Lost Souls by Jenny O'Brien (android e book reader txt) 📕

a moment reading through her previous comments in case there was anything that she wanted to add or change. Her gaze was drawn to Ellie’s photo as she reached for a black marker pen.

‘Right then, thanks to Diane’s efforts yesterday we now have a suspect in addition to someone in custody …’ She twisted her head, glancing around the room. ‘Where is PC Carbone? She should be here. She’s as much a part of this team as the rest of us.’

‘She was earlier,’ Malachy said, his hand rasping over his stubbly chin. ‘She probably thought she was surplus to requirements now that she’s been through all of the CCTV footage.’

Gaby’s sigh was audible across the room, causing the team to eye her in amusement. ‘Go and find her, Mal, as quick as you can,’ she added, her voice sharpening to a stiletto point when he didn’t immediately shift from his chair. ‘While we’re waiting, I can fill you in on Ellie’s disappearance. There is news but I have no idea what to make of it. Marie and Diane have identified the lad on the Great Orme with Ellie as Ronan Stevens.’

Gaby didn’t have to qualify who that was, their expressions said it all. ‘Quite! Until we speak to the two of them, there’s no way of knowing if their meeting was purely coincidental or not, but it’s certainly a worrying development. I can’t help that old adage like father like son repeating like the aftereffects of a dodgy prawn. Amy and I interviewed Ms Fry again last night and she has no recollection of having ever met the boy so, at this stage, there’s no evidence that it’s anything but a chance encounter. But it does mean that we have to change our strategy. With this in mind, last night, Amy and I paid a visit to Janice Stevens and, following the discovery of a quantity of fresh blood in her bathroom, blood with the same group as Ellie Fry’s, she is currently in custody. Yes, that’s right. What was a missing persons’ case is now a possible murder inquiry, despite the lack of a body, so we’re going in all guns blazing on this one.’

The sound of feet in the corridor outside had Gaby tilting her head, no trace of a smile at the sight of Malachy hurrying into the room, Diane following behind. ‘While we have to keep an open mind, I don’t need to remind you of the antics Casper Stevens got up to. It could even be a case of dear old mum trying to protect one of her brood. It’s not as if she wouldn’t know how.’ She stared across at Marie. ‘You and I are going to interview her and make sure we tick all the boxes we’re meant to, bearing in mind that she’s a lawyer! Jax, I’d like you to continue being the main liaison person for the search and rescue team. We need to make sure that it’s a coordinated effort and that we’re looking in all the right places. On the same theme, I need you to revisit both the train and bus station. I know we were there yesterday but we didn’t have Ronan Stevens’s picture to flash around – it might be the break we need. Malachy, you’ve drawn the short straw.’ She recapped the marker and placed it in the little wooden rack underneath the whiteboard, setting it between its best friends; the red and the green. ‘We still need to link in the reason for Ellie absconding because, as yet, we haven’t come up with anything plausible.’

She looked across at him, her thoughts filled with the stark image of Rusty’s son and the comment he’d made. ‘The general feeling is that something scared her but we have no idea what. So, I want you to flesh out what we already know about her last few days and follow up on any leads that it may generate. Yesterday we checked in with the train and bus stations but we need to expand on that. It’s pretty obvious that she’s not going to be anywhere near the six-mile limit we originally set.’

‘Unless something has already happened and her body has been hidden,’ he replied.

Gaby raised her eyebrows at the typical, reality-check comment coming from Malachy Devine, which she should have been expecting. He’d proved himself to be an invaluable part of the team during the last case. The only thing stopping him from racing up through the ranks was his inability to edit whatever came out of his mouth, because stating the obvious to a room full of detectives was always going to be less than helpful. ‘Yes. Well. Thank you for putting into words what we’re all thinking but we have to stay positive.’

Picking up the red marker, she started writing bullet points on the board, her fingers clenched, fist tight. Malachy had annoyed her more than she realised. He was a good copper. Hard-working, committed and intelligent. He also had that little extra sprinkling of dedication that had kept him up all night roaming the hills. But that was irrelevant if he couldn’t learn to curb his thoughts. Everyone on the team knew that the chance of finding Ellie alive was like looking at the final grains of sand disappearing through an egg timer.

With a nip at her lower lip, hard enough to make her flinch, she continued to speak. ‘After we’ve interviewed Mrs Stevens, I’m going to have a little chat with Reverend Honeybun – we know that he’s spent a great deal of time with Ronan. What’s the likelihood that if we find the boy we find the girl?’

Gaby took a deep sighing breath, because of course Ellie Fry wasn’t the only case on their books. ‘Now over to Barbara Matthews, the elderly lady over in Deganwy who was reported missing yesterday afternoon by her bridge buddies when she failed to turn up for her own party.’ She shifted her head at the sight