The Bones of Chester: A DI Emma Christie Novel Book 3 (A DI Emma Christie Crime Thriller) by M J Lee

Author:M J Lee [Lee, M J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-05-29T00:00:00+00:00

Martha Swanage

Layla Turner

‘I’ve reduced the list to fourteen now. All the others except these two have either returned home, been found dead or have had their existence documented through a passport or electoral office.’

‘Good work, John.’

He tapped the first name with his pen. ‘Martha Swanage was reported missing by her mother twice – in 2015 and again in early 2016. The second time, she was found working as a prostitute on the street and returned to her family. She was fifteen at the time. She disappeared for the third time in August 2016, just after her sixteenth birthday, and has never been seen again. Her mother received one postcard from her with a postmark for Soho in 2018 but nothing since then. The mother presumed she had gone to London.’

‘There it is again, going off to London. She’s slightly older than the others,’ said Harry.

‘True, but in the misper report she’s described as “small and undeveloped for her age”.’

‘Has she just vanished into the London underworld? Have we checked with Vice?’ asked Anna.

‘It’s a possibility, but of the mispers I looked at, she had all the right attributes.’

‘Let’s keep her on the list of possibles until we confirm she’s still alive,’ said Emma. ‘The other girl, Layla Turner – what happened to her?’

‘Her mother gave her money to go to the local shops to buy milk and she just vanished. No phone calls. No messages. No previous reports of running away. A straight-A pupil. A good girl, according to her mother. Aged just fourteen. She vanished in 2017 and the case is still active, according to our protection people. It looks like she just vanished into thin air.’

‘No CCTV or phone records?’

‘The roads in her area have no CCTV – it’s a quiet suburb – and she left her mobile at home.’

‘No teenager would run away without their mobile phone,’ added Anna.

Emma stared at the names, hoping against hope that they would eventually find these young women.

‘Again, good work, John. Keep going on your missing person list. I want to know if there are any more possible victims by tomorrow at the latest.’ She turned to Harry. ‘How was the visit to the children’s home?’

‘Fine, boss. I also went to see the head of the place at the time of Marie’s disappearance, a Roger Deakins.’

‘You’ve been busy.’

‘The social worker let me see Marie’s file and I’ve sent photos of it to you and John. Nothing new, except we know she entered the home with her sister on April 6th and vanished on August 2nd. It looks like the home was a bit lax in its security; the residents could come and go pretty much as they pleased.’

‘Even fourteen-year-old girls?’

‘Looks like it. What was interesting was three other girls also absconded in the four years after Marie before they tightened security. I gave the names to John.’

‘Two of the girls are still missing, or at least, there have been no reports of them since 2014: Ivy Green, aged fourteen, and Cecilia Clarke, aged thirteen.

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