The Body Under the Bridge by Nick Louth

Author:Nick Louth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Books
Published: 2020-03-22T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

It was nearly eleven when DI Claire Mulholland pulled up outside Gillard’s home, having driven at breakneck speed from her home in Staines. They had earlier had a long conversation on the phone. Claire had an enduring affection for her boss, who had acted as mentor and an inspiration during her early years on the force. She only once before witnessed him this distressed, and that was a few years previously when he had discovered a blood-soaked crime scene at the home of his long-ago former girlfriend Liz Knight. But if Sam had been abducted, this would be of a different order.

A police patrol car was parked on the front drive, and when Gillard answered the door to Claire’s ring, she was immediately part of an urgent conversation in the hallway. Two large and grim-faced uniformed officers turned to look at her, and the Surrey Police lanyard dangling around her neck, but she only had eyes for Gillard, who was as white as a sheet.

‘Have you found her?’ she asked, fearing the worst.

Gillard shook his head. ‘There was a 999 call at around half past eight, from Trish, saying that a man had driven away in Sam’s car.’

One of the uniforms, a sergeant with a moustache, took up the story. ‘Mrs Gibson rang in at 8.27 p.m., apparently from her vehicle, saying that she had decided to follow the stolen vehicle. She described seeing the man close the garage door, he was tall and of a muscular build, wearing a bulky car coat and a ski mask…’

‘That’s the same man!’ Claire said. ‘The one who tried to run you down.’

‘I think he’s got Sam,’ Gillard said. ‘She doesn’t keep her car in the garage. So the only reason it would be seen driving out of there is if he had reversed it in to load…’ His voice cracked. ‘…her into the back unseen.’

‘Oh, Craig,’ she rushed forward to embrace him, ignoring the presence of the two officers.

‘CSI are on their way, ma’am. We’ve got an alert right across London and the Home Counties.’

Craig had already told her about discovering the earring. Since their phone conversation he said he had found a clump of Sam’s hair trapped low in the hinge of the door into the garage. ‘I’ve taken a peek, and there doesn’t seem to be anything obvious, but I thought I’d await CSI rather than step inside.’ He looked around at his home, as if seeing it for the first time. ‘I’ll need somewhere to stay…’

‘Of course, Craig, you can stay with us.’ She turned to the two uniforms. ‘Is there any news on Craig’s aunt, Mrs Gibson? Any ANPR hits? Any further phone messages from her?’

‘Yes, one further phone message to say she was pursuing Mrs Gillard’s car on the A217 heading towards Sutton,’ the sergeant said. ‘Unfortunately, the call handler asked her to confirm that she was using a hands-free phone, otherwise she would be committing an offence. At that point Mrs Gibson swore at her and then hung up.

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