‘There,’ said Mickey, pointing at the screen. ‘That’s her.’ Grainy CCTV footage showed Marina standing at the counter of the service station, looking around anxiously, handing over her card, getting out as quickly as possible, not even waiting for her receipt.
‘She seemed to be in a hurry, I remember that about her.’ The woman who had served her was speaking. She was big, heavyset. Anni thought she looked like a farmer’s wife. Probably was.
‘You sure that’s all?’ said Anni. ‘Anything else you can tell us about her?’
The farmer’s wife stared at the screen, trying to dredge up some memory that would help. Anni had found this a lot with witnesses. They wanted to feel involved, part of the investigation. They wanted to impart some knowledge that would be pivotal, that could crack the case. Something no one else had spotted, something unique. But the woman couldn’t do it.
Probably because there wasn’t anything more there.
‘How did she seem to you?’ asked Mickey.
‘Just like she looks on there,’ said the farmer’s wife. ‘Wanted to pay and get away, as quickly as possible.’
‘Which way was she headed?’ asked Anni. ‘Towards Colchester or towards Braintree?
The woman thought again. Trying hard to be helpful. Eventually shaking her head. ‘Colchester, I think.’
‘Can we see it again, please?’ said Anni.
The farmer’s wife rewound the tape. They watched Marina queue up, tapping one foot in impatience. They saw her look round, anxiety in her face. At one point she stared directly into the camera.
‘Pause it,’ said Mickey.
The woman did as he asked. Mickey and Anni both studied the blurred image.
‘What’s she doing?’ said Anni. ‘Is she … D’you think she knows she’s being watched?’
‘I think she does, yeah,’ he said. ‘She knows she’s on CCTV.’ He turned to the farmer’s wife. ‘Play it forward a few frames.’
She did so. They watched as Marina seemed to stare right into the lens. She looked apologetic, beaten. Then she paid.
‘That’s that, then,’ said Mickey, sitting back.
‘Keep watching,’ said Anni. ‘There’s something … ’
Marina had bought a pack of mints. They watched her take one, then, when the farmer’s wife wasn’t looking, screw the wrapper up and drop it on the floor.
‘Nice,’ said Anni.
Then she was out of the shop and on her way.
They both sat back. Looked at each other.
They fired a few more questions at the farmer’s wife, but it was clear to both of them that the woman had told them everything she could. Mickey left his card with her in case anything else occurred to her. They thanked her for her time, drove off.
‘Well, that was less than helpful,’ said Mickey.
‘What did you expect? She clearly doesn’t want to be found. For whatever reason.’
They drove towards Colchester. Mickey checked his watch.
‘Nearly knocking-off time. We’ve got no more leads, no other jobs we should be doing. I reckon we should head for home.’
‘Reckon you’re right,’ said Anni. ‘We’re about to hit overtime. Franks wouldn’t like that.’
They drove on in silence. Anni eventually spoke. ‘So, you got any plans for tonight?’
‘Me? Nah. Nothing special.’
‘Really?’ There was a playful edge to Anni’s voice. ‘Not rushing off to Ipswich to see your cowgirl DS?’
‘Don’t be stupid.’
From the side, Anni could see that Mickey was reddening. His driving had speeded up too.
‘I told you,’ he said, feeling he ought to explain more, ‘there’s nothing in it. Not on my part, anyway.’
‘Good,’ said Anni. ‘Glad to hear it.’
‘Yeah?’ he said.
‘Yeah.’ Anni smiled. Moved towards him. ‘In that case, if you’ve got nothing special on tonight and you’re not after her, why not come back to mine?’
The expression on Mickey’s face, thought Anni, was priceless.