Gina shook her head. They had nothing but a million statements and a mass of bagged and tagged evidence that would take time to process. ‘At the moment we haven’t but I promise you wholeheartedly, we are doing everything we can. I mean everything.’
Marianne looked away, her eyes glistening with spent tears. ‘What happened?’
‘Late yesterday evening, Holly’s body was discovered by a friend in her hotel room. We’re still unsure of the cause of death. I’m so sorry, Ms Long.’
Gina could only imagine the pain and heartache this fellow mother was going through; and she knew a mother never stopped thinking about what their grown-up children might be doing. She often thought of Hannah, even though she lived far away and they were always at loggerheads. Hannah was the only real flesh and blood that Gina had left and to suddenly hear the type of news that Marianne had received would feel like it was the end of the world.
Marianne grabbed her straggly hair with both of her hands and pulled it as she yelled out. ‘You’ve made a mistake. Tell me, it might not be her. I need to see her.’
‘I can arrange that for you.’ Gina knew it was definitely Holly. Francesca Carter had identified her. Her luggage had contained identification. ‘Can you tell me a bit about Holly? It would really help us if we got to know her a little better.’
Marianne walked out of the room and came back a moment later with a tablet. She scrolled through her photos and placed it on the table, showing a photo of Holly. ‘This is her a week ago, all dressed up for her friend Kerry’s wedding. I emailed this photo to the officer who came earlier.’ Marianne paused. ‘She was so happy and I thought she looked beautiful.’ A little cry escaped Marianne’s lips. ‘I know she was excited that her friend was getting married; she was always excited for other people but never herself. She thought she’d never meet the right person, get the good job, be good enough but I always told her she was. To me, she was perfect. She’d had a few boyfriends but never once did she introduce me to any of them. I asked her why.’ The woman smiled through the tears. ‘She told me they weren’t good enough to bring home and if she ever brought someone home, it would mean he was the one. That’s the thing about Holly. She was so guarded. She always thought something would go wrong. I wouldn’t have minded her bringing friends or boyfriends home to meet me, even if they didn’t last. I joked with her that she was embarrassed of me. She wasn’t though. We had a good relationship.’
Ms Long flicked through the photos. ‘This is Holly, aged five. I love this photo of her in her little school uniform. She was bullied at school in the early years but she’d stood her ground a little more, made some friends who looked out for her and things seemed to improve after that. Her friend Kerry had always looked out for her after taking her under her wing at junior school.’
‘Can you tell me a bit about Holly’s friends?’
The woman placed the tablet on the table and DC Wyre flicked over the pages in her notebook before pouring them all a cup of tea.
‘They were really close: Holly, Kerry, Lilly and Francesca. They did lots together as teens: days out, shopping, playing with make-up, as teens do. They had their little dramas and fallings out, but nothing serious. When they all started work and began to leave home, they spent a little less time with each other. I worried for Holly then.’ Marianne leaned back and sipped her tea while deep in thought.
‘Why did you worry?’ Gina swigged the tea, enjoying the warm liquid as it slid down her drying throat.
‘She isolated herself a little. I used to call her most nights to see if she was okay. I wasn’t smothering her; I was just worried as she lived alone. She stopped answering my calls all the time. That’s when I knew she was feeling depressed. Since her teens she’d had a few minor bouts of depression but she always bounced back. I tried not to worry too much but I did and I called a lot. One day she snapped and told me she just needed some time to herself. That was only about three weeks ago. I thought maybe Kerry’s wedding would be just the tonic she needed and when she called me before flying out to Greece she sounded fine, almost ecstatic. I suppose I stopped worrying. She said we’d catch up after the wedding and that was it.’ She wiped a hair from her mouth and placed it behind her ear. ‘She didn’t call after the wedding but she messaged me, telling me she was busy catching up at work. That was the last I heard from her.’
Gina’s mind flashed back to what Lilly Hill had said. ‘Do you know if Holly was seeing anyone?’
‘She never said. Do you know something I don’t?’
‘One of her friends thought so but they didn’t have any idea who it might be. Did she mention anyone at all?’
Marianne shook her head. ‘She never told me anything. I can’t believe how little I know. How could I not have known that she was seeing anyone?’
‘We can’t confirm that yet, it’s just an avenue we’re investigating at the moment.’ Gina hated the fact that she had to see people in Marianne’s position when she had nothing to ease the pain even a little. ‘Do you know of anyone Holly may have had a disagreement with? Did she have any known enemies?’
‘I can’t think of any. My daughter wasn’t disliked by anyone. She had lovely friends and she was a good friend back. She never mentioned any relationships that had gone wrong or any friends that were fed up with her. She loved her work too.’
Gina rubbed her heavy eyes. ‘What did she do?’
Marianne flicked to another photo. ‘This is a photo of us. I met her for lunch in her dinner break. She’d started a new job for a microbrewery in Stratford-upon-Avon. She does accounts admin. I was so pleased for her. It was more money, better hours and they were going to pay for her to take some qualifications next year. She left school at sixteen and got her first job as an admin junior. Since then, she gained lots of experience but had no qualifications. She was so happy when she got the job.’
‘And can I ask where she worked?’
‘Furnace and Blower Ales.’
Silence filled the room and Gina was back to noticing the ticking clock. ‘Is there anything else you can tell us that you think might help us to catch whoever did this to Holly?’
The realisation of what had happened hit Marianne all over again. Talking about Holly had distracted her slightly. Tears welled in her eyes and her lips trembled. ‘No, I wish I knew more.’
Wyre topped up Marianne’s tea and gave a sympathetic smile.
‘I’m going to leave you with my card. If you remember anything, please call me straight away. No matter how small it is, call me.’
Marianne’s shaky fingers emerged from the cuff of her cardigan and she gripped the card, sniffing as she began to fill up again. ‘I think she’d had a bit of an argument with someone at work a few weeks ago. She said it was nothing and the air had been cleared.’
Gina leaned forward over the kitchen table. ‘Did she say who she’d had this argument with?’
‘No. She said it was nothing but I know my daughter and I can tell when something is troubling her.’ Marianne closed her eyes and swallowed her tears down.
‘We really are so sorry for what you are going through. If you need to be put in touch with bereavement services, please call me and I can help you.’