Free Stranger Child by Rachel Abbott

had seeped from his skin as he had slumped back into his chair at the news that a girl’s body had been found. It should be a time for celebration now, but all Becky could feel around her was confusion and disappointment.
    The only movement in the room came from the little boy in the high chair. He turned his head as they came in, and his baby face lit up when he saw his mum. He was playing with some brightly coloured plastic eggs and banged one on his tray with delight at her appearance. Becky looked at Emma and saw her worried frown soften as she smiled at her son briefly, before turning back to her husband.
    ‘David,’ she said gently. ‘The detectives have arrived.’
    Tearing his gaze away from the garden, David Joseph turned his head, then with one last lingering look into the garden turned round and walked towards Becky and Charley, reaching out to shake them both by the hand.
    ‘Thank you for coming. I know we should have called you sooner, but Tasha seems so fragile and she was adamant that the police mustn’t be told she’s here. She said she’d disappear again if we called you.’
    ‘But she’s still here?’ Becky asked.
    David nodded. ‘I locked all the doors while we talked to her and explained why we had to call you. We told her about the girl – the one you found yesterday. That seemed to upset her a bit. I promised her that you only want to check that she really is my daughter – even though I don’t have a single doubt myself – just so you can close the case.’
    Becky knew it wasn’t the time to argue, but if David Joseph thought this case was closed, he was way off the mark. Wherever his daughter had been, she had been somebody’s secret for more than six years. In Becky’s experience, that painted pictures of a life she didn’t want to imagine for this child.
    ‘We’ll keep it simple for today, Mr Joseph, if that helps. Where’s Natasha now?’ Becky asked.
    He turned and walked back towards the window, the three women following him. Through the glass they looked out at trampled flowerbeds and a muddy lawn that looked as if the local football team had recently played a match on it. But there was one patch of grass that was intact at the far end of the garden, and in the middle was a child’s swing. Becky could see a slight young girl hunched up, pushing herself backwards and forwards with one foot on the ground, her arms hooked around the chains. She appeared to be staring into the distance, her eyes unfocused, her mind somewhere else entirely.
    ‘She’s been out there since we told her we were going to call you. I’ve been watching her to make sure she doesn’t run off. When she was little, she spent hours on that swing. She used to say that one night she was going to swing so high that she would touch a star.’
    ‘May we speak to Natasha?’ Becky asked.
    Before he had a chance to answer, Emma interrupted.
    ‘David, if you don’t mind, I think I should take Ollie somewhere else. He must be wondering what on earth’s going on.’
    He glanced at his wife vacantly and gave a slightly bemused shrug.
    ‘Yes, of course. I don’t think you’re needed here.’ He looked from Becky to Charley. ‘Is she?’
    Becky saw the expression on Emma’s face and felt the other woman’s sense of rejection.
    ‘I think it’s fine,’ Becky said. ‘But we will need to talk to you again to make sure we’ve got all the facts. And I think you’re going to be vital going forwards, so if your baby has a nap any time soon, do come back and join us.’
    Emma flashed a brief, grateful smile to Becky as she left the room with Ollie shouting his indignation at being taken away.
    David slid open the door and stepped out into the garden, picking his way through the mud to approach his daughter. Becky and Charley gave him a moment alone with her. He crouched down so he was level with her face; they could see he was speaking but couldn’t hear what he was saying. Natasha didn’t look at him. They