Ollie nodded. ‘One like Bunny?’ he asked, his eyes hopeful as he looked up at Joe.
Sarah’s heart missed a beat. He’d hardly mentioned Bunny since Mr Whale had arrived on the scene.
‘Just like Bunny, sweetheart,’ she said, feeling choked up all over again as she went across to him. ‘We haven’t seen him in a long while, have we?’ He’d actually been tucked away at the back of the top shelf in her wardrobe. He’d been moved – by the intruder, she assumed – but he was still there.
Ollie looked up at her, his huge eyes filled with guilt. ‘He got hurt,’ he whispered.
Sarah held her breath. ‘How did he get hurt, Ollie?’ she asked him carefully.
‘I don’t know.’ His eyes held hers. Sarah could see he was telling the truth. ‘Laura was going to fix him, but then she couldn’t find him.’
Sarah swallowed back a huge lump of guilt of her own. If she hadn’t taken him, Laura most likely would have fixed him, and Ollie need never have been without him. She’d acted impulsively, followed her instinct, but it seemed that yet again, her instinct had been wrong.
An hour later, with Ollie tucked up with his T-Rex dinosaur toy and assurances that Joe was staying over, Sarah joined Joe in the kitchen, where he was making a much-needed coffee after their efforts clearing up. She was grateful for one small mercy: that he was on a day off on his shift rota. Her mum’s house was a fair drive away, but she could have gone there for a couple of nights – although she was reluctant to worry her – or descended on Becky. She would much rather be here with Joe though.
‘Sorry,’ she said, going across to him and sliding her arms around his midriff.
‘For?’ Joe asked.
‘Not sure.’ She rested her head on his shoulder. ‘Everything.’
‘You haven’t done anything,’ he said, turning to face her. ‘But I’m liking the tactile apology nevertheless.’ Smiling, he kissed her softly, which Sarah definitely liked. ‘Okay?’ he checked, easing away to scan her eyes.
‘Better,’ she said, giving him a reassuring smile back.
‘Shall we top these up with a medicinal Cointreau and take them through to the lounge?’ he suggested.
‘Good idea.’ She went to fetch the Cointreau from the cupboard while he collected up the mugs. ‘Why do you think they didn’t find any forensic evidence?’ she asked, looking back at him. ‘I get that whoever did it must have worn gloves, but I thought they might find some footprints or something.’
‘Me too.’ Joe sighed. ‘Some impressions, too, since the possible point of entry overlooks the garden. Could be that they were wearing protective footwear, I suppose.’
Sarah looked at him curiously.
‘The sort the forensics team wear,’ he explained, ‘or hospital staff.’
Her heart lurched. ‘Laura,’ she whispered, hardly daring to look at him. When she did, she saw none of the wary disbelief she’d seen before in his eyes. Instead, his expression was one of guarded apprehension. Did he think it was at least a possibility? ‘She works in a hospice,’ she reminded him. ‘Wouldn’t protective clothing be available there?’
‘Possibly,’ Joe said. He wouldn’t say he thought it was Laura, not outright, not without evidence, but he did think it could be her. She could see it in his eyes.
‘She wouldn’t have needed to climb through a window, Joe. Don’t you see? Steve still has his keys.’
Joe ran a hand over his neck. He didn’t comment, frustratingly.
‘She has the same wallpaper in Ollie’s bedroom as he has here, exactly the same, yet she’s never seen his bedroom.’ Sarah forced the point. ‘She must have been in the house before, mustn’t she? How else could she have known? And who else would have taken his whale, for God’s sake? I’ve no idea why she would, why she would cut the ear off his bloody bunny, but you have to concede it could be her?’
He nodded slowly. ‘I’ll make sure it’s looked into,’ he said. ‘I’ll need to talk to my DS, but I’ll see that she’s spoken to.’
Sarah felt a marginal amount of relief, but … spoken to? What did that mean? ‘Interviewed?’ she asked him.
‘Probably,’ Joe answered vaguely – again – which was infuriating. ‘I can’t go out on a limb, Sarah. It won’t stand,’ he added, clearly reading her exasperated expression. ‘There are official channels I have to go through.’
Sarah drew in a sharp breath and bit hard on her tongue. She knew he would need