After Eve had gone to bed, Ridpath was left alone with his thoughts.
He’d cooked her dinner, which they had eaten in silence. Or rather, he had spoken and she had refused to answer with all the obstinacy of the teenager she was.
‘Did you chat with Jessica?’
No answer.
‘Did you finish your homework?’
No answer.
‘Did you play Roblox?’
No answer.
He’d tried every interview technique he’d ever learnt but still the same lack of response.
Eventually, he’d given up. It would have been easier to get answers from a Moss Side gangster than Eve. At least they had the courtesy to say ‘No comment’ once in a while.
She’d eventually gone upstairs without saying a word, leaving him alone in a silent kitchen.
Inevitably, he turned back to the case in an attempt to avoid thinking about his problem with Eve. How did other single fathers cope with doing a job and bringing up a daughter?
In the case, there was always evidence, something to work with to help solve the puzzle. This case had almost too much evidence. So much, it was clouding the truth.
Turnbull was right. There were so many things he didn’t know.
Why had so many people disappeared over the last eleven years?
Was Jane Ryder the first, or were there others before her?
What had happened to the bodies?
How was Daisy House Children’s Home involved?
As ever, when he didn’t understand something, it helped to write it down.
Disappearances:
Jane Ryder June 2009
Andrea Briggs June 2012
Gerald Duffy June 2017
Joe Rowlands June 2018
Patricia Patterson April 2021
One thing immediately shouted out at him. All the disappearances, except the most recent, had happened in June. Was it an anniversary of some sort? Or worse, a celebration?
He then wrote everything to link all the disappearances.
Daisy House
Children’s homes
Social Services
He paused for a moment before adding one more.
The police
But no police report had been made when Andrea Briggs vanished. Had there been earlier reports when she ran away as a teenager? He wrote a note for himself to check.
His phone rang: Emily Parkinson.
‘Hiya, I’ve arranged an interview for eleven a.m. tomorrow with Adam Jones. He’s agreed to see us.’
‘Any reports on his behaviour?’
‘The assistant governor says he’s quiet, keeps himself to himself, hardly communicates with anybody except to respond to orders from prison security.’
Ridpath thought quickly. He could take Eve to her grandparents in the morning. She wouldn’t be too happy, but they’d love to see her. It would probably lead to another round of sulking, but he would have to deal with it somehow. Tomorrow was the last day of the investigation before the inquest – he had to keep pushing, keep moving it forward.
‘Ridpath, earth to Ridpath.’
He shook his head. ‘Sorry, Em, I was miles away.’
‘I was asking if you wanted me to pick you up tomorrow?’
‘Nah, I’ll see you in Strangeways car park at ten thirty.’
‘What about the debrief with the others?’
He’d forgotten about the meeting. ‘We’ll do it afterwards. Say at one p.m.’
‘OK, I’ll let them know. And, Ridpath…’
‘Yeah?’
‘It’s coming together, I can feel it.’
‘I wish I could too, Em. I feel we’re missing something. The big part of the picture that brings it all together. It’s like there’s a big hole in the middle of our investigation. Anything from Oliver, Dave or Chrissy?’
‘Not a lot. Oliver is still checking ANPR. You know it’s like looking for a single blade of grass in the middle of a ten-acre field? Chrissy tracked the phone records. The last call Patricia Patterson received was from an unregistered phone on Wednesday morning. She followed Patricia Patterson’s route through the contacts with the mobile towers to an area near junction ten of the M60 in Urmston, before it was switched off.’
‘Did she follow up?’
‘She’s doing that tomorrow morning. Going to see if anybody remembers seeing the car. But the chances are minimal, Ridpath. It’ll be Sunday morning, not a lot of people around.’
‘Worth doing though. And can you ask Oliver to check ANPR cameras in Urmston?’
‘Will do. Dave followed up on Gerald Duffy. Definitely no links to Daisy House. Or at least none he can find.’
Would he have to check the older detective’s work? So far, Daisy House was the only possibility linking all the disappearances. If Gerald Duffy had no connection, was there something else, something they had missed?
‘But why did his hand turn up in a backpack in 2021? We still haven’t answered the most basic question of the inquiry, Emily. And what happened to his body?’
‘I know, I know, but give us a break, Ridpath, we’ve had less than a week.’
A long pause. ‘The inquest starts on Monday morning, and yourself and Chrissy go back to checking stats again.’
‘Surely Claire Trent will give us more time. We’ve come so far.’
‘Maybe, maybe not. She might wash her hands of it and pass the investigation to the Cold Case Unit—’
‘Where it will sit until new DNA or evidence comes in.’
‘Right. So we need to work the case hard. Tomorrow is our last day, let’s make it count.’
‘See you tomorrow, Ridpath. Let’s keep our fingers crossed we can make a breakthrough.’
‘We must be missing something, Emily. I just don’t know what it is… yet.’