They were waiting when the coach pulled up. Seagulls screeching overhead and diving for half-eaten burgers in the bins.
Elise got out and scanned the faces in the windows of the bus. The excited people going on their holidays. Pulling bags off the racks above their heads.
Dee was at the back. Talking to her son, smiling, and buttoning his jacket when she caught sight of Elise.
She put her hand to her mouth and the boy turned to look. She pulled him in close and nodded at Elise. Then sat, waiting for her to come and get her.
She hardly said a word when they put them in the police car. But she started to weep when her son said: “Can we go home now?”
Acknowledgments
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the many people who have supported, prodded, soothed, and encouraged me in the writing of this book.
I’ll begin with my brilliant editors, Frankie Gray and Danielle Perez, who never faltered in their support despite false starts, and everyone at Transworld and Berkley who helped get the book on track.
Heartfelt thanks to my wonderful agent, Madeleine Milburn—the best possible person to have in your corner—along with Liane-Louise Smith and the rights team.
As always, there were specialists who helped prevent me from making a complete fool of myself:
The endlessly patient Home Office Forensic Pathologist Dr. Debbie Cook, who introduced me to the enduring properties of sweet corn in the gut—and so much more.
Detective Superintendent Tara McGovern and DC Polly Gallacher, who talked so frankly about the impact of breast cancer on women in the police and introduced me to the work of the inspirational breast cancer charities Breast Mates （https://breastmates.org） and Future Dreams （https://futuredreams.org.uk）。 Thanks also to my friend Helen Turner for guiding me through the treatment.
And retired murder squad DCI Colin Sutton, who took time out of his own hugely successful writing career to guide me on some police matters.
As always, any mistakes that lingered are my own.
Thank you to the wonderfully generous Fiona Doyle, who made the winning bid to name a character in Local Gone Missing. I’m sorry it has taken a while for Dave Harman to see his name in print but he and Fiona helped raise more than ￡7,500 for children and young people with cancer in the CLIC Sargent Good Books auction （https://www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk）。
Finally my brilliant family and friends who kept me going—my husband, Gary; children, Tom and Lucy; mother, Jeanne; sister, Jo; brother, Jon; and BFs, Carol and Rachael. I couldn’t have done it without you.
This book is dedicated to my dearest dad, who died in January 2021. He was a writer, a journalist, and a champion of his children in whatever we decided to do. This is for you, Dad.