There was a moment’s pause, then Walker jumped to his feet and gestured to Paulson, Shah and Maggie to do the same.
‘You lot, come with me.’ He turned to Jasso. ‘Let us help you.’
The inspector nodded. He was ashen beneath his natural tan and Maggie could only speculate what else had been relayed to him by the person on the other end of the call. Even if it turned out to be a false alarm, a young British woman being reported missing in Saros on the anniversary of Katy Pope’s disappearance was still going to thrust the local police back into an unwelcome spotlight.
But as they moved to leave, Patricia stepped forward. Unlike everyone else, she appeared not to be alarmed by the information Jasso had relayed, but instead was visibly aggrieved.
‘You cannot leave before the end of the service. I will not have it,’ she said.
‘But, darling, didn’t you hear what he said? A young woman’s gone missing like Katy. They need to go and look for her,’ implored Philip. He reached forward to take his wife’s arm but she shrugged him off as though his touch was corrosive. Then she clapped her hands briskly.
‘Can everyone retake their seats and I’ll start the prayer again.’
‘Mum, the police need to go,’ said George, his voice strained.
Again, there was no acknowledgement from Patricia.
‘Philip, George, do sit down,’ she said. ‘Come along everyone.’
Jasso peeled away from the crowd, muttering into his mobile. Walker stared after him, then turned to Maggie and mouthed, ‘We need to go.’
She frowned. What did he expect her to do? Then she realized that what he expected was for her to appease Patricia rather than leaving him to do it himself. Cursing his cowardice, she took a deep breath and went to the front. For a moment it looked as though Patricia was going to ignore her, so Maggie moved forward until they were barely a hand width apart. She spoke softly, so only Patricia and Philip, who had joined her at the front, could hear her.
‘We all understand how important the memorial service is, Mrs Pope, and the last thing any of us wants to do is disrupt it. But if a British national has gone missing from the beach then we should assist the local police in the search,’ she said. ‘You of all people must be able to appreciate that.’
The look of contempt on Patricia’s face made Maggie’s insides shrivel, but she held her nerve.
‘It’s up to you,’ she went on, ‘but you can either continue the service without us or postpone it for a couple of hours until we’ve had a chance to establish what’s going on. With any luck, it will be a false alarm.’
‘I think we should wait, darling,’ said Philip weakly.
‘Nonsense.’ Patricia turned to Walker. ‘Do you all need to go?’
That’s me staying put, thought Maggie resignedly. She was their FLO – it made sense for her to remain behind. Besides, Paulson and Shah were already halfway along the path leading from the pond, hot on Jasso’s heels.
‘Yes, we should all go,’ Walker said firmly. ‘Come on, Maggie.’
‘I’ll come too,’ said Lyndsey Shepherd, rising from her chair.
‘This is ridiculous,’ huffed Patricia. ‘It’s probably a fuss about nothing.’
There was no mistaking the sharp intake of breath behind her. Johnnie got to his feet, shaking his head.
‘You’ve said and done some nasty things in your time, but I think you’re about to surpass yourself,’ he exclaimed. ‘What would Katy think of you right now, ignoring some poor girl who might be in serious trouble?’
Declan, who until this point had remained passively seated, got to his feet. ‘She just wants to remember her daughter,’ he said.
‘She’s trying to stop the police from doing their job,’ Johnnie hit back.
Patricia appeared to flounder for a moment, before gathering herself and retaliating with a scathing reply.
‘Don’t you dare tell me what Katy would’ve thought. As much as you like to think otherwise, you didn’t know her like I did.’
Johnnie cocked an eyebrow at her. ‘Oh, you have no idea, lady. No idea at all.’
Maggie didn’t think it would be possible for the air to get any clammier, but it did in that moment as a heavy silence fell upon the group. Patricia looked as though she wanted to throttle Johnnie, while he stood there, hands on hips, wordlessly goading her to try.
‘Please, stop this, the both of you,’ cried Philip. ‘This is not acceptable behaviour.’
‘Dad’s right,’ said George, who looked as distressed as his father, his skin paled to a shade that almost matched his shirt. He turned to Maggie. ‘You should go, we understand. We’ll hold off the service until later – I don’t think now’s the time.’ His voice cracked. ‘Please let us know when you find her. I can’t bear the thought that someone else—’ He dissolved in tears and Johnnie put an arm around his shoulders.
‘I’ll call as soon as there’s news, I promise,’ Maggie said.
She went to move but George suddenly grabbed her hand. His touch sent a ripple through her body and she could feel her face scorch red.
‘Thank you,’ he said, his eyes boring into hers.
Flustered, she pulled her hand away and nodded, then scuttled over to where Walker and Lyndsey were waiting. Together the three of them headed down the path towards the exit, the reporters right behind them and the sound of Patricia Pope’s ranting following them all.