‘Lex… we’ve… we’re not…’ As Otis drops his head, Gabby reaches for his hand. She squeezes it tight until she spots the detectives watching her every move.
‘We thought Alexa was taking time away after a difficult few months. She was using her bank card, so Otis and Janine went to Manchester to see if they could find her. They never saw Alexa, but her account recorded a transaction. Janine thinks the card might have been stolen,’ Gabby blurts.
Her distraction tactic works. Every eye that was on her and Otis is now on me.
‘It’s just a theory,’ I say, swallowing hard.
‘May I ask, Mrs Rai, how did you become involved in this situation?’ DS Mullins asks. ‘As a childhood friend, Miss Findlay’s role here is one I understand, but as far as I can tell, you’re a stranger.’
There’s something in DS Mullins’s tone that ruffles me, but getting into a battle of wits with a dismissive authority figure is what a sassy protagonist in a book would do, and I am most definitely not one of those. I’m just a woman, seemingly in way over her head.
‘I heard Alexa Clarke was missing,’ I say, furious with my voice for betraying how dry my throat is. ‘I thought I might be able to help.’
‘And why’s that?’
‘Because I write about things like this.’
DS Mullins’s lips twitch with ridicule.
‘Well, by the sound of it, it’s a good job you joined the search,’ DS Rani says, shooting her colleague a warning look. ‘Otherwise, who knows when we would have been called.’
Gabby’s cheeks burn on Otis’s behalf, but I’m too busy justifying myself to care about how he looks in all of this.
‘I’m only here to help,’ I say. ‘I looked at the information Otis had and pieced together the clues. It’s all there on Alexa’s bank statement – the day and time her card has been used at Variety Food Store.’
DS Rani turns to Otis. ‘May I see the statement?’
Otis nods and loads the transaction history on his phone. When he leans across the coffee table to hand it over, I notice he’s trembling.
DS Rani looks at the screen, scrolls a little, then hands the phone to DS Mullins for him to inspect. ‘You mentioned earlier that Alexa would leave after arguments,’ she continues. ‘How often would you say that happened?’
‘Every few months or so,’ Otis admits. ‘It hasn’t always been that way. Just over the last eighteen months. Ever since… ever since the second miscarriage.’
The sad silence that follows Otis’s words drains the room of colour. DS Mullins goes to speak again, but DS Rani gives him a subtle shake of the head. In the extra pause she provides, she allows Otis room to process having to admit his most personal grief to two strangers.
‘I’m sorry to hear about your losses, Mr Clarke,’ DS Rani says. ‘I appreciate you telling us about them. Context like that is vital for us to assess Alexa’s wellbeing before she disappeared.’
Otis nods, his chin wobbling at the mention of Alexa’s wellbeing.
‘When Alexa left, where would she usually go?’
‘To a friend’s house. She’s stayed at hotels before, too, and the village B&B.’
‘Have any of Alexa’s friends seen her since she left?’
‘Not that they’ve told me, no,’ Otis replies, sinking into the worry of the words.
The detectives exchange a look before DS Mullins takes over the questioning. ‘Before the discovery of the stolen card, was there any reason to suspect that Alexa might not have simply gone away for a few days?’
Otis shakes his head.
‘Are you sure about that?’
When Otis doesn’t reply, DS Mullins turns Otis’s phone back around to face him.
‘How about the fact that Alexa Clarke withdrew two thousand pounds in cash from her account the day before she went missing?’
CHAPTER 19