Discarded by M. Hunter (the reading list .txt) 📕

I see Trey Neville nodding in my periphery. ‘I just pray she’s looking down and keeping an eye on our Jo-Jo for us.’

Murmurs of agreement echo around the room.

Trey then stands and forcefully claps his hands together. ‘Right, let’s set about our manhunt,’ he declares and the rest of the room – all but Tina, Freddie, and me – are on their feet, ploughing towards the door through which we entered only moments earlier.

‘They’re going to walk all the nearby streets calling out Jo-Jo’s name,’ Tina explains, ‘and showing her picture to whoever they find. Someone must have seen what happened to her.’

Robin appears at the door and offers to make tea, which we all agree to, and then there are only the three of us left in the room.

‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ Tina says, squeezing my hand. ‘It means a lot that you’ve taken time out of your own busy life to be here and support us at such a difficult time.’

I don’t know how to respond. I don’t know that there is a lot I can do to help, other than offer words of encouragement. I’m reluctant to tell her about the people Jack and I have been hunting, as I don’t want to worry her any further. If she’s lucky, then whoever snatched Jo-Jo has nothing to do with the sorts of men who still haunt my and Freddie’s dreams. For now, we just need to keep her spirits up.

Robyn returns to the room with the tea and a plate of Jaffa Cakes, taking a seat across the room, her eyes never leaving me, nor Freddie; I imagine she’s already reported our arrival to Cavendish and has been told to keep a close watch on us.

‘You certainly have a lot of friends and family here offering support,’ I say, as I sip the tea.

‘They have been a godsend too,’ Tina tells me, reaching for a Jaffa Cake and placing the whole thing in her mouth. ‘We’re a pretty large but close family; the lot who’ve just gone out with Trey are all this side of Dorchester, but we have other family in Wiltshire, Hampshire, and Sussex too. Everyone’s ready to drop everything to get our Jo-Jo back.’ She stops and looks skyward, blinking back the urge to cry.

‘She’s lucky to have so many people who care for her,’ I reply, thinking back to how isolated my parents felt when Anna went missing. We didn’t have a large support network to rely on, and maybe if we had, the cracks in my parents’ marriage wouldn’t have become unrepairable. ‘Trey is Jo-Jo’s step-father, right?’ I ask, keen to better understand the family dynamics. ‘Is Jo-Jo’s birth father still in the picture?’

Tina fires a troubled look towards Robyn before meeting my gaze. ‘He’s not on the scene anymore. Trey’s her dad now, and that’s all I have to say on that.’

Heat rises to my cheeks as I realise I’ve overstepped the mark, and quickly try to change the subject. ‘Has Detective Cavendish said how many potential leads the press conference generated?’

‘I have cautioned Mrs Neville from discussing any operational matters of the investigation with the press,’ Robyn warns from her perch.

I resist the temptation to challenge that I’m not here in a media capacity, but I don’t see the point.

‘What can I do to help?’ I ask Tina instead. ‘I’m happy to retweet and share any posts on social media that you think will help.’

She squeezes my hand again. ‘Just having you here and knowing that you’re on our side is enough.’

Freddie moves to the cushion beside her and I can see he’s keen to speak but is reluctant to do so without invitation.

‘Freddie here knows the streets of Weymouth better than anyone, and he has contacts with our homeless community. I’m sure he’d be happy to hang some pictures of Jo-Jo at the shelter where he works and get more eyes out there looking for her.’

She looks at Freddie and he nods eagerly. ‘I’ve already put the word out, and will report back anything and everything I hear.’

She smiles thankfully. ‘You’re both being so kind. I just wish…’ She can’t finish the sentence, as her eyes shine with tears.

Robyn’s phone beeps loudly and she quickly reads the screen before standing and moving over to the three of us. ‘Freddie Mitchell, right?’

Freddie stands, concern gripping every feature. ‘Yes, why?’

‘You’re out on early release; you shouldn’t be anywhere near here. I’m going to have to ask you to leave now.’

He doesn’t argue, just lowers his cup to the coffee table beside the plate of Jaffa Cakes. I stand too, not willing to see him evicted alone. Passing Tina my business card, I tell her to contact me if there’s anything specific she needs, and then I follow Robyn and Freddie to the door.

Chapter Twenty-Two Then

Hayling Island, Hampshire

She had to hurry, but it was so difficult to do so when every attempt at finding a path resulted in stumps and bark sticking out at acute angles. She was sure Chez had said something about a path leading to the stream, but if such a path existed she’d yet to find it. Of course that could be because she’d become disorientated and could no longer be certain she was walking in a straight line. She’d had to take so many sidesteps that for all she knew she was completing circular laps of the inside of the woods. It felt like she’d been walking for at least ten minutes by now, which would mean Chez would have sent the alarm out to Grey and Mr Brown, and they would soon be on her trail. If they had a better idea of the layout of the wood then it wouldn’t be long until they were close behind her.

They’d probably be armed with torches and equipment for chopping down some of the lower-hanging branches that clawed at her face as she