A Murderer's Heart by Julie Elizabeth Powell Page A

through would only serve to make her anxieties worse.
    Something would have to be done – he would talk to Anne; she would know the best way forward.
    Deciding she couldn’t leave them, Jenny delved into the blanket box before throwing a duvet onto the floor.
    Telling her he’d be back soon, David made his way back into the kitchen to join the others.
    Anne was sitting on the bench, Sam and the Inspector opposite.
    Meakin was drinking coffee.
    David sat next to Anne and stated, “Jenny is staying with the children but before I go up, I need to talk to you, Anne.”
    She could guess what he was about to say.
    “You know what this has done to her. She’ll need help. She’ll have to come to terms with this, or she’ll smother the girls with paranoia. I’m scared about what this’ll do to us all. She was nervous enough before, but this…”
    Anne patted his arm. He seemed to have aged ten years.
    “Don’t worry, David. I know she’s going to require some support. This is enough to scare anyone – she’ll have the help she needs....I’ll make sure of it. I know someone she can talk to. Everything will be fine, I promise. The girls are home, that’s the main thing. Just concentrate on that. Jenny will be okay.”
    He nodded; a weak smile on his face, then turned to Inspector Meakin.
    “Do you know what happened?”
    “Not precisely. Apparently, in the moments that no-one was looking, the girls must have wandered out of a side door. They think the staff entrance was left open by mistake and the girls left that way. It seems the only means by which the girls could have left the building without being seen. The young woman who works behind the sweet counter was caught up with a customer and never noticed them leave their seats. Children are known to be very quick about these things. You must realise that, Mister King?”
    He paused, giving David time to take in the news.
    “Yes, I remember being scared to death when we’d taken them to the beach one time,” David said. “Jenny and I had only turned round to set up the chairs, when suddenly Sally was splashing in the water. We’d joked that they needed to be on a lead the whole time. Jenny is usually so careful about such things. But yes, they are very quick.”
    Meakin continued his tale.
    “Somehow, they’d strayed into the shopping area further down from the cinema. Most of the shops were closed at that time. We don’t know what happened exactly in the time they were missing, though it seems odd that nobody saw two small children walking about on their own.
    “Luckily, it was the owner of Genelli’s that noticed them. He was sweeping around the front of his shop, ready for closing, when he saw them ambling toward him. They didn’t seem too worried, and were chatting to each other. That in itself seems a little unusual, after all, they’d been missing for two hours, I would have thought they’d want their mother by then and been upset.
    “However, Genelli recognised them. He told us that Jenny often popped in and brought the girls with her, saying they loved to explore – and he always gave them a lollipop at the end of their visit. He knew there must be something wrong; Jenny would never leave them on their own like this. He took them into his shop, gave them a lollipop and then called us.
    “That’s all we know. The details of this episode do seem strange. I know it’s not unusual for children to go missing but…I can’t put my finger on it. My instincts tell me there’s something not quite right about all this. But that’s my worry, not yours.
    “Still, it’s ended happily. Your girls are absolutely fine. They never said much to Genelli, and our children’s officer said they are really too young to give details of their adventure. They may say various things over time – if you notice or hear anything unusual, could you give me a call? Only they know exactly what happened.”
    Meakin stopped speaking and looked at the other three faces