Free Finding Jennifer Jones by Anne Cassidy

her hair pulled back. She was wearing a grey shirt and dark trousers. The only decoration she had on was the garnet ring.
    There was no one else in the room and no recording equipment. Kate told her story. DI Heart had a pad in front of her and took some notes. When Kate had finished she closed the pad and looked straight at her.
    “Odd that you didn’t remember this before, Kate.”
    “It was such a small incident. It only took seconds and I never registered it. It wasn’t until I was at work that I remembered it.”
    “But didn’t you think about the girl after she went missing? You didn’t link this girl to the missing girl?”
    “No, we see lots of children with their parents, every day.”
    DI Heart nodded. “Well, it is interesting that you should come in today, because I was going to telephone your probation officer in the morning and tell her that we wouldn’t need to speak to you again regarding this investigation.”
    “Why?”
    “Because we are following other lines of enquiry.”
    “You’ve found out who killed Jodie?”
    “We are investigating a number of possibilities,” DI Heart said, with a forced smile.
    A feeling of relief hit Kate. It was over. She would not have to come to the police station again.
    “But you know who did it? And now you know that I had nothing to do with it?”
    “I can’t say any more than I’ve said.”
    Kate frowned. DI Heart’s face had a closed look. She was using her words frugally. Kate was suddenly annoyed. After what she had gone through DI Heart owed her something. She spoke in a loud whisper.
    “You pulled me in just because of my history.”
    “Not quite. You were in the area on the night it happened.” DI Heart leaned forward, her elbows on the table.
    “There were a lot of people at Sandy Bay on Friday.”
    Kate remembered coming down from her spot at the top of the cliff and passing people from the campsites, most of them still in swimming costumes and flip flops even though it was almost dark.
    “There was the badge in the girl’s pocket. We had to ask.”
    “You jumped to conclusions,” Kate said, sulkily.
    “Of course we did. That’s what we’re paid to do. We are investigating something. If leads come up we have to follow them. You can go now.”
    DI Heart stood up.
    “That’s it? My life’s been miserable for days and that’s it! No apology?”
    DI Heart looked surprised. Kate thought for a horrible moment that she might laugh.
    “You expect an apology, Kate? You expect a police officer to say sorry to you ?”
    “I meant…”
    Why had she said that! What on earth had made her say that!
    “Kate,” DI Heart said, her tone pleasant but firm, “was it not made clear to you, when you were released, that this is your life now? Wherever you go, no matter what you do, you are on the database of the local police force and if it is deemed that you need to answer questions about something then you will be brought in. That’s the price you pay for living freely. That’s the price we, as police officers, charge, for allowing you to live among us. We know where you are, where you work, what you are doing and if you come onto our radar we will make ourselves known to you.”
    Kate glanced at the door. DI Heart’s voice had risen. She did not want anyone else to hear; DI Simon Kelsey for example.
    “You killed someone, Kate. You took their life away. Did you think six years in a restricted unit was the sum total of your punishment?”
    “No, I…”
    DI Heart was fiddling with her ring. She was shifting the big stone from side to side. Kate could see that it was loose on her finger.
    “The dead girl, what was her name? Michelle Livingstone . She would be your age now. Do you ever think about that?”
    “I do. Of course I do…”
    “She would be at university. Or she might be working. She might have a partner or be intending to marry, have a family. Her parents would have had all that to look forward to but none of that will happen.