He’s not strong and you’re all he’s got.’ My own misery has made me oblivious to his. ‘Vince is looking sick. I don’t think he’ll get through this without you. Especially when the press turn up.’
‘Are they here?’ I ask.
‘Not yet, but they’re coming. Maybe you could come and stay at ours for a bit.’
‘They’d only follow.’
‘Parasites,’ she says. ‘Look, Tess, why don’t you have a shower and come downstairs, try and eat something, talk to Ray. He’s taking this hard; you know how close he and Edie were. And most of all, you have to pull through this for your father.’
‘I’ll try,’ I say.
‘And there’s a police officer downstairs, Tess.’ She looks at me nervously. ‘I came straight up and didn’t speak to him. What’s he doing in the house?’
‘He’s the family liaison officer.’
‘I think you should get rid of him.’
‘He’s alright, Becca, he’s trying to help.’
She shakes her head.
‘You weren’t here, Tess, you’ve no idea how bad it got. The way the police treated Vince, the way they questioned him, as if he’d ever hurt Edie. You need to go downstairs and support him. Don’t let that liaison officer trick you into saying anything about Vince or Ray. The police are not our friends, Tess.’
*
I go through the mechanical routine of undressing and showering, and arrive downstairs bare-footed and with wet hair. DS Craven’s in the lounge sitting on the sofa next to Dad, his arms in a triangle on his thighs. Ray’s perched on the side, his chin resting on his hands. When he looks up his eyes are red. He comes over and hugs me and I rest my head on his shoulder.
‘Christ, I’m glad Gina didn’t have to go through this,’ he says.
Mum. Throughout all of this we’ve not mentioned her once. And my short-lived resolve at being strong for Dad crumbles. My legs go limp and I fall into Ray. He supports me and pulls me into the armchair. I want Mum, I want her to take me in her arms and tell me everything’s going to be OK, like she did when I was a little girl.
Ray kneels next to me.
‘You’re so much like her, Tess,’ he says.
Have I become like Mum? I try to picture her face compared to mine. Then I get it mixed up with Edie’s and become confused.
She and Edie were so alike, not just in looks, but they were also both animated and excitable. With no effort, people were drawn to them and wanted to be friends. Often, I’d arrive somewhere with Edie and people would say to her, ‘I didn’t know you had a sister,’ when they’d met both of us before; only Edie was remembered. And she’s never coming back.
Craven’s hovering in the background. Ray sees him looking at Becca.
‘This is my wife, Rebecca,’ he says. There’s barely disguised animosity in his voice. ‘This is Detective Sergeant Craven.’
‘Tony,’ Craven says. ‘I’m the family liaison officer.’
He offers Becca his hand. She gives it a cursory shake and purses her lips in substitution for a smile.
‘When can we have Edie back? We want the funeral to be as soon as possible,’ she says.
Craven’s on edge. Dad’s made it clear he doesn’t want him here and his manner is exaggeratedly calm, as if permanently fending off an overwhelming panic; he’s new to the job, I think.
‘The coroner will release the body once a second post-mortem has been carried out. It’s just a formality, so in about a week.’
‘Do they have an exact cause of death?’ Becca asks.
I ball my fists tight to brace against the answer.
‘The pathologist noted she’d received a blow to the head,’ Craven says. ‘Significant enough to render her unconscious, though she doubted it would have been fatal.’
‘So she drowned.’
‘We can’t be certain.’
‘You’re telling me they don’t know?’ Becca says.
‘The pathologist couldn’t give a definitive cause of death. I’m afraid it’s not uncommon in cases where the victim isn’t found for many years. I know you want answers and we’re going to do everything in our power to get them. We’ll be re-interviewing everyone and put out a fresh appeal for witnesses.’
‘After twenty years?’
‘You’d be amazed what people do remember. We can combine the appeal with a press conference and of course there’ll probably be a reconstruction.’
‘No chance,’ Dad says.
‘We’ve asked journalists to stay away from the house,’ Craven says. ‘But they’re only agreeing to a twenty-four hour period to let the family grieve. After that…’ He gives a slight shrug. ‘It would be easier if you just arranged to speak to them. We can discuss the appeal another time perhaps.’
Dad glares at Craven.
‘We’ll also be looking at any similar cases,’ Craven says.
‘Similar cases? Are you talking about a serial killer?’ Ray says.
My mind scurries away down dark tunnels. I look at Dad.
‘Please no,’ I say.
‘It’s just a possibility,’ Craven says quickly. ‘There’s no evidence of a sexual assault. She was fully clothed. Though, again, we can’t be certain.’
Ray brings his hands to his face.
‘Do you think someone held her, before they…’ I can’t say the words.
‘We believe Edie was killed soon after she went missing. The original investigation surmised this when they found her bag in the canal. And there’s an additional indication of this being the case from the post-mortem.’
Ray takes a sharp breath.
‘What indication?’ he asks.
‘The indentation to the skull contained tiny fragments of rust. It’s consistent with the composition of metal on the bridge crossing the canal. Unfortunately, the ironwork along the bridge wasn’t checked for blood at the time. Edie’s injury indicates she was attacked from behind and her head hit the metal struts.’
Becca flinches. Dad doesn’t move and remains staring at his hand. Ray looks from one to the other then to me.
‘Tess,’ he says. ‘Oh God, Tess. How could this happen?’
I can see it as a film running through
