Say You're Sorry by Michael Robotham

Author:Michael Robotham
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Published: 2012-10-02T07:00:00+00:00

26

We’ve had five hundred phone calls since six this morning,” says Drury, staring out the car window. “Each one of them has to be logged, categorized and followed up… I’m all in favor of public support, but we’re getting calls from every nutter, do-gooder and pissed-off ratepayer with a grudge against his neighbor.”

“Who broke the news blackout?”

“Hayden McBain took thirty pieces of silver from the Sun.”

“The news would have leaked eventually.”

Drury shakes his head in disgust, silent for a long moment. His job has become a lot harder. People are scared. Parents want reassurance and a quick resolution. The media will be demanding answers. Progress. Daily briefings. Failure will bring blame.

The road out of Bingham is choked with traffic, belching fumes into the frigid air. Drury tells Grievous to use the siren. Motorists pull over and the unmarked police car squeezes past.

Sarah Hadley’s words are still grinding through my mind. Grief has kept her busy for three years, held her upright. The news of Natasha hasn’t restored her belief, it has caused her to doubt.

“I want to ask you about Victor McBain,” I say.

The DCI glances over the seat. “What about him?”

“Nelson Stokes claims that he saw Natasha kissing her uncle in the front seat of his car. It wasn’t a peck on the cheek. He says he told police, but I can’t find any mention of it in his statement.”

Drury seems to be chewing on my question, deciding how much to say.

“We looked at Vic McBain,” he says, speaking to the windscreen. “You know how it works. When a child goes missing or is murdered we look at the family first, then friends. Ninety per cent of the time it’s a fair assumption.”

“Why wasn’t the allegation included in Stokes’s statement?”

“McBain threatened to sue the police if anyone repeated the claim.”

“Were the allegations investigated?”

“Of course.”

“So there’s no truth—”

Drury interrupts. “He gave Natasha some inappropriate gifts.”

“What gifts?”

“Bikinis, booze, condoms.”

“Not the sort of things an uncle gives a niece.”

“I saw Vic McBain three years ago. He would have torn this town apart to find Natasha. He also had an alibi for the morning the girls disappeared.”

“What about the night of the blizzard?”

Drury loses patience. “If you have new information, Professor, let’s hear it, but don’t play twenty questions with me. I don’t have the time.”

“Sarah Hadley said she talked to a medium—some woman who was introduced to her by Vic McBain. This medium claimed that Natasha and Piper were being held somewhere against their will. She used the phrase ‘Beneath the earth but not a part of it.’ ”

“Don’t tell me you believe this psychic shit? Do you know how many mediums and mystics we’ve heard from so far? Dozens of them.”

“This could be different. This medium saw a smokestack or a windmill. The pathologist found traces of heavy metals on Natasha’s clothing. What if Vic McBain fed her some of the details.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know, but there’s something else that bothers me. When the girls were planning to run away, Natasha told Emily that her uncle owed her money.

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