Chapter Twenty-Nine

TIM HAD JUST climbed into his car and was about to start the engine when his mobile started ringing again. Removing it from his pocket, he saw Superintendent Thornton’s landline number flashing on the display screen.

“Superintendent Thornton! I’m on my way to Sutterton Dowdyke now. I’ve just been briefing DC Carstairs. He’ll join me there – he’ll probably arrive first, as he was already heading out that way. I’ve asked Patti Gardner to meet us, too. I should be with them in half an hour or so.”

“I’m glad Carstairs is going to be there, Yates, because I have an emergency for you to deal with.”

“But I thought this was the emergency. There can’t be much that’s more important than the discovery of a dead child.”

“You’re right there, Yates, but unfortunately I can think of at least one thing that is more important, and that’s the disappearance of a living child. A girl called Cassandra Knipes was abducted on her way to school this morning. She’s the head girl at Spalding High School.”

“God help us! I hope this isn’t anything to do with the prowler who was reported hanging round the school last week.”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Yates, but I want you on this case straight away. As you know, if we’re going to find her, we’ve got a window of about twenty-four hours, or forty-eight at most, before the trail goes cold. And probably less than that if we want to find her alive,” he concluded grimly.

“How do we know she was abducted?”

“Her mother saw it happen. The girl was waiting for a bus at the end of the road where she lives when a van drew up alongside her, a man got out and she was bundled into it.”

“Why didn’t the mother do anything?”

“She did. She called us straight away. Apparently she usually watches the girl set off from an upstairs window. The house is at the other end of the street from the bus stop, so too far away for her to have been able to take any kind of action, even if she was up to it. I get the impression she’s rather elderly. Husband is wheelchair-bound.”

“Did she get the number of the van?”

“No. She says she tried to see it, but couldn’t make out any plates. They might have been covered over, or maybe she was just too far away. The van was plain black, with nothing to distinguish it – no painting or logos on the sides.”

“Black’s quite an unusual colour for a trade van.”

“I daresay it is, Yates, but I don’t think that’s a very helpful observation at the moment. I’ve instructed road blocks to be set up on all the major trunk roads leading out of the county. I want you to get across to interview Mrs Knipes now. The address is Number 30, Woolram Wygate. I’ve sent PC Tandy already – she’ll meet you there. I’ve asked her to search the area around the bus stop before she goes on to Mrs Knipes’ house. It’s a long shot, but the girl’s assailant may have dropped something. I’m going to call the headmaster of Spalding High School now. After you’ve finished with Mrs Knipes, I’d like you to go and interview the girl’s friends. Ask them if anyone’s seen the prowler again. The head should have told us if they had, but you never know.”

Tim was secretly impressed by the speed and thoroughness with which the Superintendent had acted.

“There’s just one thing, Superintendent . . .”

“Yes, Yates, what is it? We need to get on with this now!”

“I know, sir, but I’m concerned about the headteacher – Richard Lennard. PC Tandy and PC Chakrabati went to see him about the prowler, and PC Tandy wasn’t impressed. She thought he wasn’t concerned enough – or that he was hiding something.”

“There’s no concrete reason to doubt him, is there? No evidence of a criminal record or anything in his previous history?”

“Not as far as I know, sir, but . . .”

“Then we have to work with what we have, Yates. The man holds a position of responsibility and one of his pupils has gone missing. We can’t by-pass him on a whim of PC Tandy’s, can we?”

“No, sir.”

“And while you’re at it, suggest to him that it won’t be a good idea to talk to the Press. If the girl hasn’t been found in the next couple of hours, naturally we’ll hold a Press conference and involve the media in trying to find her. But we don’t want all sorts of people talking to them and sending mixed messages. We all have to sing from the same hymn sheet.”

“Yes, sir.”

“But, Yates, keep an open mind about Lennard. See what you think when you meet him. If there is anything fishy about him, I’m sure you’ll sniff it out.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, that’s all. Get on with it.”

The Superintendent rang off.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Tim couldn’t help smiling. Mixed messages, indeed! The Superintendent had managed to introduce a few during the latter part of their conversation. Hedging his bets, as usual. Still, he was at least prepared to consider Verity Tandy’s assessment of Richard Lennard. Perhaps age was mellowing him.