As expected, the vultures had descended on the Rossi house. A Sky News satellite truck was parked in the street and a group of about ten reporters and photographers were gathered on the pavement.
Camera flashes erupted and Anna and Benning faced a barrage of questions as they pulled into the kerb and got out of the car.
‘Can you confirm that the dead boy is Jacob Rossi?’
‘Was the boy killed before the fire started?’
‘Had he been chained up in the cellar since he was abducted?’
‘Do you have any suspects?’
‘Is an arrest imminent?’
Anna decided to seize the opportunity to appeal for help from the public. She told Benning to go up to the house while she stood with her back to the driveway and gestured for the hacks, photographers and the one TV camera crew to gather round.
She introduced herself, which was unnecessary since they all knew who she was.
‘I would ask you all to appreciate that this is a difficult time for the family,’ she said. ‘It’s true that the body found in the derelict pub has not been formally identified, but all the evidence indicates that it’s Jacob Rossi, who went missing on Monday. His death is believed to have been due to smoke inhalation. Jacob was trapped in the cellar of the building when it was set on fire and he was unable to escape because he was chained to a wall. There are therefore two strands to our investigation. We want to know who was holding Jacob captive in the building, and who carried out the arson attack.
‘It’s obvious to us that we’re looking for two different people. The fire was started by a rioter who threw a petrol bomb, but we don’t think that person knew there was a boy in the building. Nevertheless, he or she committed a serious crime, and we would like to hear from anyone who witnessed it.
‘We believe that Jacob was taken to the building after he was abducted on Monday, and it’s possible that someone has information that can help us with our inquiries.’
Anna provided more details, including the exact location of the old Falconer’s Arms pub, and the road in Bromley where it was thought Jacob had been picked up.
She said that her team were still trying to establish the motive for the kidnapping, but decided not to mention the letter that had been sent to Jacob’s father.
More questions were fired at her, but she politely declined to answer them and walked up to the house. Officer Moore was holding the front door open, and as Anna stepped over the threshold, she said, ‘Mark’s mother is here. Her name’s Emily. And be warned, ma’am, they’re all in a bad way.’
The three of them were in the spacious kitchen/diner. Rossi stood with his back to the sink, his arms folded, his face grey and pallid. His wife and mother were sitting at the table in the dining area, hunched over mugs of hot drinks. Benning was hovering next to the breakfast bar in the centre of the room. On top of it rested three evidence bags containing the letter from the kidnapper, the photo of Jacob and the envelope they arrived in.
A palpable sense of shock and despair hung heavily in the air. It was obvious to Anna that a lot of tears had been shed since the postman’s visit. But Jacob’s grandmother was the only one still sobbing. She was a small, frail-looking woman with wrinkled features and a crown of curly white hair.
Anna walked over to her and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.
‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Tate,’ she said. ‘You must be Emily.’
The woman looked up at her through liquid eyes and spoke in a voice that was throbbing with sadness.
‘Whoever did this to our darling boy should be made to suffer for all eternity,’ she said. ‘They can’t be allowed to get away with it. They just can’t.’
‘And I will do everything in my power to ensure that they don’t,’ Anna said. ‘I promise you that my team won’t rest until those responsible are behind bars.’
Emily shook her head. ‘Jail is too good for them. A slow, painful death would be the only acceptable form of justice.’
‘My mother is right,’ Mark Rossi said sharply. ‘That photo of my son was taken by someone who has no right to go on living.’
Anna turned towards him and noticed how his good looks had all but disappeared. His face was tense and haggard, and there were tired shadows beneath his eyes.
‘I just don’t understand why a person would be so cruel,’ he continued. ‘I know that there are people out there who don’t like me. But that’s the same for anyone who spends his or her life in the spotlight. I can’t imagine what I might have done to make someone hate me so much.’
If the circumstances had been different, Anna would have pointed out there and then that he was being disingenuous, and that sleeping with other men’s wives was a sure way to incur their wrath. But the man was grief-stricken, so she would have to broach the subject delicately and preferably when she managed to get him by himself.
She crossed to the breakfast bar and picked up the clear evidence bag with the note inside.
‘We’ve deduced from what’s written on here that the perpetrator, who we strongly believe to be a man, is probably acting alone,’ she said. ‘And it’s possible that you haven’t actually met him, Mr Rossi, or given him any reason to hate you.’
His wife spoke up at this point, her voice weak, strained.
‘Then why is he blaming my husband for what he did to Jacob? It makes no sense.’
‘Our job is to try to make sense of it, Mrs Rossi,’ Anna said. ‘We’ve some way to go, I’m afraid. I’m hoping that the photograph and the letter will help us to get there.’
‘So what progress have you made?’ This from her husband.
Anna looked at her watch. ‘We’ve got plenty of time before we need to leave for the mortuary, Mr Rossi. So I’ll bring you up to speed, and if it’s OK I’d like to ask you both some more questions.’
Anna tried to put a positive spin on what she told them. She said that Gavin Pope and the man who was seen loitering outside Jacob’s school had both been re-interviewed and further checks were being carried out on them.
‘We’re also looking into the backgrounds and alibis of the other former employees of your stepfather’s company who were left out of pocket when it collapsed,’ she said.
Anna mentioned that other leads were being pursued, including the sighting of a dark-coloured car on the forecourt of the derelict pub.
‘In addition, we’re trawling social media sites for trolls who have uploaded posts which were either abusive or threatening against you, Mr Rossi,’ she said. ‘And I’ve issued a public appeal in which I’ve said I want to hear from anyone who thinks they might have information.’
Anna could tell that the family were not impressed, which was hardly surprising since she wasn’t offering up anything concrete.
‘I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re all going through,’ she said. ‘But I need to know if there is anyone else you think we should be talking to. Perhaps someone in the past who you had concerns about. Or did Jacob mention having an unusual encounter with anyone in particular? Maybe a teacher at his school?’
Rossi shook his head. ‘We’ve been over this already. Jacob never mentioned anything like that, and we can’t think of anyone who would want to do this to us.’
‘So what about The Falconer’s Arms pub? Had you ever heard of it before yesterday?’
‘No we hadn’t,’ Rossi said.
‘What about Camberwell then? To your knowledge do you have – or have you had – any friends, relatives or acquaintances who live or work in that part of London?’
The question prompted an unexpected reaction from Emily, who said, ‘I’ve never heard of that pub, but I do know that my late husband’s ex-partner was living in Camberwell when she died. That was five years or so ago.’
Anna’s ears pricked up, but Rossi responded before she did.
‘You never told me that, Mum. How do you know?’
‘Your stepfather found out by chance,’ she said. ‘He bumped into a man they both knew while they were together, and he told Isaac that she was in the last stages of terminal lung cancer and was being looked after by her son who had moved in with her.’
‘So why didn’t you tell me?’
Emily looked at him. ‘Because your stepfather asked me not to. You see, he managed to find out their address in Camberwell and out of guilt he went there to see if there was anything he could do to help. But there was nobody at home. A neighbour told him she was in Guy’s Hospital. When he got there her son – who as you know, Mark, is also Isaac’s son – was at her bedside. He was furious apparently because they hadn’t heard from Isaac since he walked out on them and married me. He told Isaac to bugger off. When Isaac came home, he was really upset and didn’t want to talk about it afterwards. He did tell me a week later that she died in hospital, though.’
Anna was intrigued. She shot a look at Benning, who arched his brow and gave a little shrug. She took it to mean that this was news to him as well.
Taking out her notebook, she said to Emily, ‘Can you please tell me the names of your husband’s ex-partner and their son?’
‘Hilary and Joseph. Their surname was Metcalfe, but I believe it changed when she got married some years ago. Isaac never told me what her married name was.’
Anna made a note. ‘I didn’t realise that your late husband had a son of his own. And since his mother lived in Camberwell he’ll need to be eliminated from our inquiries. Do you have any idea how we might be able to contact him?’
‘None at all,’ Emily said. ‘Isaac never stayed in touch with them.’
‘In that case I’d like you to think back and tell me everything you know about your husband’s first family. We can’t ignore the fact that there’s a chance, albeit a slim one, that it could have a bearing on this case.’