all the doors and windows were definitely locked?’
‘Yes.’
‘At what time did you make your final checks?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Last night, before you went to bed, you went around locking up, yes?’
Ruby hesitates. The idea of patrolling the flat like a security guard is completely alien to her. She’s not even very good at turning off the lights at night, much to Lewis’s irritation.
‘No, not as such,’ she replies finally. ‘There was nothing to do. It was too cold to have windows open and I knew the front door was already locked so I didn’t bother going downstairs to check.’
‘I see …’ The detective leans forward, elbows on the table, chin resting on her clasped hands. ‘When you say “already locked”, what do you mean by that? Precisely?’
‘Um … well, I mean it was locked, like normal, with a Yale key, you know, the sort that locks automatically when you close the door.’
‘You didn’t use the five-lever deadlock or the bolts?’
‘No. I wasn’t given the deadlock key and I had no idea there were bolts.’
DS Smart looks mildly disbelieving. ‘There are two, apparently, top and bottom.’
‘Oh, right. Sorry, I hadn’t noticed. It’s not my flat … and Amber didn’t mention them.’
‘No?’
‘No.’
‘Did she specifically ask you not to use the deadlock or bolts?’
‘No. She gave me a load of other instructions about Mabel, but nothing like that. I guess she just assumed …’ Ruby tails off as she sees the detective freeze. She instantly knows what’s troubling her, and now it’s troubling her too. Why would Amber, who’s so anal about protecting Mabel, be so relaxed about home security? Particularly when she knows Ruby is casual about such things to the point of negligence.
‘What about your brother-in-law, George?’ the detective continues. ‘Before he left for his conference, did he remind you to lock up properly?’
‘No.’
‘Like Amber, he just assumed you’d remember to do it.’
‘He didn’t know I was looking after Mabel by myself. He thought, um …’ Ruby pauses, aware of the implications of what she’s about to say. ‘He thought Amber was going to be there too.’
‘Oh, so he didn’t know about the … what was it?’ She flicks through her notes. ‘Yes, the yoga weekend. Why was it a secret?’
‘Look, it’s nothing to do with me. You’ll have to ask Amber about it.’
‘Yes, of course.’
DS Smart writes a note, then pushes the pad across the table to show her colleague. He nods, rises and leaves the room. Ruby feels sick. That’s two suspicious marks against Amber. She didn’t mean to dump her in it, but she couldn’t help it; she has to tell the truth. Come to think of it, why did Amber lie to George?
‘How are you feeling?’ DS Smart says, after a pause. ‘Can I get you another drink? Tea, coffee, glass of water?’
‘No thanks.’
‘I’m sorry to have to ask you all these questions, but they’re extremely important.’
‘I understand. I’ll do anything to help find Mabel.’
The detective sits back in her chair, adjusting the front of her crisp blue shirt. ‘Okay, so given that there were no doors or windows left open, no signs of forced entry, how do you think the abductor managed to get inside the flat?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ Ruby says. ‘It’s really bugging me.’
‘Was your sister or brother-in-law in the habit of leaving a spare key somewhere – under the doormat, in a flowerpot?’
She almost laughs. ‘No. They’d never do that. Not in a million years.’
‘Anyone lost a key recently?’
‘Not that I know of; you’ll have to ask them.’
‘What about you? Have you ever lost your key?’
‘I’m not allowed my own key – I always borrow the spare.’ She briefly remembers last weekend, when she couldn’t find the key to give back to Amber. But it turned up later so that doesn’t count. ‘I’ve never lost it,’ she adds.
The detective smacks her lips together. ‘Okay, let’s put aside the method of entry for now. All we know at this stage is that someone, somehow managed to enter the flat … so the next thing that puzzles me is this, Ruby. How did the abductor manage to take a seven-month-old baby out of her cot and carry her downstairs without you hearing a peep?’
Ruby shrugs. ‘I was on the floor above, fast asleep. Whoever it was switched off the baby monitor.’
‘You didn’t hear footsteps or creaks on the stairs, the front door opening and closing?’
‘No. Nothing.’
‘Surely Mabel must have woken up at some point? I’m really surprised you didn’t hear any crying.’