Brooke frowned and stepped back out of the door. ‘We’ll just be going then,’ she said, pulling Joe behind her.
‘Wait,’ said Cathy. ‘He will call you in a while. There’s been some news and he needs—’ And Cathy burst into tears once more.
Brooke walked back and placed her arms around the woman. ‘He can call me when he’s ready. Is there anything I can do?’
Cathy shook her head and hugged Brooke.
‘I’m here if any of you need me. Just call, okay?’
Gina, standing half in the hall, leaned back to watch out of the lounge window as Brooke closed the garden gate and walked down the road. ‘I’ll call you when we get back to the station,’ she said to Cathy. ‘Hopefully you’ll be able to visit your granddaughter today.’
‘Thank you.’ Cathy wiped her eyes and blew her nose.
‘Here’s my card. You have my number. Again, if you see or hear anything, let me know. Even if it seems like it’s nothing, it could be the key to cracking the case and finding Deborah.’
The woman nodded, thanking them again as she showed them out and closed the door.
‘Well, that wasn’t easy,’ Gina said.
‘No. I don’t know how they’re going to cope. Imagine finding out that not only is your daughter potentially being held by some psycho, but that you might have a grandchild fathered by that same psycho? I don’t know how I’d feel.’
‘Me neither. I feel for them. Back to the station now. I need to call children’s services, see if I can arrange a visit for Mrs Beddows at the hospital. The fun never ends with this job—’
‘But you wouldn’t have it any other way,’ Jacob continued.
‘You know, I hate it when you finish my sentences. I might just puke on your dashboard to get my revenge. Do we have the name of the social worker in charge of the Baby Jenkins case?’
‘Yes, Devina Gupta.’
Gina found Devina’s number and waited for an answer. She stared out of the window as they travelled down the road with the speed bumps before leaving the estate and joining the main road through Cleevesford.
‘Devina, hi, it’s DI Harte. I need you meet me at the hospital in an hour… I know you’re busy, we all are… Thank you, see you there.’ Then Gina dialled the Jenkinses’ home number. She had no idea if just Cathy would turn up or if Luke would manage to make it too. She did know it would be an emotional introduction.
Seventeen
As they walked along the hospital corridors, Luke stopped and leaned against the window ledge, staring out into the courtyard below. ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’
Cathy stepped closer and placed her hand over his. ‘You can. You have to. For Debbie.’
‘Do you need a moment, Mr Jenkins?’ DI Harte asked.
‘No,’ Cathy replied.
‘Yes,’ Luke said.
Cathy placed her arm around his shoulders. ‘We have to do this, for Debbie. I know it’s painful, really I do,’ she said. Luke went to speak but stopped. He rubbed his eyes and continued walking along the corridor with Cathy until they reached the ward where Baby Jenkins lay. They stopped outside and Cathy peered through the tiny window in the door.
‘You just have to press the buzzer,’ said DI Harte.
Luke leaned across and pushed the red button. Cathy bit the skin on her bottom lip as they waited. The detective walked ahead as they were buzzed in. Luke couldn’t work out what she was saying to the nurse, but within a moment they were pointed in the right direction.
As their footsteps echoed through the corridor, Luke kept thinking of the huge mess that everything was in. He hadn’t called Brooke back. Hell, he didn’t even know what he was going to say to her. Well, you know my missing wife, the one presumed dead, the one I’d just about given up on? Well, she’s just had a baby. Have I found her? No. Just her baby. The baby’s not mine. They think she might have been taken and held captive all these years. We’ll probably be looking after the baby, I think.
Maybe he wouldn’t say that. He didn’t know if he really meant the things that were unfolding in his thoughts or if they were just a reaction to his increased stress levels. He was walking towards the room where his wife’s baby lay. Another man’s baby, but she was part of his wife and his wife was going through something, somewhere. What if she never came home? Could he rise to the challenge of bringing up this baby alone, in Debbie’s absence? Would that be too much to ask? Would Cathy bring the baby up? His wife’s mother gripped his hand as they reached the entrance to the room.
He paused at the door to the room, staring across at the little baby, dressed in a white all-in-one vest, sleeping in a tiny plastic crib. This was the baby he was possibly meant to take responsibility for. His legs felt weak and he began to tremble. What had Debbie been through? His lovely Debbie had been forced to— he couldn’t say it, even in his mind. It felt like his heart was ripping apart, taking his breath away. ‘I just want Debbie back. I need her.’
‘We will get her back. We will,’ Cathy said.
‘You don’t know that. None of us know that. I searched for her everywhere and found nothing, just like that lot. None of us know.’ He almost broke down as he looked back at DI Harte. She looked down. They both knew there were no guarantees. His mind whizzed around and eventually stopped on an image that would haunt him. He imagined Debbie shackled in some dungeon, with a psycho raping and beating her. His lovely Debbie, the gentle mother, the beautiful young woman he’d married on that chilly October morning. His mind flashed back to the day they’d started senior school. She was the cutest girl in the class and he’d known then that they would one day be together. Then the chains came back, the image of a monster, a devil, stooping over her.
‘Hello, I’m Devina Gupta, caseworker for Baby Jenkins. I’ll be sitting with you and can answer any questions you might have.’
‘Thank you,’ Cathy whispered as she peered into the room, trying to catch a glimpse of the baby.
Devina led the way and sat on a chair in the corner of the room. Luke watched as the woman fought to drag a notepad out of her oversized handbag. She flicked her frizzy black hair out of her eyes and began making notes.
His eyes met Cathy’s. He wanted to speak but he couldn’t. The words were muddled in his head. How on earth would he get them out in a coherent way? ‘Luke, would you prefer to wait outside?’ He shook his head and followed Cathy’s lead as she tiptoed towards the crib. She reached in and placed her finger on the baby’s hand. The baby stirred and gripped her finger before letting out a half-hearted cry. ‘I think she’s hungry.’ Cathy smiled at the baby and began to stroke her fine hair. ‘She’s beautiful. She’s one of us, Luke. We have to take care of her. I know you’re probably not ready for this, so when the time comes, she can stay with me, if you’re not—’
‘She has a brother and a sister. She’s part of Debbie.’ He broke down, sobbing until his face was completely wet and his nose was beginning to bubble. His heart had melted. This was Debbie’s baby, a connection to the only woman he’d ever truly loved, and he wasn’t about to let her down now. ‘We’ll look after her and love her, for Debbie.’
Cathy took his hand. ‘I’m so proud of you, Luke. When she comes home, we’ll all be waiting. One happy family. And she will come home.’ Cathy turned to Devina. ‘Can the baby come home too?’
‘We have a lot to go through. I’d certainly support short supervised home visits to begin with, as this is a big thing for you both. We’d need to see you in your home and we have procedures to follow, but our aim is to always keep families together if we can.’
‘Please make it happen. This little one needs me,’ Cathy said, shaking as she wiped the corner of her eye.