Friday 28 January, 12:45
‘Loxton, the briefing’s in ten minutes,’ Kowalski said as he gathered up their notes and headed to Walworth CID office.
‘I’ll be there,’ she said. ‘I just need to call the others. They need to know Sarah’s missing.’
‘Okay, but don’t let DI Meyer see you doing that; he likes to be in complete control and he’ll think you’re going behind his back.’
‘They need to know now,’ Loxton snapped. ‘I’ll be there in a minute.’
‘Okay,’ Kowalski said gently and walked out of the side room towards the bustling CID office. She saw him make an effort to hold his head up high, to try to instil confidence in the others when despair was setting into the team.
She closed the door behind him and pulled out her mobile. Her worst nightmare was coming true and now she had to warn Jane and Gabriella. She couldn’t believe what was happening. It made her furious to think someone would do this, and seemingly with such ease.
‘Gabriella, Sarah Taylor’s officially missing.’
‘I’ve just heard. They’re saying she was on an undercover operation. How would anyone even know where she was to abduct her? Someone in the police is leaking information to an organized crime group.’
‘Or it’s a police officer with access to everything,’ Loxton said. ‘Emma was found in Camberwell station. And Sarah was in the middle of an op. Whoever’s doing this knows how we work.’ It sounded absurd when Loxton said it out loud. But how could someone be doing this otherwise?
‘Christ, I hope you’re wrong. I’m trying to get put on the case, but my boss is pulling his face. Will you keep me updated?’
‘Of course. And if you hear anything your end, call me, too.’
‘How’s Jane holding up?’
‘She’s taken an impromptu holiday; I don’t know where. I’ll give her a call now and tell her to get rid of her mobile and then move somewhere else. You should do the same.’
‘I’ve told you, I’m not going to run away. Whoever’s doing this needs to be stopped.’
‘I feel the same,’ Loxton agreed.
‘Why hasn’t Jane gone into police protection?’ Gabriella asked.
‘I didn’t think that it was safe if this is somehow an inside job. And no one’s mentioned it here. I’d rather she just went off grid.’
‘Got you,’ Gabriella said. ‘My DI is saying here that Emma’s murder and Sarah’s abduction are separate incidents. They think Emma was killed by her boyfriend and your team missed some important evidence at the beginning that proves it. And they think Sarah’s identity was compromised in the undercover op and she’s been kidnapped. There are a few of that gang on remand, so whoever’s taken her might demand the remand cases get dropped in exchange for Sarah’s life.’
‘They’re wrong,’ Loxton said, angry that Meyer was still treating the cases as separate incidents. The cases were linked, and if Meyer couldn’t see it, then the killer could operate freely. ‘We haven’t missed anything on Emma’s case. And Sarah’s good – how was she compromised? There’ve been no demands.’
‘I just thought I’d give you a heads up of what’s being said here – it must be coming from Meyer.’
‘This feels like Barratt,’ Loxton said.
‘Not Barratt again, Alana.’ Gabriella sounded exasperated. ‘He’s been inside for the last two years. Forget about him. I’ll try to get assigned to the case. Call me if there’s anything new.’
‘I will.’ Loxton hung up.
She scrolled through her recent calls, hitting Jane’s name. ‘It’s Alana, how are you doing?’
‘Terrible,’ Jane said, her voice heavy with exhaustion. ‘Ben’s in a mood with me. He had to take sick leave because there’s a big work thing he’s had to miss. We’re hiding out in a cottage and he’s terrified that work will find out so we’re barely going out. He’s already moaning that this is a waste of time, that I’m being ridiculous and paranoid. He thinks I’ve got postnatal depression.’
‘We’re not being paranoid,’ Loxton said. ‘Sarah’s gone missing. She disappeared from an undercover operation and no one knows how it happened.’
‘Shit.’ Jane’s voice was strained. ‘What the fuck is going on?’
‘I don’t know, but it could be an inside job. You both need to get rid of your phones and move location today.’
‘You’re kidding me. Ben is never going to get rid of his mobile.’
‘Please, Jane. This is serious. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going. Especially no one in the police.’
‘You’re scaring me.’
‘We should be scared,’ Loxton said. ‘Emma is dead and Sarah’s missing. Look, we just need to be careful.’
‘What about you? Gabriella?’
‘We’re staying to work on the cases. That’s our best chance. The murder squad are treating Emma’s murder and Sarah’s disappearance as separate incidents at the moment. But I know they must be linked to Barratt somehow.’
‘So no protection for me, then?’ Jane sighed.
‘It might not be safe anyway. They took Sarah from the middle of an undercover operation. Whoever took her walked right in without being detected and managed to stroll right out again with her.’
‘Okay, I’ll do what you say. How am I going to contact you?’
‘I’ll be keeping my mobile, but don’t call me; that will give your location away. Watch the news. Don’t call anyone.’
‘Alana, take care of yourself.’
‘I will.’ Loxton hung up. She shivered in the air-conditioned room. Even being in the police station didn’t feel safe. She pocketed her mobile and hurried to the CID office.
Everyone was waiting for her it seemed. Meyer and Winter were stood at the front of the room while Kowalski sat in the front row, a seat empty beside him. He looked relieved when he saw her.
‘There you are, Loxton,’ Winter said. ‘It’s been decided that Meyer’s team will run DC Emma Robins’s murder. We will be keeping DC Sarah Taylor’s disappearance and work with her undercover unit on that. Can you give us all your handover?’
‘Of course, sir.’ Loxton stood next to Winter and avoided Meyer’s scowl. She looked at the Southwark officers seated in front of her. The usual upbeat attitude was gone. Even Kowalski looked despondent.
‘The preliminary findings are that Emma was raped and strangled, her windpipe crushed. Dr Reynolds speculated that the killer may be left-handed, but that’s not something we can use evidentially. Pearce is right-handed. And I don’t believe Pearce murdered Emma. The MO doesn’t match the domestic violence profile. And now Sarah is missing. I believe the two incidents are linked by Edward Barratt.’ Meyer bristled; she was going off topic. She saw the Southwark detectives lean in closer to listen, nodding their heads. The murder squad detectives murmured their dissent, one shaking their head and another giving her a pitying look.
Meyer stepped forward. ‘Yes, we’re all aware of your theories, DC Loxton. But to ensure we don’t miss anything, we’re going to treat Robins’s murder and Sarah Taylor’s disappearance as two separate cases until the evidence suggests otherwise. I understand that this is emotional for you Southwark officers, but you need to keep your heads and not get carried away. One officer has been murdered and the evidence points to her ex-boyfriend. Another has disappeared on a covert operation, her communication equipment having been tampered with, which suggests her cover was blown and the organized crime group she infiltrated is to blame. They once both worked at Southwark and then the murder squad. That’s not a link; that’s a coincidence. We don’t want any more mistakes.’
‘Mistakes?’ Winter frowned at Meyer’s suggestion.
‘During the post-mortem, the pathologist, Dr Reynolds, found DNA on Emma Robins’s neck,’ Meyer said. ‘Imagine our excitement.’
A shiver went through the room, everyone waiting for him to finish.
‘A hit came back on the DNA database. It came back as DC Dominik Kowalski, the officer who found the body.’ Meyer turned his cold disappointed stare on Kowalski, who coloured with embarrassment.
‘But I was wearing gloves.’ Kowalski threw Loxton a confused look.
‘We were both wearing masks and double gloves,’ Loxton said, remembering Kowalski inspecting Emma’s neck. But mistakes like this could still happen, she knew. Pulling on the gloves carelessly or being panicked could lead to DNA getting on the outside of the glove, which then could transfer to the surface being examined. But she thought Kowalski had been careful.
‘We wasted time and money analysing that sample,’ Meyer said, ignoring them both. ‘And, worse, it could have corrupted any of the killer’s DNA that may have been there first. Your team is too close, Winter. It’s understandable. And they’re not trained to the standard my detectives are. So you stick with the missing person cases and we’ll take the murders.’
Winter glared at Meyer and for a moment Loxton thought he might swing for him, but he seemed to remember where he was as his eyes fell on the seated officers watching him. He turned back to Meyer. ‘There won’t be any other mistakes, I guarantee it.’
‘Good,’ Meyer said. ‘Don’t let the personal nature of these cases get to any of you. Remain professional.’
‘Emma’s murder is personal,’ Lena said from the back of the room and stood up. ‘The note said, “the war’s started”, didn’t it? It mentioned Emma and Alana by name. Can’t you see what’s happening? It isn’t a domestic.’
‘I don’t need to hear your profiling “theories” about serial killers again, DC Trawinska,’ Meyer said. ‘Please, sit down. Of course we need to keep an open mind at all times, but we also need to follow the evidence or risk missing something chasing wild theories. The note also said, “lying whore”, which points to Emma being killed by someone she knew intimately. Like Pearce. Barratt is in Broadmoor; it’s got nothing to do with him. There’s the unlikely possibility that Pearce is somehow linked to Sarah’s disappearance. If Emma confided in Sarah about his harassment, asked her for help, then Pearce could have gone looking for Sarah to warn her to stay out of it. DC Loxton, in your report you stated that Emma and Sarah were friends. That they were both at the Saturday night reunion when Emma was last seen. Maybe Pearce followed Emma there and saw you all together. Maybe he followed Sarah and compromised her operation without even knowing it. It doesn’t matter. Pearce isn’t the one who has taken Sarah. Someone else has, and you need to find them while there’s still time.’
‘But what if it’s the same person?’ Loxton said.
‘The job we do is dangerous, especially undercover work, and sometimes things go wrong. DC Taylor was working with very dangerous individuals. DS Anson is leading the search for her and I know he’d be grateful if your team could help him.’ Meyer glanced at DCI Winter.
‘I’ve already spoken with DS Anson and we’ve agreed to work together on Sarah’s case,’ Winter said.
‘What about the press?’ Kowalski asked. ‘Emma Robins’s murder has made the national news.’
‘We might have to release a press statement that another detective’s gone missing if it gets leaked,’ Winter said. ‘But we need to keep Sarah’s identity confidential; that can’t go out into the public domain. It might put her in more danger. We’d better get hold of Covert now, see what they advise with the press.’
The briefing was dismissed, and Loxton and Kowalski joined Lena, who was stood at the back of the room.
‘They’re making a mistake,’ Lena said. ‘But DI Meyer won’t listen to me. You’re right, Alana. Luke Pearce didn’t kill DC Robins; it isn’t a domestic murder. It’s too meticulous; almost like someone is on a mission. Something bigger is going on.’
‘I’ll fill you in on the Barratt murders,’ Loxton said, relieved that she had Kowalski and Lena on her side.