Page 43 (1/2)

‘Five thirty,’ replied Lenka ‘Sorry I didn’t want her to wake you up’

‘It’s okay I need to be up early’ Erika sat up and rubbed her face ‘What are you going to do today? I’ve got a big day at work’

‘Oh, we’ll find stuff to do You’ve got some spare keys?’

‘Yeah’

‘Can you take her for a sec I’ll grab a shower before it gets crazy’

Lenka transferred the bundle of blankets into Erika’s arms, and went off to the bathroom The baby was so warm in Erika’s arms She reached up with a tiny are inky brown eyes and then sneezed Erika gently dabbed Eva’s tiny face with a muslin and a wave of love and sadness washed over her Love for her perfect niece, and sadness that she would probably never have children of her own

Erika arrived at Bromley Cross just before seven thirty, and came up to the top floor conference room She was the first in and she drank her coffee and spent so the whiteboards She saw a fax had coh from Thames Water, with the location of the septic tank by Hayes Quarry Then her phone rang,

‘Erika it’s ht?’ she asked

‘Both Look, I’ve had a chance to compare the tooth you recovered from the cellar at Hayes Quarry I’ to Jessica’

Erika’s heart sank She had to sit down on the corner of her desk

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes I was able to do the si and compare it with the broken off tooth in the jaw It didn’t fit or h Jessica’s dental records in case the tooth had been exposed to fire, which can make the tooth shrink, but it doesn’t ue of mine to see if any pulp can be extracted, and if we can pull any DNA from it, but it’s not Jessica’s’

‘Oh shit’

‘Sorry’

‘Ok, not your fault, but I had hoped well, back to the drawing board’

‘There is one other thing, it’s a long shot though’

‘I’ll take a long shot if ita conviction’

‘When the skeleton was pulled out of the quarry, it was still wrapped up tight, there were no breaks of abrasions in the plastic’

‘Are you asking ot prettyinside, I hope that was there when she was dumped in the quarry There is silt and soil, I want to send these saist’