BLOOD STAINED an unputdownable crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Claudia Nunn Book by Rebecca Bradley (whitelam books .txt) 📗

quietly checked the bedroom to see if Ruth had gone to bed because it was late. She wasn’t there so I rang her mobile to see how long she’d be and if she fancied takeaway as I was too tired to cook and realised I was actually hungry. The phone went straight to voicemail, which I found unusual, and that’s when it started.’

Claudia raised an eyebrow.

‘A small niggle. It wasn’t like her. She could easily have turned it off because of a case she was working, but it seemed a little too late in the day to be doing something that would involve turning your phone off — and besides she would have texted me to let me know if she was going to be later than usual.

‘Something didn’t feel right but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I tried Ruth again and her phone was still off.’

The fear that Dominic was describing started to knot in the pit of Claudia’s stomach. They were talking about Ruth here and the fear nearly froze her, but she ground her teeth and nodded for him to carry on.

‘We know the twenty-four-hour rule people tend to believe is a fallacy built up by television dramas. The reality is I could report Ruth missing as soon as I felt she was. But I needed to make some enquiries of my own first before I sent the balloon up.

‘First, though, I tried to calm myself. Told myself I was being irrational. She was as much a workaholic as I was. She would laugh at me if she knew how paranoid I was being.

‘I called Ruth’s sister. Had she seen her, had she popped round to have a glass of wine and unwind, maybe to moan about my dirty socks on the floor. You know how it is. We all need to let off steam about our relationships somewhere. But she hadn’t seen Ruth and my call only served to worry her.

‘The next call I made was to Ruth’s office. It was possible she was working and her phone had died. Which only served to concern me considering what she’d been dragged into. There was no answer. It appeared they’d all left for the night. I tried her phone again, and again it went straight to answerphone.

‘I’d been home three hours. It was plenty of time for her to have either walked through the door or sent me a message to let me know where she was. After all, it was one in the morning. Yes, I’d worked that late before, we all had, and later, but not without a message home to say so.

‘Something wasn’t right. It was time to call it in.

‘My wife was officially missing.’

Chapter 3

Claudia

Her tea was cold. She hadn’t touched it. When she had offered to get drinks it had been more of a stalling tactic than a need for one. She had needed a minute to gather herself after seeing him in that interview room.

Sharpe had given her all the information they had before sending Claudia into the room. They were prepared for this.

An officer was missing. Ruth was missing.

‘Have you slept at all?’ she asked Harrison.

He let out a long sigh. ‘Does it matter if I’ve slept or not?’

‘I’m wondering how much help you can be if you’re at breaking point.’

‘Don’t worry about me. You need to worry about Ruth. I’ve been told no one has seen her since she left work yesterday. That means she went missing between work and home.’

‘Or from home.’

‘What?’

‘You said she went missing between—’

‘I know what I said.’ Harrison raised his voice. ‘What I want to know is what you’re implying?’

Claudia kept her own voice even.

‘I’m not implying anything. I’m working with facts. The other option is she made it home and went missing from there.’

Harrison glared at her, his face rigid, locked tight, eyes hardened in Claudia’s direction.

She waited him out, understanding that his emotions would be all over the place. She had a job to do and the best way to find Ruth was to work Dominic as she would work anyone else. Ruth was her priority here, not how Dominic was feeling.

‘You know we’ve started the investigation, don’t you?’

He broke the lock he had on her, looked towards the door, then back to her.

‘Of course. I’d expect nothing less.’

‘Is there anything you want to tell us before we find it out?’ she asked.

‘Like?’

‘I don’t know. You tell me.’

He sighed.

‘There’s nothing. I told you what happened. All I want is for you to find my wife. For you to do your job to the best of your ability—’ he stared hard at her — ‘which I know is particularly good. And for you to find her. Do you think you can do that?’

She picked up her cold tea and took a sip, then scowled at the cup as though she hadn’t known it was going to taste disgusting.

‘That’s why I’m in here. They could have sent anyone in but they sent me. They think it will unsettle you and if there is anything to tell then you’ll let it slip, whereas you would be a tighter drum with anyone else.’

He twisted his lips, thought for a second.

‘It’s not a bad plan. It would work if I had anything to tell you, but I don’t. I told you how it is. I told you what happened.’

‘Do you think there’s a possibility she’s simply left you?’

He shook his head.

‘No, I don’t. There’s no reason to leave. We have a good marriage. Yes, we have our bad days, but doesn’t everyone? It’s the way marriages work.’

Claudia stood, lifted her arms over her head and stretched out her back. She hated sitting for long periods of time and yet interviewing was