the very idea made Melissa shudder as it crossed through her mind – she didn’t want there to be progress if it led to them. She needed time to figure things out.
A hush fell over the room then as the two detectives in charge of Patrick’s case walked in – and they did not seem happy.
Tommy looked slightly flustered for a moment but then gathered himself. ‘Speaking of the police,’ he said, gesturing towards the detectives. People turned to look at them, murmuring.
Detective Crawford marched up the centre of the room as the stern-looking detective stayed at the back, scrutinising everyone with narrowed eyes. Melissa shuffled about in her chair as the detective’s eyes alighted on her, wishing desperately that she hadn’t come.
‘Sources?’ Detective Crawford asked Tommy. ‘What sources are these?’
‘A man never divulges the identity of his sources,’ Tommy said with a nervous laugh.
The detective turned to the room. ‘Well, this is quite the gathering. We were walking by and were rather intrigued to see such a busy crowd in here. Now I know why . . . you’re conducting a search?’
Tommy nodded. ‘That’s right, Detective,’ he said in a loud voice, smiling at the crowds. ‘We thought you could do with the help.’
Detective Crawford gave him a tight smile. ‘May I?’ he asked, gesturing to the microphone Tommy was holding.
Tommy hesitated a moment then reluctantly handed it over.
The detective turned to the room. ‘For those of you who don’t know, I’m Detective Crawford and I’m in charge of the investigation into the attack on Patrick Byatt. I want to start by reassuring you all we are doing everything we can to track down the perpetrator who injured him.’
There was some discontented chatter in the room.
‘I also want to remind you all that this is an ongoing investigation,’ the detective continued, looking into the crowd seriously. ‘We have to be very mindful of not risking the investigation, or tampering with evidence, something an unofficial search like this could well do.’
Melissa could see how annoyed he was and, even worse, his eyes were on her now, a slight crease in his brow. She wished she could run up to him, tell him she hadn’t agreed to this bloody search either!
‘Found the knife yet?’ someone shouted.
Melissa’s stomach dropped. The knife the kids had hidden.
‘Not yet,’ Detective Crawford said with a pleasant smile. ‘But regarding where we are with the investigation—’
‘Nowhere!’ Graham Cane shouted.
‘Pipe down, Graham!’ Rebecca Feine, the landlady of the Neck of the Woods pub, shouted out. ‘It’s only been twenty-four hours, give them a chance.’
‘This lady is quite right,’ Detective Crawford said. ‘We’re at the very early stages.’
‘Then tell us what those early stages are,’ Belinda Bell said. ‘This is our community, we deserve to know. Did someone break into the house, for example?’
‘There was no sign of a break-in,’ the detective replied.
‘So someone just walked in?’ Peter Mileham asked.
‘More than likely,’ Detective Crawford replied. ‘This seems like the kind of place where people are happy to leave their doors unlocked, am I right?’
Everyone nodded. Forest Grovians were proud of that fact.
‘Not any more,’ said a woman a few seats down from Melissa, crossing her arms and shaking her head in disgust. Melissa recognised her as being Charlie Cane, Graham Cane’s daughter and the mum of one of the girls in the twins’ year. Melissa had never quite warmed to her. She was one of those people who put photos of themselves on social media in revealing gym wear, pretending it was purely to ‘inspire’ people to lose weight when really it was a vanity exercise in getting social media likes, considering she’d had absolutely no weight to lose in the first place.
‘What about all the immigrants who’ve moved to Ashbridge? Have you questioned them?’ Charlie asked now.
‘Oh Jesus,’ Daphne said, sighing. ‘Please don’t turn this into a live version of the Daily Mail’s comments.’
Some people in the room laughed.
‘Charlie’s got a point, though!’ Belinda Bell said. ‘I bet crime’s gone up since the factory opened.’
‘The surrounding towns and villages are, naturally, being explored, and residents questioned,’ the detective said. ‘However, we need to consider the possibility that Patrick knew the person who attacked him,’ he added, looking around the room.
Melissa kept her eyes down, her fists clenching and unclenching as she tried to keep her breath even.
‘Unlikely,’ Bill said, shaking his head. ‘Nobody Patrick knew would do this to him.’
‘How can you be so sure, Bill?’ Rebecca said. ‘The world isn’t as black and white as you’d all