Stone Cold Red Hot - [38]

I made my way back to the kitchen. Frances may have been right, something she had said had got to Jennifer or it was the thought of going home. But why so sudden? Had she made up her mind to tell them that evening and then panicked? And run away? Where? With no money, no spare clothes. As far as I could tell that had been the last that any of her friends had seen of her. She’d missed Caroline’s birthday the following evening and no-one had seen hide nor hair of her since.

Suicide? I’d not thought of that. Her body never discovered? Or found but never identified? If she’d been anywhere in the Lancashire area it would have been all over the papers and the telly, her family or friends would have made a connection. But what if she’d gone to London or further afield, run out of hope there? Her parents had never reported her missing and it was doubtful whether Lisa’s attempt to do so would have received much attention so if an unidentified body had been found they wouldn’t have been able to compare dental records with those of missing persons.

It was all a mess, I thought, a hopeless, confusing mess. I rubbed my neck, trying to ease the tension lodged there. I heard Roger coming.

“Is she alright?”

“I think so. I’ve put her to bed. She’s absolutely livid with me.”

I nodded. “At least it’s out in the open, now. She knows that you’re serious. What do you think she’ll do?”

“There’s not much she can do. But she’ll be difficult to live with. She’s not used to me going against her.” He sighed and filled the kettle. “Did she tell you anything?”

“No.” Just lies. “Same old stuff about Jennifer going to Keele. Why do you think she’s so upset?”

“I don’t know, it’s like I told you – she won’t talk about it, like some ancient feud and I don’t know what’s behind it apart from Jennifer expecting the baby. But why she won’t tell you, tell me…” he broke off in exasperation then sighed. “Tea?”

“Coffee, if you’ve got it.”

Neither of us spoke until he’d made the drinks. He sat opposite me at the small table cradling the mug in his hands.

“Do you want me to carry on?”

“Yes.” He didn’t need to think about it.

“Roger,” I wondered how to phrase it, “I may not be able to find Jennifer, sometimes people just get lost, stay lost and with the time lapse…”

“I know,” he said. He cleared his throat. “I want you to keep looking. I want you to go tomorrow. You said you could check the records to see if she had the baby.”

“Yes. There’s something else to consider, too. You need to think about the possibility that Jennifer may no longer be alive.” The words sounded strained as I picked my way round the topic.

He paused for a beat, his body still. “You can check that out too, can’t you? When you go to Huddersfield?”

“Yes, I can, if her death was ever registered, if her identity was known. But her next of kin would have been notified unless there had been some mistake along the line. Another possibility is that Jennifer married and changed her name, she might never have told her husband she had any family, in that case he would have been her next of kin and your parents would never have been informed. So I’ll look for marriages as well as the births and deaths.”

He swallowed. “Right.” He looked at me then, his eyes glistening but his gaze steady. “Because it would be better to know, whatever you find out, it would be better to know, wouldn’t it?”

I had no answer.

Chapter fourteen

I felt lousy cycling back from Roger’s. The confrontation with Mrs Pickering had left a bitter taste in my mouth and the tension had given rise to a dull ache in my neck and shoulder. I admired Roger’s determination that I should press ahead with my enquiries, especially after the fury of his mother, but I felt anxious at what I might find out. My hunch was that I would bring only bad news back from Huddersfield. I told myself it was his choice, he was a grown man, but it had hardly been a fully informed choice. Yes, I’d hinted at the possibility of Jennifer’s death but I’d come nowhere near telling him I now thought that the most likely outcome.

I needed to work off some of the tension. I was pushing it for time but I just made it home to get towel and swimsuit and out again for the Tuesday night women only swim at Withington Baths. It was better going later, not so busy. I swam as fast as I could, pushing myself, feeling my legs tire and my lungs work hard. After thirty lengths I walked up the steps, my legs wobbling from the exertion. I had a long shower, letting the water play on my sore shoulder. The water was hot but only stayed on for ten seconds at a time so I had to keep reaching up to press the knob again which made it hard to keep my back relaxed.

Ray and Laura were watching a video when I got back. I didn’t feel like joining in. I asked Ray if he’d be able to collect Maddie and Tom from school the following afternoon. He mumbled a yes and snuggled closer to Laura who giggled at something. I wondered whether Laura had met Nana Tello yet. She’d be delighted at any sign of Ray getting ready to settle down properly with someone. She had always viewed our household and my presence as an awkward aberration which would stymie Ray’s eligibility for romance and marriage and further grandchildren. I bet she was lighting candles to the patron saint of courtship on a regular basis.