The screeching of Kate’s brakes as she skidded to a stop caught everyone’s attention. Richard Emerson took one look at her before continuing to hurl insults at the house where Alfie Caplan resided with his mum and younger sister.

‘You too chicken to face me?’ Richard shouted, oblivious to the neighbouring residents sending disapproving looks from the safety of their porches and front windows. ‘Get out here, you fucking cheat!’

The front door flew open and Alfie charged at Richard, sending the two of them to the ground as they tussled and fought to get the upper hand. Kate leaped from her car and charged towards the gate, taking it in a single bound, landing on the grass and springing forward to get between the two young men. She took a blow to the ribs from one of them, rolling away and feeling the damp mud soaking into the elbows of her suit jacket. She went for them again, trying to drag Richard off Alfie, but he was too strong and remained where he was, sending punch after punch into Alfie’s sides.

Kate nodded for the two waiting constables to intercept them, and when Alfie and Richard had been separated, she told the officers to escort Richard to the car and wait for her return.

‘He assaulted me,’ Alfie shouted, as Richard was led away. ‘I want him charged. A dozen witnesses saw him punch me in McDonald’s car park.’

‘You deserved far worse,’ Richard fired back over his shoulder.

‘Enough!’ Kate shouted, pushing Alfie towards the house. ‘You can tell me about it inside.’

The front door was still open from when he’d emerged, so he pushed it with his foot, stomping to the kitchen and filling a glass with water. He put it to his lips, the water spilling at the edges as he chugged it down.

Kate pulled out a chair at the small kitchen table and sat. ‘You ought to put some ice on that,’ she said, pointing at the red lump forming on his cheek.

Refilling his glass, he plonked down on the chair across from her. ‘I’ll live.’

But Kate wasn’t prepared just to sit there and let him sulk. Pushing herself up, she moved to the combined fridge-freezer unit, and searched the lower half until she found a bag of peas. Pulling it out, she reached for a tea towel from the radiator, folded it in half over the packet and wound the ends tightly before pressing it to his cheek. ‘Hold this in place. It’ll help the swelling go down and bring the bruise out sooner.’

He reluctantly pressed the pack where she’d put it.

‘I’m still waiting for you to tell me why your girlfriend’s brother just assaulted you.’

‘Ask him!’

‘I will in a moment, but for now I’m asking you.’

‘I don’t know what to tell you. I was at the McDonald’s in Swaythling getting a late breakfast, when he comes out of nowhere and starts attacking me.’

‘Attacking you how?’

‘I was heading back to my car as he was driving in, and the next thing I know, he’s pulled over and is out of his car shoving me.’

‘He must have given you a reason why.’

‘He started accusing me of mistreating Daisy, but I kept saying I had nothing to do with her disappearance. I haven’t seen her. It’s hard on all of us.’

‘How did you get back here?’

‘I drove home, and the next thing I know he’s pulling into my road and starting again. I came inside for my own protection.’

Kate fixed him with a stare. ‘You’re still holding back on me, Alfie, and I will get to the bottom of what’s going on.’ She stood.

‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m going to have a word with Richard now and see what he has to say for himself. You want to tell me anything else before I do?’

He looked as if he might speak, but then shook his head.

She pointed at the ice pack. ‘You should keep that on for twenty minutes, remove it, then give it twenty minutes before reapplying. Might be worth putting it on your knuckles for a bit too.’

---

Back outside, Kate’s breath swirled in condensation as she stretched out her ribs, certain she’d have her own bruise as a memento of the day.

Kate tapped on the patrol car’s window, until the constable lowered it. ‘Can you get him out for me? I want a word with him in my car.’

The constable exited and dragged Richard from the back seat, helping him into the front of Kate’s Audi.

‘Thanks for your support, guys,’ she called to the constables. ‘You can head on, I’ve got this now.’

With the patrol car pulling away, Kate climbed back into her car, and started the engine so the heater would come on. ‘Well?’

Richard shrugged. ‘What did he say?’

‘He said he wants you charged with common assault; that you jumped him for no reason in the car park and then followed him home so you could have another go.’

‘He was giving as good as he got.’

Kate could see a similar red mark forming below Richard’s right eye. ‘So you’ve nothing to add? No mitigating circumstances I should take into account? What’s your mum going to say when she learns you’ve been arrested?’

‘She’ll understand when she learns why.’

‘So, tell me too. Why did you go after Alfie in the car park?’

Richard studied her face and then grunted. ‘He didn’t tell you who was with him in the car park, did he?’

Kate’s shook her head. ‘Who?’

‘I thought he’d be too spineless to admit what a cheating scumbag he is. I lost it because I saw him in the car park walking with his arm around Georgie Barclay. When he leaned in and kissed her, I saw red.’

‘Alfie and Georgie…?’

‘And before you start giving him all the benefit of the doubt bullshit, I think it was going on long before my sister disappeared.’

‘How did Georgie react when she saw you attacking Alfie?’

‘She ran off in tears; I’ve never seen her look so upset. When he scarpered from the car park, I followed behind and saw him drive back to her house, to try and catch up with her, but she must have taken a different route as I didn’t pass her.’ He sighed in frustration. ‘Look, I know I shouldn’t have hit him, but I can’t stop thinking that this is the reason my sister ran away that night. She was at Georgie’s house and maybe she’d found out about the fling and felt she just needed to get away.’

‘You’ve changed your tune. When we first met you were adamant that some pervert had snatched her. If it’s because her Facebook profile was accessed, you should know we don’t believe your sister did it. Whoever accessed her profile was using software to mask their IP address, but we’re tracing it back to the source.’

The blood drained from his face. ‘I suppose I might as well admit it was me, then.’

Kate coughed as the spittle caught in her throat. ‘You?’

He shrugged sheepishly at her. ‘I’m sorry. I thought if you had proof she was still alive it would encourage you to make more effort to find her.’

Kate looked away so she wouldn’t be tempted to tell him what she really thought. ‘Do you realise how much time that wasted? Where did you get the software from?’

‘A friend of mine uses it to download movies and games and stuff. He swore it was impossible to trace, so I didn’t think it would be a problem. Are you going to arrest me for wasting police time too?’

Kate looked at him, and for a split second recognised the frightened child beneath the shaved head and muscles. ‘I ought to, but that wouldn’t do you, your parents or my investigation any good, would it? Can you see the trouble a little lie can cause?’

‘I’m so sorry. Are you going to tell my parents what I did?’

‘No, Richard, but you are. I’ll drop you back there in a minute, but first I think you owe someone else an apology too.’ She nodded at Alfie’s house.

‘I’m not going to apol—’

She raised her hand to cut him off. ‘If you don’t want him to press charges, you’d better apologise. And I’d make it good if I was you.’