Page 85 of Too Close To Home

Then Harrison drew a breath, about to speak—

“Sir?” PC Murray stepped into the kitchen doorway.

Harrison blinked, as if being pulled back into the room. “Yes, Murray?”

“Emily Fisher’s mum just landed at Leeds Bradford.”

“Right.” Harrison straightened, the professional mask settling back into place as he adjusted his coat. “Thank you.”

Murray nodded and stepped back out again.

Harrison turned to Jake. “You’ve been helpful. Thank you.”

Jake gave a small shrug. “Anytime.”

Harrison moved towards the door. But before Jake could stop himself, he stepped forward and caught Harrison lightly by the arm. The contact lasted barely a second. Still, Harrison stopped. And he looked down at the hand, then back up at Jake. Confusion shimmering in his eyes, parting his lips as if waiting for an explanation.

Jake let go immediately.

Stupid. Fucking stupid.

“Sorry.” He closed his eyes. “But is there a reason you asked me about Andy?”

“I’m following all lines of inquiry.”

Jake frowned. “Was he there the night the girl disappeared?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

Jake stepped back, folding his arms. “You just did.”

Harrison gave a stern look. “Then I won’t need to remind you to leave the investigation to us. Let me do my job.”

Jake held his gaze. Maybe a challenge. Or something else. Then he dipped his head. “Then go do your job, Detective. Hope you can do it as well as I do mine.”

Because he was good at finding the weak spots. The places where something didn’t sit right. Then fixing it.

He hoped DI Harrison Black was good at that too.

Chapter thirteen

Off the Record

The next twenty-four hours passed in a blur.

Harrison hadn’t even sat down properly before someone else demanded his attention.

First came Emily Fisher’s mother.

Grace Fisher arrived in Hartswick mid-morning following a flight into Leeds Bradford, frantic and pale from the journey. Harrison sat in on the initial meeting with PC Murray while she interviewed her. She handed over the last messages she’d exchanged with Emily and, cross-referencing them, Harrison found nothing unusual or urgent in them. It was the sort of sporadic contact coming from a strained relationship. Yes, she’d mentioned difficulties with her dad. Harsh boundaries. But they weren’t anywhere out of the ordinary for a man who wanted to protect his teenage daughter from potential predators.

The bitter irony of that wasn’t lost on him.

The man had, apparently, done everything right. Yet…

Harrison forced the thought away before it could take root. Speculation helped nobody. Not until he had the facts.

But since the divorce, Emily had remained in Hartswick with her father to finish her college course. Grace had moved to Spain with a new partner, and the distance between them had grown steadily wider. Grace insisted her daughter hadn’t mentioned visiting. No plans. No sudden change of heart. Which meant Emily wasn’t trying to make her way to Spain.