Chapter 1: Sandra's Story

"Hello there, I'm Sandra Laurence, it looks like we're going to be rooming together for a while."

"Oh, you've heard of me. You know you mustn't believe all you hear. Look; let me tell you what really happened. Well, all I know of it anyway."

I first got the nasty feeling that something wasn't quite right as the train pulled into the station and my husband was not waiting on the platform for me. Dave was always there to collect me when I came home from my seminars. It was the same procedure four or five times a year, I would be away for five days. Well actually the seminars only lasted two days but I would stay over for an extra day in the city and do some shopping and things, then travel home on the Friday. David always insisted on driving me to the station, as he didn't like the idea of my car being left in the station car park all that time.

But for some reason Dave hadn't made his usual evening call to me on the Thursday night and when I had tried to call him I could get no answer from the home phone and his mobile was apparently turned off. I found this a bit disconcerting as Dave was a creature of habit and had never failed to call me on time before.

After checking around the car park, to make sure Dave wasn't there; I had to get a taxi home. The house was very quiet and dark when I got inside and there was no answer when I called out for him. After putting my bags down, I did a quick search of the house. I didn't know what I was expecting to find; maybe Dave had fallen and hurt himself or something. He wasn't anywhere inside and I had to use a torch to search the garden; but there was no sign of him there either. When I checked the garage I found both Dave's and my cars were in there.

I was getting really concerned now. The house was immaculate unlike it usually was, when I got home after being away. You see Dave's a writer, well an author really and when he gets into one of his books, nothing gets in the way. If I'm not at home he tends to eat Chinese or pizzas that he has delivered and he has the annoying habit of leaving the packaging all over the place, usually on the kitchen table. Well you know what men are like. The sink should have had a stack of Dave's used coffee cups in it, but that day it was empty and the Coffee maker was cold. I can never remember it ever being cold before when Dave was around; I think he lives on the stuff. So something was definitely not right.

I phoned the near neighbours to see if Dave had gone to call on any of them. Then the local Pub as Dave sometimes walks down there. No one appeared to have seen him since the previous Sunday. But that didn't make sense as I had spoken to him on the Wednesday and I was sure he told me he was at home. I was getting really worried by now and got the idea of calling the takeaways that Dave normally uses. None of them could remember delivering to our house that week. I just didn't know what the hell was going on?

I called Dave's agent John Andrews, if Dave had gone off on a research trip John would know about it. But John hadn't spoken to Dave for a fortnight and he didn't know of any trips Dave had planned. By now I was getting desperate and called the police. Well Paul Johnson anyway, he's a Detective Inspector who lives just up the road from us. He's a good friend of ours and Dave gets advice from him on police matters.

Paul came right over and had me check if any of Dave's clothes were missing, as I hadn't thought of doing that. But all his clothes appeared to be there. He took a quick look at our computer and said that no files appeared to have been changed since the previous weekend and Dave's e-mails apparently hadn't been downloaded for a week either. Paul said besides checking the local hospitals, which he would do for me; we couldn't do anything more that night.

I didn't sleep that well and on Saturday morning Paul came back

He said Dave wasn't in any of the local hospitals and asked me for the precise details as to when I had last seen and spoken to him. I told him Dave dropped me off at the station early on Monday morning. And he had called me at my hotel every evening at 6.30 until Wednesday. I had been expecting him to call me again on Thursday. When he hadn't called me by 7 o'clock I had tried to call Dave, as I had a table booked for dinner. But I had not got an answer.

Paul asked if I knew from were Dave had called me and I told him our home phone. But Paul then told me that no calls had been made on our home phone between the Sunday evening and when I had gotten home on Friday evening.

Paul asked if anyone had seen Dave drop me at the Station, but I said I didn't think so, as it had been very early; I had caught the first train. Then he wanted to know were I had been staying. I noticed that Paul was taking notes now and asked him why.

"In this job, you have to take note of everything. Now I am going to need access to Dave's computer if you don't mind?"

I told him, to go ahead. But he then surprised me by taking the computer away with him, saying he would drop it back to me in a couple of days.

By Sunday afternoon I had called everyone I could think of, but no one had seen or heard from Dave. I was beginning to really worry that something might have happened to him. Monday morning I went to work as usual. I wasn't really in the mood for it, but I had to try and get my mind off worrying about Dave. The morning dragged on very slowly. Some of the girls in my office said I should go home because I was so upset.

Around ten A.M. on the Monday morning my life took a frightening turn. Two police officers came to my office and asked me to accompany them to the police station. I asked them if it was about Dave and had they found him. They said no they hadn't found him and yes it was about my husband's disappearance.