Chapter 22
Marco
On the jet over to England, Leo goes through the police reports he’s been sent from his contacts in the UK.
“Damien said it’s a mess. The police didn’t follow up in so many areas. For example, this.”
Leo passes me a folder. I open it and read the first page, which is an evidence sheet. The crime scene is detailed. Two women in their thirties found dead in Beacons Alley. Both women had gunshot wounds that were determined as their cause of death.
“Look at the photos at the back,” Leo suggests.
I take out the images from the back of the folder and instantly recognise them as Marisa and Lucia.
“They were found meters away from where the accident happened, yet the police thought they were unrelated,” Leo explains.
All I can do is shake my head. Leo then passes me another folder.
“These are the DNA results from the wreckage and Mia.”
The police took DNA from both Van and their father to run a DNA match for Mia. Her body had been so badly crushed and burnt in the accident, they couldn’t positively identify her from her dental records. The results showed a match of DNA to theirs in what was left of the car. But the DNA on Mia’s body showed inconclusive.
“ Inconclusive. What does that mean?” I ask.
“It means my fucking father didn’t read it properly. It means the DNA of the body wasn’t a match, it should have been tested again. But it wasn’t.” Van is furious.
“And there’s more.” Leo passes me and Van another file. Van obviously isn’t aware of the information in this file.
“There were six bodies pulled from the wreckage. Two dead guards. Three dead females, and one alive female. Name: Arianna Wake.” Leo gestures for us to open the file.
Inside are Arianna’s medical notes. It lists the extensive injuries she received from the accident. Burns, fractures, head injury. But watch catches my eye are the words memory loss .
I’d found it hard to believe that Mia could still be alive and not have contacted anyone she knew. But if she had lost her memory, that would explain everything.
When I look up from the folder, Leo and Van are staring at me. But both look incredibly blurry. That’s when I notice the tears in my eyes as they fall down my face.
“She’s alive?” I ask, hoping this isn’t a dream.
“It looks that way,” says Leo with a little smile.
We sit in silence for the rest of the flight. My thoughts are completely with Mia. I’m worried for her safety. The medical notes said her next of kin was her husband and that she had been discharged form hospital to return home with him. If he has laid a finger on her, I will kill him. I feel sick at the thought of another man near her. But it has been over six months now since the accident. She obviously still doesn’t remember who she is or who I am. What if she now loves this man who is her assumed husband?
“What I don’t understand is why this guy is saying he’s her husband when he’s clearly not,” says Van in car from the airport. “And where is his actual wife?”
“His wife is probably one of the dead women. He’s obviously a psychopath,” I state angrily, infuriated that this man is with my Mia. “How long till we get there?”
“Another five minutes. You’re going to have to be patient, Marco. Mia may still not have regained her memory, and we don’t want to scare her. The police are meeting us there, and once we confirm it is Mia, they will arrest Eric Wake. I’ve also asked for a medical team to check her over while we are there.”
Leo’s words sadden me.
I’ve dreamed so many times of somehow finding Mia alive. Although we are about to see Mia in the flesh, it might not be Mia in her mind.
When we arrive at the house, I get out of the car alone. I’ve insisted I go in first alone for many reasons, like not having any witnesses if I kill the man. But mostly because I want the first person Mia sees to be me. Using my crutches, I hop up the path of a well-kept front garden and knock on the door.