‘It is shut, Dad,’ Cathy said, stepping forward and then standing beside the large table in the centre of the kitchen. She clasped her hands together in front of her. ‘Can I get you a drink? A cup of tea?’ she asked, in an effort to be hospitable.
‘She won’t be staying long enough for that,’ Nigel Palmer said. ‘What is it you want?’
Karen took a step back away from the crackling fire. It was stiflingly warm inside the kitchen. ‘Two girls went missing from Moore Lane Primary School this afternoon. As you know, the school backs on to your land and—’
‘No, it doesn’t. Our land ends before the wood.’
‘Well, your land is very close to the school, and we believe the children could have walked across your fields, perhaps sheltering or playing in one of your outbuildings.’
Nigel Palmer’s face took on a nasty smile. ‘You mean, you think I’m involved.’ He cackled with laughter. ‘You just can’t let it go, can you. You blamed me for Amy’s disappearance, and now you’re trying to pin another crime on me as well. Honestly, how the hell do you expect me to have done anything in this state?’ He gestured at the oxygen tank behind him.
‘How awful,’ Cathy said. ‘Those poor girls. It’s so cold tonight. Do you think they wandered off and got lost or . . .’
‘We don’t know. That’s why we need you to check any outbuildings or ditches. There’s a full-scale search going on across the village and surrounding countryside. It’ll go on into the night, but it’s not easy in the dark.’
‘Typical police. Stating the obvious,’ Nigel Palmer wheezed as he turned away and stared into the fire, watching the flickering flames.
‘Is your brother about?’ Karen asked Cathy.
‘No, he’s been cutting back hedges over in the far fields today. He’ll have left the tractor in the top barn and headed for a drink after work, I would guess.’
‘What do you want him for anyway?’ Nigel Palmer said, stifling a cough. ‘Jasper’s got nowt to do with it. He’s been working all day.’
Karen shrugged. ‘If he’s been working in the fields, he might have seen something.’
‘I’m sure if he had, then he’d have been in touch with the police, the good, law-abiding boy that he is.’ Nigel Palmer broke off into a coughing fit, and Karen wondered if it was genuine or whether he was laying it on thick for her benefit. It wasn’t unheard of for suspects to go to extreme lengths to avoid questioning. When Karen had been in uniform, a man had faked a fit to try and stop them searching his car. They’d had to call out paramedics to get him checked out before the search. His tactics only delayed the outcome, though. They’d discovered thirty individual wraps of heroin and crack in a plastic bag in his glove box.
‘You’ve not heard anything from Amy then?’ Karen asked. It was an empty question, one meant to prod and needle the old man to see if he had any conscience. The truth was, Karen had long given up hope that Amy Fisher was still alive.
Amy Fisher had been renting one of the outbuildings on Palmers’ farm at the time of her disappearance. She’d used it as a studio, printing materials with vivid colours that she then used to make scarves and bags. There’d been a huge search of the farm after she went missing, and the lack of evidence tying Nigel Palmer to the teenager’s disappearance did nothing to persuade Karen he was innocent. The farm was the last place Amy was seen alive.
She was convinced he lay at the centre of the mystery, and Karen wouldn’t let it go. She couldn’t.
Cathy spoke up nervously. ‘No, we haven’t heard anything from Amy.’
Karen bit down on the inside of her cheek and wondered if Cathy was as helpless as she appeared. It was uncharitable of her, but she couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to stay here with this evil man. Had she never wanted to do anything with her life? She cooked and cleaned and looked after her father only to be shouted at and belittled. Had years of emotional abuse ground her down and turned Cathy into a timid woman afraid of her own shadow?
‘It’s strange Amy didn’t keep in touch, Cathy. She’d been quite close to you, hadn’t she?’
Cathy shot an anxious glance at her father and then lowered her gaze to the floor. ‘We chatted now and again, but we weren’t that close.’
‘I can see your father’s in no position to search the outbuildings himself. If you’re prepared to give me the keys, I can organise some uniforms to go over the buildings with a fine-tooth comb. We need to make sure the little girls aren’t trapped somewhere,’ Karen said, directing her gaze at the farmer’s daughter.
‘Over my dead body. You’re not getting anywhere near my buildings without a warrant. The state you left my place in last time was a disgrace,’ the old man shouted.
Karen looked at him coldly. ‘You sound like a man with something to hide, Mr Palmer.’
Nigel Palmer wiped the spittle away from the side of his mouth and gave a pathetic little cough. ‘No, love. I’m just a man who’s been screwed over by the police on more than one occasion.’
‘We can get a warrant, but it’ll look bad for you. No one else has asked for one. Everyone wants to cooperate and see the girls home safely.’
Nigel Palmer narrowed his eyes. ‘Fine. You can have access to the outbuildings. I don’t see why I should let your lot trample through my home again, touching everything with their sticky fingers. But suit yourself – you police usually do.’
‘I’ll call Jasper,’ Cathy said as she walked back over to the kitchen counter, where a cheap mobile phone was charging. ‘He’ll want to help. I’m sure he can ask some of the lads at the pub to give him a hand searching too.’
Karen nodded. ‘Thanks. I’d appreciate it. As you can imagine, the parents are very worried.’
‘How old are they?’ Nigel Palmer asked.
Karen had been on her way out of the kitchen and turned back to face him.
‘Ten years old. Far too young to be out on their own on a night like this.’
Nigel Palmer shuddered, and his eyes darted around the room as he frowned.
‘What is it?’ Karen asked. If she didn’t know better, she would have said Nigel Palmer looked afraid.
‘Nothing. I just wanted to know how old they were, and while you’re here, tell us what they look like and what they’re wearing. Jasper will want to know that sort of thing if he’s out looking for them.’
Karen stared at him for a long time before answering. Was Nigel Palmer hiding something?
CHAPTER NINE
Cathy saw Karen out. Her face creased in confusion when she saw the empty driveway. ‘Didn’t you drive here?’
Karen pulled her mobile out of her coat pocket. ‘I had a colleague drop me off.’
‘Are you walking back? Do you need a lift?’
Karen shook her head and held up her phone. ‘Thanks, but I’m going to get a friend to pick me up.’
Cathy nodded and was about to close the door when Karen called, ‘Keep an eye out for those girls, Cathy. Please.’
Cathy lifted her head, and her eyes met Karen’s. ‘Of course.’