Free The Missing Husband by Amanda Brooke Page B

even the ones on his computer but there’s nothing.’
    Steve shook his head. ‘There must be something.’
    ‘I know everything there is to know about David.’ The statement was meant to give her courage but instead it knocked Jo off kilter. They lived and worked together but there was a healthy degree of separation too. Right now it felt like a chasm. ‘Or at least I thought I did.’
    Steve came forward and without invitation wrapped his arms around her. She wanted to push him away, still annoyed that he had invaded her privacy but her need to feel a pair of arms around her was too strong. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine it was David holding her but as she inhaled, the tenuous connection was severed by the pungent smell of another man’s aftershave. Repulsed, she pulled away.
    ‘We’ll find him,’ Steve promised. ‘Let’s go downstairs, shall we, before Mum thinks we’ve gone missing too?’
    ‘I’d prefer it if you asked before rooting through my things next time,’ Jo said acidly in case he was under the impression he was forgiven.
    ‘Sorry, I was just so desperate to find an answer. I can’t sit back and do nothing.’ They were heading downstairs now and as they reached the bottom, Steve stopped her in her tracks. ‘Why didn’t you phone the police straight away, Jo?’
    ‘Sorry?’
    ‘I mean, if it was me, the first thing I would have thought was, and I hate to say it, that something bad had happened. You were expecting him home and he didn’t make it. What did you think had happened if you didn’t think it was something bad?’
    Jo looked at Steve as she considered her answer. His face was the picture of innocence but she didn’t doubt he had his own suspicions. ‘We had an argument on Tuesday night.’
    ‘About?’
    ‘Something and nothing. I wouldn’t give him a lift to the station, that’s all,’ she said although she was beginning to believe that less and less.
    ‘Something and nothing,’ Steve repeated as if he was getting a feel for the words.
    She had no idea how much David had told Steve about the surprise pregnancy and the friction it had caused in their marriage but she knew from experience that they would protect each other to the hilt. ‘Unless you know otherwise, Steve. If you have even an inkling of why he would do this deliberately then please, please tell me,’ she begged but Steve was already shaking his head. He reached over to give her arm a reassuring squeeze.
    ‘I’m sorry, I’m as much in the dark as you are, but I will say this: I don’t believe for a minute that Dave would ever leave you, certainly not like this and that’s a hard thing for me to say because right now I’d rather believe that he had. It has to be better than considering other possibilities. No offence meant.’
    Jo cleared her throat and gave him a weak smile. ‘None taken.’ The deep breath she took tasted of buttery pastry. ‘What in God’s name is your mum up to now?’
    The dining table had been set and three plates of warmed up steak and ale pie awaited them along with replenished cups of tea.
    ‘Irene, I’m really not hungry.’
    ‘You need to keep your strength up, if not for you then for the baby.’
    Jo wanted to say she didn’t care. Nothing else mattered except finding David but she kept her voice level and said, ‘Thank you, but what I really need is some sleep so I can gather my strength for the police interview later.’
    ‘But …’
    It would never cross Irene’s mind that Jo wanted to be left in peace. If there was a family crisis then the Taylor family pulled the yarn of their tightly knit family tighter still. It was Steve, on his best behaviour now, who took the hint. Jo could almost forgive him his previous indiscretion as he now persuaded his mum that they could make better use of their time by conducting their own investigations. Steve wanted to walk the route that David would have taken home so they could check for any signs that he might have