The Silent Dead: A Gripping Crime Thriller (Solomon Gray Book 6) by Keith Nixon

Author:Keith Nixon [Nixon, Keith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gladius Press
Published: 2019-09-16T16:00:00+00:00

Eighteen

This time Gray parked around the rear of the social services building. The same Asian receptionist was on the desk. Vardie didn’t make them wait long. When he came down the stairs, he was wearing a bottle green three-piece suit.

“Good to see you again,” said Vardie.

“Emily Wyatt.” She handed her card over.

Vardie read it with interest. “CEOP? Not after my job, Mrs Wyatt?”

Wyatt laughed, said, “It’s Miss and I’m temporarily assigned to Thanet Police.”

“Come on up.” Vardie led the way. “Do you want a drink? It’s just a machine, I’m afraid.”

“We won’t be keeping you long,” said Gray.

“Probably for the best. The vegetable soup is particularly vile.”

They went into the meeting room again. Vardie’s laptop was sitting on the work surface. He pulled out a chair for Wyatt, leaving Gray to fend for himself. Wyatt winked at Gray as he sat.

“Now, you mentioned more questions? I assume they’re related to your baby case?”

“Three names have come up – Imogen Nicklin, Kerry Hudson and Zara Jessop.”

“Who do you want to start with?” Vardie pulled the laptop over, tapped in his password.

“Might as well go from the top.”

“Imogen Nicklin then.” More tapping, a pause. “We don’t have any information on Nicklin. If she ever lived in Thanet, there was no involvement with Social Services. Next, Kerry Hudson you said?”

“That’s right.”

“I play lots of memory games.” Vardie tapped the tip of a finger against his temple. A brief pause. “Okay, according to the files she was a local girl essentially born into fostering. Hudson was immediately removed from her mother; she didn’t even get chance to take her home from the hospital. The father isn’t known. Hudson them moved around between a number of carers in her earliest years before settling in one place when she was seven where Hudson stayed all the way through until she was eighteen.”

“Any details of her having a child?”

“Not in the time we have records for.”

“Then we come onto Zara Jessop. She was homeless, living on the streets. She spent a night or two at a hostel near your station, The Lighthouse.” Gray knew the location, just behind the Dreamland amusement arcade off the seafront. “But its mainly men staying there, and it wasn’t ideal for a young girl. So, the manager, Natalie Peace, got in touch with us and we found Miss Jessop a short-term foster.” Vardie frowned. “Hmm that’s interesting.”

“What?”

“Both girls stayed with Andrea Ogilvy.”

Gray glanced at Wyatt, said, “Is that unusual?”

“Not particularly. As we discussed when we first met, Andrea was one of our go-to carers in times of need. And Miss Jessop was definitely in need.”

“How long did she stay with Andrea?”

“The first time was for a couple of months.”

“She was there more than once?”

“That’s right. More than a year between her stays. On the second occasion she was with Andrea for longer until she was just over 17. She moved into a council flat in Ramsgate. After that, we lost touch with her. And there’s no indication Jessop had a child either.”

“And

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