The Cold Cold Sea by Linda Huber Read Free Book Online

Olivia. The pictures just weren’t good enough to tell.
    ‘Is Colin coming here to see this or are you sending it to Looe?’ she asked. She knew she should phone Colin too, but horrible as it felt she was afraid to. He’d been so angry, and she would have to tell him that she had failed again because she couldn’t tell if the child on this film was Olivia or not.
    ‘I think he’s on his way now,’ said the man beside her. ‘Let’s look at the child’s legs, maybe there are some bruises or something that would give us a negative identification. Look at the knees in particular, knees are pretty distinctive, you know.’
    He blew up another image and Maggie leaned forwards again.
    ‘The first reports from Exeter are all negative,’ said Howard, returning and leaning over the back of Maggie’s chair. ‘Nobody remembers them at the ticket office or the kiosk. We’re pulling in pictures from other cameras in Exeter now in case we find them somewhere else.’
    ‘Howie, have a look here,’ said the officer beside Maggie. He zoomed in on the child’s left leg. At the top of the thigh the little girl’s arm came into view, the long sleeve hanging over the child’s wrist.
    ‘Here.’
    He froze the picture and blew up the child’s hand. Maggie strained her eyes. Now that it was pointed out, she could see there was something unusual there, something bulky just peeking out beneath the over-long cuff of the jumper. The child’s fingers were curled in an unnatural-looking grip.
    ‘Shit. That’s a plaster,’ said Howard. ‘She’s broken that arm.’ He shouted back into the room. ‘Sam, Amanda, get onto the hospitals right away. Newquay, Exeter and everywhere in between first. We’re looking for a girl plastered yesterday and one plastered at any time within however long they keep these things on for.’
    Stunned by the new development, Maggie followed Howard back to the room with comfortable chairs. He went off to order tea, and she buried her face in her hands. This waiting and hoping was unbearable, and yet something was telling her loud and clear that there was no hope here, this child wasn’t Olivia. And if it wasn’t Olivia, they would still have no idea what had happened...
    She sat there sipping stewed tea and making crumbs with a digestive biscuit. It was half an hour before Howard returned, and she saw immediately that the news wasn’t good.
    ‘A four-year-old girl was treated for a broken arm at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro on the twelfth,’ he said, sitting down opposite and looking straight at her. ‘We’ve spoken to the doctor who saw her and he remembers she had long brown hair. Amanda’s trying to contact the family now, so we’ll soon know for sure.’
    Maggie nodded, grateful when he left her alone again. It wasn’t Livvy, she could feel that.
    Howard returned a few minutes later.
    ‘Maggie, Colin’s here. He wasn’t happy when I told him we hadn’t been able to identify the kid from the film so he’s having a look for himself now.’
    ‘You mean he was mad at me because I couldn’t identify her,’ she said, startled to hear the bitterness in her own voice.
    ‘He’s hurting too,’ said Howard. ‘I’ll bring him through when he’s seen it.’
    Maggie could hear Colin before she saw him, ranting about the miserable quality of CCTV films. She shrank back in her chair. His anger was even more apparent now than it had been earlier.
    He strode into the room, his face pale.
    ‘Maggie,’ was all he said, barely making eye contact. She nodded, a lump rising in her throat. Before she could say anything, Howard appeared in the doorway.
    ‘It’s a girl called Meredith O’Brian. The family were on their way home from a day out when Meredith had to go to the loo. Exeter station was nearest. I’m sorry.’
    Maggie’s tenuous hope vanished abruptly, and hopelessness returned full force. Olivia was still missing. Believed drowned.
    Colin stood up.
    ‘We’ll leave you to