side of her head and pulls at her hair until it hurts. ‘I don’t care what they say about us,’ she cries. ‘All I want is Mabel back.’
The doorbell rings. ‘It’s okay, it’s only Sally,’ Vicky calls out. ‘I’ll get it.’
There’s a burst of noise as she opens the front door. Amber and George wait until Sally is safely inside before going into the hallway to meet her.
‘God, they drive me insane,’ Sally says, catching her breath.
George steps forward. ‘Any news?’
‘Yes and no.’ She removes her coat, giving it to Vicky to hang up. ‘Shall we go in the conservatory, where it’s quiet?’
‘Okay,’ says Amber.
Sally turns to Vicky. ‘I didn’t manage a cup of tea this morning – I’m gasping. Would you mind?’
A flash of disappointment crosses Vicky’s face as she realises that she’s been deftly excluded from the conversation.
‘White, no sugar, yes?’
‘You got it.’
The sun lounge is cold and smells slightly damp. They enter and take what have become their normal places on the wicker furniture set. Amber nervously waits for Sally to finish reading a text.
‘Sorry about that,’ she says, putting the phone in her pocket.
George paces about. ‘Well? What’s happening? Have you found Sonya?’
‘We managed to obtain her address via NHS records and made a visit to the flat last night.’
‘And?’
‘She wasn’t there. Officers waited all night but she didn’t turn up.’
‘What does that mean?’ says George.
‘We don’t know yet. She could have gone away for a few days, or moved out.’
‘What did the neighbours say?’
‘Nobody seems to know much about her. She lives on her own, no boyfriend as far as anyone can tell. She hasn’t been seen for a while, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Apparently people in the block go for weeks without seeing each other.’
‘If she’s not at home, that could mean she’s taken Mabel somewhere else,’ says Amber. ‘She could have gone into hiding.’
‘Possibly. It’s too early to draw conclusions. We’re talking to her mobile provider and checking her bank records, credit cards, cashpoint use, all that. It shouldn’t take too long to track her down.’
‘Polly told me she’d deliberately gone off the radar,’ says Amber. ‘I forgot to mention it last night.’
‘Yes, she told us that too,’ Sally replies. ‘It might mean something. Then again, it might not. It’s too early to say.’
George casts a quick glance at Amber before speaking. ‘We’ve thought of a reason why she might have taken Mabel.’
‘George! We don’t know—’
‘Every little bit of information is useful,’ says Sally.
‘When Sonya lost her baby, Amber didn’t go and see her, but the other mums did. We think maybe she was hurt and angry. Wanted to get her own back?’
‘Okay. Interesting.’ Sally reaches into her bag for her notebook. ‘I’ll feed that in.’
‘She never said she was upset; we didn’t actually fall out,’ says Amber.
‘But it makes sense, doesn’t it?’ George presses.
Sally writes her note then looks up. ‘Try not to get ahead of yourselves. We have to find Sonya first. If she has got Mabel – and that’s still an if – we will have to tread extremely carefully. Mabel’s safety comes first.’
‘Yes, of course, that goes without saying,’ says George.
Vicky is hovering in the doorway, holding a mug of tea. ‘Mind if I come in?’ She enters anyway and sets the mug down on the glass table.
‘Thanks so much.’ Sally waits for her to leave, then draws a breath. ‘Now, um, Amber, DI Benedict would like to have another chat with you this morning. On your own.’
‘Oh.’ Amber feels her cheeks instantly heating up. She has been expecting this.
‘Why can’t he talk to us together?’ says George.
‘It’s normal practice to interview witnesses separately,’ Sally replies smoothly. ‘The boss has asked me to bring you down to the station.’
Amber gulps. ‘Okay. What, right now?’
Sally nods. ‘Can you be ready in ten minutes? I’ll just finish my tea.’
Amber goes upstairs to brush her hair, and George follows. ‘I don’t like this,’ he says. ‘It makes me feel very uncomfortable.’
‘He probably just wants to know more about Sonya.’
‘Or he wants you to dish the dirt on me.’
‘Why would I do that, George?’ Amber turns to him. ‘You’ve done nothing wrong. I’m the one who offended Sonya so much she decided to steal our baby.’
‘I didn’t say that.’
‘You implied it.’
‘No, I didn’t. You asked for a reason and it was all I could think of,’ he protests.
‘If anyone should feel uncomfortable, it’s me.’
His shoulders drop. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to … I’m just … I don’t know … Everything’s