It was a lovely morning, the birds sang in the trees, the smell of freshly cut grass filled Gina’s nostrils and wild flowers dotted the gardens. She swallowed as she stared up at the large mansion-like nursing home on the outskirts of Cleevesford.

Another case had been solved and she could rest in the knowledge that Christina had been reunited with her mother. If only Erin and Simone had made it. The thought of the two young girls and their unimaginable suffering sent a shiver through her body. She closed her eyes behind her sunglasses as she thought of them. All of her wanted to scream and cry for the Erins and Simones of the world. It was a cruel world and most people glossed over the realities that she saw on a day-to-day basis. They preferred not to think about the suffering of others, suffering on their own doorsteps, on their streets, in their neighbourhoods.

She turned to look through the window of the home, spotting several elderly residents watching television in the lounge. She stepped forward and rang the bell.

‘Who are you visiting?’ the middle-aged woman asked as she opened the door and led Gina into the hallway.

‘Jackie Hanley.’

‘Oh, our new lady. She’s just been dressed and is in her room, waiting to be brought down. Are you a relative?’

Gina shook her head and pulled out her identification. ‘I worked on her case and just wanted to see her.’

‘We heard what had happened. I’m sure she’d love to see you. Just go up the stairs and take a left. It’s the last room along the corridor.’

Gina continued through the large house until she reached the last room. A little plaque had been pinned up on the door with Jackie’s name on it. She knocked and entered. ‘Hello, Jackie.’ The sun’s rays lit up Jackie’s light grey hair but there was no mistaking the occasional rosy tinge that had once been red. Her genes carried all the way to Simone.

Gina sat on the edge of the bed, next to Jackie’s chair and smiled. ‘Looks lovely here.’ The woman brought her hand from her lap and flung it on the arm of the chair as her gaze moved from the window to the wall. She began murmuring under her breath, over and over. It was obvious that there was no communication going on between them. Jackie had no idea what had happened to her.

‘You’ve been through a lot but you’re safe now. We are safe.’ Gina took a deep breath as she fought back a tear.

With the case over, she had finally felt that she could now take time to look after herself. She’d called Hannah and although the reception hadn’t been warm, at least the call had ended with a date in her diary to take Gracie out.

‘The view’s great.’ Gina stood and walked over to the window, admiring the fields that stretched all the way to the horizon.

‘I’m as bad as them,’ she continued, as a tear trickled down her cheek. ‘I really am no better. I’ve done things that I’ve never told anyone about.’ Her heart began to pound as she darted over to Jackie and kneeled before her. Maybe, just once in her life, she had someone to confide in, someone who would never tell. ‘I killed my husband,’ she whispered, finally saying those words out loud to another human being.

Her mind flashed back to Briggs and when she was telling him about how Terry had abused her. Now their relationship had ended, he still carried some of her secrets around with him. She had to trust that he’d never tell anyone.

Nothing would take away the fact that she pushed Terry down those stairs and cut his life short. ‘Do you hate me? I hate me.’

Jackie remained motionless, then her hand left Gina’s and flew up before it landed in her lap. Whether that was her answer or just another involuntary movement, Gina would never know. All she knew was that she really hated herself. She wiped a tear away and stood just as someone came through the door.

‘Jackie,’ Christina shouted as she ran across the room. The thin girl wrapped her arms around the woman and hugged her tightly. ‘I’m back home with my mum now but I’m going to visit you all the time, I promise. Mum doesn’t mind dropping me off.’ The girl pulled a knitted doll from her handbag. ‘I got this for you, it’s like your doll. I hope you love her as much.’ She placed the doll in Jackie’s lap, held both of the woman’s hands and squeezed.

‘I think I should get going now. It’s great that you could make it while I was here, Christina. I hoped you’d pop by which is why I left your mum a message. It’s lovely to see you looking so well,’ Gina said as she headed towards the door.

The girl placed Jackie’s hands in her lap. Jackie grabbed the doll and squeezed.

‘I have a long way to go but the doctors say I’m doing well.’ Christina paused. ‘I heard what happened. I was so out of it I just can’t remember, but thank you. Thank you for coming for me and thank you for taking me and Jackie away from that place.’

Gina tried her best to hold the tears back but one drizzled down her cheek.

‘Have I upset you?’

Gina shook her head. ‘No, it’s just lovely to see you visiting Jackie.’

‘She was my best friend for ages. I don’t think my will to live would have been so strong if I didn’t have Jackie to care about, would it, Jackie?’ She placed a hand on Jackie’s shoulder. ‘She kept me going, didn’t you?’ The girl kneeled before Jackie and began tidying her hair as she chatted about her mum and her friends. ‘Maybe Stacey and I can bring Jitterbug one day. You’d love Jitterbug.’

Gina slowly backed out of the room and closed the door as she left them to it.

As she reached the car park she noticed a man sitting on the bonnet of a car. ‘Gareth Hanley?’ His red hair gave his identity away and he had similar features to Simone and Jackie. Wyre had been the one to speak to Gareth so he’d never met Gina.

‘Yes.’

‘DI Gina Harte.’

‘Your DC said you found my mother and the girl. I was working on a contract in Spain and wanted to see Simone badly. I’d never met my child before and I begged my dad not to lose her.’ His face reddened as he grabbed his hair and let out a frustrated roar.

‘Mr Hanley, it’s not your fault.’

‘I thought they were all living happily together: him, Mum and Simone. Dad said that Simone was helping to care for Mum, which I thought was lovely. I can’t believe he did this to her! And Vanessa? I hope she dies a horrible death. That woman always hated my mum, always resented my grandparents for apparently loving Mum more. She always wanted what Mum had and it’s not the first time she came between Mum and Dad. I can’t believe my dad did all those things, with that woman.’ The man’s glassy stare had a haunted look. ‘My last words with him will always haunt me. I begged him to keep Simone there until I could get home. I didn’t mean for him to trap her, just make her really happy so that she’d want to stay.’ He paused and stared out at the tree-lined drive. ‘I never even got to meet my daughter. I’d have been a great dad.’

William Hanley may just have taken his son’s request literally. Gina felt her face burning from the midday sun.

‘I begged him to keep her and he imprisoned her—’ The man broke down. ‘He did what I asked. They killed her and it was my fault.’

There was nothing Gina could say that would ease his pain and guilt. There was nothing she could do to ease her own. Maybe, given time, he’d accept that it wasn’t his fault.

Confessing was meant to help but it hadn’t helped Gina. Telling Jackie hadn’t taken her pain away at all. She still carried it with her like a rucksack full of bricks. It came everywhere with her and she knew one thing for certain, it would never leave.