head before she came into money. In the early days of the inquiry, Hannah had wondered if Francis had developed an unhealthy interest in their paying guest. Ben Kind had trained her to suspect everyone, but there was no evidence to justify pointing a finger at Francis and in the end Hannah had concluded that what you saw with Francis was what he was. A man in love with his wife. As for Vanessa, she’d been married before. And Jeremy, her first husband, had left her to marry Emma’s sister. The Lake District, for all its millions of visitors from the four corners of the globe, remained at heart a gathering of tightly knit communities with everyone seemingly connected to everyone else.
The Goddards hadn’t moved house in the past decade and Hannah phoned to make an appointment. With druggies, you never gave advance warning, because by the time you showed up they would have disappeared. But the Goddards were going nowhere and it made sense to observe the courtesies. Hannah needed witnesses on her side if this was to be any more than a wild goose chase.
Vanessa Goddard snatched up the receiver on the second ring. She sounded relieved when Hannah announced herself. Not a universal reaction.
‘I thought it might be the school,’ she explained in the breathless voice that Hannah remembered. ‘Christopher, my boy, was under the weather this morning, a tummy bug. He attends the prep school at Grizedale College, youknow. I wasn’t sure whether to send him, especially in such dreadful weather, but Francis keeps saying we can’t wrap him up in cotton wool. When the phone went, I thought it might be the nurse, to say I needed to bring him home and put him to bed.’
Obviously I’ve never lived, Hannah thought, never having been a doting mother. Though if I hadn’t miscarried …
She said quickly, ‘It’s ten years since Emma Bestwick disappeared. You may have seen the coverage in the local press.’
A sigh. ‘Yes, it brought the memories flooding back. We’ve been expecting someone would get in touch.’
‘You won’t remember, but I was the officer who interviewed you and your husband.’
‘It’s not something you forget in a hurry. We’re just normal people, we don’t have much to do with the police. So they’ve made you a Chief Inspector? My goodness. I suppose I should feel honoured.’
Hannah didn’t think Vanessa Goddard was taking the mickey. She remembered her as a friendly, talkative woman who lived on her nerves, but she’d have felt more flattered if Vanessa hadn’t sounded startled by her promotion.
‘These days I’m in charge of the county’s Cold Case Review Team.’
‘I read about it. Don’t you specialise in unsolved murders, DNA, that sort of thing?’ An intake of breath. ‘Has a body been found?’
‘No, no. We are taking another look at the case, that’s all. First things first. I presume you never heard anything from Emma after we last met?’
‘Not a word.’ The answer was so quiet that Hannah had to strain to hear.
‘I wonder if I could come over and speak to you and your husband about Emma.’
‘What for?’
‘We have to consider if anything was overlooked last time.’
‘Such as?’ Not frosty, just puzzled.
‘Anything that might lead us to Emma.’
‘But what good will it do?’
Hannah stifled the urge to snap. ‘Don’t you want to find out what happened to her, Mrs Goddard?’
‘I’m not a detective,’ Vanessa said. ‘Do you recall, when we last met, I told you I believed she was still alive?’
‘I remember.’
‘I’ve changed my mind. Ten years is a long time. Too long for Emma to disappear without making contact with anyone she cared about. I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that she won’t be coming back. She must be dead, nothing else makes sense.’ A pause. ‘To be honest, Chief Inspector, I’d rather not know the horrid details of whatever happened to her. I prefer to remember her as she was.’
Hannah gritted her teeth.
The Goddards hadn’t moved house in the past decade and Hannah phoned to make an appointment. With druggies, you never gave advance warning, because by the time you showed up they would have disappeared. But the Goddards were going nowhere and it made sense to observe the courtesies. Hannah needed witnesses on her side if this was to be any more than a wild goose chase.
Vanessa Goddard snatched up the receiver on the second ring. She sounded relieved when Hannah announced herself. Not a universal reaction.
‘I thought it might be the school,’ she explained in the breathless voice that Hannah remembered. ‘Christopher, my boy, was under the weather this morning, a tummy bug. He attends the prep school at Grizedale College, youknow. I wasn’t sure whether to send him, especially in such dreadful weather, but Francis keeps saying we can’t wrap him up in cotton wool. When the phone went, I thought it might be the nurse, to say I needed to bring him home and put him to bed.’
Obviously I’ve never lived, Hannah thought, never having been a doting mother. Though if I hadn’t miscarried …
She said quickly, ‘It’s ten years since Emma Bestwick disappeared. You may have seen the coverage in the local press.’
A sigh. ‘Yes, it brought the memories flooding back. We’ve been expecting someone would get in touch.’
‘You won’t remember, but I was the officer who interviewed you and your husband.’
‘It’s not something you forget in a hurry. We’re just normal people, we don’t have much to do with the police. So they’ve made you a Chief Inspector? My goodness. I suppose I should feel honoured.’
Hannah didn’t think Vanessa Goddard was taking the mickey. She remembered her as a friendly, talkative woman who lived on her nerves, but she’d have felt more flattered if Vanessa hadn’t sounded startled by her promotion.
‘These days I’m in charge of the county’s Cold Case Review Team.’
‘I read about it. Don’t you specialise in unsolved murders, DNA, that sort of thing?’ An intake of breath. ‘Has a body been found?’
‘No, no. We are taking another look at the case, that’s all. First things first. I presume you never heard anything from Emma after we last met?’
‘Not a word.’ The answer was so quiet that Hannah had to strain to hear.
‘I wonder if I could come over and speak to you and your husband about Emma.’
‘What for?’
‘We have to consider if anything was overlooked last time.’
‘Such as?’ Not frosty, just puzzled.
‘Anything that might lead us to Emma.’
‘But what good will it do?’
Hannah stifled the urge to snap. ‘Don’t you want to find out what happened to her, Mrs Goddard?’
‘I’m not a detective,’ Vanessa said. ‘Do you recall, when we last met, I told you I believed she was still alive?’
‘I remember.’
‘I’ve changed my mind. Ten years is a long time. Too long for Emma to disappear without making contact with anyone she cared about. I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that she won’t be coming back. She must be dead, nothing else makes sense.’ A pause. ‘To be honest, Chief Inspector, I’d rather not know the horrid details of whatever happened to her. I prefer to remember her as she was.’
Hannah gritted her teeth.
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