‘I shouldn’t have gone to that party.’ Her face formed a pained expression as she trembled.
‘It was their fault, not yours. You were a girl and you went to a party; you did nothing wrong. They abused your trust. They were in the wrong.’
Gina reached for Lucy’s hand. Lucy turned, her chest heaving under the coat with every sob. Her hair stuck to her face. Lucy held out her hand. As Gina went to take it, she lifted it, twisted her body and fell back, arms spread out, her coat flapping in the wind. Gina noticed one thing: a light smile on the woman’s face.
Chapter Seventy-Two
As Lucy was about to hit the ground Gina turned away, unable to look. She felt her chest heaving and she couldn’t control herself. She’d lost Lucy but saved Cherie. She fell to the road onto all fours, then sat in the wet, crying, until Jacob ran over.
He put his raincoat over her shoulders. ‘Come on, guv.’
‘I tried to get her to climb over the railings. I thought she was coming.’ Her speech turned into a jumbled mess and she struggled to breathe.
Jacob wrapped his arm around her as he helped her up and walked her to the ambulance. ‘There’s nothing more you could’ve done.’
Maybe that was true, maybe it wasn’t. Everyone failed Lucy, even her father. She wished she’d known Lucy before and, maybe then, she could have helped her.
‘You did all you could, guv. I know you’re punishing yourself now but none of us could have done any more.’
She gave Jacob a slight smile as he led her into the ambulance and went in with her. ‘Jacob, thank you. I’m sorry for blubbing.’
He smiled. ‘No need. I feel like blubbing myself, but you can thank me with a pint when this is all over. We should all have a drink at the Angel Arms now slimy Samuel Avery has gone. Anyway, that’s for later. Cherie Brown is at the hospital being checked over but we should have her back at the station soon. You’ll have enough time to change out of those wet clothes and grab something hot to drink.’
Gina took a deep breath. Cherie Brown, it’s about time you told me everything. I want the accessories to the crime, the masked people that Lucy couldn’t identify but who must be Marcus and Isaac. I want you to relive every gory detail. She already knew who they were, but Lucy died not knowing. She wanted to see Cherie squirm as she forced her to relay the details. She would get revenge for Lucy, but it would be through the courts. She had to nail the confession or the woman could walk.
Chapter Seventy-Three
Gina wrapped her cardigan around her body, still feeling the chill of the earlier events of the day. The young solicitor shook her head and Cherie refused to speak once again. Jacob caught her gaze and leaned back in his chair. Wyre was interviewing Marcus Burton at the same time that O’Connor was interviewing Isaac Slater. Which one would crack first? A confession while being dangled over the top of a carriageway bridge wouldn’t be enough.
‘As I said before, I only said those things because she was going to kill me. I didn’t do anything. It was Alex. Back then, when I tried to run away, Alex said to come back or it would be me next. He threatened me so I had to stay.’
‘I’ve read the notebook.’
‘So, she was mental, she made it up. You saw her.’ Cherie grinned as she bit her bottom lip.
Gina had pushed her hard, been soft, tried to be sympathetic when she spoke of peer pressure and how hard it is for a person to go against their friends, but nothing had worked.
‘I work as a carer. I’m a mother and a wife. Could I be all that if I was such a monster?’
Gina knew she could. Behind Cherie’s smug grin, she knew she was speaking to someone who was cruel and calculated. She’d seen it in Terry, first-hand.
There was a tap at the door. Jacob spoke for the benefit of the tape as Gina stepped out.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
O’Connor grinned. ‘Before we interviewed Isaac Slater, his girlfriend Joanna Brent asked for a word so we spoke to her first. She confirmed that he’d made her cover for him. She said he’d been acting oddly for a couple of weeks, drinking too much, getting into trouble at work for not