By the next day, they'd managed to turn up nothing on the cab firms and the hospital staff were extremely vague about precisely when Miss Parry had picked up her car, but that was about par for the course, Rafferty reflected wearily. Even the telephone call that evening to the Wilks’s home had been from a public phone, which, to Rafferty, seemed suspicious. Who, in these days of mobiles, used a public phone? Someone with a need to hide their tracks, seemed the obvious solution. But there was little point now, after so many hours had passed, in getting a team there to check for prints.
None of the staff, or those patients whom they'd so far spoken to, had admitted to knowing Linda, either. Nor, at the hospital or anywhere else, had anyone identified the girl in the pub from Smythe's photo fit—at least, they hadn't identified her to Rafferty, whatever they might have suspected privately, and he wasn't hopeful that anyone would.
That was why, when the telephone rang, he anticipated only further failures, especially when he heard Llewellyn's voice on the other end.
But incredibly, for once, the Welshman had a result for him. It brought about a complete revival of Rafferty's optimism. At last, someone from the hospital had recognised the photo-fit of the girl in the pub.
'Keep her there,' Rafferty ordered ebulliently. 'I'm on my way.'
'But Sir, I think I should warn—'
'Not now, Llewellyn. Whatever it is will keep. I'll get there as fast as I can.' Rafferty grinned, dropped the phone and made for the door. No doubt Llewellyn was worried about his precious car and imagining the squeal of brakes and the smell of burning rubber as Rafferty tore through the miles separating them. Well, he'd have to bear it as best he could. This might be the breakthrough they'd been looking for and he wasn't going to waste any more precious time pandering to Llewellyn's mechanical sensitivities.
God knew they needed a breakthrough, because ironically, although they were overloaded with suspects, they had no firm evidence against any of them. The latest news might make all the difference.