I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh Read Free Book Online Page A

Stumpy and then at Kate, who was looking uncomfortable. ‘Please tell me that’s a joke.’
    ‘If it is, we don’t know what the punchline is,’ Kate said.
    ‘She’s our only witness!’ Ray exploded. ‘Not to mention the victim’s mother! How on earth could you lose her?’
    Kate flushed, and he forced himself to calm down.
    ‘Tell me exactly what happened.’
    Kate looked at Stumpy, who nodded for her to explain. ‘After the press conference we didn’t have much to do with her,’ she said. ‘We had her statement and she’d been debriefed, so we left her in the hands of the Family Liaison Officer.’
    ‘Who was the FLO?’ Ray asked.
    ‘PC Diana Heath,’ Kate said, after a pause, ‘from Roads Policing.’
    Ray made a note in his blue daybook and waited for Kate to continue.
    ‘Diana went round the other day to see how Jacob’s mum was doing, only to find the house empty. She’d cleared off.’
    ‘What do the neighbours say?’
    ‘Not a lot,’ said Kate. ‘She didn’t know any of them well enough to leave a forwarding address, and no one saw her go. It’s like she’s vanished into thin air.’
    She glanced at Stumpy, and Ray narrowed his eyes. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’
    There was a pause before Stumpy spoke.
    ‘Apparently there was a bit of backlash on a local web-forum – someone stirring up trouble, suggesting she was an unfit mother, that sort of thing.’
    ‘Anything libellous?’
    ‘Potentially. It’s all been deleted now, but I’ve asked ICT to try and retrieve the cached files. That’s not all, though, boss. By all accounts, when she was interviewed by uniform immediately after the accident, they might have pushed a bit too hard. Been a bit insensitive. It seems Jacob’s mum thought we held her responsible, and consequently decided we wouldn’t be making much effort to find the driver.’
    ‘Oh God,’ Ray groaned. He wondered if it was too much to hope for that the chief might not have picked up on any of this. ‘Did she give any indication at the time she wasn’t happy with police action?’
    ‘This is the first we’ve heard of it from the FLO,’ Stumpy said.
    ‘Speak to the school,’ Ray said. ‘Someone must have stayed in contact with her. And ask at the GP surgeries. There can’t be more than two or three in her local area, and with a child, she’s bound to have been registered at one of them. If we can find out which one, they might have sent her records on to her new surgery.’
    ‘Will do, boss.’
    ‘And for God’s sake, don’t let the Post know we’ve lost her.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘Suzy French will have a field day.’
    No one laughed.
    ‘The loss of key witnesses aside,’ Ray said, ‘is there anything else I need to know?’
    ‘I’ve drawn a blank with cross-border enquiries,’ Kate said. ‘There were a couple of stolen cars that came on to our patch, but they’re all accounted for. I’ve eliminated the list of vehicles that triggered speed cameras that night, and I’ve been to every garage and body shop in Bristol. No one remembers anything suspicious – at least, not that they’ll tell me.’
    ‘How are Brian and Pat getting on with the CCTV?’
    ‘Getting square eyes,’ Stumpy said. ‘They’ve been through the police and council footage, and now they’re working on the petrol stations. They’ve picked up what they think is the same car on three different cameras, coming from the Enfield Avenue direction just a few minutes after the hit-and-run. It makes a couple of dangerous attempts to overtake, then it goes out of shot and we haven’t managed to pick it up again. They’re trying to work out what make it is, although there’s nothing to say it’s involved at all.’
    ‘Great, thanks for the update.’ Ray looked at his watch to hide his disappointment at the lack of progress. ‘Why don’t you two head off to the pub? I’ve got to call the superintendent, but I’ll be with you in half an hour or