‘It’s fine,’ said Erika. ‘I know this must be a difficult time.’
Martin waited until Tan had left the room and said,
’Hear that, Toby. A difficult time. Today was supposed to be just family. I wanted us to all be together for once without…’
‘How can you say that, Martin? We’ll never all be together. How could you forget Jessica!’ cried Marianne.
‘I didn’t mean that. Do you really think I’ve just forgotten about her?’ shouted Martin. ‘You don’t have the monopoly on grief… Christ almighty. We all grieve in our own way…’
‘Don’t you dare take the lord’s name!’
‘Dad,’ said Lara.
‘No. I’m not going to be told again that I’m not crying enough, that I’m not doing it right!’ he moved over to the sofa and jabbed a finger in Marianne’s face. ‘I loved that little girl, and I would move heaven and earth to spend just one more minute with her, to have her here with us… to have watched her grow up over the past…’ his voice broke and he turned away from them all.
‘Look, we don’t want to intrude on you any more than we need to,’ said Erika. ‘We just need to talk to you and then you can discuss things as a family.’
Martin moved back to the curtain and motioned for Erika to continue. Laura was now crying, along with her mother, and Toby stayed resolute in his chair. His arms crossed over his broad chest.
‘Thank you for all coming here. I’d like to assure you that this investigation will benefit from all our resources, and a great deal of officers are working tirelessly to find who did this.’
‘Don’t give me corporate bollocks,’ said Martin. ‘Speak like a human!’
‘Okay, Mr Collins. We’ve inherited a complex case. When Jessica disappeared twenty-six years ago there were few witnesses. We have to go back and pick through the original investigation, which as you know had many flaws. I’ve solved two historical abduction cases, and I’ve hand picked the best officers to work with me. I know many people have already given up on Jessica, but I’m not one of them. I’m going to catch this bastard. You have my word.’
Martin looked between Erika, Moss and Peterson, and nodded.
‘Okay, well I’ll hold you to that,’ he said, his eyes beginning to fill up. He turned away and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit up. ‘You look like a woman I can trust.’
‘Are you going to screw her too?’ said Marianne. There was silence. ‘Did you know? He was screwing that whore of a detective, Amanda Baker.’
A look passed between Erika, Moss and Peterson.
‘Marianne…’ started Martin.
‘No, Why should I be quiet? He was sleeping with that woman. A woman who comforted me, who I told private things to about how I felt.’
‘It was a year after she joined the case!’ shouted Martin.
‘And that makes it okay?’
‘And I’m supposedly the one in this family who every one is ashamed of,’ said Toby, almost as an aside to Erika, Moss and Peterson.
‘Shut up!’ cried Laura. ‘All of you. This is about Jessica! My… Our sister, she never got to grow up, she should be here! And all you can do is bicker and fight!’ Tears ran tracks down her cheeks, through thick foundation and she wiped at it with the back of her hand.
‘It’s alright my darling,’ said Marianne.
‘When can we see her?’ asked Laura.
‘You do realise that when we found Jessica, we recovered just her skeletal remains,’ said Erika.
‘I still want to see her!’
‘I would like to see her too,’ said Marianne.
‘So do I,’ said Toby.
‘Of course, that can be arranged. I was going to tell you that you will be able to start making arrangements for a funeral in the next week or so. When the Forensic Pathologist is finished, and Jessica’s remains will be returned to you.’
‘What are they doing to her?’ asked Laura.
‘He’s running tests, trying to get as much information as possible to put together a picture of how Jessica died.’
‘Did she suffer? Please, tell me she didn’t suffer,’ pleaded Marianne. Erika took a deep breath,
‘Again, we still need to run tests. Issac Strong is one of the best Forensic Pathologists in the country, and as well as this he is very respectful. Jessica is safe in his care.’
Marianne nodded and looked up at Martin. He had his back to them, his head bowed. The cigarette had burned down in his hand.
‘Martin, come here, love,’ she said. He moved to the sofa, sat on the arm next to Marianne and buried his head in her neck giving a deep muffled sob. ‘It’s okay, it’s all right,’ she said placing her free hand on his back and pulling him tight to her. Laura turned into her mother too and they sobbed.
‘I hardly remember her,’ said Toby with tears in his eyes looking up at Erika, Moss and Peterson.
Tanvir returned with a tray of tea and placed it on the large coffee table. Erika just wanted to leave this oppressive house with its dingy furniture. It felt like a museum, and coupled with the terrible atmosphere, the pictures of the Virgin Mary took on a sinister melancholy.
‘We’d like to make a fresh media appeal, and wanted to ask if you would be willing to do that, as a family?’ asked Erika. They nodded.
‘Our media liaison can advise on when and how that happens.’
‘Do you have any new suspects?’ asked Laura.
‘Not as yet, but we are working with new information.’
‘What’s that?’ asked Laura sharply.
‘Well, the obvious one being that we found Jessica in Hayes Quarry. Can I ask what you know about it? Did you spend time there as a family or with Jessica?’
‘Why would we go down to that old quarry? Jessica loved dancing, and going to pets corner…’ said Marianne.
‘I used to go fishing there,’ said Toby. ‘When I was twelve or thirteen… Oh Jesus. She must have been down there. I went out on a boat. She was there all the time.’ Tanvir sat on the arm of his chair and took Tony’s hand. Marianne saw it, and then looked away. Then Peterson spoke for the first time,
‘I know this is hard, but whose boat was this? Who did you know who had access to a boat?’