Dead Man's Grip

husband. No chance. Especially not now.
    The plane came to a halt. There was a bing-bong , followed by the sound of seat belts being unclipped and overhead lockers popping open. People were standing up and she joined them, relieved to get away from the stinking fat blob. She pulled her bag and coat down, then quickly called her mother to say they had landed, and in the hope she had some news. But there was none.
    A couple of minutes later she nodded to the two cabin crew standing by the exit, then followed the passengers in front of her out through the plane’s door and on to the covered bridge. Instantly she saw, waiting for her, the tall figure of Glenn Branson, accompanied by a younger male officer in uniform, whom she did not recognize, and DS Bella Moy.
    ‘Do you have any news?’ Carly blurted.
    Branson took her bag for her and steered her to one side, away from the crush of emerging passengers. She looked at him, then at DS Moy, then at the stranger who was in uniform, desperate to read something positive in their eyes, but she could see nothing.
    ‘I’m afraid not yet, Carly,’ Bella Moy said. ‘Presumably you’ve heard nothing?’
    ‘I rang all his friends – the parents – before I got on the plane. No one’s seen him.’
    ‘They’re certain he’s not anywhere in their house or their garden or garage?’
    ‘They’ve all searched thoroughly,’ she said forlornly.
    ‘How was the flight?’ Glenn Branson asked.
    ‘Horrendous.’
    ‘One positive thing, Carly,’ Branson went on, ‘is we are fairly sure that Tyler is still within the Brighton and Hove area. We believe he may be in Shoreham or Southwick or Portslade. Do you have any friends or relatives over there that he might go to if he runs away?’
    ‘From his captor, you mean?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘I have some friends on Shoreham Beach,’ she said. ‘But I don’t think Tyler knows where they live.’
    ‘We’ll get you home as quickly as we can,’ Bella said, ‘and we’ll keep you constantly updated.’ Then she gestured to the uniformed officer. ‘This is PC Jackson from the Metropolitan Police – we’re in his jurisdiction here at Heathrow. He’s very kindly going to fast-track you through the Immigration process.’
    Carly thanked him.
    Fifteen minutes later she was in the back of a police car, heading through the airport tunnel. Glenn Branson drove and Bella Moy sat in the front passenger seat. Moy turned to face her.
    ‘We have a number of questions we need to ask you about Tyler, Carly. Are you happy to talk in the car or would you rather wait until we get you home?’
    ‘Please, now,’ Carly said. ‘Anything I can give you that might be helpful.’
    ‘You’ve already given us the names and addresses of his friends. We’re looking to see who he’s been in contact with, outside of his
immediate circle, on his computer and iPhone. They’re being examined by the High-Tech Crime Unit.’
    ‘His iPhone?’ Carly said. ‘You have his phone?’
    DS Moy’s face froze. She glanced at Branson, then awkwardly back at Carly. ‘I’m sorry – didn’t anyone tell you?’
    ‘Tell me what?’ Carly began shivering and perspiring at the same time. She leaned forward. ‘Tell me what?’ she said again. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘His iPhone was found in that underground car park – the one you alerted us to on his Friend Mapper.’
    ‘Found? How do you mean found ?’
    Bella Moy hesitated, unsure how much to tell the woman. But she had a right to know the truth.
    ‘There were broken fragments on the ground – then it was discovered in a waste bin in the car park.’
    ‘No,’ Carly said, her voice quavering. ‘No. Please, no.’
    ‘He may have dropped it, Carly,’ Glenn Branson said, trying to put a positive slant on the situation, trying to give her some cause for optimism – to give them all some cause for optimism. ‘He might have dropped it while running away. That’s our best hope at the moment, that he’s hiding somewhere.’
    In utter desperation, and shaking with terror, Carly said, ‘Please don’t tell me you found his phone. Tyler’s bright. I thought he was going to keep Friend Mapper on. I thought that would take us to him. I really, really felt that was our best hope.’
    She began to sob uncontrollably.

104
    By 9.30 p.m. it was dark, the wind had risen and rain was falling. Tooth returned to Shoreham in a Toyota Camry he had rented from Sixt in Boundary Road, Brighton, just a short distance