caravan?’
‘Is this the one she took you to in Wales?’
‘Yes, Pantymwyn,’ Selina replied. ‘It’s only about an hour’s drive away. It’s a lovely little site in the middle of some stunning countryside – it’s more like a little village, really. Everyone takes care of their own little patch of land and their gardens are their pride and joy.’
‘So what does she need doing in this pretty little place that’s only an hour’s drive away?’
Selina took a sip of beer that left a trail of foam on her upper lip then wiped it away with the back of her hand. ‘A bit of decking and a general tidy up, I think, in time for a family get-together over the August Bank Holiday. I’ve already told her she couldn’t expect you to do it in a day. “Pat,” I said, “that man hasn’t had a holiday in all the time I’ve known him. If you’re expecting miracles then let him have some time to relax too.” We were thinking a week would be enough.’
‘I don’t need a holiday,’ Sam warned, ‘not even a working one.’
‘Everyone needs a holiday.’
‘When was the last time you went on one? Oh, don’t tell me you’re planning on coming along too?’ He was laughing again and so was Selina.
‘As tempting as it is to go off to foreign climes, someone has to stay here to look after the house. No, I was thinking …’
Sam knew exactly what Selina was going to say. The scheme she had been conjuring up with her friend’s help was based on the same presumption everyone had made at the party the night before: that Anna had become a permanent appendage to Sam’s life. But that was before their recent heart to heart and now Selina knew better. He could tell her mind was whirring by the twitch in her eye.
‘I was thinking,’ she continued, ‘that you could go on your own. I don’t condone you spending the rest of your life in seclusion but you do need to recharge your batteries.’
‘When I’m not digging up Pat’s garden,’ Sam added, but Selina didn’t need to argue her case any more. ‘Actually, it’s not a half-bad idea. I could go for some long walks and clear away the cobwebs. Of course, I’d have to check out the job first to make sure I know what I’m letting myself in for, but yes, all right then. Tell her to give me a call and we can set something up.’
At last Selina had found a way to settle his mind, although possibly not in the way she had intended. He had gone out on a run because he was starting to feel that same urge to escape that had made him leave Edinburgh. He was trying to resist it because he didn’t want to run away again so perhaps a temporary break might give him the space he needed.
Sam’s flat: Wednesday 7 October 2015
As they sat facing each other across the dining table, Sam could feel a trap closing in around him and he had to work hard to keep his breathing steady and his expression neutral.
‘Remind me again, Mr McIntyre,’ Harper said, ‘when did you first meet Jasmine?’
‘During a school trip to the park.’
‘No, I mean when. What time of year?’
Sam tried to think back. ‘There were bluebells around the tree, so it would have been spring time.’
‘You can still picture it in your mind, can you?’ Harper asked. His eyes had widened like a cat’s watching its prey.
‘I’d guess it was late April,’ Sam clarified. ‘But there’ll be a record of the visit at work if that would help.’
Harper looked thoughtful and his eye was drawn to the green square of paper on the table. He reached out without warning and turned it over. There was a look of disappointment on his face when he discovered it had a white underside that was blank and otherwise nondescript. Returning his attention to Sam, he asked, ‘And you met Mr Peterson when?’
Sam scratched his head, which felt flaky with dried salty sweat. ‘Early to mid-June. It was the day of Jack’s leaving party, so again, it will be in a diary somewhere at work.’
‘And did you see Jasmine again during that time?’
‘No, I didn’t.’
Harper sucked in air between his teeth. ‘That’s quite a gap. Did you want to see her?’
The detective knew Sam wasn’t going to answer so continued where his train of thought was leading him. ‘So you meet Jasmine in April and her dad in June. You realize at this point that while you can bump into Mr Peterson any time you like in his local, it wouldn’t be so easy to engineer a meeting with Jasmine again. Would that be right?’
Sam was shaking his head. ‘This is sick! There’s a child missing and I don’t know where she is. I would never harm Jasmine, if anything I only ever wanted to protect her. Stop wasting time here, DCI Harper, and go out and find her for pity’s sake!’
Harper continued as if Sam’s outburst hadn’t happened. ‘Are you still refusing to allow us to search your apartment, Mr McIntyre?’ Harper asked. ‘We can wait for a search warrant but I’d rather have your co-operation.’
‘I don’t recall saying that you couldn’t,’ Sam said. He could feel his clenched jaw aching now. He let out a frustrated sigh that he wished was powerful enough to knock the smug detective off his chair. ‘Go ahead, do what you want.’
‘Thank you, Mr McIntyre.’ Without breaking his gaze with Sam, Harper lifted his hand and signalled to the police officer behind him. ‘So, where were we?’ he asked as his colleague slipped out of the apartment, presumably to organize a search team. ‘Ah, yes, we know how you met Jasmine and her dad, but what about her mum? How did you manage to inveigle your way into her life?’
Saturday 20 June 2015
Selina had instructed Sam to continue seeing Anna, as if that alone would allow him to keep his conscience clear, but it wasn’t that simple. It was inevitable that Sam would hurt Anna at some point and the longer he let her believe they had a future together, the deeper that hurt might be. He had to at least try to stop that from happening, but as the couple strolled down the road together on a warm summer’s evening he didn’t know where to begin. Anna was beautiful and lively and enthusiastic about life in general, and while he didn’t think for a minute he would ever be able to immerse himself completely in her kind of world, he couldn’t deny it felt good to pay a visit now and again. If there was a way forward, one thing was clear: it would have to be on Anna’s terms and not just his own.
‘I can’t wait for school to finish,’ Anna said as they made their way towards the King’s Arms. ‘One more month and then I can relax for a while. Mum and Dad have a villa in Spain and it’s free for a couple of weeks in August if you fancy it?’
When
