Emotions were running high in Anna’s head as she walked out of her office into the ops room. She knew that the only way to take her mind off Chloe was to get on with the job.
DI Walker had already set things up for another briefing. He’d scrawled some more notes on one of the whiteboards, adding updates he’d got from the detectives who were out and about, and he’d gathered the team together. Anna took up her usual position between the two whiteboards and inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with a calming breath. She kicked off with a word of thanks to everyone for working through the night. And she acknowledged how difficult and frustrating the investigation was proving to be.
‘These are exceptional circumstances,’ she said, and her voice shook a little. ‘In all my years on the force I have never known anything like it. When any of you leave here to follow up a lead or simply to go home I want you to be extra careful, especially after dark. And do not take any risks. Is that clear?’
There were a few murmurs and nods of heads. The faces that stared back at her were tight with tension. She knew that each one of her officers was just as anxious as she was about what they were up against.
Anna then launched into an account of their conversation with Gavin Pope and his wife.
‘Pope repeated what he told DI Benning about having nothing to do with Jacob’s abduction. He continues to claim that he was at home by himself on Monday afternoon.’
She then told the team about Mrs Pope’s affair with Mark Rossi and it prompted more than a few surprised looks.
‘This came as a bolt from the blue and opens up a whole new line of inquiry,’ she said. ‘Mrs Pope claims that Rossi is a bit of a player and she gave us the name of another bloke whose wife apparently fell for his charms.’
Anna ran through what they were told about Roy Slater, including the fact that he was paid off to leave Glory Entertainment and that he allegedly has – or had – a gambling problem.
‘DC Niven and a uniform were on their way to his house in Rotherhithe,’ she said. ‘But the last I heard their car suffered a puncture and they were stuck somewhere along the way.’
She asked Walker if their situation had changed in the last half an hour.
‘Niven just called in to update me,’ Walker answered. ‘They’ve managed to change the wheel themselves and are back on the road. But Christ only knows how long it will take them to reach their destination. Some of the streets in Rotherhithe are closed, and a mob has stormed the Surrey Quays shopping centre. Latest reports indicate that more than ten stores have been looted and two set on fire.’
Anna shook her head and a hot flush of rage burned across her cheeks. She was appalled to think that so many people could behave so outrageously in what was supposed to be a civilised society.
‘Let’s hope that DC Niven can steer clear of the worst of it,’ she said. ‘Now what about Neville Quinlan’s house? Are forensics there yet?’
Walker nodded. ‘They arrived twenty minutes ago. DS Prescott was there before them and got Quinlan out of bed to serve him with the search warrant. Prescott will call if and when they find something.’
Walker then said that the forensic evidence from the pub, including Jacob’s bag and clothes, were waiting to be examined at the lab.
‘The forensics guys have finished up there now and will be moving on to another crime scene. They’re going to board up the entrance before they leave.’
Anna asked Walker for an update on Michelle Gerrard.
‘We’ve finally got some details, including an address,’ he said. ‘She’s a single lady in her late fifties and it turns out she lives in Beckenham, which is only a couple of miles from the Rossi home. I’ve asked the locals to send someone round. Meanwhile, a techie is going through her social media posts. The last time she wrote anything offensive about Rossi was two weeks ago. She remarked on Twitter that he was getting too much media exposure and that she was fed up with him going on about how lucky he was to have such a great family.’
‘Do we know if Rossi is acquainted with her?’
‘I got the FLO to ask him and he says he’s never met her. But he has seen the posts and they do piss him off.’
‘Then we need to bring her in for a serious chat as quickly as possible.’ Anna then summed up where they were with the investigation, and pointed out that although they had four potential suspects, there could be more who had yet to be identified.
‘I don’t anticipate we’ll make much headway until the night is over,’ she said. ‘So we should make use of this time to view as much CCTV footage as possible and to prepare profiles on all the main characters so far involved in this sorry saga. I would urge you all to read through the missing person’s case notes supplied by DI Benning. Meanwhile, I’ll liaise with DCS Nash about getting a press release sorted and I’ll talk to the pathologist to arrange for the family to formally ID Jacob’s body before the post-mortem. I’ll also circulate a list of action points for Saturday.’
Anna invited questions, and when none were forthcoming, she ended the briefing.
Before going back into her office, she asked DI Benning if he was still prepared to work on through the night.
‘You couldn’t drag me away from here, ma’am,’ he said. ‘I need to stay with this to the bitter end. That boy died on my watch so I feel the least I should do is help track down the bastard who put him in that cellar.’