Gone Astray by Michelle Davies

worn it before, and who she was with when she did. And I think we do need to ask her dad about it. He may not know about the skirt but he might
have an idea where she’s been sneaking off to to wear it.’
    Belmar cleared his throat. He looked nervous and fiddled with his cuff as he spoke.
    ‘Sir, about Mr Kinnock. It doesn’t look like he’s been staying where he said he was in Scotland.’
    Umpire frowned. ‘Meaning?’
    ‘Mrs Kinnock asked her neighbour Sarah Stockton to call his hotel in Scotland because he wasn’t answering his mobile. Mrs Stockton did call, but she says the hotel told her Mr
Kinnock had checked out on Sunday morning after only staying for one night. Yet Mrs Kinnock said he was meant to be there until the following Saturday morning, before flying home.’
    ‘What’s the hotel called?’
    Belmar checked his notes. ‘The Old Course Hotel. It’s the closest to St Andrews golf course and the most exclusive, five stars.’
    ‘The neighbour’s sure that’s what the hotel said? He’s definitely in Scotland because I’m sending someone to Heathrow to meet his flight from Edinburgh and
I’ve had confirmation of when it’s due to land.’
    ‘She was adamant, sir,’ said Belmar.
    The DCI looked pensive for a moment and Maggie knew better than to interrupt him when he was thinking.
    ‘I’ll have someone call the hotel and double-check what Mrs Stockton is saying. Maybe she’s confused,’ he said after a pause. ‘But if Mr Kinnock did stay somewhere
else for the past two nights, we need to find out where, and why. Your job in the meantime is to find out more about the family dynamic, the parents’ relationship, etc. You know the
drill.’
    Mrs Kinnock said to me upstairs that her husband and Rosie are very close and she feels like she just gets in their way,’ said Maggie.
    ‘The neighbour was also quite helpful on that score,’ Belmar chimed in. ‘She said the parents appear to live quite separate lives. Dad’s always away on golf trips –
or so he says – and the mum stays at home. She doesn’t go out much, apart from the odd shopping trip, and they don’t have many visitors. It sounds like Mrs Kinnock lives quite an
isolated life.’
    ‘Mrs Kinnock also said Rosie’s cut herself off from the friends she knew living in Mansell. Maybe she’s done the same,’ said Maggie.
    ‘Ask her about it when she surfaces. If they don’t have many visitors, that narrows down the people who come into regular contact with Rosie, which might help in the long run. When
the dad arrives, ask him about the friends who went with him to Scotland. But don’t mention his hotel stay until we’ve checked it out. Not a word.’
    ‘We should ask about his trip though,’ Maggie shot back. ‘It might seem odd if we don’t.’
    Umpire frowned so deeply his blue eyes almost vanished beneath his thick brows. For a moment she feared he was going to reprimand her for challenging him.
    ‘Okay,’ he conceded. ‘Keep it general though.’
    Maggie gave him a quick smile in response. When he returned it with one of his own, her stomach clenched. A fleeting flashback to how it used to be between them.
    ‘I need to get back to the station to brief the rest of the team. Anything else before I go?’ he asked.
    ‘We were interrupted before I could ask Lesley about Rosie self-harming,’ said Maggie. ‘Do you still want me to raise it with her?’
    ‘Yes, I do.’
    ‘The thing is, sir, if Rosie persistently self-harms like Kathryn says she does, there would most likely be some scarring that her parents would notice when she was wearing shorts, like
she was this morning.’
    ‘Maybe she doesn’t cut her legs. Maybe it’s just her arms,’ said Umpire, folding his own across his chest. His stance suggested he didn’t welcome a debate, but
Maggie ploughed on nervously.
    ‘Wasn’t she also wearing a sleeveless T-shirt when her mum last saw her? Sir, I researched self-harming for an abuse case