Discarded by M. A. Hunter

Author:M. A. Hunter [Hunter, M. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008443344
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Chapter Twenty-Four

Now

Weymouth, Dorset

The air at the police station is electric with anticipation. It only took Rick and me ten minutes to get here, but in that time it looks like half the South Coast’s officers have been called in. I know Cavendish is a fan of the dramatic, but I don’t think she’d have called on this effort if she didn’t truly believe in the intelligence she’d received.

Rick approaches one of the uniformed officers who is smoking just outside the station.

‘I’m hearing there’s been a sighting of Jo-Jo,’ Rick starts, pushing his hands together and blowing warm air into them.

The guy nods as he inhales, watching me, but not questioning who I am or what I’m doing here. ‘There was a call about twenty minutes ago. The DI is getting everyone together to scour the area.’

I don’t know the child, and I’ve only met her parents twice, but I feel ready to punch the air with delight and relief. Having been in their shoes – on tenterhooks for information – I know better than anyone how relieved they must be. A sighting means that Jo-Jo is still alive and that the net on her whereabouts has narrowed significantly. All things being equal, it should only be a matter of time until she’s safe and home.

Reported missing just before three on Saturday, and relocated less than thirty hours later – maybe I really did do Cavendish a disservice when I questioned why she’d been drafted in from Poole to run the investigation. I may not agree with her approach to an investigation – nor her personal morals – but credit where it’s due: she’s found Jo-Jo.

The officer drops his cigarette to the ground and squashes it underfoot before picking up the stub and depositing it in the small metal bin attached to the wall of the police station.

‘You coming in?’ he asks Rick, who looks at me as if trying to decide whether to head in through the staff-only entrance or wait with me.

I make the decision for him.

‘I’ll wait around the front,’ I tell him. ‘You’d better get in and find out what your orders are.’

He leans across and kisses me on the cheek in gratitude, before following his colleague through, while I make my way around to the front.

Some of the family members I observed at the Nevilles’s house are camped outside – some smoking, others puffing warm air into brittle hands. But the group seems to have swollen in size, with more than thirty people awaiting the news that will bring a happy end to a terrifying weekend. I’ve no idea how they all could have heard about the possible sighting so quickly, especially as there are still officers arriving and heading in through the back.

There’s no obvious sign of Trey or Tina or the FLO, so I squeeze my way through the crowd and wait just outside the front door. The station has been officially closed to the public since 5pm, but I don’t imagine anyone anticipated such a turnout for this evening’s news.

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