Even after seventeen years on the force, Anna still found it hard to believe some of the things that people did to one another. The thought of a small boy dying while chained in a cellar like an animal caused the blood to stiffen in her veins.
‘Forensics haven’t yet processed the scene but it’s believed he’s been there since before the riots began,’ Nash said. ‘If so, then whoever put him there probably wouldn’t have known the building was going to be set on fire.’
‘Has anyone been dispatched to the scene?’ Anna asked.
‘DI Walker is there but I want you on this as senior investigating officer. And bear in mind that we’ve been drained of resources. Some of your team are helping out elsewhere and things are going from bad to worse so who knows how the hell we’re going to cope …’
‘Should I arrange for a squad car to pick me up?’
‘No point. You’ll need to make your own way. Virtually every vehicle in the Met is being deployed as we speak.’
‘OK. What’s the address of this pub?’
‘I’ll text it to you. It was known as The Falconer’s Arms before it was abandoned four years ago.’
‘I’ll get there as soon as I can.’
‘Thanks, Anna. There is something else you need to know. You’re probably aware that the rioters have been targeting police cars, ambulances and fire appliances—’
‘That really doesn’t surprise me, guv. It’s what they always do.’
‘I know, but the homes of about half a dozen police officers have also come under attack. And some addresses are even being circulated on social media.’
‘Jesus.’
‘I’m telling you because I assume you won’t want to leave your daughter alone in the house. Once it gets dark, we’re expecting another night of complete mayhem as many more nutters take to the streets.’
Anna checked her watch. It was four-thirty p.m. Only a couple of hours of daylight left.
‘I’ll call Tom and get him to come over,’ she said. ‘I’m sure it won’t be a problem.’
‘Good. Sorry, I should have asked … how are things working out between you and Chloe? It’s been a couple of weeks since we last spoke.’
‘It’s not been easy to be honest, especially for Chloe. She’s still struggling to come to terms with what’s happened. And who can blame her? She’s been to hell and back.’
‘But she’s back where she belongs now, Anna. And you’ll both get there in the end, of that I’m sure.’
A wedge of anxiety lodged in Anna’s chest when she hung up the phone. She had spent every day of the past month with her daughter and she didn’t feel ready to leave her now and return to work. But in the circumstances, she really had no choice.
It had been a tough four weeks for both of them, not least because they’d been the focus of frenzied media attention, which was understandable given the level of interest in their story.
Anna had reluctantly agreed to take part in several press conferences and to give interviews to a number of journalists. After all, the papers and TV news organisations had played a vital part in helping to reunite her with her daughter, and she felt indebted to them.
The story was still considered to be newsworthy even though there had already been blanket coverage. The latest edition of a popular magazine, which had been delivered that morning, carried one of the interviews Anna had given, and the feature was spread over no fewer than four pages.
But naturally Chloe had hated being thrust into the limelight, and not only because she was a mere twelve years old. Her life had been turned upside down and she was trying to deal with a tsunami of emotions from grief to the shock of learning that she wasn’t the person she thought she was. For most of the time she suffered in silence, but the tears flowed whenever she was asked about her father and the woman named Sophie who had helped to raise her. The pain and sense of loss was there in her eyes for all to see, and it broke Anna’s heart.
She had done her best to shield her daughter from the glare of publicity and to make her feel safe, comfortable and loved. But the poor girl had been so traumatised by events that it had proved to be a real challenge. It was only in the past week that Chloe had started to open up and engage with the mother she’d been told had died ten years ago.
Anna had been granted two months’ compassionate leave and she’d been hopeful that by the end of it they would have formed a much-belated bond. But now she feared that these bloody riots might set them back and shove a dirty great spanner in the works.