WHAT A WASTE of an SlO’s time. Kate Daniels slammed down the phone. She’d spent the best part of an hour arguing the toss about cross-border money with her counterpart in the East Yorks force. One of her victims was abducted from there. Two, potentially. One or both may have been killed on their patch. And yet the divvi she’d been speaking to wasn’t bloody interested.
Well, she’d see about that.
Ordinarily, she’d rather die than let some officious prick get one over on her. But, on this occasion, she had more pressing matters to attend to. Like her job; her real job, not the horrendous pile of admin that came with it. Naylor would sort Yorkshire out and, if he couldn’t get through, her former guv’nor would. There would be hell to pay if Bright got involved.
That image made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Taking a deep breath, she extracted her ID from her computer, slid it into its leather pouch and stood up, ready to meet her team. They had spent the morning reviewing the original investigation into Sophie Kent’s disappearance, trying to establish whether she was indeed their second victim. The most worrying fact was that, along with four prison officers, all adult males known to the girl, Martin Stamp had been questioned in connection with her disappearance.
With that thought lingering in her head, Kate left her desk and wandered into the incident room to find everyone waiting for the briefing to start, Jo Soulsby among them. Naylor had given permission for her to be there. She’d assisted them many times and had always been the first point of call if they needed the opinion of a criminal profiler. But her inclusion in a formal briefing at a critical stage of a double homicide made it official. She was back – if only in a part-time role.
That warm feeling again.
The DCI’s eyes were drawn to a second visitor present. Sergeant Jane Lowther was perched on the edge of Brown’s desk, the two of them deep in conversation. She’d promised to liaise with the Murder Investigation Team following her interview with Emily McCann.
She stood up as Kate approached.
‘Hello, Jane.’ The DCI gestured for Lowther to sit. ‘Thanks for joining us. How did Emily McCann take the news?’
‘She was pretty stoical, given the circumstances. She’s a lovely woman.’
‘Yes, she is . . . I understand Martin Stamp was present when you interviewed her.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ A flicker of doubt crossed her face.
Kate pounced on it. ‘Problem?’
‘Not exactly. I’m fairly sure she wasn’t expecting him, that’s all.’
‘What? He turned up here unannounced?’
‘According to the desk sergeant.’ Lowther gave a little shrug. ‘Emily hadn’t mentioned he was on his way.’
‘Interesting. What did you make of him?’
‘Good-looking nowt.’
Kate grinned. Lowther was a woman after her own heart. No point in beating about the bush. ‘I take it you didn’t warm to him?’
‘Not a whole lot, no. Don’t ask me why. He was pleasant enough, but he got a bit arsy when I told them Fearon had blanked me out during questioning. Are they an item then?’
‘Just good friends.’
In her peripheral vision, Kate noticed Jo turn to face them, a mixture of annoyance and puzzlement on her face. Like Emily, she had no idea as yet that her friend and colleague, Martin Stamp, might be implicated in a serious offence. It was time to share the unpalatable truth.
‘Can you excuse me a second, Jane?’ Kate said. ‘I have some beans to spill.’
She moved towards Jo with the intention of having a private chat before the briefing began. But she hadn’t gone two paces when Carmichael walked in, a big smile on her face, and intercepted her.
‘Jane tell you about the photograph debacle? Sounds like a smokescreen to me, boss. They’re all in it together!’ She grinned and continued, loud enough for the whole room to join in the joke: ‘It’s like four weddings and a funeral. Only we have four prison officers and a psychiatrist in the frame!’
Jo’s face was a picture as she spun to face Kate. ‘Mind telling me what’s going on?’