‘I can’t believe it’s on a road called Shady Lane!’ Freddie laughed.
‘What?’ Nasreen took her eyes off the prison van carrying Liam, and glanced at the Georgian, yellow-brick Watford police station. It had the traditional blue police lamp suspended over the entrance. ‘Oh right. Yeah.’
As she got out of the car, she kept the van in her sights. Lottie hadn’t been at Liam’s house. The person they’d seen at the upstairs window turned out to be his father.
‘You going to let me out?’ Freddie tapped on the window. Without taking her eyes from the van, Nasreen opened the back door. She couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe he would be so stupid. So selfish. Anger bubbled under her skin.
‘I’ll go park up,’ Green called.
‘Bet you’re pleased to be out of Saunders’s car,’ Freddie whispered.
Stiffening, she saw Chips drop down from the back of the van, helping the handcuffed Liam behind him. The suspect’s hair fell over his sallow face like a drab curtain. ‘Why don’t you wait inside?’
Freddie didn’t move, watching as Liam tripped over his Converse trainers as the bigger of the two constables escorted him past them and up the steps into the station.
Nasreen walked to Chips, her heel clicks quickening in indignation. It violated protocol. ‘Why did you travel in the van with the suspect?’
Chips held his hands up in mock surrender. ‘Whoa, lassie. I haven’t had my coffee yet, shall we get in out of the cold?’
You don’t get to patronise me now. ‘I saw you get in the cage with him. You put something in front of the camera.’ She was aware Freddie was standing behind them.
‘If debris obscures the camera it’s not my fault.’ Chips’s voice shifted and his words became cold. Hard. ‘May I remind you I’m your senior officer, Sergeant.’
She wouldn’t be intimidated. ‘Did you touch the suspect? Sir.’
‘Enough.’ Chips grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her away from the station.
‘Let go of me.’ She shook him off.
‘Hey!’ Freddie ran towards them.
Nasreen thrust her finger into his chest. Her ears burned hot. It was outrageous. ‘If he files a complaint the whole case could be thrown out!’
‘Calm down, Cudmore,’ Chips hissed, looking around to see if anyone could hear them.
‘Don’t tell me to calm down. I have every right to report you to the DCI.’ She couldn’t believe he’d put her in this position. Couldn’t believe he was that kind of cop. Regardless of what Liam had done, might have done, Chips couldn’t just do whatever the hell he liked. ‘Why’d you go in the cage? No one but the suspect should be in there.’ With her heels back on she just had the height advantage over Chips.
Chips lowered his voice. ‘We are not alone. Remember your pal is listening to every word of this.’
If this got out it could threaten the CPS case against Liam. Dammit, she should have forced Freddie to go inside. ‘Freddie, I need you to not repeat this conversation.’ What if she took up reporting again? ‘You can’t write about this. Even later, okay?’
‘In case you hadn’t noticed I’ve not got much journalism on at the moment,’ said Freddie, looking uneasily between them.
‘You have my word I didn’t lay a finger on the lad,’ Chips said. Nasreen watched his face for telltale signs of lying. He looked genuine. Maybe.
Freddie cut in. ‘I would’ve put the baseball bat in the back of the van. Taken a picture of his tiny dick and sent it to all his man-baby mates.’
Chips burst into laughter. ‘I like this one, Cudmore. Can we keep her?’
She refused to smile. ‘Did you threaten or assault the suspect, sir?’
‘Jack Burgone is more than just my boss, lass.’ Chips leant closer to her, his voice low, friendly, like he was explaining the meal options in the canteen. ‘He’s my mate. I just wanted a quiet word with the lad to find out where the guv’s sister is.’
Her pulse quickened, despite herself. ‘What did he say?’
The click of brogues on concrete behind them interrupted Chips’s reply. Saunders’s voice boomed. ‘Can we stop with the mothers’ meeting and get on with this?’
‘Course lad.’ Chips beamed and walked towards him.
Rage fired Nasreen after them, up the concrete steps into the station’s reception. Plastic chairs lined the back wall. Posters advertising the dangers of drink driving hung in Perspex frames on the walls. Two male uniformed PCs looked up with fascination from behind the desk. Until she could be one hundred per cent sure what had happened in that van, she had to keep Chips out the way. ‘I want to be in on the interview.’
Saunders stopped and looked first at Chips and then her in surprise.
She needed to be in that room. She wanted to find out what she could, properly. Legally. ‘We’ve seen his posts online. I would guess he’s not massively used to talking to real women. I can use that.’ She could do this. She could help.
‘Here, lads, what do you think?’ Saunders called to the uniformed guys behind the desk. ‘Would you rather be locked in a small room with Chips or pretty little Nasreen here?’ They guffawed.
‘What the hell?’ Freddie rounded on Saunders.
Nasreen felt her face flush. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking away. She held a hand up to silence Freddie. ‘I’m a trained interrogator, I know how to exploit a nominal’s weaknesses. Sir.’
‘You gonna flash him your nominals?’ Saunders smirked.
One of the uniforms wolf whistled. She spun towards them, making sure her voice was even, not hysterical. ‘Mind your manners, Constable.’ As she turned back the other snickered. She wouldn’t let them bully her.
‘Wish we’d cracked on to this years ago, hey, Chips?’ Saunders led them past the smirking uniforms. Chips refused to meet her gaze. ‘Think of how many we could’ve banged up if only we’d worn a pair of high heels!’
‘That’s enough. Sir.’ Nas dug her fingernails into her palms to mask the anger in her voice. Chips looked abashed. They were in a corridor, recessed light panels sitting among the ceiling tiles. It smelt faintly of bleach.
Saunders turned to grin at her. ‘We all gotta make sacrifices, Cudmore. Lie back and think of England.’
She would not rise to it. Wouldn’t give him the pleasure. ‘What do you think, Chips?’ She held his gaze as Saunders turned back: I will tell him what you did if I have to.
Chips didn’t react to her look. ‘I say give the lassie a chance.’
Had she forced his hand or did he really believe in her? Nasreen had to believe in herself. Had to believe that she could get the truth out of Liam.
‘Fine. Let’s see what you’ve got, Cudmore,’ Saunders said without bothering to turn. She felt a tingle of adrenaline. ‘So far the SOCOs have found no trace of Lottie at the house, or in Schofield’s van.’
She caught Freddie glancing at Chips. What had Liam said to him?
‘What about Liam’s laptop and phone?’ She kept stride with Saunders, Freddie puffing behind them.
‘Computer’s on the way to the local lab, but I had one of the SOCOs take a look. Brain of Britain here didn’t use a password. He had a folder, helpfully named “Chloe,” which contained the images that were posted online. And he had a photo of the suicide note from the first girl, which looks mighty similar to the one that turned up on Snapchat.’
‘Does it have the banner across it?’ Freddie interjected.
‘Nope, and it was saved to his machine before Chloe’s Snapchat was sent.’
Nasreen was running through the timeline in her head.
Freddie was completely out of breath now. ‘What does that mean? He sent the note to Chloe? As a suggestion?’
She’d been thinking the same thing. It didn’t add up.
‘That’s what I want to find out.’ Saunders came to a stop outside a door. ‘Chips, you and Civvy Longstocking can watch the interview on the live feed in here.’ He opened the door to a small beige staff room.
‘Oh goodie – coffee,’ Freddie said.
Nasreen saw a kettle and microwave on the side. It must double as the officers’ mess. A number of chairs were grouped together, facing a flat-screen television. On the screen she saw Liam, shot from above, sitting at a table in a small, white interview room. He was leaning back, picking his nose. ‘He doesn’t want a lawyer?’
‘You’ll like this, Cudmore.’ Saunders smiled at her as he might a child. She was sick of them treating her like a useless kid. ‘He wants a brief, all right. He gave us a specific name, a Mr H. D. Cooper of Webb and Cooper. A pretty fancy-pants London lawyer for a kid who lives next to a Chinese takeaway.’
‘Where’d he hear of a lawyer like that?’ Chips folded his arms and leant against the wall.
‘Very pleased with himself as well, when he told us,’ Saunders said.
‘We have to wait till Mr Cooper arrives from town?’ asked Nas in dismay. That could take an hour. Maybe more. She looked at her phone. It was nearly half seven. They were into the evening. The deadline was gaining on them
‘No, the dingbat’s happy to go ahead before he gets here. I think he thinks lawyers are like magicians, they just stroll in, click their fingers and poof! You’re home safe again.’
‘Lucky for us,’ Chips smiled. Had he really not touched Liam?
‘So let’s be quick.’ Saunders winked at her.
This was it. This was their chance. ‘Was there anything else of relevance on his computer?’
Saunders frowned. ‘There was a “Lottie” folder as well. A lot of images I don’t think we want the guv to see.’ She swallowed her wince.
‘And the suicide note?’ Freddie asked.
‘Not this time.’
Could that mean the kidnapper was someone else? That Liam didn’t have anything to do with Lottie’s abduction? But the evidence suggested he was involved, at least in some way.
‘He did have a folder with instructions on how to hack into someone else’s network,’ Saunders said.
‘Genius,’ muttered Chips.
‘The Scene of Crime Officer is sending over copies, and they’re printing it for us here.’ He looked up as a woman in her fifties, with dyed black hair and heavy eye make-up, hurried towards them. ‘Right on cue. Thanks, Barbara.’ The woman passed him a folder of printouts.
‘There you go, pet,’ she said. ‘And I’m seeing if we can shake up some rooibos tea for you.’
‘You angel.’ Saunders gave her a hundred-watt grin. Barbara walked off in a warm glow. He dropped all pretence of charm in a second. ‘Ready to smile for Daddy, Cudmore?’
She ignored his leer. ‘One sec.’ Pulling the band from her ponytail, she shook her hair down. ‘You got any lipgloss, Freddie?’ It didn’t matter what Saunders had lewdly suggested, she knew what Liam had posted on Are You Awake. She was fairly certain he hadn’t had much interaction at all with females. Hating herself, she undid three shirt buttons.
‘Do I look like I’m packing MAC?’ Freddie crossed her arms over her chest.
Nasreen ignored the judgement in her tone. Whatever it took, she would get the information they needed. She would prove herself to Saunders and Chips. This was the same as going undercover, she reasoned, feeling a bit sick as she put her hand inside her shirt and hiked her breasts up. Chips had the good grace to find something incredibly interesting to look at on the ceiling. ‘Okay?’
‘Better than your usual repressed headmistress look,’ Saunders said. ‘Who knew you had those babies?’
‘God, you’re a dick,’ said Freddie, shaking her head.
‘I’m only doing this because it’s the guv’s sister.’ Her voice was flat.
‘Whatever lets you sleep at night, Cudmore,’ Saunders grinned. ‘Ready?’ She nodded. ‘You play good cop, Cudmore. And I’ll play better cop.’ In two strides he’d opened the door to the interview room. Nasreen followed him. Liam’s face lit up like an Apple Store window when he saw her walk in. The clock was ticking. This was it.