Free Twisted by Lynda La Plante

Amy.’
    ‘Oh my God, there hasn’t been an accident, has there?’
    ‘No, but she’s been missing since Saturday afternoon.’
    Agnes shook her head in shock, but Lena had already hurried up the stairs. She threw her coat over the bed and pulled off the polo-neck sweater; she needed a shower as her nerves had made her sweat. Hurrying into her bathroom she turned on the shower as she took off her jeans and kicked her shoes aside. She physically jumped when Agnes tapped on the door.
    ‘Is there anything you’d like me to get you, Mrs Fulford?’
    ‘No, I’m going to get changed quickly and, Agnes, there’s a drawer in Amy’s dressing table that’s locked – have you any idea where the key would be?’
    ‘No, I’ve never even seen the drawer open,’ Agnes said quickly in a defensive tone.
    ‘I’m not accusing you of anything; I’m simply trying to find the key. Do you know where it is?’
    ‘Not a clue. Maybe Amy keeps it with her?’
    ‘Yes. Well, have a look around, I’d like to open the drawer; and Agnes, can you prepare a tray of coffee and sandwiches? Marcus is also coming over and I haven’t had lunch.’
    Agnes went back to the kitchen, thinking that if her daughter Natalie was missing she wouldn’t be ordering coffee and sandwiches, she’d be out searching for her. She never had much to do with Amy, as she was off at the weekends, and always stayed with her daughter in Milton Keynes. By the time she came to work on the Monday, Amy was already back at school. She opened a packet of fresh honey-baked ham and selected some tomatoes and lettuce. Making up the sandwiches, she wondered whether or not Mrs Fulford would prefer the best china, but knowing how particular she was, she decided to wait until she came down.
    Lena closed her eyes; the warm shower was relaxing her. She washed her hair at the same time, soaping up the frothing foam and then using the residue to wash her armpits and then gritted her teeth to turn on the cold water to rinse. As the warm water had relaxed her, the icy cold made her body tingle and she then gave herself a really hard rubdown with a snow-white towel. Naked, she went into the bedroom and turned on the hair dryer, not bothering to carefully style her thick hair, but simply running her fingers through it to dry it as quickly as possible. She gave her still damp hair a few brush strokes and chose underwear, a silk blouse and suede trousers with high-heeled leather boots. Staring at her face in the magnifying mirror on her dressing table, she saw she looked paler than ever, but her skin was fresh and glowing from the icy-cold shower. She brushed on a light powder foundation, soft brown eye shadow and then some mascara to darken her eyelashes. She was very adept at making it appear she wore no makeup, but of late the telltale lines had started showing between her eyes and at their corners, and from her nose to mouth. The only sign that Lena, beneath her carefully created image of fresh innocence, was quite a tough woman were her eyes. They often gave off a steely cold expression, and her mouth frequently turned down into not exactly a grimace but a tight thin-lipped line.
    The doorbell ringing made her hurry out of the bedroom, but by the time she had reached the bottom stair Agnes had let Marcus in. He still had his own key, but Lena had asked him never to use it and threatened she would change the locks if he did.
    Marcus looked dreadful; he needed a shave, his jeans were crumpled, as was his shirt, and he wore an old leather bomber jacket. She didn’t waste time on any pleasantries, but asked him to come with her into Amy’s bedroom.
    ‘Have you found something?’ he asked.
    ‘I don’t know yet; there’s a locked drawer in the dressing table and maybe Amy’s diaries and journal are inside it,’ she said as he followed her up the stairs.
    ‘What had happened at the police station?’
    ‘I gave every detail that I could think of to a policewoman, and spoke with