn took the photograph. But we don’t know that for sure. There are things we can look into, such as the timestamp on the image to find out when the photograph was taken, and possibly find out where the photo was taken. We are looking into that now and will update you as soon as we have more information.”

  I nodded, forgetting that she couldn’t see me. “Right, so you’re not doing anything else tonight?”

  “The work on Dawn’s phone will continue as a priority, but we won’t be questioning Dawn until tomorrow morning. We’ll commence the interviews at eight thirty. I will contact you as soon as we take a break to give you an update.”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  I hung up, wondering what on earth I was thanking her for. She was only doing her job, but it was frustrating beyond belief to think we were so close to finding out what had happened to Jenna, but there was nothing we could do but wait.

  I turned my attention to Mum. “Are you feeling any better now?”

  She nodded. “Yes, but I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I just want to know one way or the other.”

  I squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll make us a cup of tea.”

  I walked towards the kettle, but Mum stood up and shook her head.

  “No. We haven’t got time for that. The police don’t have any answers for us, so I’m going to talk to Marjorie. Are you coming?”

  I wasn’t going to let Mum go alone, so I nodded and followed her out of the kitchen. I grabbed my jacket from the coat stand and then handed Mum hers.

  It had been a warm day but the night air was chilly, and I wasn’t one hundred percent convinced Mum was recovered after her dizzy spell. I didn’t want her catching a chill.

  As we approached the Parsons’s thatched cottage, we saw Marjorie was still up because the lights were on downstairs. There was no sign of any police vehicles now, so I guessed they’d completed the search.

  “Are you sure you’re up to this?” I asked Mum as we walked up the Parsons’s driveway.

  “Yes,” Mum said firmly as we reached the front door and she pressed the doorbell.

  That pretty chocolate box cottage looked sinister at night. The thatched roof cast long shadows in the moonlight, and I suppressed a shudder as I looked up.

  Marjorie’s face appeared in the living room window. She looked at us sadly for a moment and then came to the front door. When she opened the door, it was immediately apparent she’d been crying.

  She shook her head and opened her mouth, but no words came out.

  “I’m sorry this has happened to you, Mrs Parsons,” I said and meant it.

  She may have been taken in by Dawn and didn’t want to think badly of her, but Mrs Parsons had always been kind to us, and she didn’t deserve this.

  She stood back and opened the door wide so we could come inside. As we entered the sitting room, the Parsons’s tomcat jumped up onto the windowsill, knocking over a pale lilac, pillar candle.

  “Oh, Thomas, you naughty kitty,” Mrs Parsons said, flapping her hands and shooing the cat away. She bent down to pick up the candle and put it back on the windowsill.

  There was something familiar about that candle. When Mrs Parsons moved away from the windowsill, I picked it up. It smelt of lavender, and a purple ribbon was tied around the middle.

  “This is lovely,” I said. “Did you buy it?”

  Mum looked at me as though I’d lost my mind. Asking questions about a candle at a time like this must have seemed odd.

  Mrs Parsons blinked at me in confusion.

  “It’s Dawn’s. She was going to throw it away, but I told her I’d keep it if she didn’t want it. I don’t understand why she bought it if she didn’t like it.” She shook her head. “But it seems as though there are a lot of things I don’t understand about my daughter.”

  Before we could reply, Mrs Parsons continued, “I was just about to make a cup of tea. Would
you like one?”

  Mum huffed with impatience.

  But I said, “That would be nice, Marjorie, thanks.”

  Mum frowned but didn’t contradict me.

  As Marjorie left us and headed to the kitchen, I turned to face Mum. “It isn’t her fault. We have to tread gently if we want to get anything out of her. Dawn’s her daughter, and she won’t want to believe she could have been involved in Jenna’s disappearance.”

  Me being the one to tell Mum to calm down was a total role reversal.

  “I know that. I don’t know what you thought I was going to do, Beth. I’m perfectly calm.”

  She went to perch on the edge of the sofa, and I sat down beside her. As we waited, I tried to prepare what I was going to say to Marjorie.

  Naturally, she would be defensive, but we needed her to confide in us. I wanted us to be on the same side.

  When Marjorie came back, carrying a large tray laden with a teapot, a jug of milk and three cups, I smiled and stood up to take the tray from her. I put it down on the coffee table.

  “I just don’t understand what’s happening,” Marjorie said as she stooped down to pour the tea.

  “What did the police tell you?” Mum asked, edging forward on her seat.

  “Not very much,” Marjorie said as she handed Mum a cup of tea. “The police turned up on the doorstep, and when I answered the door, they asked if Dawn was home. We’d been watching television together, just like any other night, and when I led the police into the living room, Dawn turned white. She looked terrified. I’ve never seen her look so scared.”

  Marjorie passed me my cup of tea, and I thanked her. “Did Dawn tell you why the police are interested in her?”

  “She didn’t tell me anything. I got upset and demanded to know what’s going on, but then they cautioned Dawn and said anything she said could be taken in evidence or something like that… Well, she took them at their word because she didn’t speak again. She didn’t even say goodbye.”

  “We think this had something to do with Jenna’s disappearance,” Mum said.

  Marjorie nodded sadly. “The police must have made a mistake. There was some talk about a photograph, and they wanted to take Dawn’s computer away. But I don’t see how Dawn could be involved in Jenna’s disappearance. She wouldn’t do anything like that. She couldn’t. She doesn’t have it in her.”