Claudia bit into the sandwich and ruffled her nose at the strong, unpleasant flavour. She put the sandwich back into its packet and threw it into the plastic bag on the passenger seat. She was hungry, but not that hungry. She swallowed down some water to get rid of the taste, wondering how a simple sandwich could go so wrong.
She’d been driving for two hours, and the roads were completely empty, allowing her to push the speed limit just enough to make good time. It wasn’t her first time driving across the country in the middle of the night, and it certainly wouldn’t be her last. But it was tedious, and the nagging worry that she might have made the wrong call itched at her brain. Driving to Edinburgh only to find that the suspects were actually in Cornwall would be a nightmare scenario that she couldn’t cope with. Especially with the case being such an important one.
She accessed her phone directory and called Andrew at MI5. It was getting late, but she knew he’d be in the office non-stop until the case was closed.
“Claudia,” he greeted.
“Andrew, what have you got?” She didn’t have time for pleasantries. Her abrupt greeting was also more likely to throw him off course and cause him to give out information that perhaps he shouldn’t in the heat of the moment. Andrew was stuck in his ways; he was getting a little older and a little slower. Claudia wasn’t above using that to her advantage.
“A complete mess, that’s what I’ve got,” he replied gruffly.
“Nothing new then.” Claudia looked at the satnav screen. She was approaching Sheffield, a little under halfway into her journey.
“We had report of a sighting, all our people converged on the location, and it wasn’t them.”
Claudia held back a snort of laughter as Andrew sounded like he was having a total sense of humour failure.
“And where was this location?”
“Fucking Brighton,” Andrew said. “Now we have a report of a mobile phone being used in Shipton by Beningbrough. In case you’re not up on your backwater villages of the United Kingdom, that’s in North Yorkshire. Two hundred and seventy-five bloody miles away.”
Claudia sat up a little straighter. “A mobile phone was used?”
“Yes. Amy rang home. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
I knew it, Claudia thought. Julie Hewitt must have just got off the phone with Amy when she’d arrived. Her anger at Julie’s withholding of information was short-lived as the confirmation she was heading in the correct direction came as a relief.
“My lips are sealed.” Claudia tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “I’m actually just by Sheffield, South Yorkshire, if that makes you feel any better.”
“That does make me feel a lot better.” Andrew let out a breath. “Always a few steps ahead of the others, aren’t you, Claudia?”
“Not always.” Her voice wavered at the admission.
She heard Andrew swallow nervously. She rubbed her eyes. “Anyway,” she said, changing the subject. Old wounds didn’t need to be dredged up just because she was tired. The unspoken thing had permanently shaken her confidence. Not seeing something that was right in front of you could be devastating. More so when you had built a career around seeing through other people’s crap.
“I never did apologise to you,” Andrew blurted out.
Claudia shook her head and briefly looked heavenwards. “You never needed to.”
“She’s my daughter, I feel... I feel responsible.”
“You’re not responsible for your daughter’s wandering eyes.” And hands.
“Well, still, I’m sorry. I set you both up.”
Claudia felt her throat dry and her eyes water. “It was a long time ago. Anyway, I really do need to go if I’m to bring these two in. I’ll keep you updated.”
She terminated the call and sucked in a deep breath, gripping the wheel a little tighter as she did. It was all water under the bridge. But that didn’t stop her heart from pulsing a little harder when she thought about it. In hindsight, she didn’t know whether she was more angry at the betrayal of the affair or because she hadn’t been able to read the signs.
She brushed her fingers through her hair and blinked a few times to clear her vision. Now was not the time to dwell on the past or become emotional. She had a job to do.
She pressed the call button on the steering wheel to ring Mark for an update.
“Hi, I was just about to call you.” He sounded muffled.
“Are you eating?”
“Yeah, a halloumi burger from the twenty-four-hour place across the street.”
Claudia felt her stomach rumble with jealousy. “I think I hate you.”
“I won’t mention the cheesy chips then.”
“You’re fired.”
“Does that mean I can go home, have a life, sleep in my own bed?”
Claudia grinned. “You’re unfired. What have you got?”
“They didn’t get off the train at Edinburgh. I checked every camera twice and nothing. I’m really sorry, but this might be a wild goose chase.”
Claudia shook her head, despite knowing that Mark couldn’t see her. “I just spoke with Andrew. Amy called home, they tracked it to Shipton by Bening-somewhere? In North Yorkshire. I knew Julie Hewitt had spoken to her, I could see it in her eyes.”
“Shipton by Beningbrough,” Mark said. “I have it on a map here, it’s about five miles north of York.”
Claudia narrowed her eyes as she evaluated the new information. She reached into the open bag of crisps atop the dashboard and started to eat a few.
“The train did make a stop at York. The question is, was she on the train passing through Shipton by Beningbrough or had they already left the train?” Mark pondered and Claudia heard the sound of keystrokes in the background. “This place has a population of less than a hundred people.”
“What’s the next station stop after York?” Claudia asked.
“Darlington,” Mark replied. “You think they got off there?”
Claudia stared ahead at the road. She pieced together the information they knew so far and attributed most likely assumptions where appropriate. “You think they got on the Kings Cross to Edinburgh. A call was made in North Yorkshire. They didn’t get off the train in Edinburgh, which means they got off somewhere before. What stops are between Darlington and Edinburgh?”
The familiar mouse clicks sounded. “Newcastle and then Berwick-upon-Tweed.”
“There’s no way to know for sure, but my gut says they got off that train at either York or Darlington.”
“You’re an hour and fifteen from York, around two hours from Darlington,” Mark supplied.
“Okay, I’m going to head for York. Have a look at CCTV footage for both York and Darlington, and let me know what you find. At least then I’ll be heading in the right direction, whichever they chose.”
“Okay. I’ll get back to my burger.” She could visualise the smirk on his face. She shook her head and hung up the call without saying goodbye.
Getting off the train was a surprising twist. As was the phone call. Hopefully they are starting to lose their nerve, making mistakes. She knew that the first twenty-four hours were essential to any case. Once the trail went cold it was a matter of waiting for them to make a mistake. Claudia hated relying on her prey to slip up.
It was half an hour later when Mark rang back.
“I have them,” he announced. “They got off the train in Darlington at eleven. They then proceeded to walk north out of the town. I followed them to the edge of town, I’m sending the coordinates to your satnav. After that, I have no idea.”
“They’re either heading to a specific location, or they’re heading off the grid,” Claudia surmised. She watched as her satnav received the information and recalculated the distance. “I’m an hour away.”
“I’ll keep searching and contact you if I find anything.”