were holding a gift for her that she was just about to open. Her Red Roses pictures were exactly the same. Tina was Tina but Petra had different faces that she showed to different people.
Mandy carried on reading the article.
The two girls have vanished. The police are following various lines of enquiry. Although these two girls are very young, there is the possibility that they have run away and are hiding. Police forces all over the south-east are asking holiday-home owners to search their properties and outbuildings. The police say they are robustly pursuing their investigations.
Mandy remembered this story. In the days after the girls went missing there were constant reminders for people to check their outbuildings, sheds, empty flats, holiday homes. Mandy had been baffled by this. She had seen the two girls go into the house. She had told the police this. Why would the police think that they had come out of it again and run away? Mandy remembered Tina had been wearing an old hoodie, the sleeves too long; it looked as though it belonged to her mother. Petra had on a light jacket and was shivering as she stood on the street.
Why would Petra and Tina have gone into the house, come back out again and then, on a moment’s whim, decided to run away to the country? How could they have been hiding, unnoticed, in some flat or cottage or caravan? Something inside her had told her firmly that this wasn’t what had happened. Five years later it sounded just as preposterous.
The next article Tommy had printed off was from a few days later. This was when the police had a new theory. Mandy remembered the excitement of her mother and father when this news had spread. It seemed like a possible answer.
Missing Girls May Have Witnessed Murder
Despite a nationwide search, there are still no clues to the whereabouts of Petra Armstrong and Tina Pointer. The two twelve year olds went into the house of an elderly man on October 28th and have not been seen since.
At a press conference late last night Chief Inspector Malcolm Roberts made a statement. ‘It is our conviction that the events that took place in 58 Princess Street may have happened simultaneously. That is to say the murder of Mr George Merchant may have taken place in the same window of time that the two young girls entered the house. In this case we are looking into the theory that the two girls could have witnessed the murder of Mr George Merchant by a person or persons unknown. This may have provoked an abduction of the girls and for this reason we believe that the girls may be being held against their will in some unspecified location.’
Appeals to the public have identified a van that was parked outside the property on the night of the incident.
Police say that investigations into Mr Merchant’s past show that, as an accountant, he had dealings with some clients who were linked to organised crime. ‘This could have been a payback killing for some wrongdoing,’ Chief Inspector Roberts said.
Meanwhile police are looking for a white Ford van with a scrape along the driver’s side and possibly a 2007 registration plate. They are also asking the public to be vigilant and report any unusual activity in their local vicinity.
Mandy sat back. She pulled at the chain around her neck. There was a piece of amber on it that her mother had given her from an old brooch that she’d found in a collectibles market. Mandy had made it into a pendant. It felt slippery under her fingers and she pulled it up and pressed it to her lips.
The police’s theory had had a real ring of the truth about it. Mandy had thought about it for hours, days, weeks afterwards. She had left Petra and Tina on the street minutes before they crept into the side gate of the house. What if they had stumbled upon someone killing Mr Merchant? Might that person (or more than one person) have panicked and taken them away somewhere? Could they be holding them until
Mandy carried on reading the article.
The two girls have vanished. The police are following various lines of enquiry. Although these two girls are very young, there is the possibility that they have run away and are hiding. Police forces all over the south-east are asking holiday-home owners to search their properties and outbuildings. The police say they are robustly pursuing their investigations.
Mandy remembered this story. In the days after the girls went missing there were constant reminders for people to check their outbuildings, sheds, empty flats, holiday homes. Mandy had been baffled by this. She had seen the two girls go into the house. She had told the police this. Why would the police think that they had come out of it again and run away? Mandy remembered Tina had been wearing an old hoodie, the sleeves too long; it looked as though it belonged to her mother. Petra had on a light jacket and was shivering as she stood on the street.
Why would Petra and Tina have gone into the house, come back out again and then, on a moment’s whim, decided to run away to the country? How could they have been hiding, unnoticed, in some flat or cottage or caravan? Something inside her had told her firmly that this wasn’t what had happened. Five years later it sounded just as preposterous.
The next article Tommy had printed off was from a few days later. This was when the police had a new theory. Mandy remembered the excitement of her mother and father when this news had spread. It seemed like a possible answer.
Missing Girls May Have Witnessed Murder
Despite a nationwide search, there are still no clues to the whereabouts of Petra Armstrong and Tina Pointer. The two twelve year olds went into the house of an elderly man on October 28th and have not been seen since.
At a press conference late last night Chief Inspector Malcolm Roberts made a statement. ‘It is our conviction that the events that took place in 58 Princess Street may have happened simultaneously. That is to say the murder of Mr George Merchant may have taken place in the same window of time that the two young girls entered the house. In this case we are looking into the theory that the two girls could have witnessed the murder of Mr George Merchant by a person or persons unknown. This may have provoked an abduction of the girls and for this reason we believe that the girls may be being held against their will in some unspecified location.’
Appeals to the public have identified a van that was parked outside the property on the night of the incident.
Police say that investigations into Mr Merchant’s past show that, as an accountant, he had dealings with some clients who were linked to organised crime. ‘This could have been a payback killing for some wrongdoing,’ Chief Inspector Roberts said.
Meanwhile police are looking for a white Ford van with a scrape along the driver’s side and possibly a 2007 registration plate. They are also asking the public to be vigilant and report any unusual activity in their local vicinity.
Mandy sat back. She pulled at the chain around her neck. There was a piece of amber on it that her mother had given her from an old brooch that she’d found in a collectibles market. Mandy had made it into a pendant. It felt slippery under her fingers and she pulled it up and pressed it to her lips.
The police’s theory had had a real ring of the truth about it. Mandy had thought about it for hours, days, weeks afterwards. She had left Petra and Tina on the street minutes before they crept into the side gate of the house. What if they had stumbled upon someone killing Mr Merchant? Might that person (or more than one person) have panicked and taken them away somewhere? Could they be holding them until
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